Judy sighs and goes back to her Lean Zone notes. She has texted Barb Blakeborough and arranged to call at eleven. Barb answers her phone immediately, obviously ready and waiting.
Judy explains about following up on the death of Avril Flowers.
慞oor Avril,?says Barb. 慖 was so shocked when I heard. Do you know what happened to her??
慖t抯 an ongoing investigation,?says Judy, 慴ut I抦 very keen to find out about Avril抯 state of mind in the days and weeks leading up to her death. I understand that she used to attend your Lean Zone meetings.?
慪es,?says Barb. 慡he was one of those women who never really seemed to lose weight, but she said the group helped stop her putting too much on. Not like me. I lost six stone in 2015 and I抳e kept it off. Thanks to Lean Zone.?
She says this like she抯 said it many times before. It sounds like a huge weight loss to Judy. Six stone is a small child, isn抰 it? She wonders if Barb expects congratulations, or at least amazement.
慏id Avril have any friends in the group??she asks instead.
慖抦 not sure,?says Barb. 慖 think there were a few of them that used to have coffee together sometimes.?
慦ell, can you text me if you remember any names??says Judy. 慔ow was Avril抯 mood when you last spoke to her??
慡he seemed very cheerful,?says Barb. 慡he was going on a trip with her friend Hugh.?
慖 spoke to Avril抯 vicar,?said Judy, 慳nd she thought Avril might have been worried about something.?
慚other Wendy??says Barb. 慡he抯 a regular at my Friday morning group.?
It抯 only when Judy asks Barb抯 whereabouts on the 25th and 26th of February, that the breezy voice falters. 慖 had a 7pm group on the Tuesday and a 9am on the Wednesday. Why do you need to know? There抯 nothing criminal, is there??
Judy thinks of the way Tony had pronounced the words 慺oul play? with ill-concealed excitement. Barb sounds more fearful than anything and is not reassured when Judy says again that it抯 an ongoing investigation.
Nelson steps closer to the noticeboard. Ruth抯 face stares up at him, from a newspaper cutting about the excavation of murder victims, from the UNN archaeology prospectus, from the dust jacket of one of her books. There抯 even a screenshot from the TV series Women Who Kill, where Ruth was a ?sometimes unwilling ?expert witness. More worryingly, there are some photographs that were clearly taken from a distance, one showing Ruth and Katie outside the cottage. In the middle of the display ?or shrine ?there is a yellow Post-it note. Nelson leans forward to read the words written on it.
Stone walls do not a prison make
Nor iron bars a cage.
Nelson turns to Eileen, who is still keeping her distance.
慏id you know about this??
慛o,?says Eileen. 慖 mean, I knew he liked her, thought she was a good teacher but . . . I never came into his room. I didn抰 know about this.?
慖抦 going to call campus security,?says Nelson. 慉nd I really think you should find somewhere else to stay.?
慖抣l be OK,?says Eileen. 慣here抯 a lock on my door.?
Nelson remembers how easily he was able to break into Joe抯 room. The young really are astonishingly stupid sometimes. If Michelle were home, he抎 be tempted to offer Eileen a bed for the night. But she isn抰 and he can抰。 Besides, they are in the middle of a pandemic. And he抯 planning to slope off to Ruth抯 as soon as he抯 collected Bruno.
慖抣l speak to the university,?he says. 慣hey抳e got a duty of care.?
慣hey did send me a food parcel,?says Eileen. 慖t had a Cup-a-Soup and two cans of baked beans in it.?
慞ictures of me??says Ruth. She looks round the room. Kate is constructing the tower containing Dumbledore抯 study. Ruth remembers that the spiral staircase is very tricky. Flint is stretched out in a patch of sunlight. He seems to like having them both at home all day. They are all safe, Ruth tells herself.