Chapter Twenty-Six #2
‘You suspected she might be behind it?’
‘Well, after the row she had with Jim when he wouldn’t serve her, it made sense.’
Something about the way she spoke made Venn think that there was more to the incident. She was twisting the coffee mug in her hand. Poised, he thought, to confide in him.
‘You knew it was her, didn’t you?’ he asked. ‘It wasn’t just a suspicion.’
There was silence in the room. Through the open window came sounds from outside: a blackbird singing fit to burst, one of the young women lounging on the grass laughing.
‘That Sunday afternoon …’ Mag spoke slowly.
She wasn’t looking at him. It was as if she was telling herself a story.
‘… Daniel was manning the beer tent. The festival was winding down. We were clearing up here after the lunchtime rush. She came in and ordered a drink. A G&T. Bold as brass. Luckily it was me behind the bar and not Jim. I tried to turn it into a joke. Nice try, lady. You know I can’t serve you, but I do admire your balls.
Why don’t I get you a Coke on the house?
That sort of thing. She smiled. Then she asked if we’d had some poor reviews recently.
“Really,” she said, “you don’t want to make an enemy out of me.
I can ruin your business. They’ll keep coming, those shitty reviews.
Like, drip, drip, drip.” She was clicking her painted nails on the bar to the rhythm of the words.
“Drip, drip, drip. You won’t know when, or what the next post will say, but they’ll be making your life a misery. Imagine the stress of that.”’
Mags looked up at Venn. ‘Really. That moment, I could have strangled her just to stop her talking, to stop the sound of her nails tapping on the bar, to wipe that grin from her face.’
‘But you didn’t?’
‘No! Because that’s what she wanted. A reaction. Besides, I’m a softie. I want to throw up when I see Jim skinning a rabbit in the kitchen after he’s been shooting with his mates.’
‘Did you give her the drink?’
‘No way!’ Mag’s voice was fierce now. ‘That was blackmail. You give into a blackmailer and there’s no end to it.
I thought we’d find a way to stop her. Besides, at that point, I wasn’t even sure she was behind the poor coverage.
Maybe she’d seen the reviews and thought she’d make use of them.
’ A pause. ‘It was the power she was craving. The power to make us do what she wanted. I’ve known bullies in my past, and I know you don’t make things any better by giving in to them. ’
She spoke with passion. Venn wondered if she’d once been a victim of domestic abuse. Or if she’d grown up in a controlling family. Perhaps her relationship with Jim was more complicated than it seemed, and she wasn’t the person calling the shots.
‘What happened then?’
‘She walked out, smirking. At the door, she stopped and looked back at me. “You’ll change your mind,” she said. “By the end of next week, you’ll come crawling to me begging me to change my mind. But by then it’ll cost you more than a lousy G&T.”’
Venn took a moment to think this through. The blackbird was still singing. Joyous and exuberant.
‘Did you tell Jim about the encounter?’
Mag shook her head. ‘Not in any detail. I told him she’d been in again. One of the regulars might have mentioned seeing her, so I couldn’t hide that. I said something like, “That friend of Hannah Armstrong’s was back here, trying her luck. I sent her away with a flea in her ear.”’
‘Why didn’t you tell us about this before?’
‘Why do you think?’ Mag’s voice was scathing. ‘Jim hasn’t been in any trouble for years, but his record’s still there, isn’t it? If you’re looking for a killer, and he has a history with the police, who will you come looking for?’
Venn didn’t answer the question. He just nodded to show that he understood. ‘Was anyone else close enough to you to hear the conversation?’ he asked. ‘Another member of staff or a customer?’
Mag shook her head. ‘You’re thinking someone might have heard the threats and told Jim, and that he went down to Tide House later that night and killed her?’
‘Something like that.’ Venn gave a little smile, hoping she’d think he didn’t take the idea too seriously. Though of course he was perfectly serious.
Mag shook her head. ‘You’ve got Jim wrong.
People think he’s always angry, but he’s really not.
He’s got a bit of a temper, but I’ve never known him be physically violent.
I mean never, in all the years we’ve been together.
He knows he’s got too much to lose. I can imagine him brooding about Lottie Cauldwell’s antics, though.
Something like that would throw him. This place means everything to him, and he’s never been brilliant with arsy young things.
I can see him having it out with her. Storming down the lane and shouting.
As if that ever did anyone any good. She would have loved the drama.
Filmed it. But he couldn’t have killed her.
I mean, practically. I was with him all evening.
First clearing up here and then at the party at the farm. ’
‘What about early the next morning?’
‘We were in bed together. All night. We didn’t wake up until your sergeant turned up here on Monday morning.’
Venn was going to ask if Mag was a deep sleeper. Could Jim have got up in the night or early in the morning without her knowing? He was framing the question in his head, when she got an answer in first.
‘Jim didn’t know about the threats. If he had, he’d have been ranting all evening, and he wasn’t. He was dead chilled.’
Venn nodded and waited for her to show him down the stone steps to the car park.
He stood in the sun and watched her walk into the pub before checking his phone.
There was a garbled voicemail from Jen. Breathless, as if she was running and talking at the same time.
‘Karen Kinzalow was at the Victoria Hotel. I think she was looking for Cath, but she saw me and bolted. I’m going after her.’
He called Jen back but there was no reply. He left her a message. ‘I’m in Millscombe. I’ll come to the Victoria and wait for you there.’