EVERYTHING would depend on whether the police believed Carole’s story. 

 

And, even if they accepted she was not involved in Sarah’s death, they could prosecute her for obstructing their investigation.  Ana and Daniel talked about the possibilities as they drove across the valley to Carole’s house. There had been no time to talk in the house, Daniel was still asleep at eight when she took him a cup of tea and so she did not tell him about her disturbed night and frightening dream.  Daniel asked if she was ill,  did she feel up to going. Ana wondered what he would do if she said no, she could not go. The dream had reminded her of the need to get in touch with Kevin Somerset and let him know what was happening. She must talk to Holly.

 

They kept their promise to be at Carole’s house for nine o’clock and Ivan came out to greet them, playing the role of the host with a great deal of enthusiasm, considering the seriousness of his wife’s position, Ana thought.  But there was a problem. The rail company had cancelled Mark’s train from Barcelona, the last of the previous evening and he was travelling back as they spoke, but he wouldn’t arrive until midday.

 

They gathered in the kitchen where coffee, croissants and fruit were waiting on the table. Ana was sure that Carole had told Ivan everything that happened while he was away and they seemed easy together. Carole looked almost cheerful, more like the person Ana first met and she wondered how Carole managed to cope with keeping her secrets these last weeks. The relief of telling must have been enormous. 

 

Watching Holly and Jeff talking together on the other side of the room, Ana wondered how they had passed the time since yesterday afternoon.  It can’t have been easy, she thought;  Holly’s face yesterday afternoon gave away her complete surprise and shock of Sarah's affair with Jeff.  But she saw no tension between them today. Curious. And how on earth would Mark react when he found out his wife had been sleeping with these men he considered his friends? Would he be angry? If so, with whom? This would not be an easy morning.

 

Now Ivan was home, he played, as always, the ringmaster.

“Carole has brought me up to speed with everything she told you. Bit of a shock for all of us.  I emailed Carole ’s statement to Mark last night. Figured today might be easier for him if he reads it first. I suggest we have a chat and then we can decide what’s the best line for Carole to take with the police. We can look at whether we continue with our contacts here, thanks to Ana of course, or whether it might be prudent for me to contact some chaps I know in Madrid and….

​

Jeff looked across at Daniel, for approval perhaps, before he interrupted Ivan. “Shall we wait until Mark gets here? I can’t see any point in rehashing what Carol told us. Actually, I wish you had warned us Mark wouldn’t be here till later, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have lots of things I need to do.”

 

There were murmurs of agreement from the others and Ana realised that Ivan, trying to regain what he saw as his leadership of this group, believed using his contacts in high places would give him an edge over Jeff. It hadn't worked and Ivan, realising this, changed tack quickly and smoothly.

 

“You’re absolutely right Jeff, stupid of me. And selfish too. I was so keen to get this sorted, once Carol spilt the beans, so to speak.”

For the first time since they met, Ana understood Ivan’s skill in diplomacy, the art of being realistic and pragmatic. Perhaps her dislike of the man was irrational, and she warmed, very slightly, towards him.  He suggested that anyone who needed to leave for any reason should do so. Those who didn’t would be welcome to stay, use the pool, have more coffee. They would reconvene for lunch at twelve thirty. 

 

Daniel, Jeff and Lynette said they had things to do but would be back well before lunch,  Lynette needed to make a call that would only need an hour. Daniel came and asked Ana if she wanted to stay or go with him. but Ana realised she could talk to Holly about Kevin Somerset so she turned to her “ I would love to have a quick chat with you about Kevin if you can stay Holly. Maybe we could take a coffee in the garden?”

 

Five minutes later Holly and Ana sat in a small gazebo at the bottom of the Hepworth’s garden, the dogs, Punch and Judy, by their feet. Ana explained that she had wanted to talk about Kevin since the weekend before but things kept happening to distract her.” Tell me about it” Holly said “I am forgetting what normal life was like. Do you think this will be an end to it? What Carol said?” 
 

Ana admitted that she had no idea, she couldn’t imagine what the police would make of Carol’s story and that, in any case, it didn’t take them much further in knowing what happened to Sarah.  “ But I would like to  let Kevin know what's happening, he was so close to Sarah.”

 

She was about to say she thought Kevin cared more about Sarah than anyone else but realised it was not the most tactful comment. Instead, she told Holly about her meeting with Kevin and how he had shared his story with her, the one he had confided in Sarah. 

 

“The thing is Holly, I don’t feel I can tell you what happened to him, without asking him first, but I am sure he would like to tell you himself.” She explained how the things that had happened to them in their lives, the bad things, had formed a close bond between them and that, for Kevin, Sarah’s death had been a real setback to his recovery.

 

“That’s why I wanted to talk to you.  He told me Sarah was encouraging him to look for work, apparently he’s pretty good at practical things, electrical work and so on.  I wondered if Lynette could use someone like him. And I remembered you were thinking of working with her. Did Sarah ever say anything to you?”

Sarah had not talked about Kevin for a while before she died, Holly said,  and that was one reason why Lynette was suspicious, she thought there was something going on between them. Pausing for a moment, Ana told Holly that she worried that Lynette’s suspicion of Kevin might prevent her talking to him and maybe Holly could be the intermediary. Holly smiled and said she understood perfectly.

 

Personally, she thought it was an excellent idea and she explained how Lynette was concerned that the falling pound and the problems in the banks might mean the housing market bubble in Spain would deflate. She thought that businesses which offered something extra would have a better chance of staying afloat and that was why she wanted Holly to join her. “ She seems to think my interpersonal skills could be useful, although I think hers are great and she is a fantastic organiser. But maybe two heads will be better than one. Poor Kevin, he is so desolate at the moment. I will talk to him as soon as I can. Maybe today, but who knows what will happen next. ”

 

Lynette returned and she and Jonathan came out to the garden to join them, so that conversation was at an end but Ana was reassured that Holly would take Kevin under her wing.  

 

Mark arrived in the car with Daniel, who had gone to the station to meet him. Ana wondered what Daniel had said in the car, had he apologised for sleeping with Mark’s wife? She could see nothing on Mark’s face or in his manner to show he knew of his wife’s betrayal. If she lived to be a hundred, she would still be surprised at the ability of these British friends to hide their emotions. Perhaps this was what Daniel called “keeping a stiff upper lip”. 

 

Ivan took charge again when they were all back in the kitchen, sat around the table with snacks which Ana suspected Lynette had organised. “I sent Mark the statement Carole wrote, and he downloaded it in the hotel, so now we are all up to speed I suggest we think about what Carole should say if the police ask her questions about the rest of us.”

 

Mark interrupted him “Ivan, before you go any further, there are things I need to tell you. It’s not only you, Carole, who hoped that unpleasant secrets would stay buried.