I shook my head. ‘Miranda denies having that conversation with Lewis. Says I must have misheard. She’s lying. I didn’t mishear, and I didn’t imagine it either. I’m certain Lewis was planning to murder Jasmine and she must have got the better of him. She has to be hiding somewhere, scared.’
‘Or she’s gone.’
‘What do you mean, gone? Wait. Do you think she’s left the peninsula?’
‘I think that is a very strong possibility. We have to be open to all theories, but perhaps she hitched a ride. A passing motorist, a farmer, someone heading out of Applecross who won’t be aware yet that they might have given a lift to a missing woman.’
It seemed plausible. If Jasmine had accidentally killed Lewis, if it had been self-defence, she might have panicked and decided to flee. If he’d tried to kill her, she might be afraid of all the Grants and wanted to get as far away from them as possible.
‘Or maybe she had someone waiting to pick her up,’ Susan said. ‘Someone helping her.’
‘You think this might have been premeditated? That she was planning to murder Lewis?’
‘Right now, I’m keeping an open mind.’
‘But who would be helping her? She didn’t know anyone here.’
‘The two of you seemed very pally when you came to my house.’
I stared at her, open-mouthed.
‘Wait. You don’t think I helped her kill Lewis, do you?’
‘It’s possible, isn’t it?’ she said coolly. ‘Or perhaps the three of you went to the caves together.’
‘No. I was with Holly.’
‘Your girlfriend. Not a reliable witness. But even if that’s true, you already told me you went to the caves on your own. Perhaps it was you who was waiting for her to leave the caves so you could drive her somewhere. Then you came back and pretended to find Lewis.’
‘Oh, right, so I jumped into the water and almost killed myself to make my story look more plausible? Everything I’ve told you is the truth.’
‘Hmm.’ She slid the sheet of paper across to me and asked me to read and sign it. I hesitated before reading through it carefully, ensuring it was an accurate reflection of what I’d told her, not something that would be used to incriminate me.
‘I can’t believe you suspect me,’ I said, after signing it.
‘Like I said, I’m trying to keep an open mind. I assume you do the same with your films?’
‘Of course. But I have no idea where Jasmine is. I wish I did. You’re right– I like her. I don’t want anything bad to happen to her. But I wasn’t in cahoots with her.’
‘The detectives will want to talk to you when they get here. Do you need me to give you a lift home?’
‘No, I don’t. I’m going into the village, to help search for Jasmine.’
I stepped out into the icy wind, setting off down the hill towards the bay in the dark.
By the time I reached the Bay Inn I was shivering. Openingthe door, I was hit by a wall of heat and noise, warm bodies and the roaring fire. Music and voices and the clink of glasses. It was seven thirty and heaving in here already, with people standing shoulder to shoulder, creating a wall of noise. I took a moment to enjoy the warmth, then pushed my way through the crowd to get to the bar, where I found Brenda, pulling a pint for a customer whose red nose and glassy look told me he’d started early. Everyone in the pub seemed excited and jolly. There was certainly no sign that Applecross was rocked by grief or even concern.
Brenda, though, seemed surprised to see me.
‘Is it true what they’re saying? You found him? Lewis?’
I didn’t want to have to go through the whole thing again, but nodded. ‘Have you heard anything? About Jasmine?’
‘Only that no bugger knows where she is.’ She closed her eyes for a moment, and I wondered if she was thinking about her son, Jimmy, on the nineteenth anniversary of his death. For the first time, I noticed a framed photo behind the bar of two teenagers. One was Morag, in her full emo gear, thick eyeliner and a black military-style jacket, and next to her was a boy who looked a little older. Leather biker’s jacket, long hair, sharp cheekbones. I still wasn’t sure if he and Holly had been an item, but I wouldn’t have blamed her. He had that bad-boy rock-star thing about him.
When she opened her eyes again, she surprised me by saying, ‘Did you see Avril on your way in? That girl is going to be the death of me.’
‘No. Why, what’s wrong?’
