By Irene Kappes

The first time Sarah saw her, it was one evening in May. She was just drawing the curtains in the cabin – they were having another ‘long weekend’, given that Sarah still couldn’t make up her mind whether to sell or not. Justin had his book to finish and she was in the middle of writing an article for a European ophthalmology magazine.

It was as she had almost closed the second curtain when she noticed a figure walking down towards the beach. It seemed to be a woman, and against the moonlight she looked distinctly unworldly. In fact it was almost as if she was floating along the path through the dunes.

Sarah blinked. Her distance sight wasn’t too great without her glasses now. Not many people ventured out for a walk this late, but it did look rather peaceful and pleasant out there, if a little eerie, and she had done it herself more than once. She closed the curtain fully and thought no more of it.

Justin looked up from his book – the one he was reading, that is.

“Enjoying the moonlight?“

“Yes. There’s a woman walking down to the beach. She looked odd in the moonlight, almost like a ghost, the way she was floating along.“

Justin laughed. “You’ve been reading too many of those strange event stories.“

It was true, Sarah had been reading a book about strange historical characters and coastal legends. She’d picked it up in the town last time they were here – which was actually only a couple of weeks ago. Oh dear, she really did need to make up her mind about what to do with the place.

Since her mother had died at the end of last year, they had cleared out much of the old contents of the cabin, just leaving the bare necessities, until Sarah could make up her mind whether to sell it or not. It wasn’t exactly in great nick, so letting it out wasn’t a viable option, unless they wanted to spend a lot of money doing it up. But it was turning out to be quite nice to have, to pop up to whenever they felt like it, and she was becoming rather fond of the old place again. But did she really want to spend money on fixing it up just enough for their use? The roof would have to be seen to at least. Last time they were here, they had had to resort to two buckets to catch the leaks when it rained. Oh well, enjoy it while you still have it she thought, and she joined Justin, picking up her book and plonking herself down in the armchair opposite his.

But she was restless. She had inherited her mother’s restless legs syndrome, and it often started up before she even got to bed. It looked like tonight was going to be one of those nights. Perhaps she’d follow the ghostly woman’s example and go for a moonlit walk on the beach.

She put her book down and stood up, turning to Justin.

“I’m just going to go out for a stroll. My legs are starting up and it will help. I won’t be long; I’ve got my phone.”

She grabbed her coat, headed out of the door and set off for the same path down which the woman had gone. She thought about how much she missed the dog. It was a year since their Border Collie had died, but at times like this she missed being able to take him with her. Perhaps if they kept the place, they would get another dog. They had never come to the cabin when Rust was alive because it was so full of clutter, where it had just become an extra storage space for anything her mother couldn’t make up her mind about getting rid of. That was the problem with having a cabin only ten miles from where you lived.

The fine sand was soft under her feet, and the grasses of the dunes brushed against the legs of her joggers. Despite being May it was still pretty cold in the evenings here. The breeze off the North Sea kept most of the coast decidedly cooler than back in London. But the wind had dropped now, as it often did in the evenings, the sea was calm and the stillness was captivating. As she came onto the beach, the only sound or movement was the slight motion of the sea disturbing the water’s edge with a few half-hearted waves.

As she walked down to the sea, she looked up at the sky. There were plenty of stars to be seen; such a contrast to the London sky. She stopped, took a deep breath and sighed. It really was a lovely evening.

After wandering along the water’s edge for a while, she decided to sit and watch the sea. She could see the lights of a cargo ship anchored out on the horizon. And the sea was twinkling in the moonlight. Suddenly, she got the shock of her life. The figure of the woman appeared further away on the water – on top of the water. Then it disappeared. For the second time that evening she blinked. She must have imagined that. But it looked incredibly real. She was unnerved, scared actually. It was just too weird. She began glancing around nervously. Suddenly, she didn’t want to be here at all, and she began to pace it back to the cabin, casting quick looks behind her as she went and breaking into a run as she neared the dunes. She didn’t slow down again until she was close to the cabin, when she turned, breathless and stared back towards the dunes.

“What the hell was that?” she asked out loud, before grabbing the door handle and going inside.

She threw her coat over a chair and plonked down in the armchair.

Justin looked up from his book. “Ethan sent a text, asking if we’d made up our minds about the cabin yet. I said you were still deliberating.” At twenty-two, Ethan was the elder of their two sons.

“I’ve just seen something really weird, and it scared the life out of me.”

Justin was concerned. “What? What is it?”

And so she told him the whole story. “I know it was probably the moonlight on the sea and seeing the woman looking odd earlier.”

“And the book as well,” he interjected.

“Yes, even the book, if I really am that suggestible.” She paused momentarily and then continued. “But am I really that suggestible? I mean, I’m pretty sane most of the time, aren’t I?”

“Well, yes, most of the time,” he agreed, and then raised one eyebrow in the way he always did if he wanted to wind her up a little.

She threw a cushion at him. “I suppose I did over react a bit, given it was weird out there anyway, with the moonlight and everything. But it did rather freak me. Do you want some more tea?

“Yes, ok. And perhaps you of all people should start wearing glasses when you need them, or get some contacts.”

“Hmm,” was all she replied.

The next time she saw her was as she closed the curtains again the following evening. The same woman, walking on the same path, in the same strange, floating way – and yes, at the same time. Sarah said nothing for a while, but later as they were getting ready for bed, she told Justin, whose only response was that perhaps there really was a woman who went for a walk at this time of night.

“And perhaps she walks on water? And then disappears?”

“Look,” said Justin, “do you believe in ghosts?”

“Well, no.”

“Well, then. Maybe you did ought to sell the place, if it has this effect on you.”

“Oh bloody hell, Justin, that’s not fair and you know it.”

“Ok, sorry. But you need to move on from this woman thing. Perhaps if she goes by tomorrow, you should go out and catch her to say hello.”

“Yeah, maybe then.”

And they went to bed.

The next day, Sarah drove several miles down to Aldeburgh to pick up a few supplies, while Justin worked on his book.

