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‘Her name hasn’t changed, per se. But it’s a new name in the sense that it’s her nickname. A sort of in-joke.’ He laughs and means it to sound light, but the sound seems to coalesce into something clumsy and forced. This isn’t how he wants things to go. He glances at Sasha again and notes how studiously she seems to be keeping her profile turned to him. Perhaps she’s frozen up and needs him to lead this.
‘What did you call Kitty before she acquired her nickname?’ Jen asks.
‘How is this relevant to anything?’ Olly says. He hates the way she’s looking at him, like a cat who has a mouse cornered. How dare she? ‘Aren’t you supposed to be investigating Tom Booth’s death, or am I missing something?’
‘I’d appreciate it if you could answer the question, please,’ Jen says. She smiles at him. Something feels off about this. He feels that little twitch in the corner of his eye again, and forces his expression into a smile for Jen, because women like smiles, but feels it’s unconvincing. He glances back at Sasha. She looks like a Pre-Raphaelite beauty, sitting there in that dress and pretty cardigan, her hair down. His instinct to protect her kicks in. Come on, he tells himself. Pull yourself together. This is nothing more than a dance and I must lead it.
‘Her name was Anna,’ he says.
‘Why did you start to call her Kitty?’
‘Well, we had a previous housekeeper called Kitty, and when Anna took over her duties, we joked that the transition was so seamless that we might as well call her Kitty, too. I’m the first to admit that working around me isn’t easy when I’m writing and I had concerns over whether somebody new could fill Kitty’s shoes, yet Anna did it perfectly. We’re very fond of her, in spite of her flaws.’
‘Whose idea was it to call her Kitty?’ Jen asks.
‘I don’t remember who said it first, do you, Sash?’ Sasha doesn’t respond and Olly carries on, ‘Like I said, it started as a joke, and it stuck. Though I think, to be more serious for a moment, to delve into personality or character, if you’ll permit me to, that Anna was ready for a change. She’d had an unhappy life until then. As Kitty, she thrives.’
He beams around the table, feeling as if he’s pulled that off perfectly. Like the best lies, it’s almost all the truth. He’s only omitted who Anna was before she became Kitty. And what became of Kitty.
Jen nods and in the silence that follows, Olly’s confidence grows a little. He stifles a yawn and hopes they’ll take it as a cue to go. Sasha meets his eye and her expression is very flat. Hang in there, he thinks, I’ve got this. She must be rattled by Patrick’s death. She was strong for me when we moved Kitty’s remains, so it’s my turn to be strong for her now.
He watches as Jen flicks back through her notebook. She stops after a few pages and reads, then looks up at him and says, ‘I thought the name “Anna” rang a bell. Didn’t you tell us that the owner of this property is called Anna?’
Olly swallows and shrugs, as if to say, So what?
‘And can I ask,’ Jen continues, ‘what became of the original Kitty? The one who worked here first?’
He struggles to maintain his composure. ‘She upped and left one night. No explanation. Honestly, we felt betrayed, but we realised that the way we were taking things business-wise at the Manor was probably too much for her. The yoga classes and the like. She was rather possessive of the place, and she’d worked here when it was just a private house for so long that I think she felt a bit violated – is that too strong a word? – no, I think it’s right. She felt violated by the commerce. But this house does not pay for itself.’
‘No,’ Jen says. ‘I don’t suppose it does. And have you had any contact with the original Kitty since she left?’
He shakes his head. ‘None whatsoever. Sad, really.’
‘You don’t miss your Auntie Kitty?’
Olly’s heart skips a beat. He takes a moment to process the fact that they know Kitty was his aunt before answering as lightly as he can. ‘Life is full of loves and losses, don’t you think, detective?’
‘You’re not wrong,’ Jen says. ‘Thank you for your time. I might have a few more questions for you over the coming days.’
He can hardly believe it’s over so suddenly. ‘Of course. We’re delighted to help, aren’t we, Sasha?’
‘Yes,’ she says. She turns to Jen. ‘Detective, I remembered there’s something that I didn’t tell you.’
‘I’m all ears.’
‘On the morning Tom Booth was murdered, Olly went out for a while in the morning. For about an hour. Didn’t you, Olly?’
74
THE DAY OF HIS DEATH: 12:35
Tom
‘I came to ask you and Nicole over for a drink tonight,’ Olly says.
‘That’s nice,’ Tom says. ‘We’d love to.’ He knows Nicole will want him to say yes to this, because she still seeks friendship with Sasha. He would rather decline, give up on the relationship, and accept that Sasha and Olly aren’t worth bothering with.
‘But now that I’m here,’ Olly says, ‘I’m thinking I might have changed my mind. Sasha, what do you think?’
