I have been climbing and socialising with Joe Flint. (I know you don’t like him). I may be going to New Zealand for several months both as a holiday and to do with my business. I have important decisions to make that are best taken while I’m away from my family.
By the way I have managed to control my health with homeopathic remedies. Maybe you could pass that information on to your mother?
Ellie
Euan remembered at the time the effect her letter had had on him. Yes, it was grudging, giving him a rap on the knuckles and there was no promise of even meeting up for coffee let alone getting back together. And yet she had contacted him. The sending of a card to Annabel was surely an olive branch there too. The dig at his mother made him smile for he knew Ellie would never be completely free from mental problems. He knew then he still loved her and now there was the possibility they could get back together again. From that moment he lived in hope that on her return from New Zealand Ellie would get back in touch.
The phone rang as he replaced the letter in the envelope. Caller ID showed it was Annabel. He smiled, knowing she must have met up again with Joe Flint.
Chapter 34
Tosh met up with Veronica Saunders in a local eatery in Edinburgh. She was with her husband on a visit from Gloucester to see her son and offered to meet with him if he felt there was any further information she might be able to provide about Ellie. Tosh had accepted the invitation and made an appointment to see Eamon Saunders later that afternoon, convinced that he might be able to provide interesting childhood anecdotes about his sister.
‘The investigation has stalled a bit since we found the counsellor,’ Tosh confessed when they were sitting in the lounge with coffee and a plate of biscuits. ‘There’s no new leads and all I’ve got is a suspect who’s denying the murder charge.’
‘You don’t think he did it?’
Tosh shook his head slowly and sighed. He knew she would ask him that question and he felt he owed it to her to be honest.
‘He was the last person to see her alive on the mountain and there’s a potential motive in that Ellie maybe threatened to tell his wife about their affair. He also refused to come forward and admit he’d been on the mountain with her when the appeal went out. Maybe Ellie became angry and threatened him with complaints to the medical council but…’
‘Your gut is telling you it’s not him?’
‘You are very perceptive Mrs Saunders although that must remain confidential.’
‘Please, call me Veronica - I hate anything formal.’
‘Well my name’s Bill then,’ he smiled. ‘People do strange things; you’d think butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths, but violence is possible in most of us. People can snap, lash out and suddenly…’
‘But not this man?’
‘He’s a counsellor, someone who’s used to talking to people and would surely have talked Ellie out of whatever hypothetical situation I’m postulating. I know it’s a bit hackneyed but he’s also a doctor, someone charged with preserving life. My gut, as you called it, is that he’d struggle to kill anyone.’
Veronica Saunders nodded, filling her coffee cup from the pot in front of her. It was obvious to Tosh she was struggling with her emotions, so he unwrapped a biscuit and excused himself for a minute while tactfully checking his phone for messages.
‘Eamon told me you’d asked to meet him later this evening,’ she raised her eyebrows. ‘Is he a suspect?’
‘Did they get on?’
‘No not really, but you’ll have gathered that from speaking with Eamon before Ellie’s funeral.’
Tosh nodded; it was difficult to speak about family dynamics after the loss of a loved one. Childhood rifts, tensions, accusations, even violence could be brought to the surface multiplying guilt and grief.
‘He’s not a suspect - his alibi is a hundred percent. He may know something, maybe someone from their peer group that Ellie was friendly with? Maybe one of his friends had a crush on Ellie - that sort of thing. It’s unlikely but for now I don’t really know where to turn apart from this counsellor.’
Tosh watched Veronica Saunders turn her gaze to a couple who had sat down at a neighbouring table. The woman looked about Ellie’s age and he could see the sadness in Veronica’s face, a reminder no doubt about the loss of her daughter.
‘Ellie said something happened when they were young, in their teens. She said she would never forgive Eamon, saying he humiliated her. She wouldn’t talk about it and neither would Eamon. They avoided each other from then on. They met up years ago when Ellie was with Euan. Eamon was engaged to a lovely French girl Lysette and they all went out for dinner. I had hoped then that the rift had healed.’
‘It hadn’t?’
‘No, if anything it got worse. Eamon and Lysette split up later and he and Ellie never spoke again. He wouldn’t acknowledge her existence. When I asked him what had happened all he would say was that Ellie was a complete cow.’
‘Thanks Veronica, I know this is so hard for you. How’s your husband?’
‘He’s out walking with Eamon, probably up Arthur’s Seat. He’s devastated and broken, a shadow of himself, won’t go to his workshop because so many things there remind him of Ellie. Alan blames himself for upsetting her and feels he wasn’t there to look after her. We’re closer than ever before.’
‘Right,’ Tosh replied, rising from his seat. ‘I think I’ve talked enough. I’ll let you get back to your family.’
‘Do you have a partner?’ she suddenly asked, catching Tosh by surprise and making him resume his seat.
‘Yes, well sort of - It’s at an early stage.’
‘Sorry Bill, I just wanted to maybe have a conversation with someone that didn’t involve talking about Ellie’s death. Please you don’t have to answer. I know you’re busy.’
