Chapter 9
Kelly’s team at Eden House prepared for the evening shift.
The news about Water Nymph being pregnant subdued the mood.
Young Emma Hide lost her sparkle, distinctly unchirpy about a local fell race she’d missed.
Dan fussed over her and Kelly felt almost voyeuristic when she caught them whispering in the brew room.
Fin spun on his chair and the sound of it clicking got on Kelly’s nerves.
It was an afternoon for staying in her office but Kate plonked herself in a chair opposite her and raised her eyebrows.
‘What?’ Kelly asked.
‘You’ve forgotten how it feels?’ Kate said.
‘What?’ Kelly grew weary of the riddles.
‘Didn’t you see Emma’s face when you said Water Nymph was pregnant?’
Kelly closed her eyes. Of course. Emma had been off coffee and cake – not that she ate much of it – and she was miserable because she was missing fell races, and Dan had been flapping around her like a mother hen.
Emma was pregnant. It was obvious now.
‘Oh, bloody hell, I hope I wasn’t insensitive. How far along do you think she is?’
‘Second trimester,’ Kate guessed.
A call from downstairs interrupted them.
Kate stared at her, knowing something important had come up. Kelly grimaced.
‘I’ll get over there now,’ Kelly said. Then she hung up.
‘Trouble?’ Kate said.
‘Suspected suicide over at Heron Hall, on Rydal Water. The uniform on site has flagged up some unusual details apparently. First responders are on the scene.’
‘Unusual details?’
‘Something about a podcast. Things not adding up. Nervy witnesses. The conference and banqueting manager suspects something off.’
‘Knee-jerk reaction?’ Kate said.
Kelly nodded. ‘Probably.’ It was true that shock caused strange behaviour in otherwise level-headed witnesses.
Rydal Water was nestled just across the weir from Grasmere and Kelly was well aware that she should be sending her team home for the evening, not asking one of them to accompany her over there again.
The two lakes were separated by a forest and a bridge, and it crossed her mind that it was only five minutes away from where Water Nymph’s body had been found.
‘Did they say why the manager suspects something is off?’ Kate asked.
‘Something about it being out of character,’ Kelly said.
‘Isn’t that what everyone thinks of suicide?’ Kate asked.
Kelly acknowledged the common opinion that suicide victims were somehow different to everyone else.
Kelly read the email from her desktop computer to Kate.
‘Apparently it’s a health conference and they’re all wealthy influencers,’ Kelly said.
‘Influencers? Good God, that’s all we need. It’ll be all over the sodding internet,’ Kate said.
‘That’s the problem, it’s been recorded.’
‘Oh, please, social media is vile. I can’t convince any of my daughters it’s not real, it’s just clickbait,’ Kate said.
The whole concept depressed Kelly, who had a two-year-old. What would the world be like when Lizzie turned fifteen? She worried about it constantly. A need to check on Emma took hold of her and she went to the incident room to make sure she was OK.
She approached Dan first and told him about the incident at Heron Hall. Then she hugged Emma, who stiffened then relaxed.
Fin glanced over, none the wiser, confirming how lacking in awareness he was.
In that moment, Kelly was disappointed she’d slept with someone so shallow and suddenly wanted Johnny.
Thinking of Johnny made her finger the ruby ring on her right hand.
The stones sparkled happily. It had been his grandmother’s.
Wearing it had become something of a lucky charm for her.
She coughed and pulled back, then briefed her small team, distancing herself from unwanted thoughts.
‘The scene is secure, but they have numerous traumatised witnesses to handle.’
The uniforms on site weren’t trained to deal with mass shock.
‘Some of the guests have already left,’ Kelly said.
‘We need to nail down the witnesses; this has come from Carleton Hall because – get this – the conference was a gathering of important health influencers hosted by a big American company.’
Dan whistled and Fin spun around on his chair.
‘Feck, it sounds more like murder to me,’ Fin said.
More and more, Kelly witnessed the business class seeking private hideaways in the Lake District to conduct their deals and conceal inconvenient truths.
When one of their kind got into trouble – especially so young – she often smelt a rat.
Jamie Robbins had been twenty-nine years old.
