‘Yep, I get you. I can remember having a boyfriend like that, but it didn’t work for me. I wanted to be wooed with flowers and romance.’
Mitch laughed and Lexie was pleased to see a lightening of his features, even though it was only temporary.
‘I never took you for a romantic.’
‘Back then, I’d have denied it, but I met Nathan and fell in love and have been ever since.’
Mitch’s face took on a more solemn expression and Lexie wished she hadn’t been so free with her thoughts. Talk about kicking a man when he was down. However, before she could apologise, he spoke again.
‘Don’t feel bad about expressing your feelings. I wouldn’t swap the time I spent with Renelle to alleviate this pain.’
‘Gareth split up with Madelaine just before she died. From what I’ve heard it was rather sudden, especially if we believe that Gareth didn’t know about Madelaine cheating. What was their relationship like in the period just before then?’
They stood in a patch of dappled sunlight under an oak tree. Max took this as a good opportunity to wander away from the track and sniff at other tantalising smells.
‘From what I know, it was pretty close right up to those last few days. Remember, Gareth and I didn’t see each other as often as we had at university. When I moved jobs to London, we’d meet for a drink every few weeks. We both wanted to do well and get promotion, but Gareth was incredibly driven. He worked some excessive hours to get good results and was focused on becoming the youngest partner in his firm. Eden and Madelaine met up more often and Eden often passed on messages for me to get Gareth to pull back a little or take more notice of Madelaine.’
‘And did you?’ Lexie understood how easy it was to become so fixated on your job and results that other things took a back seat. She’d fallen into that trap with her career in London before they moved to Nettleford. She thanked the good luck pixies that Nathan was so easy-going or it could have ended differently.
‘I mentioned it once to Gareth, but to be honest, while he did overdo the hours a little, I agreed more with him. He had ambitions and it meant a lot to him.’
‘So pretty close, but not totally sweet and wonderful?’
‘No different to most relationships. However much in love you are, it doesn’t remain at the same intensive pitch.’ He rubbed the side of his temple as he gathered his thoughts. ‘We went away for a weekend with them and everything appeared fine. They enjoyed the time together and Madelaine’s career was going well.’ He paused for a beat. ‘I’m going to tell you something I’ve never mentioned to anyone. It’s not a major thing and I’m sure it doesn’t have anything to do with Madelaine’s death. One weekend I was out mooching about on my own. I ended up in Portobello Road market and a few stalls along I saw Gareth. I was about to call out to him when I realised he was with Helen. She was trying on a hat and he tweaked the angle for her. He found a scarf on the stall that went with the beret and wrapped it around her neck. It was a simple thing, but I know Gareth well and something made me hang back. I followed them but they just wandered around the market for a while longer, said goodbye and went their separate ways.’
Max came back up to Lexie and nudged her leg as if to say ‘come on, slow coach’. They carried on down the track towards the road.
‘Did you mention anything to Eden?’
‘No. She’d have felt honour-bound to tell Madelaine. I made sure Gareth and I met up more regularly for after-work drinks, but I soon figured out Gareth wasn’t having an affair. I mentioned to Eden it was a shame the group didn’t meet up as we used to and she organised it, as I guessed she would. I watched Helen and Gareth, and while I’m not a relationship professional, I’d lay odds that Helen was in love with Gareth despite being very circumspect.’
‘How about Gareth?’
‘From what he said, I think he was torn. He’d begun to realise he wasn’t in love with Madelaine any more, but he didn’t know what to do.’
Mitch had now confirmed her supposition about Helen’s feelings for Gareth, although there was no proof that anything more had happened.
They came to the steep section of the track and Lexie waited until they’d almost reached the lane before she asked her next question. ‘What about that weekend at Little Stillford? I gather from a few things that people said it didn’t go too well.’ It was mostly the truth, and she needed to corroborate the things the others had told her.
