Jail Bird

Lily let out a breath. ‘I didn’t. Until yesterday. What—you mean you did?’

Nick was silent for a beat. Then he said: ‘I divorced her as soon as I found out about it.’

Lily stared at him. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said.

‘For what? Leo was the first, but I’m sure there would have been others.’ He was twirling the stem of his glass around on the table.

Lily looked at his left hand. No wedding band, thought Lily. Should have noticed that earlier.

‘Julia was in love with herself,’ he went on. ‘One man—or even two—was never going to be enough for her. She had to have constant admiration and attention. It gets wearing, let me tell you. Very wearing indeed. And at least,’ he added with a tight smile, ‘I did the civilized thing. I didn’t just blow her bloody brains out.’

Lily looked at him steadily. ‘You really think I did that? Blew Leo’s brains out?’

‘Only under extreme provocation. And Lily, if you didn’t, who did?’

‘Now let’s have a think.’ Lily paused and made a great play of looking deep in thought. ‘Oh yeah. You?’

Nick threw back his head and laughed. ‘God in heaven, what an imagination you’ve got there.’

‘You’ve got to admit, him boffing your wife’s a pretty good motive,’ said Lily.

‘I suppose it would have been, had I given a toss either way by then.’ Nick poured them both a little more wine. ‘Which, by the way, I didn’t. Julia might have been wonderful to look at, but I’m telling you, the woman was boring as tits.’

‘You must have loved her once.’

‘Yeah. I suppose I must have.’ And he looked at her so intently that Lily started to feel awkward, as though she had missed something important.

‘And there was no jealousy about it?’ she asked. ‘None at all?’

‘Not on my part,’ said Nick, his dark eyes boring into hers. ‘How about yours? You sure you didn’t know about Julia and Leo at that stage?’

‘No, I was pretty much in the dark,’ said Lily with a tight smile, ‘about Julia, and about all the others. You did know there were others, didn’t you?’

Nick nodded slowly. ‘Leo was a player. Everyone knew about Adrienne. And there were others, a lot of others. Leo liked variety. I thought you understood that when you married him.’

‘No,’ said Lily, ‘I didn’t. Stupid, uh? I thought it was going to be just me and him. No fireworks, no big deal, just him and me and the girls—a team. How barmy was that?’

‘I think he really loved you,’ said Nick.

Lily gave him a sceptical look. ‘He really loved me, but he had to screw a whole collection of tarts?’

Their starters came. Smoked salmon for Nick; grilled halloumi cheese for Lily. She suddenly felt as though eating would choke her.

Lily picked up her fork, looked at the food, then up at Nick and said: ‘You know how I felt when I realized he was boffing Adrienne? Do you remember Princess Diana, getting out of that carriage and floating up the steps of St Paul’s in that fabulous Emmanuel dress? Well, you don’t know or care about dresses, but I do, and I just remember her emerging from that carriage like a chrysalis turning into a butterfly, all the creases coming out of the silk, her veil lifting in the breeze. I couldn’t get over how stunning she was, how happy, how she thought she was marrying a one-woman man and everything was going to be fine. And then of course she realized she hadn’t married that at all. That’s how I felt. That the life I had with Leo – and okay, it was never hearts and flowers, never the big romance, but that was okay – was all a lie from start to finish. That it happened to some other woman, some other poor, dumb, gormless bitch who had all these ridiculous happy-ever-after dreams in her stupid head.’ She threw her fork down with a clatter. ‘He made a fool out of me. Everyone laughing behind my back. Poor old Lily, she don’t know her arse from a hole in the ground.’

Nick leaned forward, eyeing her intently. ‘Nevertheless,’ he said flatly, ‘Leo loved you. Prized you beyond all those others. Some men…look, some men just can’t hack monogamy. Leo was one of them. Oh, he wanted the little woman at home, the comforts, the kids…but he wanted more, too.’

Just boys letting off steam. That was what Reba Stuart had said. Now Nick was telling her the same thing. Only she wasn’t buying it.

‘I can’t believe you’re sticking up for the bastard,’ she snapped, pushing her plate away. ‘Not when he shafted your own wife.’

There was bleak humour in Nick’s eyes now. ‘Do you know how long I knew Leo King?’

Lily nodded. ‘You met in primary school.’ Leo had told her that, many times.

‘That’s right. We did. We were friends ever since then. Whereas Julia…oh, I knew her for about two years. I met her properly at your wedding to Leo, in eighty-seven, actually, although I’d seen her around before that. And yes, she was stunning. But, sadly, she knew it. I was soon disillusioned with her. And when she started playing away, well, that was it.’

They had both been cheated on. Nick had been cheated on by both his friend and his wife. That was hard to take, surely? But Nick hadn’t been fitted up – she had.

‘I can’t eat this,’ said Lily, feeling sick inside because it was all such a mess. She had never truly loved Leo, and now she was thinking that he must have sensed that, and taken comfort in the arms of – possibly dangerous – strangers. And if that was the case, then Leo’s death really was down to her; she hadn’t shot him, but her lack of real warmth for him had maybe put him in harm’s way.

‘Yes you can,’ said Nick, starting in on the smoked salmon. ‘Leo’s dead, but we’re alive. And that’s bloody good food going to waste there, by the way.’

Lily managed a slight smile. Then she thought of Saz waiting at home, Saz who was so mad at her, and how she had been tipped off by that reptile Si. Her smile died.

‘What now?’ asked Nick, buttering brown bread.

‘Saz came back early. Si told her Oli was letting me stay.’

‘Jesus God.’ Nick sat back. ‘Well, even more reason to keep your strength up. To face the battles ahead.’

‘Oh thanks,’ said Lily sourly, ‘for nothing.’

‘What about Oli? Is she really onside now?’

He was eating again, as if neither of them had a care in the world. Lily wished that was true. So much.

‘I think so. Although it’s tearing her in half to have to take sides with me against Saz. She hates it. Oli was always going to be the easy one,’ said Lily with a sigh, drinking more of the wine.

‘And Saz was always a little madam,’ he said. ‘Like Leo in that. Always has to be centre-stage. Just like him.’

‘She detests me,’ said Lily quietly.

Nick put down his knife and fork. ‘She does. For now. That’s what I mean about the battles, girl. You’ve got a fight on your hands, and you don’t start a fight from a position of weakness. So eat up.’

‘Oh Jesus, what is it with men and their sodding stomachs?’ groaned Lily, but she pulled the plate back towards her and, slowly, she began to eat.

They were leaving the restaurant when it happened. Anticipating a liquid lunch, Lily had caught a cab there, and Nick had a minder with a Bentley. They were just beside the car when another car screeched through the car park at speed, and there were noises; it was several seconds before Lily realized that someone was firing a gun. Everyone scattered. The heavy pushed Nick, Nick grabbed Lily, and they all ended up in a tangle of arms and legs on the tarmac as the car sped away and was gone.

It happened so quickly and was finished so fast that Lily wondered if it had really happened at all.

The minder was back on his feet, staring after the car. Lily was flat on her back on the tarmac, and Nick was on top of her.

‘You all right?’ he said against her mouth.

Lily looked up at him in a daze. His first instinct had been to protect her, covering her body with his own. Yet, she reflected again, if he thought, if he truly believed she’d killed Leo, he should hate her