then bisexual. I encouraged him to finally come out as gay.’
Benedict writes it down. ‘And was he still with Terri when all this happened?’
She nods. ‘Sort of … It was a very on-off relationship, quite stormy. Seth found her high maintenance – to be honest, I don’t know what he saw in her. When he finished the relationship, she took it pretty badly, although I don’t understand why it was such a shock.’
‘Did she blame you?’
‘Why would she?’ she huffs. ‘It was Seth’s decision.’
‘And you’re sure she didn’t know about the sperm donation.’
‘Absolutely. There’s no way he would have told her.’ Seth’s words float out and write themselves on the wall above the detective’s head.
Your secret will be safe with me, darling. I’ll take it to my grave.
Benedict thinks for a few seconds. ‘Is there any way she could have found out?’
‘No. Not that I can think of.’
‘Okay, but let’s say for now that she did find out. Might she believe Seth is Mabel’s father?’
Amber’s stomach turns over. ‘Um … I don’t know … I can’t see how. He wouldn’t have said anything. I remember him telling me Terri wanted them to have a baby and he’d said no and she’d got all upset …’ She catches her breath. ‘Oh God. What if …?’
Benedict rises, a fresh look of determination on his face. ‘I think we might have a motive. Excuse me, I’ll be back in a minute.’ He leaves the room.
Amber puts her head in her hands as the uncomfortable thoughts turn fearful. She didn’t take to Terri from the beginning. Their first meeting is etched on her memory, even though they only exchanged a few words. Seth brought his new girlfriend along to their university reunion, probably in an attempt to prove his heterosexual credentials. Not that anyone was convinced. It was the wrong kind of occasion to choose, anyway. Unsurprisingly, Amber and her mates wanted to catch up and reminisce about old times. Terri felt ignored and hit the bottle big-time. She spent the evening scowling at everyone and making loud off-colour remarks. Poor Seth had to pour her into the taxi home.
Amber never understood why Terri was keen on someone who was so obviously not interested in women sexually. Perhaps she hadn’t noticed. The relationship with Seth was all about her, not the two of them. She wanted things from him that he couldn’t or didn’t want to give her, but instead of accepting defeat and retreating gracefully, it made her even more angry and demanding. Poor Seth felt guilty about rejecting her, so he battled on. When he finally came out and ended the relationship, Amber felt pleased for him and relieved that Terri was no longer around. In truth, she didn’t give the woman’s feelings a second’s thought.
Until now …
She remembers one of her secret encounters with Seth in a cocktail bar, shortly after the sperm donation fiasco. Their conversations usually lurched back and forth between their individual problems, but that night it was Seth’s turn to have the most airtime.
‘She keeps going on about making things more permanent,’ he said. ‘Her mother wants to know when I’m going to propose – apparently she’s already seen a hat she likes. It’s ridiculous. And she’s been hinting about having a baby, even though I made it clear from the start that I don’t want kids.’
Amber rolled her eyes. ‘You need to be careful. I mean, what if she gets pregnant?’ She put an imaginary shotgun to his head.
‘Don’t worry, there’s no chance of that,’ he replied. ‘She’s on the pill.’
‘Are you sure about that? Do you see her take it every day? I wouldn’t put it past her to—’
‘Darling, stop being so suspicious,’ he said, patting her hand. ‘She’s all right, you know, she has a good heart. But she lacks confidence and that makes her needy. It’s my fault, I’m messing her around, giving her mixed signals.’ His eyes filled with tears. ‘I’m the problem, not her.’
‘You’re not a problem. You’re gay – simple as. You know it, I know it, your friends know it – none of us care either way, we still love you to bits. Apart from George,’ she giggled, ‘but he doesn’t count. Even your family knows you’re gay, although they pretend otherwise. Get it all out in the open. Honestly, Seth, you’ll be so much happier if you stop apologising for yourself. You’ve a right to be who you are and have some bloody fun!’ She raised her glass