‘Marvellous,’ I said, feeling my heart sink and wishing that we had one of those video cameras at the front door so I could see who was outside before admitting them. ‘Would you like a coffee before you list all the reasons or are you happy just to get started?’
‘No, I would not like a coffee,’ said Rebecca. ‘And if I did, I would go to a coffee shop.’
‘Well, there’s one at the end of the road,’ I said.
‘I’d go there because you’d probably poison me.’ She sat back and looked me up and down as if she were trying to figure something out in her head. ‘I don’t know what I ever did to you,’ she said.
‘Really?’ I asked, already fed up with this conversation. ‘Not a single idea? When you look back to our childhood, there’s nothing there that rings any bells?’
‘I was such a kind and loving sister. Always attentive to your needs.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. You were horrible to me from the day I was born.’
‘What rubbish. Your problem, Edith, if you don’t mind me saying so, is that you’ve always thought you were superior to other people. Morally superior, I mean.’
‘Not to all people, no,’ I said. ‘Just to you.’
‘You see? I come here to visit and all you can do is—’
‘You’ve already made it clear that you didn’t come to visit. Look, I’m assuming this has something to do with Robert.’
‘In a way. You should have backed me up, Edith, it’s that simple. So when the shit hits the fan, remember: all of this is your fault.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Just that it would have been a lot easier for everyone if you had done as I asked. And, you know, Robert could have come to the States to see the boys whenever he wanted. Now, that won’t be so easy. You see, you’ve actually hurt Damien and Edward more than me. It’s they who’ll suffer.’
‘So you’re still going ahead with the move to Los Angeles?’
‘Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I?’
‘And Robert’s allowing that?’
She smiled, as if it were clear that she knew something that I didn’t know and was desperate for me to ask, but I was determined not to.
‘Look,’ she continued, ‘despite the fact that you’ve been such a terrible sister to me, I want you to know that you’re welcome to visit us whenever you want. I won’t hold your actions against you.’
‘That’s very forgiving of you,’ I said.
‘I know. And if you want to say goodbye to the boys, then you should probably make plans to do so. We’ll be leaving in the next few weeks.’
‘But how is this even happening?’ I asked. ‘The last time we talked you said that Robert was refusing to let you leave the country. What’s changed?’
‘Nothing’s changed. He’s still putting up as many barriers as he can.’
‘So you’re just going to leave anyway? You’ll probably be breaking all sorts of laws if you do, and then he’ll hire a lawyer, you’ll be dragged back, thrown in jail and he’ll be given full custody. Surely you don’t want that?’
She smiled and shook her head. ‘Oh, he’ll need a lawyer all right. But not for the reason you think. Robert,’ she added, leaning forward with a triumphant smile on her face, ‘is about to receive a very nasty shock.’
‘What sort of a shock?’
‘A visit from the police.’
‘Why will the police be calling on Robert?’ I asked. ‘What’s he done?’
‘Kiddie porn,’ she said, clapping her hands quickly like a child. ‘On his computer.’
I stared at her. ‘No,’ I said, feeling sick all over again. ‘No, I don’t believe it. Not in a million years. Not Robert.’
‘Not Robert, no. But on Robert’s home computer.’
‘How do you know?’
‘Because I put it there.’
I couldn’t speak. I felt my head begin to grow a little dizzy.
‘I have a key to his flat,’ she continued, ecstatic now. She’d obviously been dying to tell someone. ‘I need it to let the children in when they’re staying with him. So I went over one afternoon while he was at work and downloaded hundreds of images. You’d be surprised how easy it is to find them. Then I put them in a file called HOUSEHOLD ACCOUNTS and planted that in a folder on his desktop called OLD WORK. I doubt he ever even looks in there.’
‘Rebecca—’
‘And this morning, I made an anonymous call to Crimestoppers. I pretended that I’d been on a date with him and that he’d brought me back to his place, which is where I saw the images as he shut down his computer. I didn’t give my name or number, just said that I was disgusted by the whole thing and someone should look into it. Well, of course they took his name and address, and I imagine they’ll be following up very soon.’
‘What the fuck is wrong with you?’ I asked, when I found my voice again.
‘What do you mean?’
‘That’s … I’ve never heard of anything so …’ I was so flabbergasted by the depths to which she had sunk that I could scarcely find the words.
‘Oh, get off your high horse,’ she said, waving a hand in the air to dismiss me. ‘It means that everything will be all right for me and Arjan.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’ I asked, shell-shocked.
‘Because you asked.’
‘You don’t think I’ll let you get away with it, do you?’
‘But of course you will,’ she said, smiling. ‘What are you going to do, tell the police what I’ve said? First, it’s your word against mine. And second, even if they did believe you, which they won’t, and even if they prosecuted me, which they wouldn’t, it would reflect poorly on you and Mum and the boys—’
‘And their father going to jail for possession of child pornography won’t affect them?’
‘They’ll be far away. In Hollywood!’
‘This is fucking insane,’ I said.
‘Yes, well, as I said, if you want to say your goodbyes—’
‘I’ll go to the police myself,’ I insisted. ‘I’ll swear in a court of law—’
‘No, you won’t,’ she said, standing up.
‘I will.’
‘We shall see. You have a new novel coming out soon, don’t you? Are you sure you want your name linked with a child-pornography scandal? Anyway, I should go, Edith. I still have to drive all the way home. You have my number so, if you want to say goodbye, you can get in touch. Otherwise, perhaps I’ll see you in LA one day? I know the boys would be thrilled if you could visit. You and Maurice, I mean. He was always better with them than you were.’
And with that she simply laughed, took one more look around the room as if the entire set-up was even worse than she’d expected, and left.
A few moments later, the phone rang. And my world really fell apart.
You came home shortly after six o’clock. I’d been sitting on the sofa in the living room for a long time, simply staring into space, although I’d thrown up once again, this time in the hallway by the telephone stand, a mess that I hadn’t even bothered to clean up. All the love and respect that I’d ever felt for you had completely disappeared over the previous few hours and now all I could do was figure out how to leave you and where I would go.