I assume she’s noticed his Land Rover’s not on the drive. ‘No.’ I shake my head. ‘He’s working,’ I don’t quite lie.
‘Ah,’ she says. ‘Do you mind if we have a quick word anyway, since we’re here?’ She nods past me and I guess I have no choice but to invite them in. But then I’d rather talk inside than out here where Lina might overhear.
‘No problem.’ I offer her a small smile back and move aside to allow them in.
‘We won’t keep you long,’ DI Blake assures me. ‘We’ve actually been trying to get hold of Mr Conley but he’s notanswering his phone,’ she adds, and a knot of tension tightens inside me.
‘Oh. No, he wouldn’t be. He’s probably switched it to silent. He often does when he’s working.’ I cover for him, though I have no idea why.
She nods thoughtfully.
‘Have you made any progress in regard to what happened to Imogen?’ I ask quickly, desperate now to know why they’re trying to get hold of him.
‘Of sorts,’ she says, eyeing me hesitantly. ‘One of the neighbours has substantiated that Mr Conley was at the address he claims he was, though they can’t confirm for how long.’
Relief crashes through every cell in my body. ‘Thank God.’ The words are out of my mouth before I’ve realised the message I’m sending.
DI Blake obviously picks up on it. I note her narrowed eyes. ‘We do also have some CCTV footage of someone leaving the car park on the same floor shortly after the incident,’ she goes on. ‘There’s no clear image of the face, and the person is wearing a hoodie, but we’re waiting for digital forensics to confirm whether they’re male or female and whether there are any distinguishing features that might help us identify them.’
My stomach lurches. Do they think it’s Jack? I can’t help wondering why she would be offering the information unless to gauge my reaction. ‘So it’s possible there was someone there with her?’ I ask. I don’t have to work at looking shocked.
She pauses before answering. ‘We’re investigating all possible scenarios,’ she replies vaguely. ‘I thought Mr Conley might like to know about the neighbour.’
She waits, watching me so carefully now, I feel like I’m under suspicion. ‘I’ll pass it on,’ I assure her, trying to still my rioting emotions. ‘He’ll be relieved.’
‘I’m sure he will.’ Giving me another short smile, she pulls her gaze away and turns back to the door. ‘Oh, one more thing. I almost forgot. Could you also tell him we’d like to check his phone, assuming you speak to him before we do? Just to make absolutely sure we can eliminate him from our inquiries going forward,’ she adds, causing my breath to stall.
‘Yes, of course.’ I hesitate, then, ‘Can I ask you something?’ I venture. ‘You might not be able to tell me, but I couldn’t help wondering about the note Imogen left, whether it gave any indication about her state of mind. I was thinking about her parents. I’d like to visit them and I didn’t want to say anything that might upset them.’
DI Blake frowns pensively. ‘It didn’t give us much,’ she says, after a pause. ‘It simply said, “I’m sorry”.’
My chest constricting, I nod and glance down.Was it her handwriting?I want to ask, but don’t, for fear she’ll question why I would be. If itwashers, I can’t help but wonder what it was she was sorry for.
FORTY-TWO
My mind whirling, I go over all that DI Blake had told me as I head back to the stairs. I’m wondering whether Imogen’s note might have been some kind of apology to Evie. I can’t make myself believe that Jack would have become involved with her, but I can’t escape the fact that he could have been, if he’d wanted to be. I’m halfway across the lounge when there’s a sharp rap on the front door. With a sinking feeling in the pit of my belly, I go reluctantly to answer it. I’ve scarcely opened it before Lina bustles in.
‘I knew it,’ she exclaims, her cheeks ruddy and her eyes bright, as if she’s seized on some prize. ‘They suspect him, don’t they?’
‘No, actually, they don’t.’ I walk past her to close the door, then turn stiffly back to her. ‘Where’s Evie?’ I ask, cutting the conversation short.
‘I made her take a nap. The poor girl’s exhausted with all that’s going on,’ Lina replies, as if oblivious to the fact thatshe’sadding to her exhaustion. ‘I’ve had a little chat to her about her school attendance as well, on the basis that someone has to in the absence of her mother. We can’t have her welfare affected in all of this, can we? She’s already out of her mind with worry.’
Because of you!I want to scream. Instead, I ignore her deliberately provocative remarks. It will do no good to rise to the bait. And she clearly is baiting me. ‘Did you want something, Lina?’ I ask, my tone short.
‘Only to know what conclusion the police have reached.’ She takes it upon herself to head through the lounge towards the kitchen.
Feeling close to despair, I press my hand to my forehead, then follow her. Reaching the kitchen, I watch in bemusement as she picks up the kettle and goes to the sink to fill it up, almost as if she lives here.
‘I assume they were here as part of their investigations?’ she asks, returning the kettle to the worktop and extracting mugs from the mug rack. ‘They don’t generally make house calls otherwise, do they?’
She turns to me smiling expectantly, and I have an overwhelming urge to slap her. Followed by shame that I could feel like that about a woman who, whether suffering dementia or not, obviously isn’t well, as evidenced by her wheezy breaths as she passes by me to fetch the milk from the fridge.
‘They were only here to say that a neighbour has confirmed that Jack was at the job he said he was,’ I tell her, gauging her carefully.
‘Oh,’ Lina says, and returns to the mugs with a sigh. Is she disappointed? It seems to me that she might be.
‘I’ll finish that. You go and sit down,’ I offer, walking across to her as another audible wheeze escapes her.