She thought about the book she had been reading. None of the coastal legends fitted with seeing the woman. There was a story of a strange man, brought out of the water in the 11^th century, down at Orford, who was kept prisoner in the castle, but disappeared back into the sea when they took him swimming with a big net to enclose him. He was supposed to have sprung over the net and disappeared under the water. But that was a man, and the person she saw was definitely a woman.

Oh dear, why was she thinking like this? Justin was right, she needed to start behaving like an ophthalmic journalist and wear her specs. She wore them for driving and TV, so it wasn’t such a big deal to put them on more often if she needed to. And for goodness sake, she didn’t believe in ghosts! Then again, it really was not like an optical illusion. Perhaps she would try and speak to the woman tonight, like Justin said. Maybe she’d get him to come for a walk with her.

She had reached the high street of the little seaside town, and began looking out for a free parking space. She loved Aldeburgh, with its expansive pebbly beach and selection of arty little shops. The long high street ran parallel to the low-level beach road – there was no high-level esplanade like those in some bigger towns or places like Southwold further up the coast. Aldeburgh was a popular town though, and there were quite a few people out and about today, so the high street was pretty packed with parked cars. She was just about to drive over the zebra crossing, when a woman appeared as if out of nowhere, right in front of the car. Sarah shoved her foot down hard on the brake, just managing to avoid hitting the woman and, bang, the car behind slammed into her rear.

“Aaagh! Oh shit!” she yelled.

The woman stopped for just a moment and looked directly at her. Sarah saw her face very clearly before the woman walked on across the road and disappeared quickly down the street. She had dark, shoulder-length hair and piercing brown eyes that stared hard at Sarah.

Sarah’s heart was pounding and she took a moment to take a deep breath before exiting the car to face the driver of the car behind.

It was some sort of oldish, white BMW. The man was quite burly, around fifty and, judging by his Suffolk accent, was a local. He was not happy.

“Well I reck’n you messed up the front ‘o my car good an’ proper love. What the hell were you doin’, stoppin’ like that?”

 “I’m really sorry,” Sarah began, “it was the woman crossing.” 

“You never heard of lookin’ in your mirror before you slam the brakes on love?”

 “It was the woman crossing. She seemed to come out of nowhere. I didn’t have a choice really.”

The man regarded her impatiently.

“What woman?”

It was then that it hit Sarah. It was the woman – the same floating way of moving, the same coat, same shoulder-length hair. She felt sick.

“You look sick. I dunno, you shouldn’ be drivin’ if you’re not feelin’ well. Pull round that side street,” he ordered, “and you can give me your insurance details. I’ll need to get the car fixed, that’s for sure. I think you need a new pair of glasses if you’re seein’ people crossin’ when they’re not there”

Sarah got into her car and drove round the corner as the man had suggested. After they had dealt with insurance details, she left the car and quickly picked up some shopping. Then she drove back to the holiday park. She turned down the winding drive to where the cabin was hidden behind the pine trees, switched off the engine and sat staring towards the dunes. Justin would have a right go about this. She’d only just got over being ribbed by him and the boys for hitting a pillar in the Waitrose car park. Now there were two dents – one in the back and one in the front. But it wasn’t the thought of the damage to the car, or Justin’s reaction to it that was really bothering her. It was the woman. Something was going on and it wasn’t just coincidence. She grabbed the keys and went in to face the music.

“Oh for fuck’s sake Sarah. That’s twice in the last month. How come you didn’t see her cross? Did you have your glasses on?!

“Of course I had my glasses on! Yes, I know, it was stupid, but the point is, it was the woman. The woman!”

“What? Oh this bloody woman! Apparently she doesn’t have the right to walk on the beach or go shopping in the town because she disturbs you!”

“She disturbs me because she’s not there!!

“What!?”

“The bloke in the car behind said there was no woman crossing. There was no woman, but I saw her. She stood there and stared into the car, as large as life, as real as you standing there now. But she wasn’t there Justin.”

Justin paused. “Maybe we should just both calm down. Has it occurred to you that perhaps he just didn’t see her? He was in the car behind after all.”

“I’m telling you, Justin, ridiculous though it sounds – and believe me I know how far-fetched it sounds – I was the only one who saw her. She crossed the road and melted into the passers-by and no one, not one person, paid her any attention. Don’t you think that’s odd, given a car almost hit her?”

Justin thought for a moment. “Yes, it is odd, but I don’t know what to believe. Maybe they were just busy looking at you. I’m not trying to say you’re crazy, but what you’re saying doesn’t make any sense.”

Sarah was close to tears. “I know. And I feel stupid and stressed and freaked by it all.”

Justin put his arms round her. “Ok. Just try and switch off now. We’ll contact the insurance company on Monday. At least no one was hurt.”

And they left it at that.

The next day was Sunday, and it was a nice bright, sunny day. Sarah slept well, surprisingly enough, and they had a stroll together along the beach before returning to the cabin for a “full-English”, as Justin liked to call it – and he cooked it, so that was a bonus. After breakfast, he announced that he’d like to just spend a couple of hours on his book, then he was hers for the rest of the day. There was no mention of the accident or the woman, which was quite a relief to Sarah. She just wanted to forget the whole thing now. But that was easier said than done.

They gave lunch a miss, given the huge breakfast feast, and Sarah spent some time working on her article, while Justin continued with his book. She realised that ‘a couple of hours’ was going to turn into three or four, which was typical of Justin once he got stuck into writing. She decided not to complain, but to take herself off for another walk on the beach and try to weigh up, as objectively as she could, the pros and cons of keeping the place.

There were quite a few people on the beach, several of them with dogs. She began to think wistfully of Rust again. He was such a good companion on walks. He had loved the beach and would chase the waves and try to ‘nip’ them in true Border Collie style. If he had still been alive, she thought, she would definitely have wanted to keep the cabin. But now? The boys and their girlfriends didn’t really have much interest in it; they were real townies, all four of them. And, although Ethan liked a swim, neither of the boys could stand the cold water of the North Sea.

