Two Years After ; Friends Who Lie ; No More Secrets

by Paul J. Teague

  ‘Yes, tea, lovely. Thank you. You won’t forget that phone, will you? I only booked at Judd and Ruby’s for one night. I need to rearrange my accommodation plans now and I’m going to need it.’

  ‘I tell you what, we’ll pick it up when I run you back to Spean Bridge. I live on the outskirts of Fort William and it’s an easy diversion. It’s pretty basic by today’s standards, but the battery lasts for days – weeks actually. It’s indestructible too!’

  He smiled at her. Katy reckoned he must be almost sixty. When they’d last met, he must have been not much older than she was now. He’d seemed so mature and in command at the time of the fire, but now she was at the same age she still didn’t feel like that inside. She wondered what kind of a life he’d had, stuck up there in the Highlands. Was she the proverbial bad penny, turning up once again on his patch? She’d been involved in the two most important events of his career.

  The tea arrived. She was ready for it – the mouth swab had been simple enough, but she wanted to wash the experience away.

  ‘I’ll get you those photocopies.’

  Katy nodded. As he left the room, she took a sip of tea. The mugs were from some local insurance company which was based in the town, and one of them was chipped.

  She instinctively reached into her pocket for her mobile phone. It wasn’t there of course. Another bad habit, punctuating moments of silence with a glance at your phone. She felt naked without it.

  Buchanan returned, clutching a pile of papers. He placed them in front of her.

  ‘I’m letting you see these because I’m as certain as I can be from your statement that you were the intended recipient. Whatever he was coming to talk to you about was related to these documents. These are copies, but I was looking for mentions of your friends, and it seems to be the best place to start. Can you give them a look over? See what you think.’

  Katy was eager to read this information. Elijah was long dead. She thought that confidentiality probably didn’t count after your demise. Besides, Parry had wanted her to see something in there, and she had to figure out what it was.

  Buchanan had been thorough, he knew his data protection law. He’d only given her access to the handwritten passages which related to Elijah. There were no other personal details in there. It would have been meaningless to her anyway, as the chances of her recognising any of the other students were slim.

  She scanned the text. She was shocked to read details of the bullying Elijah had encountered. It had been psychological and, at times, physical. She wondered how Roger Parry could have listened to Elijah telling him all of that and not taken any action. She supposed his role as counsellor was to listen and guide, to honour the wishes of the student. She’d never known how much the bullying had affected Elijah. She felt cross with herself for asking so few questions about it when he’d attempted to confide in her.

  She read on and saw her own name. Elijah had moved accommodation blocks after Parry had talked him into taking action over the bullying. There he’d met Katy, and she was pleased to see how she’d entered Parry’s notes like a breath of fresh air. There was nothing personal in there, only observations and comments which reflected Elijah’s changed circumstances.

  10/11 E has met a female student in new hall. Very excited and hoping to get to know her better. Very positive and optimistic, complete change from previous month. Seems much happier in himself.

  27/11 E now started dating K. Completely changed his outlook. Met them in corridor earlier this week, clearly very happy in each other’s company. Great to see.

  Katy felt her eyes tearing up. Reading these notes had taken her back to a more innocent time and place. Her mum and dad were alive, she was in love, they had everything ahead of them.

  ‘I’m sorry if it’s difficult reading,’ Buchanan said, taking his first sip of now cooled tea.

  Katy continued reading. Her eye caught Nathan’s name. This is what she wanted to read. This was new information to her.

  12/2 E concerned about friend, Nathan. Said Nathan was good friend, but intense. Both parents died shortly before starting uni. No problem for E until he and K started dating. Has pushed N out of the picture and he doesn’t appear to be taking it well. E doesn’t want to spoil friendship, but needs space. Advised to give it some time.

  4/3 E still concerned about N. Things going well with K, bullying seems to have been put behind him. N very moody and intense. Is N gay? Didn’t mention to E, but seems possible. Jealousy perhaps? E definitely not gay? Action: N is computing student. Speak to Prof. Maxwell. N okay?

