She indicates the bag she has on her arm.
‘Do you mind?’ I ask.
Answering with a small shake of her head, she offers it to me and I delve quickly into it. The losartan I find inside, along with another pack of tablets to reduce breathlessness, confirms her condition. She definitely has a heart problem, suffering similar symptoms to those my own dear nan had before she died. I pull out another packet, mirtazapine. An antidepressant. I was prescribed the same drug after losing Mark and Kai. Too much loss to bear. Tears spring so fast to my eyes I struggle to force them back. I have to. I need to focus. Ihaveto know whether there’s any truth in what this woman is saying.
‘Do you want me to call a doctor?’ I ask, looking her over worriedly.
‘No.’ She waves her hand dismissively. ‘It was just a giddy spell. It happens all the time. I’ll be fine when I catch my breath.’
I’m not convinced. Her colour’s a little better, but she’s still terribly drained. My gaze drifts to her feet. Her ankles are swollen, I note, another telltale sign of heart trouble. There’s no way she can go anywhere like this. I would never forgive myself if something happened to her. ‘Would you like a drink?’ I ask. ‘A nice warm cup of tea?’
‘I don’t want to be any trouble,’ she answers anxiously.
‘It’s no trouble.’ I smile, hesitate, then sit down beside her. ‘What did you mean, Lina?’ I ask carefully. ‘Why do you think I need to get away from Jack?’
She looks reticent, and then glances away.
‘You have to tell me,’ I urge her gently. ‘You said your daughter had been pushed, that my life might be in danger if I stayed with him. That’s a serious allegation.’
She stays quiet, staring silently into the fire.
‘Lina?’
After a moment, she turns to me, studying me intently, as if assessing me. Then, ‘Are you her?’ she asks.
I frown in confusion. ‘Am I who, Lina?’
‘The one he was having an affair with,’ she clarifies, utterly astounding me.
THIRTEEN
Once Lina is settled, I go into the kitchen, where I find Jack at the worktop. ‘I’m making some tea,’ he says, glancing towards me, ‘on the assumption she’s installed for a while.’
I nod, and steel myself to ask him what I need to. However confused Lina appears to be, I can’t just ignore what she said. ‘Were you having an affair when Natalia died?’ I get straight to the point.
‘Is that what she told you?’ He turns towards me, laughing in astonishment. Then he frowns, scanning my eyes carefully. ‘And do you believe her?’
‘Were you?’ I press him, because he hasn’t actually answered.
‘No, I wasnot,’ he states categorically.
‘But why would she say you were if?—’
‘I don’tknow.’ He sighs in frustration. ‘Jesus.’ He strides past me to pull mugs from the rack. ‘Okay,’ he says, crashing them noisily down, ‘since she’s turned up here, clearly determined to cause friction between us, and as you’ve actually chosen to listen to her despite the fact that she’s clearly unbalanced, I guess I have no choice but to?—’
‘I hope I’m not intruding,’ Lina says, looming suddenly in the doorway. ‘My ears were burning.’ Gazing around, she wandersin. ‘It’s a beautiful house,’ she adds. ‘You’ve landed on your feet again, haven’t you, Jack?’
Jack’s jaw tenses. He doesn’t answer.
‘Was it your idea for him to move in here, my dear?’ She addresses me. ‘Or was it his?’
‘I…’ Feeling now utterly bewildered, I glance at Jack. He blows out another expansive sigh and shakes his head. ‘It was my idea,’ I answer, my instinct to protect him. He might have skeletons in his cupboard. Neither of us can know everything about each other’s past. My marriage wasn’t perfect. This woman might have had problems with her daughter’s choice of husband, meaning there’s bound to be some history between them, but to accuse him ofkillingher… ‘We didn’t make any decisions until we were sure Evie was comfortable with things, though.’ I emphasise that fact.
‘Well of course she would say she was.’ She walks across to sit on one of the kitchen chairs, where she proceeds to take off her shoes. And now I feel awful. The woman clearly is confused. I shouldn’t be giving anything she says any credence. ‘Evie dotes on her father,’ Lina goes on. ‘But then Jack is very good at winning people’s affections. Aren’t you, Jack?’
Other than a small tic tugging at his cheek, Jack still doesn’t react. Instead he stares angrily at the ceiling.
‘Natalia fell for his charms. She was smitten from the moment she met him.’ Lina sighs with melancholic nostalgia. ‘I warned her he was moving too quickly, but she was so hot-headed, determined to be with him.’
