Hester got to her feet and got out a biscuit tin so old that the scenic picture on the lid had worn away around the edges where greasy fingers had opened and closed it a thousand times. She checked the dryness of the mugs by swiping her finger around the inside of hers and decided that it was time to pour the tea. It was as thick and dark as coffee, but Jack thanked her and politely declined a biscuit.
‘Avril disappeared for a few years then,’ Hester continued. ‘I heard she’d gone back to Leeds. By then, some of her chutzpah had rubbed off on me and, one night in a bar, when a man asked me to dance, I said yes. That was my future husband. He owned a couple of second-hand car showrooms, which I thought was amusing and very “London”. Turned out there was a lot of money in old cars.’
‘Hester, do you know why Avril went back to Leeds?’ Hester said no but Jack caught her hesitation. She wasn’t skilled at lying. Jack gently pushed. ‘I think she went back north because she had to. I think she was pregnant.’
Once Hester knew that Jack had figured things out for himself, she quickly spilled the beans. ‘Avril had gone back home to give birth to a son. Then she’d stayed there and got a job at an estate agent’s. Apparently, it hadn’t taken long for the novelty of being a single working mum to wear off, and for the draw of the nightlife to call her back — the boy was often left with her parents whilst she partied. Not a good situation because Avril’s mother was very unpleasant sober but drunk she was horrible, and her father had no time for the child. Avril quickly lost her job and made the decision to relinquish custody to the boy’s dad.’ Hester recalled that over the years Avril’s son did come back to live with her every now and then but generally she seemed to palm him off to various men who came and went in her life.
Jack asked if Avril’s son was Adam Border and she confirmed that he was.
‘His dad was in advertising, I think. Worked in London sometimes but lived in Amsterdam. Can’t recall his name. He’d been a fling — well, they normally were with Avril. Until Frederick. I met up with her years later, just before my divorce. There was a big antiques emporium opening at the end of the street where I eventually moved to, and she was looking at a lovely velvet-covered armchair. I remember because it was very expensive, and she invited me to her flat to catch up on old times. She was living in a stunning little studio-type flat, all paid for by her boyfriend. Boyfriend! Sugar Daddy more like. She said she’d landed on her feet, apart from being petrified of him finding out that she had a son. Anyway, I had problems of my own with my divorce and so didn’t see her again for years but I’m guessing he never did find out, because the next thing I knew they’re married and she’s living in a mansion.’
Jack took a sip of his tea, forgetting how long it had been sitting beneath the tea cosy. It was like tar. He raised the mug to his lips again and surreptitiously spat the first sip back into the mug. He then asked when Hester had last seen Avril.
‘More than six months ago. We used to see each other quite often, but recently I’ve not heard a peep.’ Hester became sad and reflective, as she had when talking about her dead son. ‘Last time I saw her, she looked... I don’t know... like a different person. She wore ripped jeans, a faux fur coat and she’d let her hair go grey and wild. She looked... well, she looked like the Avril I knew back in Leeds. Like she was trying to be 16 again. It made me think she might have a young man in the wings, but she said she didn’t.’
‘And she didn’t mention that she had her son living with her?’
‘Oh goodness, she never said a word. Maybe that was sparing my feelings because she knew I’d lost my own son. In fact, that was how we met up again because she wrote a very sweet letter. I know Avril can be difficult, but I do miss her when she goes into hiding on a whim.’ Hester smiled and shrugged. ‘She’s my oldest and closet friend.’
These were unwelcome words to Jack’s ears, because he knew that he now had the unenviable task of telling Hester Mancroft that her dearest friend had been murdered.
‘Hester...’ Jack made sure he looked into her eyes as he spoke. ‘Hester, I’m sorry to have to tell you that Avril has died.’
Hester froze as Jack’s words took their time to register. She swayed slightly in her seat, prompting him to place his hand on her shoulder and gently push her upright again. Hester quickly breathed out and then gulped in a fresh lungful of air, which she held on to. She brought her hand to her chest and her eyes filled with tears.
‘Breathe normally,’ Jack whispered. Jack stood, making sure she was steady in her seat, then went to get her a glass of water. He wanted to make her a sugary cup of tea, but that might be more stressful for him than telling her her best friend was dead.
Hester sat with her back to Jack, trying to remember how to breathe, as he ran the cold tap until the opaque water ran clear. In his search for a glass, Jack opened the cupboard above the kettle — inside was more medication than he’d ever seen outside of the pharmacy at Maggie’s hospital. In amongst the prescribed tablets and medicines was a small brown bottle with a tiny cork stopper in the top. It was exactly the same as the one found in Jessica Chi’s make-up bag, except this one had a labeclass="underline" HEMP EXTRACT FULL-SPECTRUM CBD. And the handwriting was the same as in Avril’s little red notebook.
Jack sat back down and was pleased to see that Hester was now breathing normally. He placed the glass of water in her shaking hands and hovered close by as she manoeuvred it to her lips. ‘Hester, I need to ask you something and I want you to know that you won’t be in any trouble. I need to ask you about the CBD oil in your cupboard. Did Avril give it to you?’
Hester finally let the tears overwhelm her. ‘I’ve got such bad arthritis, Mr Warr. She gave me one bottle each month. It helps me no end. Medicinal is allowed, isn’t it?’
Jack assured Hester that he wasn’t interested in the oil itself, he’d just needed to know if she got it from Avril. ‘She had a little greenhouse with a couple of plants, she said. It was only ever for friends, she said.’ Jack showed Hester the photo of Adam Border that he’d been given by Jessica Chi. ‘He was a teenage hippy when he stayed with me, but that’s Adam, yes.’
Hester asked Jack to open the drawer beneath the kitchen table and pass her the photo album inside. It was a large, dark blue album in a dirty plastic cover and it was overflowing with a mess of memories. Every page was brimming with photos held in place by tiny white sticky corners, and then dozens of loose photos laid randomly on top, protected by thin sheets of tracing paper. This was the kind of album Penny used to carry around before Jack made all of her photos digital.
Hester thumbed through the pages, getting distracted at every turn by images of her and Avril as teenage girls, and by memories of Julian. About halfway through the album, she found what she was looking for: two photos of Adam and Julian, standing with their arms round each other’s shoulders. They wore flared jeans and tight T-shirts, and both had shoulder-length hair. Then she picked out a third photo of Adam with a pretty, leggy blonde girl who stood a couple of inches taller than him. ‘I can’t remember her name. Something Dutch.’ Jack took out his mobile phone and took pictures of the three photographs Hester had showed him. ‘I need to go shortly, Hester. Is there someone who can come and sit with you?’