‘Maybe. And it’s true that artists can have “black” periods. Come to think of it, some paint that way all the time.’
Matt looked confused. ‘Art’s not really my thing. Didn’t crop up in police training.’
Will chuckled. ‘Didn’t in mine either, but Kate was always dragging me round the art galleries. I went under sufferance, but eventually I began to look a bit harder. I found some paintings fascinating, while others bored me rigid, and some were simply beyond my understanding. There was one artist called Hieronymus Bosch. I seem to recall he painted some pretty hellish creatures.’
‘Actually, I had a case once, involving a major insurance fraud. The guy we were investigating was an art collector. The stuff he collected really gave me the creeps. I can see it now, and the case was years ago. He said it was inspired by the Holocaust, so you can imagine what they were like.’
‘Something similar happened to me,’ Will said. ‘Kate was invited to go to New York with Angela on a promotional tour of Fairy Dreams. We were in this mammoth bookshop where Kate was looking for some art books she wanted. I found a book on this photographer who liked to work with dead bodies. His pictures turned my stomach. I put the book back quick before Kate could see it. The plate on the last page showed a dead baby. Imagine how Kate would have felt if she’d seen it.’
Matt wiped sweat from his eyes. ‘Well, then. In light of all that, perhaps Kate’s new work isn’t so disturbing after all.’
‘Maybe, but they are so unlike her usual work. They’re dreadful pictures, Matt, but I could see how well executed they were. Anyone who likes that sort of thing might think them works of genius. The sense of darkness and foreboding she conveyed was so powerful. It was just that it was my darling Kate that had made them. And they weren’t the Kate I knew.’
‘I’m looking forward to hearing from Liz how she got on with Kate today. From what she told me, our plan might just be working.’ Matt grinned at him. ‘Apparently, Kate can’t wait to hear how our research is going.’
‘I bet she can’t,’ Will said. ‘Holland House and Whisper Fen are all she thinks about.’
‘I wonder if Liz might be able to get her to show her some of her artwork? Shall I ask her to try?’ Matt suggested.
‘You can try, but I’ll bet she won’t get far.’
Matt mopped his face again. ‘I think I’ve had all the heat I can take, Will. I’m off for a cold shower.’
‘Me too,’ said Will, climbing down from the bench. ‘I’ll call Kate and then we can decide where to eat and what to do for the rest of the evening.’
‘Good idea. Come to my room afterwards and we’ll have a think.’ They stepped outside. ‘See you later.’
Reassured by their conversation, Will began to look forward to talking with Kate. He went up to his room and called her on his mobile.
And waited. Her phone rang and rang, but there was no answer. All his anxiety flooded back. Where was she? Out on the marshes, without her mobile? On top of a ladder painting a ceiling? Will sat on the bed and idly flicked through the different channels on the TV, worrying about his wife.
Unease about Kate turned to apprehension about the following day’s funeral. How could he cope with it all?
After a few minutes, he tried ringing Kate again, this time on the landline. Just as he was about to give up, she answered.
‘Kate! Where were you earlier? I was worried about you.’
‘For God’s sake, Will, I can’t hang around the telephone in case you choose to call me! You said you’d ring before I went to bed. It’s not even nine yet!’
‘Sorry, babe. It’s just that I really miss you. You seem so far away, and I hate it. We’ve never been this far apart before.’
‘You sound like a big kid.’ Softening a little, she said, ‘How’s it going?’
‘Okay, I suppose. It’s not the nicest thing I’ve ever had to do, but Matt is a rock. I’m so thankful that he offered to come. Still, once tomorrow’s over, I’ll be thinking of getting home to you.’ He paused, waiting for a response that didn’t come. ‘I did see Sophie today. She is the image of Eva. It’s quite uncanny. Oh, and she is going to ring you, if she hasn’t done so already? She adored your picture. Snapdragon is her favourite, so it was an inspired choice on your part.’
‘Oh, good,’ she said without enthusiasm.
Since she said nothing more, Will went on to tell her that the Fauve family were going to continue to care for Sophie, with a view to formally adopting her at some point in the future.
Now she did sound animated. ‘Really! What lovely people. And they actually told you that, did they? They said they wanted her permanently?’ Her tone had changed completely.
‘Well, yes. They asked if I was planning on bringing her back to England to live with us.’ He heard a slight intake of breath. ‘I told them it would be very difficult for us and they nearly broke open the champagne.’
‘Yes, yes, you were quite right, darling. It would be no good her coming here, no good at all. And of course, she has her friends, her school, the support of the air force. Everything she needs is right where she is now.’
For a moment he wanted to argue. It wasn’t Whisper Fen that was out of the question. It was Kate. Stifling his retort, he changed the subject. ‘So what have you been up to today?’
Eagerly, she listed the tasks that she had tackled already and those that were lined up for the next day. If she were missing him, Will thought, she was certainly showing no signs of it. She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself. Then she added, ‘Oh, and Liz called round. Do you know, Matt has lived on this stretch of the fen all his life, and they are researching it! Isn’t that exciting? She brought me some photos of Holland House in the twenties. They’re awesome.’
After that, they seemed to run out of things to say to each other. Kate muttered a perfunctory, ‘Love you,’ and said she had better hang up before her paintbrush hardened. He said he would ring her after the funeral and that he loved and missed her. He put the phone down.
The room felt oppressive. She had made it plain that she had been dreading him bringing his niece to England with him. And again, no ‘I love you, Bear.’ It was something she always said. The call had left him feeling sad, empty. Will stood up. Damn it! If Kate was enjoying herself, then so would he. He burst through the door to Matt’s room. ‘Okay, buddy, let’s ring Mitch and say we’ll take him up on that offer of seeing the sights, and we’ll have a bloody good dinner. I feel like a drink.’
CHAPTER TEN
Matt walked back into his room, shut the door and exhaled noisily. He loosened his tie, wrenched it off and threw himself down on the bed. He had no idea what time it was in England, but he didn’t care. He needed to talk to Liz.
‘Mattie! Is it all over? How did it go? Are you alright?’ Liz said.
‘Sweetheart, I’ve been to quite a few funerals in my life, but that was one of the most distressing and most beautiful I’ve ever attended. Simply hundreds of people came to say farewell to the pilot and his wife.’
‘And Will? How did he cope?’