Page 188 of The Pearl Sister
‘Yeah,’ I managed after a pause. ‘She does.’
‘So, she’s your “special” person then?’
‘Maybe, but it’s early days, and . . . Christ!’ I hit the table with my fist. ‘What is it about being back here? I can’t get the words right.’
‘Hey, Cee, it’s me, Sia. We never needed words, remember?’ Her hands began to move in the sign language we’d made up as children when we didn’t want our other sisters to know what we were saying.
Do you love her?she signed.
Not sure yet. Maybe.
Does she love you?
Yes, I signed, without pausing to think.
‘Then I’m SO happy for you!’ she said out loud and stood up from the table to give me a big hug.
‘Thanks,’ I muttered into her hair, ‘though knowing me, it might all go wrong.’
‘That’s what I think every day with Mouse. It’s called trust, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah.’
‘And remember,’ she said, pulling back to look at me. ‘Whatever happens, we’ll always have each other.’
‘Thanks.’ I squeezed my eyes shut to hold back the tears.
‘Now,’ she said, sitting back down, ‘I’ve done some research on “Linda”.’
‘Have you?’ I said, trying to pull myself together.
‘Yes.’ Star placed a name and number in front of me. I squinted at what was written there.
‘There are three Lindas at the bank. Given one works in the catering department and the other has only been there for the past two months, the most likely candidate is Linda Potter. She was the PA to the CEO of the bank, David Rutter.’
‘Really? How did you find out?’
‘I called the bank and asked for “Linda”. Each time I got through, I pretended she was the wrong Linda and they connected me to the others in their different departments. Finally, I got to the CEO’s office – Linda Potter has recently retired, apparently.’
‘Right.’
‘Well?’ Star eyed me.
‘Well what?’
‘If Ace said Linda knows and this Linda used to be the PA to the CEO, she’d be in on everything that’s going on in the company. PAs always are,’ she said confidently.
‘Okay . . .’ I nodded, wondering where this was heading.
‘Cee, I really think you should go and see Ace, and ask him about Linda. And besides, this isn’t just about him, it’s about you too! He thinks you were the one that shopped him to the press. Surely you want to put the record straight before you leave for Australia?’
‘Yeah, but there’s no proof, is there? The film was onmycamera, and I gave it to the security guard to develop.’
‘Then you should tell him that yourself. And also ask him why he isn’t making any effort to defend himself.’
‘Wow, you’re seriously passionate about this, aren’t you?’
‘I just don’t like people being blamed for something they haven’t done. Especially when it’s my sister,’ she said fiercely.
