The Sculptress by Minette Walters Page A

people?’
    ‘Only if they were nasty to Amber.’
    ‘And did that happen often?’
    ‘No. Everyone liked Amber.’
    ‘OK.’ Roz tapped her pencil against her teeth. ‘You
say you were the only one Olive spoke to. What sort
of things did you talk about?’
    Geraldine plucked at her skirt. ‘Just things,’ she
said unhelpfully. ‘I can’t remember now.’
    ‘The sort of things all girls talk about at school.’
    ‘Well, yes, I suppose so.’
    Roz gritted her teeth. ‘So you discussed sex, and
boys, and clothes, and make-up?’
    ‘Well, yes,’ she said again.
    ‘I find that hard to believe, Mrs Wright. Not unless
she’s changed a great deal in ten years. I’ve met her,
you know. She’s not remotely interested in trivia and
she doesn’t like talking about herself. She wants to
know about me and what I do.’
    ‘That’s probably because she’s in prison and you’re
her only visitor.’
    ‘I’m not, in actual fact. Also, I am told that most
prisoners do the exact opposite when someone visits
them. They talk about themselves nineteen to the
dozen because it’s the only time they get a sympathetic
hearing.’ She raised a speculative eyebrow. ‘I
think it’s Olive’s nature to quiz the person she’s talking
to. I suspect she’s always done it, and that’s why
none of you liked her very much. You probably
thought she was nosy.’ Pray God, I’m right, she
thought, because this one, who’s about as manipulable
as putty, will say I am regardless.
    ‘How funny,’ said Geraldine. ‘Now you mention
it, she did ask a lot of questions. She was always
wanting to know about my parents, whether they held
hands and kissed, and whether I’d ever heard them
making love.’ She turned her mouth down. ‘Yes, I
remember now, that’s why I didn’t like her. She was
forever trying to find out how often my parents had
sex, and she used to push her face up close when she
asked, and stare.’ She gave a small shudder. ‘I used to
hate that. She had such greedy eyes.’
    ‘Did you tell her?’
    ‘About my parents?’ Geraldine sniggered. ‘Not the
truth, certainly. I didn’t know myself. Whenever she
asked, I always said, yes, they’d had sex the night
before, just to get away from her. Everyone did. It
became a silly sort of game in the end.’
    ‘Why did she want to know?’
    The woman shrugged. ‘I always thought it was
because she had a dirty mind. There’s a woman in the
village who’s just the same. The first thing she says to
anyone is, “Tell me all the gossip,” and her eyes light
up. I hate that sort of thing. She’s the last person to
hear what’s going on, of course. She puts people’s
backs up.’
    Roz thought for a moment. ‘Did Olive’s parents
kiss and cuddle?’
    ‘Lord, no!’
    ‘You’re very certain.’
    ‘Well, of course. They loathed each other. My
mother said they only stayed together because he was
too lazy to move out and she was too mercenary to
let him.’
    ‘So Olive was looking for reassurance?’
    ‘I’m sorry?’
    ‘When she asked you about your parents,’ said Roz
coolly, ‘she was looking for reassurance. The poor kid
was trying to find out if hers were the only ones who
didn’t get on.’
    ‘Oh,’ said Geraldine in surprise. ‘Do you think so?’
She made a pretty little moue with her lips. ‘No,’ she
said, ‘I’m sure you’re wrong. It was the sex bits
she wanted to know about. I told you, her eyes had
a greedy look.’
    Roz let this pass. ‘Did she tell lies?’
    ‘Yes, that was another thing.’ Memories chased
themselves across her face. ‘She was always lying. How
odd, I’d forgotten that. In the end, you know, nobody
ever believed anything she said.’
    ‘What did she lie about?’
    ‘Everything.’
    ‘What in particular? Herself? Other people? Her
parents?’
    ‘Everything.’ She saw the impatience in Roz’s face.
‘Oh dear, it’s so hard to explain. She told stories. I
mean,