Claudia jogged at a steady pace as she crossed a footbridge that spanned the canal junction at Raven Brook Marina. She was unaware that Leanne lived nearby, but the reporter was on her mind. The Courier could print whatever it liked. Claudia had given her statement and she would stand by it.
She would explain how Leanne had placed her under unnecessary duress with leading questions, and how Claudia’s answers had been twisted until she believed what was being suggested. It wasn’t her fault. She was a victim like anyone else. Why couldn’t Leanne simply accept that? It wasn’t as if she hadn’t suffered an enduring loss as a result of the fire, and not just the baby.
Overwhelmed with fear and sadness, Claudia longed for Declan’s touch, but it was her hand that wiped the single tear sliding down her cheek. She had needed their affair to end, but not in the way that it had. For a long time, she had consoled herself that his death provided a neat ending, but as she jogged along the towpath, it didn’t feel so neat any more. Karin was one loose end that needed snipping.
Navigating the occasional angler whose fishing rods crisscrossed her path, Claudia didn’t miss a step. Her pace slowed only when the path narrowed into the approach of a forty-foot tunnel. The dull thud of running shoes on well-trodden earth was replaced by the thump of rubber on sandstone. It had taken a bit longer than she had expected to get there, but Karin had waited obediently.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ she said as the sound of her laboured breaths echoed off the walls.
Consumed in shadow, Karin’s complexion appeared sallow. Her scarf was wrapped around her neck, and there was an unpleasant yellow stain on it. As Claudia drew closer, she could smell the bitterness of bile.
‘You’ll have to forgive me for not hugging,’ she added. ‘I’m quite sweaty.’
‘Why would I want to hug you? We’re not friends.’ Karin’s words were as sour as her breath.
‘Oh, I thought we were. I hoped we were,’ Claudia replied, unfazed by the welcome that was as cold as the frost clinging to the smooth edges of the canal. She released a sigh as she lifted her gaze to the arched roof and admired the graffiti inflicted by marker pens and penknives. ‘I used to hang out here with my friends when I was younger. We had this challenge to see who could write their name up highest. I remember balancing on a boy’s shoulders while his heels hung over the water. I don’t know how we didn’t fall in.’
She squinted at the old bricks. Was her name still up there? Justin would be horrified if he knew what she had got up to.
‘Did you sneak down here with my brother?’
‘Ah, you’ve been speaking to Leanne again.’
‘So you’re not denying it?’
‘This is getting tedious. Karin. I never met your brother,’ she said through gritted teeth.
‘Then how did you know what happened in Donegal? Declan was ashamed of what he did. Even his ex doesn’t know about her sister.’
‘Gosh, he had an affair with his sister-in-law?’ Claudia said, feigning shock. ‘Little wonder he had to do a runner.’
‘You already knew. Leanne—’
‘Leanne told you,’ Claudia said, her patience snapping. ‘Can’t you see she’s playing with you? How many reporters did you have hanging around when Declan was suspected of causing the fire? How many do you think turned up on his ex-wife’s doorstep, or her sister’s for that matter? I don’t know where Leanne got her information, but it didn’t come from me.’
Karin placed the palm of her gloved hand on her forehead. Her bloodshot eyes closed briefly. ‘You’re the one who’s trying to play me. The only reason I had tickets for that night was to do your job while you were with my brother. You were pulling the strings then, and you think you’re doing it now.’
‘That’s simply not true. I won’t deny that Leanne has made a compelling case, but she has her own agenda.’
‘She lost a friend, I know. I lost a brother.’
‘And I lost a baby,’ Claudia reminded her.
‘And whose baby was it? Did Declan know you were pregnant?’ Karin demanded, her raised voice echoing through the tunnel.
Claudia shifted uncomfortably. The last angler she had seen was too far away to hear, but she couldn’t account for dog walkers. ‘I’m not your enemy,’ she said softly, forcing the conversation to lower levels. ‘You came to me, remember?’
Karin laughed. ‘Do I remember?’ she asked, mocking Claudia. ‘Do you know what? I think I’m starting to.’
Claudia glared back at her. ‘Fine, let’s get this out there. Leanne phoned me this morning with some crazy story about you being the one who saved Amelia. Can you believe that?’ When Karin didn’t respond, she added, ‘And I bet Leanne’s gone out of her way to plant the idea in that poor girl’s head, just like she’s planted it in yours. She wants a new headline, that’s all. She’s ruthless.’
‘I remember digging Amelia out.’
‘You said yourself you’ve absorbed false memories from the news reports. You’re reliving my experience, not yours.’
Karin pulled off her gloves and invited Claudia to look at the scars on her hands. ‘I didn’t get these from trying to reach Declan. He wasn’t the one who was buried.’
‘This is silly,’ Claudia said, rubbing her arms. The sweat on her skin had turned to ice and she shuddered as she glanced at the still surface of the canal. The water was black and bottomless. ‘You’re not well, Karin.’
‘I’m not as sick as you.’
Claudia’s lip curled. ‘I’ve had enough of this. I came here in good faith because I was worried about you, but if you’re determined to do battle, so be it.’ She made a show of looking Karin up and down. ‘Who’s going to believe you of all people? Seriously, you look half-crazed and that’s being polite. Are you ready for the abuse coming your way when the public hears your ramblings? They won’t believe you, Karin. You’re a nobody.’
‘I’m not interested in being in the headlines. I’m not like you.’
‘No? Then why are you here?’ demanded Claudia.
‘Because I remember seeing you inside the theatre.’ Karin let her gloves drop to the ground as she extended her arms. She was repeating the same movements she had made in her kitchen, reaching out for an invisible figure. ‘I saw you, Claudia.’