Free Innocent Graves by Peter Robinson Page A

goodbye. I remember thinking if she wasn’t careful she’d bump into him andthat would give her a shock, but I really didn’t think much of it. I mean, it wasn’t the only person we’d seen.”
    “Who else did you see?”
    “Just ordinary people, you know, crossing the road and such. I mean, life goes on, doesn’t it? Just because it’s foggy you can’t stop doing everything, can you?”
    “That’s true,” said Banks. “Can you remember anything else?”
    Megan squeezed her eyes shut. “I think he had dark hair,” she said. “Then I turned away and went home. I never thought anything of it. Until … until this morning, when I heard … I should have known something was going to happen, shouldn’t I?”
    “How could you?”
    “I just should. Poor Debs. It could have been me. It should have been me.”
    “Don’t be silly, Megan.”
    “But it’s true! Debs was so good, so wonderful and pretty and talented. And just look at me. I’m nothing. I’m not pretty. She should have lived. I’m the one who should have died. It’s not fair. Why does God always take the best?”
    “I don’t know the answer to that,” Banks replied softly. “But I do know that every life is important, every life has its value, and nobody has the right to decide who lives and who dies.”
    “Only God.”
    “Only God,” Banks repeated, and blew his nose in the ensuing silence.
    Megan took a tissue from the box on the table beside her and wiped her eyes. “I must look a sight,” she said.
    Banks smiled. “Just like me first thing in the morning,” he said. “Now, when we found Deborah, she had about six pounds in her purse. Did she ever have a lot of money to flash around?”
    “Money? No. None of us ever carried more than a few pounds.”
    “Do you know if she kept anything valuable in her satchel?”
    Megan frowned. “No. Just the usual stuff. Exercise books, text books, that sort of thing.”
    “Did she say if she was intending to meet anyone after the chess club or go anywhere else before she went home?”
    “No. As far as I know, she was going straight home.”
    “Can you tell us anything else about her?”
    “Like what?”
    “You were her best friend, weren’t you?”
    “Yes.”
    “Did you ever fall out?”
    “Sometimes.”
    “Why?”
    “Nothing, really. Maybe Debs would tease me about a lad she thought I liked, or something, or about not being good at arithmetic, and I’d get mad. But it wouldn’t last long.”
    “Is that all?”
    “Yes. She can be quite a tease, can Debs. She gets her little needle in where she knows it hurts and just keeps pushing.” She put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, I didn’t mean that to sound as bad as it did, honest I didn’t. All I mean is that she had an eye for a weakness and she could be a bit nasty about it. It was never anything serious.”
    “Do you know if anything had been bothering her lately?”
    “I don’t think so. She’d been a bit moody, that’s all.”
    “Since when?”
    “The beginning of term.”
    “Did she say why?”
    “No. We have a lot on our minds. A lot of work. And she’s been moody before.”
    “She didn’t mention any problems, anything that might have been worrying her?”
    “No.”
    “Did she have any enemies, anyone who might have wanted to harm her?”
    “No. Everyone loved Debs. It must have been a stranger.”
    “Did she even mention Mr Jela č i ć , the sexton at St Mary’s?”
    “The man who got fired?”
    “That’s the one.”
    “She said he was gross, always sticking his tongue out and licking his lips when she went past.”
    “Did he ever bother you?”
    “I never went in the churchyard. I live this side of the river, over Kendal Road. It was a short cut for Debs.”
    “Are you sure Deborah didn’t have any other problems, any worries? Maybe at home?”
    “No. She didn’t complain about anything in particular. Only the usual stuff. Too much homework. That sort of thing.”
    Banks realized that Deborah