DI Sally Parker Thrillers Box Set, page 36
part #1 of DI Sally Parker Series
“Mind if we come in for a word, Mr. Whiting? It’s in connection with the crime that was reported last night.”
Mark wrenched open the door, and it clattered against the wall. Sally and Jack followed the disgruntled man through to the kitchen. Mark sat at the kitchen table next to his mother and daughter.
“Hello, Mrs. Whiting, nice to see you again. Sorry it’s under difficult circumstances once more.”
“Inspector. This is a very sad time for all of us. Can’t your questions wait twenty-four hours?”
“I’m sorry. No, they can’t. Can I ask you and Samantha to leave the room while we have a chat with Mark?”
Yvette glared at her for a split second then shrugged reluctantly and grasped her granddaughter’s hand. “Come on, Samantha. Let’s see where Teddy’s got to, eh?”
“Yes, Grandma. I think he fell under the bed last night. I forgot to pick him up. Poor thing has been in the dark all night.”
“We’ll go and rescue him,” Yvette said as they left the room, closing the kitchen door behind them.
Sally and Jack sat down in the chairs vacated by Yvette and her granddaughter. Jack took out his notebook and pen then waited for Sally to ask the questions.
“Why don’t you tell us what happened here last night, Mark?”
He placed his head in his hands and ran them back and forth through his short hair. His eyes looked sore, as if he’d spent the night crying. The scene didn’t really touch Sally, though—she’d been subjected to numerous displays of play-acting over the years. “I told the constable who showed up here last night.”
“Did he take down a statement?”
“No. I wouldn’t have done it anyway. My priority was getting my wife to hospital for the care she needed to keep her alive. Lot of good that did her,” Mark replied, his voice quavering a little.
“Okay, I’d like you to run through the events of last night. What time did you get home?”
“I was at work until five forty. I got home just before six o’clock.”
“Where did you find your wife?”
“In the lounge. Do you want me to show you?”
“Later. Was there anyone else in the house when you got home?”
“Yes, Mum was in the lounge. She was in shock. I found her staring at the body.”
Sally raised an eyebrow. “And yet it was you who called the police. Is that right?”
“Yes, she was too traumatised to do anything, Inspector.”
“We’ll need to speak to your mother, in that case, as she was the one who discovered your wife. Did she say how long it had been since she’d found Kathy?”
“A matter of minutes, I think. Like I say, she was too shocked to say or do anything.”
“I see. She seems okay today.”
“I suppose she’s come to terms with Kathy’s death. She’s been a tower of strength to me, caring for Samantha while I was at the hospital last night.”
“That’s what mothers do, Mark, in circumstances such as this. Why was your mother here last night? Does she live with you now?”
“No. I’m not sure why she was here, to be honest. She’s here most of the time. Never needs an excuse to pop round to see her grandchild. She’s an integral part of our family life. Both Kathy and I work full time, and Mum cares for Samantha after school most nights.”
“That’s reassuring to have childcare on tap like that. So what time did Kathy come home from work?”
“About five fifteen. She worked as a secretary at the local school. She’s never later than that.”
“Did your mother see her attacker?”
“No. She said she was in the kitchen, fixing dinner. She heard shouting and things crashing on the floor not long after Kathy returned home and then silence. Mum ran into the lounge to find Kathy lying in a pool of blood and the front door wide open.”
“Hence you thinking that a burglar had entered your home? I have to say that it’s very rare that burglars attack people, in our experience.”
“What if she disturbed him in the act? Wouldn’t he lash out before he took off?”
“Probably, but then not enough to kill someone. They usually worry about their escape before hitting attack mode. There again, we could be looking at a whole different breed of burglar here. So, you walked in a few minutes later. Is that correct?”
“Approximately five minutes later. The first thing I did was check to see if Kathy was breathing, then I rang for an ambulance. Mum was still traumatised when the paramedics turned up about ten minutes later.”
