Page 51 of Her Last Walk Home

The little hairs on the back of her neck refused to lie down. She had the same feeling she’d had last night.

She was being watched.

40

The young guard was trying hard to be friendly and helpful. Despite that, she was getting under Diana’s skin like a pulsing pimple. She wanted space and peace.

‘Martina, would you bring Aaron out for fresh air? Just to get him out of the house. I’m not up to it.’

The bloody guard refused. ‘I’m sorry, Diana. I have to stay with both of you.’

Was she afraid of separating them? Had she an ulterior motive? Diana didn’t have to feign a headache to escape, because her head was already thumping.

‘I’m going to lie down, then.’

‘I’ll bring you up a cup of tea,’ Martina said.

‘No, I want to close my eyes for a half-hour. You okay with Aaron down here?’

‘Erm, yeah. Sure.’

She didn’t look sure at all, but Diana couldn’t worry about that. She needed headspace.

In her room, she flung herself on her unmade bed, wanting to scream. Crying and screaming worked for some, didn’t it? She felt lost in a sea of putrid uncertainty. That detective with his questions had totally unnerved her. Why had shementioned Laura being turned down for a mortgage? Would they investigate that further? If so, what would they discover?

And what about that other murder? John Morgan. And Laura as an escort? What the hell was that about? Was it even true, what the detective had said? He’d have no reason to lie to her. It must be true.

Had Laura got herself involved in a den of iniquity?

Like mother, like daughter.

While Boyd was busy drafting a warrant to obtain access to Greg Plunkett’s database, complaining that it’d be difficult to haul a judge off a golf course on a Saturday, Lottie talked to McKeown.

‘How did it go with Diana Nolan?’

‘Not great. She’s on edge, which is to be expected with the shock of her daughter’s murder. But I sensed she was hiding something. Then again, I could be wrong.’

‘Martina might get her to open up.’ Lottie thought for a moment. ‘You don’t think Diana killed her own daughter, do you?’

‘No, nothing like that, even though she has no one to corroborate her alibi. She was minding her grandson that night. She’s thin as a whippet. No way she’d be able to haul Laura’s body to where she was found. Plus, Laura would have had no difficulty overpowering her.’

‘She could have had help. Motive, though?’

‘None that I can think of.’

‘And she’s left to raise Laura’s son,’ Lottie said, ‘so I doubt she’d have killed her.’

‘She did mention that Laura was turned down for a mortgage. She was looking to buy a townhouse.’

‘Greg Plunkett said she needed money for a deposit. Where was she looking to buy?’

McKeown looked at Lottie earnestly. ‘Diana said she mentioned Pine Grove.’

She pulled up straight. ‘What? Where we found John Morgan’s body. Could their murders be linked?’

‘Different MO. Just a coincidence.’

She thought he was probably right. ‘I suppose it’s the only new development around town at the moment. But you’d think she might have looked to rent somewhere first, or get on the council housing list.’

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