by Lily Hayden
“It does. You and your brother left your rooms within ten minutes of each other. You return separately.”
“Will?” Belle looked surprised. “I didn’t see him.”
“He had access to a car,” the detective told her. “If you were sat behind the pub, you would have seen him drive past you.”
“Well, I didn’t see him,” she shot back quicker than she intended. “I didn’t know Will went outside. If I had seen him, I would have remembered.”
“Did you go to your father’s house last night?”
Belle flinched at the directness of the detective’s question before she shook her head. “No.”
She’d felt nervous at being asked to attend the station for some follow-up questions, but Belle had assumed that it was just standard procedure. But, as the detectives circled around her statement repeating and rephrasing questions as though she were on trial, Belle felt herself growing truly frightened.
Will
Will watched from a distance as Craig’s car turned out onto the lane, and disappeared from sight. He waited to feel something; relief, sorrow, anything really, but he just felt numb.
Dad should be getting married today, he thought morosely still unable to get his head around the fact that he was gone. His chest tightened painfully at the thought of never seeing him again, and he almost wished that he hadn’t come back here; chasing a family and a connection just to have it ripped away.
He pulled out his phone to check the time sighing when he saw the missed calls from his sister. The temptation to ignore them was huge. He could easily disappear back into the big, wide world leaving the burden of emotional ties behind for good. The phone rang again, Rose’s name flashing up on the screen, as the thought crossed his mind. Guilt forced him to answer, knowing that his sisters were as alone in the world as he was; he couldn’t just abandon them now.
“Hey,” he could hear the stressed edge to her voice. “Belle and Tim are both at the police station, being asked some more questions. Do you know what’s going on?”
“No idea. Belle did say they had called her and had offered to pick her up from her friend’s, but she didn’t seem worried,” he said to his sister. “Where are you?”
“I just drove down to the station,” she replied. “Gareth told me the police had collected Belle, so I came straight down to make sure everything is ok. I’m sat outside, but I just saw Eleanor and she said Tim has been asked back down too.”
“I’d come down,” Will offered. “But Craig has gone back to London with the car.”
“Can I come and get you?” She sounded worried. “I could do with the company.”
He didn’t bother going back to the hotel room, instead waiting outside for his sister to appear. Not even the sight of his forty-year-old motherly sister in the boy-racer car made him smile though, and he realised how worried he really was.
“Do you think this is normal procedure?” She asked nervously as they whizzed through the village. “Gareth couldn’t really say much with it being a live investigation, but he seemed a bit concerned.”
“No idea,” Will replied his mind still on Craig’s words. “What actually happened? Craig said he saw her leave the hotel room last night. Do you think it was about that?”
“She didn’t leave the room,” Rose took her eyes off the road to look at him in confusion. “Not after I got back.”
“Craig said he saw her,” Will admitted.
“If she did,” Rose chewed her lip nervously. “It was when I was asleep. She didn’t say anything and that leaves a hole in my statement as I said we were in from nine-ish.”
“You would have heard her though,” Will frowned. “What time did you get back?”
“About nine, nine thirty,” she replied. “But I pretty much went straight to bed, and I was out like a light.”
“I wonder why the police want to speak to them, and not to us,” Will wondered aloud trying to ignore the fingers of panic beginning to creep up inside him.
“I just don’t know,” his sister’s hands tightened around the steering wheel and he saw her knuckles were white with the ferocity of her grip. “Nobody is saying anything other than he had…”
She trailed off unable to finish her sentence, but Will could guess what she was thinking. The only information they had been given was that Frank had been found dead in the hallway of Bluebell Farm. There were no signs of forced entry, and the provisional thoughts had been that he had suffered from a fatal heart attack before he had gone to bed. The reports of a head injury were consistent with a fall.
“He looked fine yesterday, didn’t he?” Will said quickly unable to deal with the grisly scene his imagination was painting.
He heard his sister take a deep breath as if to compose herself before she managed to reply. “Yeah, I thought that too. Belle said he was on a lot of medication though.”
“He was seventy,” Will reasoned feeling mildly appeased by this. “I guess it could have been the stress of the wedding.”
Rose clamped her lips together, but she nodded.
“I didn’t know Linda wasn’t staying the night,” he continued just to fill the silence that felt too loud. “If I’d known maybe me and Tim could have stayed with him. I didn’t even think to ask if he wanted us to make more of a fuss. Like a stag do, or something.”
“He was seventy,” she replied scornfully. “And we were all here, weren’t we? Although, God knows why he invited us. Belle said he practically chased you out yesterday once the gazebo was up.”
“He was alright with us,” Will replied, not wanting to speak ill of the dead. “Linda couldn’t wait to see the back of us though, yet again. I’m surprised she even invited us to begin with. She’s shown no interest in getting to know any of us.”
“Did anyone,” her voice caught in her throat and she had to start again. “Did anyone speak to him properly about the will?”
“I don’t know,” Will tried to hide his surprise at the question. “Belle and I talked about it, but it wasn’t something either of us felt comfortable bringing up. Tim was meant to be looking into it, but nothing ever came of it.”
