I watched as Sally stormed off towards her cottage, she stepped inside and slammed the door shut.
“Oh…”
“And what did you expect? A warm welcome with open arms? Let’s see if Hilary is in.”
We walked to the back door of the farmhouse and knocked, there was no response for some minutes. We were about to walk away when the door creaked open.
“What do you want Sal?” Hilary stopped dead, glaring at us, she was about to slam the door but Amanda had put her foot in it. “Get out! I want nothing to do with you!”
“Hilary please?”
“Kate, your husband has ruined me. I wish you would just piss off!” Her shoulders slumped and she stepped away from the door.
I looked at Amanda, Hilary had walked away, leaving the door ajar.
“Hilary?” I called out, but shrugged my shoulders and walked inside, closely followed by Amanda. The kitchen was a mess, there were plates stacked in the sink and the fridge door was open, showing an empty space inside. We walked into the front room, Hilary was crumpled in an armchair surrounded by empty wine bottles, her head in her hands.
“Why did he do it?” She looked up, her eyes red. “He seemed okay; how could he do that to that poor girl?”
“Hilary… I’m so sorry. I don’t think he did it.” I sat down next to Hilary. “He couldn’t, there’s just no way…”
“But he did!” Hilary snapped.
“We’ve looking to prove he didn’t. Could you help us, please?”
“Kate, I like you. Hell, I liked Adam but it seems I was wrong. But if you think he didn’t do it I’ll try and do what I can to help. The police spoke to me for hours and you know they are sure he did it. I wish he hadn’t… Oh, if he hadn’t.”
“Thank you… Look, the police said that there were CCTV images of Adam on the night of the… Well, when it happened. Do you think we could see that please?”
Hilary shrugged, leading us back to an office at the back of the house. Her computer came to life as she touched the mouse, the screen filling with still images. “Shit!” She shook her head. “Sorry, it’s still bloody raw. Here…” She enlarged a window. “This is what the police saw.”
She ran the footage, it showed a black and white image of the stable yard, the time stamp indicated it to be in the early hours of the morning Olivia had died. Suddenly there was movement, I could see Adam, wearing his sweatshirt with our stable’s logo printed on the front. He walked towards a small building, stepping inside and then coming out carrying a pitchfork before walking away from the camera towards the muck heap. His face was masked by the hood of the jumper.
I sat in shock watching Adam collecting the murder weapon. Whereas I couldn’t see his face, he was wearing the sweatshirt I’d given him which had been a unique proof version from the printers for us to test before I ordered more for our staff and clients. There was only one person in the world who had that hoodie and it was Adam. I sat down heavily feeling winded. My hope had been I could have looked at the CCTV images and seen it was someone else, but there was no chance.
“Oh, God! It’s him…” I shuddered.
“Come on Kate…” Amanda put her hand on my shoulder. “Thanks, Hilary, I’m sorry for wasting your time. May we just look at the caravan where Adam was staying before we go?”
Hilary nodded, remaining sat in the office chair, staring at the screen.
“Okay, thank you. We’ll see our own way out…”
* * *
Crossing the yard, we approached the scruffy static caravan. Kate stopped as she turned the corner, it was a hovel, riddled with mould, sinking in a sea of mud. I stepped up and opened the flimsy door.
The inside was tidy but dilapidated. We looked around, there were a few of Adam’s belongings, Kate picked up his watch from the kitchen counter and slipped it into her pocket. The bedroom was small, the bed had been made. I felt Kate shudder and thought of him tidying before he had travelled home, unaware of what was about to unfold. We were about to leave when Kate bent down picking up an earring from the floor beside the bed. It was a simple gold ring, cheap but showy. She gulped back tears.
“I’m sure it’s nothing…” I hoped it was nothing. I could see from Kate’s expression she felt it was evidence of company in her husband’s bedroom. “Adam wouldn’t…”
“Let’s go…” Kate pushed me aside, rushing to leave the caravan.
* * *
The miles had passed in silence, I’d tried to speak to Kate but she had ignored me and stared blindly through the window, the images were damning, I’d seen my brother wearing a unique, one-of-a-kind jumper, select a pitchfork and make his way to kill Olivia. An involuntary chill ran through my body.
It couldn’t be true? There was no way in which he could have done this, but it seemed that the evidence was damming. All in all, it seemed I hadn’t known my little brother after all.
IV
All Alone
“Experts state keeping horses cooped up in their stables without access to grazing is unnatural and bad for their health. So, how long is too long to keep them inside?”
Riding Magazine
19
Night Thoughts
We both sat in silence, we’d bought something to eat, however, now I had heated it in the oven neither of us found we had any appetite. I looked up at Amanda, she was being strong, no doubt for me, I could tell she was hurting as much as I was, I had lost my husband
