Authors: Carys Jones
‘No.’ Laurie said abruptly. Then, more softly, ‘I’m working. I can meet tomorrow. But that is a Saturday.’
‘Saturdays are fine.’ For John and his colleagues, the attachment the rest of the world gave to days of the week was obsolete. Every day was potentially a working day; weekends did not exist, except for those who did not have the drive to progress.
‘There is a café called The 10 Stop, can we meet there?’
‘The 10 Stop, that’s near the Houses of Parliament?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why do you want to meet there? Wouldn’t somewhere more central be better?’
‘No. It’s the only place I know.’
‘Right, okay. How come …’ John wanted to question Laurie further but she suddenly interrupted him.
‘I have to go. I’ll be at The 10 Stop for half twelve tomorrow. You’ll recognise me.’ And then the line went dead. Bemused, John just stared at the telephone receiver for a few moments, hardly daring to believe what was unfolding before him. He was being given a second chance to capture the greatest story of his career and he was determined not to let it fall from his grasp again. He quickly scribbled a note and left it prominently on his desk, relaying to anyone interested that he would be spending the remainder of the day working from home, when in reality he was going back to his cramped apartment to sleep, for tomorrow was going to be a big day for him and he needed his rest.
‘Are you feeling better?’ Faye enquired as Laurie returned to her desk, her cheeks flush from her brief excursion outside.
‘Oh yes, thank you, much better. I just suddenly felt so very sick.’
‘As long as you are feeling okay now,’ Faye managed to smile, aware that it would undoubtedly appear false.
Laurie felt quietly reflective as she sat her desk, carrying out the menial tasks assigned to her. She kept trying to unpick Lorna’s motives for associating with a journalist from a seedy tabloid newspaper, but she kept failing to reach a logical conclusion. She felt as though she was getting closer to the truth but her own fears were beginning to hold her back. Laurie was not ready to deal with the reality that perhaps she had not known her own twin sister at all.
Faye was not the most astute of women but she could not fail to notice how Laurie barely breathed a word to her that day, instead keeping her dainty head bent down to her keyboard, as if hoping it would swallow her whole and release her from the terrible world she resided in. Faye did not intend to be resentful towards her young intern, and was aware that she was transferring her tarnished opinion of Lorna onto Laurie which was not fair.
If Laurie was genuinely ill, which would explain her muted demeanour, then Faye accepted that the young girl should go home and rest. She was about to suggest as much when her telephone rang.
‘Good afternoon Deputy Prime Minister,’ she greeted Charles politely, having recognised the extension number from his office.
‘Can you send Laurie in, I’ve some work for her,’ he instructed bluntly.
‘Yes, of course.’ Faye managed to smile but behind her grin she was seething. Her resentful feelings towards the Thomas twins bubbled to the surface once more. Their angelic looks had gained them access to the Deputy Prime Minister and it made Faye feel sick with rage. It was a wicked world to live in where the beautiful succeeded on aesthetics alone. And whilst Laurie appeared quiet and demure, history was clearly repeating itself.
‘He wants to see you,’ she instructed her young intern rudely, no longer caring for any ailment she may be suffering from. Laurie sighed and hauled herself up from her chair as though her limbs were made from lead. If an affair was being carried out, she was a less than willing party to it.
Faye watched her leave, grinding her teeth in fury. She worked tirelessly in an attempt to get into the Deputy Prime Minister’s good graces and to no avail. He cared only for the young and the pretty, or so it seemed. But Faye learnt long ago, back on the playground, that she would not be able to rely on her looks as other did. Women like her would have to work hard to forge their way in life, and then enjoy watching the prettier exterior of those around them fade away, taking joy in their realisation that without their beauty, they had nothing. Faye may not have been beautiful but at least she was a woman of substance; she consoled herself with this fact each time she felt overlooked rather than looked over.
‘Laurie, hey.’ Charles felt his mood instantly lift as the delicate blonde entered his office.
‘Hi.’ Laurie barely lifted her gaze from the floor to look at him. She walked across to his desk and slumped her tiny frame down on to the chair opposite him.
‘Shit, I forgot my notepad,’ she said suddenly, looking mildly agitated. ‘Faye gets pissed off if I don’t go back to her with some fictional notes about stuff to do.’ Laurie went to leave but Charles raised his hand in a gesture to stop her.
