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I found the door of Do
She kept me on the doorstep, but I could see that the house behind her was immaculately clean. There was something lovely cooking; it smelled like seed cake. I didn’t know if she’d feel comfortable talking to a man, but I tried to make myself less threatening by saying I was looking for a friend of my daughter’s. Without getting the photo out, I asked about the McGoverns from next door.
“Yeees, that’s right. Yeees.” She drew the word out, opening her mouth wider as she got to the end. “Yeees. They did live here for many years, left not so long ago. Last year. I live here for thirty years. Yees, all married life. He died. The man, father? Yeees. Died. Very, very sad. Not nice man. Not happy family. Husband left. Shouting.”
She put a hand behind her ear to show she had been listening through the wall. “Do
I told her that the current owner hadn’t been all that keen to talk to me, and she sucked her teeth in a way that suggested she didn’t altogether approve. “Cheeky old dog,” she whispered, and we had a little laugh together.
“I heard,” the woman said, hand on her heart, “that Do
I nodded. “It’s very sad. She was very young.”
“Good girl. She sold house when father died, took money, and they went away. Traveling, you know.”
“They went away?”
“Do
“Were you here when she broke her collarbone?”
I could see the memory coming back to her. She smiled warmly and nodded. “Yees, fell off bike. Very sore.” She pointed to a pavement curb farther up and opened her eyes wide. “OUCH!” she said, and we had another little laugh together.
“What did the doctors do for her when she broke it?”
“Bandage.” She gestured to both shoulders, making the shape of a figure-eight belt. No plaster. Do
Suddenly the woman started saying something that I had trouble making sense of. When I looked up, I saw that she was talking Urdu or something to a young woman behind me in the street. They nodded solemnly to each other, and the passer-by glanced at my legs as she moved off along the pavement. They were obviously talking about me, but the woman didn’t feel the need to explain herself.
She leaned out the door and looked down the street, then stood straight again. I took the photo out of my pocket and showed it to her.
“Who that in photo? Who girl? Your daughter?”
chapter thirty-six
I MADE THESE NOTES ON THE PLANE ON THE WAY HOME.
FACTS
1. Do
2. A body was discovered recently that matched the dental records and medical history of the real Do
Conclusion: Do
The woman Susan has been dealing with was not Do
FACTS ABOUT DONNA II
1. She knew Do
2. Someone set off from Leicester with Do
3. Do
Conclusion: Do
Having considered this list for most of the journey, I can now draw up the following list of important questions:
1. This woman passed herself off as Do
2. Who the fuck is she?
Did Susie know Do
And why did Do
It’s the audacity of Do
She must have had a lot of nerve. She stood in front of the press, asking them to look at her, demanding their attention, charging money. There couldn’t be a better way to avoid examination.