Monday 26th September – 4 p.m.
Nell watched as Maeve’s gaze at Brandon crackled with hate. Then, as if she’d had enough of listening to accusations, she spun round and strode from the café, in the direction Sean had been taken by the doctors.
Wondering if Maeve needed someone, Nell followed, finding her staring at the double doors leading to A&E. They both jumped when the doors burst open and a couple of white-coated doctors strode out.
Grabbing Maeve’s hand, Nell dragged her out of the way of the charging medics.
‘Sean will recover, Maeve. There’s a pretty standard treatment. I’ve googled it.’
‘Oh, well, that’s OK then. If you’ve googled.’
Ignoring the sarcasm, Nell just said, ‘They’ll give him some salts, to absorb the poison and flush it out of his organs.’
A whimper made Maeve clamp a hand over her mouth.
‘The point is, we were here, so the medical response was fast. That makes all the difference, Maeve.’
‘What if …’ Her face trembled. ‘What if there are … complications? ’
‘Then he’s in the right place. With all the right monitoring equipment. Have some faith,’ Nell exhorted, squeezing Maeve’s cold hand.
A derisory laugh escaped her. ‘I don’t have any of that left, now, that’s for sure.’ Her eyes rose heavenward. ‘What sort of God does this? Makes a fool of all of us for having faith. For hoping. And instead, protects the one who hurt her. Lets my beautiful sister end up …’
Hot tears fell for the words Maeve couldn’t say. She swiped her hand over her face, rejecting Nell’s offered hug. Leaning against the wall, Maeve tried to steady her breathing.
‘And now Brandon thinks he’s off the hook.’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t … it doesn’t add up.’
‘Are you that certain it’s him?’
‘I …’ Her exhale deflated her and she looked suddenly so vulnerable. ‘I was sure. So sure. But now? What’s he playing at? He’s never tried to even defend himself before. Like he took some masochistic pleasure in knowing something we didn’t.’
‘Seems like he may have known plenty,’ Nell said. ‘Given Siobhan may have been having affairs. He can’t have wanted to share that.’
‘No …’ Maeve frowned. ‘No, I can understand that. Siobhan was flighty, unsettled, that’s no secret. She was always looking for something to get up to. A restless spirit, really. I wasn’t surprised when she left home early, but I was surprised when she got wed so young. And then I think he made it impossible for her to leave. If they could have separated, then he wouldn’t have had to put up with any affairs. Now he’s trying to make out he’s a martyr when I reckon he was a …’ She bit her lip.
‘What?’ Nell urged her to say it.
‘I think he hit her. I think he was an abusive husband. Sometimes she had bruises and I’d ask her what happened. She always had an excuse, but you’ve seen him. He’s a bully. Gets off on pressing people’s buttons. He and Finn spent all their adolescence baiting Conor. He made a smart move, joining the army. It was the right thing for him, at the right time. It got him away from his tormentors. But Siobhan didn’t stand a chance, did she?’
Maeve’s eyes sparked with challenge as she stared at Nell. The bruises across her face from Brandon’s blow were purple-tinged, a ridge across the break in her nose, and dark shadows under bloodshot eyes.
‘Do you think he killed her?’
‘Oh, I can believe it. I can see it happening, can’t you? She tries to leave, on her own or with a lover. And he stops her.’ She shrugged.
‘Do you think Sean was poisoned by mistake?’ Nell asked. ‘Do you think Brandon was the target?’
Maeve gave a tight nod, dashing tears away. ‘Yes. Yes I do. And now it’s not enough that he killed my sister. Now my fiancé’s fighting for his life because of him.’
With Maeve deciding to stay at the hospital, and everyone else heading back to the farmhouse, Nell knew that she should get on with the paternity test. She wouldn’t be dragging her feet if she weren’t so tired. But the idea of bed wasn’t an inviting thought if she was sharing a house with a killer. Despite the hour, she’d rather pull another all-nighter at the university lab, and maybe there was somewhere she could get a bit of rest there too.
