The Crooked Shore

by Martin Edwards

‘Nothing, nothing at all,’ he said quickly. ‘That was so fantastic …’

  ‘Come on. Something’s bugging you. Tell me.’

  He closed his eyes, and she retaliated by pulling his hair, making him flinch.

  ‘Don’t go quiet on me, sweetheart. I don’t take no for an answer, you should have figured that out by now. What’s wrong?’

  ‘It’s just that …’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘When you said cross my heart and hope to die, it upset me. After what happened to you.’

  ‘What are you talking about? Not the cardiac arrest?’

  ‘Yes. Such a horrific thing. I’m afraid I might …’

  She giggled. ‘You reckon your physical demands could finish me off?’

  ‘It’s not funny.’ His tone was mulish. ‘I can’t bear to think …’

  ‘You think too much.’ She put her arms around his shoulders. ‘What happened to me could happen to anyone, like a lightning strike. No point in stressing over it.’

  ‘Your heart stopped.’

  ‘So it did. But they brought me back to life and now I’m right as rain. A woman reborn.’

  She hugged him to her.

  ‘Hey, Logan, what’s this?’

  A couple of tears were trickling down his cheeks.

  ‘Sorry, darling. I know it’s crazy, when you’re so full of life you wear me out, but it frightens me that at any moment … I can’t help thinking about it. Last night I got myself so wound up, I hardly got a wink of sleep.’

  She wiped his face with the flat of her hand. ‘You won’t get much sleep tonight, either. I’ve not finished with you, not by a long chalk.’

  He mustered a smile. ‘You’re amazing.’

  ‘I tell you this,’ she whispered, ‘what happened to me proved the truth of the old saying. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’

  ‘Tell me about it.’

  She shot him a sharp glance. ‘I don’t like to dwell on the past.’

  ‘If I understand, it will help me not to panic about you.’

  ‘It’s not much of a story. I tripped over some cobblestones in the middle of Rye, and that was enough to put me out for the count. A passing nurse gave me CPR. Without that, it would have been curtains. Another stroke of luck was that an ambulance turned up almost at once. I was whisked into intensive care. Getting back to normal didn’t happen overnight. Lots of rehab, millions of pills to take, strict low-fat diet. I lost so much weight that my clothes were hanging off me – believe it or not.’ She cast a wry glance at her belly. ‘Some women would have been over the moon. Not me, I was always proud of my curves.’

  ‘Quite right too,’ he murmured.

  ‘At first my confidence took a hammering. I can’t have been much fun to live with. I suppose I was in denial. But then I gave myself a good talking-to. Why be bad-tempered when I ought to be deliriously happy that I’d cheated death?’

  ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘It sounds miraculous.’

  ‘Winston could be a boring old sod, God rest his soul, but he said one thing that helped. He swore blind that, to look at me, nobody would guess anything was wrong. They wouldn’t have the faintest idea I’d come back from the dead. Of course, I still take the pills regular as clockwork, the medicine cabinet is overflowing. And I’ve stopped eating red meat.’ She giggled. ‘But I’ve got back to being quite badly behaved.’

  ‘Thank God!’

  ‘Yes, the specialist would be livid. I drink far more than I should, and I certainly don’t avoid physical exertion.’ She patted his rump. ‘As you’ve noticed. But my philosophy is that a romp with you is worth a dozen gentle strolls along the Crooked Shore. Why live to be one hundred if you’re unhappy? A girl must have her fun.’

  He reached for her. ‘And fun is just what you’re going to get.’

  ‘Alex used to live on Santorini.’ Louise had returned with the coffee. Daniel thought she’d read his mind, sensed his curiosity about her new friend. ‘She was married to a Greek wine merchant, hence the exotic surname.’

  ‘Yes, at drama school I was just plain Alexandra Rowan. I fell in love with someone twice my age who was five years into his third marriage. Yanis told me he was ready for a change.’ Alex gave a wistful smile. ‘My mistake was to believe that meant he was ready to settle down. Really, he just wanted to get inside a different pair of knickers. I played hard to get, but that only made him more persistent.’

  ‘How long before you surrendered?’ Louise asked.

