Public Property (39 page)

Roger
entered.

‘
S
orry to bother you
.
Sasha
’s here
.’

‘H
ey
,
Sasha
.
C
ome on in,
’ Nicholas invited as she stepped forward and Roger ducked back out.
‘W
ould you like a drink?
’

‘
Oh
,
well I don’t want to disturb you if you
’re busy.
I just thought while Freya is out
,
I
’
d drop some things round here to surprise her
.’ She shook a pair of shopping bags at him.

‘I’m about done.
I can’t seem to concentrate with all the noise going on. Would you like some tea?
’

‘
Well,
maybe
a quick one
.
I want to get back to the office before Freya does
though. Don’t want her to think I’m slacking off.’ She checked her watch.

‘I’ll make it quick. H
ey
,
Roger! You and the guys want tea?
’ Nicholas called up the stairs.

‘
No thanks
,
Nick
.
W
e’re all good up here
.’

‘
You make everyone tea?
’
Sasha
exclaimed
.

They both moved into the kitchen and
Sasha
placed her bags on the breakfast bar.

‘
Ye
a
h
,
sure
.
W
hy do you sound surprised? You’ve been here before
.
W
e don’t have a team of butlers hiding in the closet
,
you know
.’ He laughed.

‘I know.
I just
…
I don’t know
.
I mean
,
you
’re so famous and…’
Sasha
began, blushing.

‘Don’t say that to Freya.
S
he hates the word
“
famous
”
,
only second to the word “
celebrity
”,’
Nicholas
replied as he switched the kettle on.

‘
She told me about the baby
.
C
ongratulations
.’ She reached into one of the bags and pulled out a white all-in-one baby outfit.

‘
Oh, she told you
.
W
ell, we
’
re just trying to keep it quiet right now
.
Y
ou know what the
press is
like
.
A
nd it’
s early days so
we don’t want to tempt fate
.’

‘
Do you like the outfit? I got some in white and lemon
.’ She rifled through the bags, pulling outfits out and holding them up.

‘
Sasha
,
they’re great
.
Y
ou shouldn’t have
.’

‘
Well
, I wanted to.
W
hat with everything that’s been happening
to
you
two
,
I thought you
both deserved a treat. I
t must be terrible having someone come into your house
.
A
nd then for someone to send a wreath
.
Freya must be out of her mind with worry
.’ She sat down on one of the stools.

‘
Well, I can’t say it isn’t unsettling
.
B
ut Freya
’
s coping really well. Sh
e’s made of strong stuff and we’re
taking all the precautions we can. We’re having a new electric fence installed today and
there’s
two plain
-
clothes officers keeping an eye on the house
.’

‘
How awful
.
I mean
Mayleaf
’s
such a lovely little town.
Y
ou wouldn’t think this sort of thing would happen here
.’

‘
There are a lot of sick people out there
.
W
hen you
’
re in the public eye it
’
s always a risk
.
I just never thought
someone would do this to Freya
.’ He poured the water into the teapot.

‘
Why
d
’
you
think they
’
re targeting Freya?
’

‘
I have absolutely no idea
.
I
f I did I
’
d be helping the police catch whoever it is
.’

‘Maybe
whoever it is
is
jealous of her
,’
Sasha
suggested.

‘
Jealous? What makes you say that?
’

‘
Well, who wouldn’t be jealous of a woman
with
everything
?
S
he has a successful business
and a fabulous home.
S
he
’
s admired by
millions
of people and she
’
s about to get married to a handsome, Hollywood actor who some people would kill to be with
.’

‘
Freya would probably say the successful business
she built up through hard work. She’d say
the fabulous home would be more fabulous if it didn’t have
so many bolts and sensors on it.
T
he admiration she
hates
and as fo
r the actor.
W
ell
,
he’s just an ordinary guy who moans when he doesn’t have a clean shirt to wear and snores at night when he’s had too much to drink
.’ He laughed and passed
Sasha
a cup.

She smiled and accepted it.

‘
Freya has an idea who
’
s behind it
.’

‘
She does?
Someone she knows?’

‘
Someone she
thought
she
knew,
put it that way
.’

‘How awful.
Is it s
omeone from
Mayleaf
?
’

‘
No, not from
Mayleaf
.
God
,
the people in this town have been so supportive to us. Jolie from the store has been over here most
days to see if we need anything
. A
nd
Bruce from the Chinese has started sending over food parcels
.’

‘
It’s nice
to have the community rallying around
.’

‘
Yes it is
.
It’s really
important to me
, especially
now because
I
’
m going to Africa in a few weeks time. I
’
d hate for Freya to be
on her own
. Mind you, considering what
’
s been happening and with the baby on the way, I might not
be able to leave her on her own.’

‘
How
are the wedding
plans coming along? I suspect
with all the disruption you haven
’t been able to do much
organisation
.’

‘
Well, it
’
s certainly been hectic
.
B
ut who knows? We might manage it
.’ He smiled.

‘
Still planned for
December
twenty-second
?
’

‘
At the moment
.’

‘
Good
.
I’ve ordered a little gift
,
you see
.’

‘
Oh
,
Sasha
, you really shouldn’t have
.
And all these clothes are great.
T
hank you
.’

‘You’re welcome
. Well, I’d better go
.
I don’t want Freya to find me missing
.’ She checked her watch.

‘
But you haven’t
finished your
tea
,’ Nicholas remarked, looking at her full cup.

‘
No
.
Well,
I don’t want Freya to miss me and I left the answer
phone on
.
I’d really better get back
.’ She stood up and headed towards the hall.

‘
Well
,
thanks for coming by and
thank you again
for the baby clothes
.
I
t
’
s really generous of you and I
’
m sure Freya will appreciate it
.’ He followed her down the hall and opened the front door.

‘
I hope so
.’ She smiled.

‘
I’ll see you
.’

‘Yes.
S
ee you soon
.’ She smiled again and stepped out onto the deck.

When Freya arrived
back
home
there wer
e a dozen photographers outside. As soon as she brought the car to a halt they began surrounding it.
The remote sensor to open the gate
failed to
work
,
so Freya had no choice but to get out of the
vehicle and press the intercom
.

‘
Freya, congratulations on your pregnancy
.
W
hen
’
s the baby due?
’
one of the reporters questioned
.

A flash from a camera went off in Freya’s face.

‘
It could arrive at any minute if you don’t stop pushing me
.’

She hoped Nicholas was in. She was going to look seriously stupid if she had to climb the fence into her own house. And she would probably get fried if Roger had installed the electric barbed wire.

‘
Hello
.’
Nicholas’ voice
came
through the intercom.

‘
Nick
,
it’s me
.
T
he bloody gate won’t open and I
’
m being mauled by reporters
. What happened to them being all over George Clooney today?
Can you let me in before I’m savaged?
’

‘
I think the security guys are updating the system
.
OK, you’re in
.’

The gate began to open and Freya hurried back to the car.

‘
Will the news of your pregnancy alter your wedding plans?
’
another reporter called as Freya got up into the SUV.

‘
Aren’t you getting this? I don’t have anything to say t
o you guys.
A
re you new?
’
Freya questioned, staring at one of the photographers
.

‘
Me?
’
he inquired, lowering the camera briefly.