drive towards Old Welwyn, the sun setting behind the trees. Dusk has settled on the warm day by the time I pull onto the drive at Darlington House.
The grounds are still and quiet and, probably due to my mood, I feel uneasy. Dad and Eleanor have had a few offers over the years from film directors wanting to use the place as a setting for horror or supernatural movies, but they’ve always declined, insisting this is a happy house. And it is. Mostly.
I knock, and Eleanor answers the door within moments. She turned sixty at Christmas, but could easily pass as forty-five.
‘Rose, darling,’ she says, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around me – coating me with her expensive perfume. She’s softly spoken, pronounces her vowels. ‘Your father said you wanted to talk to me.’
Once she’s released me, I follow her into the lounge. There’s no sign of Dad, and as though sensing me searching for him, Eleanor says, ‘He’s popped to the Fox and Hound. Said he thought you wanted to see me. Decided to give us space. Drink?’
I shake my head. ‘I’m driving.’
‘Tea? Coffee?’
‘I’m fine. Thanks.’
I spot two cases in the corner, and suddenly remember. ‘Oh, I forgot you’re going away.’
‘Yes.’ She aims the remote control at the TV, muting a wildlife programme. ‘We’re heading for Scotland in the morning. Your dad said we shouldn’t go. That we should be here for Willow.’ She stares deep into my eyes as though asking me what she should do.
‘Dad needs a break,’ I say. He’s been suffering with angina, needs some time out to relax.
‘Yes, and we’re only going for the weekend. We could be back in a flash if needed.’
‘You must go,’ I insist, sitting down on one of the sofas opposite her. ‘Dad’s never been to Scotland. And let’s be honest, if we stopped living every time Willow took off we’d never go anywhere.’ She still looks a little unsure. ‘She’s got me, Eleanor. I’ll keep you both updated.’
‘Yes, of course you will. Thank you, Rose,’ she says.
Photographs in silver frames of the family are everywhere. Expensive ornaments, mostly wild animals, are displayed in an oak cabinet. A bookshelf full of hardbacks – non-fiction mainly: biographies, books about birds, the rainforest – stretches across one of the walls.
‘So what did you want to see me about?’ she says. She cups her chin with her left hand, places her index finger on her cheek. ‘Is everything OK?’
Deciding to come straight to the point, I say, ‘Do you know why Willow took off like she did?’
She moves her hand from her cheek and examines her neat nails for some moments. ‘Yes. Yes, I do.’
‘Are you her biological mother, Eleanor?’
Tears appear on her lower lashes. ‘You know about that?’
‘That her real mother was murdered? Yes, I know.’
‘I brought her up, Rose. She is my daughter.’
‘You adopted her?’
‘She’s had a far better life with me – us – than she ever would have.’ She sucks in a sigh, as a resting tear zigzags down her cheek. ‘You may as well know how it came about.’
‘Go on.’ I lean back, feeling a tension in my shoulders, and the beginnings of a headache forming.
She presses the heels of her hands against her eyes and takes a deep breath. ‘So you know Willow’s mother was murdered.’
I nod, feeling fuzzy, as though I’m not in my own body. As though none of this is real.
‘Her name was Ava Millar,’ she goes on, and I don’t stop her, even though I know that much. ‘I knew the Millars from my time as a social worker. In the early Nineties Ava’s older brother was a difficult boy, and her mother couldn’t handle him. There was concern for the safety of Ava and her sister, Gail. They were eight and ten when I was assigned their case.
‘Although things calmed down when the brother took off to Australia, I kept the family on my radar, and heard when Ava got pregnant at seventeen with Willow – the father was a useless article.
‘When Ava was killed, I visited her mother. Jeannette Millar was a mess. Anyone would be after losing two daughters. Gail killed herself you see, after supposedly killing Ava.’
‘Supposedly?’
‘I never quite believed she was capable. She was a self-centred girl but, in my opinion, not a killer. Although the evidence was there – the note – her wedding dress folded neatly – the knife.’
My mind drifts to the photographs I was sent. ‘So if you don’t think she killed her sister, who did?’
She shrugs. ‘There were other theories. Ava’s brother-in-law, Rory, was suspected for a short time, but he had a sound alibi.’
I think back to the photos. ‘So Rory was Gail’s husband?’
She nods. ‘It happened on the night of their wedding.’
I cover my mouth. ‘Oh God,’ I say into my hand. ‘That’s awful.’
‘It was, yes.’ She shakes her head. ‘A terrible tragedy.’
‘And the other theories?’
‘Well … there was Justin, Willow’s father.’
‘Her father?’ My mind is racing. ‘Is he still alive?’
‘I’ve no idea. He was a useless man. I hope Willow never meets him if he is.’ She takes a deep breath, and fiddles with her earring – a simple sleeper, she never wears fancy jewellery. ‘There were so many stories kicking around that part of Cornwall at the time, Rose. But I doubt we’ll ever know the truth, not after all these years.’
‘So when Ava Millar died, you adopted Willow,’ I say, bringing the conversation back to where we began.
‘Not right away – as I said Jeannette Millar couldn’t cope, and Willow’s father was useless. Willow ended up in care. I fostered her, and being part of social services, pushed for a quick adoption.’
It doesn’t seem possible we are talking about my stepsister – the young woman staying in Cornwall hunting for a killer.
I stare at Eleanor for some moments, before reaching over and taking her hand. ‘So why tell Willow now?’
‘I didn’t. Someone contacted her on Facebook. Told her everything.’
‘Who?’
‘Willow didn’t recognise the name, and there was no profile photo. They attached an article about the murder of her mother. Willow didn’t believe it, of course. She came to me, hoping I would tell
