No Stone Tells Where I Lie by Madeline Kalvis

Author:Madeline Kalvis [Kalvis, Madeline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-05-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 3

– I Am With You Now –

The next morning Emma stood on the pier while two men hauled Evan’s body onto the dinky charter vessel bound for Perth. He was wrapped in a plastic tarpaulin to preserve as much evidence as possible. One of the men couldn't remember Evan's last name when asked, and the other seemed reluctant to let go of such a nice tarp. The captain huffed and crossed his arms at the idea of loading a cargo that didn't pay. Emma watched from a supervisory distance. She tried to remember something nice about Evan and came up with nothing. The wind whipped the morning fog into pretty little spirals that smelled like seagull shit.

She turned and approached Zoe, who was hanging back by the chip shop. The young woman met her halfway and started talking without offering to shake her hand.

“Yesterday brought to today so lightly, a yesterday I find almost impossible to lift.”

“Come again?”

“Nothing. Just some old rot.”

“Miss Hall, right? Sorry we had to give you a welcome like this.” She attempted a smile. Zoe smiled back.

“It's alright. You're Ned's second, I understand.”

Emma's smile flickered and Zoe's eyebrows wrinkled in the middle.

“Yes. P.C. Emma Cambourne. Emma. I guess there have been a lot of developments since you left.”

“I got a bit of it from Jessie.”

“Word travels quickly.”

Zoe’s eyes circled the harbor. “Well, it doesn't have far to travel on South Alderney. It's funny. Ned tries to off himself. Then his best friend visits Evan, and Evan kills himself. And now I suppose the closest thing Evan had to a friend... is me.”

“I wouldn't think too hard about it.” Emma tried to sound reassuring. In police dramas they would put a hand on a person's shoulder, but surely nobody does that sort of thing in real life.

Zoe reflected her concern perfectly. “Oh, I know sometimes these things just happen.”

“Right. Mind you, we are going to consider everything. Once the lab reports come back, we'll know for sure if there is any evidence of foul play. But I doubt it.”

“Must be a red-letter day for village gossip. Let me guess. Someone has put forward the theory that Evan was overwhelmed by guilt at having stolen Greg's nice telly.”

“No one has mentioned it to me so far.”

“Give it time. On this island, everyone has time to think. I love it. Has anyone tried to convince you the devil did it?”

“Not yet. Should I be worried?”

“Do you believe in the devil?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then you have no reason to worry.”

Emma chuckled. “There was one woman who tried to convince me that murderers are afoot. Showed me some bones bitten in half to prove it.”

Zoe’s smile flickered. “Bitten?”

“I guess she thought a person did it? Probably just some local carnivore.”

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

“I’m not a scientist.” Emma paused, unsure what to say next. “I'm going to the station. We could walk there together.”

The two women walked side by side up the hill. Zoe was the sort of person Emma expected

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