“Yes, I—I’m not sure when she went, but she did go swimming. We’d talked about it earlier and I think she got bored.”
“You didn’t go as well?” he asked.
“No. No, I didn’t see her go. She was alone.”
Jonah nodded. “Do you recall how long she was gone for?”
A pause, and then Brett shook his head slowly. “I really don’t…I might have remembered back then. Maybe look at my original statement?”
“Your original statement doesn’t mention it.”
Jonah waited, his face fixed in a neutral expression, while Brett thought this over.
“Oh…I—I don’t know why I didn’t think to say. I can’t remember. I’m sorry.”
“That’s fine, thank you.” Jonah let his eyes wander around the room before coming back to Brett. “Do you remember that some of the group were concerned about her? That there was some upset over her disappearance?”
“I…suppose I do. It’s not the clearest thing in my mind from that night, but…yes. I think Topaz was a bit concerned. Yes, she was. Because she got a little angry with Aurora when she came back.”
“And you’re certain that she’d been swimming?” O’Malley asked.
“Yes.”
“How, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Well, her hair was wet,” Brett replied. “She was shivering.”
“Do you remember whether anyone went looking for her at that time?”
Brett shook his head. “No. I don’t think they did. I think we thought she’d be back any minute. And when you’re a little drunk, it’s…hard to keep track of time.”
“How drunk would you say you were?” Jonah asked.
“Christ,” Brett said with a short, nervous laugh. “That’s about one of the hardest questions…I don’t think I was rolling. I was talking and dancing and laughing, and I didn’t get anywhere near passing out.”
“What were you drinking?”
“Vodka, mostly.”
“Neat?”
“God, no,” Brett said, pulling a face. “With mixers. Tonic. A couple of orange juices.”
“Was that all?” Jonah asked, glancing at O’Malley’s scribbled note-taking.
“I think so,” Brett said. “Someone had some rum, I think, and I might have had one with some Coke. But it’s unbelievably sweet. Not my thing.”
“And you’re not a beer man?”
“No. I find it foul-tasting, and it’s wasted calories,” Brett said. “Which has always been awkward socially.”
O’Malley laughed. “Jesus. If you’d grown up in Kilkenny, you’d have been burned at the stake.”
“The others were largely drinking beer, though?” Jonah continued.
“Yes, they were,” Brett agreed. “Even Aurora, a little. Later on, though. She took some persuading.”
“Who persuaded her?” O’Malley asked.
“All of us, to a certain extent,” Brett said a little awkwardly. “It’s…For some reason, when you’re kicking back and having fun, having one person in the group who isn’t joining in is irritating. I think we peer-pressured her a little. We were teenagers. We thought she couldn’t be enjoying herself without alcohol in her.”
“You’d say she enjoyed herself, then?”
“Yes, I’d say so,” Brett replied. “She was a little quiet after she’d been swimming. I think she was probably cold more than anything, but the fire was going like crazy and she must have thawed out.”
“And then you all persuaded her to try a few beers,” O’Malley said. “Which helped.”
“Yes, I think it did,” Brett replied. He frowned slightly. “It can’t have been that easy for her. Everyone else liked their drink, and the others liked their drugs.”
“Not you?” O’Malley asked.
“No, not me. I did…I did try a very little. I felt like I looked stupid. But a fraction of what they were having, and I didn’t snort all of it up. I was too health-conscious. And if it had got out that I’d been taking drugs…my career would have been over before it had started.”
“So Aurora stood out,” Jonah went on.
“Yes. She’d clearly never drunk before. And she felt like an outsider, instinctively.”
“But you all put some effort into making her feel welcome?” O’Malley asked.
“Yes. Yes, I’d say so.” Brett nodded. “Perhaps not Coralie, who was never much good at getting on with people. And Topaz found her sister a little infuriating. But all of us talked to Aurora. She wasn’t left alone. It wasn’t…She didn’t wander off because we were ignoring her. There was nothing cruel or callous about that group. They’re nice people.” His eyes were slightly bright, and Jonah nodded.
“We spoke before about the drugs, which we know from several sources belonged to Daniel Benham,” Jonah said, changing tack. “Was there no discussion about going back for them? About retrieving them?”
“Well, they weren’t ours,” Brett pointed out. “Daniel said he’d take care of it, when the time came. But I suppose he never got round to it.” He gave a slight shrug.
At that point, a knock came at the door, and Hanson appeared round it, on cue. “Sir?”
Jonah rose. “If you’ll excuse me for a minute.”
He left, and closed the door carefully behind him. Hanson was frowning at him, but Lightman’s eyes were on the interview room.
“Are we agreeing with the statements so far?” Jonah asked.
“Some variations,” Lightman answered. “Topaz, Benners, and Coralie all insisted that Aurora didn’t drink at all. Jojo also said, at one point in her statement, that Aurora went to bed before the rest of them because she felt lonely.”
“So we’re getting a rose-tinted, all-nice-people memory from Brett, and a different vision on the drink.” He glanced over at Hanson, who had watched the exchange with an expression of slight concern. “Any thoughts, Juliette?”
“I wondered…Well, I don’t think his answers about the swimming were that satisfactory. He remembers that she had wet hair and was shivering, but not how long she might have been gone for. His body language said otherwise, in my opinion. I think he did know how long that interval was. And he didn’t confirm that he stayed at the campsite while she was away, even if he didn’t go with her at the time. Was he definitely there with the group the whole time? Or had he followed her and had some kind of encounter with her?”