“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Mrs Baxter said, distractedly shuffling through piles of invoices, receipts and binders.
“Yeah I feel much better, don’t worry.”
“All right. Let me put your hair up in a bun, though, because that’s what the other waiting staff will have.” She turned Jessa round and pulled back her hair tightly, smoothing over her head to make sure all the flyaways were captured. She rolled a hairband off her wrist and over the round ball of hair.
“You look so cute; it’s like a little tuxedo! Adorable,” she beamed at her grimacing daughter. “And have you realised, this is your first job! What a big day!”
“Mrgh,” Jessa poked out her tongue disapprovingly.
“Oh shush, sometimes it’s okay to celebrate becoming an adult, you know.”
“Yeah yeah,” Jessa said, walking away.
A knock sounded at the door, and Jessa hurried to let Flynn inside.
“Flynn’s here! We’re going upstairs for a bit!” Jessa urged Flynn to follow her upstairs quickly before her mother had the chance to make any more comments of cuteness.
“I have a confession,” Jessa said quickly, making sure her bedroom door was closed shut. “I went to Woburn Vale yesterday.”
“You what? Why would you go out alone like that?”
“I had to! I needed to know more about him!”
“That was really irresponsible,” Flynn suddenly looked so grown-up. “We agreed we were in this together. You know, if you’d asked, we would have gone with you.”
“I know. And honestly, I wish you had been there. It got a bit crazy.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll explain later. It’s a long story.”
Flynn gave Jessa a disapproving glare.
“Please don’t be angry at me.”
“I’m not angry. I’m just disappointed you went without us. Did you at least find out anything new?”
“Well, I found out he goes there, he visits that house.”
“What?!”
“I know.”
“So what can we do? Can we get people from the Agency to go there and wait for him?”
“I doubt it. What are they going to do, just handcuff him and walk him out?”
“I guess not.”
“I told Mr Fletcher all about it, so if there’s any way we can use that information to help, he’ll figure out a way.”
#
The hotel ballroom was extravagant even before the ostentatious centrepieces and place settings, but all the fancy additions turned it into a grotesquerie of opulence. The ceiling dripped with crystal, and candlesticks grew out of the walls, illuminating the room in a still and expensive glow.
On the stage, red, blue and white beams of light rocketed up toward the ceiling, occasionally performing a little dance to bursts of sound that hustled in through speakers as a sound technician somewhere out of sight made sure everything was working.
Mrs Baxter clipped around the room in her best strappy heels, blurting instructions into a headset microphone while confirming place-setting names on a netpad strapped to her forearm. Her staff, in matching earpieces, hurried around the room finalising the goodie-bags, primping the flowers, straightening chairs, and all the other superficial things that suddenly become so important when someone is paying an unthinkable amount for it all.
“This is so fancy,” Jessa said as she and Flynn wandered the hallways of the hotel, killing time before they had to join the rest of the waiting staff. “Look at the size of these doors! These must be the mega luxury suites.”
Their footsteps didn’t even make a sound as the soles of their shoes pressed into the expensive plush fabric of the carpet.
“Hey, this room’s open,” Flynn said, peeking in through the gap.
“Let’s go in,” Jessa whispered back.
“We can’t do that!”
“Just a quick peek! It’s probably empty, anyway. I bet someone just checked out. Why else would the door be open? Come on!”
Jessa entered the suite’s expansive living room. She brushed her fingers over the smooth maple of a grand piano.
“Wait,” Flynn whispered. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Jessa said at her normal volume.
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“I thought I heard a woman.”
“There’s nobody here, doofus, calm down.” Jessa wandered into what turned out to be a very impressive bathroom. Flynn followed hesitantly, and they admired a ginormous whirlpool tub.
Suddenly, the suite door slammed.
Jessa and Flynn froze.
“I don’t know what we can do with her,” a man said angrily. “You know, I really thought my goddamn wife would have the decency to stand by me on my big night. Is that too much to ask? I can hear you struggling, Elise! I’ve told you, if you want me to untie you, all you have to do is play nice! But you’re not interested in that, are you! Stupid bitch.”
“She’s not important,” a second, quieter, and eerier voice replied.
“But still, it looks so much better to the voters if I can present myself as ‘the family man.’ That’s how The Times reported me. The Family Man. What good is The Family Man without his fucking family?”
“Calm yourself,” the quiet man instructed.
“I need a drink. Whisky?” he said, but the other man didn’t answer. “Whisky, Mr Lynch?” the loud man offered again.
Jessa’s head snapped round to face Flynn.
“Lynch?!” she mouthed.
Flynn shook his head.
“I need to see if it’s him,” Jessa whispered, crawling forward on her hands and knees to peer around the doorframe. Flynn lurched his body over hers and pulled her back from behind. “Don’t be crazy,” he whispered forcefully into her ear.
“I’m gonna take a piss and then we should head down there I suppose,” the loud man said.
“Shit,” Flynn whispered. “Quick, in here,” he opened a door to a towel cupboard, which had just enough space at the bottom for the two of them to crouch in.
The man’s shiny tailored shoes clucked on the tiled floor. Just able to see out through the slats in the door, they both recognised the man as Jameson Graves. He stood with his back to them.
Urinating with a groan, he muttered under his breath. “I’m gonna kill that bitch. She’s really got it coming. That bitch.” He flushed the toilet and re-zipped his trousers. “No,” he said, leaning heavily on the sink and sighing at his reflection. “This is your big night, Jameson. Don’t make it about her. This is the night you’ve been waiting for.”
