Detectives Merry & Neal Books 1-3

by JANICE FROST

  “DI Saunders is going to concentrate on the farm robbery. He seems convinced that Cameron was either involved or fell foul of the gang in some way. That frees us up to focus on other avenues of investigation.”

  “Yes, sir!” Ava suppressed a joyful whoop. Neal evidently noticed her delight, for he gave her the ghost of a smile.

  “Welcome back, sir.”

  Chapter 8

  Laura Cameron stared at the unopened email in her inbox. She had longed for its arrival, and dreaded it too. Sergeant Merry had sent her Rhona’s details, and without allowing time to reconsider, Laura had emailed her friend. As soon as Rhona’s reply pinged its arrival in her inbox, it had stirred ambivalent feelings within her. She had never blamed Rhona for cutting her out of her life so abruptly, without warning or explanation. She had understood that Rhona’s loyalty had been to her husband first and foremost. But it had hurt. More so because Laura suspected that, of all of them, she was the only one excluded from some hidden truth.

  Ewan had changed over the course of his time at college in Stromford, but on the day when he had turned up on her doorstep in the pouring rain, begging her to marry him, he was once again the boy she had fallen in love with when she was just seventeen. It was as though fate had brought him back to her.

  Weary suddenly of her indecisiveness, Laura opened the email. The two short paragraphs seemed inadequate compensation for ten years’ lost friendship. Laura blinked away tears and moved to the window, drawing the curtains against the sleet and early evening darkness. Then she re-read the email from Rhona. Her friend was inviting her to come and stay with her and David and their three children in Stromford. This would have seemed less strange if Laura had seen Rhona in the past ten years. They had been good friends once, sharing a room in a draughty hall of residence at Edinburgh University. Rhona had married an Englishman, enduring the inexorable teasing of her Scottish friends. Laura had teased her less, because she and Rhona’s husband David had once had a fling, before David and Rhona were really serious about each other. Rhona never found out and Laura sensed that David was always a little on edge when the three of them were together, in case it slipped out. Eventually, Laura had taken him aside and assured him that he had nothing to fear. After that, David seemed to relax more when they all met up, but ironically, Laura began to feel less comfortable.

  Rhona and David had had children, two girls and most recently a baby boy. Laura sighed. She and Ewan had kept putting off parenthood. The last time she had pressed him to discuss it, Ewan had half-heartedly agreed that it must be now or never. Well, now it would be never.

  In some ways, it made perfect sense for Laura and Rhona to resume their friendship. There had never been any acrimony between them, it had all been about Ewan and David. Rhona had started seeing David when he came up to Edinburgh with Ewan to celebrate the New Year. They had become a couple almost overnight. Laura remembered seeing them in a passionate embrace, standing on the stones marking the ‘Heart of Midlothian,’ as the bells of the Tron church struck midnight. After that, Rhona had divided her time between Edinburgh and Stromford, throwing away any chance of a decent degree. In Edinburgh, Laura had done very little other than studying.

  It was Ewan who had suggested to Laura that they have a break in their relationship while they were at college. If they still felt they were destined to be together after they graduated, they would get married. Laura agreed. She had been reluctant at first, but she knew eighteen was too young to commit to one person, so the arrangement had begun. Over the next three years Laura had played the field and had her flings, but had met no one significant.

  Laura sighed. Almost from the start of their arrangement, she had sensed a distance developing between them that had only widened as the years passed. She began to envisage a future in which Ewan no longer figured, until a day arrived when she discovered that she was no longer in love with him. Then, suddenly, in the last weeks of her final term, Ewan had argued with David and everything changed. He had come to her late one night and pleaded with her to marry him and, overwhelmed by the force of his passion, she had agreed, convincing herself that she still loved him after all.

  Laura remembered how it had been in the beginning, when she was still at school. She had just been to a production of Macbeth at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. Laura and her best friend had clambered onto the minibus first, followed by Ewan, while the rest of their group lingered in the theatre. At first Laura had thought Ewan was interested in her friend. They had had to wait a week for their first date, Laura was going away with her parents for the half term holiday. That week had been one of the happiest of her life.

