‘Wait here,’ said Ross, and disappeared around the back of the trailer. Rachel didn’t much like being left alone here, and she looked around anxiously. She heard shouting coming from the back of the trailer, then jumped as the door rattled open. A tall, very thin woman in khaki Bermuda shorts and a vest top stood there squinting in the semi-dark. She was of indeterminate age – her hair was high-school blond, but her face was heavily lined. She looked as if she had just been woken up, and didn’t seem too pleased about it.
‘Can I help you?’ she asked, looking at Rachel and then Ross.
Ross stepped forward and extended his hand.
‘Very sorry to have disturbed you, Mrs Kopek,’ he said, his Midlands accent replaced by something more royal. ‘It’s just we’ve come here straight from London and we wondered if we could impose on you for just a few minutes.’
Smooth, thought Rachel. Very smooth.
The woman was evidently impressed. She raised her eyebrows. ‘London, you say? London, England?’
Ross nodded. ‘And it is a rather private matter. We’ve come to talk to you about your daughter.’
Pamela Kopek hesitated. ‘You knew Maddie?’
‘My brother-in-law did. Can we come in?’
Pamela nodded and opened the door wider for them to step inside.
The interior of the mobile home was nothing like a caravan. From the swiftest glance, Rachel could see there were bedrooms at the far end, and a large living space, with a kitchen area, small dining table and two cheap-looking sofas. Inexplicably, there were three televisions, all tuned to different channels, all with the sound off. Pamela cleared a washing basket from the table and gestured for them to sit down.
‘You cops?’
‘No,’ said Rachel. ‘But we are here to ask you a few questions about Madison’s accident.’
‘Lawyers, then? Some of them ambulance-chasers? ’Cos if you is, you can stop right now. Maddie’s gone, and that’s all there is to it. I don’t want to go stirring things up again.’
‘No, we’re not lawyers,’ said Rachel. ‘As I said, Madison was a friend of my brother-in-law’s. I just wanted to say how sorry we are to hear about what happened, Mrs Kopek.’
Pamela Kopek nodded slowly. ‘I think I’m going to need a drink. And call me Pam, everyone does.’
She reached behind her and pulled out a bottle, pouring some into a teacup, not offering any to her guests.
‘I’ve lost two kids in six months, you know that?’ she said, taking a drink and grimacing. ‘So don’t you start asking why all I want to do is sleep and drink.’
Rachel and Ross exchanged a look.
‘Two kids?’
The woman nodded. ‘My son Billy passed on six months ago. Things have never really gone my way, but the last few months have been more than a little bit shitty.’
Rachel gave a sympathetic nod. ‘Have they caught the driver?’
Pamela shook her head. ‘Not likely to now, are they?’
‘What actually happened?’ said Ross, interjecting. The news reports of the hit-and-run accident that had killed Madison hadn’t been detailed.
‘College had just finished, she’d graduated and she decided to stay back in town to go to some parties, maybe find a summer job. She was on her way home from a bar, stepped out into the road . . .’
Pamela bowed her head as if she could no longer speak.
‘At least she graduated,’ she said finally, her lip trembling with emotion. ‘All she ever wanted to do was go to college, make something of herself. She got a full scholarship, you know. Got accepted into one of those fancy sorority houses. She was such a smart, pretty girl. So, your brother-in-law,’ she added, frowning. ‘Do I know him?’
‘His name was Julian Denver. Did Madison ever mention him?’
Pamela shrugged. ‘No, but then me and Maddie weren’t so close. She didn’t talk to me about her friends, let alone boyfriends. I can’t really blame her. What did her ole mom ever do right? She was a clever girl and knew better than to come running to me for advice.’
She paused to take a drink.