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‘Leo was– is– a brilliant man but he was like Erik. He mesmerised his students. He made them see new patterns, new constellations. He broke their worlds up and put them together again. That’s dangerous. All his students, but Emily and Tom in particular, were dazzled by him. We had an incredible few days at Grime’s Graves. You must go there. It’s a fascinating place. Leo had all sorts of theories about it.’
‘What sort of theories?’ Nelson prompts because Cathbad is staring at the tea leaves again.
‘Theories about ritual and sacrifice. I mean, he was a serious academic. He knew all about the Neolithic– well, as much as anyone can know without being there. That’s why I love prehistory. It’s all storytelling really. But Leo sometimes went a bit far. There are stories and there are mysteries. I sometimes think he confused the two. We had a good weekend at Grime’s Graves, though. Some rather significant finds. On the last night, we had a feast. A party. We were all sitting around the campfire when suddenly this figure leapt into the light. It was cloaked, wearing a mask. Now, Grime’s Graves is named after the god Grim, the masked one, a very sinister incarnation of Odin. You can imagine how shocked everyone was.’
‘Who was it? The person in the mask?’ Nelson is pretty sure that Leo didn’t tell this story to Tanya.
‘That’s just it. We were all there. The four students, Mark, Leo’s assistant, and me. There was no one it could have been. Everyone was screaming, rushing about. Mark’s dog barking. In the chaos, the figure disappeared.’
‘And the next day Emily disappeared.’
‘We all thought she was going home to her parents for Easter. The day of the bonfire was actually Palm Sunday, which should have been a good omen. Her parents raised the alarm later in the week. The police took it seriously. They interviewed all of us.’
‘What did you think had happened to her?’
Cathbad looks into his cup again and then raises his eyes to meet Nelson’s. His irises are very pale blue. Nelson has noticed before how this makes his stare particularly disconcerting.
‘At first, I thought– hoped– that she’d run away. I knew things were difficult at home. As I say, Emily often talked about her parents. But, as time went on, I did start to fear the worst.’
‘Did you know the café where the body was found? It was called the Green Child then.’
‘Yes. I went there quite a lot. The owner, Peter, was an interesting man. Very drawn to the druidical religion.’
‘Did you meet Emily there?’
‘Sometimes. Peter used to hold these Folklore Fridays. They were soirées really.’
‘They were what?’ Whatever they are, Nelson doesn’t like the sound of them.
‘Gatherings. Social events. We’d meet at the café to talk about local myths and legends. Sometimes there would be a folk singer.’
‘Jesus wept.’
‘They were very special evenings.’
Nelson looks directly at his friend.
‘Cathbad, you fainted dead away when I said a body had been found at the café. I think there’s something you’re not telling me.’
The pale blue gaze doesn’t falter.
‘It brought it all back. The café, Peter, Freya, Emily. She was such a lovely girl, Nelson. I think I might have been a bit in love with her.’
‘She was years younger than you. She must be Maddie’s age.’ Maddie is Cathbad’s grown-up daughter.
‘Not quite. I was thirty-six in 2002. Emily was twenty.’
Cathbad often claims not to count the years on the temporal plane but Nelson notices that his mental arithmetic works when it has to.
‘Was Leo Ballard in love with her too?’
‘I think so. Tom definitely was.’
‘Thomas Westbourne? One of the other students?’
‘That’s right. It was all very highly charged.’
‘So highly charged that a girl was killed.’
