Jail Bird

pain lanced through her mouth.

‘It looks awful. Does it hurt?’ Lily was peering closely, wanting to do something to help. ‘Did you put anything on it?’

‘Yeah, some cream. Look, what can I tell you? I drank a bit too much with Jase last night and after he dropped me off I stumbled and fell. It’s nothing.’

It didn’t look like nothing to Lily. And what was Oli talking about? She had heard Oli’s car coming up the drive last night, not Jase’s flashier, faster motor. Oli was lying to her. But the closed, obdurate expression on her daughter’s face made her drop it.

‘Did you know Saz is back?’ she asked instead.

‘God, yes. Saw her last night. She wasn’t meant to be coming back until today.’

Lily’s mouth twisted. ‘Your Uncle Si phoned her and gave her the glad news. So she cut the honeymoon short. Couldn’t get in of course because we’ve changed the security arrangements. She gave me a right earful.’

And came at me with a knife, added Lily silently.

Would Saz really have done her damage? She wasn’t sure, and that hurt. She thought of all the grinding, horrible years inside, of how she’d dreamed one day of seeing her girls again. She’d known that Si and Maeve would taint them if they could, would try their hardest to turn them against her. She’d managed to get Oli onside. But Saz…Saz wasn’t Oli. Saz took up a position and defended it to the end. If Saz was your enemy, then she’d probably stay your enemy until her last breath.

But I’m not her enemy, thought Lily with piercing sadness. I’m her mother.

‘Saz…took it all very hard,’ said Oli, frowning. ‘You know how close she was to Dad.’

Yeah, Saz had been the daddy’s girl of the family. Always hanging on Leo’s coat-tails, sitting on his lap when he was at his desk in the study, shooting clays with him in the grounds, being twirled around by him as he threatened to dunk her in the fish pond, both of them laughing and wrapped up in each other. Saz and Leo. Funny how things divvy up in families. Saz and Leo, Oli and Lily. Two different teams occupying the same camp.

Yeah, Oli was the easy part, thought Lily. Saz is something else.

But she could do this. She told herself that, over and over again. She could do this. Believing it was half the battle. Doing it was the other half. And she would.

‘So what’s on the schedule today?’ she asked Oli.

Oli shrugged and frowned. ‘Dunno.’

Something had really taken the wind out of Oli’s sails. Lily waited, but nothing else was forthcoming.

Oli sipped gingerly at her coffee and sighed. Then she glanced up at her mother. ‘Think I’d better hang around here in case Saz does any more kicking off.’

‘Okay. But that’s unlikely, ’cos I’m going out.’

‘She’ll want to change the codes back again,’ fretted Oli.

‘She can’t do that,’ said Lily. ‘Unless you agree to it.’ She neatly sidestepped the fact that Oli had already changed the security codes without Saz’s say-so.

‘She’ll try.’ Oli looked uneasily at Lily. ‘This is really awkward for me, you know. I don’t want to upset Saz. But…I think she’s wrong about you.’

‘I’m pleased you think that.’

‘I do.’ Oli’s face pinkened. ‘I…I love having you back. I don’t believe you’re a bad person. I can’t believe that.’

Lily smiled softly. Those were the sweetest words she’d ever heard from Oli.

‘But,’ said Oli with a frown, ‘if I side with you against Saz…well, I can’t do that. We’re really close, Saz and me. We had to get that way, I suppose, after it all kicked off with you and Dad. I’m…I’m really worried that I’ll lose her, over this.’

‘I don’t think you’ll lose her,’ said Lily, trying to reassure. ‘She loves you.’

Oli gazed at Lily. ‘She loved you once, too.’

Lily couldn’t answer that; she felt too choked up. Instead she swallowed and said: ‘Look, if Saz tries to alter anything, talk her out of it. You can do it. Convince her that all she’ll succeed in doing is making a prat of herself.’ Lily had already had a word with Sunstyle Securities, telling them that if anyone tried to alter things, they were to check the new password, the new secret address, security codes, everything, with Oli or her, no one else, at which point they would quickly discover that person had no authority to act.

So they had that covered. And now Lily was going to have a day out. First into town to get her hair and nails sorted, and then on to a lunch appointment to get something else sorted. Something that could maybe solve the mystery of who killed Leo.

39

He was waiting at the restaurant. As she came in and the maitre d’ showed her over to one of the best tables, by the window overlooking the river, he stood up and Lily thought: Yeah, he’s just as hot as he ever was. Maybe even more so.

She was glad now that she’d made an effort today, dressed in her new sharply tailored and scoop-necked navy Gucci suit and high-heeled gladiator sandals, and carrying a quilted Chanel bag. Her naturally golden-blonde hair was freshly highlighted and fell in soft, shining waves onto her shoulders, her make-up was light but faultless, her gel nails gleamed; she felt good for the first time in…oh, twelve years. And she looked good too. The expression in Nick O’Rourke’s eyes confirmed it.

Lily was seated, and Nick sat back down too. They looked at each other.

‘Lily King, you look fucking wonderful,’ he said in that deep, gravelly voice of his.

‘You too,’ said Lily. It was true enough. He did look great. Black suit, sharp white Turnbull and Asser shirt, discreet tie.Black hair trimmed and tamed into gleaming submission. Clean-shaven. Strong face. Dark and swarthy skin. Perfect teeth revealed in a smile. His eyes swept over her, settled on her lips—as if he was thinking of kissing her—and then they lifted to meet her eyes. Oh, he was more than handsome. Distinguished. The waiter came with the wine Nick had ordered, took their food order, and left. Silence fell between them.

‘So…why the summons?’ asked Nick, his eyes resting on her face. ‘I thought I was persona non grata to you at the moment. After all, you threw my safe flat back in my face. And when I told you that you were being stalked up and down Bond Street, you seemed more angry at me than at that little fucker Tiger Wu.’

‘What’s happened to Tiger Wu?’ she asked, curious.

‘Oh now come on. Do you really want to know the answer to that?’

No. She didn’t. Lily took a sip of wine. It was like nectar. She thought of the contraband hooch she and her mates had supped in prison, real gut-rot stuff. Everything was so fresh, so new. So wonderful. The fine restaurant, Nick sitting there looking so damned irritated and so hot. No, she didn’t give a stuff about what had happened to Tiger Wu.

She remembered that Leo used to bring her here, back in the day. Pop stars and celebrities came and went, table-hopping and being feted by the chef and the owners. The diners way back then had been affluent, civilized. They still were. But dark, brooding Nick was sitting opposite her now, not big, ebullient Leo. The background was the same, the situation completely different.

‘I had to talk to you about something,’ said Lily, wondering how best to broach the subject.

‘Well that makes a change. Usually you don’t want to talk to me at all.’

‘It’s serious.’

Nick opened his mouth to speak, but the waiter was back. They ordered and the man departed. Nick took a taste of the wine and sat back, watching her expectantly.

‘Okay then. Go on,’ he prompted.

‘Julia.’ Lily took another gulp of the wine. Suddenly, her mouth was dry. ‘Julia…and Leo.’

Nick’s gaze was very steady on her face, his eyes unblinking. He pursed his lips and nodded his head, very slowly. ‘I didn’t think you knew about that,’ he said at last.