‘Perhaps you should ask Josh Heslop if he wants to take over the tenancy,’ Vera said. ‘It’s in his blood. If the family can face staying.’
‘You’re right,’ Juliet said. ‘We should offer at least. Rosemary and the children will need all the support they can get.’
‘I’m not sure.’ Harriet poured herself more coffee. ‘Joshua’s rather young. And would we really want the family staying on the land? Think of the scandal there’ll be, all the media interest when the case comes to court.’
Vera stood up. ‘As you say, it was a domestic situation.’ A pause. ‘It happens in the very best of families, as you know yourself. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be accused of hypocrisy.’
Harriet made no reply. She stared once more at Juliet, then got up and left the room. Vera turned to Dorothy. ‘You knew the family well. You were at the daughter’s birthday party in the barn. You didn’t suspect that there were any problems there?’
There was a moment of silence. ‘Karan thought Cath seemed nervy, preoccupied. She didn’t seem to be enjoying time at home and turned up at the cottage even when she didn’t have a class scheduled. I thought she just had a crush on him and told him to take care.’
‘Wise words,’ Vera said. ‘That was how the relationship between Lorna and Neil Heslop started. She fell for an older man, looking for security.’ She smiled. ‘Good for the ego, eh? But a dangerous game.’
‘Oh, I’m sure Karan knows he’s got too much to lose. Besides, he’s far too sensible to go down that route.’
‘I’m sure he is.’ But Vera remembered Joe’s description of knocking at Pabla’s cottage the night before, while his wife and child were away, two coffee mugs on the table. ‘And Cath will have more on her plate than A levels now.’
Dorothy nodded. ‘Of course. And Karan has to focus on work for his post-graduate teaching qualification. It’s probably a good time to give up the classes.’
Vera smiled again. She thought the message had got through. No need to mention Dorothy’s own mistake and her reason for leaving London and the law. She was about to stand up when Juliet reached out and took her hand.
‘You will keep in touch, Vera? Now we’ve been in contact again, we should get to know each other a little better. Don’t you think so? There are so few Stanhopes left.’
Vera said nothing for a moment. ‘Well, with coffee as good as this, you’ll not keep me away.’ No promises. Nothing specific.
Mark had been watching the exchange with confusion and a little amusement, like a member of the audience following a piece of theatre he didn’t quite understand. He seemed about to speak, but Vera got to her feet before he had a chance. ‘Perhaps you’d see me out, Mr Bolitho.’
They stood together at the top of the stone steps leading down to the formal garden.
‘How’s the arts centre project going?’
‘Well,’ he said. ‘Arts Council England has made some very encouraging noises about our application.’
‘It’s never wise to lie to the police, Mr Bolitho.’
‘I wasn’t aware that I had lied.’
‘The morning of Miss Browne’s death. You told my officer that you spent a short time in your flat and then went out for breakfast.’
‘Ah.’ He paused. ‘So I did.’
‘Where were you exactly?’
‘This is rather awkward, Inspector.’ He paused again and looked back into the house to be sure that nobody was listening. ‘My full-time contract at the theatre is covering for maternity leave. My colleague had a little girl a couple of months ago. You met her here. Sophie Blackstock. She and Paul came to the party that night.’ He looked up at Vera and seemed to guess what she was thinking. ‘Really, the baby’s absolutely nothing to do with me. Sophie’s happily married. And I love my wife. But I’m a bit soppy about babies and I went for a visit. To take a gift and steal a cuddle. It’s a sensitive subject for Juliet. I didn’t want it getting back to her. She already thinks she’s letting me down.’
‘Maybe she’d understand.’
‘Perhaps. I’ve been so wrapped up in work that I’ve stopped saying anything important to her.’ He paused. ‘I don’t want to hurt her.’
Vera wasn’t convinced. She thought Bolitho was telling her what she wanted to hear. But perhaps she was just a cynical old bat and besides, as Robert Falstone had said, it was the time of year to be charitable. She nodded and patted Mark Bolitho’s arm. ‘You talk to her,’ she said. ‘I’m her relative after all, so I’ve got a right to interfere, and I want her to be happy.’ She paused for a beat. ‘I don’t envy you taking on this lot, mind.’ She made a gesture which included the house and the people inside. ‘Good luck with it all.’
She stamped back to the Land Rover feeling suddenly energized. She’d had a flutter with mortality, and lying in the hospital bed she’d wondered if it might be time to retire. But there was plenty of life in the old dog yet. Again, some lines of Holly’s poem came back to her. And miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep.
The Darkest Evening
Ann Cleeves is the author of over thirty critically acclaimed novels, and in 2017 was awarded the highest accolade in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez who can now be found on television in ITV’s Vera and BBC One’s Shetland. The TV series and the books they are based on have become international sensations, capturing the minds of millions worldwide.
Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook, and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing. She is a member of ‘Murder Squad’, working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. Ann is also