“Could you see the injuries Kathy had suffered? Or did the doctor say what injuries had occurred?”
“She was beaten around the head mostly. The blood was everywhere. I got covered when I hugged her to me. You should see the walls and the ceiling—it’s everywhere. Thank God Mum ordered Samantha to stay in her room.” He swallowed hard, and tears welled up in his eyes.
“We’ll see for ourselves soon enough. I’ve instructed a team of Scenes of Crime Officers to join us. They’ll need to search for DNA evidence, of course.”
“Of course. When can we start clearing up?”
“Seems a strange thing to ask, Mark,” Sally retorted quickly.
“I have a five-year-old daughter, Inspector. I was hoping life could return to normal swiftly for her sake. I’m sorry, maybe that was selfish of me to say that. Kathy meant the world to me. My mind is all over the place.”
Sally tilted her head. On one hand, she could understand his reasoning. On the other, she had never come across a victim’s partner openly suggesting they wanted to get their lives back to ‘normal’ immediately. It seemed very odd for him to even voice such an idea, and even odder for him to tack on the last part, which sounded as if it had been for their benefit. “I see. I can understand that.” Sally felt Jack’s eyes boring into her from the side. She tapped his foot with hers under the table and watched out of the corner of her eye as his gaze returned to his notebook.
“Will we have to move out?”
“Yes, for the time being. At least until the SOCO have completed gathering evidence. That’s not a problem, is it?”
“No. Mum will have us. Is there anything else? Only, I better go and pack a bag for Samantha and me.”
“That’s all for now, I think. Oh, wait a minute. I’ll need Kathy’s parents’ details, address, and phone number. We’ll visit them after we leave here.”
“Why? Why do you have to get them involved?”
Sally’s frown matched Mark’s. “I don’t understand why you would ask that, Mr. Whiting?”
“They’ve been through enough lately, what with losing their son in a car crash last month.”
Sally nodded as things cleared in her mind. “Ah… is that why you delayed telling them at the hospital last night?”
“Yes. I tend to put others’ feelings before my own, Inspector.”
“I’d still like their details. It’s our duty to inform the relatives about an ongoing enquiry and the direction it will take,” she stated, hoping the fib wouldn’t raise his suspicions too much.
He left the table, went over to the dresser drawer and removed a small address book. After opening it to the appropriate page, he handed the book to Jack.
“Thanks,” Jack said once he’d noted down the information.
“What’s next? Us moving out?”
“Yes, that will be the next step. I’d like a word with your mother. Do you think she’s up to it?”
“I can ask her. I’ll swap places, go and look after my daughter and send her in, if that’s okay?”
“Great stuff.”
The instant Mark left the room, Jack leaned over and said in a hushed voice, “Bit odd what he said about clearing up the mess quickly, wasn’t it?”
“You spotted that, eh? Hmm… it’s all sounding very strange to me, and I can’t put my finger on why. It’s as though Kathy’s being here was some kind of intrusion—an inconvenience, even. He seems upset enough, but we’ve seen some award-winning displays of fake emotions over the years, haven’t we?”
“We have. I’m inclined to think…” Jack stopped talking as the door eased open, then Yvette Whiting entered the room.
“Hello, Yvette. Come in. Are you up to going over the events of yesterday? I’ll make it as brief as I can.”
“If I must. Your timing could be better, Inspector. We’ve all lost someone very dear to us.”
“I know. The sooner we get the investigation underway, the more likely it is that we’ll arrest the culprit. You can appreciate that, yes?”
“I can. What do you want to know?”
“Please take a seat.”
Yvette sat opposite Sally and Jack and began twisting a tissue through her fingers that she was staring down at. “What can I tell you that Mark hasn’t already told you, Inspector?”
“We’ll see. As Mark wasn’t on the premises at the time of the incident and you were, probably a lot. Why don’t you tell us in your own words what happened?”
