20

Although she couldn’t put her finger on what was bothering her, Geraldine couldn’t shake off the feeling that something wasn’t right about the circumstances surrounding Mark’s death. However traumatised they were following a suicide, relatives usually accepted the reality of what had happened. Accusations might be raised about who was responsible for having allowed it to happen, and how it could have been prevented, but this time a question had been raised over whether or not Mark had actually taken his own life. His sister had been so passionate in her demands that the police investigate, it was surprising that nearly a week had passed and she still hadn’t followed up her visit with so much as a phone call. She hadn’t struck Geraldine as flaky. And now Mark’s widow had turned up claiming she was being stalked by some unidentified person. If nothing else, it was all slightly odd.

‘Perhaps there’s a strain of insanity in the family?’ Ariadne had suggested when Geraldine had raised her concerns to her colleague. ‘Although it’s hardly surprising that people might behave irrationally after a suicide in the family, especially when it was so unexpected. Anyway, he’s dead and buried, isn’t he? The coroner didn’t find anything suspicious.’

By Thursday evening, when Geraldine still hadn’t heard from Amanda, she decided to speak to her to establish whether she had been serious in her allegations against Charlotte. Expecting Amanda to climb down and admit that she had been overreacting in her shock at losing her brother, Geraldine phoned her but there was no answer. On her way home from work that evening, on impulse she took a detour to Amanda’s house. At least she might be able to put an end to one irritating line of enquiry, and it wasn’t as though she had anything else to do. She had just opened the gate, when a voice called out.

‘You know she’s not in?’

Geraldine looked around and saw a small grey-haired woman standing outside the neighbouring front door.

‘I saw you there and wondered if you knew where she was?’ the woman called out.

Geraldine approached and introduced herself, explaining in the vaguest terms possible that she was there to talk to Amanda about a recent incident in her family.

‘Oh, you mean her brother? Yes, we heard something about that. What a terrible thing to happen.’

‘I don’t suppose you know when she’ll be back?’

‘I was about to ask you where she’s gone, although that’s a bit of a stupid question, isn’t it, since you’ve come here looking for her.’ The woman gave a little laugh. ‘The thing is,’ she went on, serious again, ‘I need to know where she’s gone, and what we’re supposed to do with her cat.’ She looked expectantly at Geraldine.

‘I’m sorry, but I don’t know where she is.’

‘But what are we going to do with her cat? It’s not our responsibility, but someone’s got to feed it.’

‘I’m not sure what you mean,’ Geraldine said, with an uneasy feeling about what she was hearing.

‘You’d better come in,’ the woman said.

Turning, she led the way indoors and into a small cosily furnished living room, with comfortable armchairs and matching sofa, all upholstered in brown and dark orange fabric.

‘It’s been scratching at the furniture again,’ a middle-aged man grumbled. He paused and raised his eyebrows when Geraldine entered the room. A large black and white cat was sitting on his lap, purring, while he stroked it gently. ‘Hello, who’s this? Have you come to take this animal off our hands?’

It didn’t take long for Geraldine to establish that Amanda had gone away, leaving her cat unattended.

‘I can’t believe she was the type to abandon a poor animal,’ Moira said. ‘She always seemed such a sensible woman. And you can see the cat’s been well looked after.’

‘Too well,’ Geoff added, patting the cat. ‘We wondered if she’d been rushed to hospital, didn’t we?’

‘Yes, because there was the shoe she left outside.’

‘What shoe?’ Geraldine asked.

‘It’s out in the hall,’ Moira answered. ‘We didn’t know what to do with it, did we, Geoff?’

Geraldine frowned. ‘When did you last see your neighbour?’

‘It was yesterday, wasn’t it, Geoff?’ She turned back to Geraldine. ‘We wondered whether to say something, you know, report it to the police, and now here you are.’

‘What’s happened to her then?’ Geoff asked.

Geraldine shook her head. ‘Nothing as far as we know.’

He looked sceptical. ‘How come you’re here looking for her then?’

Geraldine did her best to reassure them that she had only turned up to give Amanda information about the circumstances surrounding her brother’s death. She could tell the couple weren’t convinced, but wasn’t sure what else she could say to satisfy their curiosity. There wasn’t much more she could do to prevent them spreading rumours about Amanda’s disappearance, apart from telling them she hoped their neighbour would return home soon. In the meantime, she could only suggest that Amanda must be taking a holiday.

‘But what about this poor creature?’ Geoff asked, still stroking the purring cat.

‘How could she have gone away and left it like that?’ Moira asked indignantly.

‘It can’t stay here,’ Geoff added. ‘It’s tearing our furniture to shreds.’

Geraldine sighed. ‘I suggest you contact the RSPCA if your neighbour doesn’t return soon. They can advise you what to do.’

Despite her reassuring words, Geraldine was perturbed by Amanda’s disappearance. And it wasn’t only the cat she was worried about.