‘There is that,’ Carla agreed. ‘It’s all hearsay, though.’
‘Speak to her.’ Vicky urged.
‘The woman on the course?’
‘No,Anita.I’ve got her mobile number if you want it.’
‘Um…’
‘Look, I’ll send it to you anyway. I haven’t spoken to her myself, but the woman on the course has, so she’s expecting your call. Think about it, yeah?’
‘I will,’ Carla promised.
After saying goodbye, the call ended, leaving her feeling dazed and confused. What should she do? Should she phone this Anita person? Or would she end up digging herself an even deeper hole?
Ashton cleared his throat.
‘Oh, hell,’ she muttered. She had forgotten he was there. ‘How much of that did you hear?’
‘Not much.’
She shot him a glance out of the corner of her eye. He was staring straight ahead.
‘Okay, quite a bit,’ he admitted.
‘Yeah, I was afraid of that.’
‘Do you want to talk about it or forget I was here?’
‘Forget—’ she began then paused. ‘No, actually I’d like to talk about it.’ Inhaling deeply, she blew out her cheeks. ‘My line manager is called Yale, and we were dating for a few weeks but were keeping it quiet because the company we work for doesn’t approve of line managers having romantic relationships with their staff, for obvious reasons. Anyway, one evening we went to this retirement bash and sneaked away for a quick kiss, and his fiancée caught us. Before you say anything, I had no idea he was engaged or seeing anyone else. He accused me of harassment and reported me to HR. I’m now on indefinite leave while they conduct an investigation.’
Ashton shook his head slowly. ‘That’s awful. I’m so sorry.’
‘The thing is, Vicky says he’s done something similar before,’ she said, then went on to explain, ending with, ‘I don’t know whether I should contact this woman. Would it do any good?’
‘Would it do any harm?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘On the other hand, might it be of any use?’
‘I don’t know,’ she repeated.
‘From where I’m sitting, I don’t think you’ve got anything to lose. But you’re the one who has to make the decision and deal with whatever you discover.’
‘I’ll call her,’ she said. Ashton was right, she didn’t have anything to lose and possibly everything to gain. ‘But not right now,’ she added. ‘I want to take some more photos.’
And neither did she want to waste any more of Ashton’s time. She would contact Anita Campbell tomorrow, because she intended to enjoy the rest of the day.
The Black Horse was a typical village pub with horse brasses on the walls, beamed ceilings, and a landlord who seemed to know everyone by name.
Ashton had stepped through its doors many times, always with a letter or two in his hand and sometimes a parcel. However, he’d never visited the place for a drink, so this evening broke the trend.
After a very successful afternoon of photographing everything and anything on the hillside above the farm and in the fields around, he and Carla had made their way down the lane and into the village. And now they were sitting in the pub, examining each other’s photos and contemplating an early supper. Ashton hadn’t thought he would be hungry after the delicious Sunday lunch, but he had surprised himself, and wasnow rather peckish. He didn’t want anything heavy, but a light snack would be most welcome.
Having ordered, they settled down with their drinks. ‘Tell me about yourself,’ he suggested.
Carla grimaced. ‘Don’t you know enough?’