‘Everything appeared fine initially, but it started going wrong during our meal on Saturday evening. Spike kept needling Renelle. He’s very funny, got a sharp wit, but there can be a mean edge to it. Eden and Madelaine vanished for a while and when they came back I could tell something was bothering Eden. Madelaine ran off, looking as though she was going to be sick, and Gareth rushed after her.’
‘What made her leave in such a hurry?’
‘I didn’t have a clue.’
Lexie noted the way Mitch answered the question. He didn’t have a clue then, but what about later?
‘So what happened?’
‘We all dashed back to the hotel. I got back in time to see Eden and Spike driving off in his car, but there was no sign of Gareth or Madelaine. We worked out Madelaine must have driven off in their car and Gareth followed her on Laurence’s Harley. We hung around like idiots for a few minutes deciding what to do. We’d all drunk a lot but I guessed Laurence was worried about his bike and whether Gareth could ride it. Eventually we got in my car and tried to find the others.’
‘Did you all go?’
Mitch gazed skywards for a moment. ‘No, I don’t think so. I drove a sports car then. Renelle got in the passenger side and I remember Laurence hunched up in the small back seat, which meant Helen must have stayed at the hotel. We chased around the back roads but didn’t see anyone.’
‘Did you find out later why Madelaine rushed off?’
‘I never saw her again so I don’t know for definite. When I found out about Madelaine sleeping with Kurt I guessed it might have something to do with that.’
‘But that wasn’t common knowledge?’
‘Not that I was aware of, but once the police knew then they asked us about it.’
Lexie tapped her finger against her lips. ‘Did Gareth know about the affair before Madelaine’s death?’ She hadn’t realised she’d spoken her thoughts out loud until Mitch answered.
‘That’s the real question, isn’t it?’
Lexie felt like she’d been interrogating Mitch, but he’d asked her to help and the only way she could do that was by finding out about the people involved. If both these women had been killed then the answer lay in their lives. ‘Who told the police about Madelaine and Kurt?’
‘Take your pick. I guess it could have been Kurt.’ Mitch shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. ‘I don’t know how many people knew about it. Gareth said Madelaine didn’t tell him.’
‘Did he explain what happened that night when he went after Madelaine?’
‘Not much. We were friends, but after Madelaine’s death I didn’t like to go on about it. When he mentioned that night, all he said was that Madelaine skidded and crashed the car into a fence. He got it back on the road, and they took it and Laurence’s bike to the hotel before heading home to London.’
‘And they split up after that weekend.’
‘Gareth said he didn’t sleep much, going over things. The next day, he told Madelaine he wasn’t sure about their relationship and needed some time to consider things. He moved to a friend’s place.’
Was it as simple as that? But if he was going to murder her and make it appear like suicide wouldn’t it be better to pretend things were all wonderful between them? Had he moved out to put some distance between them and give himself some sort of alibi? It didn’t make sense and it hadn’t worked out for the alibi.
They reached the garage belonging to the rental house where Eden was staying. The house stood at the end of the driveway, partially hidden by trees and shrubs. Lexie noti
ced a dark red Renault Megane by the garage. It must be the replacement hire car. It looked smarter than the previous vehicle and she wondered if Eden was happier with its performance.
Mitch gazed unseeingly towards the road and Lexie gave a cough.
‘Sorry, something just occurred to me. I don’t think Eden knew about the affair until that weekend. Madelaine was her best friend, but Eden wouldn’t like her cheating on Gareth. Don’t get me wrong, Eden wasn’t prudish and we’d both slept with previous partners but she didn’t believe in dishonesty in a relationship.’
‘Did you talk to Madelaine again?’
‘Just once.’ He stopped, looking embarrassed. ‘Eden and I had a row. She yelled a lot and then stormed out.’
Lexie wondered what the row was about, but Mitch hurried on as if he didn’t want her asking.