  For the first few months, they had excluded the rest of the world. Friends were neglected, some lost forever. In a few short weeks, Laura came to feel that she knew Ewan as well as she knew herself. She had clung to that belief through the empty years of her marriage, long after she began to doubt that she had any self-knowledge at all.

  Her hand shook as it hovered over the keyboard. It was the thought of spending the long winter evenings alone that finally decided the matter. Laura emailed Rhona and accepted her invitation. The children at the primary school where she taught would miss her, but in her present state of mind Laura was convinced that her young charges would be better off with a supply teacher. Her head teacher was sympathetic when Laura asked for some time off. The rest was easy enough to organise.

  * * *

  Laura arrived on a cold January morning. David picked her up from the station, mumbled his condolences and kissed her on the cheek. As they walked across the station car park, they chatted about the weather. David and Rhona’s elder daughter, Rowan, was waiting in the car with the newest addition to the family, four-month-old Shaun. Rowan chattered away throughout the journey, asking Laura questions, and telling her about the arrangements that had been made for her stay. Laura listened attentively and said all the right things. She glanced in the mirror a couple of times and saw David nodding approvingly.

  As soon as the car pulled into the drive, Laura could see that Rhona had hardly changed from the girl she been almost a decade ago. She was standing there waiting to welcome them. Her hair was shorter, but still untamed and vibrantly red. Rhona called to David to leave the car in the drive. The car boot slammed loudly and Laura wondered if it meant David was angry. He brushed past them carrying Laura’s suitcase. Rowan insisted on taking Laura’s small backpack.

  The Pines’ younger daughter, Holly, appeared and the whole family accompanied Laura to her room, which was actually much more substantial.

  “It’s a granny flat,” Rowan informed Laura. “Only we don’t have any grannies so we use it for guests.”

  David placed Laura’s suitcase on a chair. “Is here alright?”

  “There’s a walk-in wardrobe!” Rowan said, throwing open the door to show her.

  “Downstairs everyone,” Rhona ordered. “Let’s leave Laura in peace to unpack and freshen up.”

  David and the girls retreated. Rhona took Laura’s arm. “I’m so sorry about Ewan, Laura. I don’t know what to say. We’ve had the police here asking questions but there wasn’t much we could tell them.” Rhona’s words came in a rush. Then she said, “Make yourself at home. Come and go as you please. The girls won’t bother you much. Holly will show off a bit at first but she’ll soon settle down as she gets used to you being around. Don’t feel you need to keep me company, either.”

  “It’s good to see you, Rhone.”

  Rhona smiled. “Good to see you too, Laura. It’s been way too long.”

  “You have a beautiful home,” Laura observed, feeling a little awkward.

  “House prices are better here than in Edinburgh,” Rhona said, as though apologising for the luxury of her surroundings.

  Shaun began to grizzle. “He’s hungry. I’d better go and feed him. I’m still nursing him every so often.”

  “Feed him here while I unpack.”

  “You don’t mind?”

 
“Of course not!”

  Rhona sat on the bed and began loosening the top buttons of her shirt. She cradled Shaun on her left arm and lifted out a swollen breast. Shaun latched on and began feeding greedily. Laura watched, her unpacking forgotten.

  “Do you regret not having children?” The directness of Rhona’s question took Laura aback and Rhona corrected herself immediately. “I’m sorry, Laura. That was insensitive.”

  Laura shook her head. “No, it’s all right. We’d almost made up our minds to have a child at last. Time was running out — faster than we knew, as it turned out. We couldn’t make the decision lightly, so we put it off.” Laura did not mention her own particular anxiety.

  Rhona transferred Shaun to her right breast. “Everyone has fears about bringing a new life into the world. You just have to get on and do it.” Rhona stroked Shaun’s velvety scalp. “They atone for so much, don’t you think?”

  Laura thought ‘atone’ was rather a strange word to use in the context. She unpacked her cases and, for a while, the two women were silent. The easy banter they’d once shared had gone, but then it would have seemed inappropriate after their long estrangement and the circumstances surrounding their reunion. It was all very awkward.