  Katy thought back to uni. This was crazy. Nathan had married Sarah and they’d been together for years. He couldn’t be gay. They’d hooked up immediately after Elijah’s death, thrown together by tragedy, she’d thought. Sarah had always made her intentions clear, although it had taken a life-changing incident like the fire to shake Nathan out of whatever was holding him back.

  For Katy, Nathan had just been somebody who came with Elijah. They hadn’t been friends before – Nathan was doing a computing course and there was no reason for her to have met him. But now she thought about it, he was around a lot. On nights when they went out as a couple, Elijah would always want to get out of halls promptly to make sure that nobody tagged along. Had that been all about Nathan?

  It was too long ago to remember. He had some important job in tech now, and he always seemed to be away from home. They’d all known that his parents had died, but he’d never spoken about it. She couldn’t even remember where the information had come from. Apparently they had died in a car crash two months before he started at uni. She was aware that the staff seemed to keep an eye out for him in their first year, but only in terms of him having regular meet-ups with his tutor, Professor Maxwell. That hadn’t seemed unusual at the time.

  Katy scanned the notes to the end of that academic year. There was nothing she didn’t know already. They mentioned Elijah’s concerns about the year one exams and about his holiday plans too. Regular student stuff, nothing more about Nathan.

  ‘What do you think? Could Nathan have been having a relationship with Elijah?’ Buchanan asked.

  ‘I can see why you thought that might be the case, but I don’t think there’s anything there. Nathan’s married. He has been for years. Elijah never said anything to me about it.’

  ‘You see a lot of things in my job, even in a rural place like this. You learn a lot about people. It sounds like a serious case of jealousy to me. Believe me, I’ve seen it all. If it can happen, it will happen.’

  ‘I still think you’re barking up the wrong tree,’ Katy replied. ‘And whatever it was, it blew over. I don’t know why Roger Parry was coming to speak to me. I can’t see anything particularly revealing in his notes. Are you sure you got all of it?’

  ‘Yes, I’m certain it’s all there. We might as well head back. If you want to use the ladies’ room before we go, I’ll drop these papers into my office and we can meet back in the staffroom.’

  He walked with her into the corridor and pointed to the end of the hallway.

  ‘Don’t go wandering off please.’

  The toilets were basic and functional, no place to hang around. Once again, Katy fumbled for her phone. She cursed when she realised it wasn’t there. She wanted to catch up with Emma. She washed her hands, checked her hair and headed back into the corridor. She caught sight of somebody coming out of the gents toilet to her right and did a double-take. There was something familiar about his shape and the way he moved. She knew this person.

  She turned around. She’d been right. What had she been thinking about bad pennies? Here was another one.

  It was Olly. He was standing there, smiling at her.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  ‘Damn it, Olly! Haven’t you made yourself scarce yet?’

  He turned to face her. He was cross now, she could see that much.

  ‘Screw you, Katy. I’m going about my business and you keep turning up out of nowhere. I thought you’d
be halfway along the Great Glen Way by now. I gave you enough of a head start for Christ’s sake. I wish I’d left you to sort out your own bloody boyfriend on that train. I’m beginning to wonder if he’d been driven to it—’

  Olly stopped dead and his expression changed.

  ‘I’m really sorry, Katy. I didn’t mean that. That was a shitty thing to say, but you seem to think I’m the enemy. I’m here because my laptop got stolen in the pub that night I saw you. That’s all. It’s complete coincidence. Fort William is a small place. I’m not following you.’

  ‘Is everything alright out here?’

  It was Buchanan. His finely tuned hearing had sensed a conflict along the corridor.

  ‘It’s fine,’ Katy said. ‘It was my fault. I jumped the gun. I’m sorry… I apologise, Olly.’

  ‘Okay, thanks. I appreciate it. Enjoy your walking, Katy.’

  He crossed the corridor to one of the interview rooms. A police officer had come out to see what was going on. They had a sixth sense for this stuff, the cops.

