Will could think of nothing. What could they do? He was hardly going to object to his sister being buried with the man she loved, was he? He had been assured that his niece would be staying with Françoise’s family until a permanent home could be found for her. Apparently, the little girl was devastated. She was being monitored carefully and given the full support of the base medical team. The Fauve family were giving her love and a good home environment to assist her to come to terms with her loss. It was thought prudent to leave her where she was. Philip and Annette Fauve had insisted that Sophie stay with them as long as necessary. They had been Eva and Guy’s closest friends and were devastated by the horrific news.
Will rang them. He had been dreading speaking to Sophie, but when he did, although she seemed quieter than he remembered, their conversation was far less emotional than he had expected. Annette Fauve spoke to him shortly afterwards, and said the little girl was being remarkably brave, although the smallest of things could bring on floods of tears.
He was dreading the funeral. The last one he and Kate had attended had been their daughter’s.
He would have to go without her, but the thought of Kate alone in Holland House filled him with concern. On the other hand, the thought of Kate in black again was beyond contemplation.
They had not yet broached the subject, but Will put off discussing it with her until a date was set.
On the Wednesday, he went into town and bought himself a new dark suit. He couldn’t bring himself to put on the one he had worn to his daughter’s funeral, and he wondered why he had kept it.
When he returned, Kate was sitting on the bench, waiting for him. She beckoned to him and patted the seat beside her.
Will kissed her forehead and sat down.
‘I can’t go to the funeral, Will. I just can’t face it.’ She was staring at the ground.
‘I don’t want you to go, sweetheart. I know it would be too much for you, but you can’t stay here on your own either. Perhaps you could spend a few days with your cousin Judy. She’d love to see you again.’
‘Oh, I couldn’t leave the house, darling. I’ll be fine here. I’m not scared. After all, I spent enough nights alone when you were on shift.’
‘Not on the edge of a desolate fen, you didn’t.’
‘And what, officer, is the crime rate here, compared with the town?’
‘There is no comparison, Kate!’
‘I rest my case.’
‘Come on, babe! I’ll worry myself sick. What if we got someone to stay with you until I get home?’
‘Who, exactly?’
‘I don’t know. There must be someone.’
‘William! How long do you think Mrs Holland was alone here? An old lady with pots of dosh around. If anyone was going to get burgled, it would have been her, right? And was she? No. If she could be happy here alone, then so can I.’
For a second, he didn’t care what she did. He was tired of all this. If she wanted her precious house to herself, then so be it. Then he thought of those awful paintings in her studio.
He rubbed his tired eyes. At least he had a little more time. He hadn’t yet been given a date for the funeral. Maybe they could reach a compromise by then. Maybe.
That afternoon Will drove out to Tanners Fen. He had already rung Matt and Liz to tell them what had happened, and they had offered to do anything they could to help out. Now he wanted to see them in person.
When he arrived, his friends were engrossed in sorting through the contents of an ancient battered suitcase. The kitchen table was piled with yellowing documents and dozens of old photographs.
‘We’ve just found this case — it was stuck on top of a wardrobe,’ explained Matt. ‘We’ve been putting together an archive on this particular area of the fens. I’ve been meaning to sort all this stuff for donkey’s years, and Kate’s research has given me the push I needed. It seems that I really do know quite a bit about Whisper Fen.’
Liz led Will through to the dining room, where he saw another table covered in papers, folders and clear plastic envelopes all labelled in black marker pen.
‘Hell-fire!’ Will exclaimed. ‘This looks like the case notes from a major investigation.’ He looked at some of the files of photos and was surprised to see one marked “Holland House.” The pictures were in black-and-white and sepia.
Liz gave him a grin. ‘It’s the only way we know how to work. Once a copper always a copper, I suppose.’ She reached out and squeezed his arm. ‘How are you doing, Will? Are you coping alright?’
He gave her a tired smile. ‘I’m okay, Liz, thank you. In a way it’s been made easier by the fact that I saw so little of Eva since she married. We had very different lives. Even so, it’s hard to believe I’ll never see her again.’
‘And Kate?’
What to say? He didn’t know himself. Before he could answer, Matt joined them carrying three mugs of tea. They sat at the table amidst the piles of documents.
‘Kate isn’t going with me to the funeral.’
‘Oh, thank heavens! That’s a huge relief. We were worried about that.’ Matt took a deep breath. ‘Which brings us to the next thing we were going to say. You can always say no if you think it would be inappropriate but considering the circumstances, I would be very happy to go with you for moral support, and Liz will keep an eye on Kate.’
Overcome with emotion, Will couldn’t speak for a few moments. He had been dreading having to make the trip alone. ‘You would?’
‘Of course! Sometimes you need a mate close at hand,’ Matt smiled, ‘even if it’s just to pour you another drink and listen to yet another story about when you were a kid.’
‘I’ve subjected Kate to enough of those recently,’ said Will, laughing. The laugh faded. ‘But as to looking out for Kate, I’m really not sure if she’d agree.’ He stared into his tea. ‘She almost seems to relish having Holland House to herself for a while.’
‘Well, at least she’ll know I’m just a phone call away and could be with her in minutes if need be. And whether she likes it or not, I will keep an eye on her, one way or another.’ Liz looked at him seriously. ‘But I’ll be clever about it, don’t worry. I won’t intrude.’
‘Liz can use some of these snippets of Holland House memorabilia as bait to draw her in,’ Matt added. ‘The closer we can get to her, the more help we’ll be.’ He paused. ‘This couldn’t have come at a worse time for you, Will, could it?’
‘No,’ Will said. ‘Although, strangely, I’ve seen more of my old Kate in the last week than all the time we’ve been here. There’ve even been a few times when I began to wonder if I’d been getting it all out of proportion and worrying over nothing, and then I remembered those awful pictures.’
‘I’m sure you’re right. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security, my friend.’ Matt sounded grave. ‘Have you had a date for the funeral yet?’
‘Not yet, although the circumstances surrounding the accident were quite straightforward, so it should be fairly soon.’
‘Well, I can be ready at short notice. Liz and Emilia are in touch a couple of times a day, although once again it’s gone very quiet at Little Anchor.’