It really is her. Her long blond hair is tied back in a ponytail, and she is wearing a white uniform with a name badge that does indeed sayMARY.
Eden stares at Gabriella.
Then she stares at me.
Then she runs.
45
Interviewer:Sergeant Luke Carter (LC)
Interviewee:Old Stu (OS)
Date:October 31, 2025
Location:Hope Falls police station
LC:Can I get your name for the recording, please?
OS:You know my name.
LC:It’s just for the tape.
OS:Stu.
LC:Your full name, sir.
OS:Old Stu.
LC:Got it. So you were walking your dog when you saw her?
OS:Yes. I told you that already. And I really ought to be heading home, Tilly will be wanting breakfast.
LC:Tilly?
OS:My dog.
LC:Right, of course. This won’t take long. Tell me about the woman that you saw running up the hill on the coast path. What was she wearing? Where was she going? Did you recognize her?
OS:No, I didn’t recognize her.
LC:You didn’t see her at the art gallery the night before?
OS:What would I be doing going to an art gallery? And why would I be buying paintings of the sea when I can look out of my bleedin’ window and see the real thing? Besides, Tilly doesn’t like being left alone. Is this going to take much longer?
LC:I just need to know what you remember about what you saw.
OS:I remember everything. I’m old, not senile. And don’t be backchatting to me, Luke Carter. I’ve known you since you were shitting your nappy. I saw a woman. She was running toward the suicide spot at the crack of dawn. She looked upset. When I walked back up the hill she was gone.
LC:But you didn’t see her jump?
OS:No.
LC:In what way did she look upset?
OS:She’d been crying—nose as red as Rudolph’s—and she was distracted.
LC:What makes you say that?
