This time there was a body in the lake, it was different. This time, there were police everywhere. The house was searched, the grounds closed off. There were questions and interviews, endless repetition of the same themes:
‘Did you know Jared Carter was intending to abscond from Bright Hill?’
‘You saw him less than two weeks ago. Were you aware of his plans?’
‘Did you arrange to meet at Fortune Hall?’
‘Where were you between nine o’clock and twelve this morning…’
Una had called Ethan, who had called Lizzie, who had arranged for her cousin, Juliet Carey, a hotshot lawyer from London, to come and represent Jess. Jess was incredibly touched that someone she’d only met once had put herself out for her, but they were a tight-knit group of friends and she suspected Lizzie was doing it for Ethan as much as for her. When Juliet arrived, she wasn’t taking any nonsense.
‘You do realise,’ she said to the police inspector, ‘that there were no signs of foul play on the body and that my client has an alibi for the time in question, which includes CCTV from this police station? She has told you repeatedly that she knew nothing of Jared Carter’s plans and, in terms of his conviction for fraud, she was interviewed extensively at the time and was cleared of any involvement.’
After that, the police let her go.
‘There’s nothing to charge you with,’ Juliet said, as she whisked Jess out of the station. ‘They’re just fishing. Sorry, that’s a tactless analogy under the circumstances. But it’s clear that it was either an accident or Carter took his own life. He might even have chosen to do it at Fortune Hall to cause trouble for you. Sadly, that’s a well-known phenomenon, suicide prompted by rage and revenge.’
Jess didn’t know what to make of that. She was bone-weary and faint with hunger. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was going on for nine o’clock. It was dark outside and a forest of light bulbs popped in their faces as they came out of the doors of the police station.
‘Piss off,’ Juliet said to the journalists, who were shouting questions.
Ethan was waiting; her mother was in the car. Jess almost cried when she saw Ethan. She didn’t want him to be dragged into all this.
They bundled her into the car, Juliet giving her a hug.
‘I’ll keep in touch,’ she said. ‘Hang in there, sweetie.’
‘We’re staying with Lucy and Finn tonight,’ Jess’s mother said. ‘They’re lending us Gunpowder Barn, or at least Lucy’s aunt is. I didn’t think you’d want to go back to the hall, and it’s all in a mess anyway, with the police turning it upside down.’
‘How awful.’ Jess shuddered. She was racked by shivers and felt so cold. She kept thinking about the moment she had turned Jared over in the water and his bloated face had stared up at her. An accident or suicide, Juliet had said. But Jared was surely too self-obsessed to take his own life, and what was he doing at Fortune Hall anyway?
She remembered him asking if he would see her again and telling him it would never happen. Why had he come looking for her? What could have been important enough to him that he would walk out of Bright Hill prison to do it? She did not flatter herself that Jared had been so in love with her that he had wanted to see her one more time. There had to have been some other reason.
The street lights stopped as they drove out of the village heading for Knightstone, the dark countryside whipping past. In the front, her mother and Ethan were talking quietly. Jess’s mind, unable to rest, ran over the events of the day again: the walk back from Beckett village, approaching the lake through the tree-lined path, reaching the bridge, seeing the body in the water… Her mother, who had arrived at the hall ten minutes before, had told the police she’d come out to meet Jess when she saw her coming towards the bridge. She’d not seen Jared’s body because of the way the land sloped down towards the water. She seemed to be holding up remarkably well for someone who had, like Jess, stumbled into a complete nightmare.
‘We’re here, darling.’ Her mother’s voice cut into Jess’s thoughts and she realised that they were outside the house and Lucy and Finn were waiting for them.
Lucy hugged her and took them all inside. Jess had a blurred impression of the barn conversion being an amazing space of high ceilings and huge windows, but she was too tired to take it in properly. She felt as though she needed to sleep for a week. Her mother hurried her upstairs and into a cosy room where the lamps were already lit. She plonked a suitcase down on the bed.
‘I’ve packed a few things for you,’ she said. ‘I’m going to put the bath on for you now, sweetie, and make you some toast.’
It was lovely to be so cosseted. It reminded Jess of her childhood, living above the pub, when Una would tuck her and Tavy up in bed with hot chocolate, and she would drift off to sleep to the sound of the regulars in the bar laughing and chatting. Her mother had packed one of Tavy’s extraordinary miniscule and sheer nighties for her rather than her own pyjamas, but she would have slept in a sack, she was so tired.