‘I’ll help.’ Rav read her mind.
‘I thought you didn’t approve.’
‘I don’t think you deserve the grief you’ll get, as the messenger.’ He shrugged. ‘But if you’re doing it, so am I.’
Rav had had the bright idea of checking for footage of the coffees being picked up and drunk. But the tray and the patio doors were just out of shot of Rav’s thermal imaging camera.
‘What about the file before that?’ Nell asked. ‘Did you catch anyone going into the house?’
Rav checked. ‘There’s a couple of files. Hang on. Maeve and Finn walk out. Then Sylvia, Shannon and I head off. Nothing for a while. Aw! You’re standing there. Are you looking for me?’ He nudged her, grinning like an idiot. ‘Then nothing until Sean walks back.’ He sighed that there was no easy answer.
When they arrived at the university lab at six o’clock, the car park was mostly empty, so Nell furtively used the pass card Aoife had left her and they headed to the lift.
Nell eyed him as he pressed the third-floor button for the lab. She wanted to ask about his PT, But she didn’t want him to feel nagged, and she couldn’t imagine he’d had much time for it. Trips like this couldn’t be helping either, eating into the sleep he needed for recovery.
‘It’s not going too badly,’ Rav said, as if she’d spoken aloud. ‘I’m getting my exercises in. But it’s tough. Some days are better than others. This week just seems to be a bit more of a challenge.’
His shoulder muscles rolled as he wheeled into the lift.
She grinned, enjoying the evidence of how in tune they were. ‘It looks like you’re getting stronger.’
Rav glanced at her. ‘My arms, maybe. They’re doing all the work, though. It’s my legs I need to build up. And I just …’ He clenched his jaw and Nell crouched, smoothing a wave of dark hair out of his eyes.
‘You’re doing incredibly, Rav. You know recovery is about more than fitness. It’s resilience in every sense. And I can see how positive you’re keeping, even on a low day. It’s not easy to sustain that.’
‘Yes, it is.’ He stroked her cheek. ‘It’s the easiest thing in the world with you in my corner.’ The ding of the lift and opening doors interrupted their kiss, but Rav tugged Nell back to him once they’d come out. ‘You were saying?’
With a grin, she kissed him thoroughly, pushing her hand through his hair, feeling his arm around her, hand sliding seductively down her back. They must have missed the person dashing past them in the corridor, because all they heard was a slamming fire door.
They drew apart and Nell marvelled again at how he never complained, never made excuses, faced up to the task of endless PT and pushed himself through the pain. ‘I think you’re amazing.’ A lump welled in her throat.
‘Yeah, soon I’ll be able to keep up with you again. You just wait.’ He held her gaze, and kissed her again.
Eventually, Nell had to haul her thoughts to the task in hand. They headed along the corridor to the lab, where she put out the samples and Rav set up the equipment for a production line of genetic tests.
Following the same method, and taking great care not to cross-contaminate, Nell and Rav worked in silence, concentrating on processing twice the number of samples than before.
She set up a larger gel tray and they waited the required hour for the gel to set and for the ethanol to evaporate from the samples.
As Nell stretched out her aching back, Rav asked, ‘So, where does all the chaos of today leave our theories?’
‘Well … Maeve’s certain Sean was accidentally poisoned by someone aiming for Brandon.’
‘But she can’t be right about Brandon now he’s proved he has his bracelet,’ Rav said. ‘Maeve is convinced Siobhan ripped that from her attacker. So aren’t we ruling Brandon out?’
‘Unless he took someone else’s?’ Nell suggested. She tried to ignore the hope taking root. ‘Maeve can account for her bracelet, and Sean’s. And Finn says he has his—’
‘But we’ve yet to see it,’ Rav pointed out.
‘Sure. But Conor hasn’t said he has his. And it would be easy to do, wouldn’t it? So why hasn’t he?’