‘I do have time to talk,’ Tosh smiled reassuringly. ‘I was in a long-term relationship that suddenly fell apart when my partner started seeing someone else. I was devastated.’
‘And now you’ve met someone else.’
Tosh smiled, thinking about Shona. He’d read her text a few minutes ago where she’d said she hoped he was making progress with the case. It was thoughtful and reassuring. She knew he would still be anxious after calling her by his ex-partner’s name.’
‘Yes, her name’s Shona. She’s a sergeant at Fort William and a lovely woman.’
‘That’s good, having someone special in your life is important,’ she smiled reaching forward and touching his hand.
The gesture surprised him. Tosh felt he could open up to this woman. ‘I hope I’m the right person for her.’
‘You feel you’re on the rebound then?’
‘You could say though it’s still early days and I don’t want Shona getting hurt.’
‘The first cut is the deepest.’
‘I know the song and yes you might be right.’
‘Life is about taking risks. Shona is a grown up. She’ll know your history and will work out in her head whether it’s a risk worth taking. And I think she will realise that you’re a worthy partner for her.’
‘Thank you. I appreciate that.’
‘Ellie took risks; she didn’t want to let any condition define her. She climbed with the best of them, had a real talent for art, ran a successful business and cared about people. I’m proud of her for that. There were times when we fell out big time, but she was a great daughter and I loved her so much.’
‘Well I think she had a great mother,’ Tosh smiled, reaching out and touching her on the arm. ‘I hope I can find out who did this and give you some peace.’
‘Thanks Bill,’ she said rising from her seat and extending her hand. ‘But I doubt I’ll ever find much peace.’
---oOo---
Eamon Saunders was not pleased at being subjected to a second interview. They met in a pub in Ros
e Street where he brusquely refused Tosh’s offer of a drink, clearly wanting the meeting over as soon as possible.
‘I’m sorry to take up your time Mr Saunders. I just wanted to ask you a few questions about Ellie’s friends when you were growing up, maybe in your late teens.’
‘I don’t know anything about her friends,’ he growled. ‘It’s no secret we didn’t get on. She lived her life and I lived mine.’
‘You did meet up with Ellie some years ago with your then fiancée when Ellie was with Euan Hunter.’
Tosh was unprepared for the venom in the reply. ‘Jesus, what is this all about. I hated her and she hated me. I thought at one stage maybe she would have stopped being a cow but that was too much to expect.’
‘So what happened between you and Ellie?’
‘That’s none of your business.’
‘I decide what my business is regarding this investigation into the death of your sister.’
‘We never got on, typical brother sister rivalry. She always tried to put me down and I resented it.’
‘Your mother said something specific happened between you when you were young that neither of you would talk about.’
‘And I don’t intend talking about it now.’
‘I want to remind you again that I make the decisions regarding what is discussed in a murder investigation. Now we can continue this interview at the station if you prefer to make it more formal. And if you want you can have legal representation?’
Saunders looked around the bar, shaking his head before looking directly at Tosh.
‘When Ellie was about 13 or 14, we were fooling around in dad’s work shed outside. I had a friend with me, and we all started wrestling together. I pinned her to the floor and managed to tie her arms and then my friend started touching her.’
‘You mean sexually?’
‘Yes,’ Saunders replied after some hesitation. ‘It sort of got out of hand and Ellie got hysterical, shouting and screaming. My friend tried to kiss her, I think he fancied her, but Ellie managed to bite his tongue really hard. Then he slapped her hard and tried to take her jeans off. He managed to get his hand inside her pants. I started laughing which enraged her more.’
‘What happened then?’
‘Ellie freed herself, ran out of the shed and disappeared. I went looking for her, but she didn’t come back to the house till teatime.’
‘And she never told her parents?’
‘I don’t know, I think she told my father something. She wouldn’t speak to me for months.’
‘And your friend?’
‘I never asked him back to the house and eventually lost touch.’
‘What was his name?’
When Saunders had given his reply, Tosh looked across at him.
‘You don’t think he’d murder your sister to get back at her?’
‘I doubt it, the last I heard he’d moved abroad. Look it was a pretty trivial incident.’
‘But it had a big effect on Ellie.’
Saunders shrugged his shoulders and sighed. ‘Can I go now?’
‘What happened between you and Ellie when you met up some years ago with your then fiancée? I think Ellie was with Euan Hunter at the time.’
‘Nothing, so can I go now? I’ve answered your questions.’
‘You don’t seem concerned that your sister was murdered.’
‘I hated her, and she hated me. It happens in families. I didn’t want her to die if that’s what you mean.’
‘Thank you for your time Mr Saunders, I may have to speak to you again if further information comes to hand.’
Eamon Saunders rose from his seat and headed for the exit without reply.
