The windscreen was clear of condensation, but if the temperature continued to fall, Leanne would be scraping ice off the windows soon. She had brought her laptop in case the boredom became too much, but there were no pressing deadlines. Mal had approved her latest stakeout and had gone as far as to say she could claim expenses for coffee and doughnuts.
Licking vanilla sugar from her lips, Leanne stared through the gates to the car park beyond. There were two people under surveillance this time, which doubled her chances, and she was prepared to stay as long as was necessary. There was no alternative. Karin continued to ignore her calls, and the email she had sent to Beth had bounced back.
Sipping a gingerbread latte, Leanne kept an eye on the blue Peugeot, hoping that Karin and Beth weren’t so short of money that the petrol tank was empty. It bothered her that she couldn’t see the entrance to their apartment, and she considered reclaiming her previous spot by the canal, but it was the beginning of December, and she wasn’t prepared to freeze to death. Or was she?
Zipping up her coat, Leanne was getting ready to patrol the block, when two figures appeared from the direction of the apartments. One wore a woollen scarf that seemed too heavy for her hunched frame, and the other a padded jacket and mustard beret.
Leanne locked the car and slipped through the narrow pedestrian entrance next to the main gates. She didn’t run in case she drew attention to herself, but she walked fast enough to reach the Peugeot at the same time that its indicators flashed and the doors unlocked.
‘Please, can we talk?’ Leanne said before either woman had a chance to react to her arrival.
Beth stepped in front of Karin. ‘Leave us alone,’ she hissed.
Leanne stepped away from the car, signalling to Beth that she didn’t want to be considered a threat. Her new position also gave her a better view of Declan’s sister. She hadn’t met Karin before, and her first impression was that she looked nothing like the pre-disaster photos the Courier had acquired. Her dark hair hung limply around her face and disappeared beneath the folds of her multi-coloured scarf. Her eyes were also multi-coloured; bloodshot with purple shadows beneath.
‘Who are you?’ Karin asked, holding on to her girlfriend’s arm.
‘She’s no one,’ Beth said.
‘I’m a reporter with—’
‘I’ve been advised not to talk to you,’ Karin said before Leanne could finish.
‘I work for the Courier. My name is Leanne Pitman and—’
Beth was opening the passenger door. ‘It’s OK, I’ll handle this.’
Red blotches had bled into Karin’s cheeks, but it was impossible to tell if it was from the cold or growing anxiety. ‘You wrote about the wee girl.’
‘Amelia?’ asked Leanne. ‘Yes, do you remember her? You would have been sitting a few rows behind.’
‘Stop!’ Beth said. ‘The last thing she needs is someone forcing her to relive stuff she’s better off forgetting.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Leanne said as she watched Karin get into the car.
Beth was about to close the car door when Karin popped her head back out. ‘She’s OK, isn’t she? I thought she was dead.’
‘She’s fine.’
The door closed and Beth rested her hands on the car roof, her head bowed as if she didn’t have the strength to turn to face Leanne again. After a couple of breaths, she twisted around.
‘Whatever you want from us, we’ve got nothing left to give.’
‘I’ve found the woman you were sitting next to at the theatre.’
‘So fucking what?’
‘I thought you might want to know. Her name is Carole Brody.’
‘I know who she is, I read your article,’ Beth said with a bitter laugh. ‘I recognised her from the photo, although I have to say, that story of hers was a real work of fiction. It took me a while to realise the distraught woman she practically carried out of the theatre was supposed to be me.’
‘I’m sorry about that. I have spoken to her again and she told me it was you who helped her.’
‘No, I didn’t!’ Beth said, her eyes blazing. ‘I thought I was helping Karin. I thought she was the one holding my arm.’ She wrapped a hand around her upper arm to illustrate. ‘When I realised my mistake, it was too late. I’d lost Karin, and that stupid woman wouldn’t let go of me.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Leanne said, knowing she was inflicting pain, but continuing anyway. ‘Mrs Brody said she heard Declan calling out for Karin. If she was next to you, you must have heard him too. He was up in the circle. Did you see him? Did you see anyone with him?’
‘I don’t know!’ Beth looked as if she didn’t want to say more, but this new piece of information forced her to reconsider. ‘A year ago I would have said absolutely not, but Karin goes over it again and again and I’ve forgotten what’s real and what isn’t. She obsesses over the tiniest detail of every account of the disaster like she’s expecting to find pieces to her own puzzle.’
‘I want to help.’
‘No, you don’t,’ Beth said, spitting her accusation back at Leanne. She took a step towards the front of the car, heading for the driver’s side, only to realise she would be leaving Karin unprotected. She pressed a button on her key fob and locked the car.
Leanne stared at the collection of keys in Beth’s hand. There was a torch dangling from a chain.
‘That key ring,’ she stammered. ‘Did you get it from Declan?’
Beth hesitated, confused by Leanne’s reaction. ‘We had a whole drawer full once,’ she said. ‘They come in handy when we’re walking along the canal in the pitch dark. Not that they last long. Not that we go out for walks in the dark any more.’
‘It’s the same key ring Amelia Parker remembers holding,’ Leanne said, trying not to read anything into it. Lots of people would have had them.
‘So what?’
‘I’m revisiting some of the stories I reported on the Empress fire. Carole Brody isn’t the only one who stretched the truth.’
Beth shuffled her feet, growing restless. If Leanne was going to keep her attention, she needed to shock her. There was nothing else for it. ‘I don’t think Claudia Rothwell saved Amelia,’ she said.
‘My God, you were the one who broke the news. Are you saying you made it up?’ Beth replied with a laugh that was meant to mock. It worked.