She stopped and breathed in the good, sea air. She loved that. She cast her eyes over the horizon, noting that the container ship had moved on. Then she glanced up the beach, towards the dunes, at which point she froze. There was a woman in a green coat. Christ, she really must be imagining it this time. The woman was talking to another woman, so whoever it was, wasn’t a ghost that was for sure. It wasn’t as if she could see properly at that distance anyway. But, even as she told herself it was stupid to bother to go and check it out, she found herself making her way up the beach.

As she neared the two women she noticed the other woman was older, older than Sarah – say late fifties. But the woman in the green coat was probably around forty. The coat seemed dated somehow – a bit out of fashion. Sarah kept walking and lingered by the trees at the edge of the dunes, pretending to look for something until the older woman moved off. Then she approached the woman in the green coat.

“I’m so sorry about the other day. I just didn’t see you cross.”

The woman turned to look at Sarah thoughtfully.

“Oh.”

“I really am sorry. I feel quite bad about it. I must have given you quite a shock.”

“It wasn’t me,” the woman replied hurriedly.

“Yesterday, in the high street. I nearly hit you on the crossing.”

“It wasn’t me. It must have been my sister.”

“Sorry?”

“I have a twin sister. It must have been her.”

“Oh. Well please give her my apologies when you see her. I’m sorry to have bothered you; I didn’t realise.”

Sarah was about to go when something else occurred to her.

“But she was wearing a green coat – the same as yours.”

“Yes, I wear it too.” And with that, the woman just walked off.

Sarah stood watching her, bemused. What an odd woman. But I guess it all makes perfect sense, she thought. She obviously walks on the beach, her sister must have been in town and they borrow each other’s clothes. Mystery solved! And the woman walking on the water? Well that must have been a trick of the light and her eyes after all. She set off back to the cabin to tell Justin all about it and listen to him saying “I told you so.”

“I told you. There’s always a rational explanation lurking somewhere.”

“Yes, I know. But if you had had the same experience I’m sure you would have found it disturbing too. You can be quite nutty at times, you know.” Actually, she wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t allow him to make her look like an idiot.

“And I was right about one thing; she is weird.”

Later that evening, she announced that she’d decided to sell. It was better to leave old memories behind and move on. They could use some of the money to supplement their holiday budget instead. She suggested they should stay an extra couple of days, and then come back in a couple of weeks to do a final clear-out. Justin seemed relieved.

“I’d actually started to worry that you wanted to keep it; I know how much it means to you. But I think it could end up being a bit of a nightmare in the end, and we don’t exactly have a lot of spare cash. So I think you’ve done the right thing, hard though it must be.”

“Thank you. I was thinking maybe we could do a mountain trek with the money. Hahaha – your face! I’m only joking.”

“Bloody hell Sarah. Don’t give me a heart attack.”

And the next two days passed uneventfully. Sarah finished her article and Justin reached the final chapter of his book. They had some good walks and discussed ideas for holidays – not including trekking of any kind. They returned home in good spirits and rang both of the boys to inform them of the decision to sell. Ethan responded with “Thank goodness mum, I had visions of you endlessly trying to persuade me and Natalie to go up to that bloody place! Josh and I had enough of it as kids!”

Everyone was happy.

Two weeks later Justin and Sarah returned for a few days to do some final sorting, and to organise the clearing of furniture by the British Heart Foundation. It was a very windy day when they arrived on Saturday morning and they were rather worried that half the roof would blow away, but in the event it was fine. Justin had finished his book and was in the process of correcting it. After lunch, Sarah left him to it and went to the beach. The waves were crashing down on the shore and the sea was full of ‘white horses’ on the waves. It was pretty wild out there, but there were still quite a few people walking on the beach.

She passed several couples with dogs and suddenly a lively springer spaniel came bounding up to her, trying to jump up at her legs.

“Down Molly!” called the owner, a largish woman whose coat was flapping open wildly in the wind. “Sorry about that. She’s a real naughty li’l beggar sometimes,” the woman apologised in the local accent. “Oh,” she continued, “it’s you.”

Sarah realised it was the woman who had been talking to the green coat woman.

The large woman spoke again. “Do you know Emma then? I haven’t seen you around here before.”

“No,” responded Sarah, “I’m from London, but my parents had a cabin here ever since I was a kid, and they’re both dead now, so I’m getting it ready to sell.”

“Oh I see. Well, I hope you don’ mind me saying love, but I’d stay away from her if I was you. She’s bad news. Not quite right, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, really? I must admit, I did think she was a bit odd. But not right in what way? Sorry, that’s a bit nosey. It’s just that I’ve seen her several times and I nearly ran her over in town – well her sister actually, it turns out – but she seemed a bit strange about it somehow.”

“Her sister? Oh no, love, it wasn’t her sister. That’s just the sort of thing I mean.”

“But, why did she say it was her sister if it wasn’t?”

“Oh dear, it’s a long story and not really my business to tell. But… well if you walk this way with me I’ll try ’n explain. You never got it from me though, if you don’t mind. I don’t want to get a reputation for spreadin’ gossip. But neither do I like to see innocent people getting mixed up with her. I’m Diane by the way.”

“Sarah.”

They walked along the water’s edge and the woman began to explain, her story punctuated with calls after Molly, who continually ran ahead.

 “Emma’s sister Judith died a couple of years ago, in a bad accident actually. You’ve heard of walruses? The people that is, not the animals. Who go swimming; all the year round, come rain or shine? Well she was one of those. A good, strong swimmer she was. But she made a silly mistake, which was strange in itself, given that she wasn’t the silly type. Her and her sister may have been identical twins, but they were about as alike as chalk ‘n cheese. She was lively and confident, while Emma was reserved and polite.”

It seemed that Judith had gone swimming one evening in November, when the sea was running wild. She and Emma had had a row, which had been overheard by the neighbours on both sides. There had been a considerable amount of shouting and a few sounds like things being thrown and broken. Judith had stormed out and said she was going swimming. Emma had begged her not to go, but her sister being headstrong went all the same.

