The House Party

by Mary Grand

  ‘That must be hard for Alex to live with. But I don’t understand why you think Alex had an affair with Kathleen. I’d picked up mixed messages about Alex’s feelings towards Kathleen. Frankly, I get the impression he didn’t like her much.’

  ‘The reason I suspected something was going on was because I saw Kathleen coming down from his flat. It must have been nigh on Christmas, and I was working late. She looked flustered, made some excuse, but she did look guilty—’

  ‘But Kathleen was married, Alex only recently widowed.’

  ‘As I said, Kathleen told me she was unhappy. Alex had been lonely. Kathleen was pretty, kind. He told me a few times how attractive she was. Yes, it seems quite likely.’

  Beth sat quietly. ‘Do you think Alex knew about the pregnancy?’

  ‘I don’t know. Kathleen told me that she was going to pretend the baby was Patrick’s. I didn’t think that was advisable, but she was sure that was what she wanted to do.’

  ‘Kathleen told Roisin that the affair was a mistake. It doesn’t sound like she was in love with Alex if it was him.’

  ‘I don’t think they loved each other. My guess would be that it was a one night stand, probably one they both regretted after. Kathleen had guilt, and I wonder if she had concerns after the inquest about Alex’s part in Amy’s death. She said something to me about Amy’s medication. I think Alex developed his own concerns about Kathleen.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Between you and me, he came to see me after Christmas. Kathleen had shown him some earrings that had belonged to Amy. She said she didn’t know how they’d got in her bag. Alex was upset. He asked me if she’d ever had problems like this before: stealing and then not knowing what she’d done.’

  Beth was shocked. ‘I don’t think Kathleen would have stolen anything. In fact, her sister was saying how aware she was of her weakness for jewellery and felt a lot of guilt about it.’

  ‘It’s sounds possible that she gave into temptation. My theory was that she’d taken the earrings and then felt so guilty she’d made up this highly suspect story.’

  Beth shook her head. ‘I can’t believe that of Kathleen.’

  ‘No. Alex didn’t want to believe it either, but it would explain his change of attitude to her.’

  ‘Yes, I can see that. He’s been odd when he’s talked about Kathleen and the necklace Amy gave her. It would make sense. I just don’t like to think about it.’

  ‘I was concerned at how angry Alex was about it. I tried to calm him down, say it was a mistake, that kind of thing, but I didn’t really believe it.’

  Beth looked at William carefully. ‘You seem to have some grave misgivings about Alex. He doesn’t sound a suitable partner for Sami.’

  ‘I’m not saying that for a minute. He’s a first-rate pharmacist. No one is suggesting he intentionally made a mistake over Amy’s medication. And as for Kathleen, he may have had a one night stand with her, but that is hardly a crime, more a moment of weakness.’

  ‘But you said you didn’t know quite what to make of him.’

  ‘We are different kinds of people, that’s all. I am content staying as a GP, working hard to do the best for my patients. Alex is ambitious. It’s something I have never understood, but good luck to him. We need people like him for professions to develop and improve.’

  Beth could see William’s eyes glancing at his laptop: it was the end of their appointment.

  ‘You need to get back to work.’

  ‘Thank you for coming in. It’s good to get things out in the open. By the way, I’m taking Imogen up to London for the night this weekend, get her away from everything. We’re taking Elsa as well: go to a show, a bit of family time.’

  ‘We were up there before the funeral. We stayed at Alex’s house. It’s in a great location, but of course you know all that. You stayed earlier in the year, didn’t you?’

  ‘The three of us went in the new year. Elsa wanted to do the sales, heaven knows why. They’re all year round now, aren’t they? And anyway, she does most of her shopping online. Still, she and Imogen had a good time.’

  ‘Imogen said you escaped to the East End on the bus.’

  ‘I did. When I was a GP in London, I had a patient who’d grown up there who would tell me all about how it had changed. I was curious to see for myself.’

  ‘I was listening to the radio. They were talking about property prices and how the East End is unrecognisable: an unaffordable place for most working people to buy a home.’

