When Night Closes in Read online

  ‘Please.’ Sally shrugged off her jacket and slipped into a corner seat, crossing her slender legs in the shiny black leather boots and making sure her skirt was revealing enough to be interesting.

  ‘Lowri?’ Timmy asked.

  ‘A glass of red, please.’

  She sat beside Sally and wished she had not worn trousers. She felt drab and unexciting, part of the older element that Sally and Timmy so scorned. ‘Why did you suggest this place, Sally?’ she asked conversationally.

  Sally looked guarded. ‘I just thought it might suit you, that’s all.’ She lit up a cigarette, more to display her well-shaped, colourfully varnished nails than because she enjoyed a smoke, Lowri thought.

  ‘And you don’t come here often, then?’ Lowri played with the beer-mat, pretending she was making small talk and fooling no-one.

  ‘Don’t go getting suspicious of me now, Lowri!’ Sally said. ‘No, I haven’t been here very often, have I, Tim?’ She smiled. ‘I suppose the old man noticed me because he thinks I’m pretty.’

  Underneath her incredible display of vanity it was clear that Sally had picked up on Lowri’s thoughts. The landlord knew what she drank: that suggested that she was more than a casual customer.

  Perhaps she was becoming paranoid, Lowri thought, accepting her drink from Timmy with a murmur of thanks.

  ‘But why did Jon have your address and phone number on him?’ She only realized she had spoken her thoughts aloud when Sally sighed in exasperation.

  ‘I told you I don’t know! Probably the old bat made it up; she didn’t show us the paper, did she? She’s just clutching at straws, jealous of anyone younger and prettier than she is.’

  ‘Don’t go being over-modest, now, Sal.’ Timmy laughed as he sat astride a bar stool facing the women. ‘And what’s this about someone having your number, eh?’

  ‘Oh, nothing,’ Lowri said quickly. ‘As Sally says, the woman is disturbed, she’s probably making the whole thing up.’

  And yet doubts and questions as elusive as a butterfly’s wing ran through her mind. Was Sally lying, could she have been involved with Jon, had she slept with him? Lowri rubbed her cheek; she was getting more and more confused. She must pull herself together.

  ‘Wake up! Do you want another drink, Lowri?’ Timmy was leaning forward, holding out his hand for her glass. She looked down at it and saw to her surprise that it was empty.

  ‘Yes, why not?’

  ‘For goodness’ sake, Lowri!’ Sally hissed. ‘You’re acting like a wet week! Cheer up can’t you?’

  ‘Evening, folks, mind if I join you?’

  Lowri looked up to see Jim Lainey standing over her. He was wearing a casual open-necked shirt tucked into slim-fitting trousers and he was smiling at her as if liking what he saw.

  ‘Oh hello!’ Sally smiled enthusiastically. ‘Come and sit here next to me and tell me your name and explain why I’ve never met such a handsome hunk as you before.’

  ‘A pint, mate?’ Timmy was standing beside the table, a tray in his hand, and he was looking pointedly at Jim Lainey.

  ‘That’s very good of you,’ Lainey said smoothly before turning to face Lowri. ‘I’m glad I found you here, I was hoping to see you,’ he said and Timmy visibly relaxed. Soon the four of them were sitting together, cramped into the small corner space as the room filled with people. Lowri wondered if DI Lainey was following her. She was very much aware of his thigh, hot against hers. She wished again that she had worn a skirt. Her legs were shapely and long, and they looked good in sheer stockings.

  She knew what she was doing, she was trying to bolster her self-esteem. Sally was right about that, Lowrie’s confidence had taken a beating. She drank her wine and allowed her glass to be refilled. Soon, she felt pleasantly relaxed.

  She and Lainey became engrossed in conversation and, to Lowri’s relief, he did not mention Jon once.

  It was a surprise when the ship’s bell rang through the room to call time. Lowri glanced at her watch: it was after eleven.

  ‘Can I drive you home?’ Lainey asked quietly. Behind his back Sally was making faces, mouthing encouragement.

  ‘Thank you, I’d like that very much.’

  It was good to sit beside a man, to feel relaxed, to hear the soft hum of the engine and to know that she was being looked after, if only for a short while. Neither of them spoke but the silence was a comfortable one. All too soon the drive was over, and Lowri waited while Lainey switched off the engine. It was all going to end now, in a minute she would step into her little house and she would be alone again.

