Caught Out in Cornwall (13 page)

‘Have you ever seen Beth’s birth certificate.’

‘No. Why?’

‘I just wondered if you were named on it as the father. Look, the payments you made, was the amount fixed by the court or any other legal body?’

‘No. We worked out a sum that seemed fair and I’ve stuck to it. My own living expenses aren’t great. I intend on increasing the amount when Beth …’
Gets older,
he had been about to say. But there was no guarantee she would ever do so.

Jack’s coffee was cold and had been for some time. He asked a passing waiter if he could bring him some more.

‘Not for me,’ Michael said when Jack indicated his glass. He had hardly touched the beer.

They were silent for several minutes. It was Michael who decided to speak first. ‘I have a good idea why you wanted to see me and, although I can’t expect you to believe me, I love Beth dearly. I would never do anything to harm that little girl.’

He seemed sincere and Jack felt inclined to believe him. At least he now had an impression of Poole. ‘Is there anything else which has come to mind which might help us in our enquiries? I know you’ve already been questioned but you’ve had time to think now.’

‘There is something else; although I’m sure it can’t possibly be relevant.’ He shook his head in
denial. ‘I do happen to know that no one else has mentioned it.’

Jack was fully alert. Something else. And how did Poole know that no one had mentioned it unless he had taken the trouble to ask. And what reason would he have had for asking? This was going to be more important than the man realised. Jack waited, fearing that to push him might make him change his mind.

‘I had an affair with Carol, this was before Sally and I lived together. Oh, don’t get me wrong, Carol wasn’t married at that time. We were together for about a year but it didn’t work out. Carol … well, to be honest, she was jealous of every woman I spoke to and she kept trying to change me. Anyway we split up but I still saw Alice, that’s her mother, quite often. We’ve always got on well, she’s a decent woman. That’s when I started to get to know Sally – she was visiting her mother when we met. I thought we were ideally suited. She had all of Carol’s qualities but without the jealous streak. It only went wrong when she became pregnant.

‘At the time I didn’t know she was expecting a baby. She moved down here and only told me after Beth was born. It was such an odd thing to do.’

‘Perhaps she thought you’d want her to have an abortion or that you’d believe she was trying to trap you.’

Michael laughed mirthlessly. ‘Trap me? I’d spent ages begging her to marry me. Believe me, Inspector, I wanted to be trapped.’

‘And you later applied for custody. Why was that?’

He flushed. ‘There were two reasons, and I’m not proud of my motives. Firstly I thought it would shock her into coming back to me, which I later realised was no basis upon which to build a relationship.’

‘And secondly?’

‘Carol had recently been in touch with me. She rang to say that Sally wasn’t looking after Beth properly and, to be frank, she accused her of being an alcoholic.’

‘And you believed her?’

‘It was a possibility. Sally always did enjoy a drink. I wondered if the stress of being a single mother had tipped her over the edge.’

‘Enough to harm Beth?’

‘Good God, no. Besides why should she do so now? Surely it’s only when they’re babies that mothers do such things. And Beth would have been starting school soon.’

Would have been. Poole had previously talked of his daughter in the present tense. Had he come to accept that Beth was dead, or did he know for a fact that she was? But he had a point. Severe
postnatal depression could cause a woman to harm her child, as could the continuous high-pitched screams of an infant. ‘What was Carol like when you first knew her?’

‘In what way?’ Michael was surprised at the change of tack and couldn’t see where any of the questions were leading. He had come prepared to lay bare his own life, not his ex-girlfriend’s.

‘Was she easygoing, for instance?’ Jack was recalling Rose’s words about Carol being obsessive. Obsessive people could also be tipped over the edge.

‘Yes, she was. She enjoyed life. As I said, the only problem was her jealousy. Not just over other women, although she had no cause to be, it involved anyone who took my attention away from her.’

So the seeds were there all those years ago. And then, when Michael moved in with her sister, and her sister subsequently had a child by him, how did she feel then? But it came back to the same thing, why wait for more than four years to do anything about it? ‘I won’t detain you any longer, Mr Poole, unless you can think of anything else.’

Michael glanced out of the window before meeting Jack’ eyes. ‘No, there’s nothing else,’ he said. It was then that Jack knew he was lying. 

