On Monday Sami and Beth travelled to London. There had been, as usual, more last-minute things to do than expected.
Beth arranged her lists on the kitchen table about the care of Ollie and the guinea pigs; food that was prepared or needed to be taken out of the freezer; remembering to lock the house when they left; shut windows when they went to bed; not to forget their keys, and so on. She also wrote down the address and phone number of Alex’s house, knowing they would be ignored, and they would just use their mobiles.
After Ollie’s shorter than usual walk, Beth found Layla eating breakfast.
‘We’re off, you won’t forget Ollie or the guinea pigs, will you?’
‘Of course not. You know I’ll do them any time.’
Beth grinned but didn’t pick her up on it. ‘Thanks. Text me if there is anything.’ She turned to Sami. ‘Is anyone covering you up at the Hendersons’?’
‘Yes. I asked Alex. He said he would enjoy the cycle up there.’ He turned to Layla, ‘No wild parties while we are away, OK?’
‘Oh no, and I’ve posted the party me and Adam are having tomorrow on Facebook. I’ll try to cancel it. Have to hope no one turns up, won’t we?’
‘Not funny,’ said Sami, scowling.
Layla laughed. ‘Just go.’
Beth went up to see Adam. ‘We’re off, Layla’s going to look after the animals, but can you check everything is locked up? Oh, and make sure you put the bins out tomorrow, and bring them back in. There are lists on the kitchen table.’
‘Oh, you off somewhere?’
‘I’ve told you loads of times. Me and Dad are going to London.’
‘Oh, yes. Right.’ Beth didn’t find that particularly reassuring, but Sami was calling her. ‘Come on. The taxi is here, quick.’ And so, with many misgivings, Beth left the house.
On the Red Jet she sent a text to Layla to make sure she also locked up when she left the house, and not to forget to make sure there was always water down for Ollie.
At Waterloo, she started to feel she was getting away. Getting off the train in London was, as always, a shock. Beth didn’t come up often, and was not used to the crowds, the noise, the smells of the city. She felt a county bumpkin when she looked at the sophisticated women who even in casual wear looked a lot smarter than her. However, she also noticed the homeless people begging, young kids sleeping rough, things she hardly ever saw on the island. The poverty on the island tended to be more hidden away. Coming here was a reminder not to forget it was still there.
They walked from the tube to Alex’s house in Canonbury: a tall, white Victorian house in a crescent with a small green area in front of it. It was pleasant, but to get in they had to go through a complicated alarm system, including private cameras, which Sami navigated.
The inside was very smart: antique furniture and classic prints. There were also photographs of a dancer, who Beth assumed was Amy. She had that way of standing, like a thoroughbred racehorse, every sinew tight, highly charged. In the living room she saw a large glass cabinet full of cups and trophies. It made her realise for the first time just how talented Amy must have been.
‘It’s more elegant than I expected. I can see why Imogen said the flat must be a come down for Alex.’
‘I think the house originally belonged to Amy’s parents. Remember, Alex said they were well off. By the way, Alex asked us to use the spare bedroom.’
Beth found it quite thrilling to be away, just the two of them in this beautiful house. She realised how much she and Sami had needed a break from the island and all the stress they’d had.
In the evening they walked to one of the Middle Eastern restaurants Sami had researched. The food was wonderful. Although Sami had moved to Wales as a child, his Iraqi roots were strong, and food was a very important part of that. His mother was an amazing cook. Beth, when she visited, was never so much as offered a packet of biscuits: everything was beautifully, and to Beth exotically, home-made. As if reading her mind, Sami said, ‘We should try to get out to my parents one day. It’s been a few years since they saw the children.’
‘I don’t forget about visiting them. One day—’
‘I’m not trying to make you feel guilty. They could come to us: they know that. They could afford it. But still, I’d like to see them. We’ll have to see what we can plan.’
Beth didn’t answer. It wasn’t something that she would look forward to, but he was right: the children should see their grandparents.
They walked back to the house. Beth was surprised at the relief she felt that they could still enjoy being away like this. Maybe life when the children both left home wouldn’t be so bad.
At first, when Sami left the next morning, Beth wandered around, not sure what to do with herself. It was odd to be in someone else’s house, looking out of the windows, so different to the island. Every horizon here was littered with buildings, and there was a constant hum of traffic.
Beth looked at the beautiful paintings and ornaments, the antique furniture. This place didn’t shout, but whispered politely of class and money. Alex, she guessed, must have inherited a lot of money when Amy died. For the first time she wondered just why he was leaving all this behind, escaping to the island. He said he tried not to come back. Of course, the painful memories must be in the DNA of this house now, but what exactly was he running away from?
