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‘Oh, for God’s sake, Cathbad!’ Nelson’s voice is so loud that two seagulls take off in fright and Bruno looks round anxiously, allowing Thing to steal the ball. ‘Were you sleeping with her? Yes or no.’
‘I slept with her once,’ says Cathbad. ‘Does that constitute an affair?’
‘Did you tell this to the original police enquiry?’
‘They didn’t ask.’
‘It seems to me that they didn’t ask much. But why didn’t you tell me? You knew it was relevant to the enquiry. You’re married to a police officer, for crying out loud.’
‘We’re not married,’ says Cathbad. For a moment he sounds odd, unlike himself. It reminds Nelson of the first time they met, when Cathbad was a suspect in a murder investigation. Then, Cathbad had seemed devious and cunning. In the intervening years, Nelson has got used to his inability to answer a question directly but, just now, it seemed perilously close to obstructing the police with their enquiries.
Cathbad seems to know what Nelson is thinking. He takes a deep breath and throws the ball that Thing has retrieved. He has a good overarm. Nelson wonders if Cathbad has ever played cricket.
‘I slept with Emily once,’ he says. ‘It was after one of the Folklore Fridays. We had a great session on the Sheringham Mermaid including a debate on how mermaids have sex. We’d probably drunk too much of Peter’s home-made cider. . .’
He pauses. Nelson cuts in, using his interrogation voice. ‘Did you go back to your place? Hers?’
‘We couldn’t go back to my place,’ says Cathbad. ‘I was living in a commune. There was no privacy. Emily was still living in halls.’
‘So what did you do?’
‘We went back to the café,’ says Cathbad. ‘Freya gave us the key.’
No wonder Cathbad reacted so violently to the mention of the café, thinks Nelson. It wasn’t just a place where he went to have cosy chats about mermaids. He also notes that, not only did Freya Webster have a key, she was prepared to lend it out.
‘It sounds sordid,’ says Cathbad, rather defiantly. ‘But it wasn’t.’
‘I’ll take your word for it,’ says Nelson. ‘Does Judy know?’
‘I’m going to tell her,’ says Cathbad. ‘I need to set my affairs in order.’
‘Do you think Leo Ballard knew about you and Emily?’
‘Maybe. Like I say, he was good at working out what people wanted. He must have known that I wanted Emily. You know, Nelson, I can see her now, walking towards me. . .’
Nelson looks across the bay, half-expecting to see a young woman striding over the sand. But there’s only the two dogs, play-fighting over a piece of seaweed.
‘There’s not much time left,’ says Cathbad.
Nelson doesn’t know if he’s referring to the tide or something else entirely.
‘Does Judy know?’ says Ruth.
‘He says he’s going to tell her,’ says Nelson.
‘I’m sure she’ll be all right about it,’ says Ruth. ‘I mean, it was a long time ago and it was only once.’
Nelson doesn’t reply and Ruth wonders if he’s thinking about another ‘only once’ that changed both their lives.
They are sitting in the garden, Nelson with a beer and Ruth with a glass of red wine. Kate is upstairs in her room. Bruno is lying panting on the grass. Flint is watching from the lower branches of the apple tree, looking like the Cheshire Cat. It’s domestic bliss, of a sort. There’s even a casserole in the oven. Lancashire hotpot. Ruth took the recipe from a packet of stock cubes. She hopes Nelson will appreciate the northern connection.
Nelson takes a swig of his beer. He seems to want to change the subject.
‘I had an offer today.’
‘An offer you couldn’t refuse?’ says Ruth.
‘I never thought I’d hear Dr Ruth Galloway quotingThe Godfather,’ says Nelson.
