The following morning, Maud arrived early at The Cornerstone, a bar and cafe in West Kilburn, about two miles from 99 Fielding Road. It wasn’t yet open, but she could see a woman moving round in its dimly lit interior, shifting chairs. She knocked and the woman lifted her head, then came to the door and unlocked it.
Viv Melville was a woman in her late middle age, with strong shoulders, greying dark hair, dark eyes, a pouchy, lined, lived-in face.
Maud held out her ID. The woman nodded.
The Cornerstone had two dimly lit rooms that were crowded with an assortment of unmatching benches and chairs, a couple of sagging armchairs and sofas, lots of hanging plants, posters advertising long-ago gigs, speckled mirrors and a resident wire-haired terrier who growled, licked Maud’s hand and then subsided again. The only concession to Christmas was a string of white lights wrapped around the central pillar.
‘Coffee?’
‘That would be great.’
‘What kind?’
‘Flat white, if that’s easy.’
She took off her thick coat and unwrapped her scarf, then sat at a table and opened her notebook, watching as Viv Melville pulled levers and the machine gurgled and steamed.
‘There you go.’
‘Thanks.’ Maud took a sip. ‘This is just what I needed.’
‘You’re here about Kira?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘We’ve reopened the case.’
‘You don’t think she killed herself?’
‘I know she didn’t,’ said Maud.
Viv Melville sat opposite her, solid and calm. ‘How can I help you?’
‘Tell me a bit about Kira first. How long had she worked here?’
‘About nine months. She started off just part time but by the end she was pretty much full time. She was great. Not always on time.’ Viv Melville gave a little remembering smile. ‘But always so apologetic. And when she was here, she worked hard and never complained, and the customers loved her. She was very chatty. Interested in everyone. Made people laugh.’ She looked at Maud. ‘She was a nice young woman.’
‘Was she usually cheerful?’
‘She was homesick. She cried easily, like a child. But she was never gloomy, and she cheered up quickly as well. If you’re asking if she ever seemed depressed, the answer’s no.’
‘Did she talk about her personal life?’
‘Sometimes she laughed about scrapes she’d got into with men. I got the impression she had a fair few casual flings. The last time she worked here, on the Friday evening, she said she’d just spent a lovely day with someone.’
‘With a man, you mean?’
‘Yes.’
‘A sexual relationship?’
‘Definitely.’
‘What makes you sure?’
‘It was obvious. She was excited, and also a bit dreamy. She kept looking at herself in the mirror. She said it was early days, but she had a good feeling about him.’
‘You don’t know who he was?’
‘She didn’t say.’
‘No clues?’
‘No. Except he was apparently going to be away for a few days but had promised to call her when he returned.’
Maud made a note on her pad.
‘On Friday she was happy.’
‘Very.’
‘And then you saw her again on Sunday. Can you tell me about that?’
Viv drew a deep breath.
‘She was completely different. She turned up at the cafe at around ten thirty.’
Maud wrote down the time and drew a circle around it.
‘She wasn’t working that day and I knew she was going to a party the night before. I was surprised to see her. The place was rammed. Lots of people come for brunch on Sunday mornings; the queue sometimes goes round the block. I saw at once that she was upset. Sobbing. I took her into the back.’ Viv Melville gestured with her head to the door leading from the second room. ‘For a while she just wept. I couldn’t get any sense out of her. Every so often it would seem like she was stopping, only to start up again. A couple of times I left her just to check on how Finn and Robbie were coping and deliver a few plates to the tables.’
‘Did she say anything?’
‘At first all she could manage were a few apologies. Sorry sorry sorry, you’re busy. That kind of thing. She gradually calmed down a bit. I made her a cup of tea and she drank it and blew her nose and said she shouldn’t have come. I asked her what had happened, and she just said she didn’t know what to do. I asked her: do about what? But nothing made much sense.’
‘Can you remember anything specific she said that would cast light on her mood?’
Viv Melville shook her head.
‘You only remember her saying she didn’t know what to do?’
‘I think – I don’t know.’
‘What?’
‘I think she said she was ashamed.’
‘Ashamed.’
‘Yes. Or scared. Or maybe both. Ashamed and scared.’
‘Nothing else?’
‘No.’
‘Ashamed and scared and she didn’t know what to do.’
‘Maybe there were other things she said, but she was gulping and sniffing and sobbing, all snotty, and she was crying so much she couldn’t take a breath. I just kept hugging her and telling her it was okay, she was all right, I was here for her. That kind of stuff. Useless stuff,’ the woman added.
‘What time did she leave?’
‘Shortly after one thirty, I think. I made her have something to eat. Fried mushrooms on toast, she always loved that. It used to be her regular snack after we finished work in the evenings. She said she felt better. That she’d be okay now, that she knew what to do.’
‘And what was that?’
The woman shrugged helplessly.
‘I don’t know. I wish I did.’
‘You said at the start that you could tell at once Kira was upset. What did she look like?’
‘Awful. Like she’d hardly slept, mascara smudged all over her face, unbrushed hair. Her eyes were red and her face was swollen.’
‘Swollen in what way?’
‘I think from crying. But I don’t know.’
‘Were there any signs of violence?’
‘No. I don’t think so.’
‘What was she wearing?’
‘Wearing? I don’t know. I can’t remember.’
‘She went to a party the night before. Was she still in party clothes?’
‘Oh no. I remember thinking that I’d never seen her dressed scruffily. Normally she was quite glammed up when she came to work.’
‘Trousers? Jeans? A dress?’
‘Trousers, I think. The only things I know she was wearing were her green boots.’ A little smile played round Viv Melville’s mouth. ‘She loved those boots. She saved up to get them.’
Maud nodded, thinking of the photo of the dead woman, her dangling body, the green boots with their yellow laces.
‘Do you know where she was going after she left here?’
‘No. But she was going to come and stay with me that night.’
Maud was startled.
‘She was going to stay with you?’
‘Yes.’
‘You didn’t tell the police that.’
‘I think I did. I’m pretty sure.’
‘Did you offer, or did she ask?’
‘She asked me as soon as she arrived. She had a few overnight things with her, underwear and her toothbrush. Of course, I said she was welcome.’
‘You’re saying Kira was planning to stay, but then left again.’
‘I think there was something she needed to do. That was the impression I got. It was all a bit of a jumble, and I kept having to check on what was happening in the cafe. She said she’d be back in a few hours.’
‘You don’t know what she had to see to?’
‘No.’
‘She didn’t mention any names?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘But it was understood she’d return here later.’
‘Not here. To my flat, which is about fifteen minutes’ walk. We close at five on Sundays and she said she’d come after that.’
‘Were you surprised she didn’t turn up?’
‘I assumed she felt better. I was a bit annoyed she hadn’t bothered to let me know. I tried calling her, but there was no reply.’ She grimaced. ‘Of course there wasn’t any reply. Actually, I called her earlier as well, to remind her to let me know when she was coming, so I’d be there to let her in. But she never picked up.’
‘What time?’
‘I’m not sure. Mid-afternoon.’
Maud sat for a few moments, staring at the scrawl of her notes.
‘Is there anything else you can remember?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘You’ve been very helpful.’
‘I wish that was true.’ Viv Melville looked down at her large, strong hands, which were plaited together in her lap. When she looked up, her face was sombre. ‘I was fond of her. She was very touching. Someone killed her.’ She paused. ‘Will you get them?’
Maud met her gaze and then nodded.
‘Yes, I think I will,’ she said.