‘Zack has worked with Dad for years. He was there when I worked at Gravitas, not that that was a long time ago. A few years.’
‘Why did you leave?’ I asked. Holly had told me ‘it hadn’t worked out’ but hadn’t given me any more details.
‘I left to pursue my own ideas. Nepotism, hanging on to Daddy’s shirt-tails, wasn’t for me. Plus computer hardware– fuck me, it’s boring. I had much better ideas.’
‘You were telling us about the affair?’ Jasmine prompted in a whisper.
‘Oh, yes. Miranda met Zack at the company’s summer party, and I guess they started secretly seeing each other after that. Apparently it came out when some intern walked in and found them shagging on Zack’s desk.’
‘How romantic.’
Lewis grinned. ‘Honestly, I feel for the poor bastard. He must be a total masochist. Dad at work, and Miranda at home. At least the dog seems to love him.’
‘Charles seems to like him a lot, too.’
I said it without thinking and instantly regretted it, because Lewis scowled. More than that: he looked at me with real hatred. It was as if I’d located his sorest spot and prodded it.
‘He’ll certainly never likeyouas much,’ he said to me. ‘To my dear father, you’re inconsequential.’
I stared at him, anger rising inside of me.Inconsequential?
‘That isn’t true,’ Jasmine said to me, reaching across to touch my arm. ‘Charles told me he likes you.’
‘Really?’ I was appalled by how needy I sounded.
‘Yes. I think he’s just a little wary. He told me he doesn’t really like the idea of there being a documentarian in the family. I get the impression he’s worried you might be planning to make a film about him.’
‘You can assure him I have absolutely no plans to do that.’
‘Oh, I have. I told him you were looking into that poor young guy’s death, but I think he’s still a little worried.’
Lewis said, ‘I personally think you’re wasting your time with this idea about that frozen kid.’
I was growing irritated with people telling me what I should or shouldn’t be making a film about. Jasmine clearly detected this because she changed the subject back to Lewis’s plan.
‘Did you say Serpent Stone? What is it?’
‘It’s a piece of rock art.’
‘Oh?’
‘Yeah, it’s way cooler than it sounds. You know people lived on this peninsula during the neolithic area, thousands of years ago? There’s a sandy beach a little way along the coast where they found evidence of a settlement from 7500BC, tools and even jewellery. It was one of Scotland’s first settlements, from just after the end of the Ice Age. There were people here nearly eight thousand years ago.’
I was still seething after Lewis’s remark about me being inconsequential, and only half-listening to their conversation. I was wondering if I should reassure Charles that I had no interest in ever making a film about him. I was feeling more determined than ever to pursue my investigation into what happened to Samir. If there’s one thing that drives me on, it’s being told I shouldn’t do something.
I was going to leave the kitchen, but Lewis said, ‘You haven’t finished your porridge. Listen, mate, I’m sorry I said that thing about you and my dad. I was being an arsehole. I guess everyone’s right. I’m jealous of his relationship with Zack, and maybe I was worried about someone else coming along and jumping ahead of me in the queue for my dad’s attention.’
I was so taken aback I didn’t know what to say.
‘Are we good?’ Lewis asked.
‘Um … yeah.’
‘Cool. Now finish your breakfast.’
I continued eating the lukewarm porridge while Jasmine asked Lewis for more details about this Serpent Stone.
‘It’s actually a rock carving,’ he said. ‘In a cave. Because it’s a little awkward to get to, it hasn’t been photographed and gawped at by millions of tourists. The locals organize guided trips into the caves in summer– but it is actually possible to visit in the winter.’
