‘I know. And I don’t want to be here either, not with him. But I’m not leaving you and Dee alone right now so he’d better get used to it. I wanted to tell him to shove it when he said I could stay, like this is his house. I nearly swung for him.’
Nancy’s hands trembled slightly as she placed the glass down. She looked around the kitchen then said, ‘This house was your mum and dad’s dream home and they thought they’d live here forever,’ her voice wobbled slightly, ‘and after Ronnie died I hoped that their love for it and each other would sustain her, you know, keep his memory alive and give her comfort.
‘But once Shane moved in, it was like he was tainting it, erasing Ronnie. It was subtle at first, then all-guns blazing, changing things, making his mark. Your dad built the foundations and the walls and your mum had made it beautiful, made it a home. But Shane… he never really belonged and he has no right to be here anymore.’ Nancy turned quickly and took a sip of water, the shaking of her body giving away her tears.
Molly hesitated. ‘She was going to leave him, wasn’t she? Or throw him out. Once I’d gone to Princeton.’
Nancy turned, her eyes glassy, then she nodded. ‘Yes, that was the plan. She would never have sold this house, though. She wanted it back and him gone, so she asked me to help her prepare. The paperwork, move some assets, that sort of thing. We were sorting through her affairs in secret. She was scared, Molly, convinced that he would ruin her life.’
The seriousness of her mum’s predicament settled heavily between them then hearing movement, they spotted Dee standing in the hall, staring at Nancy as if she’d seen a ghost.
The hysteria descended almost immediately, Dee crumpling to the floor, sobbing as Nancy rushed through the kitchen and lounge and took her in her arms. Once she had calmed and they managed to get her to her feet, they moved into the lounge where Dee sat curled on the sofa, staring out of the window at the conifers that lined the front lawn. She didn’t communicate with either of them or seem to be aware of their presence.
‘She’s barely spoken since,’ Molly murmured.
Nancy sat beside her. ‘Shock can present itself like that.’
They left her to rest, and after Molly showed Nancy to her room and helped her unpack, they sat in the garden with mugs of tea. That was when Nancy brought up the farewell party.
‘I cancelled it. The golf club were really kind actually. I asked if they’d be able to contact anyone involved, you know, the band and the florist and they couldn’t have been more helpful.’
‘I’m glad,’ Nancy said. Then, ‘What about Princeton?’
Molly looked up. ‘What about it?’
‘I can call them. Explain what’s happened. You could defer a year. No one would think less of you.’
Molly blinked. Her future felt so far away. ‘Maybe,’ she whispered. ‘I can’t think about it yet. But I suppose I have to let them know I won’t be going right now. How can I?’
Nancy reached across and squeezed her hand. The doorbell rang and Molly rose to answer it. The long hallway felt cavernous and each step echoed against the hardwood floor. She opened the door to find DCI Yates and DC Stone standing solemnly beneath the porch light.
Yates spoke first. ‘Miss Lassiter. May we come in? We have some news.’
Molly’s breath caught in her throat. She stepped back and nodded. The detectives crossed the threshold and as the door clicked shut behind them, the temperature seemed to drop another degree, like a portent of bad news.
Chapter Thirty-One
Yates stood in the lounge of the Lassiter residence, observing the gathered faces before him. The family waited, looking awkward and apprehensive, dotted around the lounge on the sumptuous sofas. Molly sat beside her younger sister, Dee, who looked pale and far younger than her years, her gaze fixed on her knees. Her posture was slouched, her arms wrapped tightly around her midsection, as though holding herself together. Across from them sat Shane, his arm draped nonchalantly along the back of the sofa.
Between them all, like a thorn at the centre of a beautiful, delicate arrangement, sat Nancy Cartwright, the late Mrs Lassiter’s sister, who had just flown in. Her eyes were alert. Cold. Watching everyone. Yates noted how her hands remained still, resting on her knees, fingers interlaced, one leg crossed over the other while her foot tapped slowly. A contained energy. Controlled fury? He couldn’t tell yet.
Yates had learned to spot where the tension lay in situations such as these, quite literally reading the room, and here it was thickest between Nancy and Shane. He exchanged a glance withDC Stone, who took out his notebook and prepared to document the meeting.
Yates began, looking to Molly, who seemed the most nervous. ‘Thank you for giving us a moment of your time. I appreciate how difficult this must be so I won’t keep you longer than necessary.’
He noticed as Molly sucked in a breath, as if gathering strength and her mouth twitched like she might speak, but she said nothing. Her shoulders were tense, drawn up, arms crossed over her chest. Was she trying to stop herself from shaking?
Yates mentally noted it, then continued. ‘We have received the preliminary results from the coroner’s office following the post-mortem of Julia Lassiter. The cause of death was determined to be severe head, neck and spinal cord injury, indicating trauma consistent with a fall. There were no signs of forced impact or injuries inconsistent with the fall itself.’
He paused to let the words settle. Shane was the first to react, leaning forward and exhaling heavily. ‘So it was an accident?’
‘She may have tripped, possibly on her nightgown or the edge of the stairs. There was significant alcohol in her system, which could have contributed to the loss of balance.’
Shane gave a solemn nod, eyes reddening. ‘God,’ he murmured, pinching the bridge of his nose. ‘Poor Julia, I wish I hadn’t taken that wine up. I feel like I’m responsible…’
Yates watched him closely. The act was near perfect, just the right amount of emotion and sprinkled with a hint of guilt. But it was the timing that made Yates’ instinct twitch. The moment Shane had an out, an answer that absolved him, he implicated himself again, maybe in the hope that everyone would rush to absolve him. None of them took the bait.
Dee curled further into herself, eyes shining with unshed tears. Molly reached for her hand, the movement jerky, mechanical.