  ‘They’re right, but sometimes people romanticise places like that. Those high-rise flats with the stink of urine on the concrete steps were hard places to grow up, and very few people were able to get out of that cycle of poverty. I think it looks a lot better now. I’m glad those flats have gone.’

  ‘I’m sure you’re right.’

  ‘We’re lucky to have Alex’s house, aren’t we? We all need him to keep that house on for a bit longer.’

  ‘Yes. Well, have a good time.’

  Beth was glad to get out of the surgery and into the fresh air. It had been intense: that look on William’s face when she had challenged him had scared her. She’d always thought of him as charming, soft, but that’s not what she saw today. She had learned a lot; one of the main things being that, if William was telling the truth, he did not have an affair with Kathleen and that meant he had no motive to be threatening her. It was a great pity William had not told Imogen the whole truth before. However, who knows how far she’d gone to stop Kathleen taking William away from her?

  And then there was Alex. Could he really have had this affair or fling with Kathleen? He seemed so devoted to Amy, and it was hard to imagine wild passion beneath that rather cold exterior. It was odd, though, what William said about Amy’s medication getting muddled up. Alex hadn’t mentioned that, but then, why would he? And there was this talk about Kathleen stealing the earrings. Beth found it really hard to imagine her friend doing such a thing but, if Kathleen had, she could understand why Alex was so angry: it would be a terrible thing to do. She could only hope that there was some kind of mistake. She desperately wanted to give Kathleen the benefit of the doubt, but she was struggling. Beth was starting to wonder if one of the people at the house party she knew the least about was Kathleen herself.

  28

  The following Monday evening, Beth and Sami were both at home when Beth received a call from Patrick.

  ‘It’s Conor,’ he blurted out. ‘He didn’t come back last night. I can’t find him. There’s no messages from him. He’s hardly spoken since the funeral. I’ve told the police. It’s not been twenty-four hours yet, but I know something is wrong. I know he was distressed at the funeral, but then he was bound to be: the poor boy has lost his mother.’

  Beth felt fear grip her heart. She could hear Conor’s desperate voice shouting at his father. Had her speculation about Conor being involved in Kathleen’s death been right? Where was he now? Had guilt sent him to take his own life?

  ‘I’ll talk to Layla. She might know where he is,’ she said, trying to remain calm.

  ‘Thank you. Yes, that’s great. I know he’s nineteen, I shouldn’t be worrying like this but after all that has happened…’

  ‘I’ll go and ask Layla now, and get back to you right away.’

  ‘It’s Conor, he’s missing,’ Beth explained, as she rushed past Sami and up the stairs. Layla looked up from her bed.

  ‘Something else has cropped up. It’s Conor. He seems to have disappeared. Have you any idea where he is? Patrick is worried.’

  Layla shook her head. ‘He’s not been in touch with me. Hang on. I’ll message Elsa.’

  Beth waited.

  ‘No. She said she didn’t even know he’d gone missing.’

  ‘OK. Thanks. Let me know if you hear anything.’

  Beth hurried back down, picked up her phone and rang Patrick back.

  ‘Thanks for that. I’ll keep ringing around.’ He sounded more relaxed, but she sa
id, ‘Me and Sami will come over.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Definitely.’

  Beth turned to Sami. ‘Come on: we need to go to Patrick’s.’

  An idea came to Beth as they drove over. As soon as Patrick opened the door, she asked, ‘Have you been down the garden to the gate?’

  Patrick looked mystified, but Beth ran down. The light was fading, but she could see the fence was intact. She pushed open the gate and looked out; there was no sign of anyone. She called Conor’s name but there was no response.

  As Beth returned to the garden, Patrick and Sami were waiting for her.

  ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to alarm you, but I had wondered if Conor had come out here, maybe to sit where Kathleen died.’

  Patrick shook his head. ‘His bike has gone.’

  ‘I should have asked. Still, it might be worth going down on to the beach. He could be there. I don’t suppose you’ve looked down there, have you?’

  Patrick shook his head. ‘I’ve not been there since the accident. I dread it.’

  ‘It’s OK, me and Sami will go,’ said Beth.

