The Glass Room (Vera Stanhope 5) (38 page)

‘“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”,’ Nina said. ‘That’s what he was playing in the chapel. His song for his daughter, I suppose.’

They sat for a moment in silence. A bell rang to mark the beginning of school.

‘I feel such a fool that I didn’t recognize the reference to the apricots,’ she said suddenly. ‘It’s years since I’ve seen the play, but all the same. And the handkerchief.’

‘The inspector googled it.’ They looked at each other and grinned. A moment of intimacy. Joe got to his feet. ‘I should go. I told my wife I’d be home.’

Vera had a late breakfast at Myers Farm with Jack and Joanna. Joe had turned down her offer of a fry-up and she felt that she owed them an explanation. And that Joanna at least owed one to her. There was local bacon and sausage, and eggs from the Myers hens, and it was a while before she could give her full attention to the case.

‘So it was all about revenge,’ Joanna said when she’d heard the story. ‘Mark saw himself as a great avenging angel, acting on behalf of his daughter.’

‘Aye.’ Vera wasn’t sure she believed in Winterton as an angel. ‘Something like that. Though I suspect the shrinks will say he’s too mad to plead and he’ll go straight to the loony bin.’

Joanna said nothing to that, and Vera thought she was remembering her own stay in a psychiatric clinic.

It was cold again outside, but snug in the kitchen, and there was condensation clouding the windows, so she couldn’t see into the farmyard.

‘What about you?’ Vera asked. ‘Was your story all about revenge too?’

‘No!’ Joanna was indignant. ‘I wanted to make sense of it. And keep a record.’

‘She’s a great writer,’ Jack said. ‘I’ve told her, if she keeps at it, she’ll be rich and famous one day. She’ll be keeping the pair of us.’ He reached out and touched the woman’s hand, then got to his feet, went to the door and pulled on his boots. ‘But I can’t sit here gassing all day. I’ve got work to do.’

Vera waited until the door had closed behind him. The warm kitchen was making her feel as if she could fall asleep at any minute. Joanna seemed about to go back to work too.

‘So what was going on?’ Vera asked. ‘The demands for money, stopping your medication. What was all that about?’

‘I don’t think,’ Joanna said, playing the grand lady again, ‘that it’s any of your business, Vee. It’s not a police matter.’

‘I want to know. I can’t stand unfinished business. Is it another man?’ Vera couldn’t bear to see Jack hurt. And she couldn’t bear the thought of him dripping around the place, disturbing her with his misery.

‘No!’ Joanna threw back her head and laughed. ‘What would I want with another man? I’m perfectly happy with the one I’ve got, and anyway, who else would have me?’

‘So what then?’
I can be as stubborn as you, lady.

Perhaps Joanna realized that Vera wasn’t going to give up. Or perhaps she wanted to discuss the idea, put it into words. ‘I want a baby,’ she said. ‘Before it’s too late. I can’t be pregnant on the medication. And I thought I should have some financial security before bringing a child into the world. So I asked Paul for money. That’s what it’s all about.’

‘Does Jack know?’

‘No point telling Jack until I’ve made up my mind,’ Joanna said. ‘He’ll be so excited he won’t be able to contain himself. He’ll talk about nothing else.’

‘What’s the next move?’

‘I’ve made an appointment with the doctor to talk through the options. Very sensible. You should be proud of me, Vee.’

Vera stood up and yawned. She needed a few hours’ sleep before she went back to the station. Joanna followed her to the door.

‘What about you?’ Joanna asked as they stood together, looking out down the valley. ‘Did you never want a child?’

‘Eh, pet, what sort of mother would I have made?’

Vera stomped off towards her house. Both of them knew that wasn’t any sort of answer to the question.

Also by Ann Cleeves

A Bird in the Hand

Come Death and High Water

Murder in Paradise

A Prey to Murder

A Lesson in Dying

Murder in My Back Yard

A Day in the Death of Dorothea Cassidy

Another Man’s Poison

Killjoy

The Mill on the Shore

Sea Fever

The Healers

High Island Blues

The Baby-Snatcher

The Sleeping and the Dead

Burial of Ghosts

The Vera Stanhope series

The Crow Trap

Telling Tales

Hidden Depths

Silent Voices

The Shetland series

Raven Black

White Nights

Red Bones

Blue Lightning

Acknowledgements

Thanks to everyone who helped in the writing of this book, especially Julie, Helen, Naomi and Catherine at Macmillan and Sara Menguc and her team worldwide.

I’m grateful to Paul Rutman who sparked the idea, and to Brenda, David, Wunmi and Elaine who have helped bring Vera to a wider readership.

First published 2012 by Macmillan

This electronic edition published 2012 by Macmillan
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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ISBN 978-0230-76309-8 EPUB

Copyright © Ann Cleeves 2012

The right of Ann Cleeves to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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