She fell asleep only to dream of endless dark corridors and police questions and Jared’s dead, staring eyes. She woke up shaking and realised that she must have cried out, because Ethan appeared in the doorway looking ruffled and unkempt from sleep. He came across to the bed, sat down beside her and put his arms around her as naturally, as though he had always done it, and she felt a huge rush of emotion. ‘It’s okay, Jess,’ he said. ‘You’re safe. It’s only a dream.’
For a moment, Jess struggled against the overwhelming knowledge that she needed him. She had been used to looking after herself, both when her family had fallen apart years before and after Jared, when she’d sworn not to let her guard down again. She knew that when things righted themselves again, she would be fine. But she also knew she wanted Ethan around because it felt right. So really there was no dilemma.
‘Stay,’ she said. ‘Please.’
* * *
When Jess woke up, Ethan had gone and the room was filled with bright morning light. She appreciated his tact in giving her the time and space to work out what she wanted to do next. She could pretend the night had never happened, that they hadn’t made love and she hadn’t fallen asleep in his arms feeling safe and comforted. She could thank him for his chivalry and never mention it again. Or she could talk to him. This whole Jared thing was a mess, but Ethan had hung on in there and that meant a lot. It meant he wanted to be there for her and she’d be the one acting like a coward if she pushed him away.
On the table beside the bed was a note in Ethan’s writing, short and sweet:
Gone to work. I’ll ring later. E.
Jess found she was smiling.
* * *
‘The police rang,’ her mother said, as Jess rather listlessly ate a bowl of yoghurt and fruit. ‘You can’t have toast all the time, sweetie,’ Una had said. ‘It’s not healthy.’ Much as she appreciated her mother’s renewed interest in her life, Jess wasn’t sure she wanted dietary advice from her, particularly not at the moment when she needed comfort food. ‘There’s no evidence of foul play, they said,’ Una continued. ‘No marks on the body at all. The initial conclusion is that Jared must have fallen into the water of his own accord. Which is great, isn’t it!’ She bustled about the cottage’s open-plan kitchen, humming as she tidied up.
‘I suppose it is good news in a way.’ Jess felt that her mother’s summary of the situation was somewhat simplistic. ‘But it’s grim for Jared’s parents.’
‘Yes, poor them,’ her mother said vaguely. ‘But he was a scumbag, darling. He treated you very badly. I told him so when I went to visit him last week.’
‘What?’ Jess put down her spoon with a clatter. ‘You went to see Jared?’
‘It was the day I was in Oxford,’ Una had stopped cleaning and stood like a statue in the centre of the kitchen, the dishcloth forgotten in her hand. ‘I took a taxi. Bright Hill isn’t far from Oxford, so it was no problem. I’d asked to see him and he agreed.’
Jess was feeling sick all over again. ‘What did you say to him?’ she asked.
‘I just told him what I thought of him,’ Una said. ‘Treating my girl like that.’ Her blue eyes were suddenly sharp and clear. ‘When I saw you again and realised what he’d done to you, pet, I couldn’t keep quiet. He needed to be told what a douche he was. So, I told him.’
Jess swallowed hard. ‘Erm… I appreciate that, Mum, I really do, but…’ She cleared her throat, hardly knowing where to start. ‘I assume the police know all about this?’
‘Of course, darling,’ Una said. ‘It was all on the CCTV. There’s no problem. I just wanted you to know.’ She came over and gave Jess a tight hug. ‘I love you,’ she said to Jess as she squashed her to her bosom. ‘We’re chalk and cheese, but I really do.’
‘I know Mum,’ Jess said. ‘I know.’
Una released her and started cleaning again. ‘Super place Lucy’s aunt has here. She was off on a tangent in typical fashion. She should lease it to the production companies for reality TV shows.’
‘Mum,’ Jess said wearily, ‘not everyone wants to be involved with TV.’
‘Quite right,’ Una agreed comfortably. ‘Don’t look at the papers or the social media today,’ she added. ‘It’s lurid.’
Jess sighed, remembering the huge fuss when Jared was arrested. ‘Nothing could induce me to look,’ she said.
Una’s phone rang. ‘It’s Tavy,’ she said. ‘How are you, babes? How is LA?’
Jess could hear a squawking at the other end of the phone, which indicated that Tavy was talking very loudly and very quickly.
‘Right,’ Una said, after a few minutes. There was an odd note in her voice that Jess hadn’t heard before – was it apprehension? She couldn’t be certain. ‘Are you sure—’ Una still sounded hesitant. ‘Of course… But you’ve checked with the lawyers? Well, you know best, babes.’
Unusually, she was silent when she ended the call.
‘Is everything all right, Mum?’ Jess asked.
Una didn’t answer for a moment, then, ‘You’d better go to Tavy’s Instagram channel,’ she said. ‘She’s about to make a big announcement about the discovery of Jared’s body.’
