The House Party

by Mary Grand

  36

  Before Elsa could speak, Beth saw William arriving in the car park.

  ‘Would you be able to tell William as well?’

  Elsa nodded. They waited for William to come over.

  ‘We’ve been to see Imogen. She’s looking much better,’ said Beth, but she moved on quickly. ‘I think there is something Elsa needs to say.’

  William put his hand on Elsa’s shoulder. ‘Whatever’s the matter, Elsa?’

  ‘I’ve done something really bad.’

  ‘Whatever it is, you know me, and your mother, are here for you.’

  Elsa burst into tears. William put his arms around her. ‘Enough, now.’

  Elsa seemed to calm down and started to explain. ‘Mum knows. She said not to tell anyone, but I can’t hold on to this.’

  ‘It’s all right. You can tell us. Mum has been a bit confused lately. Maybe she didn’t see how hard it was for you to keep whatever this is to yourself.’

  ‘OK. You see, that morning, the day Kathleen died, you and Mum had left very early. I decided to go to go and see Kathleen. I thought I was, oh, don’t be mad—’

  ‘Was it Patrick?’

  ‘Partly… How did you know?’

  ‘I guessed. So, you thought you’d go and talk to Kathleen?’

  ‘Not speak to her. I thought I’d go and watch to see if anyone visited her. I even filmed the house on my phone, but nobody came. I was sure she was seeing someone. I thought if I caught her—’ Elsa burst into tears.

  ‘Patrick would leave Kathleen?’

  ‘That was so stupid. The whole thing was. Oh God, it’s awful. I’m so ashamed.’

  Beth held her breath, then asked, ‘Did you go in to see Kathleen?’

  Elsa burst into tears again before she said, ‘I promise you, I never even got out of the car.’

  William sighed. ‘Elsa, I believe you. It will be all right.’

  ‘Mum said we don’t need to tell the police.’

  ‘I’m sorry, but she’s wrong there. Don’t worry. I’ll be with you, but we have to tell them. They’ve been looking everywhere for the owner of the silver car.’

  ‘But they’ll think I killed her. I went around telling everyone how much I hated her, and they will know I had this thing for Patrick.’

  ‘I’ll go with you, get a solicitor. Have you still got the video on your phone?’

  ‘No. Remember, I got a new phone. I didn’t transfer the video. I was too embarrassed, but my phone is in my bedroom somewhere I think.’

  ‘Good. Did you call in anywhere else on your way from Kathleen’s? Did anyone see you?’

  ‘I bought some crisps in the garage just after I left there. The man was just opening. I think it was about seven.’

  ‘What time did you leave our house?’

  ‘Just after you went: about twenty-five to seven. I went straight to Kathleen’s house, and parked. I think the woman in the house saw me arrive. I looked up as I was backing in and saw the nets upstairs pull back.’

  ‘And then you started filming?’

  ‘Yes, I was recording the whole time I was there.’

  ‘Did you see the woman in the house again?’

  ‘Not really. I was watching Kathleen’s house the whole time. I did see her just before I left, though. It’s why I left. I thought she was going to come and tell me off, and anyway by then it all felt stupid. You do believe me, don’t you?’

  ‘I do, yes, and I’ll be coming with you. You don’t have to face this on your own. Beth, have you got the number for Sue? I think I’ll phone her. She can tell us what to do. Now, don’t worry, Elsa. We’ll sort all this out.’

  ‘What about Mum?’

  ‘I’ll explain that you can’t keep this to yourself. She’ll understand. It’s going to be fine.’

  Elsa smiled. ‘Thank you so much. I should have told you before, shouldn’t I?’

  ‘Yes, but what’s done is done. Look, let’s go in now and see Mum.’ William looked over at Beth. ‘She was looking OK when you left her?’

  ‘Actually, her parents had been to visit. That hadn’t gone well, and she was pretty upset by it.’

  ‘Oh no, that’s difficult. I wish I’d been there to smooth things over. Anyway, now to talk about Elsa, I’ll explain everything to Imogen and then I’ll sort out telling the police.’ He smiled at her. ‘Thank you so much for all the support. How are you by the way? I hope someone is looking after you, you look exhausted.’