Neither Rose nor Norma had met Carol’s husband but they both knew that he was away. It was too late to worry about what they thought of a man visiting her when she was at home alone. Marcus was there, she couldn’t make him disappear. From the way in which he was dressed and the model of his car which was new, they would have guessed that he was not a workman of some sort even if it had not been a Sunday. ‘You’d better come in,’ she said to him ungraciously.

He followed her to the kitchen where she immediately began washing the tea and coffee things.

‘I apologise for just turning up like this but I
couldn’t wait until this afternoon. I need to know, Carol, and I need to know now exactly where I stand. You know I’m perfectly willing to take on the children and treat them as my own, if that’s what worrying you. We’ll cope. I’ll do whatever’s necessary to make the three of you happy.’

Carol stood, her head bowed, her hands in their rubber gloves immersed in the soapy water. Her dark hair had fallen forward and hid her face. She blinked and realised that she was crying, that her tears were hitting the suds and making the bubbles burst. I must have been mad, she thought. I’ve used Marcus to play a stupid, immature game that was never going to work and now its backfired. I just needed to prove I was lovable and now I’m about to hurt him badly. All right, John seemed to have lost whatever appeal he had held for her, but maybe that was because he was away so much; more often than he was at home, in fact, and they didn’t get a chance to settle down together when he was at home. There always seemed so many other things to do rather than work at their relationship. He had taken the job in Saudi only because he wanted to provide well for his family. He was a good man, he didn’t deserve what she had done to him; done to him twice, even though he was not aware of it. It
was time she grew up and took responsibility for her life. Had she done so in the first place things would have been so very different.

She turned to face Marcus. ‘I’ve made up my mind. I can’t see you any more.’ He flinched and his face paled. ‘I’m very sorry, Marcus, truly I am. I’ve enjoyed what we had but it’s over. If you do tell John then it’s no more than I deserve and I’m prepared to take the consequences.’

‘I never intended telling him, Carol.’ He saw his mistake. The threat of blackmail was hardly conducive to a love affair, to persuading a woman to leave her husband and come and live with you. ‘I’ll go now. I promise I won’t bother you again. All I can do is to wish you luck.’ He kissed her on the cheek and let himself out. It was some minutes before he was able to drive away.

Carol sat at the kitchen table, the dishes unheeded now. She was shuddering with sobs: for Marcus, for John, for herself, but most of all for Beth. She had done what she ought to have done some time ago but she felt no real relief. She despised herself for all the bad she had done, the pain she had caused and was now causing herself. One admission is all it would have taken and her whole life would have been different. It was too late now, the damage was done.

She walked slowly to the bathroom where she washed her face and renewed her makeup. She would collect the children early. All she wanted was to hold their small warm bodies in her arms and smell their familiar scent.

And I’ll telephone Geoff Carter, too, she decided as she went out to the car. I’ll apologise for dragging him into my mess and thank him for his generosity with his time but I won’t see him again. There would be no more complications.

Carol felt she had reached a milestone. It was the most optimistic she had felt for some time. If only it wasn’t for Beth. Tears filled her eyes again. She brushed them away hastily because if she started crying in earnest she would not be able to see to drive.

Rose had finished weeding the garden and had spent the afternoon reading, which was a rare treat. At six thirty she was in the kitchen deciding what to cook for supper. There was a glass of wine at hand. The choice was between red mullet and squid; either would take only a few minutes to cook. The vegetables were already in saucepans. I’ll ring Dad and see how he got on in Redruth and then I’ll decide, she thought as she carried her wine glass into the sitting-room. She almost dropped
it when, just as she reached for the receiver, the telephone rang. ‘Rose? Are you okay?’

For a second she didn’t recognise Laura’s voice, she was normally so bubbly unless she’d had one of her many rows with Trevor. This sounded different. ‘Yes, of course I am. Why?’

‘God, you haven’t heard.’

‘Heard what?’ In that instant she understood what was meant by the phrase of one’s stomach turning over. She knew what was coming but prayed she was wrong.

‘They’ve found her. They’ve found Beth.’ But not alive, Rose knew that from Laura’s tone. Still she had to ask.

‘Alive?’

‘No.’

