Simon Beckett - The Chemistry of Death

'Well, it's no good pretending we haven't heard. I mean, of course the police are going to want to talk to the local doctor, but all it takes is one person to raise an eyebrow and suddenly everyone's got you convicted. It's just another example of how small-minded people are around here.'

'And big-mouthed,' Jenny flared. It was the first sign of temper I'd seen from her.

Tina shrugged it off. 'Better to get it out in the open. There's too much whispering goes on in this place as it is. I grew up here, you didn't.'

'Sounds like you don't like Manham very much,' I said, hoping to change the subject.

She gave a thin smile. 'Given the chance, I'd be out of here like a shot. I can't understand people like you two, who come here from choice.'

There was a sudden silence. Jenny stood up, white-faced. 'I'll make some coffee.' She went into the house, causing the bead curtain to swing crazily.

'Shit,' Tina said. She gave an apologetic smile. 'Big-mouthed, like she says. And a bit drunk,' she added, putting down her wine.

I'd thought at first that the awkwardness was on my behalf, but I saw now it wasn't. Whatever the reason for Jenny's reaction, it was nothing to do with me.

'Is she all right?'

'Just pissed off by her tactless housemate, I imagine.' She stared into the house as if considering going after her. 'Look, it isn't for me to say anything, but just so you know, she had a bad experience a year or so ago. That's why she came here, to sort of get away from it.'

'What sort of bad experience?'

Tina was already shaking her head. 'If she wants to tell you, she will. I probably shouldn't have said anything. I just… well, I thought you should know. Jenny likes you, so… Oh, God, I'm making a mess of this, aren't I? Can we forget I said anything? Let's talk about something else.'

'OK.' Still distracted by what she'd just told me, I said the first thing that came to mind. 'So what rumours did you hear about me?'

Tina pulled a face. 'I asked for that, didn't I? Nothing really, just gossip. That you'd been questioned by the police, and that… well, that you were a suspect.' She gave a grin that was meant to be cocky, but didn't quite make it. 'You're not, are you?'

'Not as far as I know.'

It was enough for her. 'That's what I mean about this bloody village. People are ready to think the worst at the best of times. When something like this happens…' She waved her hand. 'There I go again. Tell you what, I'll go and help with the coffee.'

'Can I do anything?'

She was already heading inside. 'It's all right. I'll send Jen out to keep you company.'

I sat in the night silence when she'd gone, thinking about what Tina had said. Jenny likes you. What was that supposed to mean? More to the point, how did I feel about it? I told myself it had been the drink talking, that I shouldn't read too much into it.

So why did I feel so nervous all of a sudden?

I got up and went to the low stone wall that bordered the garden. The last of the light had gone now, and the fields were lost in blackness. The faintest breath of breeze came off the lake, carrying the desolate cry of an owl.

There was a noise behind me. Jenny had come back outside, carrying two mugs. I stepped away from the wall, back into the pool of light thrown from the open door. She gave a start as I emerged from the shadows, slopping coffee onto her hands.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump.'

'It's all right. I just didn't see you.' She put the mugs down and blew on her hand.

I gave her a piece of kitchen roll. 'You OK?'

'I'll live.' She wiped her hands.

'Where's Tina?'

'Sobering up.' She picked up the mugs again. 'I didn't ask if you took milk and sugar.'

'No to both.'

She smiled. 'Good guess.' She handed me a coffee and moved towards the wall. 'Admiring the view?'

'What I can see of it.'

'It's great if you like fields and water.'

'And do you?'

We stood side by side, looking towards the lake. 'Yeah, I do actually. I used to go sailing with my dad when I was a girl.'

'Do you still go?'

'Not for years. I still like being by water, though. I keep thinking I should hire a boat some time. Just a small one. I know the lake's too shallow for anything very big. But it seems a waste living this close and not going out on it.'

'I've got a dinghy, if that's any good.'

I said it without thinking. But she turned to me, eagerly. I could see her smiling in the moonlight. I became aware of how close we were standing. Close enough to feel the warmth of her bare skin.

'Really?'

'It's not mine, exactly. It belongs to Henry. But he lets me use it.'

'Are you sure? I mean, I wasn't dropping hints or anything.'

'I know. Anyway, I could do with the exercise.'

I felt something like astonishment as I said it. What are you doing? I looked out at the lake, glad that the darkness hid my face.

'How about this Sunday?' I heard myself say.

'That'd be great! What time?'

I remembered I'd said I'd have lunch with Henry. 'Make it the afternoon? I'll pick you up about three?'

'Three o'clock's fine.'

I could hear the smile in her voice even though I wasn't looking at her. I busied myself taking a drink of my coffee, barely noticing as it burned my mouth. I couldn't believe what I'd just done. Tina's not the only one who needs to sober up, I thought.

I made my excuses and left not long afterwards. Tina made a belated appearance as I was going, grinning as she told me I could let her have the shorts back later. I thanked her but changed back into my damp jeans. My reputation in the village had suffered enough without walking back through it in a pair of lurid surf shorts.

I hadn't gone far from the house when my mobile phone gave a short beep to let me know there was a message. I always carried the phone with me so I could be contacted in an emergency, but when I'd taken off my wet jeans I'd left it in the pocket. I'd forgotten all about it, and the realization that I'd been out of touch for over two hours finally roused me from my preoccupation with Jenny. Guiltily, I called my answer service, hoping I hadn't missed anything serious.

But the message wasn't about any of my patients. It was from Mackenzie.

They'd found a body.

The floodlights cast a ghostly brightness onto the area. The surrounding trees were transformed into a surreal landscape of light and dark. In the centre of it the team of crime scene officers went about their business. A rectangular section of ground had been marked out with a gridwork of nylon string, and to the background hum of a generator they painstakingly scraped away at the earth, slowly revealing more of what lay hidden beneath.

Mackenzie stood nearby, crunching on a mint as he watched. The policeman looked tired and drawn, the floodlights leaching the colour from his face and accentuating the shadows under his eyes.

'We found the grave this afternoon. It's only shallow, about two or three feet deep. We thought it might be a false alarm at first, some animal or a badger set. Till we exposed the hand.'

The site was in a wood, about two miles from where Sally Palmer's body had been found. The forensics team had cleared away most of the top layer of earth by the time I arrived, just after midnight. I watched one of the officers sifting soil through a sieve. She paused to examine something, then discarded it and continued.

'How did you find it?' I asked Mackenzie.

'Sniffer dog.'

I nodded. It wasn't only drugs and explosives that the police used specially trained dogs to find. Locating a grave was rarely easy, and the larger the area to be searched the harder it got. If the body had been buried for some time there might be a tell-tale depression as the disturbed earth settled, and long-handled probes could be used to check for any areas that were more yielding than the surrounding ground. I even knew of one forensic scientist in the States who'd had interesting results divining for graves using pieces of bent wire.