The Christmas break from theatre rehearsals couldn’t have come at a better time; Clem had been ninety-nine per cent happy to avoid seeing Spencer Hawkins on a weekly basis.
And if Ian and Louisa had noticed she hadn’t personally waited on their table these last few weeks, like she used to, they didn’t comment. From the deep conversations they were having each time she looked across the cafe, it seemed they had more on their minds than a slightly less-attentive waitress. Sale plans, perhaps?
Sebastian followed her into the kitchen after they’d shut the cafe. ‘We might need Selina back if business keeps picking up like this,’ he said, wiping sweat from his brow.
Clem almost dropped the armload of dirty dishes she was carrying. ‘I never thought I’d hear you say that. Did you make a new year’s resolution about second chances?’
He lifted an eyebrow at her teasing tone. ‘Nah, I just heard a few things about her at a New Year’s party last night. She’d been hanging around with Luka Grubb, a category-one douchebag.’
Clem’s ears pricked up at the familiar surname. ‘Related to our good friend Marco?’ It still stung that Brew Haven had somehow underquoted her on the school catering job at Narradarra.
‘Son from an earlier marriage, before Marco blessed Penwarra with his presence. The old man’s a pain, but the son’s toxic. After what I heard at the party, I’d say Selina’s done well to ditch him.’
With a lurch in her stomach, Clem studied Sebastian’s grave face.
‘Did he hurt her?’
Sebastian shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. ‘According to his previous girlfriend, control is more his thing, rather than physical violence, but still … That’s how it starts, isn’t it?’
Clem’s mind flew in a million different directions, none of them good. Did Fiona know? Or Jean?
‘I should have delved a little deeper,’ she said, feeling wretched. ‘Why didn’t she say anything? The poor thing, no wonder she was all over the place.’
‘You might not be as sympathetic when you hear the rest of it. Did you notice how the van and the coffee machine have run like a charm ever since she left? And did you wonder how she knew it was nails, not screws, puncturing your tyres—orhow Brew Haven scored those school catering contracts, when our standard pricing is normally neck and neck?’
Clem would’ve laughed if it weren’t for Sebastian’s steely look.
‘You still think my cousin, myteenagecousin, was deliberately sabotaging Sunny Cross Cafe? That’s preposterous.’
Sebastian went to the office and collected his keys and phone from his locker. ‘I know, that’s why I didn’t press it at the time. But Luka’s ex-girlfriend said charm, then coercion, then control are his signature moves. He’d get a girl besotted with him, lead her astray, and by the time she realised what a dick he was and tried to leave, he’d have leverage.’
‘So he cooked up a revenge plan?’ Clem shook her head in disbelief.
Sebastian shrugged. ‘Selina was furious at you, her new boyfriend encouraged her to stand up for herself, and all of a sudden dodgy stuff started happening at Sunny Cross. I heard her sneaking around after work, talking on the phone, all quiet. There was a weird vibe to the convo, then the next morning, your van’s tyres were flat again.’
Clem folded her apron and set it on the stainless-steel benchtop.
Sabotage? Add secretly dating a murderer and she’d really had a doozy of a year.
Is Spencer really a murderer, though?The more she reflected on her initial reaction, the more her choice of words felt too heavy, too awful to equate with the man she’d fallen for.
‘No wonder my stress levels were off the Richter scale,’ Clem said. ‘And no wonder you didn’t like working with Selina, though I’d rather you told me everything. Beats me why we’d even consider inviting her back?’
Sebastian tugged a baseball cap over his short hair and gave her a smile. ‘I might be slower to this whole concept of second chances, but Jack sure knew when I needed one the most.You’re a lot like him. Not many business owners would have taken me on after the shit I pulled as a teenager, or trusted Kev after his gig in the slammer, but you did. Selina might’ve made some bad decisions, but haven’t we all?’
Clem thought about this as she collected Harriet and Indi from the playground.
She called her grandfather once they were in the car.
‘Do you want to come with us to the Beachport markets tomorrow? The girls are keen to go swimming and you can get your hot donut fix while I run the coffee van.’
Arthur was delighted with the idea. ‘We can amble to the end of the jetty and Harriet can run her lines with the ocean roaring in the background and the salty air in her hair, getting in character for the pirate performance of a lifetime!’
Harriet’s smile faltered, and for the first time since the first auditions, Clem wondered whether her daughter was every bit as apprehensive about the dress rehearsal as she was.
‘Sounds great, I’ll collect you in the morning, Pop.’
‘Can we go to the beach now, Mum?’ Indi asked as Clem weaved her way through Penwarra’s backstreets.
