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‘I told Tom we shouldn’t have contact with Patrick after he pestered us for money. I wanted Patrick to back off and to learn a lesson. Tom was his friend, not his bank. So maybe Patrick thought if he turned up here looking successful, I wouldn’t judge him. Maybe he wants money from me.’ She looks desperately anxious.
Hal knows what he suspects: that Patrick is certainly still after money, and he thought the best way to get it was to turn up looking like he didn’t need it. The question is, did he kill for it?
‘I’ll speak to him now,’ he says. ‘My officers are with him at the Barn. Are you happy for me to talk to him there? I can ask him to leave and have a chat with him elsewhere.’
‘I don’t know.’ She looks shattered. Adrenalin crash, he thinks. He has a sense of what she’s going to say next. He’s seen it happen in cases of domestic violence when the fight goes out of the victims. Once the initial rush of fear has ebbed, there’s a stubbornness about believing that someone truly wants to do you harm. Sometimes it’s easier to pass people’s behaviour off as a misunderstanding, or an isolated incident, than to accept that you’re the victim of targeted, malicious intent from someone close to you.
‘What if I’ve got all this wrong? I’d feel so bad.’
‘I’ll talk to him,’ Hal says. ‘You sit tight here.’
‘It’s fine to talk to him at the Barn,’ she says.
He nods, leaves her. He wants to get the measure of Patrick and then he’ll advise her if she’ll listen. He drives to the Barn. The rear-view mirror reflects nothing but dust and blue sky.
A squad car is parked in the drive. The front door is ajar, and inside Hal finds two officers sitting with Patrick, who stands when Hal enters. His body language looks tense, as if he’s coiled and ready to spring. One of the officers stands, too.
‘What the fuck is going on?’ Patrick says.
‘Hello, Mr Young,’ Hal says. He introduces himself, nods at the officers, and keeps his tone level. He doesn’t want to escalate this when Patrick’s temper is already flaring. ‘Shall we have a chat and see if we can sort this out?’
Patrick sits, but he’s agitated. Hal says, ‘Have the officers explained what the problem is?’
‘They’ve explained that Nicole felt threatened, but I’ve got no idea why. I’m here to help her. I’ve been doing everything right. I mean, she heard me have a row on the phone last night, and I might have shouted a bit, but I apologised for that. She wasn’t even in the room. I don’t know what else to tell you. These two are treating me like a criminal.’ He gestures dismissively at the uniformed officers. His leg jigs up and down.
‘As I understand it, this morning you left your phone here when you went out and Nicole answered it because she wanted to be helpful. She got an earful of abuse and some horrible physical threats from someone who said you owe them money. It terrified her.’
He watches this sink in and notes Patrick’s expensive-looking watch and clothes. He’s certainly making the effort to present as someone well off.
‘I do owe money. I owe a lot of money.’
Hal nods. ‘So, you haven’t represented yourself accurately to Nicole?’
Patrick shakes his head. ‘Where is she?’
Hal doesn’t answer. ‘Is this person you owe money to a threat to you?’
‘Maybe.’
‘Is he a threat to Nicole?’
‘Where is she?’ Patrick asks again. ‘She’s with those neighbours, is she? Because she didn’t take her car.’
‘Let’s talk about why you came here.’
‘To help her. Tom was my best friend. And I know, she’s probably told you I badgered them for money, but it was a stupid mistake. I wish I’d never done it. I apologised for it.’
‘Did you want to borrow money from Nicole?’
‘No. Fuck you. I came to help.’ He tears up. He looks as spent as Nicole did.
Hal decides to take a different tack. ‘What was Tom and Nicole’s relationship like?’ he asks.
‘Amazing. It’s like they were born for each other. I can’t imagine many other couples meeting as young as they did and still being together.’
‘Was there ever any conflict between them?’
‘They argued less than any other couple I know.’
