I estimated it was around a thirty-minute walk, so we went on foot, leaving the Grants’ property and heading down the path that led to the coast road. It truly was beautiful, but so bleak, a forbidding kind of beauty that I knew, from the story I’d heard in the pub last night, could quickly turn lethal. To a certain type of person, though, this place would be paradise. The majesty of the landscape, the absence of noise and neighbours and pollution. I could understand why Charles had bought a refuge here and kept it after Elizabeth died.
When we were about five minutes down the road, I said, ‘You work in a hotel, don’t you?’
‘That’s right. Front of house.’
‘In Miami?’
‘Uh-huh. Miami Beach. It’s just like this place. Alittlewarmer.’
A bird sailed above our heads, crying out. Holly had told me we were likely to see birds of prey, or even stags wandering along the roads, but so far– having not been able to find the adder that Hamish had brought into the kitchen– the only wildlife I’d seen had been seagulls.
‘And that’s where you met Charles? Was he staying in your hotel?’ I wasn’t as desperate to know all this as Miranda and Holly, but I was curious. I also thought Jasmine was more likely to be open with me than with the three Grant siblings. Maybe I could get some info that Zack didn’t know or didn’t want to pass on.
‘It is where I met him, yes, but he was actually staying in the hotel next door. Has he not told Holly all of this?’
‘I think he has, but she hasn’t passed it on to me. All she told me was that you met when he was on holiday.’
‘Well, that’s the story. I was working behind the desk, like always, and Charles came in asking if he could use the hotel’s gym because the A/C in his hotel was– how did he put it?– on the blink. We wouldn’t usually have allowed it, but he was so charming. Then he came back later with flowers to say thank you.’
‘And one thing led to another.’
‘Hmm, it did. You know, I’ve never been into older guys.’ She chuckled. ‘I guess it must have been his British accent.’
She touched my arm. ‘But don’t worry, I’m not going to jump on every guy I meet here.’
I was still groping for a response when she said, ‘So, what have they all been saying about me? Oh my God, your face. Was it that bad?’
Flustered, I managed to say, ‘No. Not at all.’ I had probably gone red.
She put her hand on my arm again. She was as tactile as Holly. ‘It’s okay. I get it. I’d be the same if it was my dad, turning up out of the blue with some younger woman. Actually, if my dad turned up period, I’d be shocked.’
‘You’re not in touch?’
‘Nope. Haven’t seen him since he left us when I was nine. He’s an asshole. ButI’mnot going anywhere.’
I got the impression this was a message she wanted me to convey to Holly.
‘I love Charles,’ she said. ‘He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And he deserves to be happy, don’t you think, after what happened to his poor wife?’
I had wondered if Jasmine knew about her resemblance to Elizabeth, but it seemed pretty clear to me that she didn’t have a clue. How would she react when she found out? I was certain it wouldn’t be too long before someone stuck a photo of Elizabeth in front of her face.
A white van was trundling towards us, so we stood on the rough grass at the edge of the road to let it pass. The driver raised her hand in salute and I saw that it was Morag. Instead of driving past, she pulled over, the wind whipping her dark hair around her face.
‘Do you want a lift?’ she asked, frowning at Jasmine. Of course, she would have known Elizabeth.
‘We’re good, thanks.’ Then something occurred to me and, to Jasmine, I said, ‘Do you mind if we do some research for a project I’m thinking about?’
‘Sure.’
I turned back to Morag. ‘There’s a single police officer in this village, right?’
‘Yes. Susan.’
‘Could you tell me where to find her?’
PC Susan Williams lived in a small stone house on the other side of the village, standing as part of a group of buildings that were set back from the road.
‘She lives here, but she’s actually based in Inverness,’ Morag had explained, repeating what I’d been told in the pub. Inverness, which was over two hours’ drive away– even longer when the mountain pass was shut, as it was now– was the nearest town big enough to have a police station.
