The Silent Ones: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller(58)

Forty-Two





‘Why have we got to come in here to talk?’ Tom says, shaking his head. I close the office door behind him. ‘What’s wrong?’

I take a breath and it all rushes out. ‘You’re not going to believe this, but Beth just called to say the business insurance policy has lapsed. We’re not covered for any losses caused by the fire.’

I watch his face as he realises the crushing implications.

‘You mean…’ He can’t bring himself to say it.

I nod. ‘We’ve lost everything. And as if things couldn’t get any worse, there hasn’t been a back-up done for any of our files for weeks.’

‘Shit! How did that happen?’

‘Chloe is how it happened. It was her responsibility to renew the insurance policy, her responsibility to run the back-up. I asked her yesterday morning if she was on top of the admin, and she assured me she was.’

I grit my teeth. Each time I think it or say it, the more angry I feel. It’s not even the act of letting an important policy lapse that’s getting to me. It’s her constant denial, the way she doggedly pushes away my concern.

‘I think we should look at the details together, Jules. Make absolutely sure we’ve got this right before you go ahead and accuse her.’ He pauses, and seems to turn a little paler.

‘I’m done tiptoeing around her, Tom. I’ve got to speak to her now.’

‘It’s not worth falling out over this.’ He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

‘Are you serious?’ I let out a harsh laugh. ‘She’s been unbelievably negligent. She’d be fired on the spot in a normal company. I’m sick of watching my step around her when I know something’s wrong. She’s been detached from me and her job for months now, and it’s time we discussed it.’

‘But your family needs to gel at a time like this, not start a fight about something else.’

The grinding pressure in my head is increasing by the second. I can’t believe that Tom, who has been the first to criticise Chloe in the past over her lax attitude, now seems to be trying to protect her. It doesn’t make sense.

He holds his hand up in a stop sign. ‘I’m just trying to cool things off a little.’

‘I know that, and it’s out of character.’ I narrow my eyes. ‘You seem to have suddenly found a great deal of empathy for my sister.’

He hesitates. ‘You don’t want to make yourself feel worse than you do already.’

‘I might be on antidepressants,’ I say, ‘but right now, I feel like I’m the only one in the family who’s got my head screwed on.’

‘I know, but I just think—’ Tom stammers.

‘You think what, exactly? Is this why you’ve been lying to me, keeping stuff from me?’

His face drains of colour. ‘What?’

‘How could you keep something like that from me? You had no right!’ My own words pound in my ears; they sound muffled, like I’m underwater.

His face seems to crumple. ‘I’m so sorry, Juliet. Please understand I had no choice. I couldn’t just come out and tell you. I was waiting for the right moment.’

‘I’ve a right to know if there are problems with our daughter, Tom. I don’t believe she stole that money from Mum’s purse; she’s just not a dishonest girl. Remember when she found twenty pounds on the floor at the Tesco checkout? She handed it in without a second thought.’

I look at him, and the strangest thing happens. The tension slides from his face and he actually smiles.

Ridiculously, I have to fight the impulse to hammer on his chest with my fists. Tom and I have never lifted a finger against each other, but this… this has really pressed my buttons.

‘Calm down, Juliet.’ His voice sounds infuriatingly reasonable. ‘This is not the worst thing that has happened.’

The fury dissipates as quickly as it came, and now I just feel empty inside. ‘I’m her mother, for goodness’ sake. I had a right to know.’

He clenches his jaw, and it looks so square and angular, it could be made of stone.

‘I had to make a judgement call, had to decide if the incident with Maddy was serious enough to risk the pressure it would put on you.’ He looks at my tear-streaked face and his expression softens a touch. ‘I don’t think you’re aware of how much stress you put yourself under, Jules. Working every hour God sends on the business and then pushing yourself to do even more at weekends. You’ve been so… so tense and snappy since getting that big order. I thought telling you about this might tip you over the edge.’

I get ready to retaliate, but there are no comeback words there when I reach for them.

It’s true I’ve been worried about the big order. These last few weeks have been crucial. Getting the details finalised and contracts signed… anything could have gone wrong.

Nothing else seemed to matter. Nothing. And now look what’s happened… Maddy is being accused of a terrible crime and the business is virtually destroyed anyway.

But Tom is laying it on thick. Every hour God sends? An exaggeration, surely. I’ve made it a priority to pick Maddy and Josh up from Mum’s house no later than six each day, and we’re always home around ten minutes later. I thought that was enough to qualify me as a good mother, a parent who is there for her children.