  Alex pretended to rack her brains. ‘Oh, almost a week.’

  The two women dissolved in laughter.

  ‘Don’t look so shocked, Daniel,’ Alex said. ‘Yanis was a well-to-do man of the world. I was dazzled, swept off my feet by the prospect of the good life. Tourists travel from all four corners of the globe to see Windermere, but for me it was nothing special. Simply because the Lake District was where I’d grown up. Santorini sounded like paradise, an island where it never rains. Or almost never. I was thrilled when Yanis told me that he lived on the edge of an extinct volcano. Within a month of meeting him, I was installed in his house on the hill at Akrotiri. From the veranda you can see the lighthouse, the cliffs of the caldera, and mile after mile of grapes.’

  ‘Sounds idyllic,’ he said.

  ‘Until you get bored,’ Alex said. ‘Once Yanis divorced his wife and married me, things changed. He travelled a lot on business, leaving me on my own. I was able to sail and climb to my heart’s content, but …’

  ‘You can have too much of a good thing?’

  ‘Exactly! Within a few months I was so fed up, I was tempted to practise my martial arts on Yanis. I persuaded him to buy a bolt-hole in London, in the hope of auditioning for shows on the West End. So I had a flat in Covent Garden, and began to pick up the threads of my career. I enjoyed myself, more than I should have done, given that my husband spent so much time overseas.’

  ‘Serves him right for not taking better care of you,’ Louise said. ‘While the cat’s away …’

  ‘Two can play at that game, though. Didn’t some sleazy billionaire once say that as soon as he married his mistress, he created a vacancy? He might have been speaking for Yanis. Once the stars fell from my eyes, I knew he’d never be faithful. It was only a question of time before we parted.’

  ‘After that, you came back north?’

  ‘Not at first. I didn’t have any family left. When I came back for those few weeks, it was a sort of a trial run. The landlord and your father were the closest I had to friends. As for acting, I had a few small parts in minor productions, but my looks were out of fashion. Or maybe I didn’t sleep with influential people. Whatever. In the end I gave up.’

  ‘But you’ve not given up on acting?’ Daniel asked.

  She allowed her gaze to linger on him. ‘Oh, no. I’m not rich enough to be completely idle. Though it’s hard to find work, so thank God I’m not under financial pressure. One good thing about Yanis, he likes to settle his divorces quickly and with the minimum fuss, so he can devote himself to his latest conquest. I’m renting my cottage while I look for somewhere permanent. And that’s all, folks. End of story. A woeful tale of underachievement by comparison with the talented Kinds.’

  ‘Rubbish,’ Louise said. ‘You’ll find plenty of opportunities here. That director you were chatting to at the Theatre by the Lake …’

  Alex laughed. ‘I’m not holding my breath for an offer. Chances are, I’ll be a lady of leisure for months to come, so I need to make new friends. Not that I ever expected to come across Ben Kind’s daughter.’

  ‘Lucky for me you did.’

  ‘I think it was meant,’ Alex said dreamily. ‘Fate. It sounds stupid, but I’ve always blamed myself for your dad’s death. If I’d been behind the bar that night, he wouldn’t have drunk too much. I’d have made sure of that. Things might have been different …’

  ‘I’m just glad you were in the right place at the right time when I fell into the Rothay.’

  Alex fini
shed her coffee and stood up. ‘It’s been a wonderful evening, but now I’d better make a move.’

  ‘Stay!’ Louise commanded. ‘The night is young!’

  ‘No.’ Alex shot Daniel a glance. ‘I’d love to, but – another time, perhaps.’

  After a bit of toing and froing, Louise admitted defeat. As Alex waved a last farewell from the lane, she turned to her brother.

  ‘Well?’

  ‘You were spot on,’ he said. ‘She is stunning.’

  Louise beamed; she enjoyed being told she was right.

  ‘You’re in luck. She’s got a thing for you.’

  ‘Aren’t you forgetting? I’m spoken for.’

  Louise’s eyes were slightly unfocused. During the course of the evening, she’d had more to drink than either of her guests. ‘I know, I know, but … I mean, Hannah’s terrific, but she’s so wrapped up in the bloody job. After you went off schmoozing in the States, I invited her over and she said yes, only to cancel at the last moment because something came up with that rape trial where she was called to give evidence. It made me wonder. Is this the story of her life? Work always coming first, just as it did with Dad?’

