Ella shook her head. ‘Perhaps. But I don’t think so. I think she meant it.’
‘Well, that’s also possible.’ Mark Redmayne leaned back in his chair and readjusted his cufflinks – nervously, Ella thought. ‘But just because Athena Petridis meant something doesn’t mean it was true. Don’t forget, this woman was a pathological, lifelong liar.’
‘Yes, but why lie about that?’ Ella pressed.
‘Why not?’ Turning around, Mark gestured to one of the waiting staff to bring a second round of coffees. ‘If I may say so, Ella – and don’t take this personally – you’re still new to this game, but you’re making the classic mistake of looking for rational reasons behind the words and actions of a psychopath. You know that Athena Petridis knew your mother.’
‘More than knew her,’ Ella corrected him hotly. ‘Athena was there in my mother’s dying moments. She stood by and did nothing while her husband drowned my mother like an animal.’
‘Quite.’ Mark Redmayne flexed his knuckles with an audible crack. ‘So what does it matter if Athena said otherwise? She wanted to deny you the satisfaction of an admission. Big deal. You killed her, Ella. You won. Ah. Coffee. Excellent. Will you have another cup?’
Ella watched as Redmayne shooed away the waiter, picking up the silver coffee pot himself and pouring them both a fresh cup. Not a drop was spilled as the stream of hot, black liquid splashed down into the white porcelain, swirling in an elegant, circular motion to exactly three quarters of the way up the cup. He added the cream and sugar with the same care, the same controlled, elegant motions, performing the simplest of tasks as if it were a ballet.
He’s too slick. Too perfect, thought Ella. He’s putting on a show. And I’m the intended audience.
For the first time, she began to have an inkling that this ‘deception’, whatever it was, concerned both her mother and Athena. She decided to push things a little further.
‘Mr Redmayne.’ She leaned forward.
‘Mark,’ he corrected her.
‘Mark.’ Ella smiled sweetly. ‘Before I commit to returning to The Group permanently, I wonder, is there anything else you can tell me – anything at all – about my parents?’
The nerve on Redmayne’s jaw was twitching rapidly now. I’m getting closer, thought Ella.
‘I’d like to know more about their lives in The Group. Other missions they were involved in. Their friends and colleagues. Right now I feel like I know more about their deaths than I do about their lives. I understand that the three of you were close once.’
Redmayne took a long, slow sip of his coffee.
Playing for time.
‘Who told you we were close?’ His voice was languid, studiedly casual.
‘A few people,’ Ella said vaguely.
‘Gabriel?’
‘Oh no.’ Ella shook her head convincingly. ‘Other people. At Camp Hope. Gabriel’s not what you would call a big talker.’
She smiled conspiratorially and Redmayne returned the gesture. He was giving nothing away, but Ella was sure he was rattled.
‘So were you? Close to them?’ She pressed him.
‘Not really,’ said Redmayne after a pause. He appeared to be choosing his words carefully. ‘That’s the problem with rumors, you see, Ella. Things get exaggerated. I knew them, of course. And we did work together, your mother and I. But I wouldn’t call us close.’
‘No?’ Ella waited for him to elaborate.
Redmayne cleared his throat and carried on.
‘There weren’t many married couples in The Group back in those days. Or today, for that matter. Your parents were one of the few, and they were certainly the most well known.’
‘Because of their intellect?’ asked Ella.
‘Yes. And because of you. Their grand experiment. The wonder child.’ Redmayne gave Ella a wry smile. ‘What I’m trying to say is, William and Rachel were close to each other. They were a team. Tightknit. Inseparable, some might say. There wasn’t really space for anyone else.’
‘Inseparable, eh?’ Ella cocked her head to one side. ‘Well that’s nice.’
Liar! She remembered vividly Gabriel telling her the opposite. That her mother became senior to her father within The Group, and that they were regularly sent on separate missions as a result. And that it had driven a wedge between them.