Will thanked him and hung up. He kept seeing the terrified expression on the child’s face in Kate’s last picture. Was he becoming paranoid too? Or had Sophie unintentionally explained what the imaginary youngster had been doing on the marsh?
He realised that Sam Page was looking at him in some concern. Will told him about Sophie’s reaction to Holland House and about her dream.
For a moment Sam said nothing, then he asked Will what he remembered about the painting, especially the detail.
He sat considering it for a while, then said that he had been so fascinated by the girl herself that he had not taken in the smaller details at all.
‘So, you wouldn’t have noticed the small nest at the child’s feet? The tide had partly filled it with water, but it contained three bird’s eggs.’
Will’s mouth went dry. For a moment he was Constable Stonebridge again, back in that ruined chapel and full of terror.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
That evening, Matt and Liz sat at the kitchen table and discussed the meeting between Will and Sam Page. Their supper dishes forgotten, they were sipping a welcome glass of brandy.
Matt had printed off the picture from the computer, and it lay on the table in front of them.
‘To be honest, I wish Sam hadn’t mentioned the bird’s eggs,’ said Matt. ‘I know it was a fact, but poor Will is so wrapped up in his wife’s neuroses, that I think he became a bit fanciful himself.’
‘I can understand why,’ said Liz, staring at the painting. ‘It’s a bit spooky that the child dreamed the same thing as in that scary picture.’
‘Not really.’ Matt sighed. ‘Come on, DS Haynes! Look at this like a detective. It’s perfectly understandable. And I took great pains to explain this to Will before I left. Hell, Liz, he looked haunted.’ He took a quick sip of his brandy. ‘I’m sure you remember Kate’s earlier work, all those cute fairies in the magic garden? Well, one of her big things was to incorporate nature — all her main character illustrations had flowers, trees, birds, small animals, butterflies, and things like spider’s webs and, you got it, nests with eggs in them! Sophie is a massive fan of the books, and remember that painting that Kate dedicated to her and we took to Canada? It was called Snapdragon, and at the bottom, close to where she’d signed it, was a bird’s nest with eggs in it, nestling in the grass. Do you see where I’m going?’
Liz nodded. ‘Put like that, yes. And Will told us at some point that Sophie was keen to know all about the fen and where he lived. He will no doubt have told her about the marsh and the tides.’ Liz exhaled. ‘If the lass did dream about the marsh after she’d actually seen it for herself, her subconscious could well have taken all that on board, then embellished it with something from the fairy books.’ She sat back. ‘Typical dream, then, and not so spooky, after all.’
‘I just hope that Will remembers what I said and doesn’t start making flaky connections.’ Matt frowned. ‘All that creepy crap makes me so angry. Especially about the marsh. Anywhere with water, tides and remote areas can be dangerous, especially for children, unattended ones in particular.’ The frown deepened. ‘History throws up hundreds of accidents on the East Coast, some of them fatal, but usually the result of misadventure or plain stupidity, not because an old house has put a sodding bloody curse on them!’
Liz grinned at him. ‘I love you when you’re angry, Matt Ballard.’
He smiled ruefully. ‘Sorry, but codswallop like that gets my goat. Oh, and I hope you love me all of the time, not just when I’m angry?’
‘That goes without saying, but you are especially lovable when you are outraged.’
‘I don’t think some of the villains we put away would agree with that, but those days are gone, so I suppose I’ll just have to get used to being lovable.’
Matt looked at the picture of the terrified child and turned it face down. He’d had enough of all that for one night.
‘So, what happens now, Matt? With Kate?’ Liz sipped her drink.
‘Well, I guess Will has taken a big step by actually meeting Sam face to face, but he wants one more chance to salvage the situation. Sam made it abundantly clear that he’s walking a dangerous road by not getting her the help she needs, but,’ he shrugged, ‘we can’t force the issue, so all we can do is be there to support him. At least Sam gave him his card, so he can contact him immediately if things do go tits up.’
‘So hopefully a little less pressure on you, darling. I’m not being unkind, but you are shouldering rather a lot of someone else’s emotional baggage, and it’s draining you.’
He knew she was right. He did feel drained, but even so . . . ‘I can’t abandon him, Liz. He’s our friend.’
‘And I wouldn’t want you to, Matt. I love them both dearly, but you can’t help people who don’t want it, and Kate certainly doesn’t, not from anyone. She doesn’t even want us anywhere near her precious Holland House.’ Liz frowned. ‘She’s changed beyond recognition. Let’s just pray Sam can convince Will to get her to a specialist. Otherwise he’s going to lose her.’
‘Sam said as much. I do believe that one more serious episode will force Will to give in.’
‘I just pray he doesn’t leave it too late.’ Liz placed her glass on the table. ‘But on a different subject: I’ve been thinking about the night you were attacked at Emilia’s cottage. Remember you mentioned that the arsonist’s petrol can and some petrol-soaked material were found by the coal-shed door?’
Matt nodded.
‘If you wanted to burn the place down, wouldn’t you post a rag through the letterbox, or throw a petrol bomb through a window? Why light your fire by the coal-shed door?’
Matt considered this. ‘Yeah, and the coal shed is a good way away from the cottage itself. That is odd. I hadn’t actually thought of it before.’
‘To me, that says they didn’t want to damage the house at all, just give the illusion of intending to burn it down.’ She raised an eyebrow. ‘Which takes us back to the premise that someone wants Little Anchor itself for some reason.’
‘And it also takes us back to not knowing what the hell they want it for. Do you know, last time I went in to check the post, I went over that place again, from top to bottom, and for the life of me I can’t find anything that makes it special.’
‘Then we do what we agreed, and back off. If Emilia is not coming back immediately, there’s no need to spend too much time there.’ Liz yawned. ‘I’m ready to turn in. I want to get out to Linden Road early tomorrow, see if there are any more familiar faces taking their custom to Mr Smith’s very convenient store.’
‘Have you decided what’s being passed under the counter yet?’ Matt asked.
‘Not yet, but it’s not drugs, I know that much. If I had to make a guess, I’d say extreme pornography. Dirty magazines most likely.’
‘Well, I know the internet is the main source for that kind of stuff nowadays, but apparently there’s still a massive market for “old school” porn. It could be a very lucrative sideline. What makes you think that’s the case?’