‘No wonder you feel like a drink,’ I say sympathetically. ‘What did they want to know?’
‘Just if I knew her. So I said that I didn’t, because it’s true.’ She fiddles with the stem of the glass. ‘The thing is, I didn’t tell them about the run-in I had with her over the parking space and now I’m wondering if I should have.’
‘Why didn’t you tell them?’
She shrugs. ‘I don’t know. Actually, I do. I suppose
I thought it might make me look as if I had a motive.’
‘A motive?’ She shrugs. ‘What, to murder her? Rachel,
people don’t commit murder over a parking space!’
‘I’m sure people have been murdered for less,’ she says
dryly. ‘But what I’m worried about now is if somebody
else – one of her friends in the office, because she’s bound to have mentioned it – tells the police about the row.’
‘I doubt they will,’ I say. ‘But if you’re that worried,
why don’t you call the police and tell them yourself?’
‘Because they might start wondering why I didn’t tell
them in the first place. It makes me look guilty.’
I shake my head. ‘You’re reading too much into it.’ I
try to smile at her. ‘I think that’s the effect this murder is having on everybody. I had a man over this afternoon to
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give me a quote for an alarm and I felt really vulnerable being in the house on my own with him.’
‘I can imagine. I wish they’d hurry up and find
whoever did it. It must be awful for Jane’s husband to
know that his wife’s murderer is out there somewhere.
Apparently, he’s taken leave of absence to look after the children.’ She picks up the wine bottle and tops up her glass. ‘What about you? How are you doing?’
‘Oh, you know.’ I shrug, not wanting to think about
Jane’s motherless children. ‘It’s a bit difficult with Jane always on my mind.’ I give a nervous laugh. ‘I almost wish I hadn’t had that lunch with her.’
‘That’s understandable,’ she says sympathetically. ‘Did
you book in to get an alarm fittted?’
My shoulders tighten ‘I want to but I’m not sure
Matthew’s very keen on having one, though. He’s always
said it’s like being a prisoner in your own home.’
‘Better than being murdered in your own home,’ she
says darkly.
‘Don’t.’
‘Well, it’s true.’
‘Let’s change the subject,’ I suggest. ‘Have you got
any business trips coming up?’
‘No, not until after my holiday. Only two more
weeks, then I’ll be in Siena. I can’t wait!’
‘I can’t believe you’ve chosen Siena over the Ile de Ré,’
I tease because she’s always said she’ll never go anywhere else but Ile de Ré on holiday.
The Breakdown
65
‘I’m only going to Siena because my friend Angela
has invited me to her villa, remember. Even if it is
because she wants to set me up with her brother-in-law,
Alfie,’ she says, rolling her eyes. She takes a sip of wine.
‘Speaking of the Ile de Ré, I’m thinking of going there
for my fortieth, women only. You’ll come, won’t you?’
‘I’d love too!’ Thinking of getting away makes me feel
so much better, and it’ll be the perfect place to give her the present I’ve bought her. For a moment I forget about Jane and soon Rachel is telling me about the places she plans to visit in Siena. For the next hour we manage to
keep the conversation away from anything to do with
murder and alarms, but by the time I get home, I feel
mentally exhausted.
‘Did you have a good time with Rachel?’ Matthew
asks, reaching up and giving me a kiss from his seat at
the kitchen table.
‘Yes,’ I say, slipping off my shoes. The tiles are beautifully cool beneath my feet. ‘And I bumped into Hannah on my way to meet her, so that was nice.’
‘We haven’t seen her and Andy for ages,’ he muses.
‘How are they?’
‘Fine. I said they must come round for a barbecue.’
‘Good idea. How did it go with the alarm man? Did
you manage to get rid of him?’
I take two mugs from the cupboard and switch the
kettle on. ‘Eventually, yes. He left his brochure for you to look at. How about you? Did you have a good day?’
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He pushes his chair back and stands, stretching his
back, easing the muscles in his shoulders. ‘Busy. I could do without going away next week.’ He comes over and nuzzles my neck. ‘I’m going to miss you.’
Shocked, I twist away from him. ‘Wait a minute, what
do you mean, you’re going away?’
‘Well, you know, to the rig.’
‘No, I don’t know. You never said anything about
going to the rig.’
He looks at me in surprise. ‘Of course I did.’
‘When?’
‘I don’t know, it must have been a couple of weeks
ago, as soon as I found out.’
I shake my head stubbornly. ‘You didn’t. If you’d told
me, I would have remembered.’
‘Look, you even said you’d use the time I was away
to work on your lesson plans for September so that we’d
both be able to relax when I got back.’
Doubt fingers its way into my mind. ‘I couldn’t have.’