Chapter 15
Julia put the key into the door and listened to the almost inaudible sound of the inner workings of the lock grinding round to pull the bolt from the doorframe.
It seemed like a momentous moment, although it was only one tiny little milestone in the relationship.
She pushed open the door and entered Sean’s empty house.
As far as she could recall, it was the first time she’d arrived at the house without finding him there.
Jono was absent, too – he and Laine seemed to go back and forth between their houses.
Julia carried a shopping bag and a bunch of peonies into the kitchen.
She had worried about whether it was appropriate to bring supplies and flowers on her first unannounced, unplanned visit, with her own key.
Was it too much, too soon? Did it seem somehow territorial?
She knew full well that Sean wouldn’t have given the matter this level of attention and analysis, so she gave herself a bit of a talking to and bought the things she wanted for the house.
Her favourite Lapsang Souchong tea, his favourite spiced mixed nuts and some snacky bits and pieces which might be nice for lunch.
As well as the peonies, which they both loved, and a special lemon-scented soap (his soap selection was below par).
Julia had just finished arranging the flowers and stashing the groceries when she heard Sean’s key in the lock.
‘I’m here,’ she called, somewhat unnecessarily, because he would have had trouble not noticing her car, or in fact Jake who was already lumbering over to greet Sean and Leo, his toenails skittering on the kitchen floor and his tail slapping around dangerously.
Sean’s face lit up when he saw Julia standing in his kitchen, the vase of peonies still in her hands.
‘There you are,’ Sean said, moving in to give her a hug.
It was rather an awkward hug, because he had a shopping bag in each hand, but it was warm and loving, her cheek pressed into the soft cashmere of his pullover.
The reunion between the dogs was so ecstatically noisy that Sean hoofed them both straight out the door to let off some steam.
‘Are you looking forward to your birthday present?’ she asked.
Julia had opted for an ‘experience instead of stuff’ approach to Sean’s recent birthday, and was treating him to a day out on the Cotswolds Foraging Experience in the woods nearby.
The plan had been to meet at the woods, but when Julia had realised that it was a dog-free outing, she had decided to stop by Sean’s place so that Jake and Leo could keep each other company at home for a couple of hours.
‘Very much,’ he said. ‘Although I do wish Jono wouldn’t keep referring to it as the Cotswolds Poisoning Experience.’
‘He does? He’s hilarious, that boy of yours,’ Julia laughed.
‘Isn’t he just? He’s been ragging me about it for days.
As I left he shouted, “Have you got the emergency number saved on your phone?”’ Sean shook his head, smiling, and went on.
‘It’s a joy to see him in such good spirits, and with so much going on in his life – lovely girlfriend, enjoying his job at the vet, studying. ’
They both thought back to the depressed young man who had come to stay a year or so before, his life and confidence in tatters.
‘He’s done so very well. It’s wonderful.’ She took Sean’s hand. ‘As far as the foraging goes, Jack, the guy who runs this, has been foraging in the area all his life and he’s forty or so and not poisoned yet, as far as I can tell. I mean, he’s alive, at least.’
‘Alive is good enough for me. When we cook up our pickings for lunch later I’ll make sure he eats first.’
‘We will have to leave in about half an hour. Shall we have a quick cup of tea before we go?’
Two hours later, they had been shown examples of the most prolific and delicious edible plants of the Cotswolds woodlands and given a little bag and a small sharp knife with which to gather them. They were ready to head out on their mission.
‘Well, isn’t it another beautiful sunny day?’ said Julia, putting her floppy hat on her head. ‘This has been the most remarkably warm and pretty spring.’
‘It has, but it can’t last. It’ll turn before you know it,’ said one of their fellow foragers, a florid-faced chap who appeared to be a reluctant attendee.
His wife, a birdlike woman with a trilling, twittering manner, seemed to have all of the cheerful enthusiasm in the couple, leaving him with the grumps.
‘Well, not today, by the looks of things,’ said the wife. ‘I predict sunshine and happiness all round.’
‘You never know. There was a thirty per cent chance of showers, according to the forecast,’ the man said gloomily.
‘I agree with you,’ said Julia, giving the woman a broad smile. ‘It’s going to be lovely out.’
‘I, for one, intend to enjoy every minute,’ said Sean, weighing in on the side of the happy optimists.
