On Honeymoon With Death

35

As it happened they were only just starting, but while they were away something of greater interest to me had finished, for the time being at least. . my marriage.

After Fortunato had driven me back to Casa Nou Camp, instructed his men to report any significant finds to him at once, and headed home to God Knew What from Vero, I went wearily upstairs, stripped off my clothes and stepped straight into the shower.

I had finished towelling myself off, when I saw the note, in an envelope bearing the Husa Princesa crest, on the dressing table. Before I even picked it up, I went to Prim’s wardrobe and threw it open. Most of her clothes were gone.

I almost crumpled the letter and threw it away unread, but, once I had finished dressing, a mix of guilt and curiosity made me tear it open. It was more or less what I had expected.

Oz

We really have made a hash of it, haven’t we? You more so than me, from where I stand, but you’d expect me to say that wouldn’t you.

I’m sorry that I kept so many things from you; things like Fergal going off and dumping me, how it really was here after you did the same thing, and what really happened between me and Ramon. I don’t know how you guessed that he was with me in Barcelona, unless you called Veronique looking for him, and she told you that he was away. I should reproach you for not thinking better of me, only you were right. I am no better than you. You took your revenge with Susie, and I took mine with him.

From your tone when you called earlier, I suspect that if I stayed and said that we should call it evens and try to start again, you’d agree. I can’t do that, though, and I think you’ll understand why.

The thing is, I don’t know you any more; I know you’d say the same to me, if you were honest. If I did come back, we’d be strangers to a large extent. We might say the right things and do the right things, but it would be for the sake of it and there would be raw resentment burning just under the surface in both of us. Sooner or later one of us would explode, and that really would be the end of it.

I’m not going back to Ramon, that I can promise you, even after Veronique kicks him out, as I expect she will after you tell her what’s happened. You’re too vengeful not to. I’ve seen too much of his weakness, just as I’ve seen too much of your ruthlessness. It wasn’t just me who kept things secret, you know. You were worse in a way; you kept your secrets from yourself.

What I am doing is going back to Los Angeles, back to Mum, and back to help Dawn after she has the baby. I’ll say nothing to them about what’s happened, I promise you. I won’t screw things up between you and Miles. No, you go back to Glasgow for the premiere, and for your acting coaching. Maybe you’ll go back to Susie, I don’t know. Nothing I can do about that. If you don’t, when you come out to Los Angeles to start rehearsals and filming, maybe we can see each other again and see what the prospects are for a salvage operation.

I don’t know what’s going on under the stairs. The police wouldn’t tell me, and I don’t think I want to know, anyway. I’ve put the Merc in the garage and taken a taxi to Perpignan. I’ll fly to Paris from there, then on.

Love

Prim

PS I really would like to know how you found out about Fergal. That’s the one thing that nearly made me stay.

‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘But not nearly enough.’

I tried to call her, on her mobile, until I heard it ring, and I realised that she’d left it by the side of the bed. I thought about racing after her in the Voyager, thought about it seriously, until I knew for sure that I didn’t want to. She was right; if there was any chance for us, we had to put time and distance between us and all that shit. We had to do that even to find out whether either of us wanted there to be a chance.

I had to call someone; my sister drew the short straw. I told her that Prim and I had split up and why. I had expected Ellie to give me the bollocking of all time, just as if I was a lad again, but she didn’t.

‘You poor loves,’ she said. ‘I could tell at Christmas that there was something wrong between you. I blame that place, Oz.’

‘What? The house?’

‘No, the whole bloody town. You had nothing but trouble when you were there before, so whatever made you go back?’

‘There are dark forces which guide our destiny,’ I told her grimly. Until that moment it would have been one of my poorer jests, but that was the point at which I became convinced that it was entirely true.

‘Maybe so, but if they come around my house I’ll give them a good leathering. Do you want to come and stay with me for a bit?’

Never once in my life, not even when she was slapping me around as a kid, had my sister ever made me cry. . until then. I felt my eyes moisten and a tear ran down my cheek. More than anything else, it came from the knowledge that there was still someone alive, as well as my dad, who really loved me.

‘Thanks Ellie,’ I said wiping it and that flash of self-pity away, ‘but I’ve got some stuff to finish up here. I’ll come and see you when I get back to Glasgow. I’ll tell you what: you can chum me to the premiere. You up for that?’

‘Haud me back!’ she exclaimed. ‘You’re on, boyo.’

I left her laughing, then went out to eat. The techs were still at work when I got back, and when I went to bed. They were still at work next morning, when I got up, although I have no idea what they were doing by then. . having a wine tasting, maybe.

They had only just gone at three thirty, when the phone rang. I picked it up, half hoping that it would be Prim. But it wasn’t. It was the Other Woman.

‘Oz,’ Susie burst out, as I answered.

‘Just saying my name gets you that excited, does it?’

‘Could do, boy, you never know. Don’t repeat this to anyone who might know me, but I’ve been missing you.

‘Prim back yet?’

‘And gone.’ I filled her in on what had happened. . with the notable exception of my horizontal encounter with Veronique Sanchez.

‘Que sera, sera,’ she said.

‘When did you join the Tartan Army?’

‘I helped to found it. Now shut up and listen. I’ve just had a visit from your old man. I think he came along to see that I was all right. . bless his wee heart, or did you put him up to it?’

‘No,’ I told her, truthfully. ‘It was his idea.’

‘Glad to hear it. Anyhow. . he brought along some holiday snaps to show me. They were of your place, so I thought I’d better act as if I’d never seen it before.

‘Then he showed me one that was taken at your New Year party.’ She paused: she was winding up for something big, I could tell.

‘He was in one of them, Oz. The guy in JoJo’s that night, the one you reckon spiked my drink. I recognised him.’

I gasped, struck dumb for a moment. ‘Who was it, then?’

‘If I knew that I’d have told you in L’Escala, idiot.’

‘I suppose so. I’ll just have to wait until my old man can send me it.’

‘No. I guessed you’d want to see it, so I asked him to leave it with me. I’ll post it to you tonight.’

I thought about this for a bit. ‘Better than that,’ I said. ‘Have you got a scanner in the office?’

‘Yes.’ She paused. ‘I’m with you. I’ll turn it into a file and send it to you by e-mail. Gimme half an hour.’

‘I’ll hold my breath,’ I told her. ‘Susie, if I did, right now I’d tell you I love you.’

‘Aye, but don’t, until you do.’

I heard the phone go down. I didn’t quite hold my breath, but I didn’t wait for half an hour. I logged on after fifteen minutes and, sure enough, Joanna Lumley told me that I had post.

Susie had named the file, ‘Villain’. It took just under a minute to download.

I felt my fingers tremble as I opened it and watched it scroll down the screen. I adjusted the magnification to one hundred and fifty per cent; any more and I’d have lost clarity.

There were quite a few people in my dad’s wide-angled snapshot. Prim and me for two, kissing, Mary, Ellie, Jonny and Frank Barnett. I didn’t have any trouble working out who Susie had meant, though. She had printed a great big ‘X’ right above the smiling face of John Gash.