“Thanks,” I say, following her inside.
“So, I saw in the news, the police questioned you?” Janice asks straight away.
“Yes,” I say. “But only because Claire may have come to my house. Which means she knew I existed. Even though I had no idea about her.”
Janice nods. She leads me through to the conservatory again and I get a glimpse of Claire’s house next door, through the hedge. I can see the upstairs windows and I imagine my twin sister living her life up there. What happened behind those walls? As I stare at the window, the flicker of a figure moves across the window. I’m sure of it. But it doesn’t reappear.
“So, what do you want to ask me?” Janice breaks my distracted stare.
“Oh, yes, sorry. I’m just trying to make sense of everything. How Claire knows about me and why she came to me. Did she ever say anything to you?” I ask. “About her long-lost mother? Her adoption? Something?”
“Actually, she did,” Janice admits. “She mentioned that she’d had a few long talks with her birth mother. But something happened. They fell out.” Janice shakes her head slightly. “This was years ago. I wish I could remember the details.”
“How long ago?” I ask.
“Before I knew her,” Janice says. “I didn’t move to the village until 2003. We became friends a year or so later and she told me more about her past a few years after that. So, this is all a long, long time ago.”
“Did you tell the police?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “To be honest, they’ve focused more on when I last saw Claire. Her mindset after Jack died. That kind of thing. Anything to do with her birth mother seemed irrelevant. Ancient history.”
“Right. I guess that makes sense.” I wrap my fingers around wicker conservatory seating. “I have to admit, I’m floored you agreed to see me. With the focus on me from the police, I thought you might be suspicious. I don’t know if it goes without saying – I mean, from my point of view it does – but I had nothing to do with Claire’s disappearance. She went missing before I even knew she existed.”
Janice rubs her palm along her knee. Then she says, “I believe you. Actually, the reason I agreed to see you is because I’m hoping you’ll listen to me when the police won’t. I’ve warned them about him and told them about all the shouting I heard but…” Janice shrugs.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
She hesitates. “I think he might have done something to her. I think he might have hurt her.”
CHAPTER 42
FAYE
“He might have hurt her.”
I let the words hang in the air between us.
“Who?” I ask.
“Magnus.”
“Is that Claire’s son?”
“Her stepson.”
She stands up, rubbing the tops of her arms. “On the day Jack died, I heard raised voices. I was out in the garden. I only ever hear them when I’m outside.” She shrugs. “I mean, that’s when I’ve heard Jack and Claire fighting in the past. During summer. Well,” she raises her eyebrows, “actually I only ever used to hear Jack. I never heard Claire’s voice.”
“She didn’t argue back?”
Janice looks at me with wide eyes and shakes her head.
“So, the day Jack died, you heard Claire and her stepson, Magnus, fighting? Did you hear any words?”
“No, but he sounded furious.” Janice exhales, long and slow.
“How did you know it was Magnus?”
“It was him. He looks like Jack, but their voices are quite different. I thought about going over, but I didn’t want to get involved and I knew she would be embarrassed that I’d heard. I came inside. I didn’t want to hear it.”
