Page 68 of Old Girls Behaving Badly

‘So,’ Sandra started. ‘I know you all must really hate me, but please let me tell you what I’m planning to do and I hope that might go some way to gaining your forgiveness.’

Dorothy grunted, but then she sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest.

‘I’m going to call the police and tell them what I did. I’ll tell them that Leonard pressurised me into it so that will link to him having the painting, but I’m not going to drop you in it, Rufus. I’ll have to make something else up.’

‘No!’ Rufus said. ‘No more lies. If you’re going to tell the truth then let it be the whole truth, otherwise it undermines what you did. I will confess to my cheating. To be honest it will be a weight off my head. I know I’ll lose my position at the firm, but I’ll just have to live with that as it was my own fault and I had no business pretending to practise there anyway. We’ll do it together, Mum.’

Rufus reached for his mother’s hand across the table and held on tight to it.

‘For what it’s worth,’ Dorothy said, ‘I don’t wish ill on you. All of my venom is for Leonard. I know you didn’t mean for Philip to be hurt and I’m grateful that you used his phone to call for help while he could still speak. But, I am glad you’re going to confess to what you did, Sandra, because you could have said no. All this confessing now could have been done before that awful event. I think your punishment is how you’ve been suffering since that night and I hope whatever is dished out to you by the law is slight.’

‘Thank you, Dorothy. I am truly sorry.’

They finished their coffee and Sandra got up from the table.

‘I’m going to phone the police,’ she said.

Out in the hallway I caught up with her as she reached for her mobile phone.

‘Sandra, can I have a quick word before you make that call, please?’

‘Sure,’ she said with a weary voice.

‘I believe you and Rufus have a memory stick containing a movie of Leonard with Peter,’ I said, and Sandra turned to me in surprise. ‘Someone overheard you talking.’

‘I do. Rufus gave it to me. Leonard had it and was telling him how he was keeping Peter on a short leash because of it. Rufus found it in his study the other day. He was looking for anything incriminating to use against him when the time came and he found the stick. I was going to give it to Peter. It was so awful of him to use something like that and I wanted to break the cycle.’

‘That’s good of you, but can you give it to me? You might not be in a position to give it back once the police arrive and I’d hate to see it fall into other hands.’

‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I’ll get it quickly now.’

‘I’ll come up with you. I need to pack,’ I said and followed Sandra up the stairs. Even though I believed she would phone the police and not run off, I still felt some kind of responsibility to make sure it happened. Once she had handed over the memory stick, I hovered while she made the call. Then I went to pack up my things ready to go.

29

GINA

Dorothy clutched me to her in a warm hug. It had been a hell of a day, coming fast on the back of a hell of a week and also a hell of a year for Dorothy, but now, finally, she could do what she really needed to do and move on.

‘I’m just so grateful to you, Gina,’ she said. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever be able to tell you how much.’

‘There’s really no need, Dorothy. It was my pleasure and privilege to be able to help you get the result you wanted.’

I said the words like I meant it and I did, but I actually felt quite wooden. My body felt heavy with all that had happened. Finding Leonard on the steps like that would stay with me, I realised. However bad a man he actually was, it didn’t take away the shock I had felt at coming across his injured body. Had it been too much to ask of me? Yes, I thought that it probably was. But it was done, and now I could go home, such as home was now.

I noticed, with thankful eyes, that my taxi was making its way down the driveway towards me.

‘The easiest way to show you is to put it in the most simplistic of terms,’ Dorothy said, cutting into my thoughts and dragging me, reluctantly, back to the here and now.

‘I’m not sure I understand,’ I said.

‘Your fee,’ said Dorothy.

‘Oh,’ I replied, not wanting to get into a conversation about money, although the seven hundred and fifty pounds would be very welcome.

‘I have your bank details and will make a transfer before the end of the day.’

‘Well, thank you, I won’t pretend that it isn’t going to be very useful.’