And it would be sorted out. Of course. Her Jason wouldn’t do this. She could not have lived with and loved this man for so many years and not known this about him. It simply wasn’t possible. She knew him, loved him. She’d have known.
Brenda was wrong – it was all a mistake.
She took her coffee into the garden where Brenda hadn’t done much except make sure the old apple trees her mother had planted hadn’t died. The grass was a tiny patch, neatly cut if a bit mossy. Jason would have gone mad had he seen it. He liked the grass in their garden to look like a lawn from a lawnmower commercial.
There was a scratchy old wooden bench outside the door and Callie sat down, looking at the houses behind. It was a long time since she’d lived in a house where there were neighbours able to look in on you. The mansion she’d left had neighbours, but you wouldn’t know it.
It was only half seven but Callie decided she’d text Evelyn. Perhaps the police had called around to her too?
Hi Evelyn, she texted, sorry to bother you so early but I don’t know if you heard what’s happened with Rob and Jason? I know it’s got to be all an awful mistake. Could you phone me back? Callie
She put the phone down, not sure what would happen, if Evelyn would get back to her. But instantly the phone began to ring. Callie grasped it up.
‘Evelyn?’ she said.
‘Oh, Callie, love,’ said Evelyn’s familiar voice, ‘you poor, poor darling. I was afraid this would happen one day.’
‘Afraid what would happen?’ said Callie.
‘That they’d get caught.’
‘Doing what?’ whispered Callie.
‘Doing whatever it was that they were doing because it couldn’t be legitimate.’
There was a long pause. Callie watched the black cat meander past and then leap onto the trunk of one of the old apple trees and speed up in a vain attempt to catch a bird.
‘Honey,’ said Evelyn, her voice soft, ‘I always suspected and surely you must have too?’
Callie said nothing for a moment. This was not the conversation she wanted. She wanted Evelyn to tell her that people in finance sometimes made vast sums of money and governments wanted to know why. That it was going to be fine.
That Jason was a good man, a good husband. Just because Rob had been a bastard to Evelyn didn’t mean Jason was the same.
‘Where are you?’ Evelyn asked.
‘We’re here with Brenda,’ she said in a high, stilted voice she didn’t recognise as her own.
‘Great,’ Evelyn replied. ‘Brenda will know what to do.’
Callie realised that her hands were shaking. She’d spilled her coffee on her jeans and had barely noticed.
‘Callie, I know you don’t what to have this conversation, but whatever they were doing, they’ve been caught. You’re the one left behind. They’ve left the country.’
‘What?’ Callie knew she’d spoken so loudly that even Poppy, who could sleep the teenage sleep of the dead, must have heard her. ‘How do you know? Have you heard from Rob?’
‘He phoned the kids last night to talk to them,’ Evelyn said. ‘The babysitter was there, I was still in the taxi coming home from your party. Apparently he said that he, Anka and the baby were going away for a little while and not to worry, everything was going to be OK and not to listen to anything that was in the papers. He said it was going to be fine.’
‘Anka went too?’ said Callie, disbelieving.
‘Yes. He and Jason obviously knew something was up and they got out quickly. Nobody better than Rob for making a quick getaway,’ she added with a hint of bitterness.
‘Did he say that Jason was going too?’ Callie was distraught. No way would Jason leave her and Poppy to face this mess alone, no way.
‘He told the boys they were flying out last night. Said something about a trip on your boat and not to worry.’
The damn boat. The Maribou Princess. Jason had organised some sort of insane timeshare on a luxury yacht. Callie had only been once: she’d felt seasick the whole time. But Jason adored it. If Rob and Anka were going to the Maribou Princess, Jason was going too. It was his baby.
‘So Rob brought Anka and the baby, and it looks as if Jason went too.’ Evelyn’s voice was gentle.
‘Jason left us behind,’ said Callie mechanically. ‘Poppy and me.’
‘I’ll come right over now . . .’ began Evelyn, but Callie had stopped listening.
She’d had a flu once that had made her feel incredibly lightheaded, so light-headed she could barely think straight, and she had perfect recall of that now: the feeling that nothing was what it appeared to be.
‘He must have known what would happen,’ she said suddenly. ‘Last night, probably shortly after you left, the police made everyone leave the party, searched my house and I had to leave with just some of my stuff. Our bank accounts are frozen and Brenda said we better not take much, just in case. They’re probably still there, searching. I’m wearing old jeans, an ancient sweatshirt and I have about fifty euros in my purse. I was told I shouldn’t leave the country and my husband is gone. There’s been not a word from him. His mobile phone is out of service – I’ve phoned about thirty times! It’s like he has disappeared off the face of the earth and . . .’ She paused. This was worst of all. ‘He left us, while Rob took Anka.’
‘I’m really sorry,’ said Evelyn, ‘really sorry, Callie.’
‘This is actually happening, isn’t it?’ said Callie and started to cry. ‘I just don’t believe he could do this to us.’
‘I would never have believed he could have done that to you either,’ said Evelyn sadly. ‘Jason loves you, he loves Poppy.’
‘Loves us?’ questioned Callie angrily. ‘Are you sure you don’t mean loved us, because whatever is going on, he could have stuck around and we could have got through it together. But he’s gone. And bloody Rob brought Anka and the baby, while Jason just left me and Poppy here to suffer on our own.’
She looked up and realised that Brenda was standing in the kitchen and had overheard every word.
‘I’ve got to go, Evelyn,’ Callie said. ‘Thank you. I’ll keep in touch.’ She looked at Brenda.
‘Hold on. Don’t hang up yet. Tell her you’ll probably need a different phone,’ said Brenda, in the same matter-of-fact tone she was using all the time now, ‘because people will get that phone number from somewhere so you’ll need to get rid of it.’
Last night Callie would have protested, but this morning she just nodded. Brenda had become the person who understood this new world, the person Callie could rely on.