  ‘She’s nothing like Dad.’

  ‘She learnt everything she knew about policing from him. That came from her own lips and I don’t think she was talking about interrogation techniques. She’s obsessed with the job, same as he was.’

  ‘Two very good detectives.’

  ‘There’s more to life than detecting.’

  Time to change the subject. ‘Weird that Alex actually met Dad.’

  Louise nodded. ‘She’s right, it’s Fate.’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘I feel a connection with Alex.’ Louise sounded as though the champagne was starting to talk. ‘She’s a special person. Lovely, yes, but caring too. If I were a man, I’d fancy her like mad. Pity she’s only got eyes for you.’

  He gritted his teeth. Louise had a unique ability to wind him up. ‘Hey, that’s enough. Your imagination is running away with you.’

  ‘I’m not saying she’s got good taste, mind you.’ She laughed. ‘She’s choosy. There was a young actor at the theatre last night who was desperate to pick her up, but she gave him short shrift.’

  He gave a so-what shrug.

  ‘Daniel, listen to me. Alex has got a hell of a lot going for her. Young, but not too young. Beautiful and unattached and in no need of a meal ticket. No question of her working all the hours that God sends, even if she does manage to find acting work.’ She stifled a hiccup. ‘If you ask me, Hannah needs to up her game. The competition just got stronger.’

  ‘I meant to ask you,’ Tory said. ‘What’s the latest news about Ingrid?’

  Logan squinted at the bedside alarm clock. Half past midnight. For a few seconds, he said nothing. When he spoke there was a catch in his voice.

  ‘It’s not looking good, to be honest.’

  She cradled him in her arms. ‘Sweetheart, I’m sorry. Do you want to tell me?’

  He gave a hollow laugh. ‘If you don’t mind, I won’t. It’s like you were saying before. Talking about this personal stuff is so difficult.’

  ‘But I talked to you.’

  ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘You did, and I’m glad.’

  ‘There you are, then. Can I do anything to help?’

  His body tensed under her touch. ‘You do so much for me already. It’s not fair to burden you with all this family upset.’

  ‘I don’t mind at all.’

  ‘You’re so generous,’ he said. ‘I love coming here to the manor. When I’m spending time with you, I can forget about Ingrid, just for a little while.’

  ‘You can’t forget about her,’ Tory said. ‘You don’t really want to either.’

  He turned over to lie on his back and gaze at the high bedroom ceiling and the elaborately carved coving.

  ‘Yes, darling,’ he said. ‘You’re right, of course.’

  ‘Haven’t you noticed?’ She pressed her body against his. ‘I’m always right.’

  He didn’t return her smile. ‘It’s just that … oh, God, I hate to think it, let alone say it.’

  ‘What?’

  His voice choked. ‘I think she’s going to die.’

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ‘Ramona Smith vanished into thin air one fine evening, twenty-one years ago.’ Maggie Eyre had the floor at a team briefing. ‘When last seen, she was in good spirits. No hint that she might suddenly disappear, without any warning.’

  A photograph on the screen showed Ramona at a Christmas party. She was wearing a paper hat and a little black dress that didn’t leave much to the imagination. At first glance, Hannah thought, she was nothing special to look at. An ordinary young woman with mousy hair, a crooked nose, and a wide mouth showing dodgy teeth in a broad smile. She also had a gleam in her eyes and a firmly set jaw.

  ‘Tell us about the last sightings,’ Hannah said.

  She’d taken a seat at the back of the room alongside the young men and women who provided admin support to the frontline officers. She wanted everyone, even those who were simply processing data, to see the big picture. A cold case might lack the urgency of a murder in the here and now, but if people were invested in the outcome, they’d stretch themselves. They’d want to discover the truth.

  Maggie glanced at her laptop screen. Hannah noticed that her fists were clenched. Maggie was no shrinking violet, but although she hid it well, she was a nervous public speaker. That was precisely why Hannah had asked her to present the outcome of her initial review of the files. Ben Kind had taught her that you had to learn the hard way. Maggie would make a first-rate inspector one day, but first she needed to get out of her comfort zone.

