The Tenth Night

Veronica Whitby

"Hey honey, there's a new Japanese place opening soon," Ian called out to his wife, making her roll her eyes as she dried her hands on a tea towel. With the boys at camp, she thought that maybe Ian would attempt to help out around the house on his day off, but to her irritation, he had flat-out refused to lift a hand. Then he had the nerve to say that it's because he worked, so therefore she was in charge of the house. That sexist pig. She couldn't wait until he was out of her life for good.

Veronica moved from the kitchen into the sitting room and took the leaflet that her husband held out for her. As she scanned the words, a Japanese symbol took her attention. "Maybe we should visit it when it's opened," she said, looking at Ian. "And speaking of food, what do you want for dinner?"

"It's down to you."

Perfect. "In that case, I'll have to pop out to go get some ingredients. I shouldn't be long," she said, folding up the leaflet and tucking it into her pocket. As much as she would have loved to poison him in a meal, she knew there would be far too much suspicion placed on her. As his wife, she would be the first suspect, especially if he was poisoned in a meal because guess who was the cook in their home? Her, of course. There was no way she would risk going to prison for Ian; he was not worth it.

She grabbed her bag from the hook by the door and left the house, her mood growing foul. Being summoned for a surprise meeting was not part of the plan and she was sure to bring that up with the group when she arrived. They set dates and times for a reason.

As she drove to Edwin's house, she wondered how many of the others had received the message and were already there. It was a risky form of communication considering she was pretty sure Nathan would soon be homeless, considering how lazy he was, and it wasn't guaranteed that everyone would see and respond at the same time. She honked when she pulled up outside of the house and watched as the curtains twitched a moment later. She tapped her nails on the steering wheel, growing more irritated as the seconds ticked by. How long did it take him to find some shoes and come outside? Sometimes it felt like he behaved in such an annoying way on purpose, and Veronica was sure that as soon as he was able to move into her home that she would soon straighten him out. She didn't think that Ian would mind too much if his nephew came to live with them but then they wouldn't have a house where they could escape to without risking being caught by one of the boys or Ian.

Finally the front door opened and Edwin poked his head out, had a quick glance around before he stepped outside, slammed the door shut and hurried over to the car. As soon as he had shut the door, she pulled away from the kerb.

"Where're we going?" he asked.

"Didn't you get the leaflet? We've been summoned by the twins." She glanced over to him and saw that he looked confused. "How useless are you?" she snapped, "Did you not notice the symbol on the Japanese leaflet you got through your letterbox?"

Edwin just sunk down in his seat and didn't answer, making her roll her eyes. Did everyone aim to piss her off today? Neither of them spoke a word for the rest of the journey, and by the time they had reached the meeting place, all Veronica wanted to do was take her anger out on someone. Too bad this was a public place, she thought. They entered the coffee shop and found Eiko and Rae already there, with the former looking upset.

They joined the table and Veronica drummed her nails. "Well?"

"I'm not sure," Rae said, looking away from the girl. "She doesn't speak English and her sister's not here to translate."

"That's perfect, isn't it? Why she was let into this country is a mystery to me if she can't speak the language," Veronica snapped.

Rae narrowed her eyes. "That's not nice."

"Does it look like I care?"

Just then Nathan and Greg entered the coffee shop at the same time but there was still no sister. They joined the table and Veronica didn't keep her disgust hidden when Nathan sat in the chair next to her. He just grinned. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Where's her sister?" Greg asked.

Eiko was speaking in Japanese but none of them could understand what she was saying. She kept motioning with her hands, glancing between the five of them but it was useless. Why were the sisters apart anyway? For all Veronica knew, they didn't even use the toilet alone. When Eiko gestured a writing motion, Rae rummaged through her bag and found a pad and pen and gave it to the girl. She scribbled a word and held it up for them to see: Eriko ?????

Veronica massaged her temples and glanced at Greg when he spoke. "Her sister's missing."

"No offence, but what's that to do with us? Shouldn't she have gone to the police? Surely they could have got a translator in," Nathan said, leaning back in his chair.

"You idiot," Veronica snapped, whipping her head round to face the man. "It's got everything to do with us because she knows everything and is missing. Even an imbecile like yourself can realise how dangerous that is."

He sat up. "Don't call me an imbecile."

"Then don't act like one."

Rae held up her hand. "This is not the time. We have to be on guard now, until Eriko returns. Who knows where she is or why she left, but the main thing is that we don't draw suspicion to ourselves. I'll stay with Eiko and try and find out more."

Greg offered to stay with her but the rest left the coffee shop, Veronica gripping Edwin's wrist tightly as she led him to the car. When he tried to speak on the journey home she silenced him by digging her nails into his thigh, and she refused his kiss when she stopped outside his place. She didn't watch as he walked to his front door and instead pulled away as fast as she could, determined to get home and lock herself away in her office. This situation was not a good one.

However, when she reached the neighbourhood she saw that there was a police car parked along the street. Frowning, she drove into the driveway, got out the car and glanced at the cruiser. There was never a reason for the police to come into the neighbourhood, and the events that had happened today did not let it sit well with her. She let herself into the house, hung her bag up and walked into the sitting room only to stop short in the doorway at the sight of two policemen sitting on her couch.

She gripped the doorway. "What's happened?" she asked, gaining the attention of all three men.

Ian stood and made his way over to her, placing his hand in his perceived way of comforting her. "Nothing's happened, so there's no need to worry just yet," he reassured her. "But the police say that they've received an anonymous tip that there's a hit out on my life."

With those words, her blood ran cold.

That Japanese bitch.