Chapter 35
John Serafini always typed up his notes in a form of shorthand using abbreviations and specific phrases he had built up over the years, particularly if the counselling was to do with sex. Professionalism was important and Serafini saw numerous clients in a year, each one expecting he was up to date and didn’t need to go back over what had been discussed in previous sessions. PE was premature ejaculation while INTHECAR was any desire for outdoor sex. EL was erection loss, F was frigid, VS was the need for visual stimulation, often pornography, and AF was wanting to act out fantasies. SM and M were for smacking or wanting to be smacked and B was for bondage. TS was for threesomes or group sex. It all made the administration so much quicker.
Having finally opened the pen-drive on an ancient laptop long discarded by his son he noticed the abbreviation in Ellie Saunders’ file of MD, later to become BP as the ugly term of manic depression was changed to bipolar. There were question marks against the initials since Ellie refused to accept that she suffered from the illness and Serafini had to accept that her symptoms were mild. He had invented another phrase for Ellie, SH, which meant sexual healing. He saw in her notes he had used it the first time they had met on a quasi-professional basis all those years ago. It meant she used sex to help her mood keep in balance, the endorphins or happy hormones as she called them, had a calming influence. It was different from HSC, which was highly sexually charged, but there was still a hint of dependency. Entries in her file showed he had discussed this, and Ellie had sort of accepted his diagnosis. She was often contrary, but when willing to listen to reason, admitted that sex often soothed her soul quoting evidence that chimpanzees copulated several times a day as a form of de-stress.
There was a large section devoted to her disgust at Euan Hunter seeing her best friend Annabel, followed by references to Hunter’s mother. Annabel was pregnant to Hunter and this was clearly upsetting Ellie. There was a TS beside these notes indicating it was a touchy subject which meant Serafini had probably upset her by his comments. It had always been like that with Ellie. When he introduced logic that contradicted her opinions, she would rant at him saying he was useless as a counsellor if he couldn’t see what was happening. Although a psychiatrist he was not used to dealing with bipolar clients and not up to date with modern treatments. So Serafini had sought, without mentioning names, discreet advice from his colleagues who suggested she might suffer from cyclothymia, a milder form of the illness. Cognitive behaviour therapy was recommended although Ellie usually resisted that approach. Further advice was simply to empathise, try and change the subject and hopefully revisit this touchy area at a later date which was easier said than done. All of them however emphasised the possibility of treatment with the appropriate drugs. Serafini knew that would always have limited success, as Ellie was always opposed to chemicals.
But he smiled to see that whatever he had said to her that session must have worked for beside the session he had written SA which meant they’d had sex afterwards in his consulting room. There was no couch, Ellie happy to sit astride him on the chair after he had locked the door and closed the blinds on the window. She usually wore a dress and would whip off her pants while he pulled his trousers down to his knees. It was simple and daring and while Serafini knew there were other clients he could have persuaded to have sex with him, Ellie was the only one he trusted never to make an official complaint.
As with most clients he had discussed childhood experiences and in a later session he noticed a reference to her brother Eamon. Ellie had used the word humiliation but refused to go into detail. She had said she hated him and would never forgive him but then go on to say this was a negative emotion and didn’t want to dwell on it. Serafini found it frustrating as it hindered any meaningful discussion. He made a mental note to inform Chief Inspector Tosh.
Before her departure to New Zealand, Ellie had come to the clinic looking the happiest he had seen her in months. However, having managed to get her to try out antidepressants when she was feeling low, and Ellie admitting they might be helping, she had announced she was stopping all her medication. The reason she had given was that it ‘might be life threatening.’ He had counselled against this, suggesting
a gradual withdrawal, but Ellie wouldn’t listen. The notes also showed Joe Flint as flavour of the month. They were good together and had been climbing regularly. Serafini had said it was her call regarding the medicine and she had left, leaving him disappointed there was no offer of sex.
Ellie wasn’t a paying client, so the notes in her file were brief and lacking in detail. It made interesting reading, but it seemed unlikely to him that he would get anything that might help with the murder enquiry.
Sitting back down he remembered more about what they discussed in the hotels or pubs when they went for a drink or to get a room for sex. Usually Ellie was more relaxed, less fractious and conversation flowed easily. She would talk about her business that was booming and her appointment of a manager giving her more time for climbing or cycling.
They had met up a week before she left the country, Ellie specifying that it was only for a drink. That was unusual as sex was usually on the agenda if they met outside his clinic, either getting a room in the hotel or using the car. He had gone to see her anyway, knowing it would be the last time for a while and hoping she might change her mind about the sex.
He remembered her looking unwell, prone to tears and clearly unhappy. Despite not having the car she drank only orange juice while he had wine. Men were castigated as uncaring, unreliable and selfish. When he had asked about Joe Flint, Ellie had exploded with anger saying he was no better than Euan Hunter. Serafini had asked if she wanted to talk about it but she spoke in riddles, saying that Flint had let her down and that what they had was bigger than the two of them and that he couldn’t even sacrifice one day to make things special. It was the worst he had seen her, and he felt powerless to help her. So he had sat beside her, putting his arm around her shoulders and it was obvious she was close to tears. Eventually Ellie had apologised saying things were getting on top of her, thanked him for listening, and said she should leave. He gave her a hug before she walked back to her flat.
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