Juliet expected an explosion of outrage from her mother, but Harriet’s response was strangely subdued, dismissive.
‘You must think what you like, Vera.’
‘Did either of you have any contact at all with Lorna Falstone in the weeks running up to her death?’
Juliet almost put up her hand like an eager child in the classroom, but Vera had already turned to her, waiting for her to answer. ‘Really, I haven’t,’ Juliet said. ‘Not on her own, at least. I saw her about a fortnight ago in the Co-op. She had Thomas in the buggy and I couldn’t help stopping to look at him. He’s probably my nephew, after all, and of course I was interested.’
‘You had a conversation?’
‘Only the sort of chat you have with a young mum. Hasn’t he grown? How are things going?’
‘How did she respond?’
‘Just as you’d expect. There was nothing meaningful. Nothing to suggest she knew about the letter and was about to make a claim on the estate. We were in a queue for the till – some poor elderly woman couldn’t remember her PIN so everyone was having to be patient. Then Karan came in with Cath Heslop. He’s been tutoring her to get her through A levels and he’d given her a lift into the village. Lorna lost patience then. She was only there for milk and she said she’d come back when it wasn’t so busy.’
Vera hesitated for a moment. ‘Did you have the impression that Lorna was running away? That she didn’t want to speak to Karan?’
‘No,’ Juliet said, though she wasn’t sure now. She played the scene in her head. Perhaps Lorna’s ending of the conversation had been a little abrupt and her scurrying out of the shop a little odd. ‘No, I don’t think so.’
Vera turned her attention to Harriet. ‘What about you? Have you had any contact with Lorna in recent weeks?’
‘Not to speak to.’
‘What does that mean?’ Juliet could tell that Vera was losing patience now, that soon there would be an explosion of anger.
‘I drove past her one day,’ Harriet said. ‘She was walking up the back drive from the house towards the cottage, where Dorothy and Karan live. It’s not a public right of way and I was tempted to tell her so.’
‘But you didn’t. Because she was Crispin’s daughter and she had as much right to be there as you.’
‘No.’ Now Harriet was contemptuous. ‘Because I was in a hurry to get home and I couldn’t be bothered.’
‘When was this?’
Harriet shrugged. ‘About a month ago.’
Vera swung her legs round until her feet were on the carpet and she stood up. Juliet slid off the bed and opened the door for her. They were hit by a blast of icy air from the landing and walked down the stairs together. Vera stooped to put on her boots.
‘Thanks so much,’ Juliet said.
Vera replied with a kind of snort. No words. In another room, Mark was still laughing.
Chapter Thirty-Six
AFTER SPEAKING TO HARRIET, HOLLY WENT back to Kirkhill, but she had little luck with the other residents she talked to. They expressed shock at the death of Constance Browne, but gave no helpful information. She was making her way to the car, thinking that she’d head back to Kimmerston and the evening briefing, when she saw Karan Pabla walking down the street, a woven shopping bag in either hand. She shouted a greeting. The light was fading and for a moment he seemed not to recognize her. Then there was the beautiful smile, the sense that she was just the person he was hoping to see. She crossed the road to join him.
She nodded to the bags. ‘Stocking up?’
‘Dorothy sent me out for supplies. Apparently, there’s more snow forecast. Though she’s always got enough in stock to feed an army. She’s the most organized person I know.’ He set down the bags. ‘How’s the investigation going? Poor Connie.’
‘You knew her well?’
‘She helped me get a couple of voluntary placements in schools. Teaching practice before the PGCE starts in September.’ He paused. ‘She must have been an awesome teacher. So interested in all her pupils.’
‘And her former pupils. She was very kind to Lorna.’
‘Do you think that was why she was killed?’ Karan said. ‘Because Lorna had shared information about her killer?’
Holly was tempted to reply. There was something in Karan that invited confidence. But she only shook her head. ‘You’ll understand that I can’t talk about an ongoing investigation.’
‘Of course.’ He picked up the bags. ‘I shouldn’t have asked. Good luck, though. When all this is over, you’ll have to come round for supper.’ He walked away in the gloom towards his car.
It was the evening briefing. They sat in the ops room, where one of the strip lights flickered occasionally, giving Holly a headache. The ancient radiators were pumping out the heat. Vera was at the front, there before the rest of them, perky as if she’d just woken up from a good sleep, so Holly knew that she had information, or an idea, or that maybe she’d cracked the case without the rest of them. The others just looked tired.
Vera slid her bum from the table she’d been resting against and called for order. The background chatter ended.
‘Let’s catch up,’ she said. ‘Lots of information this evening so I hope you lot are taking notes.’ A quick grin. Vera was famous for never seeming to need notes. ‘First, we now know that Lorna was indeed Crispin Stanhope’s daughter.’
Charlie got to his feet. ‘Sorry to interrupt, boss.’ Something in his voice made Holly think that he wasn’t at all sorry. ‘But we don’t know that.’
‘I realize before it was only a suspicion,’ Vera said, ‘but since we last met, I’ve