  “There we go,” Rhona said, breaking the silence. She lifted the now satisfied child from her breast and laid him on the bed while she buttoned her shirt. “Do you feel as weird about this as I do?” she asked. “It used to be so natural, us being together like this. I don’t quite know how to be with you anymore.” She paused, and said softly, “I’m sorry I didn’t answer your letters and emails.”

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t more persistent about sending them. Let’s just forget it. We both let circumstances and our relationships come between us. It’s all water under the bridge, now that Ewan’s gone. The present’s all that counts now, Rhone.”

  This was not completely true, thought Laura. “Is it OK if I take a shower now?” Laura felt a sudden need to be alone.

  “Of course. We’ll be eating in an hour or so. I’ve made lasagne. It was always your favourite, remember?”

  Laura smiled. Ten, eleven years ago, she thought. Things change.

  As she was undressing Laura heard the sound of a car engine revving loudly. She crossed to the window and looked down at the drive. David was sitting at the wheel of the car. In front of him, the automatic garage door was rising slowly. Laura could see David’s fingers drumming impatiently on the steering wheel. Suddenly he looked up and caught her eye. Then his eyes travelled downward. With a start, Laura realised that she was naked from the waist up, but for some reason she did not dip out of sight immediately. She lingered by the window, holding his gaze, enjoying the sensation of being looked at by a man again. The car revved and lurched forwards, stalling in front of the open garage door. Suddenly ashamed of her behaviour, Laura reached for a towel and ducked out of sight.

  For several moments afterwards, she crouched on the floor, hugging her knees and experiencing a mixture of shame and disgust. She recalled the way their eyes had met, how David’s eyes had travelled downwards, her own reluctance to move. She took a long, hot shower and then lingered in the granny flat, afraid to go downstairs. She remembered how uneasy David had been years ago when he feared that she might let slip to Rhona about their brief affair. As if things weren’t likely to be awkward enough between them.

  Rhona and David were making dinner when she came downstairs. Laura hovered in the kitchen doorway, watching them. David, busy chopping up carrots at the island, had his back to her, but Rhona saw her at once, and poured her a glass of prosecco.

  “I’m only feeding Shaun myself a couple of times a day now, so I’m going to join you,” she said, filling her own glass and clinking it against Laura’s. “Here’s to old friends,” she said and raised her glass. The rhythmic sound of David’s chopping was interrupted momentarily, then resumed. He muttered something about checking whether he’d switched the light off in the garage and squeezed past Laura and Rhona, not looking at either of them. Laura was awash with embarrassment and relief.

  She and Rhona chattered as Rhona began preparing the vegetables that David had abandoned. “Can I help? I feel guilty watching you do everything,” Laura said.

  “It’s all in hand. Why don’t you keep the girls company for a bit? They’re excited about having you here.” She led Laura into what she described as the ‘family room.’ Rowan and Holly were dancing in front of a big TV, copying the movements of the dancers on the screen. Laura joined in for a couple of songs and then collapsed on the sofa.

  Prosecco in hand, Laura watched the screen. People in medieval clothes, a mystical landscape, soporific music. Her eyelids drooped. The next thing she was aware of was Rhona shaking her awake.

  “The girls tiptoed out when they saw you were asleep. They’re upstairs washing their hands. It’s time to eat.”

  They ate in the elegant dining room. David seemed to have recovered from his embarrassment and the children helped to dispel any awkwardness. They talked incessantly. Laura didn’t mind, she was used to the chatter of youngsters in her classroom and it was strangely comforting. Besides, the children’s presence meant that the conversation focused on safe territory and Laura was grateful for that.

  After the meal, David insisted on clearing up, with the girls helping. Rhona and Laura moved to a cosy sitting room with a second bottle of prosecco. Suddenly, the past was all they seemed able to talk about. How they’d met, the good times they’d had in their university days, how much their lives had changed in the intervening years. Only one subject seemed to be taboo. Neither of them mentioned Ewan.

