Healers by Ann Cleeves Page A

come into my room. It’s a bit cramped but we won’t be overheard there. Rebecca, perhaps you could make us some tea. Rebecca’s just started with us. She’s already a great asset.”
    The girl blushed, gave a nervous smile and disappeared.
    “I’ll ask the questions,” Ramsay had said to Hunter as they’d climbed the stone stairs to the Centre.
    “Afraid I’ll put my foot in it,” Hunter had muttered, and he almost did put his foot in it. The girl came in with a tray. There was a teapot and three wide cups. No milk, no sugar and when the tea was poured from the pot it was transparent, yellowish. The colour of a urine sample, Hunter thought. And smelling of flowers and tasting of shite.
    “What the hell is this?” he almost exclaimed, but stopped himself in time.
    “Thank you, Rebecca,” Abbot said. Smiling. She blushed again and left the room, closing the door carefully behind her. She had been well trained.
    The room was square and functional. There was a high treatment table covered in a white sheet, a sink. Abbot sat behind his desk and Hunter and Ramsay took the moulded plastic seats which could have come from any hospital waiting room.
    Ramsay drank the herb tea as if he was enjoying it, and apologized for causing any inconvenience.
    “I’ve already told your constable,” Daniel said again with a trace of impatience, “Lily and Sean were definitely with us on Sunday.”
    “Perhaps you could go over it again.”
    “This is rather tiresome, Inspector.”
    “And very important.”
    “They came for lunch. They often come for lunch on Sunday. They arrived at about eleven, had a shower and a coffee. We ate at one o’clock and then they left.”
    “Where did they go?”
    “Lily came here, to the Old Chapel. I presume Sean went straight back to Laverock Farm. He seemed even more spaced out than usual and I didn’t ask. To be honest I thought I’d done my duty by feeding them and I was glad to be rid of him.”
    “Why did Lily come to the Old Chapel? To work?”
    “No. She’s a member of Magda’s Insight Group. They meet here once a month.”
    That must have been the group which Val had attended, Ramsay thought. Another connection.
    “Magda?” he asked.
    “Magda Pocock, my mother-in-law. She’s a rebirther. Rather famous actually.”
    “And is Mrs. Pocock here today?”
    “No. She was speaking at a conference in Nottingham yesterday. She decided to stay overnight. We’re expecting her back at lunchtime.”
    “Lily and Sean,” Ramsay said quietly, ‘how did they seem on Sunday?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “In your work you must be skilled at picking up emotional responses. The holistic approach. Isn’t that what it’s called? I wondered what emotional state Lily and Sean were in when you saw them on Sunday lunchtime.”
    Abbot seemed taken aback. “Oh,” he said, “I see …” His professionalism reasserted itself. “They were a little tense but that’s quite normal I’m afraid. I don’t see that relationship as a permanent one. It’s become rather destructive, especially for Lily.”
    “You think she’ll leave him?” Hunter asked.
    “Eventually, yes,” Abbot said. “At the moment she feels sorry for him. She knows he’s dependent on her and she’s reluctant to break the tie.” Hunter felt suddenly and unaccountably more cheerful. All the same he wished Ramsay would move on. Why didn’t he ask about Val McDougal? Ramsay’s trouble was that he was afraid of confrontation. Hunter always favoured the direct approach.
    “Where did you first meet Lily and Sean?” “My wife met them here, in the cafe, downstairs. She brought them home for a meal. She’s given to collecting strays.” He must have realized that the words sounded bitter because he added with a forced smile, “I’m always telling her she’s too soft-hearted.”
    “And they’d just turned up in Mittingford?” “Yes, I suppose they must have done. Win would be able to tell you more about them. I