Mary-Jane Riley - After She Fell - A haunting psychological thriller with a shocking twist

The walk had calmed her; the red mist had receded. She was not going to think about Malone any more. The fresh air had been just what she needed to shake off the phone call to him and then the odd one with no one on the other end, and a drink would be bloody helpful too. Plus, the village pub was a good place to start asking around, quietly, about the school.

‘You can go on in, love. They won’t bite.’

Alex looked at the grizzled old boy in a thick pullover grasping his pint with dirt-encrusted hands. ‘Thanks,’ she said, smiling. ‘You don’t always know, do you, whether you’ll be welcome or not?’

The old boy chuckled. ‘This in’t one of yer fancy London pubs: all fur coat and no knickers. This is a right real place. Tony keeps a good pint, even if he has prettied the old boozer up a bit.’ Cackling, he went back to his pint.

The bar was full and the aroma of food, drink, and fun swirled around her head. Couples, friends, men and women were sitting round tables, some eating, some merely drinking, and the bar was lined with people. In one corner was a pool table with two teenagers engrossed in a game. Probably underage. Gus managed his first pint at fifteen in a pub with a pool table.

She pushed her way up to the bar.

‘Hi.’ A woman of about thirty-five with a pierced lip, crop top, and bleached blonde hair smiled at her.

‘Hi. Glass of dry white wine, please.’ She perched on a stool that had become free.

The barmaid went to the fridge took out the bottle and began to pour the wine into a glass. She had half a dozen silver bracelets on one arm that clinked as she poured.

‘Thanks,’ said Alex, as she handed over the money. ‘Nice pub, this.’

The barmaid grinned. ‘Bit fancy these days but the punters are good-hearted. Loyal, too. You on holiday?’ She proffered Alex the change.

Not fancy prices though. ‘Keep that. Buy yourself one.’

‘Ta.’ The barmaid poured herself a glass of wine too.

‘Oi, Kylie.’ A man came out of what Alex presumed was the kitchen carrying two plates of fish and chips. ‘Get your arse into gear.’

‘I’m on my break, Tony, okay?’

Tony rolled his eyes as he weaved his way through customers to find the right table.

‘He could do with employing more sods like me, then I’d be able to have a proper break,’ the barmaid muttered.

Alex smiled and took a sip of her wine. Cold. Slightly sharp but nicely alcoholic. ‘Not exactly. On holiday, I mean.’

‘Oh?’ The barmaid leaned on the bar, obviously up for a chat. ‘I’m Kylie, by the way.’

‘Alex. I’m here looking into the death of the girl from the school. The Drift. For the family. Get some closure. They’re in bits.’

Kylie drew back, a guarded look on her face. ‘What, you’re some sort of private detective? Or copper?’

‘Nothing like that. A friend of the family who’s good at asking questions. Her mum wants to make sure she knows everything.’ Alex leaned forward. ‘She doesn’t trust coppers.’

‘Who does?’ Kylie said. ‘And I’m thinking you mean the girl from the nobby school who topped herself just before Christmas? Yeah, I heard about that. Poor kid. Poor family.’

‘Did you ever see her? I mean, in my day we were always trying to get into the local pubs when we were at school, y’know? Thought it was cool.’

Kylie nodded. ‘Yeah, they do try. The local kids come to play pool – as you can see – and the posh kids come to hang about and pretend to be slumming it. Think we don’t notice them but you can always tell the posh kids. Designer clothes and trainers however much mud they like to splatter on them. Most of the time they leave quietly when they’re told, or they are eighteen, but occasionally—’

‘Yeah?’

‘They make a bloody song and dance and then the landlord has to sort ’em out. When he’s not downing the profits, of course.’

‘What about the school? Do they come down heavily on them? Punish them?’

‘I think it’s punishment enough being up at that place,’ she chortled. ‘They lose some of their privileges, apparently.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘As if they didn’t have enough already. But the diehards always come back again. It is funny, though, when there are teachers in here and the kids come in. They usually turn tail and run fast.’

‘Teachers come here?’

‘Don’t sound so surprised,’ said Kylie in mock horror. ‘Only pub in the village,’ she said, putting on a dodgy Welsh accent.

Alex remembered Gus liking Little Britain and smiled at the joke.

‘Besides,’ Kylie went on, downing her drink, ‘there’s nowhere else to go. Not in Hallow’s Edge. Unless you count the teashop, and that’s not licensed. Have to drive to Norwich for entertainment. Or, I suppose, Cromer or Sheringham, if you’re desperate. And believe me, some of those teachers are that desperate to get out of that place. Another?’ She pointed at the glass that was empty, though Alex couldn’t remember drinking it.

Alex nodded, pushing her glass across the bar. It was a fine line to draw: wanting to be friendly and encouraging without getting totally pissed. ‘And one for you?’

Kylie looked around the bar and shrugged. ‘Why not? The punters can drink a bit more slowly.’ She grinned before pouring two more glasses when someone came to the bar and ordered a round of drinks. ‘Hang on a tic, I’ll be back in a mo.’

‘Busy tonight,’ said Alex, when Kylie came back. ‘The pub.’

Kylie sniffed. ‘It’s not bad, I suppose. Gets better when the summer kicks in proper.’ She nodded over to a corner. ‘Look. Talking about having kids from The Drift in here, there are a couple over there.’

Alex turned slowly, trying to appear nonchalant. Sure enough, in the corner were two boys. One of them she had seen when she stopped at the school when she first arrived. What had he said his name was? Theo, that was it. The other lad was cut from the same mould. Square jaw, blue eyes, tanned skin, silver stud in his ear. He caught her eye and raised his pint.

Alex turned back to Kylie. ‘So,’ she said, ‘why are the teachers desperate to come here?’

‘Huh, that’s easy. Being cooped up at the school is, I am reliably informed, shit, pardon my French. You know, driven by results and all that, and rich kids’ parents wanting their little darlings to succeed. You have to feel sorry for the poor sods: kids and teachers. Drives them all to drink.’ Kylie took a bar towel and started to wipe down the bar. ‘But, you wanna know more about that kid, that right?’

‘Elena Devonshire.’

‘Because? I mean, she killed herself didn’t she? We haven’t had no coppers in here since she was found at the bottom of the cliff that morning. I don’t think old Reg has recovered yet, poor bugger.’

Alex remembered the name from some of the press reports. ‘Reg Gardiner? He found Elena?’

‘That’s right.’

Suddenly, thought Alex, Kylie was remembering a lot more than she had when she’d first walked in. Perhaps the wine had loosened her tongue.

‘Lives in a tumbledown caravan that’s about to drop into the sea, and spends his time walking at all hours with his dog.’

‘Is he the old boy sitting outside?’

‘Reg? In the pub? No, my love, you won’t find him in here. He likes to drink on his own in the caravan. Bit of a loner.’ Kylie leaned over the bar to whisper conspiratorially in a loud voice. ‘There’ve been rumours that he was inside a few years back, but nobody’s sure what for. He’s not quite right in the head, if you know what I mean?’

‘Must have been awful for him.’ Alex took the photograph of Elena that Cat had given her out of her bag. ‘Did you ever see her in here?’