  ‘Would you like a coffee?’ she asked quickly, afraid that she would lose her nerve. ‘I could do with one myself – I feel a little light-headed.’

  ‘I’d love a coffee,’ he said.

  Lowri was filled with a sense of euphoria as she gave Lainey the key to open her front door. Her life was not over after all – she was young and she had a handsome man at her side. She must forget Jon, forget he ever existed.

  Lowri made the coffee and sat beside Lainey on the sofa, close but not too close. Lainey put his head back and closed his eyes.

  ‘It’s so peaceful here,’ he said.

  She closed her eyes too, drinking in the companionable silence. There was no sound except for her own breath and the sound of Lainey breathing evenly at her side. She slept.

  She woke and looked at her watch. It was half past three. Lowri stared around her in confusion. Lainey was still asleep.

  Lowri watched him for a moment before bringing a blanket from upstairs and putting it over him. Then she switched off the light and went to bed.

  Before she went back to sleep, she wondered if Lainey would feel embarrassed in the morning, if the easy closeness between them would vanish with the sunlight. She need not have worried. In the morning, Lainey was gone.

  4

  Lowri was about to leave for work when she heard an urgent knocking on her door. She opened it, expecting the postman, but it was Jim Lainey standing on her step. Lowri felt a prickle of apprehension run down her spine. Lainey looked so formal, his expression was grave, with no sign that he’d spent most of the night on her sofa. Standing behind him was another, younger officer.

  ‘Detective, come in but I can’t stay talking for long, I’ve got to get to work.’ She had a busy morning ahead and her mother had rung last night before she’d gone to the Ship, asking to be met at the station. Clearly she’d rowed with Charles again. Mr Watson was a compassionate boss but he would not let anyone take advantage of his good nature.

  ‘What can I do for you?’ she asked when the two men stood in her small sitting-room. Jim gestured towards the other officer. ‘This is Sergeant Brown, perhaps you could take a look at the items he’s holding.’

  The sergeant obligingly held up the plastic bags and Lowri stared at them, waiting for an explanation.

  ‘We’ve found some clothes’ Lainey’s tone was businesslike. He was now the policeman at work. ‘At the foot of the cliffs below the Swan Hotel. I would like you to see if you can identify any of them.’

  ‘I’ll have to ring work.’ Her mind shied away from the implications of Lainey’s question. ‘Though it’s going to be difficult to explain to my boss that I need time off to help the police with their inquiries, isn’t that what you call it?’

  It was Sally who answered the phone at the office. ‘Morning! Watson Jones and Fry, Sally speaking, can I help you?’

  ‘It’s me,’ Lowri said. ‘I’m going to be late, will you be all right?’

  Sally was silent for a moment. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong but you’d better get in here as soon as poss.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Old Watson’s got a lady visitor and he doesn’t seem too happy about it.’

  ‘Too bad,’ Lowri said. ‘The police want to talk to me.’ Before Sally could ask any questions Lowri replaced the receiver. Jim looked at her.

  ‘Trouble?’

  ‘No, not really, just Sally panicking as usual.’

  ‘Wi
ll you take a good look at these things?’ he said. She suddenly felt intimidated by Lainey. He seemed so focused, so serious as he took the plastic bags from the sergeant and held them towards her. Inside, she could see a creased shirt, a pair of buff chinos and a solitary shoe.

  ‘Recognize anything?’

  She recognized the shirt all right, it belonged to Jon. A renewed sense of loss swept over her. Whatever Jon had done, he had been her lover, her friend and she missed him like hell.

  ‘I think so,’ she said. ‘The shirt is the right make. Jon – Jon always wore good shirts, crisp and clean as the day they were bought. That was one of the things I liked about him.’ She was not aware of Lainey self-consciously touching his own collar as if to assure himself it was in place.

  ‘And the trousers?’

  ‘Well, I don’t know, they all look the same. Jon is size 32-inch, are those the right size?’

  Lainey did not answer. He seemed disappointed that she had not been more positive. A thought struck her and she looked at the shirt again. It was white, slightly crumpled but clean.