“Doesn’t really tally with the Judith I knew,” commented Diane, “but that’s what Emma told the police. Judith wasn’t stupid. She knew the sea like the back of her hand, as they say. Anyway, there was quite an investigation because the body was never found. Terrible affair it was.”

There was silence for a moment. It was Sarah who spoke.

“Does sound a bit strange, but I guess people do out of character things when they’re angry. She – Emma, I mean – must have felt terrible, knowing the last time she saw her sister they quarrelled like that. Puts into perspective her being a bit odd I guess. Think I would be if that happened to me.”

The woman looked at her intently. “Yes, but she’s not just odd. She’s always been a bit that way. She’s become very manipulative and plays people off against each other. Two of her neighbours, David and Marilyn, split up because of her. Emma wound Marilyn round her little finger you see, and got in between the two of them any time she could. Marilyn felt sorry for her and was forever running round at her beck ‘n call. Dave could see what was happenin’ and they ended up rowing all the time – over her. And finally, Dave left. Marilyn says it was a gradual breakdown of their relationship, but she stopped speaking to Emma and eventually she moved away. They sold the house and she moved down to Colchester.”

“Goodness, that’s pretty awful,” responded Sarah.

Diane stopped walking. “She’s bad news. I’d strongly advise you to stay away from her. Well, this is me. I live in the road up there behind the dunes – the same road as Emma. Come on Molly, leave that old shoe alone. Take my advice love. Watch out for yourself” And she began walking up the beach.

“I will. Thank you,” Sarah called after her.

 Diane stopped again and turned. “You need the cabin clearing out? Cos if you do, my husband does that sort of thing. He has a van. Dumps the rubbish and takes anything sellable to the big Heart Foundation shop in town. Just a side-line he has goin’, but he’ll do it quick for you.”

“Well, actually, that sounds great. I was going to get them to take it, but if this would be quicker… Can I put your phone number in my mobile?”

“Better still, come round. Pete will be in tomorrow afternoon. How about after four, if you’re free? We’re number twenty-three – Sandy Lane.”

“Great, thanks. I’ll come then.”

Sarah stood watching the woman making her way up the beach, calling the spaniel as she went. What a strange little tale. And how sad. And how awful to have caused the break-up of someone else’s marriage. But sometimes extreme events changed people – or brought out the worst in them. Sarah sighed. Well at least the mystery was well and truly solved now. Despite this, somehow she didn’t feel like telling Justin about it. She wasn’t quite sure why, but she just wanted to reflect on it a bit longer. Anyway, he had made it clear he was sick of hearing about it.

Sunday passed uneventfully, with Sarah bagging up anything that couldn’t be classed as furniture. Mostly it was just stuff for the tip, as she had already taken home anything of sentimental value. Then they spent a calm evening reading and chatting, and decided they would stay just until Wednesday, assuming Pete could clear it by then – and wasn’t too expensive of course. Justin would use the next couple of days to finish his editing, and Sarah would amuse herself as she saw fit.

On Sunday afternoon, Sarah walked up to Diane’s. She began thinking about what Diane had told her. It seemed odd that the body was never washed up. Surely it would have eventually been brought in by the tide? Dead bodies floated, didn’t they? Unless they were weighed down. What a terrible thought! She shuddered and hoped she hadn’t seen Judith’s restless ghost on the water. But the police must have looked into that. They must have done quite an investigation. After all – no body, a huge row overheard by the neighbours and only Emma’s word to explain what had happened? Oh dear, now she was turning into a detective!

Diane and Pete lived in a small, rather square semi-detached house amongst a row of similar houses, possible ex-local authority. The garden was well-tended, with flower beds packed with geraniums lining the way to the front door. Sarah rang the bell and Diane answered.

“Oh hello love. Come in. Pete’s in the back garden, plantin’ beans. I’ll just call him. You go in there.” She gestured towards the sitting room, to the right of the front door. “You want a cuppa? He won’t do anythin’ without fifteen cups of tea a day!”

“If you’re making one, that would be lovely, thanks. Just a splash of milk, no sugar.”

She sat on the brown, velour sofa scattered with brightly-coloured cushions and gazed around at the huge collection of family photos.

“They’re all my flock,” commented Diane as she returned with two mugs of tea in hand. “Got four kids and seven grandchildren already. Goodness knows how many they’ll be in another twenty years! He’s just comin’.”

Pete was very different from what Sarah had expected. He was much thinner than his wife and seemed younger too. He had a shock of dark brown hair that fell constantly over his face while he was talking. He stated his price for the clearance, based on Sarah’s description and arranged to pop in on his way home from work the next day, just to confirm the quote. Then he downed the rest of his tea and headed back to the garden, leaving the two women to chat.

Sarah mentioned the drowning and the body not being found.

“Seems funny. I would have thought the body would have been washed up, given how rough the sea can be here.”

“Nothin’ funny about it. It’s downright suspicious. Everyone knew it. The police knew it too, I reckon, but what could they do, without evidence? You can’t arrest someone for havin’ an argument, can you?”

“Well no, I guess not.”

“They found her coat on the beach, but anyone could have planted that, couldn’t they? Weird thing is when Emma finally got it back, she took to wearin’ it. Anyway, don’t let Pete hear us talkin’ about it. He thinks I was too obsessed with what happened. But I tell you I’ll never accept that she just walked into the water and drowned because of an argument. She was not the type. Mind you, she could be a bit too cocky for my likin’ but she still didn’t deserve to be murdered.”

Sarah was a little shocked.

“Well now, I’ve said it. And don’t let Pete hear me at it again. But I’m tellin’ you, I investigated this for some time and I found out quite a lot. Oh yes, quite a lot.”

Sarah realised her mouth was open. She was intrigued. She shut her mouth and said, “I have to go now, but why don’t we meet up on the beach tomorrow, when you walk the dog. I’m really interested to know more.”

