A Finer End

farm, but there was no sign of her van. Then I checked all round Glastonbury. I thought if I could tell Faith that Garnet was all right—’
    ’I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible,’ Gemma said.
    ‘What? Why not?’
    ‘Garnet was found in her van this morning. She’s dead.’
    Nick gaped at her. ‘But — I suppose she killed herself?’
    That makes two, thought Gemma. ‘Why would you say that?’ she asked quietly.
    ‘Well, it seems obvious, doesn’t it? If she tried to kill Winnie, and then she felt guilty... or maybe she was afraid Faith would find out what she’d done...’
    ‘Would that have mattered to her so much?’
    ‘She seems obsessed with Faith—’ in a sexual way?’
    ‘I — I don’t know. I don’t think so. But she is insanely jealous of her.’ He scowled at Gemma, tapping his fingers on the table, if you don’t mind me saying so, you ask a lot of questions.’
    ‘Sorry. Bad habit.’ He would find out soon enough that she was a copper, but until then she might as well make the most of her temporary anonymity. ‘Do I take it Garnet wasn’t fond of you?’
    ‘Not particularly, no.’ He didn’t seem eager to pursue the subject. ‘How did Faith take the news?’
    ‘She was quite upset, but she’s doing better now. We do need to get her into the antenatal clinic for a check-up, though, and she won’t even consider it. I don’t suppose you have any influence...’
    ‘Not likely.’ Nick sounded bitter.
    ‘Have you any idea why she’s so set against it?’
    ‘I always supposed it was because Garnet discouraged it. A power thing.’
    If it had been Garnet’s intention to make Faith dependent on her care, she seemed to have succeeded, mused Gemma. ‘Faith told me you thought Garnet had struck Winnie with her van. Why were you so sure of that?’
    Nick fidgeted. ‘Faith said Garnet went out about the time of Winnie’s accident, and when she came back she was behaving oddly.’
    ‘That’s not much to go on, is it? Why would Garnet have done such a thing?’
    ‘Maybe she thought Winnie was going to convince Faith to go back to her family. Or maybe — maybe Winnie found out something that Garnet didn’t want known.’ This hypothesis seemed to please the boy. ‘Winnie’s good at talking to people. Maybe Faith told her something...’
    ‘Something about Garnet? But what?’
    ‘I don’t know.’ Nick answered a little too abruptly. ‘Now that Garnet’s... gone, has Faith said what she means to do?’
    ‘No. I just assumed she’d stay here for the time being. She certainly has no business being on her own.’
    ‘She’ll need some of her things, then.’ He pushed his chair back from the table with an air of relief, ’I’ll just nip up to the farmhouse—’
    ‘No,’ Gemma interrupted, ’I’ll go. Faith will want to see you if she wakes, and I could use the exercise. Just give me directions.’ She didn’t mention that the place would be crawling with police by now, and she could at least plead official status. Besides, she had to admit she was increasingly curious about Garnet Todd.
    ‘Okay,’ Nick said at last, and gave her terse directions. Glancing critically at her shoes, he warned, it’s a good climb, though.’
    ’I’ll be fine, don’t worry,’ she answered, amused. Her new shoes had a slightly higher heel than she usually wore on the job, but her feet were veterans of abuse. As she gathered up her handbag and jacket, she remembered the promise she’d made to Faith. ‘The café where Faith works — is it near here?’
    ‘Halfway up the lane to Garnet’s farm. You can’t miss it.’
    At the door, Gemma turned and made a last entreaty to Nick. ‘You will try to convince Faith about the doctor, won’t you?’
    He snorted. ‘Trying to get Faith to do something she’s made up her mind against is like trying to move the damn Tor. I don’t know how Garnet managed to make her so biddable.’
    ‘Hypnotism, maybe?’ Gemma said lightly.
    ‘Or something worse,’ Nick muttered darkly, but when she raised an eyebrow, he shook his head and said, ‘Never mind.’
     
    Gemma hadn’t realized how much the atmosphere of Jack’s house oppressed her until she was outside it. Most of the houses along the way were massively Victorian, like Jack’s, but a good many showed obvious signs of modernization and redecorating. Odd that Jack’s mother had done so little to make the place more liveable.
    On the right, the slope of the Tor rose