‘What about your sister? Would she have seen anything?’
His face darkened with rage. ‘Donna is dead,’ he said, turning on his heel and moving away at speed.
This was news to her.
She caught him up. ‘Your mum mentioned her and never said she was dead. What did she die of?’
‘Making the wrong decision,’ he spat before storming into the house.
Twenty-One
‘Hang on one second,’ Kim said, following William inside.
He stomped through a messy hallway, but Kim paused to register what was on the walls. Photographs of the family over the years. They were nothing special, no professional photographer had been involved and most appeared to have been taken around the farm. But they all had one thing in common: someone had been ripped or cut from every photo. The girl.
Kim walked slowly into a kitchen that would have been at home in the Black Country Museum. A dishwasher had been added since her last visit, but little else had changed. She would swear that was the same kettle that William was filling with his back to her.
‘She’s not really dead, is she?’ Kim asked, moving a pile of clothes to take a seat at the kitchen table.
For the second time that day, Bryant chose to stand in the doorway. She suspected he was maintaining access to the minimally cleaner air wafting in through the front door. The kitchen smelled of old grease and cigarette smoke.
‘She is to us,’ he said, turning.
‘Why, what did she do?’
He shook his head and stared at the ground. ‘We don’t speak of her.’
‘Well, your mum muttered something about her, so she’s still on her mind.’
He opened his mouth and then a banging sound came from above.
‘Hang on,’ he said, opening the fridge. He took out what looked like a packed lunch and headed for the stairs.
‘Guv,’ Bryant whispered. ‘As interesting as this is, I feel I need to reel you back in. I can barely even see our murder case in my rear-view mirror.’
‘Ten minutes,’ she promised. ‘And then I’ll put the blinkers on.’
‘How’s he doing?’ Kim asked as William re-entered the room with a dirty glass and plate. Whatever was wrong with Martin, it clearly prevented him getting up and down the stairs. With Martha going away for a good few years, it looked like William was going to have his hands full.
The man chose not to answer as he popped a teabag into a metal mug. He didn’t offer them one, and she didn’t expect it. She wasn’t sure she would have chanced it anyway.
‘Come on, William – what did Donna do to be cut out of the photos?’
‘The worst thing she could possibly do to this family.’
She waited.
‘She crossed to the other side.’
‘You mean the neighbours?’
‘The son, Eric. They snuck around for months. Mum found out and damn near killed her. She was given the option of him or us, and she made her choice. She packed her bags that day, and we haven’t spoken her name since.’
Jesus, this feud was leaving some casualties in its wake.
‘Are they still together?’ Kim asked.
‘As I said, she’s dead. I won’t speak about her any more.’
