‘I honestly don’t know what to say about her,’ continued Fiona. ‘It’s not often that words fail me, but, on this occasion, I am truly lost.’
‘If what the Hacker said is true – and we only have his word that it is – how could she cover up what her husband did?’ asked Muriel.
‘Unless she actively participated in it,’ said Fiona. ‘Perhaps they did it together, a shared recreation of sorts. I’ve represented a few couples over the years who have been accused of similar crimes,’ said Fiona.
‘How can you defend people like that when you have a daughter of your own?’
‘Innocent until proven guilty.’
Jack laughed. ‘Only when it suits you. Ten minutes ago you were ready to throw Miss Arden to the wolves.’
‘Even if Sofia was only vaguely aware of what he was doing, she wouldn’t need to physically harm a child to be complicit,’ added Fiona. ‘Hiding him and paying offhis victims makes her as guilty as he is in the eyes of the law and the public.’
‘Why did she elect to be sterilised?’ asked Muriel.
‘The Hacker suggested it was because she didn’t want to have children with him,’ added Matthew. ‘Perhaps she feared what he might do to them.’
‘That would indicate she isn’t all evil; that perhaps she has some kind of maternal instinct?’
‘Only when it comes to her own flesh and blood. But what about other people’s kids? By not reporting her husband and stopping him from what he was doing, it shows she couldn’t care less about them.’
‘Then why did she put so much time into raising money for so many children’s charities?’ asked Matthew.
‘She’s hiding in plain sight,’ continued Fiona. ‘Remember what we learned about Jimmy Savile after he died all those years ago? He did exactly the same thing. Spent his life in the public eye raising millions for charity, and all the while he was abusing children right under our very eyes. I’m not saying Sofia is the same but you cannot deny the similarities.’
Muriel let out a sigh. ‘The public can forgive many a celebrity’s transgression, but never child molestation. I hate to say this, but perhaps for Sofia’s sake, she’d be better off dead.’
Each of the jurors returned to Sofia’s silhouette.
‘Do we even need to vote on this?’ asked Fiona.
The others shook their heads and looked away from the screen.
‘Then let us move on to the next Passenger.’
Chapter 45
SOFIA BRADBURY
Sofia hurled her remote control at the dashboard when it failed to turn off the volume. She ignored the sharp jabbing pains running up her spine as she bent forward, moving quickly towards the console, pushing at random buttons, desperately trying to take back control. She had spent her career wanting to be talked about and craving attention. But not anymore. Now her only desire was to hide from the world and spend her final moments in privacy, just her and her dog.
Listening to strangers as they pored over the secrets she had kept hidden for forty years was Sofia’s worst nightmare. But now they were exposed and there was no coming back from what everyone knew about her. She would rather her car explode into a million tiny pieces than face another living soul. She removed her hearing aids from her ears and threw them to the floor.
Sofia unwound a brightly coloured Hermes scarf from her neck, one that she’d purchased because it reminded her of the colours of a sunset she’d once seen on a film set in Morocco. She placed her handbag over the dashboard and wedged one part of the scarf under it, allowing the other half to dangle over the camera lens.Suddenly, she realised she would never see a sunset or film set again.
‘I wish people were like you,’ she whispered to Oscar, scratching behind his ear. He cocked his head to one side for her fingers to go deeper. ‘I wish I could have found someone who was as devoted to me as you are. Then perhaps everything might be different. Perhaps I’d have made better choices. Perhaps you and I wouldn’t be sitting where we are now.’
Sofia poured herself another brandy and drank half immediately, washing it down with two more painkillers. She had been teetotal until she met Patrick; she blamed him for turning her to drink.
Amongst the bad choices Sofia had made, not having a family of her own had been a rare wise one. She’d had little interest in starting a family until her sister Peggy fell pregnant with Bobby, followed two years later by Paige. She’d seen other actresses in her peer group pass on potentially career-defining roles to start families. Most of them later failed to reignite their star power once they were ready to return to work. Sofia had unashamedly soaked up their lost parts like a sponge. And they had earned her accolades, awards and made her the highest paid British actress of the 1970s.
However, her priorities shifted soon after being introduced to charismatic businessman Patrick Swanson. The way he carried himself reminded her of the Hollywood movie stars she had swooned over as a girl. He possessed Cary Grant’s elegance and urbanity, James Stewart’s humour and Clark Gable’s masculinity, all rolled into one handsome package.
At thirty-eight and with four divorces to her name, finding a fifth husband was the last thing on Sofia’s mind. But she couldn’t say no to the twinkle in those deep-blue eyes of Patrick’s when he’d invited her for dinner. Aftera whirlwind romance, she’d thrown caution to the wind and, two months after meeting, she’d answered ‘yes’ to his marriage proposal. Offstage, she was the most content she had ever been.
Her failed marriage tally had made Sofia the butt of many a joke from tabloid newspapers to stand-up comedians. On the surface, she’d laughed it off, but deep down, she detested being a laughing stock. It made her more determined than she had ever been to make this relationship work, no matter what. She’d taken on board criticisms levelled at her by past partners and made a conscious effort to not emasculate Patrick. So theirs would be an equal partnership. She added his name to the deeds of her properties in Richmond and Buckinghamshire, her bank accounts became joint along with her many investments.
The emotional security he offered gave Sofia the confidence to consider motherhood. It hadn’t been a role she’d ever felt the urge to play, least of all with any of her ex-husbands. But Patrick was different. Each time Paige and Robbie arrived for a sleepover, he lavished them with attention like they were his own. And as she watched them play together for hours at a time, her guilt arose for denying him the opportunity to father children of his own. Eventually, when Patrick visited her at work on an American TV mini-series, she broached the subject as they strolled along Santa Monica’s beach and towards their hotel.
