Page 102 of The Boathouse By the Loch

‘Perhaps you should just lie still,’ David began, but Robyn was already trying to stand, even though her legs felt like jelly. She felt David’s hands under her arms as he lifted her to her feet.

‘God, I don’t know what came over me. Oh no! I dropped the salad.’

‘Robyn, we need to talk,’ said David with a note of urgency in his voice.

She glanced at her friends, feeling embarrassed. What would everyone think? But nobody was looking at her. Robyn followed their gaze to Judith, who was standing in the hallway, speaking on her mobile.

David turned to his brother. ‘Joe, why didn’t you stop her? You’re the police, for god’s sake. She’s wasting their time.’

‘What do you want me to do – arrest Robyn?’

‘What are you talking about? I meant stop Judith making that call!’

‘And how do you propose I do that? Confiscate her phone?’

‘Well – yeah.’

Judith lowered her phone and turned around, looking into the kitchen. ‘They’ll be right over; I’ve told them everything,’ she said angrily.

‘Who’ll be right over?’ Robyn looked from Annie to Gayle, still too embarrassed to look at anybody else in that kitchen. She knew all her guests who’d been seated around the table were still in the kitchen, most likely looking her way. She saw Judith leave the doorway.

Robyn called out, ‘Judith?’

‘I’m waiting outside for them to arrive.’

The next thing she heard was the front door slam shut.

Annie turned to her husband. ‘Joe, you need to go and speak to her, or phone your colleagues, and tell them it’s going to be a wasted trip – probably both.’

David took Robyn’s hand. ‘Robyn, I think your stepmother isn’t quite well.’

David told Robyn what Judith had been saying to them shortly after Robyn had fainted, while they were trying to bring her round.

‘She says it’s a conspiracy. We’re all in on it, and she just wants to know what we want, and if we won’t tell her then we can tell the police.’ David paused before whispering, ‘I wish you could have warned me that she had a screw loose, but obviously you couldn’t because you can’t remember.’

Robyn stared at him wide-eyed. ‘Oh god, I’ve invited a nutter into our lives.’

‘Yeah, looks like. But you weren’t to know. I wasn’t expecting an easy ride from the mother-in-law but this kind of takes the biscuit, don’t you think?’

‘Are you seriously making a joke right now?’ Robyn elbowed him in the ribs. ‘This isn’t funny. Something’s wrong.’ Robyn was trying to remember what Judith had been saying to her when she had fainted.

‘Just don’t think about it.’ He looked over at his brother. ‘Joe, can you step outside and sort this out?’

Annie pushed Joe towards the door. ‘Did you hear your brother?’

Joe looked at the oven. ‘Something smells delicious. I didn’t want to miss my meal.’

David said, ‘We’ll leave some warm in the oven. Now go, sort this out will you before things get really out of hand and she ruins our party.’

Joe made for the door.

Annie clapped her hands. ‘Right, folks – let’s eat.’

Gayle asked Robyn if she wanted to cancel the party.

David said, ‘I don’t know what her agenda is, but don’t let her ruin our evening, Robyn.’

Robyn nodded. ‘I won’t.’

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