‘A scar?’ Neither Dale nor Brenda had mentioned that detail.
‘Yes. Here.’ She touches her cheekbone. ‘It was quite prominent and ran from the corner of his eye to the middle of his cheek.’ She leans forwards and places her mug on the table.
‘Did you tell the police?’
‘Yes. Of course. I mean, I was drugged up. I’d just been through an operation but they came and interviewed me several times.’
I watch her carefully, not sure whether she’s lying. If she’d mentioned the man with a scar to the police then there would be a record of it. Is this something she’s just plucked out of the air now, for the purpose of this interview? To protect Ralph? Or have both Brenda and Dale decided not to tell me for some reason? I make a mental note to ask Dale when I see him later.
‘So this man with a scar,’ I continue, ‘what else can you remember about him? How old was he roughly?’
She fidgets and wrings her hands in her lap. ‘It was such a long time ago. But I’d say late forties. Very rugged. Unshaven. A few times I saw his van parked up and he was sitting behind the wheel, smoking.’
‘And you never saw him get out?’
‘Just once. I think he was trying to approach me. I was walking one of the ponies to the nearby field and I saw him on the other side of the road. He called over to me.’
‘Did he call you by name?’
‘No. No, just “Hey” … something like that. And I started running with the pony. I was freaked out. He was sinister-looking. Unkempt. He didn’t run after me, thank God.’
‘And that was the last time you saw him?’
‘Yes. I think that was the day before the accident.’
I digest this information. ‘And you’ve never seen him since?’
‘No.’ She blinks. ‘I asked Sally about him. At the club that night. But she hadn’t noticed anyone. And the police never found him or his van.’
‘But that doesn’t explain why those photos of you were found in Ralph’s caravan,’ I say, perplexed. ‘You never saw the man with the scar with Ralph?’
She shakes her head. ‘No. It doesn’t make sense.’
‘Ralph said something to me about a bright light at the scene of the crash,’ I say, moving the interview on. ‘Did you see the lights too?’
Olivia’s brows knit together. ‘I … No, I don’t think so. I was in a lot of pain. I was dipping in and out of consciousness even after Ralph found me. It wasn’t until the next day, when the police visited me in hospital and told me my friends hadn’t come home, that I began to worry. But even then …’ She stops and seems to consider her next words. ‘In the days that followed I still thought they’d show up. That they’d have some funny madcap story as to where they’d been.’ She uncrosses her ankles.
‘What did Ralph tell you about the bright light he saw?’ I feel she’s evading my question.
She makes a pah sound. ‘Aliens. Of course.’ She gives a dismissive laugh. ‘That was Ralph. Always believing in the paranormal and the supernatural.’
‘Do you think he imagined it, then?’
‘He must have done.’ There’s finality in her tone and, worried I’m losing her, I ask about the missing money.
She sits up straighter. ‘Yeah. Petty cash went missing from Tamzin’s work. I think as soon as the police realized that they assumed Tamzin must have taken it and run away.’
‘But it wasn’t much by all accounts.’
‘I know. And there was no proof to suggest Tamzin was the one who took it.’
‘Wasn’t she the one who dealt with the petty cash, though?’
‘Well. Yes. But that doesn’t mean she took it.’
‘No,’ I say. ‘Of course not.’
Her cheeks are flushed. ‘Tamzin wasn’t a thief. She wouldn’t have taken that money. I can’t help but think someone else did that and blamed Tamzin. Someone, maybe, who knew she wasn’t coming back.’
I stare at her in surprise. ‘Like who?’
‘That I don’t know. Someone who worked with her, maybe.’
‘And you don’t think the three of them ran away?’
‘There is no way that all three would just run away and never get in touch with anyone. Especially Sally. We were so close.’ But she doesn’t look very sure and her lips wobble as though she’s trying to contain a deep betrayal. ‘I don’t understand why Ralph had those photos of me. It couldn’t have been him who was following me. I mean, why? I don’t get it.’
I pause, wanting to put my next question delicately. ‘Did Ralph ever make you feel … like he was romantically interested in you? You … you were crying yesterday when you came out of the caravan.’
She looks appalled at the idea. ‘Absolutely not! Ralph treated me like a little sister. He was never inappropriate. He never even flattered me, or commented on my appearance or anything. No. No way.’ She looks down at her hands. They are calloused and dry. ‘It was a stupid argument yesterday. I worried about him, that’s all. He did too many drugs. Didn’t look after himself. I thought he looked rough and I told him so. And he snapped at me and told me to mind my own business. It was – it was out of character for him to talk to me like that. He was usually so placid.’ She clucks her tongue against her teeth. ‘I don’t understand why he’d have those photos. Why he took them and why – why he kept them. Did Dale show them to you?’
I nod. ‘He’s coming over later to be interviewed. He might still have them on him. I’m sure he’ll want to talk to you about them anyway.’
‘He’s coming here?’ She looks aghast at the thought of bumping into him. I remember her reaction at seeing us in the pub last night.
‘Not for a while.’
‘I’d heard he’d reopened the case.’ She stares into the fire. The flames are dying down now.
‘Yes. Apparently he’s a bit of a hot-shot cold-case investigator.’
She presses her lips together. And then surprises me by saying, ‘I wouldn’t have thought that was very ethical.’
I’m confused. ‘What do you mean?’
She angles her body towards me. ‘He obviously hasn’t told you, then. I wondered if he had.’
A cold sensation washes over me. ‘Told me what?’
She flicks her hair away from her face, her eyes hard. ‘That Tamzin was his girlfriend when she disappeared.’
30
‘What?’ I splutter, almost choking on my tea.
Olivia’s face is serious as she folds her arm across her chest, although I can tell she’s inwardly relishing this bombshell. ‘Yes, they were totally loved up.’
‘He told me that Tamzin and Katie were in his year at school, but he made it sound like he didn’t know them that well. In fact, he said he was at university when your friends disappeared.’
‘They managed to keep it going long distance while Dale was at Edinburgh uni.’
‘Wow,’ I say, feeling like I’ve been punched in the gut. I trusted Dale explicitly. I knew there were things about the case he wouldn’t be allowed to tell me. But to keep this from me? Tamzin was his girlfriend. This is huge. He sat there in the pub last night and told me he hardly knew them. He lied to my face.