Beth walked around the tiled hallway, looked up the stairs, the ones Amy had fallen down: the floor was hard, unforgiving. It must have been awful for Kathleen. Did she hear the fall before she came out and found Amy? And Alex had not been here. Beth sat in a beautiful velvet seat in the hallway looking up at the stairs. Alex was an enigma. One of those people who shared himself piece by piece, but you never saw the whole picture. Of course, he’d been there on the Sunday evening: it had to be possible that he was the person Kathleen had been talking about.
It was so hard to imagine him threatening anyone. But then she didn’t really know him and, given the right circumstances, maybe it was possible. Kathleen said she had known something horrendous about this person. If it had been Alex, what could he have done? Looking at the stairs, the obvious thing would be that she knew something suspicious about Amy’s death, but how could that be possible? Alex hadn’t even been here. Also, Alex claimed not to have known about Kathleen’s affair, although, of course, he could be lying. He had no alibi for the Monday morning, but no one had bothered because he had no motive. Well, maybe now she’d at least found the hint of one.
Beth thought of Kathleen’s phone. Alex said he had not been here recently, but he could have lied, come back, and hidden it here. It was the perfect time to look. She went through the house, room by room. Everything was neat so it didn’t take too long. Finally, she came to Amy’s room. She knew in her heart she shouldn’t be going in there, but she couldn’t resist it. It might be exactly the place Alex might hide something in.
Beth let herself into the bedroom. Like the rest of the house, it was a lovely room. There was a large photograph of Alex and Amy on their wedding day. She noticed the butterfly necklace, the earrings. She went over to the window, looked down on the gardens below and was amazed to see a fox sunning itself under the trees.
Methodically, she examined the wardrobes, bedside cabinet and finally the dressing table drawers. She slid open a long drawer. What she saw made her gasp: the drawer was full of jewellery in beautiful boxes and cases and these weren’t cardboard like the boxes she had. These were made of leather and wood. As she opened them she noticed fine hinges, and she stared at a stunning array of jewellery. One box contained emerald earrings and a pendant on a gold chain. Beth picked up an opal ring. It would only fit on her little finger: Amy must have been slight. She moved her hand, watching the opals that shone a thousand colours. In another box was a creamy pearl necklace, which she held up. Each pearl was slightly different: heavy, cool, bright, and they shone individually when the light hit them. The diamond clasp was beautifully fashioned. It was exquisite. In a reddish brown Cartier box, she found a watch. This looked like a vintage piece: rectangular, with tiny diamonds and blue hands. Sami had said he wanted to get her jewellery for her birthday. She lay the watch with the pearls and took a photo. She didn’t expect anything as extravagant, but maybe a small pearl necklace, a watch of a similar shape? She carefully put all the jewellery away, wondering why Alex didn’t at least keep it in a household safe. Beth had found nothing of interest after all. She checked her watch: it was time to go.
She put on comfy shoes and left the house nervously, trying to remember all the security instructions she’d been given. It was such a contrast to making sure the children locked the back door and pulled the front door shut. As, with relief, she pulled the front door closed, she was aware of an older woman next door, lifting a key to her lock: obviously just returning home.
‘Good morning,’ the woman said. ‘I’ve just managed to catch the post.’
‘Hi,’ said Beth, impressed to be greeted, and then wondering if she should explain who she was. ‘Me and my husband are staying for a few nights. Alex works with my husband at a pharmacy on the Isle of Wight.’
‘That’s a long way. It’s good to have someone in the house. Alex told me he would be away a lot more, but he’s not been back for some time now. He phones me to check everything is all right, but it’s not the same as having people living there. Still, I’ll be sad if he sells it. I’d hate to see it broken up into flats, and they’ve been good neighbours. So sad what happened to his wife, isn’t it? Tragic.’
Beth felt she was back in Wales; the lady was obviously looking to chat.
‘Amy sounded like a lovely lady.’
‘She was. I knew her mother well. She came from a distinguished family. They had the house here, and one down in Kent. Amy’s father was something high up in the civil service, and such a gentleman. Amy was his pride and joy. He died abroad, an infection it was. As for Amy’s mother, of course, well she died suddenly only a few years back. She was in her nineties. Amy had been extremely close to her. I don’t think she ever recovered from that. Tragedy seems to follow some families, doesn’t it?’
‘My friend Kathleen stayed here a few times before Christmas. She was here the night Amy died.’
‘I remember her: the woman who was studying to be a pharmacist?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Amy mentioned her. She was fond of her. She was so upset that morning. Well, we all were. But in the months before her death I saw Amy going downhill. Alex became worried stiff to leave her. I came and sat with her a lot. I even stayed the night when Alex was on the island if that friend of yours wasn’t up here.’
‘Alex must have been very grateful.’