Diane seemed only too keen to oblige and gave Sarah a conspiratorial nod as she left.

The next day, Sarah headed to the beach at three o’clock. Diane was already there with Molly in tow. The dog came bounding up to greet Sarah and then ran off to chase a seagull.

As they walked along the water’s edge together Diane began to explain what she had found out. First of all, she had begun to chat casually to the other neighbours about the whole business whenever she passed them in the street. Everyone was talking about it, so it was pretty easy to do.

She had found out from Joanne next door that the argument sounded like it may have been connected to a man.

“Joanne suffers from migraines, and she’d gone to bed early that evenin’. The walls are none too thick between those bungalows at that end of the road, and Joanne’s bedroom is next to Emma’s kitchen-diner. So she heard some of it. Basically, Emma was doing all the shoutin’, and Joanne said she heard the words ‘you need to end it before it gets out of hand, that’s what you need to do’ Now, apparently Judith’s voice was low at times, and not really audible, but then she’d shout a bit, and Joanne heard her say ‘he’s a good man.’ But – and this is the really interesting thing – she said she thought she heard a man’s voice sometimes, but she was pretty out of it with the pain, and couldn’t swear to it. Anyway, as I said before things escalated, stuff was thrown and doors were slammed. She heard Emma screaming ‘I’ll end this once and for all’. Then Judith stormed out.”

Sarah pondered. “Did Joanne tell the police about the man?”

“So she says. But of course she wasn’t sure it was a man, with the migraine an’ all. But she definitely heard the bit about ending it once an’ for all. Anyway, there’s more.”

Diane continued. Jill down the road had told her that Marilyn had begun complaining about Dave spending more time mowing the lawn and helping the sisters with their gardening than he spent doing their own garden. Jill had to admit she’d seen him in the garden quite often when she passed by, but he had always been a helpful sort, so she thought nothing of it. So Diane steered the conversation round to it with Marilyn and found out that Dave had been at the sisters’ house a lot, just like Jill had said.

“Apparently, he’d even taken to going when Emma was out, and staying for a cup of tea, but when Marilyn questioned him about it, he just laughed it off and made jokes about having a different sister every time. She didn’t say anything more, but she clearly implied there was something going on and it set me wondering. After all, the sisters were both nice looking, and Judith was very flirtatious and outgoing – the sort men are attracted to. The story was she was married before, and she and Emma moved in together after the divorce. It didn’t surprise me that Dave might be attracted to Judith. And it fitted in with the argument.”

“Emma never married then?” Sarah asked.

“No, she was far too reserved for any man to get anywhere near her, which makes what I found out next, even more odd.”

Diane took up where she had left off.

“So I began to think the argument between the sisters was something to do with Judith and Dave having some sort of affair.”

“But you don’t really think Emma murdered Judith because she was jealous?” Sarah probed, unconvinced.

“Well, as you say, it seems a bit far-fetched now, but at the time I thought I might have hit on somethin’, and I was thinkin’ about how I could mention this to the police so they could look into it and see if there was any truth to it. I just knew that somethin’ wasn’t right about it. I could feel it in my gut. There was somethin’ about Emma that made me suspicious every time I saw her. Anyway, before I could go to the police, something else happened. One day I had to go down to Aldeburgh and I passed The Mill Inn and glanced in through the window. Well, who do you think was sittin’ in there with a man I didn’t recognise, but Emma! They had their heads close together and were being very intimate. I was quite surprised because as I said she was always the shy one of the two sisters, not outgoing like Judith, somehow not as attractive, even though they were the spittin’ image to look at. But there she was, large as life, clearly having some sort of relationship with this bloke.”

“My goodness! What a dark horse then!” exclaimed Sarah. “I must admit, she doesn’t strike me as the type.”

“Well, then I didn’t know what to think. Was the argument over Emma seeing someone? At this point, it got all mixed up in my head. And then Pete stepped in. He said I was becoming obsessed – that I should leave the detective work to the police, stop interferin’ and making mountains out of molehills and leave the poor woman to get on with her grieving. And I must admit I began to think he might be right. It was getting all mixed up in my head and keeping me awake at night. So I dropped it. But I know there’s something fishy, and every now and then it really bothers me because that woman is odd and, like you said, bodies don’t just disappear into thin air.”

“Or water,” added Sarah.

“No, exactly,” agreed Diane.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Then Diane suddenly turned to Sarah.

“Maybe we should go and have one last talk with Marilyn. I’m still in contact with her occasionally. I’ve got her phone number. I could ring and say I’m going to visit my cousin in Brightlingsea and see if we can pop in on the way. She left a garden statue behind that she really liked, and she asked me to take it, in case she ever came by this way again; if not, to keep it. We could drop it off.”

Sarah wasn’t quite so sure. But, what the hell, it might be quite interesting. As long as she didn’t tell Justin what it was about.

“Well, ok. Why not? I’ve finished all my clearing up. At least she’ll get her statue back, and we can have a day out. Let’s do it!”

Diane beamed. “Right. We’ll be Cagney and Lacey! You’re too young to remember them I expect – women detectives. Mustn’t breathe a word to your husband though, or he might let it slip out in front of Pete.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to! And yes, I remember Cagney and Lacey.”

Diane agreed to ring Sarah once she had contacted Marilyn, and they retraced their steps along the beach before parting company.

Later that evening she rang and confirmed that they could go in the morning. Although it was short notice and she had been a reluctant at first, Marilyn had been pleased by the thought of getting her statue back.

And so, the next morning Diane picked up Sarah at 9.30 and they set off down the A12. It would take nearly two hours from door to door, and so Diane had brought some buns to keep them going.

“I get the terrible nibbles when I’m driving. What did you tell your other half?”

Sarah replied “I told the truth – that we’re taking a statue to someone who moved away, and going to have a day out. He’s pleased to get time to himself, so it’s no problem. You don’t think she’ll mind me coming?”