‘Its fine, tell Faye I only gave you the one task.’
‘Okay.’
Charles noted the way Laurie’s shoulders appeared hunched forward, and the way her eyes suddenly seemed so weary, as though weighted down by the thoughts burning behind them in her mind.
‘Is everything alright?’ he leant forward and asked, concerned.
‘Sure,’ Laurie answered unconvincingly.
‘If something is wrong, you can talk to me. You know that, don’t you?’
‘Sure., came the same muttered response.
Even though Laurie was in her early twenties, and by that very definition an adult, lost in her melancholy she was behaving like a displeased adolescent. Charles recalled how Lorna had also been known to enter into a sullen disposition, granting him one word answers accompanied by sullen looks. It made him feel incredibly old when she behaved like this, as it reminded him how not so long ago she had been a child and that her immature characteristics had not yet faded away with age, as his own had.
‘If you don’t tell me what is wrong, I can’t help,’ Charles explained gently, imploring Laurie to open up with each word. He longed to be her confidant, to be the person to whom she turned to when she needed comfort. He yearned to be close to her and to fight against that felt unnatural.
‘Everything is wrong!’ Laurie admitted suddenly, the despair which had been brewing up inside of her since her phone conversation with John Quinn suddenly spilling out across the desk which formed the barrier between herself and the Deputy Prime Minister.
‘I hate this city, I hate being here, I hate working for you and I hate that my sister is gone!’ As she spoke, her hands formed tiny fists of frustration which came thumping down onto the cushioned arms of the chairs in which she sat.
‘It’s okay,’ Charles said soothingly.
‘What if she did it? What if Lorna did kill herself? If that’s the case, then what the hell am I doing here if not wasting my own life?’ Laurie now put her hands over her face but she was too angry for tears.
‘You are not wasting your life.’ Charles could feel the pain radiating out from Laurie’s tiny body, displacing the air around her. ‘What you are doing here, coming to investigate Lorna’s death, is amazingly brave and admirable.’
‘You think so?’
‘Yes, I do. And even if she did kill herself, which I don’t believe for a second, being here will help you better understand her motives, which in turn will help you gain closure.’
‘I suppose.’
‘But why the sudden change of heart? You were adamant that she would not have done it.’
‘I…’ Laurie toyed with revealing how she was due to meet with John Quinn from
The Shadow
newspaper but decided against it, fearing that Charles would misinterpret her intentions and believe that she was selling him out. Laurie knew that her sister had toyed with exposing the affair simply for the financial benefit; seeing John Quinn would help her ascertain just how committed to this decision she had been.
‘I’m just not feeling well.’ It was a lame excuse by Laurie’s own admission but all she could muster up when under the spotlight of scrutiny. The twins had always feigned illness when faced with an uncomfortable situation.‘Lady pains.’ It broke Laurie’s heart to utter the words which had so successfully removed physical education from her and Lorna’s agenda at school. Together, the twins would giggle at how uncomfortable their male teacher looked whenever they informed him of their current inconvenience.
‘Right, okay.’ Not one to break the trend, Charles blushed and shifted in his chair uncomfortably.
‘Perhaps I can cheer you up,’ Charles said, relieved to be able to change the subject of the conversation and also hopefully improve on Laurie’s current mood.
‘Hmm,’ Laurie mumbled a disinterested response, her mind still held by the meeting with the reporter due to occur the following day.
‘I bought you a gift,’ Charles declared as he produced a small, flat package, wrapped in brown paper and adorned with red ribbon, from a drawer in his desk.
‘A gift?’ Laurie echoed, as her eyes widened with surprise. Tentatively she reached forward for the package.
The gift sat heavy in her hands for a few moments. Laurie was not accustomed to receiving gifts alone. Birthdays had always been a joint occasion, where she and Lorna would take joy in one another’s presents. The image of the blouse quickly flashed through Laurie’s mind, making her feel apprehensive about the gift she was now receiving. Perhaps the Deputy Prime Minister was just generous, or perhaps he was trying to entice Laurie and lure her under his spell as he had once her sister. But unlike her sister, Laurie was wise to the ways of men and resilient against almost all of their tricks. Chocolates, flowers and things that shone did not garner her trust.
