Imagining her expression for real made his insides set like concrete.
17
‘So… we can’t leave the site?’ Francis sat Kate down at the table in the kitchen-diner area and placed a cup of hot chocolate in her hands.
‘Nope,’ she said, taking a grateful sip. It was nearly 2.30am and she was still in her sparkly red dress, but as far from Holiday Kate now as it was possible to be. Here in Talia’s chalet, her brother and her four remaining friends were in a state of shock. Each of them had by now been interviewed by one of the Suffolk officers, in an unbooked chalet requisitioned as an incident room, and each one had said the same thing — they hadn’t seen Julie for seven years. Not one of them had clapped eyes on her that evening. Julie may have got herself to Buntin’s Lakefield Holiday Village on the planned date, but she hadn’t met up with any of them.
The only person to see her had been the young man — Tyler — on the entrance gate, but his memory of her was fleeting. As Gary had missed her when she’d checked in to reception, Julie had probably had no knowledge of Martin’s death the week before.
The Suffolk coppers had accompanied the Bluecoats as they knocked on all the doors of the neighbouring chalets, asking everyone to pack up and move to another, deluxe upgrade further along the village site. There was much grumbling, but the presence of the officers got people moving. Before any of them could depart, though, the police had asked if they’d seen or heard anything in or near chalet 28. Only one person thought they might have seen Julie letting herself into her accommodation, but it was just a brief sighting as they headed off to the restaurant. They remembered little more than a dark-haired, slim young woman, hauling her holdall over the threshold and vanishing.
‘This just doesn’t make sense,’ said Craig, looking pale as he slumped onto the sofa next to Talia. ‘Why would anyone want to kill Julie?’ He gulped and wiped his eyes.
None of them were aware of the details of Julie’s death; Kate knew better than to divulge them and Mike, the head of security, had also been cautioned to say nothing of what he’d seen in the chalet.
‘Can’t you tell us what you saw?’ pressed Talia, giving Craig’s shoulders a squeeze as she stared at Kate. ‘I mean… was she strangled, stabbed, shot… what?’
Kate shook her head. ‘I’m sorry. I literally cannot tell you,’ she said. ‘I’d be revealing details that could compromise the investigation.’
‘Some pretty freaky shit, going by the look on your face,’ pointed out Bill, who was sitting up on the breakfast bar, his feet on one of the high stools, drinking a glass of Talia’s Merlot. ‘Was she into some kind of kinky sex game stuff? Did it go wrong? You never know, do you? All the yoga and clean livin’… it’s got to give sometime.’
‘That is SO bloody inappropriate, Bill!’ snapped Nikki, from her seat at the table next to Francis. ‘Christ — you don’t change, do you?’
‘Nobody ever changes,’ grunted Bill. ‘Not really. I’m just the same as I ever was, but with better clothes and a better motor.’
Kate had noticed the way he’d ostentatiously swung his Audi key fob around earlier that evening. Tosser, she couldn’t help thinking.
‘Still shagging everything with a pulse, then?’ Nikki bit back.
He grinned down at her. ‘You after another one, for old time’s sake?’
‘You are fucking unbelievable,’ she muttered.
‘That’s what they tell me.’ He lifted his arms in a shrug of faux modesty. ‘Chalet number 158 if you want a little refresher, Welsh Rarebit!’
‘I didn’t bring enough protection,’ she bit back. ‘You must be packing fifty shades of clap by now.’
‘Stop it, will you?’ said Craig, glaring from one to the other. ‘Just leave it alone. I can’t believe you’re bickering like a pair of teenagers after everything that’s happened. I mean… haven’t you taken it in? Julie… is DEAD!’ He stared at Kate, biting his trembling lip, welling up. ‘Can you at least tell us she didn’t suffer?’
Kate stood up, wiping her hands over her face. ‘Look… the best thing now is for us all to try to get some sleep. I think we’ll probably be allowed to go home at the end of tomorrow, if you’re thinking of going early, but the SIO will be wanting to talk to us again before we go anywhere.’
‘Shit,’ said Bill. ‘So much for a fun weekend away from work. Two dead mates and house arrest in a fucking Buntin’s chalet.’
‘We don’t have to stay in our chalets,’ said Kate, wearily. ‘We just can’t go off-site until they’ve spoken to us again tomorrow.’
‘Well, I hope they’ve said the same to every other fucker here this weekend,’ said Bill. ‘It could be anyone, couldn’t it? Why pick on us?’
‘Come on,’ said Francis, getting up and coming around to Kate’s side of the table. He took her arm and steered her to the door. Looking back at the others, he filled her with sisterly pride as he said, ‘Do as she says. Get some sleep. And Bill… don’t be a tosser.’
She grinned up at him as they walked the lamplit alley down to their chalet, which was, happily, situated far from the crime scene. ‘You took the words right out of my mouth.’
‘Will you be able to sleep?’ he asked, knowing her way too well. Insomnia was a regular visitor to the Sparrow household, especially when she was on a murder case.
‘I’ve got my plasticine,’ she said. ‘I might make a few things. Settle my mind
