ANA was a confident and experienced interpreter, but she felt nervous in Mark’s sitting room, much more so than she had in the Guardia Civil headquarters. Even Mayte’s familiar presence failed to reassure her and she knew that these people, these foreigners, people she had only met through Daniel, were her friends now, and needed her. She must help them as best she could.

 

But all of a sudden she didn’t want to hear any more information about Mark or anyone else. All the curiosity she had felt before, a slight pleasure in listening to gossip, during and after the beach party, disappeared, killed by the reality of a death and its human repercussions. She worried whether her friendship with Mayte could survive this time.  What would happen if the police arrested Mark? She wished, with all her heart, that she had taken up Daniel’s suggestion to refuse the role of interpreter. Pride had played a part, she had wanted his friends to admire her as an impressive, professional person, not just as ‘Daniel’s guapa chica’. Too late to change her mind now. She took several deep breaths, sat down on a sofa, and waited for Manuel Camps to begin.

 

“Señor Harris” He held a sheaf of papers in his hand. “As you know, an autopsy was carried out on your wife this morning, and we received the results by email an hour ago. We have read the report, and I can tell you now that the medical evidence shows that your wife appears to have fallen from a great height into the sea. She suffered an injury to the back of her head, most probably during the fall.”

 

He told them that it was likely that Sarah entered the water alive but unconscious, and that she drowned almost immediately. There were no signs she struggled in the water. The examination found the wound to her head consistent with a blow from a rock, but it was not clear how the blow happened. The time of death is estimated at some time between five and eleven o'clock on the morning of 25 June.  He said police officers were searching and unless and until the police search of the clifftop paths found any evidence, her death would remain unexplained. He spoke in Spanish and although Ana thought Mark understood almost all, she translated the words.

 

“Thank you for the information,” Mark said. “If I understand correctly, she was knocked unconscious by a blow to her head, so she did not suffer after that.” 

 

“That seems to be the pathologist’s conclusion,” Mayte said in Spanish, “I am sure that is a comfort to you.” She explained that their problem was not knowing how Sarah came by the injury to her head, and so they were searching for the point where she fell, and for signs of what might have happened. It was a  difficult search in a large area of scrubland,  covered with bushes. One question which we must ask you, Señor Harris, is whether you can think of any reason your wife might have taken her own life.”

 

Ana saw that Mark understood the gist of everything said, but he took full advantage of the breathing space her interpretation gave him. 

 

“I cannot truthfully say my wife was happy these last six months. All her life, Sarah had a difficult relationship with her mother, and when she died in England at the end of last year, it revived youthful memories, which I know Sarah would have preferred to remain buried.” Taking advantage of the pause while Ana translated, Mark cleared his throat and swallowed. “Since then,” he went on “Sarah has been much more volatile, more prone to quarrelling with me, and also occasionally with other people, even friends of whom she was very fond. There was a small incident at the beach party on the night of 23 June, which I am sure other people will tell you about”.

 

He paused but as none of the others said anything he continued

“I don’t believe Sarah would take her own life. My wife was a survivor, who learnt some hard lessons in childhood and later in her life. If you feel it is relevant and necessary, then I will give you more information about her life. But I can say I have no reason to think Sarah killed herself.”
 

Mark spoke in a straightforward, honest way, impressing Ana, and she thought, the police officers.  Unasked, he added that he had not harmed his wife and that he knew of no one else who might have wanted to do so.

 

For the time being the police had no other questions for him and before he left the room he gave Sarah’s passport to Luis, with the name of their solicitor.

 

“Muchas gracias, thank you, Señor Harris, for your cooperation,” Mayte said, touching his arm.

 

As he left, she asked him to send in Jonathan in five minutes. 

Manuel Camps gave Ana what she thought a quizzical look. Just what had Maite told him about her involvement with the group?  She wondered what Maite said about Ivan Hepworth and the Russian mafia and whether he was aware the comment was from Sarah. Ana was not sure if she wanted him to know, not at this stage. She must be careful how she spoke.

 

“Señor Harris is a self-disciplined man, is he not?" commented Manuel Camps. “He was a civil servant in India, is that correct?” When Ana agreed, Manuel Camps said with a smile he would have guessed as Señor Harris appeared very practised in dealing elegantly with native officials. Mayte raised her eyebrows, but Ana, determined not be drawn,  replied that although she did not know him well she had been impressed at the way he had refused to allow his grief for his wife to show, nor to get in the way of finding out what happened. She saw that Mayte and Luis approved of her answer and could only guess at the tensions between the local police and the Guardia Civil. She must quiz Mayte later, in private.

“In any case, it is always easier to deal with people who know the rules, and play by them. Let us see what Senor Locke has to say about what happened.” And with this Manuel Camps gestured to Luis to fetch Jonathan.

