21

The Black Stallion was always busy on a Friday night. You could tell by the number of bar staff and how used they were to calmly serving large numbers of people.

Beth and Black ordered drinks and, while they waited for them, Beth scanned the room for Sophie. She’d checked her pictures on Instagram and knew what the girl looked like. Sophie wore a lot of black clothing and dark eye make-up. She was one of those unsmiling young girls who looked almost permanently defiant.

‘She’s not here yet,’ Beth told him.

‘Let’s hope this isn’t the one night of the year she chooses not to show.’

‘Worst-case scenario – you’ve got a pint in your hand and intelligent company.’

He pretended to look around. ‘Where?’

‘That was very nearly a joke.’

At that point, an older member of the bar staff walked by. He saw Black and said, ‘All right?’, like he knew the detective. When he was gone, Beth gave Black a quizzical look, but he just shrugged, as if he didn’t know why the man had bothered to greet him.

Beth noticed something then. ‘I think those might be her mates,’ she said, jerking her head slightly to the far corner of the bar. They certainly looked familiar, from what she had seen of Sophie’s social media pics, which had a number of group shots.

‘Great. They’re here, and she isn’t.’

They took a table at the other end of the room which gave them a view of the far corner, where Sophie’s friends had congregated.

‘Did that bloke know you?’ she asked.

He shook his head then immediately changed the subject. ‘Doesn’t it bother you, being out in Collemby on a Friday night? Haven’t you got a million better things to do?’

It was her turn to evade the question. ‘I don’t have a family either,’ she said, ‘and I also want to find Alice.’

He took another sip, then said, ‘Yeah, well, don’t want it too much.’ Was he warning her not to be too devastated if the girl turned up dead?

Black looked at his watch again so she said, ‘Second time you’ve done that. Got a hot date?’

‘No,’ he said quickly. ‘I promised a friend I’d drop something off for him.’

‘Okay.’

‘But I can do that afterwards.’ Then, to Beth’s amazement, he said, ‘You can come if you like. There’ll be food.’

Beth hesitated. Normally, she would have welcomed the opportunity to break down the barrier of formality between her and a new colleague, but she felt uncomfortable at the thought of eating with someone who had gunned down a civilian.

‘Well,’ Beth said, after a pause that she belatedly realized was far too lengthy, ‘I do like food.’

They had nearly finished their drinks when the rear door of the pub opened and a girl with a Goth look about her walked in and was greeted by the group of mates in the corner. One of them let her take his seat and he went to the bar to get her a drink. Beth and Black got up and walked over. They introduced themselves to Sophie and the group of girls and boys sipping cider and beer. Beth thought they might not want to talk to two detectives about Alice’s disappearance, but it seemed it was the only topic of conversation, judging by the animated way they asked questions or offered up theories they’d heard, most of which seemed little more than wild rumour.

‘Is it true she was pregnant?’ asked one of the girls, and Beth wondered if there was any substance to her question.

‘Not that we’re aware of,’ she told the girl. ‘Where did you hear that?’

‘Oh, just around.’ The girl seemed to shrink into her seat then, as if she were worried they thought she knew something they didn’t.

It took a while for them to settle down and listen to Beth. She noticed how Black hung back and let her do most of the talking. Did he think a young woman would be more likely to get some answers from these kids than a burly man in middle age?

Beth asked if they had noticed anything strange or out of the ordinary in Alice’s life. That was enough to get the reaction she was looking for.

‘You should start with her brother,’ said the girl who had asked if Alice was pregnant. The way she said it made it clear she felt there was something very wrong with him.

‘Why do you say that?’

‘He’s not right, is he? In the head, I mean.’

Beth noticed one of the girl’s friends look down then, and another looked away, as if they either didn’t agree with that assessment or thought it a harsh one under the circumstances; his sister was missing, after all. ‘What makes you say that?’ she asked.

‘He threw a drink in my friend’s face.’ She jerked her head at Sophie.

‘Where was this?’ asked Beth, as if she didn’t know already.

‘Here,’ confirmed Sophie.

‘When?’

‘A couple of weeks back.’

Beth nodded slowly. ‘So he threw a drink at you’ – the girl nodded – ‘for no reason?’

She looked sheepish. ‘He thought he had a reason, but he didn’t, not really.’ Some of the fire seemed to have gone out of her already.

‘What reason did he think he had?’

‘Said I’d been talking about him behind his back, and I never.’

‘He was wrong about that, then?’ Beth wasn’t expecting her to admit it. ‘What did he think you’d been saying?’

‘Stuff about him and his sister.’

‘What kind of stuff?’

‘That they were creepy together and not like a normal brother and sister.’

‘I see,’ said Beth. ‘And were they creepy together?’