‘Oh, he was. She was so vulnerable. Not just in the way she forgot things, but she became more and more, well, you could call it generous. She kept giving things away. She gave me a print she knew I liked. I checked it with Alex, who was happy for me to keep it, but I turned down a lot. I always felt that if the wrong person came along, well, they could have had half the stuff in that house.’
‘That must have been a worry—’
‘Alex worried about it, I know. He joked that that she’d bankrupt him one day.’
‘Did he really?’
‘Of course, he was only joking.’
Beth knew this woman would like to chat for the rest of the day. She saw the words, ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ poised on the woman’s lips.
‘Right. I think I’d better be off. I’m hopeless in London. I get on the wrong tubes, get lost all the time.’
‘Look, take this card. It’s got my phone number on it. Ring me if you get lost. Everyone is in such a rush; you never know who to ask.’
‘Thank you,’ said Beth, pushing the card into her bag. ‘That’s kind.’
‘Have a good day. Don’t spend all your money.’
Beth managed the travelling better than she’d anticipated. She caught the tube to Covent Garden. Alighting there she was greeted with the music of buskers, colourful posters for plays and films, and people, lots of people. The atmosphere, however, was more relaxed and less frenetic than she’d feared.
Later, she phoned home and was relieved that everything seemed to be going smoothly, apart from Adam dropping a four pint bottle of milk, and Layla saying the conditioner had run out. That evening she and Sami went to see the musical Wicked. As always, Beth was stunned by the whole experience of a West End show and even Sami, who was there for her really, enjoyed it. They tried another Middle Eastern restaurant. The evening was a success.
As they walked back to Alex’s house, Beth thought about telling Sami what she was planning to do the next day when he was in lectures but, as she was pretty sure he wouldn’t want her to go, she decided not to.
Next day, Beth retrieved the map she had printed and set off for the academy Kathleen had been attending. Beth had done her research online, found out who taught Kathleen, where the lectures were held, even the group timetable. It appeared they were having extra lectures in preparation for exams, so most of them would be around when she was in London. The most useful thing she’d done was track down a girl on Kathleen’s course on social media. Beth had introduced herself, explained her connection with Kathleen, and the girl appeared to have known Kathleen quite well. Beth asked if they could meet to chat. The girl had seemed happy to meet up for coffee at the academy. The best time was at 11.30 after a lecture.
Beth found the interior of the academy daunting, and she went straight to reception. She felt surrounded by people much younger and more confident than herself. This was the kind of crowd Adam would be mixing with in October, she realised. She felt overwhelmed for him.
Beth was directed to the lecture room, and she sent a message to Angela. She waited outside. Aware of how different and how much older she was than everybody else, Beth reckoned Angela would find her easily enough. When a group of students emerged from the lecture room, it wasn’t as large as she had anticipated. A young girl enquired, ‘Are you Beth?’
‘Yes. Angela?’
‘That’s right. I feel I know you quite well. Kathleen talked about you and, of course, your husband Sami, her boss. I was so sorry to hear about Kathleen. We were all shocked. We’re quite a small group, so we all knew each other. Even though there was a big age gap between us we got on well. But I can’t think how I can help you: you must have known her a lot better than me.’
They went into the cavernous entrance hall. There were outlets for several chain fast food restaurants. Beth offered to buy the coffee.
The noise was incredible; they had to raise their voices to be heard.
Angela spoke. ‘I told Kathleen about my father who had cancer, and she was saying her husband had been through that. She said how hard it was, and that she’d had a friend, you, who had always been there for her, how you’d made all the difference. She said that you were like that: always kind, always saw the best in people.’
Beth smiled. ‘Well, I’m glad I asked you. What a lovely thing to say. Kathleen wasn’t a difficult person to stand by.’
‘I can imagine. So, what is it you need to know?’
‘It’s rather delicate.’ Angela sat up.
‘I know it sounds like I’m just being nosey, but I promise you I have good reasons for asking. What I need to know is if Kathleen had a relationship with anyone up here in London on her course.’
Angela’s eyebrows shot up.
‘My last conversation with Kathleen was disturbing,’ explained Beth. ‘She was very uptight. Although we were close, she wouldn’t tell me what was wrong. I think she thought I would judge her. One explanation I thought of for her being so stressed was that she’d had an affair, and the obvious thing would have been someone up here. I don’t want to tell anyone, or hunt this person down, but if I know that I would understand why she was like she was.’
Beth was aware she was babbling, but there seemed no easy excuse for wanting this information. She waited to see if Angela wrote her off as some nutty woman but was relieved to see her giving the matter serious thought.
‘I think I can understand that,’ said Angela and she tapped her fingertips on the table. As if making the decision to speak, she took a breath and said, ‘OK. I can assure you Kathleen was not seeing anyone up here.’
