today’s edition. What is going on here ?
I can feel a lump of bile rising in my chest. Did Etta leak it to the papers that Felicity had died as soon as she found out? Is she trying to drum up public sympathy, somehow cash in on this event to sell records? She is a vile cold-hearted bitch if this is her game plan. I can’t believe she’d do this to Felicity to gain some cheap publicity.
‘Do you think she did it?’ Tabitha asks quietly. With that one question I know that my previous fear was right, that it wasn’t an obituary that Tabitha read in the newspaper.
How could my parents have kept this from me? How could they suggest Etta was questioned by the police because it was routine and dismiss the post-mortem as nothing to worry about? Why didn’t they just tell me that Etta has been arrested for Felicity’s murder?
‘If anyone could lose it and kill someone, I think Etta Millhouse could,’ I say, my voice cracking. Tears brim in my eyes as I think about poor Felicity suffering like that at the hands of her goddaughter.
‘Etta?’ Tabitha sounds puzzled. ‘You mean Felicity ?’
That makes no sense. Tabitha just asked me if I thought Etta had killed Felicity... right?
‘Felicity?’ I question dumbly.
‘Oh, Arielle!’ Tabitha sounds distraught. ‘I thought you knew.’
‘What did the papers say?’ I demand.
‘They confirmed that Felicity died and mentioned that their source, someone close to the family, had asked the police to investigate because...’
There’s the longest pause from Tabitha, even though I know the rest of this sentence: Felicity’s Alzheimer’s wasn’t in the final stage and they need some answers as to why she deteriorated so quickly.
‘Yes?’ I whisper.
‘They need to rule out it wasn’t suicide,’ Tabitha says finally.
The air rushes out of me and I collapse back on the bed. My ears are ringing, and I feel hollow.
‘Arielle?’
Tabitha can’t have said that. Felicity can’t have done that. Felicity would never have done that.
This has to be Etta spinning the story somehow so she gets away with harming Felicity. So she gets away with murder . Someone has got this staggeringly wrong, reported it horrifically inaccurately. Felicity would never have killed herself... would she ?
‘Arielle, are you there?’ Tabitha’s worried voice echoes down the phone.
‘Change the subject,’ I croak out trying to stop the feeling of nausea that’s rolling over me, trying to stop myself from crying because I fear, if I start, I will never stop.
‘Please! Talk about anything else,’ I demand shakily, though my brain still replays Tabitha’s words over and over. Could it have been suicide?
I can’t even air that word out loud, can’t even begin to imagine that Felicity would do that, but then I think back to the final phone call I had with her when I was waiting to fly to New York. That phone call had a certain finality to it, now I think about it, or maybe I’m changing my recollection to fit this new possibility. I don’t know what to believe as I stifle another sob.
Tabitha, thankfully, doesn’t press me, doesn’t apologise. She gets immediately that I do not want to talk about this – and I don’t – but I will be asking my parents if this is what they were keeping from me. Did they really think they could cover this up?
‘Sure!’ She has far too much pep in her voice. ‘Why are you in New York then? Is Piers working hard whilst you shop?’
At this question I can’t control myself any longer and I burst into tears. Everything has gone heartbreakingly wrong.
Chapter Six
‘Now what can you see?’
‘Shouldn’t we be talking about you?’ I ask.
‘Arielle, I’m either going to be a dad or I’m not,’ Ob says flatly. ‘And that all depends on whether Jade decides to keep the baby or she...’ He chokes slightly. ‘Gets an abortion,’ he finally manages to stammer out as I turn the corner and emerge onto Broadway. ‘She’s told me not