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Pushing her feelings aside, Jennie concentrates on Simon. She doesn’t get the sense that he’s lying, but it seems a stretch that Elliott would be so grateful for something that happened thirty years ago – even something as major as saving his life – that he’d pay out a grand a month forever. After all, he’s recently finished an expensive renovation on his home and the costs of having a baby through surrogacy can’t be cheap. Surely there’s more to it? ‘Did Hannah tell Elliott’s crush that he fancied him?’
Simon purses his lips. ‘I heard that, yeah. But it seemed out of character for her.’
‘Could she have done it while she was high?’ asks Jennie.
‘I don’t know what you—’
‘We know Hannah and Rob sometimes met up to do drugs together,’ says Jennie, pausing as the boat rocks again and her stomach lurches. ‘There was an incident four weeks before she disappeared, an overdose or bad reaction – we have the A&E record.’
‘Yeah, shit. Hannah was … experimental, okay? And you know that Rob was totally obsessed with that film Flatliners. He thought he was bloody Kiefer Sutherland or some bollocks like that, and kept banging on about how we needed to try and reach a higher level of consciousness. It wasn’t my thing: a bit of weed, yes fine, but not the hard stuff. Hannah was into it, though. Her and Rob used to chase the dragon, take acid, poppers and whatever other mad shit Rob got hold of. She used to treat that stuff like it was candy.’ Simon shakes his head. ‘Problem is, after each high she wanted to do more, push it further, and bloody Rob was always willing to go along with whatever she wanted, searching for the ultimate high.’
‘Like what?’ asks Jennie, sensing there’s more that Simon knows.
There’s a look of disgust on Simon’s face. ‘They used to play with neck ligatures. Rob said they were experimenting, trying to see if starving themselves of oxygen while on drugs gave them an even greater high. He used to call it a homage to Flatliners, but that was bullshit. He was a kinky fuck without the balls to tell Hannah how he really felt about her. And it was only ever Hannah who got choked out.’
How did I never know this? Why didn’t Hannah tell me? I thought we told each other everything. I told her everything.
Jennie takes a breath, struggling to keep focused on the interview. The more questions she asks the more she learns about the secret life Hannah led. She pushes down the hurt.
Martin glances at Jennie and she can guess what he’s thinking. The A&E record of Hannah’s overdose documented marks around her neck. It could be that ligatures were involved that time, even though Rob hadn’t mentioned it. If Rob’s note really was a confession to causing Hannah’s death, had it been a drug-fuelled experiment that went wrong?
Jennie looks at Simon. No longer looking relaxed, he’s visibly tense now, his posture stiff. He’s told her new information about Rob, but he’s also revealed something about himself, because it’s clear he’s feeling jealousy and anger towards Rob. She thinks back to the argument between Simon and Rob at the candlelit vigil; it doesn’t look like there is any love lost between the two of them then, yet they’ve been friends for years. ‘Is that why you argued with Rob at the vigil?’
‘No, I …’ Simon shakes his head. ‘Look, I don’t like speaking ill of the dead and all that, but Rob was always a bit of an arsehole. We never really got on. He looked down on me, especially after I went to prison. And at the vigil, with Hannah’s picture right there … knowing the stuff he used to do with her … it made me almost lose my shit.’
‘How do you know about Rob and Hannah’s drug-taking?’ asks Martin. ‘Were you there?’
‘No, mate, I smoked weed, like any other teenager, but nothing heavier than that,’ says Simon. ‘I had a key for the darkroom. If they wanted to use it, they had to ask me for the key. I turned up once while they were there, curious about what they were getting up to. I saw for myself the state they were in.’
‘When was this?’ asks Jennie. Out of the boat’s window she sees a red and black narrowboat pass by along the canal, a Jack Russell terrier sitting on the stern, watching the water intently.
‘Couple of months before Hannah disappeared,’ says Simon. ‘After that I used to ask Hannah about her trips. She wanted to try the ligature thing when we had sex, but I said no. I wasn’t into that shit.’
It’s the second time Simon’s talked about sex with Hannah. Jennie makes a mental note to circle back to it. ‘Who had the key on the night Hannah disappeared?’
Simon thinks for a moment. ‘Must have been Elliott. He was in the darkroom developing pictures that day.’
‘And when did he give it back to you?’ asks Jennie.
‘I’m not sure, probably the next afternoon. Like I said, I was at work and then went to bed, so the earliest would have been the next day.’
Jennie frowns. If Elliott had left Hannah and her dad in the basement darkroom, what had he done with the key? Did he leave the place unlocked? She makes a mental note to ask Elliott when they interview him again. Then changes tack. ‘Do you think Rob killed Hannah?’
‘Shit, I …’ Simon runs his hand through his hair again. ‘Rob wasn’t a bad guy; I don’t think he’d ever mean to hurt a person. I mean, he was a doctor, yeah? He wanted to save lives.’
Jennie nods. It’s interesting that Simon’s dodged answering directly with a yes or no. It’s also curious that he’s never once expressed sadness or shock that Rob took his own life.
Simon clears his throat. ‘Look, it’s obvious Mr Edwards killed Hannah. He was totally fixated on her, and there was no way she wanted anything to do with him. I reckon he killed her because he couldn’t handle the rejection.’
Jennie looks at Simon’s bunched fists and how his face is now flushed and the veins raised on his forehead, and thinks he’s working too hard to throw Edwards under the bus. There’s definitely jealousy in play, but the more she listens and observes him, the more she thinks that it’s on the part of Simon. ‘Did you use protection when you had sex?’
Simon sits more upright in his armchair, the leather creaking as he moves. ‘Yeah, we used rubbers. Neither of us wanted a kid, obviously.’
‘That’s very diligent of you,’ says Jennie, injecting an air of surprise into her tone.
‘What do you mean?’ says Simon, frowning.
‘Well, considering Hannah was already on the pill, you really doubled down. Although it was probably wise if you were worried she was sleeping with Mr Edwards too; condoms give far more protection against STDs.’