  Katy and Buchanan headed the opposite way towards the reception area.

  ‘You know that guy?’ Buchanan asked when he was certain they wouldn’t be overheard.

  ‘A little,’ Katy answered. She could feel her face reddening again. ‘Why?’

  ‘It’s nothing really, but he had his phone and laptop stolen. We get a bit of that in Fort William – they usually turn up for sale the same day in one of the local pubs, but his stuff has gone completely AWOL. It’s unusual.’

  ‘What do you know about him?’ Katy asked.

  ‘Not much. Seems like a nice guy. It happens a lot. Someone plans to go walking in the area and is pissed off because he’s lost his tech. Which reminds me, we need to get that phone for you.’

  Katy was shaken by Olly’s reappearance, but every time she replayed the scenario in her head, he came out clean. It was Louis. He’d screwed her up. Not every man was a bastard.

  She was thankful that Buchanan changed the subject by the time they were in the car. They picked up the Nokia from his house. He still had the charger and there was just over a pound of credit left on it. It would do for emergencies until the police let her have hers back, and if she didn’t get it back she’d get a replacement in Inverness. She was due an upgrade anyway.

  Buchanan was one of the good guys. He kissed his wife at the front door before returning to the car with the phone. She gave Katy a friendly wave. Some people made things look so easy. Marriage, work, life … Buchanan seemed to have it all. Soon he’d be retired on a police pension, away from all the nonsense of the workplace. Lucky bugger, he deserved it.

  ‘I’ll run you up to where the lodge was if you want?’ he volunteered as they drove off. His wife stayed waving from the door until they were out of sight.

  ‘Can you point out where it is? I need to sort out a place to stay, so I won’t go there now. When am I okay to move on?’

  ‘You’re not a suspect, so you’re free to move on or leave any time you want. We’ve got your contact details. You’re in the area for another week or thereabouts?’

  Katy nodded.

  ‘Yes, I’m flying out to Spain after I’ve met up with my friends in Inverness, but that’s still Europe. You’ll be able to get hold of me easily enough,’ she said with a smile.

  Buchanan’s phone rang. He checked his rear-view mirror and pulled onto the verge.

  ‘Buchanan. Yes … right … okay … Yes, she’s with me now. Okay to mention it? Right. See you later.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘There’s been a development in the case.’

  They were passing the Commando Monument. Part of the car park was still cordoned off, and a lone police officer was standing next to the tape. The tourists had returned and Parry’s car had gone. Everything would soon be back to normal, as if nothing had happened. Buchanan surveyed the area as they drove by, then swung a left turn.

  ‘They think Parry was murdered,’ he said as they began to drive along the much narrower road. ‘The belt was in the wrong position. The buckle was at the back. It had been pulled from behind. If he’d been jerking off in there, it would have been at the front where he could tighten it himself. You didn’t move anything, did you?’

  Katy didn’t speak for a moment. Everything had seemed okay when she thought he’d been up to some kind of sex game. To think that he might have been killed was shocking.

  ‘I touched him and moved the seatbelt, but there was no way his belt could have worked its way around his neck from that. It honestly didn’t occur to me to look at the way it had been buckled.’

  ‘You’re not under any suspicion, Katy. The forensics guys will eliminate your DNA. It might be some sex game gone wrong. Maybe somebody did a runner – they might have panicked. Who knows?’

  He pulled in at the start of a forest track bounded by trees.

  ‘Here it is.’

  ‘Do you want me to drive you up there? I’m happy to … if you want?’

  Katy looked around her. It was just as she remembered: a narrow track disappearing through the trees, barely suitable for driving. This is where life had taken its sudden turn all those years ago.

  She checked the dashboard and saw it was after two o’clock.

  ‘Thanks, I know where it is now. I’d never have found it on my own. But we need to move on and get back to Judd and Ruby’s to see if I can get a bed for the night.’

  It was bad news at the B&B. They were fully booked. They’d had to clear Katy’s room and get it cleaned for the next guests.

