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6
SATURDAY
Kitty
Deftly and unobtrusively, she clears up the used tissues from around Nicole Booth and puts a fresh box in front of her. They’re waiting for the detectives. Everyone is sweltering. In spite of its thick walls, which usually keep the place cool in summer, heat has crept into the Manor House. The almost constant low-level smell of damp has disappeared, and the air has become stuffy with new smells of old materials gradually, reluctantly warming and shifting.
It feels like change. Everything in her life does, right now.
Last week, she saw something that turned her world upside down and she can’t tell anyone about it. She wants to see it again, to be sure she believes it, but she hasn’t had a chance yet. She needs Olly and Sasha to leave the Manor at the same time, which they hardly ever do.
The windows in the Yellow Room are wide open, trying to catch a breeze, but nothing in the room stirs. She feels enveloped by the muggy warmth, by Nicole’s grief, by the emotional whiplash of her discovery and of what they’re all going through right now. What’s happening has the potential to shatter the status quo and to affect her home, her identity, her memories, her future.
When Sasha burst into the laundry room so violently this morning, disturbing her ironing, for one terrible moment she thought that Sasha somehow knew what she’d discovered, that there was going to be a confrontation. But no. Horrifyingly, it was the news of Tom’s death that Sasha brought, spreading even more seismic tremors through their little world.
She says, ‘Would anyone like anything else? More water? A cup of tea?’
She looks at Nicole, who shakes her head. Since she arrived here a couple of hours ago, Nicole’s either been crying or staring into space. Clearly, she’s in shock. Earlier, she was shaking so much that it was hard to help her out of her wet clothes and into dry ones. Her eyes are red, swollen and glassy, her cheeks wet with tears, her expression pallid from horror and desolation.
She feels strongly drawn to Nicole, desperate to offer her whatever solace is possible at a time like this. She liked what she saw of Tom. She’s never chatted to him in any meaningful way, but he was friendly and polite to her when he and Nicole came for drinks here after they moved in or when they saw each other on the lane. She liked that neither Tom nor Nicole had any airs or graces in spite of their obvious wealth. She’s enjoyed watchingthem build their new life. Seeing the Glass Barn rise out of those old ruins has been amazing. Olly and Sasha complained bitterly about the noise and disruption, even though a good deal of money was made from the sale of the land to Tom and Nicole, but she enjoyed watching the progress of the build.
She sits down beside Nicole and takes one of her hands in her own. Sasha, on the sofa opposite, watches, and nods. Olly sits in the wingback chair beside a window. He stares down the driveway, his profile still and serious. She wonders about the detail of what Olly and Sasha saw at the Glass Barn this morning and tries not to imagine what the body must have looked like. They haven’t said much about it. She hears a car engine. ‘The police are here,’ Olly says.
‘I’ll let them in.’ She stands and smooths down her housecoat.
At the door, the detectives introduce themselves to her. They make an odd couple. The woman, Jen, has pretty, curly hair, the physique of an athlete and a courteous smile. The man, Hal, has the face of a criminal. She supposes that might work in his favour professionally, but it’s a little intimidating. She hopes he’ll be gentle with poor Nicole.
‘Who are you?’ he asks.
She hesitates, nervous. ‘I’m Kitty. I take care of things around here.’
There is something about seeing them here, law enforcement in the Manor House, that reminds her that a wider world exists out there, and that she might have some agency, if she can find the courage.
‘Is Mrs Booth here?’
‘She’s in the Yellow Room. She’s very upset. It’s this way.’ She indicates that they should walk ahead of her, but he pauses. He has small eyes. It’s difficult to read anything into them in the gloom of the hallway. The heavy staircase, dark wooden panelling and densely patterned wallpaper suck light from the space, and the stained glass in the window on the half landing steals brightness from any daylight that gets through it. The chandelier is lit, but its ornate design – all brass and antlers – directs light upwards and casts shadow beneath.
‘We’d like to talk to you after we’ve spoken to Mrs Booth.’
‘Yes,’ she says. She feels excited and scared. Words start to run from her mouth. She spends so much time being silent or subservient around others that this happens sometimes. She feels a need to tell. ‘It was such a shock. We were just having a normal morning. Sasha gave a yoga lesson and Olly was working on his novel. I was doing the ironing. It was a regular Saturday until Nicole appeared. She ran here after she discovered her husband’s body in the pool at her house. She was soaking wet. I stayed with her while Olly and Sasha went to the Barn to see if they could save him. But—’ She chokes up a little thinking about the awfulness of the moment when Olly and Sasha returned to the Manor and quietly confirmed that Tom was dead.I knew he was, Nicole responded.I wouldn’t have stayed here if I thought there was any hope. ‘But—’ she repeats and finds she can’t finish her sentence.
‘Have you already given a statement?’ the detective asks.
She nods. ‘To one of your officers.’
‘We’d still like to talk to you again later if that’s okay. Can you take me to see Mrs Booth now?’
She indicates that they should walk down the hallway ahead of her. They look around as they go, taking in the dark oak staircase and the oil paintings that line the hall, layers of them, almost reaching the tall ceilings; some are large portraits, others are landscapes and hunting scenes. Usually, she tells first-time visitors all about the house if they look interested, pointing out its most significant features and informing them about the centuries of history. Everyone likes to see the ornate Tudor fireplace in the Great Hall and the medieval graffiti carved into the stonework, especially the witches’ marks.
She’s the perfect guide because she’s made it her business to know everything about this place, every quirk and snippet of history. Whenever she moves through its corridors, she’s aware of all the people who have trodden here before her and who will come after her. She’s always felt privileged to be a custodian of the Manor.
But today is not the time. She only says, ‘It’s the second door on the right.’
She lingers in the doorway as the detectives enter the room. Olly and Sasha are sitting where she left them.
‘We’d like to speak to Mrs Booth alone, if you don’t mind,’ the detective says. ‘Is there somewhere you can wait?’
She steps aside as Olly and Sasha leave the room. The female detective closes the door, and they’re shut out. She faces Olly and Sasha in the gloom. ‘We’re going to wait in Olly’s study,’ Sasha says.
