The Elephant Girl(133)

Her smiled dropped a little when Ruth mentioned how she and Sweetman were in the process of winding up Aggie’s estate. There was still that other matter …

After she’d left Jason’s house, she’d spent a few days just hiding inside herself, but circumstances had forced her out, Aggie’s funeral for one. It was a quiet affair, with only Helen, Ruth and Sweetman there, plus Bill and Mrs Deakin who’d known Aggie well. The vicar tried to focus his words on a venerable old lady who’d achieved much in her life, but Letitia’s horrible death haunted everyone there, and his efforts fell flat.

To clear her mind Helen took a walk among the headstones and statues of the Victorian cemetery. Arseni found her in front of an intricately carved stone angel with one arm stretched out and a finger pointing accusingly, more avenger than saviour.

‘Poor Yelena,’ he said.

‘Like I’ve said before, poor is the one thing I’m not.’

‘I meant because you lose another person. Very sad, nyet?’

She rolled her eyes at him, and he held up his hands in defeat.

‘Okay, I get it. Drop the accent. It’s not easy, you know. It’s become a bit of a habit.’

‘A bad habit. Nothing wrong with being who you are.’

‘Well, consider it dropped.’

‘Thanks.’ She reached into her rucksack. ‘I have something for you.’

‘For me?’

She handed him the paper knife Charlie had taken. ‘My friend stole this from your display cabinet. At first I wasn’t gong to give it back, but … well, by right it’s yours.’

‘Ah, the charming Charlotte. I suspected as much.’ He examined it for a second then slipped it into his inside jacket pocket. ‘What made you change your mind? About giving it back?’

‘You’ve never been anything other than kind to me. I didn’t appreciate it to begin with. Thought you were just playing me, you know, like a lot of people have done. But I was wrong.’

He nodded. ‘What will you do now?’ he asked.

She shrugged. ‘Start living again, like a normal person. I’ve never done that, not really, so it’ll be like learning a new skill. Maybe use my own experiences to help others. Get over myself, I suppose.’ And Jason, she thought, and felt her insides clench. That part would take some time. ‘And you?’

He made a face. ‘Fraud Squad are taking a keen interest in some of my, uhm, connections – too keen for my liking – so I’m off to Russia for a while. Let things cool down and all that.’

Helen laughed. ‘I wish you well. I truly do.’

‘Will I ever see you again?’

She punched him lightly on the shoulder. ‘Don’t be daft, of course you will. You’re my dad, aren’t you?’

He stared at her, shocked. ‘Yes,’ he admitted. ‘My brother couldn’t have children after his cancer treatment. So I suggested I help them out. It wasn’t altruistic, I just wanted to sleep with Mimi. She was very … desirable. I’m not proud of how you came about, but …’ He smiled. ‘I’m very proud of you. You’re a chip off the old block, if I’m allowed to use a cliché.’

‘Clichés are allowed.’

He held out his arms, Russian-style, and she stepped into his embrace. ‘We’ll stay in touch, let’s make sure of that. Nyet?’

Ruth waited for her on a bench by the cemetery gates. ‘The hearse has left. For the crematorium.’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘It’s what Mother wanted.’

Helen sat down beside her. ‘Letitia said you were good at lying.’

‘It was in her will, Helen.’

‘I know what was in her will. I read it, remember? Letitia also said you had your reasons for not wanting a post-mortem.’ She looked at Ruth, and the pressure she’d felt building inside since she’d entered the chapel earlier threatened to overwhelm her. ‘Why’d you kill her?’

Ruth paled.

‘Was it money, like your damn sister? Or to get control of the company?’

‘No,’ Ruth whispered and bowed her head. Her fingers, nails bitten to the quick, folded and unfolded the hem of her skirt, over and over in some obsessive-compulsive ritual.

‘Why, then?’

Ruth let out a deep sigh. ‘When Mimi died, I wanted to adopt you. Letitia told Mother you hated me, so Mother, to spare me I suppose, persuaded me not to. Said I couldn’t deal with your epilepsy. I was weak and agreed, but I resented her so much for that. When I learned the truth, that Letitia had in fact lied about your feelings for me, I resented her even more for believing my sister in the first place. And when you came back, you were so angry with all of us, and I felt so guilty for not being there for you.’