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‘Wow, look at this!’ Ava exclaims when she gets back from work. ‘I didn’t realise you’d rope Dad in to help, though.’
‘She didn’t. I offered,’ Dad explains.
‘Of course you did. All I’m going to say is that I’ll be very cross if you keel over and die in my garden. Come on, why don’t you have a break and I’ll put the kettle on. Have you eaten?’
‘Not since breakfast,’ I admit.
‘I’ll rustle something up. Can’t have the workforce complaining that they’re not being looked after, especially when one of them has an importantinterviewlined up. I’ve told Ben, by the way, and he’s happy to help. If you’re still here when he gets home, you can make a plan with him.’
‘Thanks. I’m going to need all the help I can get.’
‘Oho. Someone suddenly sounds like she actually wants the job,’ Ava laughs.
‘It’s not that,’ I counter. ‘I just don’t want to make a tit of myself in there, that’s all.’
‘Yeah, right. What would you do if they offered it to you?’
‘I’ll cross that bridge if I come to it. I expect I’ll be up against people who know everything about construction, so it won’t be an issue.’
We decide to sit outside to eat our slightly bizarre lunch of bits and pieces that Ava has found in her kitchen. There are Scotch eggs, crisps, slices of ham and tomatoes. Teddy sits attentively next to Dad, obviously hoping for a titbit. I realise that I probably ought to tell Lee about the interview, so I fish my phone out of my pocket and unlock it. I’m just about to open WhatsApp when I see I have a new email. It’s probably from Deborah Smythe with the address, but I decide to check anyway. Sure enough, the most recent email is from her, but the mail from Sharon White is also still in my inbox. I’d completely forgotten about it in all the excitement. I open it and read:
Dear Ella,
Thank you so much for your email. I was a little surprised to hear from you, especially considering the subject matter. I have listened to the recording, and I will be discussing it with the senior management at our next meeting, in two weeks. In the meantime, I have asked the IT department to revisit both laptops in search of corroborating evidence.
Your loyalty to the company and desire to do the right thing, in spite of your circumstances, is the mark of a truly exceptional person, and I sincerely wish you every success in the future.
Regards
Sharon White (HR Manager)
I don’t understand. I never sent her an email.
‘What’s up?’ Ava has obviously seen the confusion on my face.
‘This doesn’t make sense. It’s an email from the HR department of my old company, thanking me for sending them the recording. But I never sent it, I’m sure I didn’t.’
‘Oh. Right, well, I’m going to take the plates in if everyone has finished?’ She starts stacking the plates and bustles off with the leftovers.
I go to my sent items folder and, sure enough, there’s an email from me to Sharon, and the timestamp indicates that I sent it yesterday afternoon. The attachment is the recording I made of Lee’s confession. I feel like I’m going mad. I’m certain I didn’t send it, but the evidence is there on the screen in front of me. As the penny suddenly drops, I plaster a smile on my face and turn to Dad.
‘I’m just going to help Ava with the dishes,’ I tell him. ‘You enjoy the sunshine and I’ll be out in a minute, OK?’
‘Suits me,’ he replies and tilts his head back, closing his eyes.
As I enter the house, I carefully shut the back door behind me, so he can’t hear me murdering my sister.
‘What the fuck have you done?’ I hiss at her as soon as we’re alone.
‘What do you mean?’ She’s trying to look innocent, but I can see the guilt in her eyes.
‘You sent the recording to Orchestra, didn’t you?’
There’s a long pause before she answers. I can sense her weighing up various options before, at last, she speaks.
‘OK, yes. Look, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to, but I was looking at the job ad and I couldn’t help thinking about what Lee had done. It just made me fume, and before I knew it, I was hunting for the recording and attaching it to an email. I thought I was doing the right thing.’
‘But that wasn’t your decision to make! Jesus, Ava. Do you have any idea how much trouble Lee could get into?’