  “Remember the time you drove your mini onto the beach, right up to the waves? You were a bit crazy in those days, Laura.”

  “You were driving!”

  “No way!”

  “I can’t believe you don’t remember that. You were the crazy one, Rhone. I was always the quiet one, remember?”

  “Oh my God, you’re right! I remember now. You grabbed the wheel at the last minute to steer us away from the sea.”

  “Memory’s a tricky thing. The past isn’t as fixed as we think it is. We’re constantly reinventing it, adding to it. Sometimes I wonder if we can rely on our memories at all,” Laura said. Her words had a strange effect on Rhona. She seemed suddenly uneasy. Laura felt a little edgy herself, remembering her fling with David and the incident at the bedroom window. Perhaps Rhona was worried she’d ask her why David and Ewan had fallen out. Surely now that Ewan was dead they could finally talk about it? Laura risked a question.

  “I missed you, Rhone. It was so strange you and David cutting ties like that. Ewan wouldn’t tell me what he and David had fallen out about. It must have been something big . . .”

  Rhona had a faraway look in her eyes. Still not the right time, then, Laura thought, sipping her wine. By now she was feeling quite drunk. She yawned. “You have a beautiful family. The girls are great and Shaun’s so sweet.”

  “I’m lucky. Everything’s worked out so well. Better than I deserved.”

  Rhona spoke so softly that Laura had to lean forward to hear. Rhona had changed after all, Laura thought. She had been the confident one, the mad one, the one who took risks and had a good time while Laura slogged away at getting a good degree. And now this house, the children. Ten years ago Laura would never have guessed that this was the way her friend would be living. She’d pictured Rhona travelling the world, or having a great job in PR or marketing, anything but this cosy domesticity. It seemed so at odds with Rhona’s former spirited self.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Rhona said, as if reading Laura’s thoughts. She swept an arm around her. “All of this. It isn’t — wasn’t me.”

  Laura didn’t bother to protest. It was a long time since she’d had so much to drink and the room was beginning to spin.

  “It’s atonement.” Rhona used the word again, speaking almost too quietly to be heard. Drunk as she was, Laura picked up on the word.
Before she could ask Rhona what she meant, David appeared as if out of nowhere and took up the empty bottle of prosecco.

  He gave the bottle a shake. “I see you two have taken up your old habits.” To his wife, he said, “It’s time for Shaun’s feed, darling. Why don’t you go to bed and I’ll bring his bottle up?” Laura watched as he helped Rhona out of her chair and propelled her towards the door. Rather unnecessary, she thought. She doubted Rhona was so drunk that she could not manage to get out of the chair and walk to the door by herself. If Shaun was being bottle-fed, David could have done that himself. Obviously David was trying to bring the evening to a close. She couldn’t think why. Rhona hadn’t said anything embarrassing, had she? She tried to remember, but the alcohol was playing havoc with her mind. Something about atonement, that was it.

  From the stairs, Laura could hear the sound of raised voices. She crept upstairs and shuffled haltingly across the landing to their bedroom door and strained to hear what was being said. All she could catch was the odd word. “I told you not to drink too much while she’s here,” David said. “I wasn’t going to say anything,” Rhona replied. The voices faded. There was the sound of the en suite door closing, then silence

  Laura went back downstairs and sat for a while longer, wondering if David would return, but he didn’t. She was glad. Without the children around as a distraction, the awkwardness between them would have surfaced again. It seemed strange, being left alone on her first night. No one had said goodnight to her. Laura could see a strip of light shining from under the kitchen door. Would David or Rhona come back downstairs to turn it off, check that the outside doors were locked? Since Ewan’s death, Laura had acquired a new set of rituals, the checks that Ewan used to carry out last thing at night. It had been comforting to lie in the darkness listening to the sound of the house being secured for the night, and then hearing Ewan’s footsteps on the stairs.

  * * *

  Laura woke at two in the morning from a restless sleep. Her mouth was parched and her head ached dully. She had forgotten to bring a glass of water upstairs with her.