‘Open it,’ Charles instructed eagerly, desperate to see Laurie’s reaction. Reluctantly, Laurie removed the red ribbon, letting it float to the floor, before ripping through the brown paper to reveal a book. She gasped in surprise in spite of herself.
‘Do you like it?’
‘I …’ Laurie held the book in her hands and gingerly opened it, taking care to be gentle with her movements for fear of harming it. She was lost for words.
‘Is it okay?’ Charles asked again, unaccustomed to being greeted with silence when having given a gift. Whenever he gave something to either Elaine or Lorna they would both fawn all over him in gratitude, but whilst Laurie appeared stunned, she was showing no desire to cross the emotional canyon which lay between them.
‘I don’t know what to say,’ Laurie said at last, before placing the book down upon his desk. ‘It is simply too much, I cannot accept it.’
‘Please, it is for you,’ Charles pleaded.
‘It is a first edition copy of
Little Women
. I dread to think how much that cost. I cannot take it.’ Laurie was beginning to get angry. She hated being indebted to someone, and to accept such an elaborate gift would mean she owed Charles something and she was unwilling to give the Deputy Prime Minister anything, even her vote.
‘I want you to have it,’ Charles nudged the aged book back towards Laurie.
‘Why?’ the young woman challenged pedantically.
‘Because it is a gift.’
‘I don’t need gifts.’
‘Laurie, just take it. You are sad here, I know that. I thought this would help cheer you up, that’s all.’
For a moment, Laurie’s hand hovered over the book, her mind locked in contemplation. She wanted to believe that it was merely a kind-hearted gesture, but the seed of doubt which had lurked in her thoughts had now sprouted and was going out across her body, marking her movements.
‘This doesn’t make us friends.’ Laurie snatched the book to her chest like a child, as though afraid it might be taken from her.
‘We are at least allies though?’
‘Allies? Yeah,’ Laurie said, even though she felt no allegiance to Charles. If anything, she still viewed him as the enemy. Until she knew with certainty what had transpired with Lorna, he was still a potential catalyst who could have contributed to her untimely death. After all, he had the most to lose had Lorna gone through with her interview with John Quinn. In Laurie’s eyes, he remained very much a potential suspect, but she couldn’t let him see that. It was important that she kept him onside as he had access to invaluable resources which she could never acquire on her own.
‘You need to learn to trust me.’
‘I only ever trusted one person and she is gone,’ Laurie declared bitterly. ‘Are we done here?’
‘Yes, you can return to Faye.’
Disheartened, Charles watched Laurie leave, but just as she reached the office door, she glanced down at the book clutched to her chest with warmth and affection and Charles felt a wave of longing wash over him. He wanted Laurie to look at him like that. He wanted her to hold him against her as though she would never let go. He realised that he had not given the gift to cheer Laurie up; he had given it to help him earn his way into her favour. He wanted her to want him. The steely exterior which she had taken to hiding behind only made her all the more desirable. Charles knew that he had to have her, no matter the cost.
‘Did he give you plenty of jobs to do?’ Faye asked sarcastically as Laurie returned to her desk.
‘No, and I’m going home,’ the young girl declared angrily. ‘This place is making me sick.’
The 10 Stop was a small café nestled down a side street near the Houses of Parliament. It served simple food at a reasonable price, even by London’s extortionate standards, which suited Laurie. She often frequented there, sometimes just to enjoy a tea and a toasted teacake on her amble home after work. As such, it was a familiar place which helped her feel more comfortable about meeting with the journalist, John Quinn.
Laurie knew that she didn’t have to worry about the journalist identifying her, but still, as she approached the modest venue on a particularly blustery Saturday afternoon she felt sick with nerves. Gone was the Lorna-themed work attire; Laurie was now wearing her own style of fashion – jeans with a hooded top secured beneath a trendy leather biker jacket. And most importantly, flat converse sneakers, so in the unlikely eventuality that things at the rendezvous point turned sour, she could always make a run for home.
As expected, Laurie entered The 10 Stop to the gentle jingle of a bell positioned above the door, and a man sat towards the back of the café immediately looked up at her and turned the shade of freshly-fallen snow. Bracing herself for the usual fearful reception she had become accustomed to, Laurie headed over.