was best to leave his wife to deal with the unexpected visitor.
"Please Mr. Lunn!" Sara pleaded, "Please hear me out!"
Mr. Lunn complied and stood next to his wife, facing Sara.
"Perhaps.... you could... give me some of your time. Your sister...Mag...would dearly love to see you Mrs. Lunn."
Mrs. Lunn drew her breath in sharply on hearing her sister's name.
Sara realised she had given the woman a fright.
"No. No. Nothing's wrong. She's fine. I didn't mean to frighten you so."
Mrs. Lunn regained her composure but seemed irritable and annoyed.
"Say what you want girl. I've not got time to stand around here all day."
Sara, who could not allow herself to be intimidated, found not knowing what to expect made her situation the more impossible.
"Your daughter..... Sarah... I've been doing some research..."
Mr. Lunn turned definitively, to move towards the door.
Mrs. Lunn's face had turned as white as a sheet. She remained silent, standing perfectly still where she was, her hands resting on the bright white railing.
Sara forced herself to continue.
"I don't want to upset you Mrs. Lunn but your sister Mag is convinced that something happened to your daughter. I've become involved. I don't want to upset you but why did you tell the police at the time, Inspector Jay, I mean, that Sarah had gone away?"
The words rushed out of Sara's mouth as fast as she could think of them, desperate to illicit a response.
".....but.... everyone in Glymeer....thinks that Gillane was involved. No one knows. There. That's it. No one knows. And I just wanted to know if you knew what happened to Sarah..."
Mrs. Lunn did not respond. She stayed where she was, listening to the stranger. She remained motionless, listening to Sara's diatribe, her eyes intently fixed on the speaker.
Finally, Mrs. Lunn spoke in a low voice, her lips hardly moving:
"You are presumptuous. Now leave." she said, her thin lips curved downwards, concluding the visit.
With a last glare, she turned her back on the unwelcome stranger and walked towards the door.
Sara ran up to Mrs. Lunn and grasped her shoulder before she disappeared forever.
"Why did you say she went away? Where has she gone?"
Mrs. Lunn dislodged the hand from her shoulder, pulling herself away violently.
"Get out. Get out!" she hissed standing inside the doorway.
Sara knew it was over.
She looked at Mrs. Lunn and the two men standing by now, behind her in the doorway.
She was close. Something caught her eye. Paintings in the room from where Mr. Lunn and the young lad had just emerged. Paintings like the ones she had seen in Gillane's house.
Chapter Twelve.
The journey back to Glymeer was long and arduous. Preoccupied by the day’s events and her encounter with Mrs. Lunn, Sara kept getting lost.
A small voice inside her head reminded her of the implications of what she had just done. She should leave well enough alone. Leave it alone.
Whatever had happened to Sarah Lunn almost didn't matter anymore. Sara could not help thinking that Sarah's parents and Gillane had entered into a comfortable complicity. That all three had conspired to conceal a secret.
The sight of the paintings in the Lunn's house had bowled Sara over. She remembered staggering back to the car, her hand covering her mouth. Before driving away, she had looked up towards the porch where she had confronted Mrs. Lunn. She saw the woman standing at the railing, supremely calm and composed, a glimmer of a smile on her face. Not a smile bidding a friend goodbye but a curled twinge at the corner of the lips. A distortion of a smile.
When Mrs. Lunn realised that Sara was looking at her, she had withdrawn her hands from the railing and marched into the house. There would be no respite, no second chance for the unwelcome visitor. The talking was over.
Darkness had descended on Glymeer by the time Sara arrived. John's shop was closed, bolted up, the blinds
"Please Mr. Lunn!" Sara pleaded, "Please hear me out!"
Mr. Lunn complied and stood next to his wife, facing Sara.
"Perhaps.... you could... give me some of your time. Your sister...Mag...would dearly love to see you Mrs. Lunn."
Mrs. Lunn drew her breath in sharply on hearing her sister's name.
Sara realised she had given the woman a fright.
"No. No. Nothing's wrong. She's fine. I didn't mean to frighten you so."
Mrs. Lunn regained her composure but seemed irritable and annoyed.
"Say what you want girl. I've not got time to stand around here all day."
Sara, who could not allow herself to be intimidated, found not knowing what to expect made her situation the more impossible.
"Your daughter..... Sarah... I've been doing some research..."
Mr. Lunn turned definitively, to move towards the door.
Mrs. Lunn's face had turned as white as a sheet. She remained silent, standing perfectly still where she was, her hands resting on the bright white railing.
Sara forced herself to continue.
"I don't want to upset you Mrs. Lunn but your sister Mag is convinced that something happened to your daughter. I've become involved. I don't want to upset you but why did you tell the police at the time, Inspector Jay, I mean, that Sarah had gone away?"
The words rushed out of Sara's mouth as fast as she could think of them, desperate to illicit a response.
".....but.... everyone in Glymeer....thinks that Gillane was involved. No one knows. There. That's it. No one knows. And I just wanted to know if you knew what happened to Sarah..."
Mrs. Lunn did not respond. She stayed where she was, listening to the stranger. She remained motionless, listening to Sara's diatribe, her eyes intently fixed on the speaker.
Finally, Mrs. Lunn spoke in a low voice, her lips hardly moving:
"You are presumptuous. Now leave." she said, her thin lips curved downwards, concluding the visit.
With a last glare, she turned her back on the unwelcome stranger and walked towards the door.
Sara ran up to Mrs. Lunn and grasped her shoulder before she disappeared forever.
"Why did you say she went away? Where has she gone?"
Mrs. Lunn dislodged the hand from her shoulder, pulling herself away violently.
"Get out. Get out!" she hissed standing inside the doorway.
Sara knew it was over.
She looked at Mrs. Lunn and the two men standing by now, behind her in the doorway.
She was close. Something caught her eye. Paintings in the room from where Mr. Lunn and the young lad had just emerged. Paintings like the ones she had seen in Gillane's house.
Chapter Twelve.
The journey back to Glymeer was long and arduous. Preoccupied by the day’s events and her encounter with Mrs. Lunn, Sara kept getting lost.
A small voice inside her head reminded her of the implications of what she had just done. She should leave well enough alone. Leave it alone.
Whatever had happened to Sarah Lunn almost didn't matter anymore. Sara could not help thinking that Sarah's parents and Gillane had entered into a comfortable complicity. That all three had conspired to conceal a secret.
The sight of the paintings in the Lunn's house had bowled Sara over. She remembered staggering back to the car, her hand covering her mouth. Before driving away, she had looked up towards the porch where she had confronted Mrs. Lunn. She saw the woman standing at the railing, supremely calm and composed, a glimmer of a smile on her face. Not a smile bidding a friend goodbye but a curled twinge at the corner of the lips. A distortion of a smile.
When Mrs. Lunn realised that Sara was looking at her, she had withdrawn her hands from the railing and marched into the house. There would be no respite, no second chance for the unwelcome visitor. The talking was over.
Darkness had descended on Glymeer by the time Sara arrived. John's shop was closed, bolted up, the blinds
Similar Books
