Page 115 of Deep Blue Sea

‘She was telling me about a friend whose husband turned out to be a bigamist.’

‘Double life, eh?’

She nodded, and as she did, it was as if a penny dropped. Suddenly she could hear Julian’s voice in her head. It was that hot night in Italy. His lips were on her neck, and he was whispering in her ear. She had tried so hard to block that evening out of her memory, but fragments of it were crystal clear

‘I want you, Rachel.’ That was what he had said. ‘I know you want me too. No one needs to know.’ He had whispered it urgently, his hands on her, his breath coming quickly. ‘We can do this all the time,’ he’d said. ‘I have a place we can go.’

‘I have a place we can go,’ she repeated softly.

Liam turned to face her. ‘What did you say?’

‘I have a place we can go,’ she said again. It didn’t even occur to her that Liam might misinterpret her words.

She didn’t want to confess Julian’s attempted seduction to him. Not yet. ‘Yesterday, Diana was wondering why Julian didn’t have any printouts, details, information about Rheladrex,’ she said quickly.

‘Because he wasn’t arsed about Rheladrex and he was just after a shag?’ said Liam cynically.

‘Perhaps he was collecting information about it – he just didn’t keep it at work or in the house.’

‘So if it existed, where would he keep it? You’ve checked his office, both houses.’

‘Julian had mistresses,’ she said quickly. ‘When you’re a billionaire adulterer, how do you keep them under the radar? You’re not going to want to check into hotels. You probably have a little pied-à-terre somewhere for your extracurricular activity.’

‘Not being a billionaire adulterer, I wouldn’t know the form, but it’s possible. But how do you track down his mistresses to find out? We’re only aware of one of them, and she’s dead.’

‘I certainly know of one other. Susie McCormack. The lover who was exposed by my paper. Perhaps it’s about time we revisited old news.’

39

Olga Shapiro seemed concerned that it was only Diana’s second visit in three weeks. This was not apparently the sign of a committed patient and she could not be helped, really helped, unless she devoted more time and energy to therapy.

Diana squirmed on the soft grey felt sofa as she spoke, feeling compelled to make her excuses. She did not enjoy being a bad pupil. At school, she was never anywhere near the top of the class, but she always tried hard enough not to get into trouble, getting Rachel or clever friends to help her with homework, never disrupting any lessons, never breaking the rules.

‘I live in Oxfordshire. Sometimes it’s not easy to get into town,’ she explained, stroking a thick strand of brown hair between her fingers.

‘If it’s a problem, I could recommend somebody closer,’ said Olga, folding her slim hands on to her lap.

Diana shook her head. She liked Olga. In another life she could have been a third Miller sister, someone more sensible and serious than Rachel, someone smarter than herself. She wondered what had gone wrong with her life that she had no one with whom she could share her innermost secrets. The secret she was keeping about Adam Denver.

‘So how are you feeling?’

‘Well some days I can’t even get up in the morning. But other days have been much better. I’ve even had fun,’ she said, feeling a spark of guilt.

Olga nodded, as if she was pleased with her progress. ‘Tell me about them.’

Her question took Diana by surprise. She had always thought that she would be in control of her sessions with a therapist, that she could drip-feed someone only the information that she wanted to reveal. But the intensity of Olga’s gaze had backed her into a corner.

‘I’ve been spending time with my brother-in-law. I’ve enjoyed his company.’

A flashback. Adam’s warm naked body, his mouth on her nipple, his tongue inside her, their sweat on the sheets. She felt her cheeks betray her, burning hot, glowing pink.

‘Do you want to tell me more about that?’ pressed Olga.

Diana could only look down at her feet.

‘It’s natural to enjoy the company of those closest to your husband,’ said Olga, encouraging her to say more.

Meeting Olga’s gaze, Diana wondered how much her therapist had worked out. If she was as clever as she thought, it was probably obvious to her.