“Oh, no. You’re just keeping me company, and we’re having a day out!” Diane laughed. She was clearly fairly excited about the whole thing. Sarah hoped it wouldn’t backfire when they started asking questions about Emma or about Dave. As it was she needn’t have worried.

Marilyn lived in a modern-build house on a small estate on the outskirts of Colchester. Sarah wondered how she had managed to afford it after her marriage break-up. The inside was nicely decorated and all the floors were Amtico.

After she and Diane had lugged the statue into the garden for Marilyn, the three of them sat down to coffee and biscuits at the centre counter in the spacious kitchen. While Diane and Marilyn made small talk and caught up a bit on their respective news, Sarah sipped her coffee and looked around. Suddenly, through the door into the hallway, she noticed a man’s overcoat hanging on the coat hooks and a pair of men’s lace-up shoes underneath. Marilyn caught her looking and seemed to become rather uncomfortable. Diane, never one to miss a trick it seemed, picked up on it, and steered the conversation round to asking if she heard from Dave these days.

Marilyn took a deep breath. “He lives here. We’re back together. We bought the place a few months after we split up.”

Diane gasped. “Well, good for you love.” And then, “Is it good for you? Did you sort out the ‘other’ stuff?”

The younger woman hesitated and cast a glance at Sarah.

“Oh, don’t mind Sarah,” Diane threw in quickly, “she knows a fair bit about the local goings-on. And, let’s face it, we all have our share of problems with them, don’t we? The men I mean.”

Now it was Sarah’s turn to be uncomfortable.

“In fact,” continued Diane, “she’s had a bit of a run-in with Emma herself recently.”

“Oh?” Marilyn responded.

“Yes,” Diane went on, “Emma was pretendin’ to be Judith.

Marilyn was silent, but there was no mistaking her reaction; she looked suddenly and sharply at Diane and then withdrew into herself.

Diane pursued her line of enquiry. “So, did you sort it all out then? Did he finally admit to something going on?”

“Yes.” The response was rather too quick and final.

“You alright love? I didn’t mean to pry; it must be very hard. I think you’re to be applauded for letting it go. After all, we all make mistakes. I hope you’ll both be much happier here, away from the place.”

“Yes, that’s just it; we are happy.”

“I’m glad to hear it. He’s a lucky man.”

Marilyn looked visibly distressed. She seemed to be struggling with something. Finally, she blurted out, “It wasn’t him!”

Diane looked at her quizzically. For the second time, Marilyn took a deep breath. “He didn’t have an affair with anyone. There was nothing going on. I invented the whole thing to put him off the scent – and anyone else who might suspect. I didn’t think it would all get so out of hand. It was me. I had the affair.”

Diane was staring. “So he never had a fling with Judith?”

“No. I was the one having an affair.”

“Well I’ll be blowed.” Diane’s mouth was open. But then she began to put two and two together. “So the argument on the night of the drownin’ definitely wasn’t about Dave and Judith.”

“No,” said Marilyn “it couldn’t have been.”

Sarah could see the cogs turning in Diane’s brain. “So I was right; it was the other man.”

“What other man?” asked Marilyn sharply.

Diane told her about seeing Emma in the pub in Aldeburgh and a bout the things Joanne had overheard.

“So maybe, just maybe, he was there that night. Maybe all three of them were arguing. It’s a real mystery, Marilyn, but something is not right about what happened, and I’m determined to find out once and for all.”

Marilyn looked extremely concerned. Sarah thought there must be something else she wasn’t saying, but she didn’t feel inclined to push her, so she waited. 

Finally, Marilyn spoke again. “I’m finding all this quite distressing. It brings it all back, just as Dave and I have moved on. I told him about the affair after we split. I couldn’t stand it any longer, lying to him. It was all a big mistake really; I should never have got drawn into it, but I did and I have to live with that. We have to live with that. But we want to move on now. So, I’d just rather not go into it anymore, if you don’t mind.”

Sarah spoke for the first time, before Diane could start again. “Of course, that’s perfectly understandable. I’m sorry if we’ve upset you.”

“Thank you,” responded Marilyn. Then she added. “But Diane is right, Emma is not good news. It’s best to stay away from her. She made our lives a misery. She threatened to tell Dave about – about the affair. She wouldn’t leave us alone, and I couldn’t risk upsetting her. In the end it drove Dave away because she was always there, always turning up and staying for dinner, or popping in for a cup of tea. And the worst of it was, she started to flirt with Dave, which was bizarre given who she is, and he found it really irritating. He always preferred Judith to her; she was more of an easy going, outgoing personality you see. Anyway, in the end neither of us could stand it. After he left me, I just didn’t want anything more to do with her, and eventually the only thing I wanted was to move away and try and get my life back together. But after a couple of months, I was really missing Dave and I contacted him and told him the whole story. I thought I had nothing to lose any more. At first he found it hard, but gradually he forgave me and we started to see each other regularly. Then, we decided to take the plunge and move back together. It was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

At this point she looked directly at Diane.

“Diane, you need to let it drop now. My affair is over, my marriage is back and Judith is gone. Let Emma be. I know everyone thought she had something to do with Judith’s death, but believe me, I don’t think she did anything wrong. She’s not a very well person though – so just stay away from her and let sleeping dogs lie.”

Sarah responded first. “That sounds like a good idea, don’t you think Diane?”

Diane looked perplexed. “Not very well? Hmm. But Marilyn, don’t you wonder what was going on with this man Emma meets? I’d really like to find out who he is…”

“Oh Diane, for goodness sake!” exclaimed Marilyn. “If I tell you, will you drop it?”

“What?” Diane was taken completely by surprise. “You know?”

“Yes, yes, I know.” She took her third deep breath, and announced “This is between us only. It’s not to go beyond this room. Please.” She continued. “It wasn’t some kind of assignation with Emma. It was her brother. I was having an affair with him – with her brother. That’s why she was angry. She liked Dave a lot and she didn’t want to be mixed up in it all or see him hurt. And she definitely didn’t approve. Andrew – that’s her brother’s name – came to see her that night and she was shouting at him. That’s why Joanne thought it might have been a man’s voice. She threw things and she stormed out.”