  ‘That shirt hasn’t been worn,’ she said.

  ‘It doesn’t look like it.’ Lainey waited for her to speak again.

  She closed her eyes momentarily. ‘What do you think has happened to him?’

  ‘That’s what we are trying to find out,’ Lainey said. ‘Are you all right?’ He seemed to move closer to her, his brow furrowed, as if he was genuinely concerned. Lowri wished she did not remember the closeness that had been between them so briefly.

  ‘Yes, I’m all right,’ she said, ‘just a bit hung-over.’ She looked up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time that morning. ‘And I’m confused. I don’t know if I should be angry at being deceived by the man I thought I loved, or if I should be grieving for him.’

  ‘That’s understandable,’ Lainey said quietly.

  Lowri met his eyes. ‘Do you think he’s dead?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ He shook his head. ‘Can’t you think of anything that would help, Miss Richards? Even the most insignificant detail might prove valuable.’

  She moved away from him. ‘I’m sorry, there’s nothing. He just went out of my life, vanished as if he had never been, that’s all I know.’

  ‘Well, never mind. Shall we go, Sergeant?’ As he opened the front door and stepped outside, she had the absurd impulse to call after him. She watched him walk away along the road towards where his car was parked. He did not look back.

  Lowri sank into a chair. In little over an hour she would be meeting her mother – perhaps it would be a good idea to take the whole day off. There was no way she could concentrate on work, not now.

  What did the discarded clothes mean? Had Jon gone for a swim and then drowned? The currents around the coast could be treacherous at times.

  She changed out of the smart suit she kept for work and pulled on a thin cotton shirt and a pair of pants. She felt restless, as if she had an itch she could not scratch. Why were there always questions and no answers?

  Lowri went into the kitchen. It was filled with sunlight and the yellow and green checked cloth on the pine table looked fresh and clean. Like Jon’s shirt. She looked in the fridge: the salad was ready in the bowl, all she needed to do was to boil some potatoes and make a dressing. She closed the door again and wandered aimlessly around the house. ‘Damn and blast Jon Brandon!’ she said.

  The train had arrived early, and Lowri found her mother waiting in the snack bar on the station.

  ‘Mum! It’s lovely to see you again.’ The two women hugged and Lowri felt some of her tension ease. ‘Come on, let’s get home.’ She slipped her hand in the crook of her mother’s arm and together they walked to the car.

  ‘How’s Father?’ Lowri asked.

  ‘Just as difficult as ever.’ Her mother spoke edgily. ‘You know Charles, he likes everything cut and dried, his drink in his hand the minute he steps in the door, his every wish obeyed. I had to get away for a few days.’ She laughed to soften the words. ‘Nothing ever changes. Anyway, how are you? Are you going to tell me more about this strange man you were living with? Why did you split up?’

  ‘I wasn’t actually living with him,’ Lowri said. ‘Though as good as, I’ll grant you.’ She sighed. ‘Turned out he was married and now he’s gone missing. Same old story, I suppose.’

  Lowri did not care to go into details. ‘I’ve got a nice salad for lunch and then if you like we can spend the afternoon on the recliners in the garden, catch the sun.’

  ‘No fear!’ her mother said. ‘After we’ve eaten you and I are going on a shopping spree up at the enterprise zone.’

  ‘I know what that means, Mum, you are going to spend your money on me. Well, I don’t need it, honestly. I’m a big girl now, I can look after myself.’

  ‘Don’t take one of my few small pleasures in life away from me, Lowri.’ There was an edge of sadness in her mother’s tone and Lowri nodded.

  ‘All right, I give in, a spending spree it is.’

  That evening, to Lowri’s surprise, Sally called. ‘God, you look awful!’ Sally said with her usual tact. ‘Heavy night with the lovely detective, was it?’

  ‘Come in,’ Lowri said, ‘meet my mother.’

  Sally put her hand over her mouth. ‘Oops! Sorry, have I put my foot in it?’

  Rhian Richards looked up with a smile as Sally came into the room. ‘Hello there, Sally,’ she said.

  ‘Oh, you were in the office earlier today, weren’t you?’ Sally said. ‘I could hear you and old . . . er Mr Watson arguing.’

