that Jason fancied a bit of fun, not a lifelong union. When Chris started getting heavy and spoke about leaving Roz so the two of them could be together, Jason couldn’t handle it and took fright. There was nothing tying him to the Lake District, so he ran off to London. What he didn’t bargain for was Chris following him.’
‘And the nervous breakdown?’
‘He told the truth about that. Down in London, everything became messy. Chris haunting Jason’s footsteps, Jason threatening to sue Chris for harassment. In the end, Jason lost his cool and resorted to more direct methods. He arranged for a couple of thugs to beat Chris up.’
‘On the day Warren Howe was murdered in his garden back home?’ Hannah shook her head at the irony of it. ‘Because of the attack, no one had a chance of proving he was guilty of murder. Talk about a blessing in disguise.’
Roz Gleave seemed calmer today. Was this because Chris wasn’t around? He had left an hour earlier, she said, on his way to Lancaster to negotiate with the manager of a folk club. She cast a wary glance at the darkening sky as she led Daniel round the back of Keepsake Cottage, and suggested they make the most of the weather before they were drenched by the thunderstorm the Met Office had threatened. They sat on opposite sides of the teak table at the rear of the house, looking up towards the terrace where Warren Howe had been cut down.
‘Sorry I was so abrupt last time we met. We weren’t in the mood to be hospitable after the terrible news about poor Kirsty. Now, if you don’t mind, I can only spare you ten minutes. I’m expecting a friend to call round for a cup of tea and a chat.’
‘Ten minutes is all I ask.’
‘Were your ears burning yesterday? I was talking about you to Marc Amos. He sang your praises; tells me you’re a valued customer.’
‘Marc’s a friend of yours?’
‘We scarcely know each other. Both of us make a living from books, but in different parts of the market. He sells them second hand; I’m rather keen to make a profit the first time my publications leave the shelves. We don’t get a percentage the second time around. I met Hannah, his partner, the other day. Young for a chief inspector, I thought. Or perhaps that just shows my own advancing years.’
‘It was Marc who told me about the book by Eleanor Sawtell.’
‘So I gather. Any progress with your garden mystery?’
‘A little.’
She looked him in the eye. ‘Marc mentioned you were involved with one of his partner’s cases not so long ago.’
‘Hannah heads the county’s cold case team. I like to think there’s a parallel between her work and historical research. Not sure I’ve persuaded her, mind.’
‘And you were at the airfield when Kirsty died.’
‘I’d met her at the restaurant the previous day.’
‘Quite a coincidence.’
Time to break cover, Daniel decided. ‘Not really, Roz. Truth is, I’m incurably inquisitive. So I can’t help being intrigued by what I’ve heard about the murder of Warren Howe.’
The temperature was plunging with every word he uttered. She pursed her lips. ‘I see.’
‘Must be painful for you, having the whole business resurrected after all these years.’
‘We could do without it. That was a difficult time for Chris and me.’
‘All the more so because Warren was a former boyfriend?’
‘We went out a few times as kids,’ she snapped. ‘Nothing more. It was buried in the past, it didn’t mean a thing. I was sorry he died such a brutal death, but candidly, I was sorrier still that it happened here. I won’t pretend that I spent much time in mourning. Warren wasn’t a nice man. Not like his daughter. Poor Kirsty.’
‘One thing I’ve learned about history is that things we believed were buried in the past can reach out and poke us in the eye today.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Your relationship with Warren. I hate to be intrusive, but I’ve found out that Oliver Cox is adopted. He told my partner, Miranda, and I couldn’t help wondering…’
Roz Gleave’s face contorted with dismay, bordering on disbelief. ‘He discussed his past with someone he hardly knew?’
‘She’s adopted as well. She was confiding in him.’
‘My God, he always said he would never…’
‘She’s a journalist. Very accomplished at worming information out of people. I’m sure when Oliver told her a little about his own past, he didn’t mean to cause any embarrassment.’
‘Meaning what?’
Daniel said softly, ‘Meaning that I’m sure he didn’t intend anyone to suspect that you might be his mother.’
She put a hand to her mouth and he thought she was going to faint. But when she spoke, it wasn’t to admit that he’d seen through to the truth.
‘Have you taken leave of your senses?’
He’d expected outrage or evasion. Not amazement. It felt like being hosed with cold water. ‘You’re denying it?’
‘You bet I’m bloody well denying it!’ She stood up. ‘You’d better go.’
No one could feign such shock. Her face was reddening, astonishment giving way to anger. And yet he couldn’t imagine that his theory was so wide of the mark.
‘Oliver said that meeting his birth mother changed his life. Until then he’d been a drifter…’
Roz’s hands were on her hips. She nodded towards the path that led around the cottage.
‘Please don’t outstay your welcome, Mr Kind.’
Oh Jesus. He got to his feet. ‘I’m wrong, aren’t I? Oliver isn’t your son.’
She said hoarsely, ‘I’m not able to have children. It’s been a great sadness, but at least I have a marvellous husband. Now — please go.’
Hannah said, ‘You talked to Chris after he came back to the Lakes?’
‘He asked if we could meet. When he heard about the murder, he was overwhelmed by guilt, for having left Roz to endure the trauma on her own. He was afraid Charlie would find some way of pinning the crime on her, but that was never an option. Her alibi was as unbreakable as his. I wanted to know if he had any idea of who was responsible, but if he had, he wasn’t telling. He hadn’t wished Warren dead, but his only concern was to return a semblance of normality to his life.’
‘So he settled for domestic bliss rather than chasing after unsuitable young men?’
Nick gave her a sharp glance. ‘I’ve never asked if he’s strayed since then, and he hasn’t told me. One thing he did make clear, he didn’t care if Warren’s murder was never solved. I said it would only take a single stroke of luck, and he said he hoped we never got it. Whoever had been driven to such violence must have had good reason to kill Warren. We’d never argued until then. I thought he was wrong to side with the murderer, when the crime had put Roz and everyone in Old Sawrey under the microscope.’
‘The ordeal by innocence?’
‘Yes.’ Nick exhaled. ‘I suppose things were never the same between us afterwards. Since then we’ve not spoken more than once or twice a year. But he promised that he’d never told anyone we’d been lovers. Not even Roz.’
‘Did she know he was gay?’
‘Not according to Chris. Until he explained about Jason, she didn’t have the foggiest.’
‘Did you believe him?’
‘Yes.’ He looked her in the eye. ‘If you told Janice I was gay, she’d never believe you.’
Hannah shrugged. ‘You and Chris, it was a long time ago. You were kids, experimenting. He may have played around since, but…’
‘I haven’t?’ Nick’s face was desolate. ‘That doesn’t mean I haven’t been tempted. Which is what I’m afraid of, Hannah, if you really want to know. Janice might not have guessed and you might not have guessed. But I know who I am and what’s in my heart and mind. What keeps me awake at night is the fear that I’m living a lie.’
As Daniel walked back to his car, he felt Roz’s eyes boring into his back. She had retreated into her cottage,
