Something In The Air

Chapter 20 - Forbidden Fruit

"Both of these details were just vague hints, you understand, although they set me on the path to realising the truth quite nicely. Similarly, I was made aware that Sophie had started making more frequent visits to art exhibits and painting sales, as well as rekindling contact with her godmother, Alice, who lived in London and had recently been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. She had begun visiting her to provide much-needed company and support during her last months but, like with the art, she would always go there alone. Now I'm sure she does have a godmother called Alice who has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer – I heard Megan, Sophie's twin, speaking to her on the phone - but what I don't believe is that Sophie spent all the time there that she claimed to have done. I think she would go there for just one or two hours before saying her goodbyes and meeting up with you somewhere nearby. As for the art visits, I imagine most of them weren't even real – I know that her husband has such a lack of interest in her hobby that he wouldn't have questioned her. It would also explain why she's been selling so few paintings despite the apparent number of sales she's attended and the clear quality of her work.

"It wasn't until I discovered you, Florence, that everything fell into place. Before, it was all just hints and guesswork. It was you that provided me with the concrete evidence that I needed to prove my theory.

"When I first met you on your doorstep, I immediately knew I recognised you from somewhere. You tried to convince me otherwise and, to be fair, we had never actually met and there was certainly no way you could have known who I was. But I was adamant I'd seen your face before and it was when we moved into the living room that I worked out where.

"The painting hanging above your fireplace – it's one of hers. I could tell because it was a landscape – an orchard in full bloom, if I remember correctly – crafted using oil paints and with her distinctive fingerprint technique for creating the clouds. Soon after I left, I realised that it had been an article on the Evening Standard website where I'd first seen your face. The article was about Sophie winning a local art competition and there was a large photograph of her accepting her prize from a woman on the stage. You were that woman.

"Your day job might be as a college receptionist, but your real passion, like Sophie, is art and it was obvious not just from all the framed pictures on the walls of your house, but the collectable cat plates and figurines too. Your occupation and passion combined explains why you were there that day – it was your college that had run the competition and you'd put yourself forward to judge the candidates. As I say, Sophie collected first prize and you must have been so impressed with her work that you just had to speak to her about it. Sophie, having received nothing but negativity from her husband at home, was thrilled I expect to have someone take such a keen interest."

"She was," Florence murmured wistfully. "The winning painting had already been bought by a local gallery for display, but she promised me her next piece and, if anything, the orchard was even more breath-taking. She didn't even ask anything for it – it was a gift from her to me, for having faith in her and for giving her the confidence to keep pursuing her dreams. We met up several times in a short period to discuss our various ambitions and that, I'm certain, is when we started to fall in love. The affair started soon after."

She dabbed at her eyes again and Maddox was able to see directly for the first time just how much the secret relationship had meant to each of them.

"No one could know about it," Florence resumed tearfully. "For me it was okay because I lived on my own and rarely had visitors, but Sophie was with her husband and was obviously very close to her twin sister as well. For her, it was always going to be a lot more difficult to cover up and so I took it as a sign of just how much she needed me and this relationship that she was prepared to do it. We weren't fools. We knew it couldn't and wouldn't last forever. But that didn't stop us from loving every second. If and when we were discovered, we hoped we would be able to pass it off as a close friendship and nothing more." Florence paused as a sudden thought disturbed her rambling. "Speaking of which, how did you know we were lovers and not just close friends who simply shared an affinity for art? One painting doesn't prove anything."