Page 109 of Her Last Walk Home

‘But Aneta bypassed that,’ Lottie said, reading between the lines.

‘I don’t know anything about hiring staff. Someone must have put in a word for her.’

‘Who would that be?’

Mona dropped her head. ‘All I know is that Irene would insist on a warrant for that kind of information.’

‘Do you really want to work for a woman like that?’ Boyd asked.

‘She’s a great boss. Built up this place single-handed over the years. You know it burned down about thirty years ago? Irene saved it from ruin. She fundraises and fills out tons of grant application forms. She’s done nothing wrong.’

Lottie stood at the window of Irene’s office. She noticed a worker driving a sit-on mower on the lawn.

‘The day Aneta had her breakdown, for want of a better word, there was an event here for financial donors. How did that work?’

‘They had a meal, then a guided tour. We were trying to attract new funding.’

‘Do you have the names of those who attended?’

‘Their photo was in the local paper, but I’ll get you the list.’

‘Do you know what exactly happened with Aneta that day?’

Leaning her hands on the back of the visitor chair, Mona took a deep breath. ‘The donors came into the common room to viewit. There were only a few people there, all of whom had given consent. Then suddenly, Aneta started shaking violently, as if she was having a fit. She was a blubbering mess and nothing we did could stop her crying. I was about to follow the touring party but came back to help. I didn’t know what else to do, so I got someone to bring her to Irene’s office to wait for her there.’

‘Did Aneta say anything about what had sparked it?’

‘She could have, but she was speaking in Polish.’

‘Who was in the party that had just left the room?’

Mona bit her lip. She starting listing names, then stopped. Lottie recognised a few of them. Local business people. ‘Go on.’

‘We also had family members visiting.’

‘Who?’ She glimpsed Boyd idly flicking through the manager’s desk. Mona didn’t seem to notice him.

‘You already know Gordon Collins was there.’ The receptionist twisted her hands into each other and bounced on her heels like a child who’d done something wrong and been caught out. ‘He’d been talking to John Morgan.’

‘Collins wasn’t family.’

‘I know that. You’re confusing me. He’s a donor.’

‘Back to family members… Why were they there?’

‘Just visiting.’

‘Who were they?’ Lottie was sure Mona was holding something back. ‘I’m sure you’ve checked it out.’

‘Okay, okay. Laura Nolan’s mother was here that day.’

‘Diana Nolan?’ Boyd looked up as he lifted a letter-opener.

Mona took a step towards him. ‘Don’t touch anything on the desk, please. But yes, Diana Nolan.’

‘Did Aneta interact with her?’

Mona gave a wry laugh. ‘I don’t know. You’re persistent. You’ve got more out of me than I meant to say.’

---