‘And what about Daphne?’
‘Oh, we still saw Daphne about. She worked for a bit at the pub and then at the local farm. Occasionally we saw the three of you together, so we knew Rose was okay. I think she felt she needed nobody but Daphne. They were so … self-contained.’
‘And you thought they might have been in a relationship?’
‘I think so, yes. Although they didn’t advertise it. Different times.’
‘So what did you mean about that strange autumn?’
‘Well, it was the weirdest thing. But Rose came to me. I remember it was Bonfire Night. There was an event in the village – up at the farm, fireworks and the like. I’d seen her there with Daphne and you. Rose seemed even more on edge, but I wondered if it was because it was a big event. I don’t think she liked crowds. Perhaps she didn’t feel safe. Anyway, later, much later, she cornered me and told me she was scared for her life.’
‘Oh, my God,’ gasps Lorna. She hadn’t been expecting that. ‘Did she say why?’
‘It was after I told her that someone had come into the café looking for her. She asked who but I didn’t know the man’s name – at that time I’d never seen him before. But I did see him a few times after Rose moved away, just around the village but then he must have left too, because I never saw him again. Anyway, she said she had done something and she was scared they’d take you away from her. She was in a bit of a state, to be honest. It was all really strange. I tried to calm her down but she was so cagey, so worried about telling me anything.’
Was it Victor she was so scared of? Lorna picks at one of her gel nails. Had he found her and that was why she’d left in such a hurry? Without saying goodbye to anyone?
‘Did the man give his name?’
Melissa shakes her head. ‘No … not that I can recall …’
‘And did my mum mention the name Victor to you?’
Melissa frowns. ‘I don’t know … maybe. It was all such a long time ago. I just remember her being really scared after I told her someone was looking for her. Why? Who is Victor?’
‘I think he’s my father. And she was running away from him.’
‘Oh, that’s awful. It makes sense now. She seemed very scared that night. Like I said before, we just assumed she was a widow when she first arrived in the village.’
Lorna shuffles in her seat. ‘It can’t be a coincidence, can it? She finds out someone is looking for her and then runs away.’ She sighs. ‘I don’t remember much about living here, or Daphne,’ she says. ‘So they must have parted ways at some point when I was still young. Me and my mum, we lived in Bristol after moving away from here.’
‘They seemed so close.’
‘As much as I love her, my mother is a funny one. In all the years I can remember she never had a relationship. With a man or a woman. She concentrated on me and then, when I left home, on my daughter.’
‘Something really seemed to scare her on Bonfire Night, though,’ says Melissa, wistfully. ‘She said …’ she looks towards her fireplace and frowns ‘… something really odd.’
‘What did she say?’
‘She said, “If anything bad happens to me, look in the fireplace.”’
Lorna frowns. ‘The fireplace? Which one? Yours?’
She laughs. ‘No. I don’t think mine. I assumed hers. But I don’t know …’
Lorna’s heart starts to race. The fireplace. She must be talking about the evidence that Victor has been so desperate to find. Is that where it’s been all this time? ‘And …’ she can barely contain her excitement ‘… did you ever look?’