Page 61 of The House Guest

‘I know, I know. I’m the one who should be apologising. But Ruth is still missing and I have to know where she is.’

Mona didn’t recognise Eden, and I would never be able to ask Jack. So I went back to my other theory: that one of them had inadvertently spoken to another member of the cult.

‘Did you or Jack tell people about me and Ruth coming to stay?’

‘Why are you asking that?’

I could imagine her reaction if I told her I thought Jack might have been murdered by a cult. She wasn’t a dumb kid like Jesse. ‘Just humour me, please. Did you tell anyone?’

She thought about it. ‘I don’t know. I told people we had house-sitters coming. A couple of Brits we met on a cruise. But I didn’t tell anyone your names because who would be interested? It’s not like we had Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe coming to stay.’

‘What about Jack?’ I asked. ‘Might he have told people?’

‘I don’t know, Adam.’ She appeared to be about to start crying and I felt terrible, but I had to find out if Mona knew anything that might help me.

I pressed on. ‘They knew we were going to be there. If you didn’t tell anyone, it must have been Jack.’

‘And then what?’ Now she sounded irritated. ‘You think Eden came looking for Ruth? That she, what, watched that weird movie Ruth was in and became obsessed with her?’

‘Yes,’ I replied, again not wanting to mention the cult.

‘And what? This crazed fan, Eden, has made off with Ruth? Got her locked up in a basement somewhere? Like in that movie,Misery?’

‘That wasn’t a basement.’

She stared at me.

‘But Ruthisin danger. I’m certain of it. Earlier today I spoke to this guy who told me his friend was murdered because of something he said to Eden.’

‘What are you talking about?’

I was going to have to tell her about the cult. I started to attempt to explain but Mona cut me off.

‘This is insane. You’re insane. This Eden person didn’t come looking for Ruth. Ruth’s gone off for God knows what selfish reason. And you’re bothering me when I’m trying to grieve for my husband.’

Her voice cracked and she put her sunglasses back on. But she couldn’t disguise that she was crying.

I opened my mouth to say more but forced myself to stop. I was convinced I was right. Eden had known either Jack or Mona. She had known their names and other details about their lives. And Jack must have been the source of that knowledge, either because he had talked to Eden or she had found out through a third party. Furthermore, I was sure Jack’s death had to be connected to Ruth’s disappearance.

I still didn’t have the answers, particularly to the question of how the burglar was connected to all this, but Mona didn’t know anything. There was no point pressing her.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t want to upset you. I really didn’t.’

She raised her voice. ‘Well, you didn’t succeed.’

A member of hotel staff was coming over. Mona stood up and I stood too.

‘Don’t come to Jack’s funeral, Adam. You’re not welcome.’

The member of staff arrived by Mona’s side. ‘Is everything all right, madam?’

She pulled herself upright.

‘This gentleman is leaving,’ she said, pointing a shaking finger at me. A tear trickled down her face, catching the light from the chandelier. She made no attempt to wipe it away.

Chapter 26

According to a map I found online, Columbia University’s Department of Psychology was on the east side of the main Manhattan campus. I went through the gates and up some steps, and wished I could appreciate being here, a place where so many brilliant minds had been nurtured. Sally Klay had studied English literature here. As I approached the library it wasn’t hard to picture the young Sally, sitting beneath a tree, book in one hand, cigarette in the other, dreaming of the day when the city beyond this campus would be hers.

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