‘When was it?’ Jane was fascinated now.
‘Ten days ago.’
‘What did she want?’
‘I’m not sure I can tell you.’ He suddenly seemed serious. ‘It’s confidential. That’s the big promise we make to everyone who comes to us.’
‘But she’s dead!’ Jane must have spoken more loudly than she intended, because a woman at a far table stared at her. She lowered her voice. ‘Even if you don’t talk to me, you’ll have to tell the police.’
‘That’s why I wanted your advice. I suppose I knew what you’d say.’ Simon was staring out of the window. For the first time since she’d joined him in the cafe he was sitting quite still.
‘You need to talk to Jimmy Perez. He lives in Ravenswick with Fran Hunter’s daughter. You must know him.’
‘I’ve seen him outside the house, but I’ve never really talked to him. I called once after Fran died, but he made it clear he didn’t want my company or my help. Perhaps it was just too soon, but I didn’t want to go back after that.’
‘I’ll come with you, if you like,’ Jane said. ‘I know him and I haven’t got anything special on this afternoon.’ She looked at Simon, waiting for his response, and realized that she was holding her breath. She was desperate to go with him to the police station. She wanted to find out everything she could about the dark woman. If Kevin had been visiting her at Tain, this was more than simple curiosity about a dead stranger. She stood up. ‘Well, are you coming?’
Simon hesitated for just a moment longer and then stood up too. ‘I suppose,’ he said, ‘I haven’t really got any choice.’
Jane hadn’t expected to see Jimmy Perez, even though she’d mentioned his name to Simon. She’d thought there would be a junior officer to take statements. But when she explained to the constable on the desk why they were there, Jimmy himself came down to greet them and took them up to his office. He offered them coffee.
‘It was good to see you at Magnus’s funeral, Simon. I know he enjoyed your visits.’
‘A pity the burial itself was quite so dramatic.’
‘Magnus was always saying that folk were keeping too many sheep on the hill these days,’ Perez said. ‘I can imagine him chuckling and saying: You see, boys, I told you so.’
Simon smiled. ‘I was telling Jane that he had an odd sense of humour.’
Jane had wondered if she might be excluded from the conversation, asked to wait in a different room perhaps, but both Simon and Perez seemed to take it for granted that she would be there. Outside the sky was brightening a little and the gulls seemed very white against the grey sky.
‘So,’ Perez said, ‘tell me about your contact with the woman.’ He leaned back in his chair.
‘It was by phone first. The organization has an emergency number. We can’t man the line twenty-four hours – we’re not the Samaritans and we don’t have enough volunteers. If no one’s around there’s a recorded message, giving our opening hours, but if I’m there I answer the phone.’
‘What impression did you get from that first call?’ Perez paused. ‘I’m guessing you learn to assess people quickly in your business.’
‘She sounded quite calm,’ Simon said. ‘Not inebriated at all. Not manic. But there was a kind of quiet desperation in her voice. I suppose I felt that if she talked about taking her life, she might mean it.’
‘And did she talk about taking her life?’
‘I think her words were: I’ve come to the end. I can’t take any more.’
Jane remembered the woman she’d seen in the shop in Brae. She’d seemed calm, cheerful even. What had happened to change her life in the week since her contact with Simon? Had it been the man who’d collected her in the car? Had he made the difference to her? A voice in her head was screaming: At least it wasn’t Kevin. If it had been Kevin, you’d have recognized the car even in that weather.
‘And did she give you her name during that initial phone call?’ It was Perez again, as quiet and probing as a psychologist himself. ‘You said you told her yours.’
Simon didn’t answer at once. ‘She said her name was Alissandra. But I can’t remember when she told me. It could have been over the phone or when she came in later that evening.’
‘Alissandra? You’re sure.’ Perez seemed especially interested in that.
‘It was an unusual name,’ Simon said. ‘I thought it might be Greek. Of course it stuck in my memory.’
Perez gave a little nod. ‘So she asked if she could come in and talk to you. What did you say?’
‘That she was welcome to do that, but that I’d only be there until nine-thirty.’
‘What was the time of the first call?’ Perez looked up from his coffee.
‘Eight-fifteen. I don’t know why, but I always make a note. I told her where to find us, but I had the impression that she’d already checked out our address. It’s on the website.’
‘And what time did she arrive?’
‘Twenty minutes later.’ Simon shut his eyes briefly as if he was remembering the encounter. ‘We have a waiting area where we can meet people. A couple of easy chairs and a coffee table. On the drop-in evenings we take in a kettle to make tea and coffee. It’s less formal than using the offices, where we see people during the day.
Perez broke in with a question. ‘Is that usual? Someone phoning first on a drop-in night?’
‘It’s not unusual.’
‘I’m trying to picture it.’ Now it was Perez’s turn to close his eyes for a moment. ‘Do clients walk straight in from the pavement?’
‘There’s a buzzer on the door, after hours. I wasn’t expecting Alissandra to arrive so quickly and it made me jump rather. I hurried to let her in. Of course it was dark and raining and I didn’t want her to stand outside getting wetter than she already was.’
‘Once again, first impressions, please. If you wouldn’t mind.’
‘Honestly?’ Simon said. ‘That she was a very beautiful woman. When I let her in she was wearing a long coat. She took the coat off and shook it, and I saw her long dark hair and almost black eyes. When I saw the drawing you’ve been circulating I recognized her immediately. There was no doubt in my mind.’ There was a pause and he resumed his story of that night. ‘At first I didn’t think the person who walked in was the same woman who’d phoned. She seemed too confident and too controlled. Not in need of our help. But as she came further into the room she began to cry. Almost silently, you know, and then she gave a sob and held a handkerchief to her mouth as if the sound had been obscene and she needed to stop it happening again.’
‘What age would you say?’ Perez’s voice was very quiet and Jane, furthest away from him, struggled to make out the words.
‘Early forties. It was hard to tell.’
‘What did you do?’
‘Nothing at first. We both sat down and I waited for her to compose herself. There was a box of tissues on the table and I pushed it towards her. Eventually she started to speak.’ There was a silence in Jimmy Perez’s room. Jane supposed it was similar to the silence in the charity’s office as Simon waited for the woman to explain why she was so desperate. She thought Simon in work mode must be very different from the man she knew. That Simon was impatient and never waited for anyone. Now the psychologist continued, ‘First she apologized for being so emotional. She said she’d got into a mess and she could see no way out, apart from killing herself.’
‘What sort of mess?’
Simon shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, Jimmy, but she wasn’t very specific. There seemed to be a lot of guilt. She talked about being trapped and about being worried about her family. She kept saying it was all her fault. Then suddenly she was quite calm again, as she’d appeared to be on the phone and when I’d first opened the door to her. She stood up and put on her coat. She’d put it over a chair close to the radiator, and I remember seeing it steaming while we were talking. She said of course she wouldn’t kill herself. There were people who depended on her, people who loved her. She’d panicked for a while, that was all. Now she felt rather foolish for taking up my time. She shook my hand as if we’d been having a professional meeting and she left. I called after her that she should ring back if ever she wanted to talk again, if ever she felt that she couldn’t cope on her own, but she didn’t reply.’