‘Eden’s phone rang later and as it was Madelaine, I answered. She seemed… distraught. To be honest I couldn’t make out much of what she said. I told her that Eden was out and I’d get her to ring. When Eden came back, I told her about the call and she went off to see Madelaine. I phoned Gareth and that was when he told me he was staying at a friend’s place. He didn’t go into too much detail, just that he and Madelaine were taking a break. I thought Eden might spend the night at Madelaine’s but she came back to the flat a few hours later.’
‘That seems a bit strange given they were such good friends. Surely it would make more sense for Eden to stay and console Madelaine?’
Mitch gave a noncommittal shrug. ‘I suppose. It was a long time ago and emotions were running high. She came in, changed and then went out again.’ A guilty expression flashed across his face. ‘We weren’t exactly speaking at that point.’
And it meant that neither Eden nor Mitch had an alibi for the time that Madelaine died.
‘So initially the police thought Madelaine might have killed herself because Gareth left her, but then they found out she’d been sleeping with her co-star which changed their thinking from suicide to murder with Gareth having a motive to kill her? However, there wasn’t enough evidence for that and once they found out about the hit and run incident there was another reason to think Madelaine had killed herself.’
‘That’s about the size of it.’
They stood silently for a moment as if neither of them knew how to end this conversation. Lexie was about to make a comment about Eden swapping the car, but changed her mind. It was inconsequential with all that Mitch had to deal with at the moment.
Mitch chewed his lip.
‘I haven’t mentioned this to anyone else yet. I’ve decided to organise a memorial service for Renelle. Most likely next week.’
‘That’s quite soon.’ Lexie spoke gently, not wanting to hurt his feelings.
‘I know. I can hear Eden saying I should wait for the police to release Renelle’s body and then hold a funeral. The thing is Renelle’s mother is dying of cancer. She only has a month or so and waiting any longer means she’ll be too sick to attend. Renelle is her only child and she wants to meet Renelle’s friends and colleagues.’
‘In that case, I think it’s a wonderful idea. If you want, I’ll help you with any of the arrangements.’
Mitch nodded his thanks and walked towards the house like a man about to meet his doom.
Lexie and Max strolled back along the lane towards home. Some of what Mitch told her she already knew but the differences in peoples’ stories were interesting. They could be explained by the passage of time and the way people remember things differently, but no doubt they had reasons for the way they wanted her to view the events.
From a police perspective, Mitch was the main suspect for Renelle’s murder. If it was premeditated surely he’d have organised an alibi. Anything would be better than spending the evening in a hotel room when the hotel didn’t even have working security cameras to prove he hadn’t left. If Mitch was innocent, then they needed a reason for someone else killing Renelle. The death was not an accident. It wasn’t a mugging or robbery gone wrong. Somewhere there was a motive for murder. Perhaps it did have something to do with Madelaine. Renelle’s body being found in the stone circle suggested a link. Madelaine hadn’t been killed there, but her demise in The Legacy of Time was at the horizontal stone.
If Madelaine had been murdered, what was the reason? Gareth or Helen had the most obvious motive for wanting her out of the way. Gareth because he might have discovered she was cheating on him, or Helen because of that or perhaps because she didn’t think Gareth would finish with Madelaine. Lexie sighed. If she had to make a stand, then despite all the evidence to the contrary, she couldn’t see Gareth or Helen as a murderer.
What else happened that night? A young girl had been killed, and yet no one had made more than a passing mention of the hit and run. An unpleasant truth, the death of a close friend coming so quickly afterwards, supplanted the teenage tragedy for them.
13
Lexie Wyatt
Salisbury, Wiltshire
2018
They held the memorial service in Salisbury, close to where Renelle’s parents now lived. Lexie hadn’t been to a memorial service before, but she willingly helped Mitch organise the day. He had ideas, but with the weight of grief as well as the police investigation, he couldn’t concentrate on details for long. Helen helped, but Lexie took on the bulk of the organising. Mitch brought a list of Renelle’s contacts to Lexie’s house and went through them with her, pointing out Renelle’s friends and colleagues. Blaise was Renelle’s best friend, and Lexie rang her as Mitch suggested she might have some ideas for the service.
