Ducking her head, she edged past and hastened along the rain-drenched flagstones, leaving Maura to stare after her in open-mouthed bewilderment.
‘Wait!’ she called, but Zoe showed no sign of having heard. A few moments later, she was gone, lost among the other pedestrians. ‘Weird,’ Maura muttered, turning to the shop doors once more. It was true that she hadn’t spoken to Zoe much in recent weeks but she had assumed her friend was simply busy, much like she was. Now she wondered whether there was something more serious going on.
‘Probably,’ Kirsty said, when Maura had found her at the window table on the fifth floor and taken the empty seat opposite her. ‘People are often fighting battles the rest of us don’t know about. Maybe she was just surprised to see you.’
Maura toyed with the menu, replaying the encounter in her mind. ‘No, it was more than that. She looked almost horrified.’
Her sister’s gaze flickered upwards to her hair, which Maura knew was damp and frizzy from the rain. ‘Well—’
‘It wasn’t my hair,’ she said, raising her hand to her head in spite of herself. ‘She barely even looked at me.’
Kirsty frowned. ‘And you’re sure you haven’t inadvertently upset her in some way?’
‘I don’t see how,’ Maura replied, after a moment’s thought. ‘I haven’t seen her for weeks.’
‘Then it’s not you,’ Kirsty said, shrugging. ‘Maybe she’s got work trouble. Or relationship problems.’
Either was possible, Maura thought. Hadn’t Zoe hinted more than once that she was frustrated with Liam? ‘I suppose I could ask Jamie,’ she said slowly. ‘If there’s something going on, he might have heard about it.’
Kirsty raised her eyebrows. ‘The rugby club jungle drums. But wouldn’t he have mentioned it already? He knows Zoe is your friend.’
‘He’s been busy,’ Maura said, not quite able to meet her sister’s eyes. ‘We both have.’
‘I’m sure it’s nothing,’ Kirsty said, her tone pragmatic as she lifted the menu to study it. ‘Why don’t you drop her a message later to check in?’
Maura bit her lip. Whatever had caused Zoe’s strange reaction was unlikely to be nothing, but that didn’t mean it had anything to do with Maura herself. ‘Good idea,’ she conceded at length. ‘Thanks.’
‘I’m full of good ideas,’ Kirsty said airily, and leaned back in her chair. ‘Now, about Mum and Dad’s anniversary. How do you feel about a Caribbean cruise?’
‘Have you seen much of Zoe recently?’
Jamie looked up from the paperwork he’d been glued to since arriving home from work. ‘Zoe?’
On the other side of the sofa, Maura nodded. ‘Liam’s girlfriend.’
‘I know who she is,’ Jamie replied, the beginning of a frown etching twin lines between his eyes. ‘I’m just not sure why you’re asking if I’ve seen her.’
‘At the rugby club,’ Maura said. ‘I wondered whether she’s been there lately.’
He shuffled the papers, selecting a new one from the pile and turning his gaze downwards again. ‘I can’t say I’ve noticed. Why?’
Maura shifted uneasily. ‘I ran into her outside John Lewis on Tuesday, when I was having lunch with Kirsty. She seemed a bit off, so I sent her a text and she hasn’t replied.’ She waited but he didn’t acknowledge her words. ‘I’m a bit worried something’s wrong.’
‘No idea,’ Jamie said, his tone preoccupied. ‘Sorry.’
‘How about Liam?’ she persisted, because she knew he’d played at the weekend. ‘Does he seem okay?’
A short huff escaped Jamie’s lips. ‘Again, no idea. I’m not the club’s therapist, Maura. They don’t confide in me when they have problems.’
The flatness behind his words made Maura pause. ‘No, of course not,’ she said, after a moment. ‘I thought maybe you might have heard something, if he and Zoe weren’t getting along or – or…’ She trailed off, discouraged by the disengaged set of his shoulders. ‘Look, it doesn’t matter. Maybe I’ll come to the club on Friday evening. See if I can catch Zoe for a chat.’
That did get Jamie’s attention and this time his frown was full. ‘You haven’t done that for months.’
It wouldn’t help to explain the reason for her absence, Maura thought – that she’d grown tired of watching Jamie get drunk with his teammates. ‘All the more reason to come along,’ she said, trying to sound jolly. ‘They’ll have forgotten I exist.’
‘Hardly.’
There was something in his voice, a spark of irritation so fleeting that she wondered whether she’d imagined it. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’
