Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
A bit of internet sleuthing gave Lily the address for Martin Weston’s accountancy firm in Truro. It was only a fifteen-minute drive, and they set off straight after breakfast in Lily’s hire car.
They spent most of the drive discussing how they should go about questioning Martin.
Lily didn’t have a plan, she told her grandmother. They’d play it by ear. Judge the mood and go from there. She generally didn’t have a problem with a direct approach, as long as the person she was questioning didn’t seem nervous and likely to clam up.
“What do you remember of Martin?” Lily asked eventually, as she slowed at the traffic lights.
“Not much. He was quite aloof.”
“How did he react to you questioning him after the fire?”
“Mostly, he was condescending. Always saying how terrible it was for me to lose my daughter – as though I was clearly mad with grief and that was the only reason I was causing a stir.”
“Nancy said she got on well with him until recently,” Lily mused. “I got the impression Johnny probably doesn’t have a great relationship with his dad.”
“Did he say so?”
“No.” Lily smiled as she pressed on the accelerator.
“But telling me his dad lied about his whereabouts on the night of the fire suggests he doesn’t care enough to keep his secrets any more.
” She tapped the steering wheel. “I wonder if that’s also because of his dad’s new girlfriend. Maybe Johnny doesn’t get on with her.”
Leaning towards the dashboard, Clara pointed to a small office block. “I think that’s it,” she said.
They found a parking space on a side street and strode side by side to the entrance of the offices. Two women on a mission.
The young man at the reception desk didn’t ask a lot of questions, just told them to have a seat while he tried to get hold of Mr Weston.
Five minutes later, Clara gave Lily’s leg a nudge and tipped her head at a man in a suit walking towards them. He jutted his chin out as he stared at them.
“Clara,” he said, shaking his head. “This is a surprise.”
“I’m sure,” she replied dryly. “Did you think I was dead?”
He cast a quick glance at the receptionist, who was watching the exchange with interest. “I didn’t know what had happened to you after your accident,” he said. “What a sorry business that was.”
Clara smiled tightly. “Do you remember my granddaughter – Lily?”
“Yes.” His smile was fixed and unnatural. “Nancy told me you were back in Malporth.” He extended his hand and Lily shook it reluctantly. “Let’s go through to my office,” he said. “You can tell me what I can do for you.”
When he set off back the way he’d come, they followed but kept their distance.
Clara tipped her head towards Lily. “I say we go for the direct approach with this weasel,” she whispered. “Put a bit of pressure on him and see what happens.”
“Agreed,” Lily said, then forced a smile when Martin turned back to them.
“Right this way,” he said, opening a door, then gesturing for them to go ahead. “I’m afraid I’m a little strapped for time today,” he told them, taking a seat across from them in his large leather office chair.
“We’ll get straight to the point then,” Clara said. “We’d like to know where you were on the night Julia and Christopher died.”
“Excuse me?” he said, straightening his spine.
“We know you weren’t at home, like you originally said,” Clara stated. “So we’d love to know where you were and why you lied.”
“For god’s sake!” He threw his hands up, then flopped back in his chair. “After all this time, you still can’t let that drop.”
“My parents died,” Lily said, matter-of-factly. “I’m sorry if that’s difficult for me to let go of.”
“I was at home,” he said in a monotone that suggested he didn’t care whether they believed him or not. “I’m a deep sleeper. Didn’t hear a thing.”
“Odd that your wife didn’t wake you,” Lily said.
“Well, you’d have to ask her about that.”
“I probably will,” Lily said. “I did ask your son. He said you weren’t at home.”
He shook his head with a look of disdain. “I wouldn’t believe a word Johnny tells you. It seems to be his life’s mission to piss me off.”
Lily flinched at the bite in his words.
“You don’t get on with your son?” Clara asked.
“No. That’s not exactly a secret.”
Lily could see exactly why Johnny had no interest in keeping Martin’s secret. “He sounded pretty certain you weren’t at home when the fire started.”
“Johnny has a chip on his shoulder. I don’t know why his mother can do no wrong in his eyes, while he’ll barely give me the time of day. It’s her he should have an issue with.”
“What does that mean?” Lily asked, leaning out of her seat.
“Nothing,” he said, with a subtle shake of the head. “All I’m saying is you shouldn’t believe anything he tells you. I was at home in bed that night. There’s nothing more to say on the subject. I’d like you to leave now, if you don’t mind.”
Clara glanced at Lily, who shrugged in response.
Martin stood. “It’ll be embarrassing all round if I have to call security.”
Since Lily didn’t believe the building had a security guard, the threat wasn’t what got her moving – she just wasn’t sure there was much point in hanging around.
“I’m going to talk to the police,” she said as she stood. “See if they’ll reopen the case. Some things aren’t adding up, and you lying about where you were that night is one of them. I’m sure Johnny won’t mind telling the police you weren’t at home.”
At the door, Lily stopped. Martin’s eyes were closed and his features were tense.
“Wait a minute,” he said with a resigned sigh. “I’ll tell you the truth if you promise not to mention it to Nancy.”
Lily glanced at her grandmother. Why wouldn’t he want them to tell Nancy?
“I wasn’t at home,” he said grouchily. “I was with a woman.”
Slowly, Lily moved back towards the desk with Clara at her side.
“Why would Samantha cover for you?” Clara asked.
“Because of Nancy.”
Lily shook her head. “You’re going to have to explain.”
“Samantha knew about the affairs, but we agreed not to get divorced until Nancy was older. We didn’t want to mess up her childhood, so we hid it from her.”
“What about Johnny?” Lily asked, while her mind tried to process the information.
“What about him?” Martin snapped.
“Did you hide the affairs from him?”
“He was older, and much more clued in than Nancy. He knew, but he kept it to himself.”
“So he knew you lied about your whereabouts on the night of the fire, and you told him to keep quiet?”
“No,” he said tersely. “The fire was an accident, so the police weren’t interrogating anyone.
Certainly no one was asking an eleven-year-old kid questions.
Johnny didn’t lie because no one asked him anything.
And we never asked him to keep anything quiet.
I didn’t realise he knew I wasn’t at home until years later. ”
Lily’s heart squeezed, thinking of Johnny not only having to deal with the trauma of seeing the neighbours die in a fire, but also knowing his parents’ marriage was a mess.
“If you’re still looking for someone to blame for the fire,” Martin said. “I’m actually the only one on that close who was nowhere near. I could get someone to testify to that, too.” He pushed his hand through his hair. “I’d rather not, though. I don’t want Nancy to know.”
“That her dad’s a philandering shit?” Lily said. “These things usually have a way of coming out. My advice would be to tell her yourself, so at least she doesn’t hear it from someone else. It’s a wonder Johnny never told her.”
He rolled his eyes, and Lily could just about feel the disdain rolling off him anytime Johnny’s name was mentioned.
“He kept your secret,” Lily said. “And in return, you’re a terrible father.”
“That’s the thing.” Slowly, he sat down. “I’m not his father.”