The Therapist(18)

I want – need – to speak to Leo but when I call his number, it goes through to voicemail. I wait a few minutes, then try again, but he still doesn’t pick up. I want so much to get to the bottom of it that I decide to call the estate agents back and insist on having Ben’s mobile number. But something occurs to me. What if he wasn’t obliged to tell Leo about the murder? Bringing up my search engine again, I type Do estate agents have to disclose murder at a property? A helpful article came up but as I start to read it, my gratitude turns to dismay. It seems that although most estate agents would mention it, there’s no obligation to do so.

Stunned, I lean back against the bench. I can’t believe that Ben was so unscrupulous. Even if he wasn’t obliged by law to tell Leo, what about his moral obligation? He was recommended to us by Ginny and Mark, he and Mark have become friends. I need to warn them about him.

I send Ginny a message Can you talk? Ginny, being Ginny, is able to tell from those few words that something is wrong and phones straightaway.

‘Alice, what’s up? Are you alright, is Leo alright?’

‘Yes, we’re both fine. But Ginny, I need your advice. Actually, I need to speak to Ben. Do you have his mobile number, by any chance?’

‘Mark does. Why – is there a problem with the house or something?’

Surprise jolts through me. ‘How do you know?’

‘I don’t.’ Ginny sounds puzzled. ‘But if you want Ben’s number, it must be to do with the house, because why else would you want to talk to him?’

‘Yes, it is about the house. I’ve just found out that a woman was murdered here, at number 6.’ Just saying it makes the horror come back and I grip the wooden bench with my free hand, grounding myself.

‘What?’ I can hear the shock in Ginny’s voice. ‘Did you say a woman was murdered in your house, the house Leo just bought?’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, I checked. Do you remember the Nina Maxwell murder? The woman who was killed by her husband?’

‘Didn’t he commit suicide?’

‘Yes, I think so. This was their house, Ginny, this is where it happened. I checked the news reports, they mention The Circle, they don’t say what number but it was here, I know it was.’

‘Alice, that’s awful, I’m so sorry!’

‘It must be why the house was empty for so long, why nobody wanted to buy it. I don’t blame them, I don’t want to stay here now, I can’t bear to be in the house. I’m sitting in the square and even that’s too close. Ben should have told Leo, but he didn’t.’

‘But – I don’t understand. Wouldn’t he have been obliged to?’

‘Apparently not, I checked.’

‘Perhaps he didn’t know.’

‘I think he must have.’

The gate clangs open and looking up, I see Geoff closing it behind him as he comes into the square. He’s wearing his usual outfit of shorts and a baggy shirt, except that he’s added a peaked cap to protect his balding head from the sun. He gives me a cheery smile and for a moment, I’m tempted to jump up and ask him if he knows anything about the murder. Instead, I smile back, keeping my head bent low over my phone so that he’ll realise I’m on a call.

‘I can’t believe Ben wouldn’t have told you,’ Ginny is saying. ‘I don’t know him that well – Mark knows him better than I do – but I can’t imagine he would be so dishonest.’

‘That’s why I need to speak to him,’ I say as Geoff walks past. ‘I phoned his office and they told me he’s away for a few days. But this is important. Could you get his number from Mark?’

‘I’ll phone him now. Do you want me to call Ben for you?’

‘Would you?’ My voice breaks. ‘It’s just that she was called Nina. If you could find out if he knew, I’ll take it from there.’

‘Of course.’ Ginny’s voice is full of sympathy. She never knew Nina but she understands why I’m extra upset. ‘I’ll call you back.’

It seems an eternity before my phone rings again, an eternity where I feel completely alone, because Geoff has long since gone and there’s no-one else around. Then, just as my phone starts ringing, I see Eve, Tamsin and Maria come through the gate at the other end of the square with a group of chattering children. About to take the call, I shift quickly on the bench, turning my back to them, hoping they won’t see me and decide to come over. But when I check the number, it’s not one that I know. I stare at the screen, hating the effect it’s having on me, the way it’s making my heart race. What if it’s the private investigator?

I press the green icon, accepting the call.

‘Ms Dawson?’ It’s a man’s voice and I’m about to cut him off when I realise it isn’t Thomas Grainger.

‘Yes,’ I say curtly, because it has to be Ben.

‘Ms Dawson, it’s Ben Forbes, from Redwoods. I’ve just had Ginny on the phone and I wanted to phone you myself. I hope that’s alright?’

‘Yes, it’s fine, I just want to get to the bottom of this, I want to know how we’ve ended up living in a house where a woman was murdered.’

‘I know it must have come as a shock to you,’ he says, echoing Thomas Grainger’s words.