  ‘She worked as a barmaid at Guido’s in Bowness, though she was due to start a new job the following week. It was a Tuesday evening, before the start of the tourist season proper, and a flu bug was going around. The weather was OK for the time of year, but business was slow. The few customers who were traced said they saw nothing unusual in Ramona’s behaviour. Her shift ended at nine. She picked up her rucksack, put on her anorak, and said goodbye. They never saw her again.’

  ‘Little or no CCTV in them days,’ Les grumbled. ‘Don’t suppose she owned a mobile?’

  ‘One of those big, clunky monstrosities that were fashionable then? They’d started to become affordable, but plenty of people didn’t have one. Including Ramona.’

  ‘Pity.’

  ‘She lived on her own in a rented end terrace house, ten minutes’ walk from the bistro. Leila, her mother, had recently died of cancer. According to the neighbours, Leila wasn’t too popular, because of the dodgy-looking men who used to call on her. As for Ramona, she had a reputation for keeping herself to herself.’

  ‘A loner?’

  ‘Yes and no. She didn’t enjoy school, or keep up with mates from that period of her life. Her teachers remembered her as bright, but someone who would rather daydream than study. Although she was quite athletic, she had no interest in team sports. The teachers thought she was like her parents. Directionless.’

  Les pointed to the photograph on the screen. ‘Looks like a party animal to me.’

  Maggie shook her head. ‘What’s interesting is how few pictures of Ramona surfaced. That party is as close to the high life as she got. In Bowness, at least, she didn’t have any girlfriends. Men, that was a very different story.’

  ‘What about her colleagues in Guido’s?’

  ‘Other than Ravi Thakor, who was away that evening, there was a middle-aged gay couple, two young girls, and a female manager. We’ll need to look at them again, but at the time there was no reason to believe they had anything to hide.’

  ‘Did Ramona take anyone home that night?’

  ‘As far as we can tell, she never went back home after leaving Guido’s. Next day, she didn’t show up for her shift. She didn’t have a habit of letting her employers down. If she got bored with a job, she simply gave a week’s notice
and moved on. When she was sick, she’d call in. Gabby, the manager, rang her home number, but got no answer. She assumed Ramona had picked up the flu, and thought no more about it. The following day, again there was no word from her. By now, Gabby was getting pissed off, because the weekend was coming up and she was short-handed. When there was no sign of Ramona for a third day, she popped round to the house. The upstairs curtains weren’t drawn and there was no sign of life. She was worried that something might be badly wrong, so she knocked on a neighbour’s door. The woman who lived there said Ramona’s mum used to leave a key under a plant pot in the back garden. Convenient for gentlemen callers, you see. The key was there, exactly where it should be. Gabby went into the house and found – nobody. At that point she phoned Ravi Thakor, and he said she’d better call the police.’

  ‘By which time the trail was already cold,’ Hannah said.

  ‘Yes, more than sixty hours had passed since the last confirmed sighting of Ramona. The house was searched, and all her clothes and possessions seemed to be present and correct. Her savings passbook was there. The money was never touched.’

  ‘What happened to it in the end?’ Les asked.

  ‘Seven years after she went missing, her father had her declared dead. It was a pure formality. Everything she’d left went to him under the intestacy laws. Not that it gave him a motive. There wasn’t much.’

  ‘What about her passport?’

  ‘Stuffed into her knicker drawer. Over the years she’d holidayed in places like Torremolinos and Lanzarote. As far as anyone could tell, she hadn’t taken anything other than the clothes she stood up in and the rucksack. A brand new jumper she’d just bought was still in its bag, with the receipt.’

  ‘Did she drive?’

  ‘She’d passed her test but preferred to cycle or walk. Before you ask, the bike was found in the outside shed, and she didn’t own a car. She walked to work.’

  ‘Any signs of disturbance in the house?’

  ‘The only part that was a complete tip was her mother’s old room. It looked as though Ramona hadn’t been able to face touching it since Leila’s death.’

  ‘Any reports of altercations the night she went missing?’ Les asked. ‘Screams heard in the distance?’