“Judith stormed out.” responded Diane.

“Yes, yes, Judith stormed out.”

Diane wasn’t about to let it go. “Where was Judith in all this? Why did Judith storm out? Why did you say Emma stormed out?”

Marilyn could see that she had opened a can of worms. Sarah could also see that now there was no way that Diane was going to let it drop. And she had to admit, it was intriguing.

Marilyn sighed heavily. “Ok, go and talk to him – to Andrew. I’ll give you his address and phone number. It’s his story to tell, not mine. And this is the end of it, as far as I am concerned. Ok? I want your word Diane. I need to move on.”

Diane reached forward and patted her on the hand. “Don’t you worry. I shan’t bother you again with it or breathe a word to anyone about your part in it. I’d just like to know the truth about Emma. After all, we still have to live around her.”

And with that, Marilyn fetched the address, which was in Aldeburgh, and Sarah and Diane left. They stopped off at a village pub and had a pleasant lunch, while Diane recapped on the information they had gleaned. Then they set off back up the A12. To be honest, Sarah was beginning to feel some regret about getting involved, having seen how much of an effect Diane’s probing had had on Marilyn. After all, it was none of her business really. If only she hadn’t been so freaked out by her encounters with Emma; the night on the beach seemed weird still, but also a bit silly now. How could she have been so frightened by an obvious trick of the light?

“We’ll go back via Aldeburgh,” Diane announced suddenly. “We can stop off, have a cup of tea and then he should be back from work by then, according to Marilyn. We’ll sort this out once and for all.”

Sarah had feared this would happen. She looked at Diane; there was no way she was giving up on this. And Sarah had been the one to get her involved again, so perhaps it was only fair to see this through. Hopefully this one visit really would sort it out.

“Ok,” she agreed, “but we shouldn’t stay too long, or our partners are going to start wondering. And, Diane, I don’t think we should push him too much if he doesn’t want to tell us.”

“That’s settled then,” was the other woman’s reply.

And so they continued on to Aldeburgh, arriving in time for a cup of tea, as Diane had predicted. In the trendy little tea shop they asked the waitress with the shock of bright-red, cropped hair for directions to the address they had written down. It wasn’t far from the high street and they had no trouble finding it, although parking was a little more difficult.

Andrew lived in an upstairs flat in a large, Victorian, terraced house. Diane was right; he was home. She rang the bell, and explained through the intercom that she was a friend of Marilyn’s and needed to talk to him about his sister.

The flat was a little untidy, but comfortable and modern, and there were large, landscape photographs on the walls. It turned out that Andrew was a keen photographer and had had his pictures accepted by more than a few magazines, but his day job was in a print shop.

After some initial chit chat about photography, which Sarah instigated, Diane once again took the lead in steering the conversation to Emma. Her neighbours had noticed that she had become obviously strange since Judith’s death. Did he know that she had even started wearing Judith’s clothes and telling Sarah that she was in fact Judith? Everyone was concerned. Something wasn’t right about what had happened and there were things the police should perhaps know about ‘that night’, about Judith’s death, but nobody wanted to interfere if they had misunderstood the situation. So Marilyn had suggested they talk to him, as there was obviously more to the story. Wow, thought Sarah, she’s impressive once she gets going.

Andrew listened quietly and intently to everything. Sarah was afraid he would be angry, but he was very calm. When Diane had finished, he looked at them both in turn and then spoke carefully and slowly.

“I can tell you for certain that my sister has not murdered anyone, at least not in the traditional sense.”

Diane looked sceptical. “Is there any other sense?”

“Well, yes there is.” He paused before picking up again. “I had very much hoped to avoid ever having to explain this to anyone. I had hoped things would all die down once the investigation stopped, and that Emma would be able to genuinely move on.” He paused again for a moment, and then continued. “I think that was probably very naïve of me; it was bound to come out in the end. I suspected Emma was slipping back when I last met up with her.” He looked directly at the two women again. I really want to avoid the police being involved again, but I just don’t know if that’s possible now. It breaks my heart because my sister has suffered enough – and so have I and my family.”

Sarah and Diane looked at each other and back at Andrew, and waited. He refilled their coffee cups from the cafetiere and began the story.

“My father was American. He came to this country for work and married my mother, an English woman, in the late seventies. They had three children – Emma and Judith, who as you know were identical twins, and then me. There was five years between my sisters and me, and I adored them both. Judith was always the vivacious one, the life and soul of the party. She was outgoing and confident, but she could also be quite brusque, matter of fact, at times. Emma was the quiet, shy unconfident one, but she was kind – very sweet and kind. Then Judith died – in a swimming accident. We had moved to America, to Seattle, when I was ten and the girls were fifteen. Both the twins were really strong swimmers, but Judith got caught out by the current because her watch had stopped and she missed that the tide was turning.” He stopped for a moment and looked at Sarah and Diane.

“She didn’t die when you think. She died when the twins were twenty years old – in the US.”

Diane’s mouth fell open. Sarah was wide-eyed. Andrew continued.

“Emma was devastated; we all were. But have you any idea what it’s like for an identical twin to lose her sister? It’s like losing half of yourself. Emma couldn’t cope. She couldn’t bear to be around my parents or to go near the beach. She never went swimming again – at least not till recently. Eventually, she announced she was returning to England. For me, it was devastating all over again; I’d lost one sister, now I was going to lose the other. For Emma, it was the chance to start again, or at least that’s what we thought.”

He took a final sip of coffee and placed his mug on the coffee table before continuing.