  They took a torch and walked down the hill to Freshwater Bay and back along the beach.

  ‘You seem in an awful panic,’ said Sami. ‘He’s probably at a friend’s house.’

  ‘But he might not be. We need to go and look.’

  The beach was pebbly, not easy to walk on in the dark, but the tide was well out. They shouted Conor’s name, without any reply, until they arrived at the place where Kathleen had fallen. Beth looked up at the rugged cliff. There were no flowers: nothing to indicate this was where it had been. It was as if it never happened. Beth tried calling Conor’s name again, but her voice was lost in the sound of the sea.

  After a few minutes, Sami said, ‘Come on, love. He’s not here.’

  They staggered their way back along the beach, up the hill, to Patrick. Beth started to wonder if she had over-reacted.

  ‘I think he must be at a mate’s,’ said Patrick. ‘Thank you so much for bothering, but it’s probably best you go.’

  ‘Will you be all right?’

  ‘Of course, I’ll phone if there’s news and I’ll phone the police again in the morning if I haven’t heard from him.’

  Beth didn’t want to leave. She still felt uneasy but, as Sami seemed to agree with Patrick, she was persuaded to go home.

  As they parked the car, Beth could see a light on in Adam’s room but not in Layla’s.

  Inside, she looked around, and slowly it dawned on her that Layla was nowhere to be seen. She burst into Adam’s room, and he lazily removed his headphones.

  ‘Where’s your sister?’

  ‘In her room?’

  ‘No. Of course not. Where’s she gone?’

  ‘No idea.’

  ‘You do know Conor has run off, don’t you?’

  ‘Has he?’

  Beth groaned. ‘You’re in a world of your own. Everyone is worried sick. Conor went off, and now Layla’s disappeared.’

  Adam sat up, interested now. ‘Oh heck. Hang on, I’ve got the numbers of some of her friends and Elsa. I’ll send round a message. She could have gone to see one of them. It doesn’t have to be anything to do with Conor.’

  Back downstairs, Sami had been texting and phoning Layla.

  ‘No reply,’ he said.

  ‘Where is she?’ asked Beth in despair.

  Adam came downstairs. ‘No one has any idea where she is.’

  ‘Oh my God,’ said Beth, in tears now. ‘It’s Conor, I know it is. I don’t want her to be with him.’

  Adam’s phone pinged a message and, as he read it, he started to scratch red ruts in his forehead, his father’s gesture.

  ‘What the matter?’

  ‘It’s from Layla. She said, “Tell Mum and Dad not to worry. Conor came to get me. I’m fine.”’

  Beth grabbed the stair rail, feeling sick and giddy. ‘Oh God,’ she groaned.

  Sami looked up, ‘Hey, come on. I don’t think Conor would hurt her.’

  She shook her head, shaking off the reassurance, ‘I saw him with his father. We have no idea what he did to Kathleen. He’s very angry, unstable—’

  As her words hit home, Sami’s face set in icy determination. He picked up his phone and called the police.

  29

  A uniformed officer arrived at midnight. He took down details of what had happened and left.

  They were all sat up, checking their phones, when Adam suddenly looked up. ‘Remember the day Layla missed her music exams? She went out with Conor then. Where did they go?’

  Beth tried to unmuddle her brain. ‘It was Shepherd’s Chine. Yes, I remember.’

  ‘Could they be there?’

  Beth paused. ‘It’s possible, not an easy place to get to in the dark, but we have to try. Adam, can you stay here in case she comes home or phones?’

  Sami drove them to the tiny car park hidden off the military road. It was pitch black, but they both had torches.

  ‘Look,’ said Sami, shining his torch over to the corner. It was Conor’s motorbike. Sami sent Patrick a text.

  They walked, one after the other, through the bushes and then slowly made the awkward climb down the broken steps. Just along the beach they saw a small bonfire and next to it were Conor and Layla. A wave of relief flooded Beth.

  ‘Hi, Mum,’ said Layla, waving.

  The panic and relief melted away, and annoyance set in. ‘What do you mean “Hi”?’ shouted Beth. ‘We’ve been worried sick.’

