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He looked up, gave a wave and made a sign that he was coming over to talk. He waited at the curb until there was a break in the traffic and crossed over.
“Lovely to see you, Iris,” he said, giving her a hug.
“It’s lovely to see you too. How are you? How’s Hamish?”
“I’m good. And Hamish is growing so fast that I’ve had to come and buy more sleepsuits for him. Esme wanted to finish painting the guest bedroom, which is why she’s had to entrust me to buy the right size,” he added with a smile.
“Has she nearly finished? Gosh, she works fast.”
“She does. Her parents will be staying with us for the christening, so she wants the bedroom finished for then.”
“Of course.”
“She loves that shade of green you suggested.”
“Oh good.”
Hugh peered at her from under bushy eyebrows. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I was just thinking that I should be helping Esme. But I don’t seem to have the energy.”
“You need to give yourself a break, Iris. You’ve been through a lot.”
“I’ll get there.” She gave him a smile. “I’m surprised to see you looking so chipper after your late night.”
“Not me,” Hugh said cheerfully. “I was in bed by ten.”
“I suppose Esme and Beth were putting the world to rights,” she said, trying not to sound wistful.
“No, she was chatting to Marcus and Joseph. Esme was asleep before me.”
“Marcus and Joseph?”
“Yes, the three of them get on really well. That’s one of the best things about having had Hamish; we get to see Marcus a lot more often.” He paused. “Beth has been good for Joseph. He’s been understandably subdued since Laure died, but Beth manages to make him laugh. She’s really great, Iris. You and Gabriel must be very proud of her.”
“We are,” Iris said. “I’m sorry, Hugh, but I need to dash. I’m on the hunt for a dress for the christening. Give my love to Esme.”
“Will do. See you next Sunday, if not before.”
Iris forced her legs to move and in a daze, she walked back to where she’d parked the car, raising her face to the sky to greet the drizzle of rain that had started to fall. She tried to shake off the feeling of impending doom, but couldn’t.
60
Since his meeting with Maggie the previous week, Gabriel had avoided working in the garden with Joseph. Instead, he messaged him first thing in the morning on the days he was due to work, detailing any specific tasks that he wanted done.
It had been hard not to go and confront him straight from the café that day. But Gabriel had been so full of rage he was worried he wouldn’t be coherent, and he knew that what he had to say to Joseph would have more effect if he stayed calm.
He hadn’t given Joseph any explanations for his absence in the garden. He’d simply messaged to say that he’d heard he’d be leaving after the christening, and therefore his last working day would be Thursday the twenty-ninth. He added that sometime on Saturday the first of October, he’d like to call in and see him, as they probably wouldn’t get much chance to talk at the christening the following day. Joseph had replied, inviting Gabriel to call by at 6 p.m.
From the rough timeline Gabriel had constructed, from when Joseph had first arrived at Esme’s after spending two months at hismother’s house, he was certain that Joseph’s drunken car crash had happened in the days following Charlie’s death. Had guilt over what he’d said to Charlie partly been the cause of the accident? What Gabriel hated most, he realized as he drove his spade hard into the ground, was that his lie about Charlie’s last words might have lessened that guilt. Joseph needed to know the truth, which was that his cruel words had caused Charlie—either on purpose or because, in his distress, he’d been riding without due care and attention—to ride his bike over the edge of the quarry.
“It’s not deep enough yet!”
Gabriel looked up, a mound of earth on his spade. Iris was walking toward him. “Sorry?”
“For a body.”
He gave a grim laugh, added the earth to the pile next to him, then stuck his spade into the ground with a satisfying crunch.
