Cradle to Grave by Aline Templeton Page B

round the cottage with their tape and stuff, but I sort of thought it was because it was falling down.’ Craig’s face had turned white.
    ‘Did you look last night?’ Kershaw asked.
    He shifted in his seat. ‘Kind of. But it was really dark, ken, and Jan said they were both out. And there wasn’t a noise, like anyone . . . well, groaning or stuff.’
    ‘I think he was probably killed outright,’ Kershaw said. She had no idea whether that was true or not, but she was sorry for the boy. Craig looked relieved.
    The sound of a wail approaching down the corridor, suggesting that for all her experience the nurse had failed in her mission to pacify, brought Kershaw to her feet. She closed her notebook.
    ‘That’s all I need from you. I’ll get this typed up into statements for you to sign, but there’s no rush. Thanks for your help.’
    As she went out, passing the baby on her way in, Craig’s envious voice said, ‘It’s all right for some,’ and she heard Donna’s shrill reply, ‘You’re just rubbish, you know that?’ The odds on their being together to celebrate their daughter’s first birthday weren’t good.
     
    Maidie glanced anxiously at the kitchen clock. Beth had been out for a long time now. The rain had gone off, but the sky was still threatening, and with the girl getting so chilled last night, it wouldn’t do her any good to get soaked through again.
    It crossed her mind to wonder if she had actually gone for good. That would please Alick, but Beth had said she’d nowhere else to go, and Maidie couldn’t bear her to think that shelter wouldn’t be gladly offered in such a dreadful situation.
    Alick’s attitude had left her profoundly shocked. Oh, she knew he was mean, of course, and she’d grown so used to his complaints about the unfairness of life that she barely heard them any more. As a crofter’s daughter, she was accustomed to the harsh realities of rural poverty and they’d rubbed along well enough. She’d had no high expectations when she married him: she wasn’t bonny, and there’d been no other offers. And without Alick there wouldn’t have been Calum, the light of her life.
    A big issue like this hadn’t cropped up before, though. Today, the sheer nastiness of the Buchans, mother and son, had aroused something in her she hadn’t known was there. Beth had come to them in desperate need, and now she was both homeless and bereaved, she needed protection. The girl was barely more than a child herself, and Maidie’s maternal instinct was strong.
    There was Beth now. From the kitchen window she could see her trudging towards the house. Maidie carried Calum through to the sitting room and put him down on the floor.
    ‘There you are, wee man,’ she said. ‘Gran will play with you.’ She didn’t look at Ina, so was spared the look of indignation on her mother-in-law’s face as she looked up from her People’s Friend .
    Beth was opening the outside door as Maidie came back into the kitchen. She hesitated on the threshold, giving the other woman a sideways glance.
    ‘Sorry,’ she muttered. ‘I was out of order.’
    ‘It was Gran who was out of order,’ Maidie said firmly. ‘It’s sort of a hobby with her. Come away in and sit down. Are you very wet?’
    ‘Just my jacket,’ Beth said, taking off her parka and draping it on the overhead pulley to dry. She sat down at the table ­obediently, saying nothing, just studying her hands.
    ‘Beth,’ Maidie said, her stomach fluttering with nerves, ‘I’ve – I’ve – I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news for you.’
    ‘The cottage,’ Beth said. ‘It’s wrecked, isn’t it? I knew it would be.’ Her voice was flat, emotionless.
    ‘Well, yes, but it’s – it’s worse than that.’ Maidie gave a nervous little cough. ‘You know you said your partner wasn’t there? I’m afraid you were wrong. He was.’
    ‘No, he wasn’t,’ Beth said flatly.
    It was even harder than Maidie had thought it might be. ‘He must