Talking with Blaise, Lexie discovered that Renelle had spent a lot of time at a theatre in Salisbury, teaching the local members some of the tricks she’d learned in her work and helping out with cast make-up if she happened to be visiting her parents when they had a production. That gave Lexie the idea of holding the service at the theatre.
Lexie and Nathan arrived in Salisbury early the morning of the memorial service. They met one of the directors at the theatre, and as Lexie wandered around the small but beautiful building she was pleased with their choice. One of the early arrivals was an older man pushing a wheelchair. The woman in the wheelchair was a pale, frail shadow of the person she no doubt had been, but Lexie recognised the resemblance to Renelle in her facial structure. How awful to bury a child. She shivered at the idea, immediately thinking of Tilly, Ruth and Fiona. Renelle’s poor father. He only had a few weeks left with his wife and they had to cope with their daughter’s murder. She had spoken once to him on the phone about the memorial, but mostly Mitch acted as the go-between as Renelle’s mother was so ill.
Throughout the service, a slideshow played showing photos from Renelle’s life. Mitch talked about Renelle and the things they’d done together. His voice was clear, although he was close to tears at times. Renelle’s father told anecdotes of her as a child and teenager and how proud they were of her accomplishments.
The first of Renelle’s friends to speak was Blaise. She broke down on the stage, bowing her head so her long, brown hair curtained her face as she attempted to stop her tears. Lexie’s heart went out to the woman as she continued through her prepared speech. Gareth was the only one of the university group who’d been asked to participate during the service.
Afterwards, people wandered between the foyer, where Lexie had organised some refreshments, and the auditorium. She had invited close to three hundred people and it appeared that many of them were here. She hoped there was enough food. Through the crowd, Lexie saw Helen and Gareth. She wouldn’t voice her thoughts to Helen, but Eden’s visit and Renelle’s murder were taking a huge toll on Helen. Her once clear skin appeared pallid. Purple shadows like badly applied cosmetics shaded her eyes and even her hair lay limp, as if styling it was beyond Helen’s meagre reserves.
Someone tapped Lexie on the shoulder, interrupting her observations, and she spun round to find Spike next to her.
‘Hello, Spike, I didn’t see you earli
er.’
He shook his head in mock annoyance. ‘Almost didn’t make the start with all the roadworks along the route.’ Spike looked around the theatre. ‘It’s a fabulous choice of venue.’
‘I hadn’t seen it before today, but yes, I think it worked well. Renelle had some good history here.’
‘Such a terrible thing to happen. Even reading about it in the papers, I still can’t believe it,’ said Spike. ‘Renelle and I didn’t have the best of relationships, but I wouldn’t wish something like that on my worst enemy.’ For once he appeared serious and sincere.
‘Mitch is distraught. He’s holding up well today, but this is all so hard on him.’
‘Not helped by being the main suspect.’
Lexie glanced around, wondering how Renelle’s parents felt about Mitch. Did they suspect he’d killed their daughter?
‘This might not be an appropriate time to ask, but with all your work I might not get to meet you again,’ said Lexie.
‘Ask away. I’m all for inappropriateness.’
At another time and place, Lexie might have found the comment amusing.
‘It’s about Madelaine. This may be my imagination running riot, but did you ever think her death might be more than suicide?’
‘I understand the official term is an open verdict, but I can’t believe it was an accident.’
‘You knew Madelaine well, and were working closely with her immediately before she died. Did you think she’d killed herself?’
‘I like Gareth, but I never believed that Madelaine killed herself because he finished with her. Madelaine loved Gareth, but she loved herself more.’
‘Honest but brutal.’
‘I try to be.’ He paused. ‘At least, brutal and honest when it suits me.’
‘If she was the driver in the hit and run incident, would she have killed herself because of guilt or the possible consequences?’
Spike’s expression turned solemn. ‘I honestly don’t know.’
The Worst Lie Page 16