At first I agreed to help because it was almost like a game, something to relieve the boredom of the job.
But then I found the T-shirt. When I described it to Courtney she’d been adamant it was Una’s. ‘I was with her when she bought it,’ she said, over the phone. ‘Why would Elspeth have Una’s T-shirt? When Una died I went to the house to collect her clothes.’
‘Maybe Elspeth had wanted to keep a memento,’ I’d suggested, which horrified Courtney, especially when I admitted I’d found it in Elspeth’s bedroom, and that I believed she’d been sleeping with it.
Whether Elspeth is involved in the deaths of the other girls or not, it’s obvious she has a slight obsession with all of us, is capricious and faking her frailty for attention. I sometimes wonder if maybe she’s losing her marbles, confusing us so that in her mind we merge to become Viola. I don’t understand it but, even so, does that make her a killer?
When I arrive, the shop is predictably empty. Daisy is sitting at Kathryn’s desk, her mobile cradled between ear and shoulder, picking at her pink acrylic nails. ‘Yes, that’s what I’m worried about,’ she’s saying into the phone. When she hears the ping of the door she looks up and irritation flashes across her features when she sees it’s me. ‘Gotta go. Speak later.’ She ends the call. ‘Back again so soon?’
‘Sorry to bother you. I know you’re really busy.’
She rolls her eyes at my sarcasm.
‘The last time I came here I think I left something behind,’ I lie.
She narrows her eyes at me. ‘Oh, really? What was that, then?’
‘My …’ I cast my eyes around the shop, hoping for inspiration ‘… brother’s door key,’ I say desperately.
‘Your brother’s door key?’
‘For his flat. It’s a spare and he’ll kill me if I don’t find it.’
She continues to stare at me without speaking, one of her perfectly plucked eyebrows raised.
‘You know what big brothers are like,’ I say, conscious that I’m rambling now. ‘Do you mind if I scoot about?’
She breaks eye contact and shrugs. ‘I was just about to make myself a coffee anyway,’ she says, getting up. Her skirt is so short I can see the tops of her tights. ‘So scoot away.’ She wanders off to the back of the shop and I get down on my hands and knees on the cold white tiles, pretending to look for my brother’s key and feeling foolish. What am I doing? This is harder than I’d thought.
She comes back, coffee cup in hand, and surveys me with an amused expression. ‘Found it?’
I stand up and dust down my trousers. ‘No. Sadly not. Never mind. If you do, though, would you let me know?’
She shrugs in answer.
‘So,’ I say, in my best breezy voice. ‘Doing anything fun tonight?’
‘Seeing my boyfriend.’
‘Do you have to work late on a Saturday?’
She shakes her head. ‘Only till five.’
‘That’s good.’ I make a mental note to tell the others.
I turn to leave when I say, as if suddenly remembering, ‘Elspeth told me there was a break-in down here a few nights ago.’
Daisy frowns. ‘A break-in? Really?’
‘Apparently. Not one of Elspeth’s shops, luckily. I wonder if they have CCTV.’
‘I think they do in the corridor. Not in this shop, though.’
I pull a relieved face. ‘Great. Well, have a nice time with your boyfriend tonight.’
‘Lewis,’ she says, as I go to leave the shop. ‘His name is Lewis.’
Courtney is already in the White Hart when I get there at seven as planned. I’d suggested we wear dark clothing so we wouldn’t stand out. She’s in black jeans and a leather jacket that looks like it belongs to her boyfriend. Her red hair is plaited and she’s not wearing as much makeup as usual. Understated. I’m pleased she listened to the brief.
It was hard for me to find dark clothes, considering all my things are so bright. The best I could do was an old black anorak that I threw over a pair of ink-blue satin trousers. I’m wearing a beanie I pinched from Arlo when I moved out to hide my blonde hair.
Courtney has a glass of wine in front of her so I go straight to the bar and order a Coke. I want to keep my wits about me tonight.
She looks up in surprise when I join her at the table. ‘I didn’t recognize you,’ she says, laughing.
I laugh, too, aware of how ridiculous I must look. ‘Is this mad?’ I say, as I slide into my seat.
She sobers up. ‘I have to do this for Una.’ Her eyes fill. ‘I worry about involving you, though.’
I shake my head to silence her. ‘No. I am involved. You know why.’
‘I don’t want to put you in danger.’
‘I could be in danger anyway.’
‘Do you feel safe at the house?’
I admit that I do. ‘Kathryn doesn’t like me, that much is clear. And there’ve been a few occasions when I felt like I was being followed.’ I tell her about the night Vince followed me from the pub. ‘You don’t think he’d hurt Una, do you?’
She splutters on her drink. ‘Vince? No. He loved her.’
‘Didn’t you say he stole from her? If he killed her, he’d never have to pay her back.’
‘But why would he kill Jemima? And Matilde?’
I sit back in my chair. ‘True.’
‘And I’ve known Vince for years. I can’t imagine him hurting anyone. Not physically anyway.’
We look up as Peter walks in. He’s wearing the same mustard jacket he had on the last time. I notice how Courtney’s face brightens when she sees him. He looks as though he’s bursting to tell us something. He fetches himself a pint, then joins us.
I don’t know whether to mention the coat and that I’d said dark clothing. But before I have the chance to speak he blurts out, ‘I had a visit from the police. I know what they said to you, Courtney, and that we didn’t think they were doing anything, but they are. They’re working hard behind the scenes. They told me they have CCTV images of the bridge.’