‘Because he can’t,’ Rav groaned. ‘We have to see him as a suspect, Nell. He might have been a totally different person back then.’
Nell shook her head, resolute.
‘Be realistic, Nell. He was in the SAS.’
‘That’s different.’ Panic rose in her throat. She couldn’t think about Conor like this.
‘And think back to when he met Sylvia. When she’d been attacked. You called him to a dangerous situation, because you knew he could take care of it. Him and his gun.’
‘Don’t, Rav.’ Nell pushed him away.
‘I’m just being practical. You’re always logical, scientific, about these things. And it always gets you to the right answer. Every time. Don’t be swayed because it’s someone you care about—’
‘How dare you!’ Nell gaped at him. ‘I didn’t let that cloud my judgement about Percy’s family, did I? In fact, my judgement was right. Same goes for you! If you were accused of murder tomorrow, I know I could put my life on you being innocent.’
‘Oh, don’t, Nell.’ Rav held up his hand. ‘There have been times when I’ve been so scared for your safety that I could very easily have done everything in my power to stop someone from hurting you. Love is a massive force.’
Nell stepped back, swallowing. ‘Yes. Well.’ Reminded of a month ago, when her own capability for forgiveness had been tested to the limit, Nell realised she didn’t even need that degree of feeling to be vengeful. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. ‘Conor was the one having an affair with Siobhan—’
Rav’s eyes widened. ‘Wow. Really?’
‘So, he’d be more likely to kill Brandon than Siobhan.’
‘Yeah, and he very nearly did, last night,’ Rav pointed out. ‘After extreme provocation, granted. Someone had to floor a man who was attacking anyone in his path and resisting an officer. Just so happens that Conor was the only one capable.’
Nell didn’t like where her thoughts were turning. She checked the clock. It was about time to add the DNA to the gel tray. She transferred the samples – but then they had another agonising wait. Not wanting Rav to revisit his theories, Nell suggested they get a drink, and they headed down to the vending machines of doom.
‘Any news on how Sean’s doing?’
Nell was glad of the change in topic. ‘I haven’t got any updates,’ she said. ‘I’ll text James and ask.’
With no news from James, Nell found her eyes drooping as she sat, nursing inadequate coffee. Then her eyes jerked open, and she realised nearly all of the ninety minutes had flown. Grinning at her, Rav hurried with her to the lab.
Nell headed straight to the gel tray, relieved to see the magenta marker, while Rav picked up a new folder on Aoife’s section of the bench.
‘This wasn’t here before we left, was it?’
Glancing over, Nell shook her head. ‘No, but Aoife has been over here working. She was keen for me to get on with this, so I didn’t want to interrupt her in the secure lab.’ She put the gel tray into the UV chamber. ‘Is it the strontium results?’
Rav opened the folder. ‘Looks like it. She must have just finished the mass spectrometry readings.’
‘And?’ Nell asked, impatient. ‘What does it show?
‘Um … hang on.’ Rav compared the numbers on Aoife’s chart with the strontium ratios on the map. ‘Not a lot, from the look of it. Seems like Siobhan stayed pretty local, except for one sample, about eighteen months before she died.’
‘Oh?’ Nell froze, staring at him. ‘Sean said she’d tried to leave once before. But Siobhan played it down, saying she’d just gone to a B&B. Where did she go?’
Studying the map, Rav said, ‘If her trip was definitely in the UK – and that sounds like a safe assumption if it was short – she must have gone to either the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, the Isle of Mull, the Isle of Skye or Northern Ireland. I guess the last three are nearest, for a quick getaway.’
Something nagged at Nell’s mind. She tried to put it aside and focus on her task of comparing the DNA bands. As the result of the test began to emerge, Nell frowned.
She checked, then double-checked. But there was no doubt.
‘Well?’ Rav asked, watching her peer in to see the result.
‘It’s conclusive.’ Nell felt the blood drain from her face. ‘Aoife’s father is Conor.’