Page 104 of Murder in the Family

Thankfully Fortnum’s were happy to oblige. Admittedly Guy had always been a difficult child but after Luke arrived he became almost unmanageable. And not just at home. The school really struggled with him – disruptive one minute, daydreaming the next. The sort of behaviour that would get you an assessment for ADHD these days.

And it actually gotworseafter Luke died. You might have thought it would have helped, having his mother all to himself again, but it was quite the opposite. I suspect Caroline was just too distracted to devote enough time to him.

CUT TO: MONTAGE of shots of Guy, Amelie, and Maura Howard in the mid 2000s. The girls are growing up fast – make-up, shorter skirts, higher heels. Guy, by contrast, still seems like a little boy. In one shot he’s on the window seat in his bedroom with Amelie. She’s reading him a story and he’s clutching a teddy bear; a closer look reveals tears on his cheeks. The terrace and gardens can be seen through the window directly below; it’s raining.

SHIRLEY BOOKER

As for the girls, they always were incredibly tight, and they just shut Luke out. As for their mother, they just went full-on passive-aggressive – stopped cooperating with anything she asked them to do. She said it was a complete nightmare.

And of course there was all that trouble with Maura that summer.

LAILA FURNESS – off

Maura? That’s the first time anyone’s mentioned any problems with her.

SHIRLEY BOOKER

Well, I doubt it was something Caroline wanted people to know. In the circumstances.

LAILA FURNESS – off

As in—?

SHIRLEY BOOKER

It doesn’t take a lot of guessing. Maura was 15. A very precocious andrebellious15. She knew exactly how to push Caroline’s buttons, and what better way than to get involved with some completely inappropriate people.

LAILA FURNESS – off

Inappropriate in what way?

SHIRLEY BOOKER

People a lot older than her, for a start – much too old to be hanging around with someone Maura’s age. And regardless of age, they were absolutelynotthe sort of people Caroline wanted her teenage daughter associating with.

LAILA FURNESS – off

I’m surprised Maura came into contact with anyone like that in the first place. I got the impression the Howard children lived rather a sheltered life. And it’s not as if they could have met anyone online. Not back then.

SHIRLEY BOOKER

I think she met one of them at a charity event at her school. Rather an unfortunate case of the law of unintended consequences. And by the time Caroline found out what was going on it was, of course, far too late. I think there was some suspicion of drug use as well. Nothing hard-core, but we all know how easily things can escalate where drugs are concerned.

LAILA FURNESS – off

I can see why Caroline would have been anxious.

SHIRLEY BOOKER

She was out of her mind with worry that whole summer before Luke died. Nothing she did had any effect – she tried talking to Maura, grounding her, stopping her allowance, but it made no difference.

LAILA FURNESS – off

Yet to the outside world everything seemed fine.

SHIRLEY BOOKER

Of course it did. That’s how people like Caroline deal with situations like that. What goes on behindclosed doors is one thing; letting the world and his wife find out is quite another.

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