Bob hadnt seemed surprised, or even unduly distressed, at the sight of Nelson.
DCI Nelson, we were just talking about you.
Bob Donaldson, said Nelson, youre under arrest for the murder of David Donaldson. Do you understand the nature of the charge?
I didnt do it, said Bob. Ask Ruth. She knows.
I dont, retorted Ruth, grabbing hold of Kate and retrieving her phone.
You do not have to say anything, intoned Nelson. However, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.
I didnt do it, said Bob. Tell him, Ruth.
After a police car has taken Bob away, Ruth makes more toast for a ravenous Kate and she and Nelson sit with their daughter in the kitchen, an uncomfortable parody of a happy family.
Shes so clever, says Nelson again. I couldnt believe it when I heard her voice on the phone, clear as a bell.
She is clever, says Ruth. She gets it from me.
Nelson doesnt rise. He takes a piece of Kates toast and asks Ruth how Bob managed to track her down.
I think youve got Maddie to thank for that, says Ruth.
Bloody hell, says Nelson, when Ruth has explained. Why would she do a thing like that?
I dont know. She knew Liz, presumably she knew Bob too.
And shes a friend of Justines – the babysitter – thats how she must have heard that I was on Bobs tail. She knew that Justine had rung me.
Ruth doesnt like to criticise Maddie. She knows that Nelson has endless tolerance where the young are concerned (far less for his fellow adults). Nevertheless, she does feel that Cathbads daughter has some explaining to do.
Why is she in Norfolk at all?
She wanted to talk to me about the case, the death of David Donaldson. It brought back memories of … of Scarlet.
Ruth can imagine how this will have affected Nelson, but even so it doesnt quite ring true for her. Why would Maddie come all the way down from Leeds to harangue Nelson about a case that didnt concern her at all? OK, it might have reminded her of her sisters disappearance, but why did she feel that she had to confront Nelson in particular?
Whats Maddie like? she asks.
Nelson smiles. Shes a bit like her dad. Very intense and other-worldly, talking about energies and negativity and whathaveyou. But in another way she seems very adult. Shes the same age as Rebecca but she seems a lot older. I think shes had to grow up fast.
Ruth guesses that Nelson still feels guilty about the events that caused Maddie to grow up too quickly. Its this guilt which has made him take the girl under his wing. But Ruth must be a nastier person than Nelson because she still feels suspicious. Maddie seems to have infiltrated the Nelson family. Why?
How longs she staying? she asks.
Just a couple of days, says Nelson. She gets on really well with Rebecca.
What does Michelle think?
Nelson shoots Ruth a look. Its rare for her to refer to his wife by name. She likes her, he says rather defensively. Its nice to have the house full again.
Ruth says nothing. She knows that Nelson misses his daughters when they are away. She feels that she would be only too glad to see the back of two moody adolescents but Nelson is different. He is far more motherly than her.
Do you really think that Bob Donaldson killed his baby? she asks.
Nelson hesitates before answering. Weve got information that places him at the scene, he lied about his whereabouts. It doesnt look good.
Ruth thinks how like a policeman he sounds, places him at the scene … whereabouts. Its a kind of pompous shorthand. They all do it.
He did seem a bit weird, she says.
Yes, but youd be surprised how often the weird ones are innocent. Its the normal-looking ones youve got to watch out for.
Ruth looks at him. Do you still think Liz might be guilty?
No, says Nelson. Looks as if shes in the clear. Especially if he confesses.
Why would he do that?
Youd be surprised, says Nelson again. Sometimes its a real relief to tell someone the truth.
But sometimes people confess to crimes they didnt commit, thinks Ruth. She doesnt say this to Nelson. Hes a Catholic, he knows all about the fatal glamour of the confessional. For a few minutes they sit in silence. Nelson entertains Kate by cutting her toast into shapes, hearts, diamonds and stars. Suddenly he says, not looking at Ruth, Who was the bloke on the film set?
Which bloke? says Ruth, though she thinks she knows.
Grey-haired. American. Pleased with himself.
Frank Barker, says Ruth. Hes a historian. I told you.
Do you know him well?
Ruth cant resist saying, I only met him yesterday. I crashed into him.
Nelson is predictably outraged. Ill have him for dangerous driving. Katie could have been killed.
I said I wouldnt press charges, said Ruth. No-one was hurt..
You need a new car. That things a death trap.
My cars fine. Dont fuss, Nelson.
