What was this stupid diagram doing anyway?
She drew a red line through the whole thing, closed the book and lay down in bed. She closed her eyes, and the grainy film started to play again in her head, figures moving in and out of the frame while the leafless birch swayed in the wind and the sleet fell.
Forty-Three
“You look great,” said Tabitha.
Shona was glowing from her week in the Canaries. Her face was tanned, there were new freckles on the bridge of her nose, and her chestnut hair had paler coppery streaks in it. She wore a yellow shirt, rolled up to the elbows, and seemed to bring sunshine into the drab visitors’ room. Sitting across from her in her grubby gray sweatshirt and jeans, Tabitha felt a stab of pure envy.
“I needed to get away.”
“Tell me about it,” said Tabitha. “Did you go alone?”
“I went with Jules—Jules Perry. Do you remember her from school?”
Tabitha did, though she tried not to. Tall, long-limbed and mean. She attempted a smile but her mouth felt stiff. “I think she probably arrived after I’d left,” she said. “I was only there till I was sixteen.”
“She lives in Nottingham now so I don’t see her that much. We had such a laugh, remembering old times.”
“Good.”
“And the sun, oh God, I soaked up the sun. Though it’s spring here now as well.” She suddenly looked contrite. “I’m sorry, Tabs.” (Tabs? thought Tabitha.) “Listen to me going on about holidays and spring and all the time you’re stuck in here. How are you?”
“All right.”
“I mean, really, how are you?”
Tabitha suddenly felt that she didn’t want to tell Shona how she “really” was.
“I’m working on my defense.”
“How’s it going?”
“It seemed like I had ages, the weeks just stretched out in front of me, and now time’s running out. My trial is on June the third and we’re already almost in May.”
Shona nodded. “Tell me how I can help,” she said. “I feel I haven’t really done anything. Do you want to talk it through?”
“Not really.”
“Is there anything you need in here?”
“I’ll let you know if I do.” Tabitha paused. “I really want to talk about something else. I’m trying to work out what everyone who was in the village that day was doing.”
“Why?”
Tabitha couldn’t bear the thought of going through the whole case again with Shona. “It could be useful. For example, where were you all day?”
“Me?”
“Yes. It’s like putting together a jigsaw puzzle,” said Tabitha.
“Right.”
“So where were you?”
“At home. I mean, I went to the shop, I think.”
“Yes, you did. Twice.”
“Sorry?”
“I saw you on CCTV.”
Shona looked bewildered. She gave a small laugh. “Then you know already.”
“But you didn’t go out at all apart from those times?”
“Why would I? It was foul out there.”
“Was it a workday?”
“Yes. I was on call. Two of my mothers were overdue, one of them already nine days late. But of course, I got stuck. It was nice really, an unexpected little holiday. Like those snow days we sometimes had when we couldn’t go to school, do you remember?”
“What did you do?”
“Not much. Why?” Tabitha waited. “Just pottered. I had a bath—a bath in the middle of the day, bliss. Made myself lunch. Wasted time online.”
“Did you see anyone?”
“Apart from when I went to the shop, you mean? Nobody.”
“Nobody?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“What is this?”
“Did you see Rob Coombe?”
Shona’s face turned blank. “What do you mean?” she asked after a pause.
“Honestly I don’t care what you do in your personal life. I just wanted to know if he was with you.”
“Why would he be?”
“Well, was he?”
“Who’s been spreading rumors?” asked Shona. Her face flamed.
“None of that matters,” said Tabitha. “But if he was with you then I need to know.”
“I think it’s time to go.”
“Listen, Shona, I don’t care who’s fucking who, who’s betraying who, I only care about where he was and where you were on that day.”
“Have you said anything to Andy about this gossip?”
“What’s Andy got to do with it?”
“Nothing. Sorry. I just—never mind. I’m a bit confused by this, to be honest, and we’re friends but all of a sudden you’re not talking to me like a friend.” Shona’s brown eyes were reproachful.
“You still haven’t told me.”
“It was just a little fling, after Paul and I broke up and I was a bit of a mess and Rob was nice to me. I didn’t mean for it to happen and I really don’t want everyone in the village finding out. It’s been over for ages and it’s got nothing to do with anything.”
“So? Was he there?”
Shona fidgeted in her chair. “Maybe,” she said at last.
Forty-Four
It almost felt like she was being released. Mary Guy collected her from the cell and led her through four doors. Tabitha never got used to the laborious unlocking and locking, the rattling of the keys, but this time they took a different route and she was signed out like any other visitor and emerged blinking into the car park in front of the grand Victorian gateway. Tabitha looked around, but there was only a dark silver sedan with a middle-aged man sitting in the driving seat looking at his phone.
“Where’s the van?” said Tabitha.
“Unavailable,” said Mary Guy. “We’re taking a cab.”
They both got in the back seat and the car moved off. Tabitha stared out of the window. Everything she saw looked like something in a dream: a woman pushing a stroller, a man and a woman smoking a cigarette on the pavement outside their office, a few teenagers in school uniform laughing and jostling. All completely mundane and familiar and yet she felt she was moving past them like a ghost.
“Must be weird,” said the driver, not looking round. “Working in a prison.”
Tabitha flashed a look at