Rose inhaled deeply. She had seen Beth once, and then only for a very short time. If she felt like this, how on earth must those close to her be feeling? ‘How do you know?’

‘It was on the local news. They didn’t say it was her, just that the body of a child had been discovered somewhere several miles the other side of Marazion. It was well hidden, apparently. And it was the usual story, a dog walker found her. Well, the dog did. I’m so sorry, Rose. Would you like me to come over?’

‘Yes. Yes, I would.’

‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

Rose replaced the receiver. Her meal was forgotten. She should have known that after all this time it was unlikely that Beth would be found alive, she had told herself so time and again but there had always been that grain of hope, the no news is good news point of view. Impossible to ring Sally now but some time in the future she would go and see her, and maybe Carol, too.

She was still standing beside the small table which held the telephone when it rang again. This time it was Geoff Carter; he, too, had heard the news. ‘It makes me feel sick. I know what I’d do to the person who did this,’ he said furiously. ‘And now I don’t know what to do. Do you think I ought to ring Carol, or even go and see her? She was in such a state before I don’t know what this is going to do to her.’

‘I think it’s best to leave it for the minute, Geoff.’ Rose guessed that all the family would be questioned again this time in even more depth. And if Carol had had any part in the murder then it would be unwise for Geoff to become further involved.

‘You’re probably right, but I can’t help worrying about her, especially as she’s on her own.’

‘She won’t be. She’s picking her children up tonight.’ Rose wondered if she knew yet. But she would, of course. The police may not have released a name but they wouldn’t have released any sort of statement if the family didn’t know. Otherwise what worse way could there be to hear about the death of a child than over the radio?

‘I’ll be in touch.’ Geoff said goodbye and hung up.

Within the next few minutes both Barry and her father telephoned. She was grateful for their concern but needed a few minutes for the news to sink in. When Laura arrived, clutching a bottle of wine which she had bought at the Coop on her way through Newlyn, Rose was in tears.

Laura put the bottle on the kitchen table and hugged her wordlessly. She knew what her friend was thinking, that she was torn in two, half of her wishing she had never been on the beach that day because she would have been less emotionally involved, the other half believing she could have done something to prevent it. ‘Get it out of your system, as my mother used to say.’ She handed Rose a tissue from the box she kept on top of the fridge.

‘I’m sorry, it’s not like me to cry.’

It wasn’t. In all the years they had known each
other Laura had rarely seen her do so except after David died and, more recently, at her mother’s funeral. ‘I’ll open this, it’ll do us both good.’

Rose sat down. She suddenly felt very tired. ‘I saw the sister today, Carol. She and Sally had had a row. She must feel terrible about that now.’

‘And you’re feeling terrible, too. I know you, Rose. But this time you really couldn’t do anything, you’re just going to have to accept that.’

Rose smiled wanly as Laura stood, bent over, with the bottle between her knees and tugged at the cork. It came out of the bottle with a single heave. Laura’s long, curly hair, scrunched up in a bright red, frilly band, swung as she stood upright. ‘You’re right,’ Rose said.

‘Here, drink this. It’s Rioja. You’ll like it. It was on offer in the Co-op.’ Laura poured two glasses and sat down. She crossed her long, thin legs, which, today, were encased in harlequin patterned leggings. Her long sweatshirt was fluorescent pink. Only Laura could get away with wearing such clothes.

‘Thanks.’ Rose picked up her wine and took a sip. ‘You’re right, it’s very nice. I think I’ll buy some myself.’

‘Has Jack been in touch with you today?’

‘No. I’ve hardly spoken to him lately. He’ll be very busy now, though. Likewise, Barry. He’s spending a lot of time with Jenny.’

‘Good for him. He’s spent far too many years mooning around over you.’

‘Very funny. Anyway, what you were saying, Laura, about the Bradley twins. I’m sure there’s something similar going on between Sally and her sister.’ She related what she had heard of the row and Carol’s comments later on that morning. ‘And Geoff Carter seems to think that Carol’s, well, unbalanced in some way.’

‘Geoff Carter? Good God, woman, where on earth does he fit into all this?’

Rose explained how they had met and what had followed afterwards.