  ‘Didn’t you see the note?’

  ‘What note?’

  ‘I put it on your dressing table.’

  ‘No. I didn’t see it. We wouldn’t have a clue if you hadn’t sent a text to Adam – and Conor, Patrick has been frantic. Why did neither of you answer your phones?’

  ‘I sent Adam a text, and then switched my phone off. It’s nice to listen to the waves.’ Layla saw Beth’s face. ‘Don’t be mad. Conor’s had a rotten time.’

  ‘But he’s worried everyone to death. What’s going on, Conor?’

  ‘I had to get away. The funeral and everything was the pits. I didn’t know what to do.’

  ‘We all need to get home. We can talk tomorrow. Come on,’ said Sami.

  Beth had questions for Conor but, at half past one in the morning, with work the next day, it didn’t seem the time to ask them. Sami was right: it was time to go home.

  They drenched the fire, and all made their way back to the car as Patrick was pulling into the parking area.

  ‘Thank God,’ he said to Conor.

  ‘You were worried?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘I didn’t think you would be.’

  ‘Well, I was. I told the police. Shall we go back now? We can talk or just go to bed. Thank you so much, Sami.’

  ‘It’s OK. Let’s all get home.’

  They drove home in silence, all exhausted. At home Sami updated the police.

  ‘Are you hungry?’ Beth asked Layla.

  ‘I’ll take some cake up to bed.’

  Beth found a scruffy note on her dressing table. ‘Gone with Conor. Don’t worry.’ It wouldn’t have been reassuring.

  Beth left Layla to sleep in the next morning, while she and Sami got themselves into work.

  When she returned, she found Layla still in bed.

  ‘What was all that about?’

  Layla looked over the top of her duvet cover. ‘He rang, said he was lonely. I told him to pick me up. Don’t go mad about the bike. He sounded so down. He asked me not to tell anyone where he was. He had wanted to be alone and, anyway, he didn’t think anyone cared about him.’

  ‘Well they do, and we care a lot about you.’

  ‘To be honest, it seemed exciting at first, but I was starting to think I’d ring you. I was glad when you came. Conor was so moody, and it was cold.’

  ‘Were you frightened? Did he hurt you, do anything?’

  ‘God, no. He just sat there
. It was boring.’ Layla gave her a smile. ‘The only person I was frightened of was you: I knew you’d go apeshit.’

  ‘Did Conor tell you anything about why he had run away?’

  ‘No. He didn’t talk much. Mum, I’m worried about my new trainers. They got muddy. I hope it comes off.’

  ‘Honestly, Layla. You need to apologise for all this. Dad’s having to work a whole day on a few hours’ sleep; you wasted police time.’

  ‘You called the police?’

  ‘I was worried when I knew you were with Conor. Whatever you think of him, I have seen how he is when he’s angry and the way he attacked his dad. I know he can be violent.’

  ‘I was never worried.’

  ‘Well, I was. Don’t ever do that to me again.’

  30

  The next day, as Beth looked over the bridge at the bottom of Castleford Shute into the clear water, her phone sounded. It was a text from Conor. He asked her if she could go over and see him at Patrick’s house. It seemed odd, but she replied that she could be there in about an hour. She walked on, up to the farm, round the top of the fields and back home.

  As she approached Patrick’s house, she could see Conor’s motorbike in the otherwise empty garage. He seemed to be watching for her out of the window, because he answered the door without her knocking.

  ‘I’m sorry to drag you out here. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I needed to talk to you.’

  Beth followed him into the living room.

  ‘I’m sorry about the other night,’ said Conor.

  ‘We were all worried sick. Layla’s only fifteen.’

  ‘I know. She seems older. She’s a good listener. There’s nothing going on between us, you know. I don’t feel like that about her.’

  ‘You must have realised that she has feelings for you. You shouldn’t have taken her off like that.’

  ‘Yeah, OK. I’ll lay off for a bit. Since the funeral my head has been in such a mess. Seeing Dad and everything. I saw what he was like. I wished I’d never listened to him.’

  ‘What was it he told you to do?’ Beth asked gently, wanting to hold her breath.