A Finer End

porch a bit before midnight.’
    ‘I — I went for a walk. Up Wellhouse Lane to the top.’ Faith could see the disbelief written clearly on both their faces, but she persisted. ‘But then I felt unwell, so I found a spot to rest. I don’t know how long I slept, but when I woke up it was dark.’
    ‘And then?’
    ‘I walked back. Garnet’s van was gone and the house was empty. I thought she must have been out looking for me, so I waited. But she didn’t come.’
    ‘What made you decide to give it up?’
    ‘I... It was late... and I was... frightened.’
    ‘So you went to Mr Montfort for help.’ Something about the way Greely said it made it sound dirty.
    ‘He’s my friend, and I thought he’d know what to do. There’s nothing wrong with that.’
    ‘No, Miss Wills, there’s not. If that were indeed the case.’ Greely bared his teeth in a smile that held no warmth.
    ‘What do you mean?’ Faith felt her face flush with anger.
    ‘It means I think you’ve left a few things out. I think you were there when Nick came. I think the two of you got into an argument with Miss Todd, a scuffle. Perhaps you didn’t mean any real harm, but accidents happen, we all know that.’
    Faith could only stare at him.
    ‘Then, when you realized she was dead, you panicked. You helped Carlisle carry her to the van and put her in the back. Then he drove the van round the Tor, parked it, and walked back to pick up his bike.
    ‘Oh, and then the two of you decided that you alone would go to Mr Montfort, pretending to be hysterical with worry because Miss Todd hadn’t come home, when all the time you knew exactly where she was.’ Greely rubbed his chin, then said, ‘Unless, of course, Montfort was in on it too.’
    Faith’s hands and feet were numb with cold, her tongue stiff in her mouth. ‘No. That’s not true. None of that’s true. That’s crazy—’
    ‘Did you and Carlisle confront Todd over the matter of Reverend Catesby’s accident? Or was it something else? Miss Todd was jealous of you and Carlisle, wasn’t she? Maybe you decided to put a stop to it.’
    ‘No! I never saw Nick that day. And even if Nick was there, Nick would never hurt anyone.’
    ‘Not even to protect you? What if you confronted Miss Todd over Reverend Catesby, and she attacked you to keep you quiet? Then Nick just happened to come along to the rescue.’
    ‘I never spoke to Garnet! I never saw Nick!’ Faith insisted.
    Greely studied her, his expression suddenly sympathetic. ‘Do your parents know where you are, Miss Wills?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Well, now, that’s a shame, isn’t it? A young girl in your condition’ — his glance raked her belly — ‘needs her parents’ support. But perhaps they don’t approve of Mr Carlisle, is that it?’
    ‘I... he— It’s none of your business.’
    ‘No? Well, my advice to you, Miss Wills, is that you might want to contact your parents. I suspect you’re going to need some legal advice. And if I were your father, I’d tell you that it’s not worth ruining your life — and that of your child — by protecting Carlisle. I’m sure we could come to some sort of arrangement with the prosecution service.’ He stood. ‘We’ll be talking again soon. Don’t get up. We’ll see ourselves out.’
    The policewoman, O’Toole, stood too, closed her notebook, and gave Faith another bright, false smile as she followed Greely out.
    Faith sat where they had left her. The baby moved, kicking her repeatedly just above the pelvis, fierce little jabs. Placing her hands against her belly, Faith whispered, ‘Shhh, shhh, it’s all right,’ and rocked mindlessly back and forth. Gradually, the kicking grew less frequent, then ceased. ‘It’s going to be all right,’ Faith said again, softly, reassuring herself as much as the baby. But how?
    Greely had made up his mind to pin Garnet’s murder on her and Nick: he would keep looking for some sort of evidence to support his theory. It was her fault that Nick had got involved in all this; it was her responsibility to find a way to clear him.
    If she could just search Garnet’s things, and her papers. Surely Garnet had left some trace, some clue, as to who wanted her dead.
    Tomorrow she’d insist on going back to work, and then she would find a way to get back into the farmhouse. And she would not let herself wonder what Nick might have done if he’d found her missing and believed Garnet responsible.
     
    Nick stood outside the police station in