HOW could two kitchens be so different? 

 

The houses were similar, but Holly and Jeff’s kitchen was full of friendly clutter, a lived-in kitchen, so different from the immaculate but sterile room in Mark and Sarah’s house. Ana immediately felt at ease, touched by Holly’s welcoming hug.  Holly impressed her by suggesting, in fair Spanish, that the police should use the dining room for their interviews. 

 

During the ten-minute drive between the houses, Mayte and Manuel Camps had given Ana a quick rundown on local crime and changes since her time. Now there were two women’s refuges for the town, safe houses for women and children, funded with the support of a Government initiative on domestic violence.  British expatriates were active in fundraising for the refuges, Manuel Camps told her, but pointed out that such violence was rare in the foreign communities.  Apart from the odd burglary in the urbanisations, local crime for the British mainly involved stolen passports and drunk and disorderly young holidaymakers on the beaches.

 

With a flashing smile, he told Ana that he suspected the German party who discovered Sarah’s body kept a stash of marihuana in one of their motor caravans, but he decided to overlook it. The group did not appear to be causing any problems; he said, and it was unlikely they were selling large quantities. There was no reason to suppose they were anything to do with Sarah’s death; they asked for their sympathies to be passed to Sarah’s family and friends, offering to attend the funeral if they were still in the area.

 

Ana was taken aback by the emphasis he placed on the importance of foreign residents to the local economy and relieved that, at the moment anyway, he appeared not to believe there was any crime in relation to Sarah’s death.

 

She formed the distinct impression that the police contingent, like Sarah’s friends, prayed that her death would be found to be accidental. They would like it cleared up with the least possible drama. Luis remained silent in the car but as they arrived Ana glanced across at him and as he smiled she saw how Jonathan might well find him attractive. 

 

Holly’s interview followed the now familiar pattern, with Mayte asking the questions and Ana interpreting. Then Holly mentioned Sarah’s outburst at the beach party. Neither Ana nor Lynette had mentioned her attack on Ivan and Ana thought that Daniel would not have done so either. She and Lynette had both mentioned that Sarah seemed to have drunk a great deal of wine and become argumentative.

 

Ana had been unable to discuss anything with Mayte beforehand and the subject had not come up in Ana's interview.  So Ana was taken by surprise when Holly told them about Sarah’s veiled accusations that Ivan was a bigamist, a CIA informer and worked for the Russian Mafia. As she was speaking, Holly looked more and more uncomfortable, particularly when Manuel Camps exchanged a quick glance with Mayte, and asked Holly what she thought lay behind the references. 

 

Looking across at Ana, Holly clearly wished the earth would swallow her up, preferably before she said anything more to cause problems for her friends. But there was no relief. 

 

“So to sum up, Señora Guy,” Manuel Camps said, “Señora Harris quite suddenly, out of the blue, made a series of remarks which you think may have referred to Señor Hepworth. You thought that Señora Harris was implying his marriage to his Russian wife has never been legally ended, meaning he is not legally married to Señora Hepworth. His business interests in Russia may involve criminal elements, the Russian mafia if you like, and he is possibly some kind of intelligence gatherer; a spy for some organisation or another.”

“Yes, well, put that way, you can see how ridiculous it all sounds. I suppose that’s why no one responded to Sarah. We were all so embarrassed, and it brought the party to an end, really. It was just never the same after that.” 

 

Manuel Camps had no more questions for Holly, but when Mayte asked her, she replied she believed no one wished harm to Sarah, and that Sarah was unlikely to have wanted to kill herself. In Holly's opinion, Sarah had fallen from a cliff. She explained that Sarah was known for being adventurous. She went walking and swimming alone and often in places where no one would be around to help her. 

As Holly left the room, Manuel Camps called her back. “One last question, Señora Guy. I understand you travelled home in a car with Señor and Señora Harris.” She nodded. “Did you ask Señora Harris what she meant by her remarks?” Holly looked even more uncomfortable. “No, I didn’t. Sarah seemed herself again by then, I didn’t want to stir up any more trouble.” 

 

Staying on in the room with the police, Ana completed her notes. She found it difficult to translate colloquial phrases, as sometimes there were no obvious Spanish equivalents. She knew small, subtle differences could often change the meaning of a phrase, so she was careful to make sure the notes conveyed the exact meaning of Holly’s last words.

 

Jeff was next and his story was straightforward. When Mayte asked him about Sarah’s attack on Ivan he almost laughed, saying from what he knew of Ivan, the accusation was ridiculous, the things people say when they have drunk too much wine. Ana had spent less time with Jeff than any of Daniel’s other friends, so she was interested in his opinions about the beach party and also about what might have happened to Sarah. She decided he hadn’t liked Sarah very much, or at least had been wary of her. She wasn’t sure which, the language which native English speakers used could be quite ambiguous and some words take on subtle meanings according to the context. Jeff said “One thing I would take a bet on, she didn’t kill herself. She was a survivor, par excellence, that one.” 

