When Lyn turned the Mini under the arch into the courtyard a light rain was falling from a leaden sky. She glanced at the open garages; obviously Jimbo was around somewhere, but to her relief she couldn’t see him. She was not comfortable in his company. Each time she had seen him when Luke was not around he had leered at her suggestively, and the awful thing was she did find him and his strange eyes extremely attractive, and that made her think about Mat again with a sharp pang of regret.
Pulling Luke’s keys from her pocket she climbed out of the car. Unstrapping Tom she lifted him out, then she turned to Ned. ‘Come on, baby. Let’s have you. It’ll soon be time for your lunch and I’ll bet the house is freezing cold. We’ll have to put the fire on in your bedroom before you can go upstairs.’ His harness was awkward to undo. Swearing to herself, she pulled at the small square buckles and at last managed to extricate him from the back seat. Standing upright, the child in her arms, she turned round to lift out the cat basket – Kit and Kat were anxiously squeaking for their release after their long journey – then she looked round for Tom.
‘Tom! Tom, where are you?’ He had vanished. ‘Tom?’ She turned round crossly, flicking the rain out of her eyes. ‘Come on, you’re getting wet.’ The little brat had obviously made a bee line for the open carriage house door. Damn. The last thing she wanted to do was have a long conversation with Jimbo. ‘Tom, come here quickly. I want to get lunch.’
She could hear him giggling. ‘Tom! Where are you hiding, you horror?’ His footsteps rang out behind her, running over the cobbles. She spun round, Ned in her arms. ‘Tom!’
‘You’re back then.’ Jimbo had appeared in the doorway to the garage, a spanner in his hand. He was dressed as always in filthy oily overalls, his unkempt hair knotted back on his neck with an elastic band. He ran his eye up and down her as though she were wearing a skimpy bikini instead of an old pair of jeans and a bright blue anorak. She could feel herself growing hot in spite of the icy rain trickling down her neck.
‘As you see. Is Tom in there?’
‘Tom?’ He stared round his feet as though the child might be hiding behind his legs. ‘No, I don’t think so.’
‘Can you look, please? In the garage. I want to get him inside. The rain is getting worse.’ She was trying to shelter Ned with the flap of her anorak.
Jimbo ducked out of sight. There was a transistor radio playing softly somewhere inside, Lyn realised suddenly. To her surprise this time it appeared to be playing some sort of classical music. She took a step closer. ‘Is he there?’
‘No, he’s not here. I didn’t think he was. I’d have seen him. The little monkey gave you the slip did he?’
‘He did.’ Lyn tightened her lips.
‘Tell you what. You take the baby inside and I’ll look for him.’ Jimbo stopped in his tracks, a frown slowly spreading across his face. ‘Does Joss know you’ve brought them back?’
‘I’m going to ring them tonight. I tried their hotel last night but they were out.’ She hesitated. ‘I can’t think where Tom’s got to.’
‘I don’t think you ought to have brought them back, you know.’ Jimbo rubbed the back of his neck with an oily hand. ‘They shouldn’t be in the house.’
‘Oh for goodness sake, not you as well!’ Lyn spun round and began walking quickly towards the back door. She was not about to tell him that it was Joss herself who had hurt the children and imagined all the stories about the house. If anyone was going to explain anything to him, it would have to be Luke. ‘Please, Jimbo, find him quickly. He’s going to get so wet out here in the rain.’
Still looking round for him she juggled the baby over her shoulder and fished in her pocket for the keys. The back door swung open onto a house that was surprisingly warm. She paused thoughtfully, then she went on into the kitchen. Sure enough the range, although nearly out, had been stoked in the last twenty-four hours. She had done it enough times herself to know exactly how long it would have lasted. There were two glasses on the kitchen table, and Luke’s whisky bottle, nearly empty, together with a wooden toy car.
Setting Ned down in the chair she propped him up against the cushions and began to pull off his waterproof jacket and trousers. His small bouncy chair was where they had left it behind the rocking horse in the corner. Strapping him in near the range she gave him a gentle shove to make it swing, then she turned back to the door.
‘Jimbo, who’s been in here? Was it you?’
For a moment she couldn’t see him, then she caught sight of a movement in the bushes in the far corner of the yard. ‘Is he there? Oh, thank God!’
Jimbo had appeared carrying the small boy. Tom was crying.
‘What is it? What’s happened?’ Grabbing him from Jimbo Lyn turned towards the kitchen. With a slight hesitation Jimbo followed her and stood in the doorway watching as she tried to console the boy.
‘You shouldn’t have brought him back.’
‘Why not?’ She turned on him furiously. ‘Look, you’ve frightened him.’
‘It wasn’t me frightened him.’ Jimbo set his mouth in a tight line.
‘What did then?’
‘You’d best ask him, hadn’t you.’ He sniffed loudly. ‘And no, it wasn’t me sitting in here drinking when I should have been working, so there’s no need to think it. Mr Tregarron was up here with the Reverend Gower. There was an accident. The reverend’s dead. He had a heart attack, I heard.’
Lyn stared at him in horror. ‘When was this?’
‘Night before last.’
‘And where’s Mr Tregarron now?’
‘Back to London. He wouldn’t have liked you bringing the boys back.’
‘No, I bet he wouldn’t.’ Lyn scowled. ‘OK, Jimbo, thanks. I’d better get these two fed and let them have a rest. They’ve had a tiring journey.’ For a moment she thought he wasn’t going to go.
He hesitated just too long on the threshold and then with a shrug he turned away. No need to tell her yet about poor Mary. She’d been dead for hours when they found her, and no one knew even now what she’d been doing in the church in the dark. She’d left the door open when she left, and fallen amongst the old graves under the yews.