Chapter Thirty-Seven #2
Matthew was starting to think that the tears on the beach had been about self-pity, not grief, but that seemed like a judgement he had no right to make. Besides, wasn’t most grief more about the effect of loss on the people left behind?
‘Where did you stay?’
‘One of my clients has an Airbnb in Braunton. I stayed there. It was comfortable enough and at least I had my own space. Steve put up in a guest house somewhere.’ She stubbed out the cigarette.
‘I knew I couldn’t be here for ever. I do have work commitments.
My business. We’re going to drive back tomorrow so I can be in the office on Monday morning.
But I wanted to see this place before I left. You do understand?’
‘If you’d asked,’ Venn said, ‘we would have arranged it.’
‘Would you?’ She seemed surprised by the idea, then she smiled. ‘Yes. I think you would.’
She turned so she could look at the house with its curved white lines and its glass.
‘What a beautiful place!’
This time Matthew didn’t answer. He thought the woman might want to speak and he was in no hurry. He was a patient man.
‘I always thought they might invite me to one of their weekend parties,’ Elaine said. ‘They should have done. After all, they owed us.’
He waited again, but this time she seemed lost in thought.
‘Why did the Armstrongs owe you?’
She leaned back in her seat and didn’t answer directly. ‘God, I could do with a drink.’
‘Why did they owe you?’ Matthew repeated.
‘Because we saved their reputation. Probably saved their daughter from prosecution.’
‘Ah,’ he said. ‘Elizabeth Kinzalow.’
‘You know about that?’ She’d been languid, reflective, but now she sat upright, and her voice was sharp.
‘Most of it.’
‘They blamed Lottie of course. They always blamed Lottie. But Elizabeth was wilder than she was. Just not so clever.’
‘What happened that night?’ It made it sound like mild curiosity, but he needed to know. That incident had started it all.
‘The girls were so bored. It took Lottie to bring a bit of excitement to their lives.’
Matthew thought about that. He’d never really needed excitement.
‘They’d formed a club,’ he said. ‘A tribe.’
These girls had more going on in their lives than he could ever have imagined as a child – Lottie had grown up in a world of theatre and film, Hannah surrounded by politicians with power and influence, Elizabeth with parents who understood journalism and literature.
None of that sounded boring. But again, he thought, he shouldn’t judge.
He, after all, had been the centre of his parents’ world.
In the end, he couldn’t share their beliefs, but he’d known that they loved him.
‘They’re so intense at that age,’ Elaine said. ‘So self-absorbed.’
Pots and kettles, he thought, then regretted the notion and pushed it away.
‘They met up in that shed next to the railway embankment,’ Venn said.
‘I could never understand that! They could have gone anywhere. There are cafes, clubs even if they wanted to risk being underage drinkers. But a cold little ruin. It was like camping out.’
‘They were drinking?’
‘Oh.’ Elaine waved her arm in the air. ‘Weren’t we all drinking at that age?’
Matthew didn’t answer.
‘Elizabeth was reckless. She dared the others to jump down the embankment. It wasn’t so high, you know.
Lottie took me to see it. Lottie was too sensible, and Hannah didn’t have the nerve, so Elizabeth said she’d do it.
I think she was bluffing, messing around.
She stood on the edge looking down. Then Hannah decided she needed to save her.
Those Armstrongs have always seen themselves as saviours.
She tried to pull Lizzie back, but they were closer to the edge than they thought, and, in the struggle, Lizzie fell.
If she’d prepared properly for the jump, she’d probably have been fine, but she had her back to the edge.
Hannah was the person who caused the accident.
It was her fault that Lizzie had brain damage.
Lottie has covered up for her all this time. ’
‘Did the Armstrongs know that Hannah was responsible?’
Elaine shrugged. ‘I didn’t tell them. Not in so many words.’
‘After all,’ Venn said, ‘there was no real proof. Why would they believe you?’
‘Hannah was grateful, though. She knew Lottie was a real friend after that. She was never going to walk away from my daughter.’
‘Even though Hannah had met Jake? Even though Lottie had been rude online about his parents’ festival?’ He hesitated. ‘You do know that the girls fell out about that? Hannah had asked Lottie to leave early.’
Elaine shook her head. ‘I don’t believe it. It must just have been a schoolgirls’ tiff.’ There was a pause, then a kind of confession. ‘I never had many real friends. Business colleagues. Kitty in the office. I was so glad that there were girls Lottie was close to. That she had real friends.’
‘Alex Armstrong went missing this afternoon,’ Venn said. ‘Did you see him?’
‘Hannah’s brother? No.’ She didn’t ask about the boy’s welfare.
‘Where were you dropped off?’
‘In the pub car park,’ she said.
‘That’s where he disappeared from, at around the time that you arrived.’
‘I didn’t see him!’
‘What are you doing here?’
‘I told you. It was a whim. I wanted to see Tide House before I go back to London. Then it was all cordoned off, so I made my way down to the beach. Lottie could have been here, couldn’t she?
Then I got trapped by the tide. I knew I wasn’t in danger, but I was quite alone.
’ A pause. ‘It seemed like a kind of metaphor. That was how my life would be from now on.’
So, that was why you were weeping.
‘What will you do now?’
‘I’ll phone Steve and ask him to bring the car to pick me up. I’ll collect my things from Braunton, and we can head straight back to London. I’ll get back to work.’
‘Kitty will be pleased to see you.’
The thought seemed to cheer her. ‘Yes, I expect she will.’ She got to her feet. She was already texting the driver. ‘He’s only down the lane. He’ll be at the Fisherman’s before I walk back there.’ Matthew stood too. This was fascinating but he was no closer to finding the boy.
At the cordon, she turned to him. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘This has helped. Really.’
Then she flitted away. In the distance, Matthew saw the headlights of the smart car approaching.
He had a sudden idea and ran after her. He needed to speak to the driver to confirm her story, but he had other questions too.
They walked together towards the car. After all, perhaps she had given him an idea about where the boy might be.