The Passengers(47)
Jack pinched the bridge of his nose and spoke unexpectedly candidly, like they were the only two listening. ‘I have walked in your shoes, Claire. My first wife and I went through close to a dozen losses before we finally admitted defeat. As a man, I felt quite helpless because there was nothing I could do or say that made it any better for her …’ Jack drifted into silence as if he were reliving the pain.
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Claire replied.
‘I am happy for you and your husband, I truly am. I’m only sorry that what is supposed to be such a wondrous time for you both has descended into this mess. If you can just cling on to hope for that little bit longer, I’m sure my fellow jurors and the public vote will do the right thing and carry you and your son to safety.’
Claire curled her trembling lip into a grateful smile.
Libby listened, carefully making mental notes of Jack’s approach to get the best out of his subject with his line of questioning. Next, he guided Claire into talking about her plans for Tate’s future before asking her to expand on her time in care and what her family life now meant to her. Libby handed it to him – albeit reluctantly – Claire was fortunate to have him on her side.
‘You have two minutes left,’ the Hacker interrupted.
‘Can you tell everybody, why do you want to live, Claire?’ continued Jack.
Her response was to look down towards her bump again and then to the camera. ‘For my baby’s sake. All I want is to bring him into the world and to see him grow up happy and healthy.’
‘I’m sure your husband must be worried about you both.’
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, where individuals 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.’
‘So she has killed him?’ asked Muriel.