‘You can’t tell me to get out,’ DC Clarke said amid Hot’s barking.
‘Oh yes I can. I’m not under arrest, am I?’
DC Clarke was undeterred. ‘Forensic tests show that the way she landed didn’t constitute that of a normal fall. She could well have been pushed, and as you were the first person on the scene – well, that points to you as a suspect, Rosa.’
‘This is absolutely ridiculous.’ Rosa felt the beginnings of panic. ‘I need to phone Josh.’
‘You can phone who you like, but I’m suggesting a solicitor might be more appropriate.’ Suddenly realising that he was running away with the situation, the detective’s voice softened. ‘Look, Rosa. Come to the station around lunchtime tomorrow. Bring somebody with you if you want to, but we do need to officially interview you. This is a serious matter, my girl. You were the first on the scene and a woman died very soon after.’
CHAPTER 30
‘Josh, no, honestly, you don’t have to fly back, it’s fine. I can see if maybe Jacob or Alec will come with me. I suppose I would be a suspect – if Sheila was pushed, that is. After all, I was at the scene.’
‘No. I’m coming. No way am I having my pregnant wife put under such stress. I need to be there for you.’ Josh’s voice brightened. ‘And on a positive, we can go to the fireworks together.’
‘If I’m not in the slammer,’ Rosa said, and laughed. ‘But I’ve done nothing wrong, so it should be OK. I will just answer their questions honestly and that’s it.’
‘Yes, I can see, too, from their point of view how you could be in the frame though, Rosa.’ Josh sighed in exasperation. ‘Oh, why did you ever have to go and get involved with those bloody Hannafores again? They’ve caused nothing but trouble in our lives. Anyway, I’ve got to rush, I can hopefully get a last-minute flight to Bristol and hire a car and I’ll get to you as soon as I can.’
‘If you’re going to shout at me, I’d rather you didn’t,’ Rosa huffed but Josh had already hung up.
Previously, at times like this she would have reached for a drink, but now she was pregnant she couldn’t even if she wanted to. Brisk walking was as good a substitute as any, she had discovered. She needed to clear her head. Turn her phone off. Be alone for a while. She had done nothing wrong, after all. Josh didn’t need to hurry back, but it would be amazing to see him. And as he said, he would be there for the fireworks – quite literally!
With her warm, woolly hat pulled right down over her ears, she marched towards the beach. She decided that calling Lucas wasn’t a good idea. Surely, he had stuck up for her? Or maybe he had been told not to talk to her? It was obvious to Rosa that what had happened was that Sheila had jumped; maybe the impact would have been different if she had just tripped and fallen.
She would have to tell Lucas the truth of what had happened. It was a case of what would upset him more, his mum trying to take her own life or thinking that Sheila had been pushed. Neither option was very palatable. Then again, it was Rosa’s word against Sheila’s and there had been no love lost between the two of them, as DC Clarke had so ably pointed out.
Rosa walked right to the sea’s edge. It was pitch black beyond the glow from the powerful hand torch she was holding. She was glad that the Christmas lights would soon be on, as Cockleberry Bay had never been graced with street lighting. In fact, it was one of the first things she had noticed when moving here from the busy streets and markets of the East End of London. Here, it was complete darkness and complete silence. At least the beach wall lights would be on tomorrow for the annual fireworks display. Rosa noticed that the white tarpaulin and poles were laid at the edge of the beach wall, ready to put up for the charity food and drink tent in the morning.
Even the moon was shivering behind the November clouds tonight. Rosa breathed in Mother Nature in all her darkened, mysterious glory. She was feeling liberated but also very small, as the crashing waves and biting wind took control of her senses. It was strangely eerie to see both the pub and café in darkness. The Ship Inn had been such a massive hub for the community, attracting locals of all ages and all types. Families, fishermen and singles alike. Since Sheila’s husband had died, she had ably kept it running and the place had only just been refurbished, at considerable cost, a year ago. It was poignant to recall how much life and soul had gone on inside its white-painted walls. If the building itself could talk, it would keep the South Cliffs Gazette in stories for ever more, Rosa reckoned.
It would be sad to see it closed – tomorrow night especially. Although it was at the very same fireworks display last year that Lucas had told Josh that Rosa had been in the pub against his wishes, and Josh had gone mad at her. This was the start of a very troubled period for the pair. But they had come through it stronger, and now, despite it all, they were going to be parents. With all the goings-on, Rosa hadn’t thought much about the new baby’s arrival at all. A mum – she was going to be a mum! She could hardly believe it. She would experience that unconditional love, the immensity of which was apparently quite overwhelming.
She thought back to the mother-love conveyed in Sheila’s letter. And then, with a sudden jolt, she halted and remembered the beginning of the letter to Lucas. Sheila had said she hoped that she had passed peacefully. If she had intended to take her own life by throwing herself down the cellar steps, no way would that be peaceful. But if it was not planned, why would she then ask Rosa to tell her sons that she had fallen? Maybe somebody did want rid of her, but she was ill anyway, and it would probably only have been a matter of time before she did die. And what on earth could the motive have been?
Making her way back up the beach to the road, Rosa thought back to what Sheila had written about her. That she would always struggle to resist temptation. Cheeky cow. But everything she had written was true. Yes, she did love Josh so much, but with a drink inside her and when she thought that Josh had been cheating, she had been tempted by the handsome plumber and his uninhibited charm. Lucas was her temptation. And if he hadn’t been decent that night last year and taken her home because she was so out of it, goodness knows where she would be now. Certainly not with Josh – or pregnant with his child, for that matter.
Lucas called to the part of her that wanted to carry on having fun, not settle down, not be an adult. She had never felt good enough for anyone, but luckily, now, with some counselling and becoming teetotal, she did value herself. She could see that Josh did love her dearly and that he was in it for the long haul. She was wise enough to acknowledge that there still was a physical attraction with Luke. However, she also understood that if she acted on it, she would never be happy. Lucas was never going to be her happy ending. He had been and still was one of the massive steps she had to take along her path to emotional fulfilment and happiness. Thank goodness she could control her drinking now. Because the destructive part was still within her – and like the veil between the living and the dead on All Hallows Eve, the thin line between fidelity and temptation would be crossed if she had alcohol inside her.
Taking a deep breath and with the waves crashing behind her, she reached the edge of the beach. As she approached the café, she shone her torch in to see the perfectly set red-and-white tablecloths and spooky candles that were still there from Halloween. She moved her torch away, but a light within the café caught her eye. She looked again: maybe it was a clock on one of the ovens, but no, it was like the blueish light from a mobile phone. On seeing it suddenly move and then go black, she firstly let out a little scared scream and then became angry. They only kept a small float in the till overnight, but how dare anyone break in there, to their precious café. She reached for her keys, shone her torch ahead and boldly opened the door. Suddenly the back-kitchen light was switched on – and this time Rosa did scream loudly.