Fuss! Nelson looks shocked. I never fuss. Ruth forbears to remind him that when she chose Sandra as a childminder Nelson ran no less than three police checks on her. She knows that this excessive concern is his way of compensating for not being able to be a full-time father to Kate. Doesnt stop it being irritating though.
If I make some money from my book I might buy a new car, says Ruth.
Or if you become a TV star.
Ruth laughs. Hardly. Ill probably never hear from them again.
CHAPTER 16
But Ruth hears from Dani the very next day. They have the Carbon 14 and isotope results and she wants to film Ruth discussing them with Phil and Frank.
Just very casual, she says. Three professionals together.
In Ruths experience, if you get three archaeology professionals in a room together, violent disagreement usually follows. But she doesnt say this. She is also furious that Phil has obviously told Dani about the results before sharing them with her.
I thought wed film at the university, says Dani. Dreaming spires and all that.
Has she seen the University of North Norfolk, thinks Ruth. Brideshead, it isnt. But she says nothing because, deep down, she wants to be filmed dispensing wisdom to Phil and Frank. She wonders if theyll give her a clipboard to carry.
When she gets to the university, she finds that the lights and cameras have been set up in one of the science labs.
It was too poky in the archaeology department, explains Aslan. We liked the light in here and all those Bunsen burners and jars with Biohazard written on them. Its what the viewers expect a lab to look like. Its a pity we havent got one of those glass boards to write on, like in Prehistoric Autopsy.
Ruth agrees that a glass board would have been awesome. Privately she wonders how they got the notoriously prickly Head of Science to agree to the filming at all. Perhaps she too isnt immune to the magic of TV. The science department always reminds her of Cathbad, who was, until recently, a technician here.
Phil bustles over, wearing a pristine white coat. It makes his face look very brown. Or is he wearing tinted moisturiser?
Looking forward to talking about the reports, Ruth?
I havent read them yet, says Ruth.
Phil looks momentarily discomfited and hands over a paper folder. I meant to give it to you earlier. Its very much what we expected anyway.
Ruth flicks through the report. The bones are of an adult female and they are estimated as being about a hundred and fifty years old. Phils right. Theres nothing new here. The bones show the woman to have been fairly healthy, though the teeth have faint brown ridges which might point to periods of childhood malnourishment. This would tie in with Franks story of Jemima Greens early years. The stable isotope results also point to the subject being from the local area. Mineral analysis shows a low marine diet, fairly typical for someone living about twenty miles inland.
Dani prances over. Shes wearing a frayed denim mini skirt and, from the back, looks about ten.
Right, well start off with you walking down the corridor. Phil, you ask Ruth whats in the report. Ruth, you explain. Emphasise the fact that the bones are the right age. Then well have you in the lab looking at the bones themselves. Is there anything else of interest?
Ruth mentions the teeth.
Brilliant. Frank! Dani calls.
Frank wanders over with a Styrofoam cup in his hand.
Frank, Ruth is going to say that the teeth show that Mother Hook had a deprived childhood. Can you say a bit about that?
Sure.
Then well just have a long shot of the three of you with the bones and Corinna can do a voice over.
Ruth can just imagine how this will sound. So these are definitely the bones of the horrific monster known as … No room for doubt or ambiguity or a hundred years either way.
A make-up girl appears and starts dabbing at Ruth with a sponge. Do you think they should be wearing coveralls, Dani? she asks.
Please say no, begs Ruth silently. She looks like a Teletubby in paper coveralls.
No, lab coats will do, says Dani. Ruth, maybe you should have your hair up. It would make you look more academic.
Er … Dani? Phil is smiling engagingly.
Yes?
Perhaps I could do the explaining and Ruth could ask the questions. After all I am the Head of Department …
Nah. Shes our bones lady. Five minutes, people!
By lunchtime Ruth feels as if she has walked down the corridor a thousand times. Again and again she has smilingly explained to Phil and Frank that the bones found in the trench are the right age to be those of Jemima Green. Time after time she has examined the bones, holding them up to the light and trying not to notice when strands of hair escaped from her bun and fell into her eyes. She is utterly fed up with the sound of her own voice saying that brown ridges in the teeth could indicate a period of arrested development such as illness or malnutrition. She never before realised how a simple action can become almost impossible if you perform it enough times. By the end of the morning she has almost forgotten how to walk. Her mouth aches from smiling and her hair has finally given up the fight against the pins and hangs limply round her face.