Part 1 (2/2)

'There will be no need,' Smith said. His colour had now faded to a sickly grey. 'It is obvious that there has been a mistake. You are free to go.'

'Thank you.' Karen stood her ground. 'But first I'd like an apology,' she said. 'It's not every day one is named as ”the accused” or threatened with prosecution.'

Smith cleared his throat. 'I think you will agree that it was a natural mistake.' Karen waited, saying nothing and Smith cleared his throat again and continued, 'Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience and er embarra.s.sment caused.'

Karen picked up her handbag and as she left the office, she heard Smith upbraiding his store detective.

'Marshall! How many times must I tell you to make sure those tapes are regularly changed and running!'

In the car park Karen climbed gratefully into her car. It was only then that she realized that she was still shaking. What a horrible experience. Suppose she had been seen being apprehended by one of her pupils' parents? It would only take one! Simon was going to be furious about this. If the store had insisted on pursuing the case and the papers had got hold of it, they could both have lost their jobs. It was so irresponsible of Louise and so typical.

Louise Davies, or Louisa Delmar as her half-sister liked to call herself, was fourteen years Karen's senior. Although they shared the same father they were as different in temperament and character as it was possible to be. Louise was an actress. Touring around the country and never in the same town for more than a few months, she always turned up on her married half-sister's doorstep whenever she was between jobs. Recently, the summer show she had been appearing in down in Devon had come to a close and she was waiting for her agent to arrange a pantomime for her.

Delving into her handbag, Karen took out her phone and clicked on Louise's number. The call went straight to voicemail. Furious, she left a message: 'Louise! Where the h.e.l.l are you? What did you think you were playing at? You've just almost had me arrested for shoplifting. Please ring me as soon as you get this.'

She started the car and backed out of her s.p.a.ce. She was almost halfway home when she heard her phone ringing in her bag. Pulling over, she stopped and took the phone out. It was Louise calling.

'Louise!'

'Darling, I've just got your message. What's the matter?'

'Don't play the innocent with me. You know b.l.o.o.d.y well what's the matter. You put those things in my bag in Hayward's, didn't you?'

'Things? What things?'

'Designer lingerie ring any bells? Simon and I could have lost our jobs through this. I could be ringing you from the police station right now for all you know.'

Louise gave a maddening little giggle at the other end of the line. 'Oh, come off it, sweetie, don't exaggerate. You're not at the police station, are you?'

'No, no thanks to you. More to the point, where are you?' Karen demanded. 'And where did you disappear to? You left me to face the music on my own.'

'Look, it's all too silly for words. I can explain everything.'

'Then I think you'd better start. Where are you, Louise?'

'I'm in the park. It's such a lovely day I thought I'd have-'

'Whereabouts? I'm coming right now.'

'The little cafe by the lake. Look, there's no need to be so stuffy.'

Karen didn't reply, she just ended the call and thrust her phone back into her bag, then, turning the car, she headed back in the opposite direction.

The park was looking lovely in the autumn suns.h.i.+ne. The trees were turning to gold and the sky was blue and cloudless. The sound of children's voices filled the air as they played on the swings, making the most of their half-term holiday. But Karen hardly took any of it in. She had only one aim in mind: to find her half-sister and let her have both barrels. She spotted Louise as soon as she came through the yew archway at the lakeside. She was sitting on a bench, her elegant legs crossed and her short skirt pulled up, displaying several inches of thigh as she calmly nibbled at a choc-ice. Karen had never in her life wanted to hit anyone as much as she did now.

Louise looked up and gave a cheery wave. 'h.e.l.lo, darling! There you are. Would you like one of these?' She held up the half-eaten choc-ice. 'They've always been my weakness.'

'I remember,' Karen said drily, sitting down on the bench next to her. 'I don't want a choc-ice. It would probably choke me. What I want is an explanation now, please.'

'Oh, all right.' Louise sighed and popped the last of the ice cream into her mouth and s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the wrapper into a ball, tossed it into the bushes.

'You put those things in my bag when I went to the loo, didn't you?'

Louise shrugged. 'OK yes, but why not? I'm sure Hayward's can afford to lose a few pounds a d.a.m.ned sight more than I can.' She glanced sideways at Karen. 'I couldn't resist those s.e.xy, black lace undies. Gorgeous, weren't they? What a pity you had to go and get yourself caught.'

'It's theft, Louise. Against the law, and it was despicable to involve me in it and then just disappear.'

Louise frowned. 'I knew you were going to be b.l.o.o.d.y boring about it. You're so d.a.m.ned b.u.t.toned up, Karrie.'

'I don't think you understand how serious this is. If I'd been charged, Simon and I could both have lost our jobs.'

'Oh, don't be so melodramatic!' Louise said dismissively.

'I'm not. It's true. Do you imagine that the school governors would allow either of us to continue after shoplifting charges and all the publicity that would have ensued? Why did you do it, Louise? You were seen taking the things and if it hadn't been for the difference in our hair colour, I'd be in custody right this minute.'

'But you're not. So what are you going on and on about?'

'You still haven't explained why you took these things.'

Louise shrugged. 'I fancied them simple as that.'

'You fancied them!' Karen shook her head. 'So why put them in my bag?'

Louise grinned impishly. 'I couldn't resist winding you up. You always take the bait so beautifully. Oh, come on, darling. I couldn't know you'd get nabbed, could I?'

Karen's fingers itched to smack her sister's face. It was useless arguing. They could go round and round for ever. It was obvious she was going to get no more sense out of Louise. She could be completely amoral at times. She tried a different tack. 'Have you heard from that agent of yours lately?'

Louise chuckled. 'You're not terribly subtle, are you, darling? What you're trying to say is that you've had enough of me.' She pouted. 'Don't tell me I've outstayed my welcome.'

Karen shrugged. 'What do you think? After this afternoon yes, you have!'

'Pity.' Louise sighed. 'I'll call Harry tomorrow morning if you're really going to insist on punis.h.i.+ng me.' She glanced at Karen. 'I haven't said anything but there could be something quite exciting in the pipeline.'

Karen raised a cynical eyebrow. 'Oh yes? I've heard that one before. But then I suppose there's bound to be a panto coming up in some remote corner of the country.' She looked at her sister. 'You could always get a proper job, you know. The department stores will be taking on extra staff for Christmas soon.'

'Thanks for the vote of confidence, darling. Anyway, as I told you, there's a possibility of something really big in the offing.'

'Well, let's hope it comes off this time.'

'OK, don't go on about it. I'll get on to it in the morning.'

'Good,' Karen said without conviction.

Louise looked at her half-sister sheepishly. 'Look, there's no need to mention any of this to Simon. You know what he's like. He's so po-faced. He wouldn't see the funny side.'

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