When Night Closes in by Iris Gower Page B

darkness pressing in on her and arms caught her as she passed out. She regained consciousness to find herself seated on a chair in the corridor. Lainey was holding a glass to her lips.
    â€˜I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘but it had to be done.’ He watched as she sipped the water. ‘How can you be so certain that wasn’t Jon Brandon?’
    â€˜The hair mainly and the shape of him. The physique was all wrong.’ She glanced away. ‘After all, I did know him intimately.’
    â€˜Anything else? If so, you must tell me now.’ Lainey did not look at her. She swallowed some water. She was certain that the corpse was not the man she had laughed with, had lain with, had loved.
    Tears blurred her vision. Why had he deceived her? Why had Jon Brandon turned out to be a man leading a double life?
    â€˜The hands were wrong, what was left of them,’ she said. ‘They were too large.’ She shook her head. ‘I’m certain that man in there is not Jon Brandon. Now, can I go home?’
    He drove her to the house himself and waited while she unlocked the door.
    â€˜Come in,’ she said, ‘if you can spare the time, that is.’
    Lainey followed her across the hall and went straight through to the kitchen. She heard him switch on the kettle and soon the hum of boiling water and a fragrant aroma told her that he was making coffee. She almost smiled; he was as bad as Sally. Coffee, the panacea for all ills.
    He returned to the room with two mugs and handed one to her. She sat in the window alcove and leaned against the wooden panels.
    â€˜I’m sorry, Lowri,’ he said. ‘I had to find out if you were lying to me.’
    She shuddered, seeing that man, that corpse, trying not to throw up at the stink, had made her realize that Jon might really be dead. ‘You were testing me? How could you, Jim? Didn’t you think it might tip me over the edge?’
    â€˜I did hope that the shock of seeing the corpse might make you slip up in some way. But I would never wish you to go over the edge. A breakdown is a terrible thing.’
    â€˜Speaking from experience?’
    â€˜I might be.’ He moved towards her and crouched down so that his face was on a level with hers. ‘Look, I really think you should get out of this place for a while, and stay somewhere else in the neighbourhood. This has all the wrong memories, you surely must see that?’
    â€˜Oh, yes,’ she said. ‘All the wrong memories.’ She sipped the coffee but the sweetness made her feel sick. She put the mug on the floor. ‘Perhaps I will go away from here, move out of Jersey Marine for good.’
    â€˜I don’t think that would be advisable, not just now.’ Lainey’s voice was mild. She nodded, grimacing a little.
    â€˜If you think Jon is dead then are you saying that I am a suspect?’
    â€˜Too early to say anything of the kind.’ He rose to his feet and moved to the door; his hand on the latch, he looked back at her. ‘For what it’s worth I think Jon Brandon is very much alive. I mean to solve this puzzle, to find out exactly what is going on and my first step is to find out where Mrs Brandon has taken herself off to.’ He let himself out and, as the door closed, Lowri resisted the urge to run after him.
    She got to her feet and went upstairs to the bathroom; she realized she was nervous of being alone. She switched on the light over the mirror and applied some blusher to her cheeks. She would go out, perhaps do a bit of shopping. She could not bear to go back to the office to face questions from Sally.
    The weather was cooler now; the sun had disappeared behind the clouds. Soon the leaves would turn red, then fall. Summer was coming to an end. She drove into the High Street and parked the car and began to stroll along the road, pausing now and then to look in the shop windows. She caught sight of her reflection and saw a pale, thin