Tell the Truth by Katherine Howell

confide in you?’ Ella asked.
    â€˜She’d talk sometimes about work things – a sad case, a tough one – but she didn’t talk much about personal stuff. If we were out as a group and someone started bitching about their husband or whatever, she didn’t really say anything. The times when she did mention James it was pretty surface stuff: he was busy at work, that sort of thing. Never any detail about issues or sex or anything.’
    â€˜Do you know him well?’ Ella said.
    â€˜Not really. He seems an okay guy, though when we were out he’d often text or call and ask her something, and it was always something that I’d think could’ve waited, like “do we have plans on the weekend?” or “did you buy any parmesan?”. I asked her once whether he was suspicious of what she was up to, but she brushed it off. It always struck me as strange, though.’
    â€˜Did she ever give an indication that she was annoyed or upset about him doing that?’ Murray asked.
    â€˜No,’ Aimee said. ‘She’d just answer him then go on with the conversation.’
    â€˜Did he do or say any other odd things?’ Ella said.
    Aimee thought. ‘He was always up when I dropped her home, no matter how late it was. He’d open the door and wait for her to come in. But they don’t have kids, so he probably doesn’t need sleep as much as my husband does.’
    â€˜About kids,’ Ella said. ‘They’re not having any?’
    â€˜When Charlotte was born, Stacey told me she’d like to, but that was three years ago and she’s never said it again since, and when I asked her she said no.’ As if on cue, a little girl came into the room and leaned on her mother’s leg.
    â€˜I’m hungry,’ she said.
    Aimee looked at Ella and Murray. ‘Are we finished?
    â€˜Almost,’ Ella said. ‘Did you ever get the idea that Stacey might be seeing or interested in someone else?’
    â€˜I’d be very surprised. If she was, she was hiding it well.’
    â€˜With some people you can tell when they’re holding something back,’ Murray said. ‘You can tell if they’re not being completely straight. Did she ever give you that feeling?’
    â€˜She can be quiet,’ Aimee said. ‘When she’d talk about those sad jobs, she’d say so much then trail off, but we all work with dying patients at some time so stuff doesn’t need to be spelled out. But I didn’t feel like she was hiding anything big, and I sort of thought that with her husband there just wasn’t much to bitch about. Because she’d talk about her sister Marie pretty freely.’
    â€˜They don’t get on?’ Murray said.
    â€˜They do mostly, but apparently Marie sometimes has this bossy big sister thing going on and it bugs the hell out of Stacey.’ Charlotte whined, and Aimee rubbed her back.
    â€˜Bossy how?’ Ella asked.
    â€˜Well, one time she said that she was talking to Paris, her niece, Marie’s daughter, about some problem with Paris’s boyfriend. Marie told Stacey later she should keep out of it, that she couldn’t possibly understand and help when she wasn’t a mother herself. Stacey was really riled up. She said it was about relationships, not whether you were a parent. I said maybe Marie was jealous that Paris had talked to Stacey about it instead of her, but she didn’t want to talk about it any more.’
    â€˜What else did they fight about?’ Ella asked.
    â€˜That’s the only thing that stands out. Claire and Vicky might remember more, though.’ She gestured towards the lounge room as she spoke.
    â€˜The third woman out there,’ Ella said. ‘Who is she?’
    â€˜Her name’s Imogen. She came here with Rowan. Was it okay that he was asking questions? I did say that I felt I should be talking to you instead.’
    â€˜That would