ANA had slept fitfully, her thoughts ranging from the secrets she now knew about their friends to her relationship with Daniel and why she kept secrets from him. But she put her worries aside. She needed to check the statements everyone had made the previous day, before they were signed; she arrived at Guardia Civil headquarters a quarter of an hour before her appointment.

 

She was surprised and pleased to find Mayte waiting outside, with time for a quick coffee together in a nearby café. Although Ana had decided she rather liked Manuel Camps, even if he was a little intimidating, she was relieved that Mayte would be there to provide moral support inside the Guardia Civil building.

 

Mayte seemed able to be open with Ana this morning, she told her there was still insufficient evidence to classify Sarah’s death as suspicious. Unless evidence turned up soon, she said, the death would be classified as unexplained and the body released for burial.So far they had found no trace of Sarah’s purse with her mobile phone and keys, so that was the focus of their search.  

​

If nothing new was found the file would remain active for some time and the body could be exhumed if new evidence emerged.  Ana already knew Mark accepted that his wish for Sarah’s cremation would not be possible, at the present anyway. 

 

“This weekend we will continue searching the cliffs and the beaches,” Mayte said, “and talk to people walking in the area. There could still be someone who remembers something significant. We will also send out a press release today, asking anyone with information to come forward. It will be for the local press, radio and TV stations. It’s important the release goes out in English as well; there are quite a few English language radio stations and newspapers here now. Would you be an angel, mi querida Ana, and check it for any glaring errors? Our Press Officer translates releases into English, but I realise they do sound a bit foreign sometimes.”

 

Ana was glad to help, and she felt less guilty not telling Maite what she knew about Sarah. “I must be sure everyone understands what they are signing, Mayte. I have been over and over my notes, making sure I have everything correct. I didn't sleep much last night.”

Mayte then confided that they were unclear just what had happened at the beach party.
 

“I probably shouldn’t tell you, Ana, but we think Sarah made herself a nuisance to someone; the end of the party on the beach sounded dramatic, from Holly Guy’s account anyway, and it was surely because of what Sarah said.”

 

Reading between the lines of certain statements, they thought Sarah had been making life difficult for some people in recent months. “Do you think, Ana, that there are some people who may be at the very least relieved that Sarah is no longer around to bother them?”

 And then she mentioned Kevin Somerset, echoing Ana’s thoughts, that he had been the only one interviewed who showed real grief. But, she said, the police gathered that most of the time he was with Sarah, it had been just those two. "So how can we know whether he is telling the truth about their relationship? Maybe Sarah rejected his advances, he got rough, and she fell off the cliff.”

 

Mayte hesitated a minute as she drunk her coffee, then looked straight at Ana.
 

“To be honest, querida, I find the people we interviewed a little strange. They have no families here. They spend their time in each other’s pockets, and then you find out they know nothing, or say they know nothing, about each other’s lives beforehand. Maybe you understand them better than I. After all, you are married to one.”

​

Mayte must have realised how that sounded because she put her hand over Ana’s and gave it a squeeze. “Ana, mi querida amiga, I am so sorry, excuse me for taking my puzzlement and frustration out on you. I am not a good person, and not for the first time either. Do you remember when we were in school, you were always the one who saw the best in people, who wanted to know why they did things, while I was always the suspicious one? "

 

She asked Ana if she remembered the boy who used to call them the good and bad twins, because they looked so alike.  Mayte had been the bad twin. “But” she carried on, “ I am sure that was because I wouldn’t let him kiss me behind the toilets, and I always suspected that you did.” She put her arm across her face in mock horror. “No, please don’t tell me now, don’t spoil my memories.” 

 

Her tactic worked and they left the café arm-in-arm laughing. “And of course,” Mayte continued reminiscing, “I realised straightaway your beautiful Diego was a cheat, but you just thought he feared commitment because someone had hurt him in the past. I never trusted him, and I was right, although I have to admit he was very handsome, and you made a beautiful couple. So, this is probably why I joined the police, and you are an interpreter. So come, amiga mia, let us go and do the work we each do best.” 

 

The mention of Diego brought Max back into her head. Should she confess to Mayte?  But no, she had decided in the sleepless hours of the night that if she told anyone, it must be Daniel. And not at a time he was vulnerable, as she had seen him the previous evening. 