“Nothing ever does with him,” she remarked wryly. “I wonder why they’ve asked to speak to those two, and not us? Do you think they’ll want to speak to us again next?”
“No idea. I imagine so,” as he spoke, it crossed Will’s mind that they might have to stick around in the village a little longer and he felt a rush of desire to flee this suffocating place.
“Why Belle though?” Rose frowned. “She was with me all night. Aside from what Craig said, and we don’t know for certain if that’s even true. He could have been mistaken.”
“I left the room too,” he grimaced. “I did tell the police that I’d been out of the room, but they didn’t seem concerned.”
“Did you?” She took her eyes off the road to glance at him. “In the night?”
“Yeah, not for long,” he replied defensively.
“I didn’t mean anything like that.”
“I know, I know, sorry.” Will immediately regretted his tone. “Me and Craig had a massive row.”
“I’m sorry,” she took a hand from the wheel to squeeze his arm. “I did wonder where he was this morning.”
“We’ve been having some problems lately because he wants to settle down and I want to go travelling again. He upset me yesterday going on about how much the farm was worth and just being generally insensitive.” He pulled a face. “Bad timing really, and I think I took all my upset out on him this morning.”
“Craig wouldn’t have just made it up, would he? Belle going out at night, I mean.”
“I don’t think so,” Will grimaced. “But honestly, I have no idea. Poor Belle though; she’s had such a tough time lately. She was up-and-down with Dad. Like, she said she didn’t care, but I could tell she was hurt by the way he was after Mum died, and no matter what she says, I know she wanted them to have a relationship.”
“He didn’t up
set her at all yesterday?” Rose looked increasingly anxious. “She seemed quiet when I got back.”
“She wouldn’t have done anything,” Will reiterated firmly with more conviction than he felt. “Although, it was the hardest on her, I think, being stuck home with him after Mum died. I can’t stop regretting not being there for her. And then she had Toby, all on her own.”
“I know,” Rose had been thinking the same since she’d been back in touch with her siblings. “I was so wrapped up in my own life, I didn’t even think of how she must have felt. I should have known that Dad wouldn’t have been the easiest to live with for a teenage girl.”
“She was really short with him the few times we visited,” Will admitted. “You could see she was hopeful that he’d take to Toby, but he was so closed off and Linda didn’t help. Even yesterday, you could tell she didn’t want us around.”
“Do you think Linda might have upset her?” Rose had thought her sister’s luck had been changing, but who knew what else could have been going on in her private life.
“She didn’t say anything,” he replied, not wanting to share how quiet she had been out of loyalty to his younger sister. He turned to Rose resignedly. “Should we speak to Tim? See what he thinks?”
“No way.” Rose looked horrified. “I know there’ll be a good explanation for Belle going out if she did, but if she did go to Dad’s for a showdown, it will look terrible. What would happen to Toby if she were arrested? We can’t trust Tim. He doesn’t give a damn about any of us.”
Will flinched at the venom in her voice. He knew that Rose had been sacked by the bank that Tim was high up in, but he had thought the issue had been resolved. Clearly Rose was still harbouring some hard feelings.
She’s right though, he thought to himself. It would look really bad on Belle and I know that she’s innocent.
“You’re right,” he nodded reluctantly. “Let’s just keep this between us.”
Tim
Tim felt sick to his stomach as he left the interview room, but he tried to mask his discomfort and instead shook the detectives’ hands firmly thanking them for their time. He walked back through reception, already reaching for his phone to call a taxi. He knew he should call Eleanor, but he needed some space to clear his head.
“Tim!”
His stress levels soared at the sight of his brother and sister in the waiting room. He was mentally exhausted, and their high-maintenance emotions in the wake of their father’s death were the last thing he felt like dealing with right now.
“Are you giving your statements?” He asked them, still bristling with humiliation at having to disclose his personal circumstances to prove his alibi. “Belle went in earlier.”
“No, we’re just waiting for her and to see if the police need anything more from us.”
He registered the concern in their eyes before dismissing it, desperate to get away from this place. “Right, well…”
“How are you feeling?” Rose mistook his awkwardness for emotion. To his horror, she clambered to her feet to wrap him in a hug.
He felt a tug of guilt at her warmth remembering how desperate she’d been for his help, and how abrupt he’d been when he had turned her away.
“It’s a shock, isn’t it?” He fumbled for something to say to mask his unease. “I mean, he seemed like he’d aged a lot, but he looked fine. And the day before his wedding…” He trailed off and shook his head as if in disbelief. “Tragic. They haven’t determined whether there was any underlying illness and I know they have to eliminate anything untoward first, but still. Very upsetting.”
Will and Rose exchanged glances at his impassive monologue, making Tim flush with annoyance at the gesture.
“I really do need to get back,” he turned away from them impatiently. “I’ll let you know when there’s any news.”
He could feel their eyes on him as he left the station, but he was already turning his attention back to the very real problem at hand; a new batch of messages had come through while he was speaking to the police. He sighed as he made the phone call he’d been dreading.
