“The fire had already started when I woke up,” Tess said. “I think it woke me, actually. I didn’t see anyone around. But it’s been bugging me, and I’m sure the police will be here at some point. Maybe some kind of fire investigator too? Anyway, they’re going to at least suspect this might have been done deliberately.” Tess was ticking things off on her fingers; clearly she had been working at some kind of theory.
But a theory about what? Surely she couldn’t mean…
“I know this is probably me seeing one too many crime shows, but didn’t Robin threaten the pub just last week? She said she’d take it from you, but there was no chance she could claim it as being your husband’s. You said he put everything for it in your name.”
Susannah felt a little too hazy for a business chat, but she tried to focus.
“I’m not saying she was sitting in the bushes with a can of petrol and some matches,” Tess continued, “but anyone with her connections and a bit of money could find a willing wee bastard to do their dirty work.”
“No, no. Absolutely not.” Susannah prodded at the banana that sat by her plate. It looked like it wouldn’t be ripe for a week yet. “Especially not since I saw her at the town hall yesterday. She heard me say that I was going to stay at the pub. Even if she’d had some dastardly scheme, she would have called it off if she knew there would be someone there to get hurt. Robin wants my money and the land; she isn’t a murderer…”
“Susannah?”
They both looked up to see a stricken Robin Karlson in the doorway.
“What do you want?” Tess practically growled, gripping Susannah’s blanket and clearly ready to fly into battle. “Only, I think the police probably want a word with you first.”
“They do. I mean, I spoke to them.” Robin hesitated for a moment before proceeding a few steps into the room. She had her hands clasped in front of her. Instead of her usual country tweeds, she seemed to have dressed in old riding gear, barely one step up from pyjamas. Her eyes were red-rimmed with none of her usual gaudy make-up in evidence. “Susannah, this isn’t easy for me, so please do hear me out. I’ve come to apologise.”
Susannah snorted in disbelief. “Come to do what?”
“It seems, uh, my young assistant, Jonathan… Apparently he’s been having some strange ideas about how angry he thinks I am with you. I want you to know that although we’ve had our differences, I would never—never, Susannah—condone any such dangerous behaviour.”
Susannah looked to Tess then back to Robin, stunned.
“You mean Jonathan set the fire?” Susannah asked. “Deliberately? Where is he now?”
“The police have him.” Robin crossed the rest of the space to stand closer to Susannah’s bed. She reached out as though she might take Susannah’s hand for a moment, before diverting to pat aimlessly at the blanket. “The moment I saw him come in, covered in soot… well, I had no choice. I was straight on the phone to the police. It seems he’s been taking my business dispute with you very personally. If this pub fire hadn’t worked, they believe Midsummer was his next target.”
“He would have burnt down the house?” Susannah almost choked on the jolt of panic chased by fear.
Robin looked almost as shaken at the thought as she was. Whatever her motives had been, she definitely loved the old place.
“But how would that have helped you get what you want?” Susannah asked. “You’d have had to rebuild. Was this about how he felt about Jimmy? I don’t understand.”
“Very convenient,” Tess spoke up. “Even if we take Jonathan out of the equation, that doesn’t neutralise you. You could be back to harassing Susannah again by next week.”
Robin sat on the edge of the bed, picking at her fingernails absently. “No, no. That’s all done with. If anything worse had happened, if you had… I don’t know how I could have lived with myself. It’s bad enough that you two landed in hospital, but I see now I had latched on to the wrong details. I simply missed my brother and wanted to honour his memory. I should have been more careful about what I said around Jonathan. I knew he had a certain…fixation on James, for years, and he resented you as a result. I didn’t understand how deep the bitterness ran. My disagreement with you aggravated things, spurred him on to…this. Anyway, I’ll raise no further dispute over Midsummer. It’s yours, Susannah, however we got to here. I’ve already called off my solicitors.”
“Really?” Susannah’s voice was fading. She helped herself to an ice chip. “If this is some kind of ploy to make me let my guard down while I’m vulnerable, in hospital…”
“You have my word it’s not,” Robin replied, standing and offering her hand for Susannah to shake.
Susannah met her gaze, sure and steady, searching for any last signs of deception. She didn’t take the outstretched hand.
Robin seemed to understand, withdrawing the gesture. Too much, too soon for all the months of bad blood. Even so, the sincere expression on her face didn’t waver for a second. “I do so wish it hadn’t taken something this awful for me to finally see my grief with some perspective. If I can do anything to make this up to you, I insist you tell me at your first convenience. I just wanted to tell you in person. I’ll go.” She turned.
“Robin?” Susannah called after her.
“Yes?”
“I know we’ve both exchanged angry words, but there’s something that I haven’t been able to shake since you said it, and—”
“About James? Resenting you for the marriage?” Robin asked with a sigh. “I knew I’d hurt you with that one. I did feel bad even then, believe it or not. But I’m afraid my source on what James said was our unreliable former employee,
