The Therapist(50)
‘Because it’s convenient to believe it.’ I make it a statement but I say it gently. ‘What if Nina’s murderer is still out there somewhere?’
Eve looks uncomfortable. ‘I don’t think he is.’ She takes out her phone and checks the screen. ‘Sorry, Alice, I’ve got to run,’ she says, standing up. ‘Hair appointment. See you tomorrow for coffee at Tamsin’s.’
Her relief at being able to get away is tangible. ‘Yes, see you there.’
I shut the door behind her, mulling over what she told me, more convinced than ever that Nina’s murder isn’t as straightforward as Eve would like me to believe. Somebody is hiding something.
But who?
Twenty-Five
I’m expecting Eve and I to walk to Tamsin’s house together the next morning. But when I glance out of the window I see her hurrying down her drive, as if she needs to be somewhere fast. I check my watch; it’s just ten o’clock and we’ve been invited for ten-thirty so she must be going for a run first. Except that she isn’t wearing her running gear.
I hurry upstairs to Leo’s study and watch Eve as she crosses the square. When she’s nearly at the end, instead of carrying on towards the main gate, she veers to the left, heading straight for Tamsin’s house. Realising that I’ve got the time wrong – Tamsin must have said ten, not ten-thirty – I run downstairs, find my trainers and leave the house quickly, surprised that Eve hadn’t come to get me. But maybe she thought I was already there.
By running, I arrive just a couple of minutes after her. Like some of the other residents, Tamsin and Connor have enclosed their porch and as I open the outer door, I can hear her and Eve talking in the hall, on the other side of the inner door. I’m just about to knock when I hear my name.
‘… Alice actually say that the reporter hadn’t contacted her again?’ Tamsin is saying.
‘No, not exactly.’
‘Did you ask her where she went on Tuesday?’
‘She said she went to lunch with a friend.’
‘Do you believe her?’
‘Yes, why wouldn’t I?’
‘But she didn’t say that the reporter hadn’t been back in contact with her?’
‘No. She kind of evaded the question.’
‘I’m worried, Eve. What if she’s trying to find something out?’
‘Like what?’
‘Like who really killed Nina.’
I freeze.
‘Oh Tam, you’re not going to start all that again, are you?’ Eve sounds as if she’s stifling a sigh.
‘Oliver didn’t kill Nina, Eve.’
My heart thuds.
‘You make it sound as if you have proof.’ Now there’s an edge to Eve’s voice. ‘Do you, Tam, do you have proof that Oliver didn’t kill her? Because if you don’t, maybe you should just accept that he did.’
‘He used to go and sit in the square.’
‘Who?’
‘Oliver.’ Tamsin sounds near to tears. ‘Nina mentioned it to me once, she said that sometimes, after a long day at work, he would park the car in the drive and go and sit in the square for a while, to clear his head. Sometimes, if she saw him go in, she would join him.’
‘But – did you tell the police?’ Eve sounds scared and I take a step back, uneasy about what I might hear. I want to leave, I should leave, and come back later, once they’ve finished their private conversation. But I’m worried they’ll hear me walking back down the drive and I can’t really hear anything now that I’ve moved back, not clearly anyway. And then – I draw in my breath so sharply I think they must have heard me. My heart thuds again. Did Tamsin really say something about Connor having an affair with Nina? She can’t have – but she must have, because now Eve is telling her that she needs to speak to him. And then she’s saying something about Will, and I catch the words ‘see Nina’ and ‘gap in the fence’ and my mind reels even more.
‘I think everyone is capable of murder, if they feel threatened,’ Tamsin says, her voice so shrill that I catch her words in their entirety.
I don’t hear Eve’s reply but then I hear my name. Thinking I’m about to be discovered eavesdropping, my heart almost stops. But instead of the inner door being flung open, their footsteps disappear down the hall and I’m weak with relief until I realise that I still need to face them. I don’t how I’m going to do it, how I’m going to sit down and have coffee with them, not just because of what I overheard but because of the shame I feel at having listened in the first place. But I have to go through with it.
I wait a moment, then wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans, take a deep breath and knock.
Tamsin opens the door.
‘Sorry, I’m late,’ I say, panting slightly to make it sound as if I’ve been running.
She gives me a look, as if she knows I’ve been standing in the porch for the last five minutes.
‘You’re not late. I said ten-thirty.’
‘Oh, sorry.’ My cheeks flush. ‘It’s just that I saw Eve leaving her house, and I thought I must have got the time wrong. Shall I come back later?’
She opens the door wider. ‘Don’t be silly. Come in.’