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‘Arabella, what happened to Emily?’
‘They put her behind the wall,’ says Arabella. And closes her eyes again.
Chapter 28
The marking meeting goes on and on. The sun beats in through the open window as they talk about grade boundaries. Ruth tries not to think about Cathbad, or about Nelson and Michelle. She tries to concentrate on her students, who have had a rough deal over the last few years. Their grades will show some leniency to reflect this but, at the same, the board must be careful not to let standards slip. By the end of the meeting, Ruth’s head is pounding. She tries to slide two ibuprofen out of her desk drawer whilst listening to David, who has stayed behind to talk about ‘the campaign’.
‘We’ve had so many messages of support,’ he is saying. ‘From Mary Beard and Tony Robinson. From the British Archaeological Society. From lots of academics including Leif Anderssen from Uppsala and Leo Ballard from Cambridge.’
Ruth has some misgivings about both these names. Leif is the archaeologist son of Ruth’s old university tutor, Erik. Like his father, Leif is brilliant, charismatic and, in Ruth’s opinion, slightly dangerous. Still, he’s another high-powered backer. It’s also interesting that Leo is still willing to offer his support.
‘That’s great,’ Ruth says, swallowing the pills with some cold coffee. ‘What’s our next move?’
‘We’ve got a rally planned for Thursday,’ says David. ‘I’m hoping for some national press coverage.’
Ruth is not sure that the media is interested in universities or archaeology– unless they can get Tony or Mary to attend the rally. Or borrow the dinosaur skeleton from the Natural History Museum.
‘Are you OK, Ruth?’ says David. ‘You look a bit pale.’
‘I’m fine. Just a headache.’
‘Do you want to go for a walk around the lake? Clear your head?’
‘OK,’ says Ruth. As she leaves the room with David, she reflects that she never thought she would be grateful for his company. But she is.
Nelson’s next visit is to Leo Ballard’s cleaning lady, Jenna Hopkins. Jenna lives about a mile away, in a cluster of cottages near the entrance of a place called Madingley Hall. The hall itself is at the end of a long driveway and its many windows glitter in the sunlight. Nelson has no idea if it’s a private home or a Cambridge college but there’s something sinister about its solitary grandeur. A lake gleams in the middle distance and there’s a timbered house at the gates that calls itself The Lodge.
Jenna’s cottage is one of three that probably once belonged to servants at the hall but Jenna herself is a reassuringly modern presence, with dyed pink hair and multiple piercings.
‘I’ve known Leo and Alice a few years,’ she says. ‘They’re not bad employers. By Cambridge standards anyway. I like Alice a lot.’
‘What about Leo?’
‘He’s not so bad when you get to know him.’
Hardly a ringing endorsement, thinks Nelson. He asks how often Jenna cleans for the Ballards.
‘Three times a week. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.’
Why do an elderly couple whose children have left home need a cleaner so often? wonders Nelson. He once tried to persuade Michelle to get domestic help, when the girls were small, and she said she’d feel guilty letting someone else do her cleaning. Nelson’s mother would have said the same.
‘Were you there last Friday?’
‘Yes,’ says Jenna, looking at Nelson curiously. ‘Why?’
‘It’s all part of an ongoing investigation,’ says Nelson. ‘Did you see Leo or Alice last Friday?’
‘Friday is one of Alice’s days at Little Lives,’ says Jenna. ‘Leo was there. He made me a coffee. He’s got a thing about using the machine. It’s a bit bitter for me but I’d never say.’
‘What time was that?’
‘About eleven thirty, I think. I start at eleven. I’ve got another job from eight thirty to ten thirty.’
‘What did Leo do then?’
‘Went into his study. He spends hours in there. I’m not allowed in to clean it.’
‘What time did you leave?’
