Miss you, read the note.
Jill Young and her brood: Thinking of You.
The Jachowski family had left no note, simply their names on a card tucked among the blooms. Huh, that was unexpected. The Polish family had moved to the village about a year before. They seemed nice enough, but the most we’d ever said to one another was ‘hello’. Do they know you, Beth?
Finally, I turned to leave. And as I did, something plucked at my clothes. I gasped. Looked around wildly. It was only the wind. Just the wind. But it had felt exactly like you were tugging at me for attention, the way you had when you were little.
I pulled my hood up and ran, stumbling, back along the sea bank. The wind playfully tugged at me again, pulling my hood down and… Was that a person, watching me? I turned, squinting. Yes, someone in the distance. A man. Even at that remove, it was possible to tell from the way the person stood, and their stocky build and tall frame, that my watcher was male.
I ran again. This time the wind pushed me on, seeming to want to help.
Eighteen
By the time I’d reached the main road, after a hurried forty minutes of speed-walking to get away from the person watching me, I’d calmed down and silently scolded myself for getting so spooked. Despite constantly looking over my shoulder, he had not followed me. But something more practical worried at me: what if, when Jacob’s secret came out, the police decided to try to pin your attack on him?
I’d have to find the real culprit.
The most obvious place to begin was Chloe. Surely she knew something about what you had been up to that night? I refused to believe you hadn’t confided in your best friend. She might not want to break confidence, though – particularly to the police.
I’d talk with her, make her understand.
Once across to the other side of the village, silly nerves kicked in. Fiddling with one of the toggles on my coat, as I always did when fretting, I knocked on the Clarkes’ door. The toggle popped off just as the front door swung open to reveal me bent over. I straightened quickly, and Ursula, understandably, looked surprised to see me doing a jack-in-the-box impression.
‘Melanie! Is everything all right? Is Beth okay?’
‘She’s fine, yes. Well, no change.’
Her face tightened, clearly unsure of what to say. Her platinum hair fell in waves to her shoulders and framed her chunky face. She was made-up perfectly, with thick eyeliner and hot-pink lipstick. I stopped playing with the broken toggle of my coat.
‘No news is good news, eh?’ she managed finally.
We looked at each other. Her hand still rested on the door, blocking my way.
‘Umm, may I come in? I was wondering if I could have a quick chat with Chloe.’
‘Now isn’t a good time. I’m about to drive her to school – we’re horribly late. Then I’ve got to open the café.’
‘Yes, I can appreciate it’s not a good time. I’m not having such a great time myself.’ My voice was brittle.
Her eyes widened, and she hurried me in, apologising.
She left me standing awkwardly in the immaculate lounge – everything cream, apart from a pillar-box-red sofa and scarlet picture frames – and as I sat down I suddenly realised I was still in my pyjamas. I decided to keep my coat on in case they thought I was a lunatic.
When Ursula and Chloe emerged a few minutes later, the teen gave a half-smile and a little wave of her hand. With her long limbs and already impressive chest, she was turning into a mini-me version of her mum. She’d also inherited Ursula’s lack of waist, her body square rather than curvy, despite Ursula seeming to consider herself Fenmere’s answer to Marilyn Monroe. In a bid to look different from her mother, Chloe had recently dyed her long hair a strange shade of burgundy. It clashed nastily with the red leather sofa as she sat beside me.
Her navy-blue uniform was neat and tidy and her school bag lay at her feet, ready to go at any moment. Still, she made herself comfortable by pulling up her feet, while Ursula perched next to her on the arm of the sofa.
‘How are you doing?’ I asked.
‘I’m okay…’
‘You’re not in trouble.’ I smiled gently. ‘But I need to ask: is there anything you know about that can help me find out who hurt Beth?’
Chloe shrugged. Her mum’s fingers twitched on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
‘Was there ever a plan that she’d stay here on Friday, the night she got attacked?’
‘No, she’d never meant to stay,’ said Ursula.
I bit down my frustration. ‘Chloe?’
‘No, Mum’s right. Beth never asked to stay here that night.’
‘Steve was away on a business trip, you see – well, an excuse to go golfing, really,’ added Ursula. ‘So we had a lovely girlie night in together, didn’t we? We’d been looking forward to it ever since Dad said he’d go away, eh?’
Chloe nodded. ‘Sorry. I do want to help, Mrs Oak.’
‘I know. It’s not your fault. Look, did Beth have a secret boyfriend? Or a crush? Someone who was interested in her? Maybe someone who fancied her, but she wasn’t interested in him?’
The questions tumbled from me, even as I warned myself not to overwhelm Chloe. She looked calm, though. Her maturity impressed me.
‘Right, I think Beth did fancy someone,’ she admitted. Her fingers played with the strap of her bag as she spoke. ‘But she wouldn’t tell me who. So I kept teasing her about it, and she’d blush and get mad at me. It was funny.’
‘Any idea who?’
Another shrug. ‘Aleksy Jachowski had started talking to us on the bus to school, like. I think he fancied Beth, but she told me she wasn’t interested in him.’
‘Could she have been meeting him?’ I pressed, remembering the flowers from the Jachowski family left at the shrine on the marsh.
‘I don’t know. I… I just, like, so can’t believe this has happened… How is she? I’m sorry, Mrs Oak, but I’ve told you and the police all I know.’
‘Everything? Come on, I know what I was like at your age. My best friend and I told each other all kinds of things, and nothing would have made me give up one of our secrets to an adult.’
‘I’m not a child. I do understand how important this is, you know. Is… is she going to be all right?’
Being upbraided by a kid I’d known since she was knee-high stung me. ‘She’ll be fine. But until you have kids yourself, you won’t understand what I’m going through. Please, who was Beth meeting that night? You must have some idea.’
Ursula stood abruptly. ‘That’s enough. We’d love to help you, but Chloe’s tired, she’s upset and has to go to school now. She doesn’t have anything else to say.’
‘Ursula, please. Just a few minutes more.’ I leaned round her to look at Chloe.
‘This is so important. The tiniest thing could make a difference. Were there any new friends Beth had made lately, boys or girls? Any reason at all why she’d be on the marsh? Anyone she might have met who’d take her there?’
My voice grew louder as frustration and desperation took hold.
‘Melanie, leave her be. Chloe’s had enough.’