I wonder what Kelly and Tia are thinking right now. I can see why Greg and Sophie gagged us all. He wants to have a captive audience. He wants us to listen without the right to reply. And what about Sophie? She’s being very quiet. Is she as angry as her brother? Or is she just going along with him? From watching them both, it seems quite obvious that he’s the one behind it all. She’s barely glanced up while he’s been spewing out all his pent-up emotions.
‘But Dad couldn’t cope with it all. With the accusations, the lies. He knew his career was over. Even our mother began to doubt his innocence. He thought he was going to lose his wife, his family, everything. He couldn’t cope with the shame. He shut himself in his car and took his own life.’
Greg’s breathing has grown heavy with emotion. But still Sophie stands there, head bowed, clutching the knife. ‘So, after years of doing nothing, of letting you three get away with your teenage games, we decided that it was time to make you pay. To make you suffer just a little of what we suffered. We started with a few rumours. As a teacher, it was easy for me to arrange for some of the pupils to overhear a bit of gossip. Things like, “Rosie’s mum is a murderer”, and “Sonny’s mum kissed a teacher”. Nowhere near as bad as a sexual assault rumour, but enough to cast doubt on your characters. To give you a small taste of what it was like for us back then. And then we ramped it up a gear…
‘We wanted you all to feel the despair and fear that my dad felt when he was wrongly accused. To ruin your lives the way you ruined my family. To make you suffer the way he suffered. Back then, you all thought you were so special. So popular and untouchable. You thought it would be funny to accuse an innocent teacher of sexual misconduct. Everyone knew you were making it all up, but it was too late for my dad. The damage had already been done. Once he was under suspicion for something like that, the school had to let him go. The other parents wouldn’t have stood for him staying on.
‘Fiona…’ He fixes me with a stare that makes me squirm in my seat. It’s only now I realise how much he looks like his father. ‘We thought we’d tip off the tax office about you. Let them do a little in-depth investigation into your business. We know how you like everything in your life to be shiny and perfect, so it seemed like a good way to ruin your week.’
I should be shocked by what he’s telling me, but the tax audit feels about a million miles away right now. Like it’s happening to someone else; not to me. All that anguish and agonising over my business seems trivial now that I’m here, facing Brian Lawson’s children, of all people.
‘And Tia…’ Greg switches his gaze to her, and I wonder what it is that this man has been putting her through. ‘Those photographs were fun, don’t you think? Sophie and I enjoyed Fiona’s birthday party. To be honest, we went into that club with a plan to spikeFiona’sdrink, not yours. But we couldn’t get near her, so we adapted our plan. Tia, you seemed to be having the most fun that night. You were certainly downing the shots. You made it so easy for Sophie.’
I think back to the night of my birthday, and I remember being annoyed by Tia’s attention-seeking behaviour. Dancing and flirting, acting like it was her party. I didn’t realise she’d had her drink spiked.
Greg continues. ‘I bumped into you outside the club, just as the effects of the drug were starting to take hold, making you woozy enough not to recognise me. I kissed you. And I have to say, Tia, it was pretty sloppy. I didn’t enjoy it at all. But at least Sophie was able to get a few good photos. The other images had to be photoshopped, but I think we did a pretty convincing job.’
I glance sideways at Tia to see her straining at her ties, angry tears running down her face. My heart goes out to her. She obviously had it so much worse than I did. A tax audit is nothing compared to whatever it was they put her through. I realise I’m lucky they didn’t succeed in spiking my drink.
‘Don’t worry, Tia. You and I didn’t actually do anything together – I’m not that desperate. Although I wouldn’t put it past you to pretend that we did. That seems to be a thing with you girls – making stuff up. Crying wolf.’
My skin crawls at this, so I can only imagine how Tia must be feeling. I look across at her and try to convey my support, but she’s shaking with rage as she glares at Greg.
‘And finally… Kelly. Well, you’ve probably guessed what your personal hell was. My sister here is a good little actress, don’t you think? She certainly fooled you. And now you’re facing a prison sentence for holding her against her will. And when it comes out that she’s Brian Lawson’s daughter, the case against you will be even stronger.
‘We’ve got it all worked out. How the three of you lured us here tonight because we discovered you lied about our father. I’m going to remove your gags in a minute and each of you is going to confess what you did back then. I’m going to record you and take your confessions to the police, to the papers and to the school. They’re going to clear our father’s name. He might not be alive to see it, but we’ll make sure everyone else knows he was an innocent man.’
Thirty-Eight
FIONA
Sophie walks over and uses the knife to slice off my gag. I swallow and gulp down air as she does the same to my friends. I try to catch her eye, but she still won’t look at any of us. Kelly and I are quiet for the moment while we catch our breath, but Tia immediately lets out a torrent of abuse.
‘What the fuck, Greg? You’re Rosie’s teacher! You’ve had access to my child! How is that possible? Are you evenqualifiedor did you lie to the school to get the job? And spiking my drink! How do I know you didn’t take me home? That you didn’t take advantage of me? It’s your word against mine!’
‘Yes, Tia,’ Greg replies. ‘Funny how that works, isn’t it?’
‘You’re a fucking nutter. Just like your dad.’
Greg strides over and slaps Tia’s cheek, hard. She gasps, but the fury still shimmers in her eyes.
Greg turns to me as Sophie joins him once again. ‘Got anything to add, Fiona?’ he asks.
‘I’m sorry,’ I say, my voice weak and wavering, ‘but you’re wrong.’
‘About what?’ He seems bored by the question.
‘About your dad.’
‘It’s only us here now,’ he says. ‘You don’t have to lie any more. That’s what this whole evening is about.’ He waves his arms around. ‘Being honest. Owning up. Confessing to your teenage misdemeanours.’
‘But I didn’t lie.’ No matter how angry I might make him, I can’t let him carry on believing his dad was a saint.
Greg’s mouth tightens. ‘This is getting tedious.’
‘Your dad, I liked him. I thought he was good-looking and cool and a great teacher.’
‘I know you did,’ Greg says. ‘That’s what I’m talking about. You flaunted yourself at him, didn’t you? And he rejected you, so you got your own back by making stuff up.’