Before Sophie could answer, the other girl cut in to back up her friend. ‘They were always hugging and touching each other, if that’s what you mean.’

‘They were tactile?’ asked Beth.

‘Yeah, but it was more than that, and they told each other everything.’ She snorted. ‘I don’t tell my brother anything,’ she said, but no one laughed. The others were looking everywhere but at her, Sophie or the two detectives. There was an absence of solidarity here now. Beth could feel it.

‘They didn’t have a normal brother–sister relationship, then?’ asked Beth, her tone neutral.

‘It didn’t look normal,’ Sophie mumbled.

‘Sorry?’ Beth was deliberately challenging the girl to say it clearly.

‘It didn’t look normal,’ she almost shouted.

‘Did anyone else think that?’ Beth glanced at the other teenagers, but no one looked back at her. Sophie quickly interjected.

‘Lots of people.’

‘How do you know?’

She shrugged. ‘People talk. We all did, about them.’

‘Oh, so you did talk about him and his sister, then? Just now, you said you didn’t.’

She folded her arms defensively. ‘I meant, I wasn’t the only one.’

‘But he heard you were one of the people talking about him and Alice,’ said Beth, and Sophie didn’t contradict this. ‘You’d been saying that his relationship with his sister wasn’t a normal one … meaning it was sexual.’

‘I never said that!’ Sophie looked panicked.

‘You didn’t have to. You said it wasn’t normal. You were implying they had an unnatural relationship. Strongly implying it, in fact.’

‘I never said …’ she began, and her eyes darted from right to left, looking for support, but none came, not even from the girl who’d interrupted before. ‘I never meant that.’

‘What was this rumour doing the rounds about them, then? Specifically, I mean.’

‘What rumour?’ Everyone’s eyes were averted now, so Beth knew they understood that there was a specific story about the Teale siblings.

‘Gossip everyone heard that made people believe there was something not quite right about Alice and Daniel? A couple of public hugs and a few shared confidences wouldn’t lead anyone to believe they were more than just close. It was something else. I can easily find out, so you might as well tell me.’

Sophie looked towards her friends, but no one gave her any clues as to the wisdom of telling Beth the truth or not, so she began tentatively. ‘Well, the story was that Alice caught him.’ And she looked as if she didn’t want to go on.

‘Doing what?’

‘She came home early one day and he was alone in his room.’ The girl who had been sticking up for Sophie actually let out a gasp, then, that was part nervous laughter, part embarrassment. Beth ignored her.

‘What was he doing in his room?’

‘I think you can guess.’ She rolled her eyes in a knowing, jaded way.

‘You’re implying he was masturbating and Alice walked in on him. That would be embarrassing for them both, but it doesn’t mean anything.’

‘Yeah, but …’

‘What? Come on, Sophie, out with it. You’ve obviously discussed this before with your mates. They all know about it, I can tell, and we don’t embarrass easily.’

‘All right,’ she said. ‘If you want to hear the truth, she didn’t leave.’

‘She stayed in the room?’

‘Yeah.’ She sniggered. ‘And she – you know – gave him a hand.’

A couple of her friends lost control then and began sniggering.

Until that point, Beth had been trying to keep an open mind regarding the gossip about Alice and Daniel’s unnatural relationship. It sounded messed up, but she supposed it could actually have been true. Sophie’s description of what supposedly happened between them ended those thoughts instantly. ‘Right,’ said Beth dryly. ‘Sounds plausible.’

Black cut in then, his tone blunt. ‘You saw it, did you?’ he asked Sophie. ‘You were there, too?’

‘Eh?’ The girl looked panicked. ‘’Course not.’

‘Then how do you know about it?’

‘Word got round. Someone told someone and, soon, everyone knew. That’s how we heard.’

‘Okay, Sophie, explain this to me, then,’ Black demanded. ‘How did word get round? Who would tell anyone about that, if it actually happened? Would Daniel tell someone? Doubt it. Would Alice mention it to one of her friends? No chance. So, if not them, then who?’ The girl did not answer. ‘Was it you? I think it was.’

‘It wasn’t me,’ said Sophie, but she looked incredibly guilty. It hadn’t taken long for Black to completely undermine her. A few well-chosen questions from an experienced interrogator and Sophie Mayhew’s credibility was hanging by a thread.

Beth knew just what to ask the girl next. ‘What happened on New Year’s Eve, Sophie?’

‘What?’

‘You went off with Daniel, didn’t you?’

‘No, I never –’

‘Yes, you did,’ said one of her friends, almost without thinking, and turned to Beth. ‘They were gone for ages.’

‘You really wanted him,’ said Beth. ‘That’s what we were told.’

She didn’t deny it. ‘Yeah, well, I thought he was cool, but that was before I knew how weird he was.’

‘You mean, on New Year’s Eve, he told you that little story about his sister?’