‘What?’ Jess was startled. ‘But she wasn’t even here.’ She crushed a feeling of irritation that her sister could be turning the latest drama in their lives into a public spectacle. ‘Is this a good idea?’ she asked. ‘Has she spoken to the police? They might not want her to do this—’
‘This is her speaking to the police,’ Una said heavily. Her hands were shaking a little.
Jess grabbed her and held her tight. ‘Mum?’ she repeated, with more urgency. ‘What is it? What’s happened?’
But Una only shook her head and tapped on the Instagram icon.
Tavy had already started. She had clearly recorded the video earlier as she was sitting beside a strip of golden sand beneath a stripy beach umbrella. She looked tanned and beautiful in a plain white T-shirt, her hair blowing in the sea breeze, her blue eyes wide and serious. ‘I want to address the stories that are currently circulating about the discovery of my former brother-in-law’s body at the house I own in Oxfordshire,’ Tavy was saying. ‘I know there is a lot of interest in the press and I want to set the record straight.’
‘He wasn’t your brother-in-law,’ Jess muttered through gritted teeth. ‘We weren’t married.’
‘There has been speculation that Jared Carter went to Fortune Hall to try to see my sister, who is working for me at the moment,’ Tavy said. ‘I can assure you that this is wrong. Jess is completely innocent in all this. In fact, Jared came to see me.’ She stopped for effect.
Jess felt her mouth drop open. ‘WTF?’ she said faintly.
‘A number of years ago, before the fraud, I invested in Jared Carter’s company,’ Tavy continued. ‘It was an error of judgement on my part and I regret it deeply. I cut ties with him two years before the company was investigated, but I realise that people will still be disappointed in me – and rightly so. I let you all down. I fell below my own high standards.’
‘Bless her,’ their mother said fondly. ‘Always thinking of others.’
‘For God’s sake,’ Jess snapped.
‘Yesterday,’ Tavy continued, ‘when I heard of the tragedy at Fortune Hall, I discovered that Jared Carter had tried to contact me to tell me he was coming to see me there, but because I was out of the country, I had not received his message in time.’
‘Establishing her alibi there,’ Jess muttered.
‘I immediately informed the police,’ Tavy said, ‘but by then it was too late and he had suffered this terrible accident. I have no idea why he wished to speak to me. He did not say, but it may have been to do with the book he was intending to write about his experiences. Jared’s body was found by my poor sister, who is in deep shock. I beg you to give her the space she needs to heal. I shall be returning to the UK at once and will, of course, be happy to assist the police further if I can. But I beg you to respect the privacy of my family whilst we come to terms with this. I wanted to put the record straight—’ Tavy gave the camera a blinding smile ‘—so that neither I nor my sister should live under any shadow of doubt. Thank you as always for your love and support, guys. You are the best.’
‘Well, hell,’ Jess said blankly. Her thoughts were in a complete daze.
Somewhere, she could hear her phone ringing urgently. She checked the caller ID and saw with relief that it was Ethan.
‘Are you okay there?’ His voice was sharp with concern. ‘I just heard Tavy’s announcement. What the hell? Did you know she had invested in Carter’s firm?’
‘No,’ Jess said. ‘Neither of them ever mentioned it.’ No wonder Tavy hadn’t wanted to talk about Jared, she thought, remembering the way her sister had brushed aside her attempts to apologise for dragging her into the debacle. If only she’d known. Tavy had already been knee-deep in it all, and no doubt Jared had been going to announce that in his memoir. ‘Oh God,’ she said. ‘What a mess.’
‘I’m coming over,’ Ethan said. ‘I can cancel this meeting—’
‘No,’ Jess interrupted. ‘Thank you, but I refuse to let either of our lives be derailed by Tavy. I’ll see you later.’
She went to find her mother, who was taking a private call from Tavy. ‘You must come back at once,’ Jess heard her say. ‘We don’t want the police issuing an international warrant for your arrest, although I suppose it might be good publicity.’
‘That isn’t going to happen, Mum,’ Jess snapped, although she wished someone would arrest Tavy simply to keep her quiet for a bit. ‘Tavy isn’t guilty of anything.’ Except ludicrous self-promotion, she added silently.
‘I am coming home, Mum,’ Tavy said. Una had her on speaker now. ‘Is Jess there?’
‘Yes, I am,’ Jess said.
‘Chin up, babes,’ Tavy said. ‘We’ll face all of this together as a family.’
Before Jess could ask her what the hell she had been thinking getting involved with Jared in the first place, and then never even mentioning it to her, Tavy cut the call.