The Darkest Evening

a great place for Duncan, our son, to grow up. When he’s older he’ll have the run of the garden. Imagine the freedom . . . We’d like to buy this place later if the family agree. It would give them a bit of extra cash and be some security for us. We’re saving frantically for a deposit.’
‘What do Mark and Juliet say about that?’
‘Juliet loves the idea,’ Dorothy said. ‘They could use the money. Mark’s more ambivalent. He says they might need accommodation for visiting actors. I don’t know where he expects us to move to, if that’s what he’s planning.’ She frowned and for the first time since Holly had met her, the woman sounded a little rattled.
Karan reached out and touched his wife’s arm. ‘I’m sure the detective doesn’t want to hear about our domestic problems.’
‘Of course.’ Dorothy smiled. ‘Sorry.’
‘Did you know Lorna Falstone?’ Holly directed her question to the woman.
‘No, your boss already asked me that. I went to school in Newcastle with Juliet. I didn’t grow up here. I came to stay for weekends but I don’t remember meeting Lorna. She’d have been younger than me.’
‘You never met her in Kirkhill?’
‘I don’t think I’d know her. Karan has been doing the house-husband thing until his teaching course starts in September. He’s been taking Duncan to the toddler group and Rhythm and Rhyme in the library. He’s more likely to have met her than me.’ Dorothy looked at her partner. ‘Did you ever come across them?’
‘The little boy is called Thomas.’ Holly looked at Karan.
He seemed to think for a moment before shaking his head. ‘Sorry, that doesn’t mean anything to me.’ There was a quick grin. ‘I find the toddler group pretty hard going actually. I’m the only bloke. I tend to take a paper, sit in a corner and read.’
Holly smiled. She wasn’t quite sure she believed him. Wouldn’t a charmer like him be the centre of attention among a group of bored women? Because Holly couldn’t imagine that a woman with only a house and a child to occupy her would be anything but bored. Surely Karan wouldn’t be allowed to sit apart, reading his paper, even if he were the retiring type? And besides, she sensed he’d enjoy the banter, would see nothing wrong in a little harmless flirtation. Here, though, with his wife listening, she didn’t feel she could push him. ‘If you could quickly take me through your movements yesterday, I can leave you in peace to enjoy the rest of your evening.’
‘I was at the big house all day,’ Dorothy said. ‘I was there by seven in the morning to start prepping. It wasn’t just the food, but most of the guests had been invited to stay over. Mark wanted to make it very special, a real country-house weekend. I’d made sure that the bedrooms were all clean the week before, but they needed the extra touches to make them welcoming. Juliet helped, of course, but we were all thrown when people started turning up early because of the weather.’
‘You didn’t come back here during the day? To see your son perhaps?’ Holly knew this might be important. Lorna’s body had been found not far from the track between the big house and the cottages.
Dorothy shook her head. ‘Really, I didn’t have a minute to breathe. I phoned here early evening, about six, to say hello to Duncan before he went into the bath, just so he wouldn’t forget who I was, but apart from that it was head down all day.’
‘Like I said,’ Karan broke in, ‘they couldn’t run that place without her. Sometimes, I think they take advantage.’
‘Juliet’s a friend,’ Dorothy said, ‘and I love it.’
‘You didn’t hear anything unusual?’ Holly was still talking to Dorothy. ‘It would have been early evening, after the snow had settled.’
‘It was manic there. Guests arriving every ten minutes, needing tea, to be shown their rooms. I’m not sure I’d have heard a rocket being launched from the front lawn.’
‘And did they all arrive at the front of the house?’ Holly asked. ‘Nobody came down the back track where Lorna’s body was discovered?’
‘Oh, no! Mark was very definite about that. He’d staged the whole thing as if it was a piece of film. He wanted their first view of the house to be grand, beautiful – the big cedar on the lawn with the lights, the steps lit from below. There were directions on all the invitations to make sure the guests came to the right entrance.’
Holly nodded and turned her attention to the man. ‘And you, Mr Pabla, how did you spend your day?’
‘Duncan and I went into Kirkhill to do some shopping in the morning. I wanted to go early because the forecast was bad for the afternoon. We just did a quick trip to the Co-op to stock up on essentials. Duncan was well wrapped up in the pushchair, but it was already freezing. When we came back, he went down for his nap and I split some logs. We get given logs from the estate, but they’re whole, too big for the wood-burner. Besides, I quite enjoy it. It’s exercise and it keeps me fit. By mid-afternoon the weather had really closed in and we stayed indoors. Duncan played and I read – I’m catching up on stuff for the teaching qualification. It’s pretty intensive once you start.’
‘Did you see anyone in Kirkhill? Anyone you knew?’
‘Lots of people to wave to in the shop. Everyone uses it, so it’s a kind of social hub. I’m pretty distinctive. The only person of colour in the village.’ He seemed easy, slightly amused to stick out.
‘Anyone specific?’
‘I had quite a chat with Connie Browne. She’s a retired primary headteacher and she’s been giving me some advice on possible voluntary placements before I start the course.’
Holly said nothing. She recognized the name. Miss Browne was Lorna Falstone’s neighbour, the owner of the car which had ended up in the ditch. Was it plausible that