‘’Course not!’

‘So how did you know he was weird?’

‘He just was. He acted strange.’

‘Did he act strange when he turned you down, Sophie, was that it?’ asked Beth. ‘Or were you hurt because he never called you afterwards?’

‘No.’ She looked completely panicked now. ‘Who’s been saying that?’

‘It’s pretty obvious,’ Beth told her. ‘And it explains why you would make up a sick story like that to get your own back. ‘“What’s the worst thing I can say about him?” Was that what you asked yourself, or were you just jealous because he actually loved his sister but didn’t care about you?’

‘That wasn’t it. I never liked him that much, even then.’

Another voice chipped in then, a girl from the other end of the table, speaking for the first time. ‘You told me you did.’ And it sounded true, because it was said with just the right amount of conviction, even relish.

‘I never.’ But Sophie’s protest was weak.

‘Who told you that sick rumour about Daniel and his sister?’ Black was addressing them all. ‘Was it this one?’ He jerked his head towards Sophie; he didn’t even want to use her name.

A couple of them nodded, and one or two of them mumbled that it had been. They were hanging Sophie out to dry.

‘It wasn’t me that started it.’

‘Of course it was,’ said Black.

‘I just passed on what I was told.’

‘Who told it to you, then?’

‘I can’t remember.’

‘How convenient. I’ve been doing this for a long time, Sophie, and I know a made-up story when I hear one. This was just juicy enough to go around a small town in days.’

The girl looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. ‘Daniel knew it was you straight away, didn’t he? That’s why he threw that drink in your face,’ he told the shocked girl, and the others stared at Sophie, as if truly seeing her for the first time.

‘I’d have thrown a drink in her face,’ Beth told Black as they exited the pub a moment later.

They were halfway across the market square and heading for Black’s car when a man suddenly emerged from the working men’s club and came towards them at speed. It was Ricky. He’d obviously seen them both go into the Dirty Donkey and had been looking out for them ever since. It was a short jog, but he was out of condition and breathless when he reached Beth and Lucas. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out at first was a gasp.

‘You got something to tell us, Ricky?’ Black feigned surprise.

‘I didn’t want to say anything in there,’ he managed, and he jerked his thumb back at the club. ‘Too many nosy buggers.’

‘Out with it, then,’ urged Black.

‘It’s not what you think. You’ve got it all wrong about her,’ he said. ‘Alice, I mean.’

‘If you’ve got something to tell us, then say it. Hints aren’t helpful.’

‘All right,’ he said after a moment. ‘You’re barking up the wrong tree. She wasn’t really interested in guys. I thought she was, but it turns out she wasn’t.’

‘She has a boyfriend, Ricky,’ Beth reminded him.

‘Yeah, I wonder why.’ His tone was sarcastic. ‘Maybe to deflect attention?’

‘From what?’

‘From what she really liked.’

‘Oh God,’ said Black. ‘You’re one of those blokes, aren’t you? You think you’re God’s gift to women and, if one of them doesn’t fancy you, then she must be a lesbian. I knew guys like you existed. I’ve just never met one – till now.’

He flushed then. ‘I’m not making this up,’ he blustered. ‘Alice Teale is a dyke. She’s on the other bus.’

‘Bullshit,’ said Black.

‘It’s not bullshit, and if you don’t believe me, then ask that friend of hers.’

‘Chloe?’ asked Beth.

‘No, the other one,’ he said. ‘The fit one – and what a bloody waste that is.’

‘Alice Teale is not in a relationship with Kirstie,’ said Beth scornfully. ‘No one has told us that.’

‘How come they kissed, then?’

Black gave Ricky a disbelieving look.

‘I saw it!’

‘You saw Alice kissing Kirstie?’

‘Yeah.’

‘But a kiss doesn’t always mean …’ Beth began.

‘This wasn’t a peck on the cheek. It was a full-on snog.’

‘And you actually saw this?’ said Black. ‘How? Were you peeping in through her window?’

‘It wasn’t just me. A bunch of us saw them, and it was the kind of kiss you can’t fake.’

Until that point, it had never crossed Beth’s mind that, if Alice Teale was really seeing someone else, it might be a woman. In her journal she talked about a ‘He’ not a ‘her’, and Alice’s neighbour had clearly seen a man’s torso, not a woman’s, through her bedroom window, but there was something about the certainty in Ricky’s manner that made her feel she couldn’t entirely dismiss that notion now. Was this why Alice found her boyfriend so unsatisfying? She preferred girls? Was there one more secret Alice Teale had been keeping from the world, and how, if at all, was this linked to the girl’s disappearance?

‘Where exactly was this, Ricky?’ asked Beth.

He pointed back the way they had come. ‘The pub you’ve just been in.’