Gail shrugged. ‘She was a bonny lass. It could have been anyone. It doesn’t take much to lead a man astray.’
Perez looked at her. She sounded bitter. He remembered that she’d only lost her husband a short time ago in a car crash. Perhaps he’d been the sort to find comfort elsewhere too.
Gail seemed to guess what Perez was thinking. ‘I was lucky with my husband. He was a good man, loyal to his family, but there are lots of bad ones out there.’ She gave a sad little smile. ‘I met a few of them when I was younger.’
‘Tell me about your husband’s accident.’
She didn’t answer for a while. She’d finished mending the hen house now and started to gather up her tools into a canvas bag.
‘It was the start of the autumn,’ she said. ‘There were fallen leaves everywhere and then it started to rain, so the roads were very slippery. Much worse than ice. John skidded on his way back to the farm after a night in the village. A witness says there was another car driving much too fast the other way, and that’s why John had to swerve. But that driver was never found.’
‘That must be hard. Especially if people in the village are saying he’d been drinking and it was his own fault.’
Gail shrugged again. ‘I could let it eat away at me. All those “what ifs”. What if the other driver had been more careful? What if John had stayed home that night? But it does no good. I have our daughter, Grace, to think about.’
Perez didn’t answer. He’d had a sudden, strange thought. He was wondering if Anna Blackwell had a car and if she’d been out the night of John’s accident. If Anna had caused Gail’s husband’s death, that might provide a motive for murder. Then Perez decided he was being crazy. He couldn’t see Gail as a killer. And besides, she’d been at the farm the whole night of Anna’s death, looking after two fatherless children.
He walked with Gail back towards the farmhouse, carrying the piece of rotten wood she’d replaced.
‘Will you find out what really happened?’ she asked.
This time it was his turn to shrug. ‘I don’t know. I haven’t got much time left. I have to go home to Shetland tomorrow.’
‘Perhaps that’s a good thing,’ Gail said. ‘Perhaps we should forget about Anna’s death and remember her life. That’s what I try to do with John. We should let the dead rest in peace.’
Perez didn’t know what to say. He wanted to tell her that the love of his life had died not long before and so he understood how Gail was feeling. He had decided to let Fran rest in peace too. But in the end he just nodded and got into his car.
As Perez pulled out of the farm track onto the road, he saw a dark figure standing in a lay-by, staring. Perez was sure it was the man who’d been watching his hotel the night before. He slammed on the brakes and backed up the road to the lay-by, but the man had gone. It was as if he’d vanished into thin air. He must have run off into the trees. It made Perez wonder if his mind had been playing tricks and if the watcher had ever been there at all.
12 The Doctor
Back in Stonebridge, Perez decided that the time had come to talk to Tom King. Sarah had told him not to, but he couldn’t see any way of reaching an end to the case without speaking to the doctor. It was lunchtime – in the school playground the children were racing and shouting – and this might be a good moment to find Tom free.
He went into the health centre and gave his name to the woman behind the desk.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘Doctor King has just finished his surgery, so he’s not seeing any more patients. Is it urgent?’ The place was empty apart from the receptionist.
‘I’m an old friend,’ Perez said. ‘Not a patient. Perhaps you could just tell Tom that I’m here.’
She looked at him over her glasses and then left through a door behind her. He could hear muttered voices, then Tom appeared.
‘Jimmy,’ he said. ‘What are you doing in this neck of the woods? Does Sarah know you’re in Stonebridge?’
Perez saw again how tired and tense the doctor looked. ‘I’m here because Sarah asked me to come. She thought you could both use my help.’
‘She didn’t say she’d been in touch with you,’ Tom said. He struggled to keep his voice pleasant, but Perez could sense the resentment.
‘We need to talk,’ Perez said quietly. ‘I think you can guess what this is all about.’
There was a pause, and for a long moment Jimmy thought Tom would refuse, but then he nodded. ‘Let’s go for a walk,’ he said at last. ‘I can’t think in here. I need some fresh air.’
Tom led Perez down a footpath next to the river and under the stone bridge that had given its name to the village. Soon they were out in open farmland. Bare fields stretched on either side of the water.
‘It’s about Anna Blackwell,’ Perez said. ‘How did you know her?’
Tom looked away and didn’t answer. They walked on in silence.
‘Were you lovers?’ Perez asked. ‘Are you the father of her child?’
‘No!’ Tom cried. He paused. ‘Is that what Sarah thinks?’
‘She’s worried and upset. I’m not sure that she knows what to think.’
Tom stopped suddenly and looked out over the water. It was so cold that his breath came in clouds. ‘I promised not to tell anyone. Not even Sarah.’
‘I have to find out what’s been going on,’ Perez said. ‘Anna didn’t commit suicide. I’m sure of that now. She was murdered. This isn’t a time for secrets.’
Tom turned sharply towards Perez. ‘My secret has absolutely nothing to do with Anna’s death.’
‘I’m sorry. You’ll have to trust me on this. You have to tell me what you know.’
There was a moment of silence while they stared at each other. At last Tom set off again along the path and started talking. He looked ahead of him, not at Perez.
‘You’re right. I do know the name of Lucy’s father.’
‘Who is it?’
There was another pause. ‘My brother, Miles. He’s always had a taste for younger women. Anna was at university with his daughter and the girls became friends. Miles met Anna at a party at his home in Edinburgh. They had a fling and she got pregnant. She refused to get rid of the child. Miles asked me to sort things out with her, make sure that she was OK and had somewhere to live.’ Tom paused again. ‘I think he did care for her in his own way.’
‘But he was a high-profile MP?’ Perez said. ‘He didn’t want the fact that he’d fathered a child with a young student to be made public?’
‘Of course he didn’t.’ Tom sounded bitter. ‘He has hopes of a government job after the election. His wife’s a wealthy woman and he doesn’t want to upset her. I had to promise to keep Anna’s child secret.’
‘But you tried to help her?’
‘Of course! I went to see her in Edinburgh to check she had everything she needed. She wouldn’t take money from Miles. Then she applied for a job at the school here, and I was happy to let her rent the house I own in the village.’ Tom paused. ‘She was a great young woman, full of life and energy. I thought Miles had treated her badly and that she could use some support. Perhaps you know that her parents have problems of their own.’
‘You let Lucy be taken into care,’ Perez said. ‘She’s your niece. How could you do that?’
Tom didn’t answer and Perez changed tack.
‘Sarah saw you together,’ he said. ‘It was in the health centre. You and Lucy looked so alike that Sarah assumed you were the girl’s father.’
Tom frowned. ‘So that’s why she started the petition to get Anna sacked from the school.’ He sounded shocked. ‘I didn’t realise. She tried to talk to me about Anna, but I could only think about my promise to my brother.’ He stopped in his tracks again.
Looking back towards Stonebridge, Perez could see the small grey houses and the wood smoke rising from the chimneys in the still air. It looked very peaceful.