‘You’re certain?’
‘Absolutely. There are only three boys on our course. One got married last summer and spends all his time on the phone to his wife. One started dating a girl on the course after the first session and is totally besotted, and then there’s Jeff, who is gay, and just got engaged to his partner.’
‘I see, so no students. Any lecturers she might have been interested in?’
‘None. Two are women, and the only man is about to retire, insists on us all calling him by his surname, and permanently scowls. Still, he knows his stuff.’
‘No chance of anything between him and Kathleen?’
Angela laughed. ‘No way. Kathleen got short changed when she tried out that flirty smile of hers on him. No. There was no one up here but—’
Beth looked quizzically at Angela, who was looking worried.
‘Well, in a way I’m not surprised. I guessed soon after I met Kathleen last September that she was worried about her marriage.’
‘What did she say?’
‘Well, I didn’t know her that well, but I was showing her some holiday pictures. Kathleen told me her husband was a photographer. I joked that I was sure he’d have taken a lot of her. I mean, even at her age, she was still very pretty. Kathleen went all serious and said not so many now, which I thought was rather sad. Then she said he’d found a new model, someone very pretty. The girl was young, and Kathleen said she was infatuated with her husband.’
Beth felt sick, knowing that this must be Elsa.
‘And did she think he felt the same?’
‘Kathleen tried to laugh it off, said she knew he had more sense, but she did say he’d helped this girl too much with some project she was doing. It sounded like he had more or less done it for her and yet this girl was going to get into uni on the strength of it. I said that wasn’t fair and Kathleen agreed. She said at times she’d been tempted to contact the school and tell them.’
Beth’s eyes widened. ‘She was going to do that?’
‘Oh yes. I think she would have, but she said there were other things to bear in mind, that there were things stopping her. Anyway, she didn’t say that much about her after that, but we did chat a lot. I liked her. She was kind, listened well.’
‘Did she ever tell you about meeting anyone else?’
‘I sort of guessed—’
‘What is it? Please—’ said Beth.
‘It was February. When Kathleen came to lectures, she didn’t look well. I caught her throwing up, took her for a coffee. She told me she thought she was pregnant. I congratulated her but she didn’t look happy. She said she’d made a mistake and it was hard to live with. I sort of put two and two together, and guessed that there must be another man.’
‘Did she say who it was?’
‘No, but she seemed scared. I wondered if she was frightened of this man or her husband. I told her she could get help, but she said she had to sort this out on her own. Her husband wasn’t abusive, or anything, was he?’
‘No. Nothing like that.’
‘Good. I wouldn’t have wanted that. I did worry about her. We’d had a long chat when she came back after Christmas in January. Firstly, I wanted to know why she’d not done the second day of the course in December. All we got was some message that a family member was ill. She told me about the woman, Amy, was it? Yes, she said she had a fall; it was fatal. It sounded awful. I said she still looked very upset by it and she said it was all made so much worse by some skiing weekend she went on.’
‘I think it was rather soon after Amy’s death.’
‘Yes. She said she couldn’t forget the accident, said something about medication.’
‘She was worried about Amy’s medication?’
‘She got pretty upset, so I changed the subject. I thought she was getting worked up.’ Angela shrugged an apology. ‘I’m so sorry about everything. Kathleen was sweet and kind. She’d bring up biscuits she’d made, and she gave me a beautiful cashmere cardigan she said didn’t suit her any more. She remembered, you see, my favourite colour was green. She was thoughtful. She brought me some DVDs for Dad as well. It’s tragic, the way she died.’
‘Yes. It was a terrible shock.’
Beth saw Angela wave to some friends, indicating to them to wait for her.
‘You’ve got to go,’ said Beth. ‘That’s fine. Thank you so much for talking to me. Considering how little you saw Kathleen she seems to have trusted you and talked to you a lot.’
‘I think me being up here, I was away from everyone. Who was I going to tell her secrets to?’
Beth left with a lot to think about, most of all Elsa. Elsa could have known about Kathleen’s affair. She could easily have overheard William in the same way as Imogen had. Now, if Kathleen had threatened to tell the school about her portfolio, Elsa could have threatened in return to tell Patrick about the affair. If Kathleen had been going to reveal all, including the truth about Elsa’s portfolio, that would have been disastrous for Elsa. It would have been more than embarrassing: she’d have been shown up as a fraud to her family and friends, the school, the university. In Elsa’s eyes it could have ruined her life. How far would she go to stop Kathleen speaking out?
Beth sighed. This wasn’t what she wanted to learn, and she tried to push it out of her head. One other thing she had learned was that Kathleen almost certainly hadn’t had an affair with someone up in London. It confirmed what she’d felt deep down all along: the affair had been much closer to home.