 

She thought “that one” an odd way to describe a woman, a close friend, who had recently died, so she filed it away for the future. She told the police that Senor Guy did not believe Senora Harris would ever take her own life.  She found herself constantly surprised by Daniel’s friends.  What had Jonathan said about Jeff?  A man who followed his heart after a career in science, an old lefty. She thought it would be difficult to fool this tall, strong man, his fair hair showing attractive streaks of grey. He must be in his early fifties but he certainly kept himself fit. She wondered about his relationship with Sarah, a beautiful woman whose husband had cheated on her. He and Holly married a long time ago. The two couples saw a lot of each other. What had she read just the other day about the perils of propinquity?

 

She cleared away these thoughts and translated the final questions and answers, which were like the answers of the others.

​

Kevin Somerset provided the surprise of the day. He showed real grief and Ana realised this was the first time that day she saw it on display. Mark Harris would never let anyone know the depth of his feelings. It was as if he were trained, which in a sense as a civil servant he was, to keep his emotions in check; of the others, Jonathan was the most emotional. But in Kevin Ana immediately recognised a man who was grieving for someone important in his life, a man whose hurt and distress was visible. He spoke almost no Spanish and she guessed that the Spanish speakers would find his accent difficult to understand. She determined to convey his words as accurately as she could.

 

Maite began the questions, with a sympathetic smile. “Senor Somerset, could you tell us when you last saw Señora Harris and where?” 
 

“Well, you see, me and Sarah went swimming every day we could. We both loved the sea in the early morning before all them trippers came out and spoiled everywhere.” Kevin described how they met three or four times a week and what a wonderful swimmer Sarah was. Ana had to ask him to pause several times to catch up her Spanish version. Their last outing together took place on 22 June, the day before the party on the beach because, as Kevin explained, Sarah needed to go shopping and get on with cooking food for the party. “She took such trouble with her food, she told me what she was going to prepare, home-cooked Quiche Lorraine it was, none of that ready-made stuff for her.” Ana remembered the beautiful tart that night, any French cook would have been proud of it. Had she complimented Sarah? She feared not.

 

It was when Manuel Camps asked Kevin if Senora Harris had been troubled recently that he became emotional and incoherent. With some difficulty, Ana established that during the last month or so, Sarah talked to Kevin about people she knew well doing bad things. He had advised her to ignore it, told her there were more important things in life, but he had been worried about her. In his opinion, she was getting things out of proportion. Ana was concerned to convey Kevin’s distress about Sarah in a clear sensible way. When Mayte asked him, as she asked each of the interviewees if he thought she might have taken her own life, he broke down and cried. After a minute or two he recovered and said he was sure, absolutely sure, that Sarah would never do that.

 

Mayte and Manuel Camps exchanged glances; Mayte thanked Kevin for his help and said, surprisingly, in English “We are very sorry for your loss, Senor Somerset, I’m sure Senora Guy will have a cup of tea waiting for you.”

​

When he had left the room Manuel Camps said “Well, what a surprise”  and asked Ana if she knew that Sarah Harris had such a close male friend. Did she think it was a romantic liaison? A factor in her death, perhaps?

 

Surprised that the police might regard Kevin as a suspect, Ana’s first instinct was to defend him, then she remembered her role was to be the interpreter. So she said “I only met Senor Somerset yesterday, very briefly. So I have no ideas about his relationship with Senora Harris. Apparently, they went swimming together regularly, an arrangement which Senor Harris approved of as I do not think he likes swimming.”

 

She saw Mayte’s lips twitch and Manuel Camps got the message because he suggested they leave now, if they were to be in time at the Hepworth’s house, after taking Ana home first.

 

On their way out Holly thanked Ana and, giving her a hug, asked in a quiet voice if she could talk to her sometime soon, she had something she wanted to discuss. They agreed that Holly would telephone when she was free and if it was convenient, come to Ana’s house for a coffee. Ana felt a huge sense of relief when she left the house, and she breathed in the air with its taste of the sea, savouring the idea of going home to relax. She had survived one of the hardest morning’s work in her life, but her sense of release was tempered by remembering Holly’s request to “talk things over”.

 

Nothing good had come so far from her talks with Daniel’s friends and half of her wished she might never hear another word from any of them. The other half, the nicer, kinder half she thought, worried about Holly; Ana prayed she would keep safe until they met, unlike Sara Harris, who had never arrived at their rendezvous.