  ‘I’m fine, thanks, just life is complicated, isn’t it?’

  ‘It is, well, you know my door is always open.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  Beth watched them walk back into the hospital together, glad that Elsa was being looked after.

  She wanted to believe Elsa. She hoped the police would be able to verify the times with the garage and the woman in the house because there was part of her that still needed convincing of Elsa’s innocence. The fact that Imogen had been so keen for her to keep it quiet suggested she may have had doubts as well.

  It was the following Tuesday morning. Beth lay in bed watching Sami packing his overnight bag to go to London.

  ‘Imogen is going home today. I said I’d go around and see her this afternoon.’

  ‘What’s happened with Elsa?’

  ‘I’m not sure. She’s at home. That’s all I know.’

  ‘That family are really going through it, aren’t they? It’s a lot of pressure for William. He’s been at the surgery through it all. I told him to take time off, but you know how he is. By the way, if you get a moment, can you pop up to the Hendersons’ and water the tomatoes this evening? They’re very thirsty at the moment.’

  ‘Of course.’

  He paused, blinked nervously. ‘Look, you’re all right with me going away for the night?’

  ‘Of course, why shouldn’t I be?’

  ‘It’s just William said he was a bit worried about you, said you seemed very anxious.’

  ‘That’s not surprising lately, is it? Don’t worry, I’m fine.’

  ‘If you’re sure then. Right, see you tomorrow.’

  When Beth went into school that morning, she found out that the governors had sent a carefully worded letter to all the parents explaining that Imogen would be on long term sick leave and that in the meantime her deputy would be acting head. There were rumours about this, ranging from terminal illness to misappropriation of school funds, but some of the staff had a much better idea of the truth. However, they were tactful, and the matter was hushed up as much as possible.

  In the afternoon when Beth visited Imogen at home, she found her dressed, sitting in her armchair reading.

  ‘Good to be home?’ asked Beth.

  ‘Yes. I feel weak, but I will get better this time. The police have been round, going through my things, my laptop, and everything. I’ve nothing to hide now.’

  ‘And how is Elsa?’

  ‘Coping. We’ve got a good solicitor. I wish she knew where her phone was, but she has enough evidence without it, I think. I hope all the other things will tie together. Mum, of course, got to hear of it. I told William not to mention it but, well, he had to cope with the hysterics.’

  ‘You’re sure that Elsa didn’t go over to confront Kathleen?’

  ‘Of course, I am. I’m sure we will be able to prove it as well.’ Beth smiled, pleased to see Imogen back fighting.

  Imogen sat forward. ‘I’m planning now for when all this awful business is over. I’ve made some decisions for sorting out my life once, hopefully, all this has been put behind me. I know I won’t be able to continue in my job. I’ll have to find something else. I know I don’t want us to sell the house. I had a long chat with William, and he says not to make any quick decisions, but for my mental health I need to distance myself from my parents again. I felt like this late last year but then I gave in. I should have stood my ground. You saw what they’re like. They have to take over. Elsa and I don’t need that.’

  ‘Sounds wise. It
was quite a set-to you had with them in the hospital.’

  ‘I know, but it had been building up. I’d been letting things slide. I have to take back control of my life, for Elsa’s sake as well as mine.’ She sat forward and lowered her voice. ‘And that includes the medication I’m on. I’ve gone back to keeping a journal, jotting down every time I take my pills, making sure I only take what the hospital told me.’

  ‘When I came to visit you in hospital, when you were just coming round, you said Kathleen was right. Did you mean about your medication? She was worried you were taking too strong a dose, wasn’t she?’

  Imogen nodded. ‘She was.’ She paused, then said, ‘I think I misjudged her. She said a few things, you know.’ Imogen lowered her eyes, seemed to speak more to herself than Beth. ‘I keep trying to ignore the things she said to me, but it’s like they won’t go away. I tell myself she was wrong. It’s me… my fault… my mistake… but, maybe—’

  Imogen sat wrapped in thought, until she said, ‘She told me to trust myself, trust my instincts.’

  ‘I thought you were the kind of person who had always done that.’

