Bright Air - Barry Maitland [61]
Finally Pru broke eye contact with Anna and gave a shrug. ‘You said it.’
‘Why didn’t you tell the coroner?’
‘Luce asked me to keep it to myself, although I did tell my husband. He was very embarrassed. Asked me to keep quiet about it.’
My head was buzzing, and I had difficulty concentrating on what they were saying.
Anna said, ‘Embarrassed about what?’
‘His misdiagnosis. And the fact that Luce came to me, not him.’
‘I still don’t understand.’
Pru took a deep breath. ‘Dick was in love with her. Horribly, grovellingly, embarrassingly so. Things were pretty bad between him and me at that stage—we went to Lord Howe originally to patch things up after I’d had a stupid affair. We thought it would bring us back together again, the two of us on an idyllic island, but it turned out to be a very bad idea. By the time Luce came along we couldn’t stand the sight of each other. We hadn’t slept together for six months. And, of course, he couldn’t look at any of the women on the island, not in a place like that—everybody would have known about it within ten minutes. We were just about at breaking point, ready to throw it in and return to the mainland, then this beautiful, intelligent, sympathetic girl stepped off the plane.’
‘Morning sickness?’ I hissed. ‘Are you sure?’ I felt like the man who was mugged in the library and had to whisper for help.
Pru turned and looked carefully at me. I understood her caution now.
‘She came to see me late in the afternoon of that Thursday, before the party, when she knew Dick wouldn’t be at the hospital. She asked me to test her, so I did. It was positive. She didn’t say much more other than to ask me to tell no one.’
‘Didn’t she say how late her period was?’ Anna said.
‘No. And I didn’t ask about the father. She didn’t want to talk.’
‘How soon does morning sickness happen, after conception?’ I whispered.
‘Usually between two and ten weeks.’
‘Did your husband …’ For once Anna seemed to have difficulty finishing a sentence.
‘Have sex with her? I honestly don’t know. He was certainly badly shaken up when I told him about the positive test. That was a couple of days after the accident, when it was becoming clear that she hadn’t survived.’
‘Did you ask him?’
‘Yes, but he didn’t say anything. He just burst into tears. I debated what to do, but in the end I decided I should respect Luce’s wishes.’
We sat in silence for a long moment, then Anna said, ‘What really happened to Luce, Pru?’
Pru frowned, as if not sure what to make of that. ‘What the coroner said, presumably. Why? Do you know something different?’
‘We’re not sure. Can you think of any other explanation for Luce’s disappearance?’
‘No, of course not.’
‘Was anybody angry with her?’
‘What are you getting at? Are you suggesting somebody pushed her? The two boys with her that day?’
‘Is that possible? Or somebody else?’
Pru shook her head in disbelief. ‘I’m sorry, I haven’t the faintest idea. They seemed like nice boys. Have you spoken to them?’
‘They’re both dead, Pru. They were killed in a climbing accident in New Zealand about a month ago. They left a message, you see, that was ambiguous.’
Pru looked shocked. ‘My God, so many accidents … I suppose theirs was an accident?’
‘As far as we know.’ I gave her one of Mary’s cards and wrote my mobile number on the back. ‘Please give us a ring if you think of anything else.’
Anna said not a word as we tramped back to the car. We got in and I said, ‘Leichhardt?’ and she just nodded. I said, ‘Did you suspect it all along, or was it just a sudden brainwave?’
She looked at me as if I was a bit slow, and turned away. I had a powerful urge to kick her out and drive somewhere quiet and just scream or weep or jump into the ocean. But there’d be time for that. I buckled up and started the engine.
We were in luck. Dr Passlow had a Saturday morning surgery, for the older ragazzi and their dads by the look of it. I asked the receptionist for a piece of paper and an envelope, and wrote a short note for the doctor. ‘Would you mind