fact. She was a bright, inquisitive
woman who pursued a case until she found out the truth, Jess knew. She’d respected her for that, and had felt a certain kinship with her.
‘As far as I can see, the investigation has been dropped by the rest of the team. They think the thief killed Ursula by accident, in the course of carrying out a robbery. They have no
leads, they haven’t come up with any evidence, and they’ve left it at that. But Bonetti isn’t satisfied. She seems to suspect that Blake had something to do with it all.’
Elinor paused. ‘She gave him a pretty hard time, apparently. She’d been to see Mia, Blake’s business partner, in London and found that their stories didn’t match up.
She’d checked their schedules, got hold of all sorts of little details – train times, and so on. In the end, he confessed that he hadn’t been with Mia at all. He said he’d
been visiting Hefin Morris, and he hadn’t told her because Hefin wanted to keep it a secret. She asked where they’d met, and he said at a service station up in the valleys. So now
she’s checking that out.’ Her voice began to tremble. ‘They let him go, but I expect they’ll want to speak to him again. Isobel’s terribly upset.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
Elinor nodded. ‘She’s been in such a state ever since Ma died.’ Jess noticed that now Elinor was able to call a spade a spade, without any evasions. ‘She had to leave the
party early the other night – she just couldn’t cope with it all.’ Elinor paused. ‘I worry about her. She seems very introverted at the moment. She won’t talk to me at
all about any of it, not properly.’
Jess gazed out at the river. A cormorant landed on a rock, further towards the middle, where the water was deep.
‘Perhaps she’s not ready yet.’
‘We used to talk about everything, though.’ There was a note of sadness in Elinor’s voice. Then she fell silent, following Jess’s gaze.
‘You know, I really don’t think you ever told me you had a twin,’ Jess said, breaking the silence at last.
Elinor frowned. ‘Well, I suppose that’s because I don’t really think of myself as a twin any more. Isobel and I used to be very close, when we were growing up. Inseparable,
actually. Even when we left school, we went up to London together, shared a flat, went to Goldsmiths, took the same painting course. She had a very different style from mine. Her paintings were
always big and abstract, while mine were small and figurative. The tutors liked her work, and she was seen as an up-and-coming talent. But then when Pa got ill, she dropped out to help him run the
gallery. That’s how she met Blake . . .’ Her voice trailed off.
They watched as the cormorant dipped to catch a fish, but came up with its beak empty.
‘After she married him, she stopped taking an interest in me,’ Elinor continued. ‘Little by little, we began to see less of each other. Blake was nice enough to me, but they
never included me in their life together. They never invited me to go on holiday with them or anything.’
Jess couldn’t see why a married couple would invite a sibling along on holiday, but she didn’t say so.
‘And it’s been like that ever since. Isobel virtually never gets in touch, unless she needs something. It’s all about Blake now. Blake this, Blake that. I get sick of hearing
about how bloody marvellous he is sometimes.’
Again, Jess found Elinor’s attitude surprising. Obviously a married woman would be more interested in her husband’s doings than her sister’s. But Elinor didn’t seem to
understand that.
‘I feel totally excluded from their relationship, to be honest,’ Elinor went on. ‘It really upsets me.’
Jess was puzzled. She pictured Elinor at the exhibition, after Isobel had left, lolling her head against Blake’s shoulder. Elinor’s complaint didn’t seem to tally with what
she’d seen that night.
‘He’s been good to me, though.’
woman who pursued a case until she found out the truth, Jess knew. She’d respected her for that, and had felt a certain kinship with her.
‘As far as I can see, the investigation has been dropped by the rest of the team. They think the thief killed Ursula by accident, in the course of carrying out a robbery. They have no
leads, they haven’t come up with any evidence, and they’ve left it at that. But Bonetti isn’t satisfied. She seems to suspect that Blake had something to do with it all.’
Elinor paused. ‘She gave him a pretty hard time, apparently. She’d been to see Mia, Blake’s business partner, in London and found that their stories didn’t match up.
She’d checked their schedules, got hold of all sorts of little details – train times, and so on. In the end, he confessed that he hadn’t been with Mia at all. He said he’d
been visiting Hefin Morris, and he hadn’t told her because Hefin wanted to keep it a secret. She asked where they’d met, and he said at a service station up in the valleys. So now
she’s checking that out.’ Her voice began to tremble. ‘They let him go, but I expect they’ll want to speak to him again. Isobel’s terribly upset.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
Elinor nodded. ‘She’s been in such a state ever since Ma died.’ Jess noticed that now Elinor was able to call a spade a spade, without any evasions. ‘She had to leave the
party early the other night – she just couldn’t cope with it all.’ Elinor paused. ‘I worry about her. She seems very introverted at the moment. She won’t talk to me at
all about any of it, not properly.’
Jess gazed out at the river. A cormorant landed on a rock, further towards the middle, where the water was deep.
‘Perhaps she’s not ready yet.’
‘We used to talk about everything, though.’ There was a note of sadness in Elinor’s voice. Then she fell silent, following Jess’s gaze.
‘You know, I really don’t think you ever told me you had a twin,’ Jess said, breaking the silence at last.
Elinor frowned. ‘Well, I suppose that’s because I don’t really think of myself as a twin any more. Isobel and I used to be very close, when we were growing up. Inseparable,
actually. Even when we left school, we went up to London together, shared a flat, went to Goldsmiths, took the same painting course. She had a very different style from mine. Her paintings were
always big and abstract, while mine were small and figurative. The tutors liked her work, and she was seen as an up-and-coming talent. But then when Pa got ill, she dropped out to help him run the
gallery. That’s how she met Blake . . .’ Her voice trailed off.
They watched as the cormorant dipped to catch a fish, but came up with its beak empty.
‘After she married him, she stopped taking an interest in me,’ Elinor continued. ‘Little by little, we began to see less of each other. Blake was nice enough to me, but they
never included me in their life together. They never invited me to go on holiday with them or anything.’
Jess couldn’t see why a married couple would invite a sibling along on holiday, but she didn’t say so.
‘And it’s been like that ever since. Isobel virtually never gets in touch, unless she needs something. It’s all about Blake now. Blake this, Blake that. I get sick of hearing
about how bloody marvellous he is sometimes.’
Again, Jess found Elinor’s attitude surprising. Obviously a married woman would be more interested in her husband’s doings than her sister’s. But Elinor didn’t seem to
understand that.
‘I feel totally excluded from their relationship, to be honest,’ Elinor went on. ‘It really upsets me.’
Jess was puzzled. She pictured Elinor at the exhibition, after Isobel had left, lolling her head against Blake’s shoulder. Elinor’s complaint didn’t seem to tally with what
she’d seen that night.
‘He’s been good to me, though.’
Similar Books
