Tooth for a Tooth (Di Gilchrist 3)

you.’
    ‘Coffee, then?’
    ‘If you’re having one.’
    ‘I have a nice Colombian Roast. I won’t be long.’
    Gilchrist remained seated until he heard the clatter of kitchen utensils.
    On one of the shelves by the fireplace, Kelly smiled back at him. She looked younger than he remembered, her face more full, her hair longer, folded over her shoulders. Another one showed her squinting against the sunlight, her jeans showing off the curve of her hips, her blouse the swell of her chest. In a china cabinet by the entrance to the dining room, family photographs jostled for space between crystal glasses and ceramic ornaments. He opened the glass door and removed a photograph of Kelly with her arms around her parents. Her likeness to her father struck him.
    ‘That’s one of my favourites,’ Annie said, placing a silver tray on the coffee table. ‘And Tom is so handsome in it, too.’
    Gilchrist felt the warm flush of embarrassment at being caught holding a personal memento. ‘Kelly’s beautiful,’ he said, and returned the photograph to the cabinet. He took his seat back on the sofa.
    ‘Help yourself, Andy. Please. I don’t know how you take your coffee, so there’s milk here, and sugar there. And some cookies, too.’
    He tipped milk into his cup from a white porcelain jug.
    Her gaze drifted to the cabinet. ‘I miss Tom,’ she said. ‘I miss them both.’
    Gilchrist took a sip of coffee, dreading the way the conversation was going. Annie seemed pleased to see him, the bearer of good news. ‘At the door,’ he began, ‘you said you had put two and two together.’
    ‘Kelly was seeing someone during her stay in Scotland. I hadn’t realized who you were until I thought about your call.’ She smiled at him. ‘And how is Jack?’ she asked.
    Gilchrist pressed his lips together, found himself wringing his hands. He had not expected this, to be the bearer of nothing but bad news. He had not given it any thought, that she would have known about Jack, known nothing of his accident.
    ‘Jack died, I’m afraid.’
    Annie placed her hand to her mouth. ‘Oh. Oh, dear. I’m so sorry. I had no idea. When . . . ?’
    ‘It was many years ago,’ he said, and hoped she would leave it at that. He sipped his coffee, tried to gather his thoughts, find some way to change the subject. ‘You mentioned on the phone, a couple of days ago, that Kelly wrote to you,’ he began. ‘And that you gave some, not all, of her letters to the Sheriff’s Office.’
    ‘Yes. Some were far too personal for the Sheriff’s Office to keep.’
    Gilchrist returned his cup to its saucer. ‘Would you mind if I had a look through them?’
    ‘Of course not. I brought them down from the attic after you called the other day.’ She smiled, and he caught the glimmer of tears. ‘I had a wonderful time reading them again. It was lovely to have Kelly back in my life, even if it was only through her writing.’
    Gilchrist thought he saw an opening. ‘Mrs Roberts—’
    ‘Annie.’
    He clasped his hands. ‘Annie,’ he began, ‘has anyone from the Sheriff’s Office visited you recently?’
    ‘Yesterday morning.’
    Thank goodness
. ‘What did they say?’
    ‘They asked for a blood sample and a mouth swab for a sample of my DNA.’
    ‘Did they say why?’
    ‘No.’
    He realized he was wringing his hands again, and he separated them, placed them on his knees. He tried to hold her gaze, but found he could not look at Kelly’s eyes and talk about her murder.
    ‘Are you all right, Andy?’
    He shook his head, defeated. ‘No. I’m not.’
    She frowned, as if not understanding.
    ‘It’s about Kelly,’ he said. ‘That’s why I’m here. I’m sorry.’
    He watched tears swell in her eyes, her lips press together and the tiniest of tremors take over her chin. He reached for her then, and she surprised him by taking hold of his hand.
    ‘Kelly never flew to Mexico,’ he said.
    ‘She didn’t?’
    He shook his head. ‘She never left St Andrews. We believe we’ve found her remains.’ He felt her grip tighten. ‘I’m sorry, Annie,’ he whispered. ‘I’m so sorry.’
    She stood then, and came around the table to sit down beside him. And it surprised him that she was the stronger, not what he expected at all.
    ‘I’ve prepared myself for many years for this moment,’ she said to him.
    Which helped him understand his own pain.
    Kelly’s death was still a shock to him.

CHAPTER 22
     
    Seeing Jack in Kelly’s photographs did