‘And what?’
‘I told him how worried I was about Bill. We stayed up talking until the early hours. I heard Niamh let herself into the villa, and at some stage Bill staggered back in and fell asleep on the sofa. So Stuart couldn’t possibly be Immy’s dad, because he was with me.’ She glanced at me. ‘He promised he would talk to Bill once we were home.’
‘And did he?’
She nodded. ‘Don’t you remember Bill going on that health kick? He cut out all booze and sugar and signed up for the Canterbury Half Marathon.’
I did remember. He’d preached about the health benefits of abstinence with all the fervour of the newly converted. His self-restraint hadn’t lasted longer than a couple of months, to my relief. Drinking was an intrinsic part of Bill, and it had been unnerving to see him without his habitual glass of red in his hand.
It was the perfect moment to ask Melanie if she was having an affair with my husband, and I was working out how to frame the words when my phone rang. I snatched it up.
‘Mrs Cooper? It’s DI Jones. I have some news about Immy.’
Chapter Twenty-Eight
CORFU
FOUR YEARS EARLIER
A knock at the door made us both stiffen.
‘Who’s that?’ I said.
‘Me,’ Stuart said. ‘Just checking everything’s OK.’
At the sound of his voice Niamh paled, and she jammed her hands into her armpits and curled up like an autumn leaf. I caught her eye and raised my eyebrow, and she shook her head vigorously.
‘Everything’s fine,’ I said. ‘Niamh’s got an upset tummy, that’s all. Bill’s dodgy barbecuing skills, if you ask me.’ I took her hand and gave it a squeeze. ‘Who’s with Nate?’
‘Bill’s watching him. Is there anything I can do?’
‘No, you’re all right, thanks.’
‘We should have some Imodium somewhere.’
I rolled my eyes. Couldn’t the man take a hint? ‘She’s taken some. You’d better check Nate’s OK. I can’t believe you left Bill in charge. He’s the least responsible adult I know.’
Stuart grumbled something I couldn’t catch, and his footsteps disappeared down the landing. I sensed Niamh relax a fraction. It was no wonder the mere sound of a man’s voice terrified her after what she’d been through. But it was something she was going to have to overcome, because we needed to call the police, the sooner the better. There would be physical evidence to collect, the crime scene to examine. Witnesses to question.
I lifted Niamh’s hand. Dirt darkened her fingernails and an angry red scratch crossed the back of her hand, from the base of her thumb to her wrist.
‘Niamh, I’m going to find the number for the local police and call them, OK? We need to report the attack.’
Her eyes widened, and she snatched her hand back. ‘No!’
‘You don’t need to worry. I’ll be with you every step of the way,’ I promised, but she shook her head again.
‘You can’t make me.’
‘But they need to know what happened. What if he rapes someone else? We’d never forgive ourselves.’
‘It won’t happen again.’
‘You can’t know that.’ I touched her knee. ‘The police have specialist officers trained to deal with this kind of thing. And rape victims have automatic anonymity. No one will know it’s you, if that’s what you’re worried about.’ Although this was true for the UK, I had no clue if it was the case in Greece. But that was the least of our worries.
Niamh lifted her shoulders and brushed the hair off her face. ‘I’m not going to the police. I’m fine. It’s my fault for getting drunk. I deserved everything I got…’
Anger bubbled over and my voice was harsher than I intended. ‘No one deserves to be raped, Niamh. Let alone a teenage girl.’ Something terrible occurred to me. ‘Was it your first time?’
She covered her face and nodded.
‘Christ.’ I buried my head in my hands. This couldn’t be any worse. Niamh may have been eighteen, but she was still our responsibility. She’d been the victim of a sexual attack while under our care. An unwelcome thought wormed its way into my brain. Stuart said the party was a bad idea, and I mocked him for it, encouraging Niamh to have some fun with people her own age. It was my fault she was raped. And now I had to make things right. If that meant doing as she asked and not involving the police, then that was what I would do. I owed it to her.
‘Are you sure you don’t want me to call the police?’ I said.
A tear leaked out of her eye, and for a moment I thought she might change her mind. But she nodded to herself and said, ‘I have never been more sure of anything in my life. I’ll get over it. I can’t tell them anything useful, anyway. I didn’t… it wasn’t… I mean, I couldn’t…’ she broke off and stared into space.
‘I know,’ I said, wrapping my arm around her slender shoulders. ‘You already told me. It was no one you knew.’
‘Where’s Niamh, Mummy?’ Nate said as I joined him and Stuart by the pool later. I’d stayed to help Niamh clean herself up and had left her in her room with a tray of tea and toast, and a promise to text me if she needed anything. By the time I’d showered, had another coffee and soothed myself by logging into my work emails, I was feeling almost human again.
‘She’s got a poorly tummy. I’ve told her to take it easy today.’
‘That was nice of you,’ Stuart said, failing to disguise the surprise in his voice. Christ, was I really that much of a bitch?
‘Well, she deserves it,’ I said. ‘She’s worked her socks off this week looking after Master Cooper here.’ I reached over and tickled Nate’s stomach until he screeched with laughter. ‘What shall we do today?’
‘Bill is whisking Mel to some fancy-pants restaurant in Corfu Town tonight. They’re taking the boat from Kassiopi after lunch. I thought we could