One of her hands brushed across her brow before she plucked up the courage to speak. “Kathy left me and Samantha in the kitchen to make a telephone call to her boss. The next thing I know, she shouted at someone, and I heard a lot of things crashing to the ground.”
“That must have been terrifying for both you and Samantha. What did you do next?”
“It was. I was in a desperate quandary. After a few moments’ hesitation, I ran upstairs with Samantha and locked her in her room, fearing for her safety. When I came down, I rushed into the lounge to see what was going on.”
“That was brave of you. Can I ask why you didn’t stay upstairs with your granddaughter?”
She paused for a second then replied, “Because I wanted to do all I could to help Kathy.”
“That’s very admirable of you. When you entered the lounge, was the intruder still present?”
“No. I found Kathy lying on the floor.”
“Mark said that you were traumatised. Did you approach Kathy at all? To see if she was conscious?”
“No. I froze on the spot. Mark came home a little while later. He dealt with her then. Called for the ambulance, took control of the situation.”
“I can’t imagine how you must have felt, seeing your daughter-in-law’s life in the balance like that.”
“It was truly awful. I was at a loss what to do. I was so thankful when Mark came home and relieved me of the responsibility.”
“How is Samantha?”
“She keeps asking for Kathy, which is understandable.”
“Mark told us they were very close.”
“Since her real mother died, Samantha has clung to Kathy as if she were her own flesh and blood.”
“I hear that you’ve been helping out the family, too, looking after Samantha while Kathy and Mark were at work.”
Yvette looked Sally in the eye and nodded. “It’s what close families do, isn’t it, Inspector? Watch out for each other.”
“Not always. And you got on well with Kathy?”
“Of course. She was a lovely girl. Anyone who takes on a grieving man and his active five-year-old daughter must be a very special person indeed, wouldn’t you say?”
“I would. What a shame she has been snatched from the bosom of this family, especially as she was loved by you all. How on earth is Samantha going to cope now? Losing two ‘mothers’ within six months of each other?”
“She’ll cope. I’ll ensure that happens. Don’t you worry,” Yvette snapped, as if Sally had questioned the family’s ability to care for the grieving child.
“I’m sorry. It was merely a question. It wasn’t meant to cast any aspersions as to anyone’s inabilities to combat the stressful situation.”
“We’ll cope. We’re a close-knit family who has overcome far more than this over the years and come out the other side unscathed.”
“Glad to hear it. When you’re feeling up to it, I’d like you to make a statement. Is that okay?”
“Yes, can you leave it a few days? Let me get over the shock of losing Kathy.”
“Of course. One last question before we wrap this up. How was Mark and Kathy’s relationship? Sorry, how long have they been married?”
“One month to the day. They were newlyweds; how do you think their relationship was?” she retorted harshly, almost as if Sally had asked an insulting question, which couldn’t have been farther from the truth.
“How terrible. Now your son has to go through the grieving process all over again.”
“He’ll do it. He has a very strong resolve, Inspector.”
“Tell me, as a matter of interest, have you seen much of Colin lately?”
She gasped. “Colin? You think he did this?”
“Whoa, no, I said nothing of the sort. Only six months ago, I turned up here and had to separate the fighting brothers. I was just enquiring, in a roundabout way, if the brothers had made amends with each other after they fell out.”
“I see. Yes, he came to the wedding. We haven’t really seen anything of him since then. He was very distant at the wedding. I think he and Leona are going through a tough time right now.”
“Any reason why? The fertility problems, maybe?” Sally suggested.
“In a way, yes. Leona found out that Gemma was expecting Colin’s child, and she went ballistic.”
“Did someone let that fact slip intentionally?” Sally asked, with one eyebrow raised.
“Certainly not! At least I don’t think so.”
“Are you going to tell me who that someone was, Yvette?”
Her eyes narrowed as their gazes met. “It was Kathy who let it slip. Are you suggesting that you think Leona might have killed Kathy now?”
