Martin Edwards - The Coffin Trail

‘So how are you settling in to Tarn Cottage?’ Tash asked as Jean Allardyce served blueberry swirl cheesecake.

The farm manager’s wife kept scuttling in and out of the dining room like a nervy mouse. She was an excellent cook with a predilection for dishes that made Daniel put on weight simply by looking at them. That Tash retained her lithe figure was a tribute to her gym regime. The workouts must be ferocious to compensate for such a calorie-laden diet.

‘Fine,’ Miranda said. ‘Of course, there’s so much to do and we keep debating the choice of decor. Our tastes aren’t exactly the same, but it would be boring to live with someone who had identical tastes. Like putting yourself through a Xerox machine.’

Daniel said, ‘At least the place is habitable, after weeks of builders coming and going. God knows how the old woman who used to live there coped. It was so primitive.’

‘Mrs Gilpin spent all her life in the valley,’ Tash said. ‘A trip to Lancaster would have been like a visit to a foreign country. She didn’t like change, did she, Jean?’

The housekeeper shook her head. ‘She — she liked to keep herself to herself.’

‘You grew up in the valley?’ Daniel asked her.

‘Yes, but we never had much to do with the Gilpins. The father died when Barrie was a baby. Barrie was a few years younger than me. His mother doted on him but tried not to let it show. She didn’t want him to grow up spoiled and anyway, he had…problems. Everyone thought he was a weirdo, kept a distance. Though I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.’

Daniel nodded. ‘He was likeable, once you got used to him. And no fool, just a bit naive.’

Tash’s eyes widened. ‘You talk as though you met him.’

‘I stayed here when I was a boy,’ he said. ‘For a couple of weeks, Barrie and I became friends. I enjoyed his company. He was gentle, wouldn’t hurt a fly. I find it hard to imagine how he could ever have committed any act of violence. Let alone such a barbaric killing.’

‘Coffee?’ Jean Allardyce asked. Her voice was croaky, as if the mere mention of the murder was enough to bring back distressing memories.

‘Black for me, please,’ Miranda said. ‘So you knew the Gilpins too, Tash? Before the girl was murdered, I mean?’

‘Well.’ Tash nibbled at her lower lip, as if regretting having said too much. ‘We’ve tried to become part of the local scene.’

‘It’s taken ten years to make our neighbours realise that we don’t want the place bulldozed to make room for a leisure centre or hypermarket,’ her husband said. ‘Even if only for selfish reasons, there’s no way we’d ever want to spoil the valley.’

‘And Barrie Gilpin,’ Daniel said, dragging the conversation back. ‘You came across him?’

‘An oddball,’ Simon said.

Tash frowned. ‘That’s unfair, darling. He was different, that’s all.’

‘Oh yeah? I remember you saying…’

‘Look, I admit I found it difficult when you were away and there was no one else around here but Barrie. He could be scary.’

‘He was a voyeur. He made you feel uncomfortable.’

Tash coloured. ‘Even so, I didn’t dislike him, not at all. He was — well, naive. Child-like. I felt sorry for him. That’s why I was happy for him to work here.’

‘He worked for you?’ Daniel asked. ‘Doing what?’

‘This and that,’ Simon said. ‘Painting and decorating. Helping Tom to clear out the pond every now and then. You could call it cheap labour, but it suited us and it suited him.’

Tash shook her head. ‘You could say the murder was my fault.’

Daniel stared at her. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Listen, the truth is that Barrie Gilpin was pretty much unemployable, but I persuaded Simon to find him work to do. Big mistake. If he hadn’t been hanging around here when Gabrielle Anders came calling, she’d be alive to this day.’

‘Gabrielle was a friend of mine.’ Tash gave a little shiver. They had moved from the dining area into the sitting room that adjoined the tower and were washing down a splendid meal with strong coffee. ‘Even now, I hate to think about what happened to her — up on the fellside.’

‘Sorry if I’m raking up bad memories,’ Daniel said. ‘It’s just that I don’t know the full story and from the fragments I’ve heard, I’m bound to be curious.’

Simon produced bottles of Drambuie and Irish Mist. When Miranda said that she was driving, he laughed and said, ‘Don’t worry. You won’t find any speed traps or lurking panda cars in Brackdale. The police are putting up cameras on all the main roads, the bastards. One more way to take money from us. But you’re safe in the valley.’

‘No thanks,’ she said. ‘I need my wits about me if I’m to negotiate all the bends and narrow lanes on the way home. I’ve already developed a habit of catching my wing mirror against the dry stone walls.’

‘You’ll keep us company, Daniel?’

Daniel hadn’t tried to keep pace with his host’s consumption of booze during the meal. Even so, he could feel his eyelids drooping. But alcohol might loosen tongues.

‘Sure.’

As he filled each glass to the brim, Simon said, ‘Tash hadn’t seen Gaby for years until she showed up here.’

‘Gabrielle.’ His wife corrected him firmly. ‘She always wanted to be called by her full name.’

‘Sorry, darling. Well, Gabrielle had been living abroad and then she came back to England on holiday. She didn’t give us any advance warning at all, even though…’

‘Darling, that was just her way,’ his wife interrupted. ‘She loved to do things on the spur of the moment. I suppose that was one of the things I liked about her. Poor Gabrielle, she was so much fun, always.’

‘It was a pleasant surprise when she turned up,’ Simon said with a grin. ‘I was working at home one afternoon. Tash had driven up to Ennerdale for a day’s painting. The doorbell rang and I found this gorgeous lady standing outside. She told me she used to know Tash back in Leeds.’

‘We both shared the same dreams,’ Tash said. ‘We fancied ourselves as actresses. Failing that, as models. Magazine front covers, television, you name it. Of course it never happened. We both did plenty of photo-shoots, but the big break never came.’

Miranda said, ‘So you moved to Cumbria?’

‘Gabrielle and I both drifted out of the business and we drifted apart as well. We were both sick of city life. I fancied moving to the countryside, Gabrielle decided to emigrate. Last time I heard from her, she was leaving for America. She wasn’t good at keeping in touch, I didn’t have an address or phone number for her. To be honest, I’d almost forgotten about her. So I hardly expected to come home one day and find her telling Simon all the embarrassing stories about the way I used to fluff my lines whenever I had an audition, even for the simplest voiceover.’

‘Just think,’ Simon said lazily, ‘if your acting career had taken off, you could have a part in a soap instead of living out here in the middle of nowhere.’

‘I know which I prefer,’ Tash said. ‘It was a wonderful surprise to see Gabrielle again. And so heartbreaking that she died such a cruel death.’

‘Did she stay with you?’

Tash took another sip from her glass. ‘We offered, but she’d booked into The Moon under Water for a few days and she didn’t want to put us to any trouble. Or so she said. I did wonder if she liked having Joe Dowling follow her round with his tongue hanging out. When you’ve lived in Brackdale a while, Miranda, you’ll find out what he’s like. Anyway, Gabrielle was just bumming around, stopping off in the Lakes on her way further north. She said she’d seen more of America than her native country and she wanted to put that right. Later on, I couldn’t help thinking, if only she hadn’t looked me up on the off-chance…’