‘The death of a man whose body was found in woodland is being treated as suspicious, according to the police,’ he says. ‘The body was discovered by a couple who were picking blackberries in the woods. The man has been formally identified as eighteen-year-old Joshua Knoll, who was first reported missing more than a week ago. He is described as tall, blond and athletic, and he was wearing a navy-blue hoodie, jeans and trainers at the time of his death. Police would like to ask anyone who has any information to come forward.’
A photo of Josh appears on the screen, showing him from the waist up. It’s at least a few months old because he’s wearing his school blazer but finished his A levels in June. I stare at his handsome face, into his hazel eyes. He has been here, to Crooked Oak Cottage – inside my home – countless times. Always charming, ever polite, with a white, toothy grin affixed to his face, the same one he’s wearing in the picture.
Daniel adored him. They’d bonded over a shared love of football, both fervent Arsenal fans. They’d drunk lager together as they watched matches on TV, sitting here on this very sofa. But although initially I’d been delighted to see Iris so happy and radiant, I soon became mistrustful of Josh. There was something about him that seemed off-kilter. I became convinced his courteousness was a veneer, and occasionally I caught a glimpse of what hid behind it. An expression that flashed across his face – blink, and you’d miss it. A throwaway remark that could have a disturbing undercurrent, depending on how you interpreted it. Or how he held his chin, tilted slightly upwards, in a way that hinted at a sense of entitlement. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was about him that bothered me, but I couldn’t muzzle the voice in my head warning me he was bad news.
‘It’s because you think he’s not good enough for your daughter,’ Daniel had said. ‘No one will ever be good enough for our kids. I’ll be the same when Margo starts dating.’ He’d pulled a face. ‘Oh God, it doesn’t bear thinking about.’
But it wasn’t that. Olly had had one girlfriend who lasted much longer than the others. Liv. I became very fond of her and I was genuinely gutted when they split up. I thought she was good for him. They went well together, Oliver and Olivia.
I never voiced my doubts about Josh to Iris. Perhaps I should have done.
*
Daniel has barely stepped into the house and closed the front door when it all spews out of my mouth. I don’t even greet him properly – no hello, no kiss, nothing.
‘Joshua Knoll has been found dead in the woods. The police seem to think he may have been murdered.’
‘I know.’ He sighs and gives me a peck on the lips.
He walks past me, pulling his cabin-sized suitcase, and then picks it up and heads up the stairs. At first, I think he’s being dismissive. A little spark of irritation flickers inside me, but it fails to catch. His reaction should probably reassure me. If Daniel isn’t worried, then perhaps I’ve been overthinking this. Maybe I’m being paranoid. Why would anyone suspect Iris? She and Josh split up nearly a year ago. And she’s had nothing to do with him since he … well, for several months.
‘Can we talk about this later?’ he calls over his shoulder. ‘Give me a chance to get unpacked?’
I see the look he throws me. It’s not dismissiveness. It’s evasiveness.
‘What?’ I demand. I race upstairs after him and follow him into our bedroom. He swings his case onto our bed. ‘What, Daniel?’ I’m standing with my hands on my hips and I suddenly see myself through his eyes. I drop my arms to my sides and dial my voice down a notch. ‘How did you know? Did you hear it on the news?’
‘No.’ He plops down on the bed. ‘I spoke to Richard Knoll a few minutes ago.’
I raise my eyebrows. ‘I see,’ I say, although I don’t. Josh’s father and Daniel used to be mates, but their friendship went south alongside Josh and Iris’s relationship, or shortly afterwards. ‘Did you … you didn’t call him, did you?’
‘No. I bumped into him. At the petrol station. Rich … er … Richard … well, he told me. About Josh.’
‘OK.’ I draw out the two syllables. Things are far from OK. It annoys me that Daniel has just called Josh’s father by an abbreviation of his first name. It’s too familiar, too friendly. Richard Knoll is not a friend anymore. Quite the opposite, in fact.
‘Did he … how was he?’
‘How do you think, Carla?’ he barks. ‘He looked like a man whose life has just been turned upside down. He’s lost his son, for Christ’s sake.’
Daniel doesn’t often snap at me. I must look taken aback because he reaches for my hand and pulls me closer to him.
‘Sorry,’ he says when I sit on the bed next to him. ‘It’s been a long day.’
‘S’OK. That’s not what I meant, though. I meant, how did he behave towards you?’
A wry smile. ‘He was … irate, shouting. Actually, I thought he was going to deck me.’
That’s not good. The Knolls must already suspect Iris if Richard wanted to punch Daniel. I taste blood in my mouth and realize I’ve been biting my lip.
‘What did he say?’
Daniel doesn’t answer straightaway. I look at him, silently urging him to spit it out. At the same time, I want to take back my question or clap my hand over his mouth. I don’t want to hear his answer.
‘He demanded to know where Iris was on Wednesday the twenty-eighth and Thursday the twenty-ninth of August.’
Presumably Joshua was murdered on one of those days. My heart skips a beat or two, then starts up again, too fast. This confirms what I thought – the Knolls do suspect Iris – but it still hits me.
‘What else did he say?’
