Just My Luck(108)

‘Not all of it, though? Right, Mum?’ Emily asked. ‘I mean we can spend some of it on clothes and stuff.’

‘Of course, I promise.’

We ended up staying in the rental longer than I expected; it seemed sensible to stay somewhere gated throughout the trial, to avoid being doorstepped by hungry journos, but we’re moving back into our old home. Whilst we’ve been here, we’ve had some work done on our old place. An extra bedroom, a sunroom. I’m looking forward to going home. To getting back to normal.





53


Saturday, 13th April

‘Not this week,’ announced Jake, looking up from his phone, his face pulled into an expression that approximated a comedic take on disappointment. ‘Not a single number.’

‘Situation normal,’ said Lexi. No one else responded at all. The lull in conversation seemed heavy. Fred had been talking about, oh something or other, Lexi couldn’t recall, his car engine? Tyre pressure? It hadn’t been gripping, but Jake’s interruption to announce they weren’t lottery winners had created an atmosphere. No one liked to be reminded that they’d lost at anything, even if there was never any real expectation of winning. ‘Oh, by the way, it’s time to chip in to the kitty again,’ she said.

‘Why are we even doing the lotto?’ asked Patrick, his face flushed, his voice booming. ‘What’s the bloody point?’

Lexi couldn’t understand why he was suddenly grumbling. He’d hit the bottle of red hard that he’d brought with him. Polished it off before she had even served the main.

‘Well, we do it because we’ve always done it, haven’t we? Since we first met. It’s our thing, our gang’s thing,’ she smiled coolly. ‘Do you remember, we used to say if we won, we’d invest in twenty-four-hour childcare?’ The absolute dream of all exhausted, shell-shocked new parents.

‘That would still seem like a good investment,’ commented Carla with a wry grin. ‘Perhaps not a nanny but a private detective, someone to follow Megan around – I never know where she is or what she’s up to nowadays.’

‘Or a clairvoyant,’ added Jennifer. ‘To read Ridley’s mind. You are so lucky, Lexi, to have a chatty girl. I don’t get more than a grunt out of my son – typical boy.’

‘Is that the best you can come up with? Spending the dosh stalking your kids?’ Jake challenged. ‘If I won the lotto, I’d have much more fun spending it.’

‘You’d buy a Lamborghini and a yacht, I suppose,’ said Fred, with a grin.

‘Absolutely,’ Jake beamed. ‘You?’

‘A bigger house. Several bigger houses, actually. One here, one in London.’

Jennifer joined in, ‘South of France.’

‘California,’ added Carla.

‘What about you, Patrick? Would you invest in property?’ Lexi couldn’t stop herself sounding challenging. Not considering all she knew. Patrick had a lot of property already, most of it wasn’t fit to keep an animal in. Lexi had found it difficult to sit at the same table as Patrick tonight, to feed him. Considering her suspicions. She now was fully aware that he was a slum landlord – her investigations with Toma had uncovered as much. She was waiting on one more piece of information to discover if he was the slum landlord. The one that murdered Reveka and Benke. She would know for certain next week. Everything would change next week.

‘Maybe,’ said Patrick, he yawned. He looked bored.

‘Or would you perhaps just make improvements on the places you already own?’ she asked hopefully, desperately. Part of her wanted to keep the show on the road. They had all been friends for so long. If they weren’t friends, what would they be?

‘Oh no, not that,’ he chuckled. His big belly, the result of too many indulgent work lunches, shook. ‘Don’t want to spoil the tenants.’ Lexi felt sick.

‘I think I’d send Ridley to a posh sixth form. Marlborough or Eton,’ chipped in Jennifer.

Jake excitedly took up the mantle. ‘I’d want swimming pools in all my properties. I’d only ever fly first class from then on in.’

‘I’d dress entirely in haute couture, even to do the housework,’ said Carla.

‘You don’t do the housework,’ muttered Patrick. ‘We have a cleaner.’

‘Wouldn’t any of you do anything good with it?’ All five pairs of eyes swivelled to Lexi who had asked the question.

‘Good?’ they chorused.

‘Give to charities? Sent up trusts or foundations?’

‘Oh, yes, yes, of course,’ they hurried to reassure her.

‘I’m just saying it would be great fun to spoil oneself, you know totally,’ commented Carla. Patrick looked irritated. As far as Lexi could tell, he did a good job of spoiling his wife as it was; the woman could be so greedy. Did she have any idea how others lived so she could wear Jimmy Choos, so her husband could get fat? Surely not. Lexi hoped not. If Carla knew about the state of the properties, that would be too much. That would be unbearable.

‘I’d buy a really decent watch for every day of the week,’ said Jake. ‘You know, a Patek Philippe for Monday, a Chopard for Tuesday, a Rolex for Wednesday—’

‘Oh, for God’s sake, man, grow up,’ Patrick snapped.