The Darkest Evening

tight across his stomach. He had the face of an overgrown, enthusiastic schoolboy.
Holly took one of the leather chairs. Bolitho sat opposite. ‘This is your office?’
He grimaced. ‘Not much, is it? But yes, this is where I have all my grand dreams for the house.’
‘And the dinner last night was the first step to make the dreams come true?’
He nodded. ‘I need an indication of local support before I can go cap in hand to the major funders. A commitment to sponsorship would help the project on its way. I chose a select number of people who might be prepared to contribute.’
‘You don’t find it awkward asking your friends for money?’ Holly would have disliked the idea, found it embarrassing, and the notion of being in debt to anyone made her squirm.
‘If you work in the arts in this philistine nation, you can’t afford to be squeamish.’ He paused for a moment. ‘Harriet thinks I’m a grubby little oik, demanding cash in return for a part of all this.’ He waved a hand. ‘And of course, she’s right. That’s just what I’m doing. I’m giving my city-dweller pals the illusion that they can play at country-house living, and the chance to buy into the romance and the snobbishness of it all. But what Harriet also realizes is that if we don’t do something to bring life to the place it’ll crumple around her ears. She might pretend to have nothing to do with it, but she’s not stupid. She’s a realist. It suits her to make me out as the mercenary bad guy, but she wouldn’t want me to stop.’
‘And Juliet?’ Holly asked. ‘What does she make of it?’
‘Jules trusts me.’ His voice softened. ‘Like her mother, she despises all talk of money, but she’d hate to lose the house even more. This place is in her blood. When we first got together, I knew they came as a package. Brockburn and Juliet. I would never have her if I wasn’t prepared to take the house on too.’
‘How did you meet?’
‘At a party in Newcastle. Friends of a friend. You know how it is. I could tell she wasn’t having a good time and she didn’t really know anyone. She looked very lost, very fragile. I went to rescue her.’
‘You’re her knight in shining armour?’ Holly didn’t believe in those kinds of fairy stories.
He gave a sad little smile. ‘I do try, but I’m not sure I’m terribly good in the role.’
‘Did you know Lorna Falstone?’
He shook his head. ‘I still work part-time in the city for Live Theatre. More than part-time now my job-share is away on maternity leave. I don’t ride and I don’t particularly like dogs, so I don’t fit in too well with the social scene here.’
‘Tell me what you did yesterday.’
‘I was in here all morning. Keeping out of the way. Jules has a kind of social anxiety. You’d think she’d be used to entertaining, living in this place, but it’s not really her thing. Because of the weather, there weren’t even that many overnight guests – the vicar and her husband didn’t really count because they weren’t staying – but she was getting herself into a panic. Dorothy had it covered, of course, and I knew she’d deal with Jules better than I would.’ He frowned. ‘I do worry that my wife’s a bit dependent on Dorothy. You know, they’ve been friends for years.’
‘And later in the day?’
‘Because of the weather warnings, everyone began arriving much earlier than any of us had expected. Soon after lunch, I started getting emails from them saying they were on their way. That didn’t help Jules’s mood – she’s not good at dealing with the unplanned – so I went out to help. To meet and greet. Show them to their rooms. Make tea.’
Holly nodded. She thought Mark would be good at that. Pleasant, hospitable. He’d been an actor. He’d pretend to be pleased to see his guests even if it was inconvenient. ‘What time did people start arriving?’
‘About three-thirty. Two couples cancelled, but otherwise, everyone was here by five-thirty, an hour before we’d organized to start.’ He paused. ‘It was a bit of a pain, but actually, I thought that was a good sign. For the project, I mean. If people were prepared to change plans and battle against extreme weather to have a bit of the action, then they’d surely make the effort to see brilliant theatre out of the city.’
Holly wasn’t sure that followed. The fund-raising party had offered food, booze and an overnight stay in a special house. Theatregoers would be expected to pay for their tickets and for their interval glass of wine.
‘Did you notice anything at all unusual during the evening? The sound of a vehicle perhaps? We think Lorna would probably have been killed where she was found. It was a brutal attack. There might have been screams, cries for help.’
‘Good God, no. If we’d heard anything like that, we’d have gone out to help. Of course we would. But it was a party. There was music. Laughter.’ He paused. ‘A house like this, you don’t have to worry about disturbing the neighbours, so there’s no need to keep the noise down.’ He paused again. ‘The most unusual thing to happen was your boss turning up with that kid.’
‘Did you recognize the child?’
The question seemed to irritate him. ‘No. I’ve told you. I don’t mix much with the locals. And really, one child looks much the same as another to me.’
Holly sent him back to the others and joined Joe, who was interviewing the party guests. They sat, grasping mugs of coffee, picking at the home-made shortbread Dorothy had supplied. Holly looked over the room.
‘Anyone still to give a statement?’
A tall, elegant woman raised her hand. Something about her, a tension, a reluctance, made Holly turn back to Mark.
‘Is it okay if we use your office?’
Perhaps the woman was shy or perhaps she had information to share, but Holly sensed this