  ‘I used to be. Not lately, though. I’ve always thought of myself as someone who would prefer to know the truth, but I’m finding it a struggle now.’

  ‘You’re braver than me—’

  ‘I don’t think so. You’ve shown a lot of courage, Beth. A person is brave when they take on their own personal fear, and you’ve done that, haven’t you? You’re a peacemaker; you fear not being liked, but you’ve fought us all, trying to find out what really happened to Kathleen, because you felt it was the right thing to do. That is brave: you trusted your instincts.’

  Beth clenched her fists. The problem was she’d trusted her instincts about Kathleen. She’d chosen to believe her, trust her. A picture of the jewellery in their expensive boxes flashed into her mind: how could the Kathleen she’d known have done that?

  When Beth got up to leave, Imogen followed her to the front door. Beth could see William working in his study. ‘I’m off, William. I hope all gets sorted out for Elsa soon.’

  ‘We’re all hoping that. By the way, Elsa found her old phone, she’s charging it up.’

  ‘That’s brilliant. I’ll take it into the police station later,’ said Imogen.

  William raised his eyebrows. ‘See: she’s feeling better already, but we’re not going to rush anything, are we?’

  Beth looked over at all his trophies. ‘I saw them before; they’re impressive.’

  ‘Imogen said to put them out. Of course, it’s all nonsense.’

  ‘Good to see all your Oxford stuff. I hope Adam is as proud of his one day.’

  ‘He’ll have a great time and I’m sure he’ll be a very good doctor.’

  ‘Thank you. He’s getting cold feet about it. Maybe you could talk to him sometime? He really freaked out when Sami got him a Brasenose scarf.’ She looked at the cabinet, smiled. ‘His scarf is exactly the same as yours. Not a lot changes there, does it?’

  ‘No, not a lot,’ said William, laughing. ‘Tell him the scarves are good quality. I wore that every winter. By the way, could you tell Sami I need to speak to him when he gets back. It’s nothing urgent but I wanted to ask his advice on some medication one of my patients is taking. He’s a fount of knowledge, your husband.’

  ‘Of course, I’ll—’ Beth suddenly stopped. She stared ahead.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Imogen asked.

  ‘Oh, nothing,’ said Beth, in confusion. ‘Sorry, I must have made a mistake, it’s nothing.’

  They held each other’s gaze and then Imogen spoke. ‘I need to have a sit down, sorry. I’ll see you soon.’ Quietly, she left the room.

  Beth licked her dry lips and spoke. ‘Imogen looks well. She’s come back fighting. You have to admire her. How is she coping with everything with Elsa?’

  ‘Surprisingly well. I know she’s cross I told her parents about Elsa, but we need to keep them on board. They care more than Imogen realises. They’ll get the best barristers, if we need them, for her, pay for rehab, this private university: which I happen to think is a good idea. We don’t have that kind of money to hand. I will release it, of course, but it will take time and we need it now.’

  ‘I see. I spoke to Alex, by the way. He showed me the inquest report. There wasn’t any question of a mix-up with Amy’s medication. I thought you’d like to know.’

  ‘I don’t think I ever suggested there was a problem,’ said William, looking confused.

  ‘Oh, sorry. I must have misheard you.’

  William smiled. ‘That’s OK, and thank you so much for all you’ve done for Imogen; you’ve been a good friend.’

  Beth left, but as she walked to her car her mind was trying to make sense of what she’d just seen. If she was right, then certain things must follow. Suddenly she remembered something Sami had said about a register. She rushed home, opened her laptop and logged on: yes, she was right. Beth wasn’t surprised. Something had always felt wrong there and now she thought she understood.

  Her mind drifted to the matter of the stolen jewellery; was it possible that the Kathleen she knew had done that? Trust your instinct, that’s what Imogen had said. Beth ran upstairs to her bedroom. Taking out the pearl necklace, she held it up, saw the light fall on the creamy pearls, and the beautiful diamond clasp. And then she knew she’d held this before. It shouldn’t be possible, but she had. Beth grabbed her phone. Frantically, she scrolled through the photographs. There was the necklace. Her eyes widened.