“The idea never even occurred to me, but now you’ve mentioned it, it would be unwise for me to ignore. We’ll definitely be broadening our nets because of the information you have provided.”
“Is that all, Inspector? I’d like to get back to caring for my distressed grandchild now.”
“Yes, that’s all. We’ll need you to give us a statement in the next day or two, though.”
Yvette nodded, rose from the table and left the room without saying another word.
Jack leaned closer and whispered, “What is it with this family? Looks like everyone has the knives out and is willing to embed them into each other’s backs.”
“That’s an excellent assessment, Jack. One that I fear is going to make our job very difficult over the coming days or weeks.”
“What’s your initial take on what you’ve heard so far?”
“Let’s discuss that when we leave here,” Sally said, winking.
Mark returned to the kitchen as Sally and Jack were tucking their chairs back under the table. “Are you leaving now?”
“Yes, we’re going to head over to Kathy’s parents. Before we go, something is puzzling me, Mark.”
His brow furrowed. “What’s that, Inspector?”
“The fact you married so soon after losing Gemma.”
He shrugged. “Because I was lonely, I guess.”
“Did you love Kathy?”
His eyes widened. “Of course I loved Kathy. I hope you find the person who killed her soon.”
“I have a feeling we will this time, Mr. Whiting. We’ll be in the area for the next few days, conducting house-to-house enquiries with your neighbours.”
“You say that as though I should be worried about what you obtain from my neighbours.”
“Not at all. Just informing you of what is going to take place within your area. We’ll be in touch soon. In the meantime, if you can compile a list of what you think the burglar took, we’d appreciate it.”
“I’ve had a quick look around and couldn’t see that anything is missing. Maybe Kathy disturbed the burglar before he had a chance to get his hands on any of our possessions.”
Sally nodded, and Mark led them into the lounge. The scene was sickening, even to Sally. Blood covered every surface from the walls to the ceiling. There wasn’t a clean surface in sight. Mark showed them out of the house. Walking back up the drive, Jack muttered, “Yeah, and maybe there wasn’t a burglar after all, mate.”
“I think you’ve got it in one, partner. The problem we have now is proving or disproving that theory,” Sally agreed in a hushed voice as she looked back at the house. Mark was standing on the threshold, hands deep in his pockets, watching them.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Sally parked the car in Kathy’s parents’ drive in a quiet cul-de-sac ten minutes’ drive from the Whitings’ home. A woman with curly silver hair opened the front door to them. “Hello, Mrs. Cleeves? I’m DI Sally Parker, and this is my partner, DS Jack Blackman. May we speak to you for a moment about your daughter, Kathy?”
She heaved a large sigh and nodded. “Come in.”
They followed her through the house to a country-style kitchen at the rear of the property, where a man of similar age was sitting, wringing his hands, at the table.
“It’s the police, Dave,” Mrs. Cleeves explained.
“What happened? How did my daughter lose her life last night?”
“Is it all right if we sit down?” Sally asked.
The couple nodded, and Sally and Jack settled into two of the pine chairs around the matching table.
“I’m sorry, but at this early stage, I can’t really answer that, Mr. Cleeves. Did you go to the hospital last night?”
“Yes. That idiot son-in-law of mine rang us a few hours after Kathy was taken to hospital.”
“Now, Dave, that’s not fair. He must have been worried sick and not thinking straight. We must be thankful that he rang us at all, in the circumstances,” Mrs. Cleeves stated compassionately.
Her husband huffed a breath in response and shook his head.
“I wondered if you could give me a little background information about Kathy. What I mean is, I know that she and Mark haven’t been married long, but do you think a spurned ex-partner is capable of doing this to Kathy?” Sally asked tentatively.
“But we were told that a burglar broke into the house and attacked our daughter. Are you telling us that was a blatant lie, Inspector?” Mrs. Cleeves asked.
“No. We’ve yet to confirm that. I was merely covering all angles from the outset rather than discover the information a few weeks further down the line.”