  ‘Sally!’ Lowri said, ‘don’t be silly. My mother’s only been in town a few hours and we’ve been shopping since she arrived.’

  Sally shrugged. ‘There I go again, opening my big mouth and putting my foot in it. What did you buy? Come on show me.’

  It was a pleasant evening. Sally kept them amused with her talk about her boyfriend, about some of the clients who came into the office and she even poked gentle fun at the trio of solicitors.

  It was about half nine when Rhian rubbed her eyes, put down her glass and rose to her feet.

  ‘Think I’ll turn in,’ she said. ‘I need an early night.’ She kissed Lowri and hugged her warmly. ‘We can talk more in the morning, darling.’

  After she’d gone, Sally leaned forward. ‘Come on, tell me, what happened?’

  ‘Between me and Jim? Nothing happened.’

  ‘Come on! You seemed very keen last night, you were positively drooling.’

  ‘Don’t rub it in.’ Lowri felt uncomfortable. ‘I thought Jon was the love of my life, the man I could settle down with.’ She looked up at Sally. ‘Then I flirt with the first handsome man I see.’ She sighed. ‘I still can’t believe Jon took me in so completely, I must have “easy lay” written across my forehead.’

  ‘You’re behind the times, love, everyone does it now, didn’t you know? Did you sleep with the detective?’

  ‘Of course I didn’t!’ Lowri said.

  ‘Why are you blushing then?’ Sally pushed back her hair impatiently. ‘I mean when you phoned the office you said the police were with you. He wouldn’t call round this morning just to pass the time of day.’

  ‘It was business.’ Lowri made an effort to change the subject. ‘You say my mother was in the office earlier? She didn’t mention it.’

  ‘Aye, that’s right,’ Sally said. ‘Anyway,’ Sally tucked her legs up under her. ‘I won’t be sidetracked, what did the police want you for?’ She looked like a little girl expecting to be told an exciting adventure story.

  ‘I suppose there’s no harm in telling you they’d found some clothes by the cliffs. They wanted to know if I had seen them before.’ She shivered. ‘A shirt and some stone-coloured chinos.’

  ‘Were they his?’ Sally asked. She had put her hand in her drink and was swirling it around. Briefly Lowri thought of offering her a spoon but then she realized it was just a reflex action on Sally’s part. Sally put down her cup. ‘Were t
hey?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’ It was a lie. Suddenly, it seemed important to keep her own counsel. ‘I’ve never seen him in anything like that.’

  ‘But he did like wearing chinos.’ Sally stopped abruptly. ‘At least, that’s what I thought you said he liked wearing.’

  ‘When?’ Lowri asked. ‘When did I say that?’

  ‘I don’t know!’ Sally shook back her hair. ‘What on earth has got into you, Lowri? You never let me meet this wonderful man but you talked about him a hell of a lot, remember?’

  ‘I suppose I did.’ Lowri felt remorseful. ‘And the only reason you didn’t meet him was because we mostly got together on the weekends. You were usually doing something with Tim.’

  ‘I know, I’m not blaming you!’ Sally’s cheeks were pink. ‘Perhaps I’d better go.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Sally.’ Lowri rubbed her eyes. ‘I’m so strung up about all this. First Jon walks out on me, leaving me flat, and then I find he was married all along. I don’t know what to think any more.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Sally’s tone softened. ‘You’ve had a hell of a shock and I’m a nosy bitch, aren’t I? Come on, it’s still early enough for us to get a drink at the pub. A bit of lively company will do you the world of good.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know, my mother . . .’

  Sally stood up. ‘Get your jacket, we’re going to the Plough and Harrow, it’s got a nice lounge. And the drink’s not bad.’

  The last thing Lowri felt like was going out to a pub, but she had offended Sally enough for one evening. She picked up a lightweight jacket and slipped her bag over her shoulder.

  ‘Where’s Timmy tonight?’ she asked as she closed the door behind her. Sally was already out on the pavement. She shrugged.

  ‘He’s studying for his exams, they are something to do with the law part of his course. Well, I’m not staying in for anyone.’

  Timothy Perkins was studying Information Technology. He was not Sally’s type, he was far too earnest. Sometimes he could be a real bore. Sally took him entirely for granted, of course. Come to think of it, it was a wonder the relationship had lasted for so long.