  The jewellery had been at Alex’s after Kathleen died. Someone else had stolen them, planted them in Kathleen’s room. But why? The only reason Beth could think of was to incriminate Kathleen, reinforce the notion she was a thief, untrustworthy. Like the earrings… Kathleen had always claimed she’d not stolen them, so had they been planted as well?

  So, who could have stolen them? Alex was the obvious person, although according to him he hadn’t been home for some time. The only other people from the island who Beth knew had stayed at Alex’s house in London were herself and Sami, Imogen, William and Elsa. Logically, it had to be one of them who had stolen the jewellery. But who? The only people she could be sure wouldn’t have done it were her and Sami: well, strictly, she could only be sure of herself, but she wouldn’t seriously consider Sami. This left Imogen, William, Elsa and possibly Alex, but who was it?

  Beth remembered she’d promised to go to the Hendersons’ to water the plants and thought the activity might clear her head. She found Ollie and drove up there. As she watered the tomato plants in the greenhouse full of their heavy smell, she kept trying to work things out, but her mind seemed to tie itself into knots.

  Eventually, Beth shut up the greenhouse and, as she walked Ollie back to the car, she glanced over at the garage. She remembered the car sitting there and for the first time she realised that here was a means by which someone could have driven over to Kathleen’s. It wouldn’t be difficult to find the keys and drive off. Of course, Sami had been here. Her stomach twisted, but she pushed the thought away. The trouble was that most of her suspects’ own cars had been seen in the village and there wasn’t time for one of them to walk out here, drive to Kathleen’s, come back, and then walk back home or to work. So how could they have used the car?

  Beth realised it was getting late and the dark skies threatened rain, and so she went back to the car, drove home. From the mess in the kitchen she could see the kids had helped themselves to tea and she could hear they were in their bedrooms. Beth wasn’t hungry but went up to her bedroom and closed the door. She needed to concentrate, she still had so much to try and understand. Maybe if she tried to remember what Kathleen had said, not just to her but to Roisin and Angela as well. Had she missed something there? Kathleen had talked about that awful month last December. First Amy’s fall and then the skiing holiday. Beth paused. She’d not given that much thought to the skiing weekend. The one thing everyone seemed to agree on was that it had bee
n a disaster. Imogen was still living with the consequences, her bad back, the medication, all from a simple accident. Beth caught her breath, the accident. Kathleen had told Roisin and Angela that she was worried about the accident. Everyone had assumed she meant Amy’s fall but what if she’d been talking about something else, Imogen’s fall?

  It was like finding the crucial piece of a jigsaw. Other pieces that had felt random started to fit: the dark net, the untuned piano, clearing the old lane, the cliff top walk. And, as she fitted the puzzle together, the full picture of what had happened to Kathleen started to emerge. But there was more. Beth sat feeling sick. She clenched her fists: the picture she was creating was terrifying. If she was right, this wasn’t the end. No, there would be more killing; more people would die.

  Beth stood up and started to pace around her room. Should she go to the police? The problem was that she had so little proof and superficially it sounded a pretty implausible story. If only she had found Kathleen’s phone: at least she would have something concrete she could take to them.

  As if in answer, at that moment her phone signalled a text. Glancing down, she saw it was from Elsa.

  Please can you come and see me? I can’t talk at home or at your house. I’ve found a phone. I’m very scared. I don’t know what to do. Please come on your own: don’t tell anyone. I’m desperate and very frightened. I have the key to Alex’s caravan, and I’m here alone. I’m so sorry to ask you to come all this way but I’ve not got anyone else to turn to. Love Elsa.

  Beth reread the text. Poor Elsa. If Beth’s calculations were right, she guessed Elsa had found Kathleen’s phone at home. Thank God she’d got out of the house. What she needed to do was go to the police, but maybe she was too scared to go on her own. Beth knew she had to go and help her. She replied that she would go out straight away.

  Beth opened her bedroom door. The house was eerily quiet. Adam and Layla were in their rooms, watching Netflix, texting, revising, or all three. Downstairs, Ollie would be snoring in his bed. They all assumed they were safe, but they weren’t. No one was, and poor Elsa was out there all alone.