Poor Emad, thought Gemma. His expression had reverted to its default one of humility, and it took her straight back to their schooldays, how cowed he looked when the teacher asked him a question he couldn’t answer.

‘It’s an area that the house’s gardeners go through a lot – the pond lies between the greenhouses and the vegetable gardens. But surely Allerton wouldn’t have fitted into a wheelbarrow?’ she said.

‘He could have done,’ Lincoln said grimly. ‘If he was already dead, and the person or people wheeling him were strong enough to lift him into it.’

‘Right,’ said Gemma. ‘We’ll talk to all the gardeners, see who was around that night. Emad, can you make a start on that?’

Emad nodded, opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated. Gemma smiled encouragingly at him, and Lincoln spotted it. ‘Was there something else, Emad?’

‘It might be nothing, sir,’ he said reluctantly, his voice barely audible over the judder of the elderly aircon unit, ‘but I was thinking: you mentioned that Meredith’s twin arrived at eight-fortyish on the night Allerton went missing. She said that she and Pete were going out for a drink but then decided against it. I was just wondering why he would have cycled all the way up to Minstead House? I mean, why didn’t she just meet him in the pub, if they’d intended to go out? The nearest pub’s The Ship in Minstead Village. No reason for him to go up to the house first. And she said he was “picking her up” for a drink, but he arrived on his bike. I don’t think he even has a car, does he?’

Gemma was about to agree, but Mavis jumped in: ‘I’m sure that’s no big deal, Emad. They probably hadn’t decided whether to go out or stay in, that’s all, so they’d agreed he’d come up to her and then they’d see how they felt.’

Chastened, Emad looked down, not meeting anybody’s eyes. Gemma made a mental note to congratulate him later for thinking of it. It was a good point. Why wouldn’t Pete have just gone to meet Meredith at the pub? The Ship was only up the road from Pete’s boat. It didn’t make sense. She would pay Meredith another visit and ask her.

26

1983
Meredith

When I remembered back, that birthday at Greenham marked the first major turning point of my life. It had been a day of firsts, both good and bad: first demo, first kiss, first arrest, first body search.

First time I learned what I’d been too self-obsessed to realise; that I was about to lose my dad.

I couldn’t take it in. In fact, to begin with, I thought it was some kind of sick joke; perhaps a punishment for me absconding to Greenham and getting arrested on my birthday, leaving just a note.