“What we didn’t know then, was that she took Judith’s passport. The sisters had dual citizenship, and so they held US and British passports. The death was never registered with the British Consul because my parents were residents of the US – my mother was naturalised. They didn’t need to get a British death certificate. Anyway, Emma returned to England, and became quite successful as a novelist – under a pseudonym. The family thought she was doing well, that she had managed to get over Judith and get her life back together. What we didn’t know was that she had begun to bring Judith back to life. She bought clothes for Judith, opened a bank account, had friends for Judith, became Judith – half the time. And she did it well, really well. After all, she knew Judith more intimately than any of us ever did. I found out when I finally came back to England when I was in my twenties. And she moved near the sea, so that she could go swimming again – as Judith.”

Diane interrupted here. “But, if Judith was already dead, why did she say she died on that night after the argument?”

“Well, I guess Marilyn told you we were having an affair?”

The two women nodded.

“I met her through Emma. It was a bad idea from the beginning, but she seemed to be going through a rough patch in her marriage and we were instantly attracted to each other. Anyway, to cut a long story short, Emma was furious. She liked Dave a lot – or rather Judith liked Dave a lot. When I was there that night, she got very worked up and began changing between Emma and Judith. It was scary really. She threatened to tell Dave. That is, Judith threatened to tell Dave. And I threatened to report her mental state to a doctor. I’ve never seen her so angry – Emma, that is. She threw a plate at me that hit the wall, and stormed off into the bedroom saying she’d end this once and for all. I was worried she was going to harm herself, but when she came out she was dressed in swimming gear – Judith’s swimming gear, with Judith’s coat slung over the top, but her own coat underneath. She went to the beach and swam and drowned Judith. Then she came back with her own coat, dried off and went to bed. She wouldn’t talk to me and, eventually, I left and drove back to Aldeburgh because I had work in the morning. I wish I hadn’t. A couple of days later she rang to say I needn’t worry, Judith was dead, and the police were looking for her body because she’d drowned. I was flabbergasted. I should have gone to the police then, but I couldn’t bear to think of my sister having to suffer so much more. She promised me that that was the end of Judith and I promised I wouldn’t see Marilyn again.”

“Well, my goodness, what a story!” exclaimed Diane. “And what a relief, to know there was no murder, not proper murder anyway.”

Sarah spoke too. “What a terribly sad story. And what an awful dilemma for you. “

“Yes, it was. But it was Emma who suffered the most in all this. And I think I have to finally admit that she will never recover.”

Diane spoke again, this time more gently. “You know Marilyn was still afraid she would tell Dave about you. So she let her get in between the two of them. Emma became very manipulative you know. She’s not that sweet, kind woman anymore I’m afraid.”

“No, I know. But I can’t help feeling it’s still there below the surface, if only I could reach it. I’m sure she interfered with Marilyn and Dave because she was still attracted to him herself, and couldn’t deal with it once she had killed Judith. I guess you are going to insist I go to the police with all this?”

Sarah and Diane looked at each other. Diane spoke first, slowly, as if she was working it out as she went.

“Maybe that’s not really necessary. Maybe we should just let sleepin’ dogs lie. After all, there’s no real harm been done. I mean, who benefits really? Even Marilyn and Dave are back together now – did you know by the way?”

“Oh, yes, she rang and told me. I was happy for her really. Anyway, I have a girlfriend now – not married.”

“Well, good for you. And you don’t want to be messin’ that up now, do you? No, I think you should let it all rest. And be assured we won’t breathe a word to anyone, will we love?” she enquired of Sarah.

“No, certainly not. What does it really matter if she occasionally slips back into being Judith? She doesn’t exactly seem dangerous – to herself or anyone else. And, actually, it makes me feel very sorry for her, for what’s happened to her. She sounds like a nice person really.”

Diane added. “We’ll all make an effort. I’ll invite her to tea. Perhaps she is just very lonely without Judith and needs friends.”

Sarah was seriously impressed by Diane’s concern. Andrew nodded. “Do you know, I think you’re probably right about the loneliness. Listen, you have my number, don’t you? Can you promise to keep me informed if this Judith business starts happening frequently? I’d sleep a lot easier if I thought someone was keeping an eye at times. Would it be too much to ask?”

“A good idea,” responded Diane, “and I’m happy to do it. Well, we must go young man, or we’ll be facing our own marriage break-ups. You take care, and your secret is safe with us.”

“Thank you for telling us the story,” Sarah added. “And I love your photographs. I’ll look them up online.”

Andrew closed the door to the flat behind them and they made their way downstairs and out to the car. Before they set off they rang their partners to say they were on their way home. They chatted a little about what had happened and then the conversation turned to holidays and husbands and dogs.

It was six months later when Sarah returned, to visit her parents’ grave in Halesworth. She had telephoned Diane in advance and arranged to pop in for a visit. Diane had said she would invite Emma too, so that Sarah could finally meet her properly. Apparently Diane had been true to her word, and the two of them had become quite friendly since the encounter with Andrew.  When Sarah arrived at Diane’s Emma was already installed on the velour sofa, drinking a glass of something fizzy. Sarah sat down and removed her new spectacles.

“Sarah, this is Emma,” said Diane, “and Emma, this is Sarah that I was telling you about.”

“Hello,” Emma greeted her with a little smile. “Very nice to meet you. Diane told me all about your parents’ cabin and how you used to come here as a child. It’s sold now, I understand?”

“Yes,” responded Sarah, “all sorted now. I miss it, but my husband and children are not really that interested in it, so sometimes you have to move on.”

“I know what you mean,” Emma replied, “I lost my sister – my twin sister – and it was very distressing for…” She paused and took a breath. “well, for many years.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” sympathised Sarah. “That must have been very hard.”

“Yes,” came the reply, “but I’m seeing a wonderful therapist now – Diane persuaded me to go – and it’s helped a lot. An awful lot.” She added “Have a glass of bubbly; we’re celebrating.”

“Oh thank you. What are we celebrating?”

“Emma won a competition,” Diane piped up.

“Yes,” said Emma, “I’ve been learning paddle boarding for several months now, and I came first in a race today! Mind you, I ought to have won because I practise more than anyone, even in the sea and even when it’s dark.”

Sarah’s mouth dropped open as the penny dropped and she began to laugh.