“Hello?” she sounded out-of-breath like she’d rushed for the phone, and while the husky voice usually did strange things to him, he felt nothing but irritation.
“Hello Emma,” he cleared his throat. “Are you alright to talk?”
“Where have you been?” She sounded annoyed even through her breathlessness. “You haven’t replied to my messages. I know that it’s your father’s wedding, but…”
“My father died last night,” he cut in feeling a flare of anger at her neediness.
“What?” Emma sounded shocked. “How? What happened?”
“He was found dead with a head injury,” he replied emotionlessly. “Possibly a heart attack or a stroke that caused him to fall. We won’t know until the coroner’s report.”
“Oh, wow,” she was remarkably fit, and her breathing had returned to normal. “I’m so sorry, Tim. That’s so sad.”
He gritted his teeth, not wanting to continue but knowing he’d have to. “Listen, Emma, I’m sorry to have to do this, but there have been some slight complications.”
Her tone instantly hardened. “Go on.”
“His fiancée has raised some concerns to the police, all nonsense of course, that there may have been foul play,” he swallowed back his discomfort. “I think it’s just been a shock to her and terrible timing, but to assist with eliminating anything untoward, we have all had to provide alibis for last night.”
“That’ll be easy for you,” Emma replied her frosty tone back. “You were with your wife in a hotel.”
He ignored her attempt to start an argument. “I was, of course, speaking with you for over an hour last night, and so I’ve had to let the police know.”
There was a heavy silence, and Tim could picture the cogs turning in her head as she carefully assessed what he was saying.
“Emma,” he continued when she didn’t respond immediately. “They will be contacting you to check the details.”
“Did you tell them everything?” She suddenly sounded nervous. “About what we were talking about?”
“I didn’t go into detail,” he replied uncomfortably. “But I had to mention that we’d been having a, uh, relationship as such.”
“Is it in your statement?” She asked.
“Yes.” He had tried to find a way to omit these details, but the police were relentless, pressing him until he had no choice but to confess.
“Does Eleanor know?” He hoped he was imagining it, but he thought he could hear a hint of satisfaction in her tone.
“Not yet,” he felt the nausea return at just the thought. “My father has just passed away, Emma. There’s a lot going on at the moment…”
“But you’re going to tell her?” Emma pressed him.
Tim thought back to the way Eleanor had been acting over the past few days, and he had a sneaking suspicion that she had already grown wise to the fact that something was going on. He had been adamant that he was going to draw an end to the affair, but that had been before Emma’s revelation had complicated things.
“Now really isn’t the best time,” he said cautiously. “Can we talk about this another time? My dad has just died, Emma.”
“It’ll all come out,” she warned him stiffly. “You’re just delaying the inevitable. Don’t you think it would be better coming from you?”
They were going around in circles, just like they had last night. Tim cursed himself for getting in over his head with Emma. He had been so arrogant to think that he could have his cake and eat it, and now he was left to clear up this colossal mess.
“It’s complicated right now,” he sighed heavily. “Can we just talk about this another time?”
“But you expect me to tell the police my private life?” Tim flinched at the anger in her voice.
“It’s the police,” he tried to reason with her. “Telling the truth isn’t really an option with them.”
She gav
e a short, bitter laugh. “Whatever, Tim. If I hear the call, I’ll tell the truth of course.” He could hear the threat in her words, and he prayed that she wouldn’t purposely be awkward to spite him. “I’ve got to go. Talk to you later.”
He felt his heart sink as she ended the call and he was left staring at the blank screen, wondering whether to send her a message to try to make amends.
She isn’t stupid, he reasoned. She’s just upset.
He swiftly deleted the call record, and the thread of messages before he headed back to the hotel.
You just need to hold your nerve until this mess has all been cleared up, he told himself firmly, but somehow he knew that it would take more than a stiff upper lip to come out of this unscathed. It would take a miracle.
Rose
Rose watched as her brother paced the car park, phone pressed to his ear. She had come outside for some air but watching him striding aimlessly from one side of the pavement to the other, she felt her unease return. Everything felt so surreal like their lives were spiralling out of control.
Yesterday had been perfect, and she sighed as she thought of the lovely evening she’d had with Gareth. A warm tingle ran through her as she remembered how amazing it had been after so long being on her own. She hadn’t expected things to move so fast, but it had been wildly liberating and exciting to make love to him. She had felt like a teenager, like she had had the whole world at her feet, instead of an exhausted divorcee that had past her prime.
Your dad is dead, she reminded herself guiltily, forcing her thoughts back to the present.
“Are you ok?”
She turned towards the sound of Will’s voice, hoping that her face wouldn’t betray her worries.
“Just getting some air,” she replied. “Tim seems stressed out.”
Will glanced over his shoulder to check who was within earshot.
“Is it me?” He asked quietly. “Or does this feel a little more serious than a routine investigation?”
Rose sighed heavily. “I was just thinking the same. Do you have any idea what is up with Tim? I thought he’d be cut-and-dry as he was with Eleanor the whole time.”