​

So she said nothing, continuing to exchange gossip with Mayte. And who would guess, Ana wondered, watching two well dressed, dark-haired and, yes, attractive, Spanish women, on this Saturday morning, smiling as they walked arm in arm, what their work was and where they were going? 

 

As they crossed the street to the headquarters building Mayte told Ana that when Mark arrived to sign his statement, Manuel Camps would want to explain some formal procedures to him. While Ana was talking, she was wondering what Mayte would think, if she knew about Sarah’s internet searches. Would the dramatic stories that Daniel had discovered make Mark a more likely suspect, if Sarah’s death proved to be foul play? What a strange, sad business, Ana thought, what should she do, how should she act? As they reached the gates of the Guardia Civil headquarters she made a decision that it was most definitely not her place to volunteer any information. 

  

All the other statements had been checked, agreed and signed before Mark arrived at the Guardia Civil headquarters. His morning had been busy, he had spent time on the phone to his solicitor and to the British Consul. Mark’s solicitor had explained that the death of a foreign national was always a bureaucratic affair, particularly a death in uncertain circumstances. Mark had also visited the local crematorium, next to the new cemetery where Sarah would probably be buried, initially at least. The efficient crematorium director reassured Mark that he had encountered every possible kind of problem. Mark found his down-to-earth manner refreshing,  just what he needed. He told the director that Sarah had said when she died she would like a Viking funeral, to be put on a boat and sent out to sea on fire. The director told him it would now be illegal, in Spain anyway, and would, in any case, pose a danger to shipping. Mark was only half-sure he was joking, but they had got on well after that.  

 

Manuel Camps welcomed Mark and Ana and told them that Luis was taking part in the clifftop search.  He was also interviewing nearby residents. They had not yet found Sarah’s purse and mobile phone, so they were concentrating the search on them. Searchers were also examining rocks in the vicinity, to see if any showed blood traces. Manuel Camps told them that the clifftop was dangerous for his officers, so they had enlisted the help of the bomberos; the volunteer firemen with experience of working this difficult terrain.

​

Mark signed his statement and they were ready to leave.  Manuel Camps surprised them by asking Mark to clarify certain points which came from the other statements. Without hesitating, Mark agreed to cooperate, asking only that Ana should remain as an interpreter. Manuel Camps said they thought, from the statements they had read, that Sarah had become overly concerned with the lives of her friends, including their lives before they moved to Spain. He asked Mark if he had any idea why, if he knew of any event that might have triggered Sarah’s curiosity. 

 

Mark was silent for a moment or two.  Then he gave a brief, cold summary of Sarah's life; the commune, her general lack of schooling, the sexual abuse, the pregnancy and abortion, the capture of the abuser, her birth mother's death, and the release of the abuser from prison.
 

“I believe the combination of her mother’s death and the abuser’s release may have temporarily unbalanced my wife’s mind. I think she became obsessed with finding out what bad things were in other people's lives.  I can only suppose it was a comfort. She didn’t tell me about any of it; she had ceased to confide in me at all, so I can only guess at her motive.” 

 

There was silence for a few moments and then Manuel Camps said, “Thank you very much for sharing that information, Señor Harris. Unless there is any pressing reason, then what you have said will remain with us in this room. There is one last question I need to ask you again.” He paused, and then looked at Mayte as he spoke. “Do you think that any of the people whose lives your wife investigated had a reason to cause her harm? I am asking you now, as I assume that you have looked at her private files. Unless it becomes necessary, I do not propose to take her computer or other files away for investigation but they must not be altered in any way or destroyed. But I would appreciate your opinion on the matter.” 

 

“If you don’t mind,” Mark said, “I would like to take more time before I answer your question. I have only glanced briefly at Sarah’s files so far. I was upset when I looked at them, and some of the information concerns other people. If you agree, I will go home now and spend time looking in more detail at the information my wife collected. I will telephone you, or come here if you prefer, in the morning, and I promise you that if there is anything that might show that someone might have harmed my wife, then I will tell you about it. I am as anxious as you to find out what happened. I loved my wife very much, but I don’t want to cause unnecessary unpleasantness to people who may well be innocent bystanders in this sad business.”