‘Claudia lied. In fact she’s lied about a lot of things. When you saw her by the exit, she wasn’t going back inside, she hadn’t been in there to begin with. She had tickets, but she gave them away.’ Leanne left a beat before adding, ‘Did you know she was having an affair with Declan?’
Beth’s jaw dropped and then she laughed again. ‘More stories? You’re getting good at this. I read that rubbish you printed about the wonderful Phillipa Montgomery. Is that what this is about? Are you trying to frame Claudia so we’ll forget it was Phillipa who was involved with Declan?’
‘And where did the rumour about Phillipa come from? Was it Claudia?’ When Beth didn’t answer, Leanne added, ‘When I said Claudia gave away her tickets, who do you think used them?’
Beth gave nothing away. ‘Should I care?’
‘You and Karin were in her seats,’ Leanne said slowly. ‘According to Claudia there was a mix-up at the box office. Surely you remember the confusion over tickets?’
‘It sounds like you’re the one who’s muddled. We had the right tickets. We were meant to be mystery shoppers.’
‘No, Beth, that was Claudia’s job. I have a list of all the complimentary tickets that were issued and none went to Declan. He acquired Claudia’s tickets – a man she claims not to have known.’
‘This is ridiculous. Declan’s dead. Can’t you let him rest in peace?’
‘I know I’m as guilty as anyone for believing he was the villain, and I understand why you don’t want Karin talking to me, but I promise you, that’s not what this is about. I want justice for the people who died in the fire, as well as those who continue to suffer,’ she added softly, wanting Beth to know that she saw her suffering too. ‘I think Claudia is using Amelia as a cover story. I don’t know what made her go inside the theatre, but it wasn’t to pull a girl from the rubble.’
‘And you know that because?’
‘Because she’s a liar. Claudia walked away without a scratch on her. Does that sound like the same person who dug Amelia out with her bare hands? Claudia saw an opportunity, and she took it. No one else had come forward, and not one person could describe the rescuer, not even Amelia.’
From inside the car, Karin was peeling away her scarf with gloved fingers. Amelia wasn’t the only one to have suffered memory loss.
‘The person who saved Amelia had a key ring just like yours, but Claudia knew nothing about it when Amelia brought it up. It almost caught her out, but she talked her way out of it because that’s what she’s good at.’ Leanne looked towards Karin, forcing Beth to follow her gaze. It was a tenuous connection, but worth a try. ‘Did Karin carry one of those key rings?’
‘This is ridiculous,’ Beth said. If she harboured the same thoughts, she dismissed them with a shake of her head. ‘Claudia has been good to us. We’re not going to be used as weapons against her.’
‘Don’t you want to know the truth?’
‘Will it pay the bills?’ Beth snapped back. Her jaw was clenched when she added, ‘I can’t and I won’t help you. Karin’s lost another job, and we need Claudia’s support.’
‘You’ve applied to the hardship fund?’
‘We’d have lost the apartment by now if she hadn’t bailed us out.’
‘You’ve had payments?’ Leanne asked. ‘I didn’t think the fund had issued any money yet.’
‘Claudia found a way.’
‘And now you’re beholden to her,’ Leanne said, her heart sinking. ‘All I want is to find Amelia’s true hero. Maybe I’m clutching at straws, but what if it was Karin, or someone else who can’t come forward? How does it feel to know Claudia is buying your silence?’
‘Don’t you dare! You have no idea what it’s like!’ Beth cried out, but her anger was quickly spent. ‘I can’t cope with any more of this. Please, just leave us alone.’
Leanne held up her hands and said no more as Beth raced around to the driver’s side. When she was safely inside the car, Karin tried to console her. She didn’t look as fragile as she had earlier, but Beth was right, neither of them had anything left to give.
Once Beth had sniffed back the tears, she started the engine and reversed the car out of the parking space, passing within inches of Leanne. As the car came level, Leanne got a closer look at Karin. Her scarf hung loosely from her neck, and a silver chain glinted in the winter sun. The car sped away.
When Karin and Beth were forced to wait for the gates to open, Leanne didn’t want to appear to be pursuing them. She left her car and strolled towards the canal while her mind attempted to force Karin into the mould she had once pressed Claudia into. She was the right height, but did she look like someone who would fight a natural instinct to escape? What if she had gone searching for Declan when she heard him calling out to her? Would she have been distracted by the plight of a little girl? From the broken woman Leanne had seen today, it was almost easier to believe Claudia had saved Amelia.
As Leanne reached the towpath, she continued the internal debate. Karin had asked about Amelia and said how she thought she was dead. Had she seen where the roof had caved in and made the same assumption as Carole Brody? Or had she thought it was a dead child she was placing into Rex Russell’s arms? Beth hadn’t denied that Karin had a torch that night, even if she hadn’t confirmed it either.
Leanne blinked against the sun that was reflecting off the canal’s still waters and immediately recalled the flash of silver around Karin’s neck. How many women in the theatre had been wearing silver pendants that night? How many possessed Ronson Construction torches that had been given away like sweets? How many couldn’t come forward and retell their feats of bravery because either they, or their memory, hadn’t survived the tragedy?
Opening her rucksack, Leanne searched for her sunglasses, but pulled out her phone instead. She had taken a photograph of the drawing she had been asked to pass on to Claudia. Amelia’s guardian angel had dark hair, as did Karin, but what about the pendant? Leanne zoomed in on the line around the woman’s neck, but the little dot in the centre remained just that.
Frustrated, Leanne tapped her phone harder than was entirely necessary to zoom out to the full image. She hated seeing Claudia’s name appended to Amelia’s, but she couldn’t with any certainty change it to Karin’s, or anyone else’s for that matter. She was almost at the point of admitting defeat when she saw it – the clue hidden in the sketch that Amelia had covered up with a pink heart.