Martin Edwards - The Frozen Shroud

‘Enter Daniel Kind.’

‘It had to be someone. It just so happened it was me.’

She tasted her coffee. ‘It’s taken a very long time.’

‘Unravelling secrets of history often does.’

‘Meanwhile Dorothy salved her conscience by involving herself with good works?’

‘It’s not such a bad way to pay your dues. The murder was horrendous, but she was only a child. I’m sure she killed Gertrude because she couldn’t imagine how else to prevent the destruction of everything she held dear.’

‘So Melody Knight got it spot on,’ Hannah said. ‘Gertrude was denied justice, because her murderer was never identified. No wonder her ghost has continued to walk. Will you tell Melody what you’ve discovered?’

‘I doubt she still cares.’ He shrugged. ‘Right now, Melody has more to worry about than a mystery that’s taken a century to solve.’

‘How is Terri’s father coping?’ Daniel asked, as they made their way to the Studio Theatre. ‘She said he’d been unwell lately.’

‘No idea, to be honest. I’ve never had his contact details, but he left a message at Divisional HQ for me yesterday, saying he wasn’t fit enough to fly back to England for the funeral. It was the first time I’ve heard from him since Terri and I were kids, before he ran off with another woman. Terri’s mum died some years ago, and so did her brother, who was older. Neither of our families was close-knit, it was one of the things we had in common.’

Daniel halted outside the entrance to the Studio. ‘Fly back to England? Is he on holiday abroad?’

‘No, he lives in the States. After his second marriage broke down, he met a Spanish-American woman, and followed her back to Florida, where he found a job in a bar. As Terri said, his twin passions were beer and sex, so he had the time of his life until his lady died of cirrhosis of the liver. Last I heard, he’d been diagnosed with cancer. Terri was upset, naturally. She reckoned she’d not been a good enough daughter, but that was rubbish. He wasn’t a good enough father.’

‘Did you know Terri and Robin Park were planning to move to be nearer to him?’

‘What?’ Hannah almost choked in disbelief. ‘They meant to emigrate to Florida?’

‘If that’s where he still lives, yes. All she said was that because of his illness, she wanted to be closer to him.’

Hannah felt as if someone had slid a needle into her flesh. Was it childish to feel betrayed? Over the years, they’d shared so many secrets, yet all of a sudden, she realised she hadn’t a clue about Terri’s life.

He put a hand on her arm, a simple gesture that gave her a frisson. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yes, yes. It’s just … a surprise, that’s all.’

Why hadn’t Terri said anything sooner, when she was happy to tell strangers at a fancy dress party? One of the world’s great blabbermouths hadn’t dropped the tiniest hint to her closest friend of her intention to move to America. Then again, late at night after they’d both had plenty to drink, she’d come close to saying something, until Hannah’s reaction discouraged her. The clues were there. She knew Terri’s dad was ill, she should have realised that blood was thicker than water. Perhaps Terri feared Hannah would be jealous of her new life. After all, her relationship with Marc was shot to pieces, her cold case team was about to be ripped apart.

Hannah felt anger surge inside her as she realised Terri must have pitied her.

Quietly, Daniel led the way through a gap in the long black curtains that ran around the Studio. With a hundred seats, and set up in traverse, the Studio was less than a quarter of the size of the main house, but ideal for smaller-scale local productions. At the back, a technician hovered, making tiny adjustments to the lighting to keep it subdued.

Script in hand, Quin stood at the rear of the stage. Jeffrey was sitting three rows back on the right. Quin cleared his throat before speaking in a hushed tone.

‘I sat up, my heart hammering, and then to my horror discerned, slinking against the farther wall, the evillest-looking yellow mongrel of a dog that you can imagine!’

‘Just turn your head a touch towards me, love,’ Jeffrey said. ‘Let me see more of that gorgeous profile!’

Quin twisted his neck a fraction, and repeated his line. As Jeffrey called out, ‘Perfect!’ Quin caught sight of Daniel and lifted his hand in greeting.

‘Don’t be shy, we’re pretty much finished, aren’t we, Jeffrey?’

‘Absolutely. And this must be Hannah! Or should I be formal and say DCI Scarlett? We’ve heard so much about you, do come and say hello!’

Daniel whispered, ‘All sweetness and light again, by the sound of it.’

He and Hannah walked down to join the two men in seats on the front row. After introductions, Jeffrey launched into an explanation of the way he and Quin had been checking to make sure both of them could be seen and heard.

‘You need to include the whole audience in a space like this, not just favour one side. Thankfully, everyone is close up, and the acoustics are nice. You’re on the swivel, on the balls of your feet, all the time you’re on stage.’ Jeffrey beamed, segueing into lecturer mode. Daniel wondered if, beneath the bonhomie, anxiety was making him talkative. ‘Playing here demands loads of energy, but it’s worth it. There’s no other place quite like this. When we tour the production, we’ll adapt it for conventional venues, but the Studio is unique, you’d be amazed how we turn it into a claustrophobic black box. A ghost story is perfect for somewhere quite small, where you can take the volume down low, and draw the audience in. Do come and see the show. We’ve kept a few tickets back …’

‘I’m sure Hannah has other things on her mind,’ Quin interrupted. ‘Can you tell us the latest on Oz? Has he been arrested?’

She gave a brisk, impersonal smile. ‘The doctors say that he should make a good recovery, but so far, he hasn’t been questioned further.’

‘Is it safe to assume he’s your prime suspect? Or is Terri’s stalker still in the running?’

‘It’s not safe to assume anything in a murder investigation,’ Hannah said. ‘I did want to ask you something, though.’

Jeffrey exchanged glances with Quin, and said in a tone of forced jollity, ‘By all means! We don’t need our lawyer present, do we?’

‘It’s about Terri and her plans. She and Robin were going to move away from Ravenbank, weren’t they? To America.’

‘I never heard that,’ Jeffrey said. ‘Frankly, I’d be astonished.’

Daniel said, ‘Melody told me that Terri had resigned to go and live with Robin. She wouldn’t need to pack in her job if she was staying in the area.’

‘But they’d only known each other five minutes, and Robin has always been tied to his mother’s apron strings.’

‘How would Miriam Park have reacted?’ Hannah asked.

‘She would have put her foot down, make no mistake. Whatever Terri may have had in mind, I’m sure Miriam saw the two of them making a life together in Ravenbank, and in due course presenting her with grandchildren to idolise.’

‘That’s why they kept quiet about putting Fell View on the market,’ Quin said.

Jeffrey gaped. ‘You can’t be serious!’

‘Never more so. I saw the pair of them coming out of an estate agents in Station Street on Monday.’

‘You never told me!’

‘Didn’t I? Must have slipped my mind.’ Quin’s grin showed his pleasure in reminding Jeffrey that he could keep a secret. ‘I asked what they were up to, and they said they wanted to sell up and move to Florida. Terri’s dad lives there, and he’s been poorly. But they asked me to keep it to myself for a few days. Miriam still needed to be won round.’