‘So, you were on the stairs facing upwards when the whatever-it-was came from behind you? A projectile or something?’
‘Whatever saw him off could have come from any direction,’ Peter answered.
‘But when you turned to go, you didn’t see anyone in the hall?’ asked Hogarth.
‘There were people fighting on the ground floor, but back beyond the stairs towards the kitchens,’ Peter stated. ‘They may have seen us, I think, but were too occupied to pursue us.’
‘Could it have been one of them who loosed whatever killed Dowrkampyer?’
‘I suppose if they’d moved quickly enough,’ speculated Peter. ‘They could have then rejoined the fight further in. It was so chaotic.’ He shrugged helplessly. ‘It could have been anyone.’
‘And he disintegrated?’ pressed Hogarth.
‘Yes.’
‘After a blinding flash of light?’
‘Yes, instantly afterwards or possibly at the same time.’
***
‘I returned to Cornwall and did the obvious thing: tried to track down Shilpa, Mimi and Roger. Lucy had been able to give me their surnames, and she had some idea of where the girls had lived, from driving them home that night. It took persistence. Mimi had married, so her name was different. Shilpa was training to be an engineer and Roger a doctor – a psychologist.
They all agreed to speak to me. Their accounts differed very little. One thing they did all express was their appreciation for the author of their escape that night. They all said more than once “Lucy got us out. We owe her our lives.” I had the impression that that was all any of them would ever say ‘till their dying day.’
‘Did you ask them if there was anyone else on the stairs?’ asked Amanda.
‘They said there was fighting all over and around the house. It all happened so quickly, and their eyes were on Lucy and the Dowrkampyer Arlodh. There could have been someone else there.’
Hogarth lifted his hands, palm up. “That’s all I got, and this is all I’ve got for you two tonight.”
‘Wait, Mike,’ Trelawney requested. ‘So, you still don’t know what happened to Dowrkampyer? And Lucy? Was Peter there too? Did you never actually meet the owner of the family house? You must have done, if she gave you the surnames of the children. Why can’t she tell the story for herself instead of leaving it to a child like Elodie? Or to Peter?’
‘See you tomorrow.’
Chapter 24
Feeling the Way
They were almost at Trelawney’s car when Amanda felt at her neck.
‘Oh no, I’ve left my scarf behind.’
‘That’s all right.’ He opened the doors, letting Tempest in and onto his VIP seat. ‘Make yourself comfortable while I go back and get it.’
‘Thank you.’
Amanda quickly got in.
‘Grandpa! Granny!’
They appeared on the back seat.
‘You’ve got to help me. This Lucy riddle is driving me nuts!’
‘I’ve said before, that’s because you’re overthinking it,’ stated Granny.
‘Yes,’ agreed Perran. ‘You have to feel your way to this one, bian. That’s why Mike has told you his story and Lucy’s from the beginning. So that you’d feel for them.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Amanda replied helplessly.
‘Remember your own times on the Moor,’ Granny insisted.
‘Apart from recently, that was only when I was little,’ protested Amanda.
‘Yes, exactly,’ said Grandpa, encouragingly. ‘When you were little. And how did it feel?’
The driver’s door opened abruptly.
‘Here you are.’ Trelawney handed Amanda her scarf.
‘Thank you, Inspector.’
As they drew up at her cottage, Trelawney asked,
‘Want me to stay over?’
‘Thank you, but I'll be fine tonight. I'll leave the window open a bit. Funny, I remember the sounds of the sea always made me feel better when I was little and had trouble with sleep.’
‘I know you’re grown up but —’ He stopped, looking at Amanda intently. She was looking back at him with the same expression. ‘You’re not.’
‘No,’ she replied, an idea growing in her mind.
‘Mike said, you’re nine.’
‘Yes,’ she murmured. ‘Dr Bertil said that to me that I was “nine, always nine.”
‘The person stays the same ....’
‘Only the body ages.’ Amanda was frowning ... feeling. ‘Granny and Grandpa said I have to feel my way, feel how it was ... I was only alone for short times at Cardiubarn Hall. I was afraid, terrified, every second of it. So afraid I couldn’t speak, and then so afraid I pretended I couldn’t. That was just for a couple of hours at a time. Imagine being there for days and days and then living there. Without hope of help. The people who were supposed to protect you ... no one would listen. You know, in thrillers the heroine is trapped, and the villain says there’s no point in screaming because no one will hear you? What if it was real life and you were a child and …. No one will hear you scream ....’
Trelawney shook his head.
‘Appalling.’
Suddenly Amanda’s expression changed. Her face was lit with excitement and purpose.
‘I need my laptop. Come in, Inspector.’
Once on the sofa, Amanda dragged her computer onto her knees, saying,
‘What’s the thing Lucy and I have in common that you don’t? Of course, it’s not magic: it’s trauma. Childhood trauma. That’s why Dr Bertil said I’d never grow up. Not inside, not like you or ... or ... anyway.’
Her fingers whirled across the keyboard as she searched Google, then read entries on Wikipedia, followed by one website after another.
‘Yes ... yes,’ Amanda muttered. Trelawney was content to watch her, and Tempest gave up looking pointedly towards the kitchen, and climbed up behind to observe her progress. ‘One of the people who used to come and see Grandpa had PTSD.’
‘Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?’ asked Trelawney.
‘Yes, and Grandpa and Granny were talking about it one day. And ... oh, what were they saying? .... Yes,
