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‘And other things,’ says David.
‘I must say,’ says Phil, ‘I’m glad I retired when I did. Things are going to get nasty.’
‘Well, all we can do is fight,’ says Ruth. She looks across the water to the cluster of buildings, the ugly modern bricks mellow in the sunshine. She has a feeling that, like Boudica at Watling Street, she is about to be defeated.
Nelson leaves Madingley feeling frustrated. He’s sure that Leo Ballard is hiding something. But what? Jenna Hopkins would certainly have noticed if he was keeping Cathbad imprisoned somewhere in the house. But it would have been possible– just about– for Leo to have sneaked out on Friday, glided away in his soundless electric car, and abducted Cathbad. He might even have been back by the time Jenna left at one. But she hadn’t been certain that the car was there. In Nelson’s opinion, cyclists never notice cars. Leo’s alibi is certainly not watertight.
Leo told Nelson that he owned a ‘holiday cottage’ in Old Hunstanton. ‘Somewhere we can get away from it all. Right by the sea. Very peaceful but convenient for the village and the shops.’ Nelson can’t see what a retired lecturer has to get awayfrom. Presumably he’s got all the time in the world to sit in his book cave and think dark thoughts. But he asked Jenna if she cleaned the cottage and she said no. It might be worth a look on his way back to the station. Old Hunstanton isn’t far from King’s Lynn.
The address is hard to find, due to the Norfolk habit of refusing to have street signs, but eventually Nelson draws up outside a row of cottages. The Ballards’ holiday home is number five. It doesn’t look very special and is certainly not as grand as the Madingley house. Nelson knocks loudly on the door but is not surprised when there’s no answer. He knocks on number three and number seven and, at the latter, is met by an elderly man wearing horn-rimmed glasses. Good, Nelson needs someone with good eyesight. He asks the man, who gives his name formally as Mr Lowe, if he knows Leo Ballard.
‘Yes. He often comes here with his wife. Nice lady.’
Nelson notes that Ballard is not described as ‘nice’.
‘When did you see them last?’
‘A few weeks ago, I think. Yes, it was when there was all that rain and the road flooded.’
The rainstorm was at least a month ago. Nelson asks if anyone has been to the house in the last few days.
‘No,’ says Mr Lowe, ‘and I see most things that happen around here.’
Nelson believes him. He goes back to number five and, for the first time, notices a statue in the front garden. At first it looks like a weathered stone but, when Nelson gets closer, he sees that it’s actually a head with two faces, one gazing towards the road, the other back at the house. Janus, thinks Nelson. The two-faced god. He encountered the old boy on a previous case and the sight of him now isn’t exactly cheering.
Nelson walks to the end of the street which peters out into a sandy track. The houses back onto the beach and the sea, which must be why the Ballards bought the place. Across the bay there’s a white house standing on its own. Nelson doesn’t know why but he treks across the sand to get a closer look. The house is very square and solid, white stucco with a slate roof, overlooking the sea. There’s a garden, full of windswept trees and out-of-control roses, a garage and what looks like an outhouse. At first sight it looks isolated, but Nelson sees that it’s actually connected to the road that leads to the high street. The village can only be five minutes’ walk away.
Nelson can’t see any sign of habitation. There’s a ‘Remain’ poster on one of the upstairs windows but the EU referendum was in 2016, almost ancient history now. As Nelson stands by the gate, a boat with red sails skims across the bay and seagulls call high above. It occurs to him that he’s finally found a place in Norfolk that he likes.
Chapter 29
Nelson arrives back at the station to find Bradley obviously bursting with news. Tanya nobly lets him take centre stage.
‘We’ve had the forensics back on Ballard’s car. The Triumph Spitfire.’
‘That was quick. Anything interesting?’
‘Yes.’ Bradley pauses and looks round the room. Tanya nods impatiently. Lucy looks genuinely enthralled.
‘Emily’s DNA isn’t anywhere in the car.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Ballard’s DNA is there. And the current owner’s. He gave a sample. There are at least five other people who left trace DNA but not Emily. Not a scrap.’
‘Does that mean she never went in the car?’
‘I asked the lab that question and they said they couldn’t be a hundred per cent certain– they always say things like that– but it was very unlikely that she’d been in the car.’
‘Why would Ballard lie about that?’ says Tanya. ‘I mean, it was all the police had on him. That he gave her a lift that day, that he was the last one to see her alive. Tom saw her in the car too.’
‘Maybe she wasn’t in the car for long,’ says Bradley. ‘We know she was in Ely,we just don’t know how she got there. Maybe Mark Oldbury took her?’
‘Why wouldhelie?’ says Nelson. ‘I don’t suppose he’s still got the car he had nineteen years ago.’
‘It was a van,’ says Bradley. ‘And I could check.’
‘Do that. It might be worth talking to him again. In fact, he may well be back in the area for Emily’s funeral tomorrow. How did you get on with Arabella Webster, Tanya?’
