False Step Read Online Free PDF

early, hoping she wouldn’t dream of pantomime dames.
Friday morning
    In the morning things seemed no better. Florrie Green was not at work; Bea checked. Kasia failed to ring. Bea forced herself to deal with routine matters, and succeeded fairly well until Max rang.
    â€˜Sorry I missed you yesterday,’ Bea said, trying to focus on what her son might want this time. ‘I had to do a site visit.’
    â€˜You’d switched your mobile off.’
    â€˜Only in the morning. Yes, sorry. So, how are you getting on?’
    Heavy breathing. A long sigh. Bea realized she was expected to show sympathy, to rush with plasters and band aid to clean up the grazed knee, or whatever it was this time. She assumed his troubles were trivial; overspending by his almost-anorexic wife, Nicole? Being omitted from the guest list of some function or other?
    â€˜The thing is …’ he started and then stopped. ‘Well, Nicole’s going through a bad time, health-wise. It makes her hypersensitive.’
    Bea’s eyebrows peaked. To her mind Nicole was as hypersensitive as a piledriver. ‘Oh dear,’ was all she could say.
    â€˜I’ve tried reasoning with her. I’ve bent over backwards to reassure her …’
    Bea’s tone sharpened. ‘She needs reassurance?’
    â€˜The fact is … you’ll laugh when you hear this … but she’s jealous of … of my research assistant. And honestly, there’s nothing in it.’
    Bea rolled her eyes. ‘I suppose the girl’s young and blonde?’
    â€˜You’ve met her?’
    â€˜When would I …? Never mind. Sack her, obviously. Not Nicole, the research assistant.’
    â€˜I wish I could.’ He sounded eight years old and tearful. ‘The thing is, Mother, Nicole’s thrown me out. Would it be all right if I moved back home for a few days, just till she calms down?’
    Bea closed her eyes, sending up an arrow prayer for patience. ‘You realize Oliver now lives in your old bedroom, and pays me rent for it? Plus we’ve got the builders in. I’m not sure you ought to be flying back here so quickly. Why can’t you sack the troublemaker?’
    â€˜She’s Nicole’s younger sister. It was Nicole’s father – the chair of my local constituency party – who asked me to take the girl on. She’s his favourite, you see. I couldn’t refuse since he’s helped us so much, buying a place for us in the constituency. I didn’t realize the girl was, well, like she is. I have to talk to him, try to make him understand, but I’m afraid he might still take her part. It’s no wonder, really, that Nicole’s jealous.’
    Bea sighed. ‘All right. Just for a few days. Use the guest bedroom. When will you arrive?’
    â€˜As soon as. I’ll be at the House most of the time, will eat there, and so on.’
    â€˜You’re very welcome, Max.’ She put the phone down, thinking that of course it would be lovely to see him, but she wished he were better at handling his relationships.
    He must have been sitting in his car outside, for he arrived within five minutes, lugged a couple of suitcases up the stairs to the guest bedroom and disappeared for the rest of the day. Bea informed Maggie that they had a guest for the week, and left it at that. She was not, definitely not, going to get involved in her son’s problems.
    Late in the afternoon there was a call from the Polish girl, asking about money due to her. Bea coaxed her to come round that evening, after she’d finished her cleaning jobs for the day.
Friday afternoon
    Going home in the rush hour seemed worse than usual. Everyone bad-tempered, closely crammed into the Tube.
    She got out at Ealing Broadway and trudged up the stairs in a moving queue of people. The formal identification had gone well. She’d even managed to weep a little. Poor old man. He’d been in a lot of