Laura snorted. ‘That’s bloody typical. If there’s any chance of that man getting his leg over, he won’t waste it.’

‘I don’t think it was like that.’

Laura raised an eyebrow in disbelief. ‘I see. Anyway, you’re now convinced that this Carol who, according to what you’ve told me, is obsessive, unbalanced, jealous of her sister and man mad, has murdered her sister’s child.’

Rose didn’t answer. She was chewing her thumb nail, deep in thought.

‘Well, if she really is all those things, it’s possible, I suppose. Rose? Are you with me?’

‘Yes. I was listening.’

They both looked up when they heard a car pulling into the driveway, its headlights illuminating the shed and turning the grass a peculiar shade of blue.

‘It’s Barry. I’d know the sound of that engine anywhere,’ Rose said as she got up to open the door. ‘Hello, I thought you and Jenny were going out.’

‘We were. I mean, we did. We spent the day at the Eden Project. You really must take Arthur there, he’ll love it. You should see the variety of plants and those dome things are amazing. Hi, there, Laura.’

‘Hi, there, yourself. If you get a glass you can help yourself to some wine.’

‘Thanks. Just a small one.’

Laura grinned. Some things would never change. Barry would not risk even one full unit of alcohol when he had the car.

He sat down. ‘I had to come, Rose, but I didn’t realise you already had company. I know how upset you must be.’

‘Company? Me? I’m just part of the furniture, dear. And there’s nothing like having a manly shoulder to cry on.’ Laura poured his wine.

Barry removed his glasses and polished them with the hem of his sweater before replacing them immediately. During all the years the two women had known him he had always worn glasses. If his prescription had changed, his taste in frames had not. They were always the sort of plastic that looks like tortoiseshell. Without them his face had a naked vulnerability. ‘That’s why I’m here. Are you really all right, Rosie?’

‘Yes, I am now. It was such a shock even though I was sort of expecting it.’

‘Jack’ll have his work cut out now. Oh, damn.’ As he’d picked up his glass his elbow knocked against the edge of the table and red wine splashed over his sleeve. ‘My new jacket,’ he complained as if it was someone else’s fault.

Rose had noticed how smart he looked, how, lately, his clothes matched and he no longer wore the V-necked jumpers with threadbare elbows. Tonight, shirt, sweater, trousers and jacket were all in shades of autumnal browns and tans. She got up to fetch him a damp dishcloth. ‘It probably won’t show,’ she said as she handed it to him, ‘and, besides …’ She stopped. New jacket. That’s what it was, that’s what had been at the back of her mind since this morning. She would decide what to do
about it later. It was certainly not something which could be ignored.

‘Well,’ Laura said, ‘as we’re all at a bit of a loose end, why don’t we adjourn to the pub?’

Barry smiled at her. ‘Well, now, that’ll make a real change, Laura, won’t it? Mind you, your friend here is just as bad.’

Until he’d met Jenny, Barry had always been a solitary man, quite contented with his own company. Consequently, what he’d never been able to understand was that for Rose, living and working alone, and Laura, when Trevor was at sea, their individual or joint excursions to the pub were for socialising rather than drinking, although they did enjoy the latter too.

The wind still blew as they got into Barry’s car, but it was more gentle now, with a hint of rain. A veil of mist hung over the horizon. It shrouded the top of St Michael’s Mount and blurred the numerous lights on the salvage tug.

‘Shall we go to the Tolcarne for a change?’ Barry suggested.

‘As long as they sell alcohol we don’t care,’ Laura said, playing up to the image Barry had created.

He parked outside and they all went in. Barry had to stoop beneath the lintel of the door of the low-ceilinged pub.

To their left was the dining area, to the right the narrow bar where jazz was played twice a week.

There was room to sit in one of the window recesses. Laura and Rose sat down whilst Barry bought their drinks; wine for his guests, mineral water for himself.

‘Is it serious with Jenny?’ It was Laura who asked. She had wanted to know for several weeks but she had not had the opportunity to talk to him.

‘We’re not sure yet. We’re fine as we are at the moment.’ He did not want to talk about it, personal matters always embarrassed him. All he had wanted to do was to take Rose’s mind off the tragedy and any further part she might wish to take in it. He had not expected to see Laura or to end up in the pub.