He splashed water on his face without washing his hands first, then held a fresh, puffy towel to his skin. He strode back out of the bathroom, and Jessa and Flynn both sighed in silent relief.
“Sounds like they’ll be leaving soon. We’re gonna be fine,” Flynn whispered.
Jessa’s toes started to tingle from crouching awkwardly.
“Shall we head downstairs?” Mr Graves invited.
“No,” Mr Lynch replied.
“What? What are you talking about? We have to go downstairs.”
“We do. But not yet.”
“Why?”
“Mr Graves, now is probably a good time to tell you that this night isn’t going to go exactly as you planned.”
“What do you mean?”
“This is my night, Mr Graves. Everything we’ve been working on up until now, has been my plan.”
“That’s not true at all. This is my party. I’ve been campaigning for months.”
“And I’ve been controlling you for a year.”
Silence.
“What? You haven’t been controlling anything! You’ve been my partner, but this is my party!”
“The truth, Mr Graves, is this: There is no party. There will be no vote. There is only Silas Lynch.”
Jessa grabbed Flynn’s hand. Neither of them noticed the sweat drenching their palms.
“I suppose I should really thank you, Mr Graves. You inadvertently set me up with this wonderful event, an audience full of people who are interested in a political shift, a modest but reasonable media presence of reporters… you’ve really done a stellar job,” he spoke slowly, patronisingly, amusedly. “So I have two options for you. The first is that you agree to stand by my side as I address the nation tonight and inspire this great country to pursue a great new future. The second, if you prefer not to be an accomplice to my revolution, is a little more macabre.”
A knock sounded at the hotel door.
“Ah, perfect,” Silas said. “My newest cohort. Perhaps she can help you decide.”
“Hello, Daddy.”
“Cecily?” Mr Graves said. “What’s going on here? I demand an explanation!”
“You’ve always been one for demanding, haven’t you, Daddy?”
“Cecily, this doesn’t concern you. I command that you leave right now.”
“You command it, do you? What a surprise. Tell me, is my mother still here too? You have her tied up in the big wardrobe, I presume?”
“How did you…”
“What, how did I know that? Because I know everything, now. That’s right, Daddy, I know a lot more than you’ve given me credit for. Here’s an excellent example: I know that you have another family in Abu Dhabi, and that you send them money to keep them quiet about it. I know that you’ve been beating my mother for the entire duration of your marriage. And I know that you never loved me. I’m your daughter! All I ever wanted was a family who cared about me, and instead, I got you. You are a worthless, disgusting excuse for a human. And guess what, Daddy? It’s about time you paid for all the things you’ve done.”
“Cecily, listen to me. You don’t know what you’re saying—”
“I know exactly what I’m saying!” she said. “I’m ready, Silas. I know what I want,” she sighed loudly. “Do it.”
“Are you sure?” he replied.
“Absolutely. If he’s not going to be any more use to you, that is.”
“I wouldn’t have minded our business association to continue,” he said, “but I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
“I know that,” she said. “See, Daddy. I finally found someone who can hear me. It’s like my whole life I’ve been screaming for you to notice me, but with Silas, sometimes I don’t even have to say a word. I hope you know how much pain you’ve caused me. I want you to think about that in your last moments. I want you to think about every wrong thing you’ve ever done, and I want you to know that I will never forgive you. So this is the end for you, Daddy. But don’t worry, Silas insisted that in your suicide note we made you out to be quite the martyr.”
“My… what?” Mr Graves stuttered.
“Do keep calm, Mr Graves,” said Silas. “I was quite honest in detailing how you didn’t know anything about my plan, and that it was I who tricked you. And then once you found out the truth, you simply couldn’t handle it, you felt so ashamed. Unfortunately, the newspapers will say that if you hadn’t consumed as much whisky, maybe you’d have been thinking more clearly and wouldn’t have resorted to such a tragic way out. But of course, a drinking problem can bring down even the greatest man.”
“No. You’re lying! And I’ve only had one drink, they have ways to find out those things, you know!” Mr Graves said, scared and defiant.
“You only remember one, Mr Graves.”
“No… This isn’t happening.” Mr Graves hammered at the front door of the suite when something suddenly threw him back across the room. He must have crashed into a piece of furniture, because the sound of glass smashing and his terrified yelp made Jessa and Flynn jump, grabbing each other harder as they tried not to make a sound or fall out of the cupboard.
“Don’t worry,” said Silas. “It’s not going to hurt.”
“Please don’t kill me!” Mr Graves snivelled. “Please! No! Get it away from me! No! How are you doing this?” he yelled, angry, confused, petrified. “No! Please don’t!”
“You can beg all you like, Daddy, but I’m afraid you’re the one holding the gun.”
“I…don’t…want…to…” Mr Graves uttered in between gulps of crying.
“It’s been an honour working with you, Mr Graves. Thank you for your assistance.”
Jessa and Flynn heard the door close.
“Where are you going?” Mr Graves yelled. “Come back! Make it stop! Please, stop! Why can’t I let it go?” He sobbed harder.
Jessa burst out through the bathroom before Flynn could hold her back again. She ran into the living room, where Cecily’s father sat, huddled in a corner, holding a gun to his own head.
“I can’t stop it… he’s making me do it… he’s making me…” his red, tear-ridden face blubbered the words out helplessly. His finger curled around the trigger. “I don’t wanna die… I don’t wanna die…”
Jessa leapt forward.
It was too late.
The sound rang through the entire room. Jessa keeled over, dry heaving. Flynn shielded her face and tried to look away from the sight himself.
“We gotta go, Jess, come on,” he managed to get the words out in between his hyperventilated gasps.