Page 42 of Worse Than Murder (DCI Matilda Darke Thriller #13)

‘I shouldn’t be here,’ Claire Daniels says when Alison opens the door to her.

Claire had gone around to Alison’s house. She hadn’t even bothered knocking when she saw it in darkness. Instead, she drove to the stables and knocked on Iain and Lynne’s door.

‘So why are you here?’ Alison asks.

‘Because I want to burst into tears and you’re my best friend.’

Alison pulls her into a hug. ‘What’s happened?’

Claire doesn’t answer. She breathes in Alison’s scent, holds tight onto her, and allows the tears to flow.

* * *

In the kitchen, Alison, Lynne and Iain, each with a glass of wine, and Claire with an orange juice, sit around the table while Claire tells them about the examination of the car in the warehouse.

‘Inspector Forsyth told me not to say anything. She said it was need-to-know information, but I’ve known you all since I was a baby. You’re all like family to me. I can’t not tell you.’

Alison takes her hand in hers and squeezes hard.

‘The thing is,’ Claire continues. ‘I don’t think any of us have worked on a murder investigation before. I mean, there was that tourist a few years ago, but as he was from Southampton, the police down there took over the lion’s share of the case. This is local. This involves people we know.’

‘Claire,’ Lynne begins, looking up at her through tear-filled eyes. ‘What did they look like?’

Claire is struggling to maintain her emotions. ‘They were just… it was just bones, Lynne.’

‘Could you see what they were wearing?’

She shakes her head. ‘Everything had disintegrated.’

‘Will they be able to tell who they are?’

‘They’ll take DNA from the bones, Mum,’ Alison says.

Claire sits back in her seat. Her hands go to her stomach.

‘Claire, what’s Inspector Forsyth saying about the investigation as a whole?’ Iain asks. ‘Do they think Travis was responsible?’

Lynne grabs for Iain’s hand beneath the table.

‘I don’t know. We can’t pull him in for questioning, can we? And it’s going to be difficult asking people to try and remember if they saw him on the day of the disappearance. It was thirty years ago. Who’s going to remember?’

‘I don’t think any of us will forget what we were doing on that day, at that exact time,’ Alison says. There’s a harshness to her voice. ‘I’m sure you’ll remember it second by second, won’t you Mum?’

Lynne looks at her daughter. She swallows hard and nods. ‘Of course. It’s as clear as if it was yesterday.’ She quickly looks away. ‘I was in the kitchen making a lemon cake. You girls always hated me making lemon cake. You said it tasted funny. Your dad preferred lemon to chocolate.’

There’s a whisper of a smile on her face. Alison is glaring at her, wondering where her mind is. She knows she’s about to lie.

Lynne continues. ‘I remember looking at the clock. It was just after one o’clock. I went out to call you all in for your lunch. There was only you there. You were playing with that sausage dog on a string. Do you remember that?’ she asks, looking at her.

‘Stanley.’

A smile of remembrance spreads across her face. ‘Stanley. Yes. Stanley the sausage dog.’

Alison wipes a tear away. ‘Were you on your own all morning, Mum?’

‘Of course, I was. What makes you ask that?’

Alison doesn’t reply but continues to stare at her mother.

Iain clears his throat loudly. ‘It was Travis who told me.’ Everyone turns to look at him.

‘I was at the stables. We were having problems with the plumbing, and I had the sink off in the bathroom. Travis was shouting my name, really screaming it. I remember thinking then something was wrong. He came bursting in; said the girls had gone missing and would I help him organise a search party.’

‘Travis asked you to organise a search party?’ Alison asks. ‘Why?’

‘Why?’ Iain looks at her with a frown. ‘Because the girls were missing.’

‘How did he know? Who told him?’

‘I phoned the farmhouse,’ Lynne says. ‘Travis answered the phone.’

‘Did he?’

‘Yes. Alison, what is it? You’ve a very strange look on your face. Is something wrong?’

Alison takes another sip of wine. She shakes her head. ‘I don’t understand why Travis immediately knew Celia and Jennifer were missing , though. We used to come up to the farmhouse all the time. Why didn’t he ask if we were there, with you, Iain?’

Iain’s eyes widen and dart from left to right as if he’s trying to remember something he’s forgotten.

‘I… I… don’t recall…’ he says, slowly.

‘Travis jumped to the conclusion they were missing. It makes no sense,’ Alison says.

‘It does, though, now, doesn’t it?’ Claire says. ‘They were in Travis’s car. Surely it’s clear that he took them for… whatever reason.’

They all fall into silence. The atmosphere is oppressive. The only sound comes from a clock on the wall.

‘I can’t get my head around this,’ Alison says. ‘To think that Travis was responsible. He was always so good to us. He let us sit in the front seat of his car and pretend we were driving, do you remember?’ Alison asks Claire.

‘I do. I remember him showing me the gears. I know I was only about five, but I remembered it all. Clutch down, into first, find your biting point…’ she says with a smile.

‘It’s difficult to imagine that same man being responsible for kidnapping Celia and Jennifer,’ Alison says. ‘There’s no reasoning behind it.’

‘Who knows why people do what they do?’ Lynne says. She’s looking away, down at the floor. Her voice is low. She’s clearly uncomfortable, struggling with something. She’s clutching Iain’s hand firmly beneath the table. ‘Excuse me.’ She jumps up and runs out of the room, her hand over her mouth.

Iain, Alison and Claire sit in silence.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have come over here this evening?’ Claire asks.

‘You’re always welcome here, Claire, you know that,’ Iain says. ‘Only, it’s bringing it all back, taking its toll on Lynne.’

‘The truth is always difficult for some people to hear,’ Alison says.

The silence intensifies.