Page 134 of Good Sisters

The front door opened and a woman with an accent answered. ‘Can I ’elp you?’

‘Yes, I’m here to see Victoria Carter-Mills.’

‘Does she know you are coming?’

‘It’s a very urgent matter regarding her son, Sebastian.’

Moving past the housekeeper, Louise entered the hall and closed the door behind her. All we could see through the camera were the housekeeper’s knees and the marble tiles in the hallway.

‘I told Louise to put the briefcase on her lap or beside her on the chair when she sits down. We’ll see better then,’ Gavin said.

‘Who is it, Carmen?’ Victoria’s shrill voice rang out.

Her Lycra-clad legs appeared on screen.

‘I’m sorry – who are you and what are you doing here?’

‘I’m Louise Devlin, senior legal partner at Price Jackson, I’m here about a very serious matter involving your son, Sebastian, and an explicit photo of my client, a minor, that he has on his phone and was showing in the locker room. I’m sure you are aware that taking explicit photos of a minor without their consent with the possible intent of causingharm is a serious criminal offence, which your son has now been accused of.’

‘Excuse me?’ Victoria’s voice rose ten octaves.

‘I think we should talk in private. It would be better for you that no one else hears what I have to say.’

Gavin whistled. ‘Louise is such a badass.’

I could see Sophie was holding her breath. Her face was white. I nudged her. ‘Breathe or you’ll pass out.’

She exhaled. ‘I didn’t know I wasn’t.’

We could see more of the hallway, then a door, a plush carpet and a couch. Next, we heard rustling and Louise put her briefcase on the couch beside her so now we had full view of Victoria’s face.

‘What the hell is going on?’ She looked furious.

‘What’s going on, Mrs Carter-Mills,’ Louise’s voice dripped with disdain, ‘is that your son took a photo of my fifteen-year-old niece Jessica Wells when she was drunk and has been showing it around the locker room. Exposing this private photo to anyone is an offence. A serious one. The law has clamped down in recent years on this kind of morally reprehensible behaviour since several young girls committed suicide after similar incidents.’

‘Your niece?’

‘Yes. I’m Sophie Devlin’s sister. That’s why I’m here, making this courtesy call to you before we press charges. This is your one chance to keep Sebastian out of the police station and court, not to mention the press. I’m sure they’d love nothing better than a story about a private-school boy taking photos of a drunk underage girl and showing them off to his teammates.’

‘But – but hold on now, if it was consensual, why is Sebastian being blamed?’

‘A private consensual photo is not meant for publicconsumption, Mrs Carter-Mills. Surely you understand that. Jessica is distraught. We are extremely concerned about her. Sophie had to call in a doctor last night to sedate her. Her mental health is on the edge after finding out about Sebastian’s betrayal.’

‘Yes! Stick it to her.’ I clapped.

‘Thank God Jess is a lot more resilient than Louise is making out, but I’m loving this,’ Sophie said.

‘How do you know Sebastian showed the photo?’

‘My three nephews are on the team with him. He showed them the photo of their cousin in the locker room. That was why Liam punched him. He was trying to protect Jess. Your son was also accusing my niece of performing oral sex, which did not happen. So we have the photo and the slander. Those are two very serious accusations against him. I have the paperwork all drawn up here in my briefcase. I have asked my colleague and friend Darina Fitzsimmons to take the case. You may know her name from her recent high-profile case. She got justice for a nineteen-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by three members of a professional rugby team. No one thought she’d win the case, but she did. She is a very skilled and capable barrister with a particular interest in cases where young women have been wronged.’

‘STOP!’ Victoria held up her hands. ‘I will not hear another word against my son. I want to see what Sebastian has to say about all of these vile accusations.’ She left the room.

‘If you can hear me,’ Louise whispered, ‘I think I have her on the back foot, but she’s a tough nut.’

‘Keep going,’ Sophie urged, even though Louise couldn’t hear us.

We heard a noise and then Victoria and Sebastian came into view. Sebastian was in training shorts and a T-shirt and was sweating.

---