Close To Home (aka The Summer That Never Was)

you.”

Gavin Barlow was in his study when Annie called, and he invited her to sit with him there while they talked. It was a light, airy room, with plenty of space, and the bookcases didn’t feel as overwhelming as the ones in Gristhorpe’s office. Barlow pushed his laptop aside on his desk and smiled. “It might be summer holidays for most,” he said, “but some of us still have work to do.”

“I won’t take up much of your time,” Annie said. “It’s about your daughter.”

“Rose? I’m afraid she’s out.”

“Perhaps you can answer my questions, then.”

“I’ll try. But look, if Rose is in any sort of trouble…”

“What?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I should call my solicitor or something.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“Just tell me what you’ve come to say.”

“Your daughter came to the station and made some pretty serious allegations about Lauren Anderson and Luke Armitage.”

“She did what?”

“And now it turns out that she was seeing Luke earlier this year. She even visited him at Swainsdale Hall on at least one occasion. Do you know anything about that?”

“Of course. It was a school project the students were asked to partner up on. To promote working together, task-sharing. Rose worked with Luke.”

“Her choice or his?”

“I don’t know. I should imagine the teacher assigned them.”

“Lauren Anderson?”

“No, actually. It was a science project. It would have been Mr. Sawyer.”

“Do you know if Luke and Rose had any sort of romantic involvement?”

“Not as far as I know. Look, Ms. Cabbot, I’m not so naive as to think that teenagers their age don’t form liaisons. I’ve been a head teacher too long to think otherwise. I’ve even come across my share of teenage pregnancies. But I also know my own daughter, and believe me, I would have known if she’d been seeing Luke Armitage.”

“They were seen talking together in and around the school. Did she ever talk to you about Luke?”

“She might have mentioned him once or twice, yes. It was only natural. I mean, they were in the same class, he was a little odd, and something of a minor celebrity. At least his parents are.”

“Was she obsessed with him?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Would you have approved if they had been going out together?”

Barlow pursed his lips. “I can’t say that I would, no.”

“Why not?”

“She’s my daughter, for crying out loud. You don’t think I’d have wanted her going out with that…”

“That what, Mr. Barlow?”

“I was going to say that boy.”

“Oh, were you?”

“Yes. But I’ll admit that, as a father, I thought Luke Armitage just a little too weird for my daughter.”

“How far would you have gone to stop them going out together?”

“Now, hold on a minute. I won’t have you-”

“Where were you and Rose the night Luke disappeared? That’s a week ago last Monday, in case you don’t remember.”

“Here.”

“Both of you?”

“As far as I know. My wife will remember.”

“Why would Rose want to make trouble for Ms. Anderson?”

“I don’t know.”

“How well does your daughter do at English?”

“It’s not her best subject, or her favorite.”

“Was she jealous?”

“Of what?”

“Of the attention Luke got from Lauren Anderson?”

“Why don’t you ask Lauren?”

“I will. But I’m asking you first.”

“And I’m telling you I don’t know.”

They stared at each other, and Annie tried to weigh up whether he was telling the truth or not. She decided he was holding something back. “What is it, Mr. Barlow?” she asked. “If it’s nothing to do with Luke’s death, it will go no further than these walls, I promise.”

Barlow sighed and stared out of the window. The clouds had split in places and shafts of light lanced the distant hills. The laptop hummed on his desk.

“Mr. Barlow?”

He turned back to face her, and his facade of benevolent authority had disappeared. In its place was the look of a man with a burden. He stared at her a long time before speaking. “It was nothing,” he said finally, his voice little more than a whisper. “Really. Nothing.”

“Then tell me.”

“Ms. Anderson. Lauren. If you’ve seen her, you must have noticed she’s an attractive woman, quite the Pre- Raphaelite beauty,” Barlow said. “I’m only as human as the next man, but everyone expects me to be above reproach.”

“You’re a head teacher,” said Annie. “You’re supposed to be responsible. What happened? Did you have an affair? Did Rose find out?”

“Oh, good Lord, no. Nothing like that. I might have flirted a bit, as one does, but Lauren wasn’t interested in me. She made that quite clear.”

Annie frowned. “Then I don’t understand.”

A thin smile twisted his lips. “Don’t you? Sometimes things can seem other than they are, and any attempt to explain them away only makes you seem more guilty.”

“Can you elaborate on that?”

“Lauren came to see me in my office shortly after Christmas. A family problem. Her father had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and she was upset, needed some time off. I put an arm around her, just to comfort her, you understand, and Rose chose that moment to come barging in with some family matter. It’s one of the disadvantages of being the head of the school your daughter attends. Rose was usually pretty good about observing the boundaries, but on this occasion… Well, she misread the situation and went running off.”

“I see,” said Annie. “Did she tell your wife?”

“No. No, thank God. I managed to talk to her. I’m not sure she quite believed in my innocence, but she agreed not to say anything.”

“And that’s the root of her animosity toward Lauren Anderson?”

“I should imagine so. Maybe she had a crush on Luke Armitage, too, at one time, but believe me, I’d have known if there was more to it than that.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing else?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“You were attracted to Lauren, though, weren’t you? What did you call her? A Pre- Raphaelite beauty?”

“Yes. As I said, I’m only human. And she is a very attractive woman. You can’t arrest a man for his thoughts. At least not yet. The damn thing is, I’d done nothing wrong, but because I wanted it, I felt as guilty as if I had, anyway.” He gave a bitter laugh. “Funny, isn’t it?”