 

Ana relaxed a little through this interview as Jonathan was well able to manage the conversation in Spanish. Nevertheless, she listened carefully, just in case there were any misunderstandings. And it was Mayte asking the questions. Ana assumed the police party had decided who would interrogate whom. Were they, she wondered, playing “good cop, bad cop” and if so, which was which?  Mayte could put Jonathan at his ease, so he was more forthcoming than he might have been with Manuel Camps asking the questions before. Jonathan was, though, unable to add anything significant to the information the police already had and when, towards the end, Mayte asked if he thought Sarah might have taken her own life, he too said he considered her an unlikely candidate for suicide. 

 

He believed she had fallen from a cliff path, describing her as adventurous, and the best swimmer of all his friends. With amazing honesty, which brought a lump to Ana's throat, he admitted his view of Sarah’s death might be coloured by his own experience and he told them how his partner Philip had committed suicide several years earlier. Like Mark, he knew of no one who might want to harm her. 

 

As the interview ended Mayte told Jonathan how impressed she was by his grasp of Spanish, and his impeccable accent; he blushed. Ana noted that Jonathan hadn’t mentioned whether Sarah had taunted him about his life before moving to Spain. She knew that, if she were Jonathan, she would not bring it up either, if no one else did. 

 

Lynette was next to be interviewed. She smiled at Mayte as she entered the sitting room but directed her not inconsiderable charm at Manuel Camps, and Ana saw he recognised how very attractive she was. Immaculately groomed despite two days away from home, Lynette’s appearance struck the right note; a short-sleeved dark olive dress with a neckline that flattered her shape and allowed just the smallest hint of cleavage. She wore flat-heeled black sandals and no jewellery. For the first time it occurred to Ana that, on a superficial level, she and Lynette were not dissimilar. Lynette was shorter, but they both had the same lustrous black hair, Lynette’s cut shorter than Ana’s, her fringe ending just above her large, dark eyes. 

 

Ana gave herself a mental shake. It was not the time to be comparing herself to Daniel’s ex-wife. 

 

Although Lynette could make herself understood in Spanish, her knowledge was basic, most of her vocabulary relating to the property market. Daniel had told Ana that, like many expatriates, she had taken Spanish lessons on arrival in the country but as she never mixed with Spanish people in social situations she was not fluent.  Earlier Daniel had warned Ana that Lynette might struggle to talk about events involving other people, and in particular about feelings.

“Señora Smith,” Manuel Camps began in Spanish, “thank you for helping us with our enquiries. I hope it won’t be necessary to keep you too long, but there are questions we need to ask you. We hope you have information which will help us in finding out how Señora Harris died.” 

 

As he continued, Ana thought Lynette understood most of what was being said but used the thinking time the interpretation allowed.  Lynette, like Jonathan,  told them she was sure Sarah was not the type to kill herself, nor did she know of anyone who wished Sarah harm. Lynette reminded Manuel Camps that many people wanted to live in their area because it was such a safe place; a police presence around the beaches and, apart from the occasional house robbery in an urbanisation, crime rare. It was the towns further south which were, as far as Lynette knew, “full of lower class expatriates with social problems.”

 

In her interpretation, Ana used the most polite words she could find. Lynette's barbed comments raised a smile from Manuel Camps and Luis, but Ana saw Mayte’s eyebrows rise a fraction at the comment.  

 

Now Mayte told Ana that they would now take Daniel statement and then her own.  Did she think Daniel could manage without her help?  She did and it was not, in any case, appropriate for a wife to interpret for her husband when they were both witnesses. After thanking her for her help so far, Mayte asked Ana to accompany them to the Guys’ house to interpret during the interviews of Holly, Jeff, and Kevin Somerset. 

 

It was already after midday, but Mayte explained they should be able to complete those interviews before taking a late lunch. Ana breathed a sigh of relief to find she could return to her home for lunch after the police confirmed she need not interpret for the Hepworths. Carole was, Manual Camps said, confident she could manage by herself in this first interview. The police offered to drive Ana home after the interviews at the Guys’ house.  

 

Her own interview was short and the only questions from Manuel Camps came when she told how Sarah had telephoned her the morning after the party, to arrange a meeting. Ana knew from Mayte’s expression she would have some explaining to do.  Why did she think Senora Harris had phoned, Manuel Camps asked, what was her reason for telephoning that day? Had she said anything about her movements that morning, before their appointment?  Ana had thought over and over about the precise words that Sarah had used. Now she was positive that Sarah said she had "a couple of things to do first"  but that eleven thirty would be fine.

 

“You are sure she didn’t mention swimming?” Mayte asked, “or meeting someone, even if she didn’t give a name?”  Ana had repeated the conversation so many times she was positive that Sarah had said nothing at all about what the things were. 

 

Daniel’s interview, too, was quick, and Ana gave him a quick hug, telling him the police would drive her home after the interviews. 

“I'll be there when you get back. I will take Sarah's laptop and work on it at home, easier that way, I think. My fear is I find stuff that is difficult for lots of people."