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‘So you were seeing Leo when Emily disappeared?’
‘Yes. He was very upset about it. Especially when the family accused him of all those awful things.’
Tanya assumes the police weren’t aware of this relationship at the time, otherwise they would have interviewed Gaia. But, then again, the original investigating team didn’t know about the link with the Green Child café.
‘Was Emily also in a relationship with Leo?’ she asks.
Gaia’s eyes flash. This, combined with the hair, makes her look like a soprano about to let rip with an operatic aria.
‘She had a crush on him. Amber too. They all did. But Leo wasn’t interested in those posh girls playing at archaeology.’
Tanya isn’t so sure about this. She decides to try another line of questioning.
‘Was your father friendly with Emily?’ she asks.
‘Oh, come on now.’ Gaia sounds really angry now. ‘You can’t try and pin it on Dad. Just because he can’t defend himself.’
‘I’m not trying to pin anything on anyone,’ says Tanya. ‘We’re just trying to find out how Emily ended up buried behind a wall in your father’s café.’
‘Dad wouldn’t hurt a fly,’ says Gaia. ‘He was a gentle soul. Pure. Almost childlike.’
Somehow it doesn’t sound as innocent as Gaia intends.
‘Hallo, Freya,’ says Tony. ‘How are you?’
‘OK.’ Freya sounds wary. Nelson might say that Tony has built up a rapport with her but it’s hard to do on the phone. He tells Freya about the pinging and the isolating. This seems to ease things. Covid is, of course, something everyone has in common.
‘Oh no. That probably happened when you were in London. Our Covid numbers are still very high.’
‘Probably,’ says Tony. ‘I shouldn’t complain, though. I’ve got Netflix and a fridge full of food.’
‘Sounds like heaven,’ says Freya.
‘I’ve been looking at the picture you gave me,’ says Tony. ‘The one of Emily and Tom in the café. The thing is, I don’t think the girl in it is you.’
There’s a pause.
‘You’ve got a mole on your cheek,’ says Tony. ‘The girl in the picture doesn’t.’
‘Someone once told me that it was the mole of destiny,’ says Freya.
‘Was that someone Cathbad?’ asks Tony, taking a risk.
‘I think so.’
‘It’s not you in the photo, is it? Is it your sister? Gaia?’
Another pause.
‘It could be. We look very alike.’
‘Did Gaia know Emily well?’
‘Not really. Gaia was older. She’d graduated from university when that picture was taken.’
‘Gaia studied at St Jude’s, didn’t she?’
‘Yes.’