The florid man had the good grace to look a little shamefaced. ‘Right-ho,’ he said, a bit more warmly. ‘Let’s go, shall we?’
Sean and Julia waited for the other couple to head off and then set off in the opposite direction.
They smelled the wild garlic before they saw it.
Its aroma was distinctly familiar, and when they bent down to look, they saw the rather ordinary leaves and the delicate white flowers that Jack had shown them.
‘Here it is!’ said Julia. ‘Let’s get a nice bunch and we can make a pesto for supper. I bought cashews.’
They snipped carefully, trying not to damage the plant or over-forage one area, and put the leaves carefully into the bag they shared.
Enthused by their early success, they moved on towards the river in search of three-cornered leeks, which grew wild in the area.
Sean adored leeks and was keen to find some of the wild ones.
They agreed that they would leave the stinging nettles alone, even though Jack had informed them all that nettles were very nutritious and good in soups.
Soon they found themselves on a path that ran alongside the river.
The path was narrow, so Julia led the way, with Sean behind her, carrying the bag of foraged plants.
It felt strange walking without a dog, but it was nice to be just the two of them, chatting and, in her case, not worrying about Jake hurling himself off the steep bank into the river below, or knocking someone else in.
The water flowed strongly, with deep pools in some places, and she would have had to keep an eye on him.
‘Is that a patch of the wild leeks?’ Sean asked, pointing to some long, thin, green leaves which honestly could have been daffodils at this distance. They took a few steps off the path to investigate, bending down to sniff and check the leaves as Jack had shown them.
‘I think they might be leeks. What do you say?’ Sean asked.
‘These are definitely leeks,’ she said. Again, they harvested lightly and carefully until they had what they needed.
Julia straightened up to release her stiff knees and almost tripped over a large fallen branch half hidden in the undergrowth.
‘Careful,’ said Sean, grabbing her arm. ‘It’s a bit of a drop to the river.’
He was right. Peering over the edge of the bank, she saw the river a few feet below.
She saw something else, too. At the bottom of the bank in the shallows, half in and half out of the water, was a wet bundle, a sort of honey-brown colour, like a large sack, or… Julia gasped and staggered back away from the water, knocking into Sean.
‘Are you all right?’ he asked, grabbing her arm to steady her. ‘Did you have a funny turn?’
‘Yes… No… I…’
‘Sit down,’ he said, leading her to a fallen branch. ‘Take a moment.’
‘It’s not that,’ she said, although she followed his instructions and sat on the log. ‘I saw something… someone… Sean, go and look over the edge… in the water.’
Sean walked the few steps to the edge of the bank and looked down.
‘Good God,’ he said, dropping the foraging bag and taking off his jacket. He got down on the ground and turned onto his front to let his legs go over the edge. His feet scrabbled for purchase on the sandy bank.
‘Julia, phone someone. Phone the police, and an ambulance,’ he said, and disappeared from view.
Julia was ahead of him. She had already grabbed her phone from her pocket.
She dialled Hayley’s personal number. The detective answered in just a few rings.
Julia spoke urgently to her and then walked reluctantly towards the edge.
Looking down, she saw Sean kneeling in the shallows, bent over the wet bundle.
The rhythmic up and down movement of his shoulders was strangely familiar from movies and television.
He was performing chest compressions. As he lifted his torso, she saw that beneath his hands was a woman, now turned onto her back, her face familiar.
Water streaming from her camel-coloured coat, and from her shiny black hair.
Bob Jones from forensics was taking photographs. He had finished examining the body, which was now under a white sheet, thank goodness, and was scouring the edge of the bank.
‘See here,’ he said, pointing at a gouged-out bit on the edge. ‘Looks like she stood on a shelf, a bit of earth that looks like solid ground, but that had been hollowed out underneath. Erosion. The loose earth gave way, and she tumbled down.’
‘So you think this could have been just a matter of an unfortunate step in the wrong place?’ Hayley said.
‘Not entirely. Now look here.’ He pointed a little further towards the path, where the dead branch, broken from a tree above, had fallen into the undergrowth.
‘I reckon she walked over to look at the river and tripped on that branch. It’s barely visible.
She lost her footing, staggered a few steps, and stepped right on the edge of the riverbank. ’
‘And the bank gave way?’
‘Exactly,’ said Bob. ‘Tragic. You can’t help but think of Ophelia, can you?’