  ‘Can I use the phone?’ Katy asked.

  ‘Of course you can. No charge. Use it as much as you like.’

  Ruby was doing her best to solve the situation, while Judd was more interested in nattering to one of his mates in the small bar area.

  ‘I might be able to help,’ she said. ‘You keep using the main phone and I’ll give my friend a call on my mobile.’

  Katy felt hopeful. It was a tourist area, somebody would be able to put her up for the night. Buchanan was hovering in the lobby. He felt responsible for making sure she was okay.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Katy said. ‘I’ll find somewhere. You’ve got the Nokia number. I’ll text you to let you know where I’m staying. That old thing does text, doesn’t it?’

  ‘Who are you calling an old thing?’ he smiled. ‘Yes, it does text. I’ve put my mobile number into the address book for you and you’ve got my card as well, so you know where to find me.’

  Katy called Emma who didn’t answer – school was still on. She left a message.

  ‘Hell, Ems, you won’t believe what happened after we spoke yesterday. Can you give me a call? I can’t call you, I haven’t any credit. Check your caller ID for my number. I’ve got a new phone. Don’t ask!’

  Not the most coherent update that she’d ever left, but it would have to do. Besides, Ruby was back and it looked like she’d got good news.

  ‘I’ve got you a place to stay,’ she beamed. ‘It belongs to a friend of mine and she said you’re welcome to use it.’

  ‘That’s excellent, Ruby. Is it in the village?’

  ‘No, it’s a little way out, I’m afraid. I hope you like peace and quiet. It’s an old crofter’s cottage that my friend and her husband have been renovating. They’re not letting it yet, but they have had some visitors staying there recently. Everything works – the plumbing is all in. All it needs is a bit of painting and some frills. She said you can have it for the same price as we charge. Stay a few days if you want. What do you think?’

  It was getting late and Katy was tired. She wanted to load up with food from the village store and get settled in for the night. It sounded fine. Beggars can’t be choosers.

  ‘It sounds great. Thank you, Ruby. I really appreciate it. Where exactly is it?’

  ‘Not too far, only a few miles along the road. I’ll get Judd to run you up there. It’s a short distance from the Commando Monument. You’ll get a lovely view of the moun
tains from there.’

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Katy didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was a real glass-half-full, glass-half-empty moment. The crofter’s cottage was less than two miles away from the site of the lodge where they’d stayed as teenagers.

  As Judd drove her up there, talking nonsense all the time, she drifted away into her own thoughts. She had a place to stay and she could remain there until she needed to travel up to Inverness. She’d forget the Great Glen Way now. That idea was abandoned. Finding dead bodies tends to screw up travel plans. She’d catch a bus to Inverness at the end of the week.

  She was congratulating herself on her excellent organisation. She’d emailed Emma the details of the cottage and her temporary phone number before she left the B&B. She’d even mentioned the proximity to the lodge, she thought Emma would like that detail. There was little chance that she’d have a decent phone signal up there, let alone broadband access, so she’d thought it best to let her friend know what was going on while she could. Ruby and Judd had an old Windows XP computer in the hallway for guest use, so she logged into her emails and sent her message old style.

  They turned off by the monument, passed the start of the track to the lodge and continued a further couple of miles up the road towards the cottage. Katy did her best to clock features along the route so that she could remember where she’d been. It was straightforward. There was only one road, no turn-offs to make, no chance of confusion.

  Suddenly Judd stopped and applied the handbrake.

  ‘This is it,’ he said. ‘The key should be under the doormat.’

  Katy had to stop herself laughing. After living in London for years, she couldn’t believe that a doormat was still the best home security device available. Ruby hadn’t needed to phone her friend, Katy could have just walked in and become a squatter.

  Judd helped her carry in her bag and the box that they’d filled with food at the local store. She’d gambled on there being a microwave in the kitchen. She was right. There was no cooker, but there was a kettle and a microwave on the kitchen worktop. She could survive the apocalypse with those two items – and perhaps her laptop and a decent Wi-Fi signal.