Caution was required with all suspected suicides, but Fin had a point.
Her hackles were raised already and she wasn’t even there yet.
Two deaths in as many days wasn’t something she’d expected when she’d begun the week.
‘It’s a messy scene. Emma and Dan, I want you to sit this one out. Kate will come to Rydal with me tonight.’
Kate nodded.
‘First responders have made a start on statements. It was very public.’
Under British law, the police couldn’t coerce anyone into helping their inquiries but luckily there were plenty willing to do so. Two senior members of the company were present at the conference and had convinced the attendees to hang around.
‘Tilda Dent and Hank Hampton,’ Kelly said.
The names were met with expected sniggers.
‘Now, now,’ Kelly warned them.
‘They sound rich,’ Dan said.
‘They’re the big cheeses.’
‘What are they doing here?’ Emma asked.
‘What is so important to bring in les grands fromages?’ Dan added.
‘I didn’t know you spoke French,’ Kelly ribbed him.
‘Mange tout,’ Fin added.
‘It’s a good question, though,’ Kelly said.
Kelly’s mobile phone buzzed and she saw it was a call from Millie.
As any mother knows, having a phone available around the clock in reach is a double-edged sword.
Millie wouldn’t call for something trivial.
She hoped Lizzie was OK. She answered it quickly.
At almost two years old, Lizzie was a handful and sometimes Kelly didn’t stop to take a breath until her head hit her pillow at gone midnight.
Lizzie had picked up a cold over the weekend and Kelly constantly checked her dress for signs of snot she’d forgotten to wipe up.
She did it now, absentmindedly, her hand batting off imaginary pathogens from her clothes.
‘Millie?’
‘Hi, Kelly, just to say Lizzie is struggling to go down after her bath; she’s hot.’
Kelly heard her daughter wailing in the background and her heart was split in two. The detective in her wanted to walk away and let Millie do her job. The mother in her wanted to rush back to make an emergency appointment with the doctor.
‘How hot?’
‘I can’t find a thermometer.’
‘Oh. How hot do you think?’
‘Very. She’s red and squealing.’
‘I can hear her. Calpol?’
‘Yep, done. I’ve got a cold flannel on her head. I rang the doctor and I’m due a call back.’
‘Right, let me know, my phone is on loud. I’m heading to Rydal so it’ll take me a while to get back if you need me.’
They hung up.
Millie was a sensible young woman and wasn’t one to flap.
Neither was Johnny. He was down to earth and a godsend in emergency situations. That was part of the problem. They were no longer together because he was so laid back and she wanted more. Or at least she thought she did.
She felt torn between giving the Rydal job to Kate, and driving home to nurse her daughter. It was Kate who reassured her. ‘Mums work. That’s life. She’s probably teething,’ Kate said. ‘Was Millie worried?’
‘No, it was more of a letting-you-know type call.’
‘Good, let’s go then.’
Rydal Water was serene. They arrived at Heron Hall around 7 p.m. Kelly had never stayed there but she’d heard plenty about it.
There was something particularly quaint about this part of the national park, and Kelly sniffed the clean air.
It smelt of leaves, blue sky and deep lakes.
It was cool, as if the sun didn’t reach beyond the hills surrounding the rolling fells skirting the two lakes.
Wordsworth’s favourite home, Rydal Mount, nestled just off the road, overlooking the tiny lake, and its impeccable gardens gave the impression that he still lived there and might emerge from the grand entrance in a top hat, reciting poetry.
Heron Hall wasn’t a typical Lakeland retreat.
It was small, unique and special. Its clientele was in the luxury bracket.
The cars parked in the generous spaces outside were Mercedes, Audis, BMWs, the odd Aston Martin and one Bentley.
Off to the side, behind a row of bushes, was what she assumed was the staff carpark and there she saw Fiats, Seats, VWs and Minis.
The gravel crunched as she rolled hers to a stop and they got out.
Ted had been heading over to hers but insisted on accompanying them.
He was already waiting for them in the carpark.
He got out of his car to greet them and Kelly instantly felt more whole. Kate felt it too.
‘I’m adopting him,’ Kate said.