Elly Griffiths - A Room Full Of Bones

She is about to speak when her phone rings. Janet smiles but Ruth is extremely embarrassed.

It’s Cathbad. This is getting to be a habit.

‘Ruth, can you come? I’ve been arrested.’

‘Do I need my solicitor?’

‘Shut up, Cathbad. This is serious.’

Cathbad arranges his face in a serious expression. Judy glares at him. They are in Interview Room 1, the bigger of the two interview rooms at the station, but suddenly it seems far too small. Judy is acutely aware of Cathbad’s hands, the long fingers tapping gently on the arm of his chair. He has a leather bracelet round his wrist, the kind that surfers wear. No watch. He told her once that he didn’t believe in time.

‘You were at Slaughter Hill last night. I saw you on the CCTV footage.’

Cathbad smiles enigmatically. Judy explodes. ‘Don’t you see how this looks? What the hell were you doing at Slaughter Hill at one in the morning?’

‘Visiting a friend.’

‘Who?’

‘Caroline Smith.’

‘She must be a very good friend,’ says Judy coldly, ‘for you to be calling on her at one in the morning.’

She thinks of the tear-stained woman she saw that morning. She supposes that under normal circumstances Caroline might be considered attractive. Does Cathbad think so?

‘I was at Ruth’s,’ says Cathbad. ‘I left at about midnight. I like walking at night so I thought I’d walk to Caroline’s.’

‘All the way from the Saltmarsh to Slaughter Hill?’

‘I got a lift as far as Snettisham.’

‘Who from?’

‘A friend called Bob Woonunga.’

Another one of those people with ridiculous names, thinks Judy savagely. Why the hell can’t Cathbad have ordinary friends? Why does he have to go prancing around the countryside calling on women in the middle of the night?

‘Let’s get back to Caroline Smith,’ she says. ‘Was she expecting you?’

‘I’d said I might call in.’

‘Why?’ asks Judy. If Cathbad is having an affair with Caroline, she wants him to say it aloud.

Cathbad looks at her, a smile playing around his lips. Judy wants to hit him.

‘There’s nothing between us,’ he says gently. ‘She’s a friend, that’s all. And she’s a member of the Elginists. That’s why I was calling.’

‘You just popped in to discuss Aborigine relics?’

‘That’s it exactly.’

Judy has had enough.

‘You’ll need a better story than that,’ she says, ‘when this comes to court.’

‘When what comes to court?’

‘Danforth Smith died last night. We think it was murder.’

Ruth arrives at the police station, hot and stressed from her long drive, to be met by a grinning Tom Henty. ‘Come to post bail for Cathbad, have you?’

‘I suppose so.’

All Ruth has in her purse is seven pounds fifty and a lottery ticket. Her bank account is not looking too healthy either, what with Kate’s birthday and the cost of childcare. How much is bail, anyway?

Tom laughs even harder. ‘Don’t worry, Ruth. He hasn’t been arrested and there’s no bail been set. He’s just been helping us with our enquiries, that’s all.’ He manages to make the phrase sound even more sinister than usual.

‘Where is he?’

‘Interview Room 1. Detective Sergeant Johnson’s been speaking to him. I think they’re still in there.’

Ruth looks over to where Tom is pointing. The King’s Lynn police station is in an old Victorian house. Interview Room 1 looks as if it might have been the downstairs cloakroom. A green light shines above the door.

‘Can I go in?’

‘Be my guest.’

Ruth is surprised, but not as surprised as she is when she bursts into the room to find Judy and Cathbad locked in a passionate embrace.

Ruth tries to back out but Judy has seen her. She breaks away, her face scarlet. Cathbad, on the other hand, turns round and says casually, ‘Oh hallo Ruth. Good of you to come but it turns out I’m not under arrest after all.’

‘You do seem to be in protective custody,’ says Ruth drily.

‘Ruth…’ Judy starts to speak but then shrugs and sweeps out of the room. Cathbad is still completely unabashed.

‘Are you going back to the university? Could I have a lift? I’m meant to be working this afternoon.’

In the lobby, Tom Henty tells them to be sure and call again soon. Cathbad laughs and says he’ll be in touch. Ruth can’t get out of the place quickly enough.

‘Is Nelson around?’ she asks as they go out through the double doors.

‘No. I think he’s out. They seem to be working flat out on this drugs case. Anyway, Nelson’s knocking off early today. It’s his birthday.’

Ruth is silent. She has never known Nelson’s birthday and is slightly shaken to find out that it’s so near Kate’s. She remembers Cathbad guessing correctly that Nelson was a Scorpio the first time they met. Kate’s a Scorpio too, hot-headed and passionate according to the books, not that Ruth believes in any of that nonsense.

It is not until they are in the car and driving towards the university that Ruth says, ‘So what’s going on between you and Judy?’

‘Going on?’ Cathbad is looking out of the window, a half smile on his face.

‘For God’s sake, Cathbad,’ explodes Ruth. ‘Just give me a straight answer for once. Are you having an affair with her?’

Cathbad sighs. ‘You remember in April, when Nelson asked Judy to go over to your house and check that Kate was OK? You couldn’t get home because it was snowing and Nelson wasn’t sure about the babysitter?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well, I was there too. I got this feeling that I ought to check on Kate and you know I always trust my instincts.’

There is more that Ruth could say on this theme but she keeps quiet.

‘I met Judy on the way there. It was late at night, snowing, very receptive conditions.’

‘Whatever that means.’

‘I’m sure you can guess. It was dark, it was cold, we felt cut off from the rest of the world. We ended up in bed together.’

In my house, thinks Ruth. Probably in my bed. Aloud she says, ‘But she’s married. She only got married a few months ago.’

‘I know. She loves Darren. She didn’t want to hurt him by calling off the wedding. They’ve known each other since they were children.’

‘But isn’t she hurting him now?’

‘We tried to break it off but the connection was too strong. We started seeing each other again in September.’

Four months after Judy’s May wedding, thinks Ruth. She remembers Judy, radiant in her white dress. The perfect wedding, the couple who had known each other so long, the families already united. But, come to think of it, wasn’t there something odd at the reception? Ruth had come across Judy, all on her own, in a darkened room. Ruth had said that she was sure Judy and Darren would be happy. ‘Are you?’ Judy had answered. ‘I’m not.’ Was Judy already in love with Cathbad? Did she already know that her marriage was doomed?

Ruth is surprised at how shaken she feels. She would never have imagined that Judy and Cathbad could be drawn to each other. Judy is so capable and efficient, her feelings kept well in check. Cathbad… well, Cathbad is a druid, a man of violent passions and opinions. She remembers him being at her house the morning after the snowstorm, but she had been so preoccupied with seeing Kate again that she had failed to notice any erotic undercurrents. She had thought that it was odd that Cathbad was there, and Judy had seemed particularly distant and professional. To think that only a few hours earlier…

And that’s another thing. Though she doesn’t like to admit it, even to herself, Ruth’s predominant emotion is one of jealousy. She isn’t attracted to Cathbad. She doesn’t want to go to bed with him but she does want to go to bed with somebody . This particular need is not covered by the baby books. Single mothers are meant to be single mothers , not really women any more. A single mother with a boyfriend is something else altogether, a case for social services in fact. And Ruth feels rather aggrieved that Judy can forget her marriage vows while Nelson’s are, apparently, indestructible.