Claire felt her stomach churn, only it wasn’t the baby’s doing.
‘Yes,’ she replied quietly.
‘Tell us about him,’ Jack encouraged.
Claire hesitated again, choosing her words carefully before she spoke. ‘My Ben is a very kind, sweet man who would do anything for me. We met in the student union bar in our first term at Portsmouth uni and, within minutes of seeing him, I knew that he was the one.’
Claire recalled how some years before they’d met, geneticists had discovered all humans carried a gene shared by just one other person in the world. That person was apparently the one genetically made for you – the person you were destined to fall in love with. They could be of any age, any sex, any religion and in any location. The scientist at the helm of the discovery transformed it into a global business, Match Your DNA, whereindividuals sent a mouth swab and paid to discover if and who they had been Matched with. However, the world became sceptical about the accuracy of results following a catastrophic security breach.
Despite this, the fallout from her parent’s chaotic relationship played at the back of Claire’s mind and she still wanted that little extra assurance that Ben was made for her. So they took the test just to be certain. As expected, it was positive.
‘Ben asked me to marry him on our graduation day and I said yes straight away,’ she continued. ‘His mum and dad tried to convince us that we were too young as we’d only just left further education. But we didn’t care. We eloped to London, got married, found jobs, eventually settling in Cambridgeshire and bought our first house together last year. We’ve been renovating it in time for when Tate arrives.’
For the briefest time, she felt a warm flush spread across her chest and face when she thought back to those halcyon days.
‘Do you love your husband?’ asked Jack.
‘Of course I do,’ Claire replied without hesitation. ‘He’s my everything.’
‘Your time is up, Claire,’ interrupted the Hacker.
Claire’s clenched fists remained by her side and out of view of the camera, slowly uncurling and satisfied she had offered Jack the best version of herself. Now her future was in the hands of the jury and the public.
‘I hope I have sold you well, if you can excuse the expression,’ Jack finished and offered her a warm smile. ‘I am sure that if given the chance by my fellow jurors and the public, your baby will be lucky to have such a wonderful mother.’
‘Thank you, Jack,’ said the Hacker. ‘Before we move on to our next juror and Passenger, may I ask you a question of my own, Claire?’
‘Okay,’ she replied nervously.
‘I am curious, if you love your husband as deeply as you claim, then why are you hiding his dead body in the boot of your car?’
The camera cut from Claire’s horrified face to the rear of her vehicle where a light illuminated the crumpled body of a man, lying on his side, his knees pressed against his chest and very much lifeless.
Chapter 35
‘What just happened?’ gasped Libby, struggling to make sense of what she thought she had just heard.
‘I … I … don’t know,’ stuttered Jack. He was equally as dumbstruck as the rest of the room.
‘I’m confused,’ said Muriel. ‘Is the Hacker saying that he’s killed Claire’s husband?’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Fiona, looking carefully at the screen. ‘Look at her. That isn’t the face of someone who has only just been told they’re driving around with their husband’s corpse in the boot. She knew he was there.’
‘Soshehas killed him?’ asked Muriel.
‘I don’t know.’
‘But is he definitely dead?’
‘If he’s not, then he’s a bloody good actor,’ said Matthew.
Fiona shook her head in disbelief. ‘I’ve been a barrister for twenty years and just when you think you’ve seen it all, you’re wrong.’
Until the moment Ben’s body appeared on screen, both Jack and Claire had made a compelling case for her survival. Even Cadman and his team were now caught in the moment, gawping at the screen rather than busying themselves interpreting data.
Libby noted that Claire’s eyes were like dark pools of fear as they glared into the lens. ‘Please let me explain …’ Claire began before her microphone was cut off. The television picture on the wall split into two sections, with husband and wife taking each half of the screen. Meanwhile the news channels delighted in the latest twist of their rolling news story.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ said the Hacker, ‘allow me to introduce you to Benjamin Dwayne Arden, the third Passenger in Claire’s vehicle. This is the same man who, just moments earlier, his wife described as “her everything”.’
