DARK CRIMES a gripping detective thriller full of suspense (10 page)

‘Makes sense,’ said McGreedie. ‘We’ve another interview with her friend Bernice Halley tomorrow. I’ll see if she knows of another place.’

Sophie looked at Marsh with a perplexed expression. ‘Barry, I’m a bit worried about the order in which you listed the important women in your life. Mum first and girlfriend last? Where are your priorities, for God’s sake?’

CHAPTER 8: Nervous Neighbours

Thursday Afternoon, Week 1

Soon after McGreedie set off back to Bournemouth, Sophie and Marsh drove north to Corfe Castle. The picturesque village, its buildings largely built of the local Purbeck stone with its soft grey tone, looked beautiful in the low afternoon sun. The ruined castle loomed over them as Marsh turned Sophie’s car from the village square into West Street and drove down the narrow lane to the cottage.

A team of officers had been carrying out house-to-house enquiries, but Sophie wanted to visit Mrs Goodenough’s immediate neighbours herself. They might have remembered something else since her last visit. She also wanted to talk to her employers at the hotel.

None of the neighbours had anything to add to their previous accounts. She and Marsh interviewed the occupants of each of the cottages, but no one could remember being disturbed during the night of the murder. It was obvious that the local community had been traumatised by the murder.

‘Are we safe?’ asked one elderly lady. ‘You’ve arrested someone, haven’t you?’

‘Yes, we have. And you are safe. We’re convinced that the murder was premeditated. Whoever did it knew Mrs Goodenough. You are in no more danger now than you were before. And remember that Dorset is one of the safest counties in the country. There really is no need to worry, as long as you take sensible precautions to safeguard your home.’

The woman hadn’t look convinced. They heard the sound of several bolts being engaged as they walked back down the path.

‘It doesn’t make sense, Barry. Surely someone heard something? As soon as our car came down here you could see the curtains twitching. I know the murder happened at night, but the lane is so quiet that someone must have heard a vehicle, surely.’

They returned to the car and drove the final few yards along the lane to the turning circle at the end of the cul-de-sac. Open farmland stretched in front of them, rising towards the high ground of the coastal ridge three miles away to the south. Sophie idly took in the view from the passenger seat as Marsh turned the car.

‘Barry, there’s a footpath heading off from here. Do you know where it goes? Stop the car a minute.’

‘I’d guess that it leads to East Street. That’s the main road coming up from Swanage. The two roads join together back at the square, but here they must be about half a mile or so apart.’

She got out of the car and walked across to the start of the grassy pathway. Marsh joined her.

‘I’d guess from the angle of the sun that it heads south east,’ he said. ‘That would take it towards the end of East Street, maybe at the edge of the village, but I can’t be sure. It may even miss it completely and come out on the Kingston Road.’

‘Let’s go and see. I’ve got an OS map in the car.’

The map confirmed Marsh’s guess. The path crossed an area of Corfe Common to finish on the B-grade road to Kingston.

‘Might need sturdier boots, ma’am,’ said Marsh, looking at her shiny leather boots and grey pencil skirt. ‘Could ruin your clothes if you slipped. It looks pretty muddy.’

‘Okay, if you say so. I’ll get my wellies from the boot. My husband wouldn’t be best pleased if I ruined this jacket. It was my birthday present.’

‘Very stylish, ma’am.’

‘The way to a woman’s heart. Take her out and buy her some nice clothes. Take my word for it.’

‘If you say so, ma’am.’

She extracted her pair of pink wellingtons from the boot. Marsh couldn’t help grinning.

‘Barry, when you’ve got children of your own, and they remember your birthday, let alone get you a card and a present, you’ll be grateful. So don’t smirk. They’re two years old, bought by my younger daughter, Jade, when she was thirteen. She thought they were the height of fashion at the time, and who was I to argue? And see, they’ve come in really useful. I’ve got nothing for you to put on,’ she said, looking at his shoes. ‘The best I can do is to offer you a rag to wipe the mud off once we get back. But then, you’re probably tough enough to cope, aren’t you? Not like us weak girls.’

‘I’ll be fine, thanks,’ muttered Marsh. ‘I’m a country copper at heart and dress for it. I ruined enough shoes in muddy lanes in my early years.’

They walked along the path past a group of grazing horses. Through a second gate, the way forward opened up across a wide expanse of common. The line of the path was still clear in front of them, although wet and slippery in places from the recent rain. Marsh guessed that the path would be popular with walkers. They soon noticed the half dozen or so detached houses on Townsend Mead appear to their left on the edge of the village. Within ten minutes they were approaching a gate that opened onto the quiet country road that connected Corfe with the village of Kingston, some three miles south.

‘There’s a pull-in area just in front of the gate,’ said Marsh. ‘Enough room for one car, I’d guess.’ He looked at his watch. ‘Twelve minutes. He could have come this way, and walked back across the heath afterwards.’

‘Someone in one of these houses may have seen something suspicious. They’ll need to be interviewed,’ said Sophie.

She phoned Melsom to request for a unit to come out and tape off the lay-by and look for tyre prints. He was to come up with a small team to interview the occupants of the half-dozen houses in Townsend Mead. Melsom passed on the latest news from the house-to-house inquiries in the vicinity of Donna’s flat.

‘What was the other news, ma’am?’ Marsh said.

‘Someone from one of the neighbouring houses saw a tall figure get out of a small car and go into Donna’s building mid-evening. That was when Berzins was still at work.’

‘He could have been visiting one of the other flats, ma’am.’

‘Yes, Barry. But it’s still a possible lead.’

* * *

The manager of the hotel where Brenda Goodenough had been employed was away on holiday for the week. His deputy had been on the staff for less than a month and was unable to add much to their picture of Donna’s mother. He said that she kept herself to herself much of the time. She came in punctually, did her cleaning job with the minimum of supervision, and left promptly. He’d heard that the only staff social event she attended was the annual Christmas party, and even there she tended to stay in the shadows. She rarely talked about her private life, although other staff members did know that her daughter had moved to the area recently. Sophie found it a little odd that none of her workmates knew that her mother had lived as close as Swanage. They didn’t know about the death of her ex-husband either.

They returned to the car.

‘I’m not surprised she didn’t bother much when her husband died,’ said Marsh. ‘She was probably still getting over the death of her mother. It was probably only a few weeks beforehand. And if he was the nasty waster that her son described, you can understand her not wanting to get involved.’

‘There’s an “if” there, isn’t there, Barry?’ Sophie said.

Marsh walked around the car to get into the driver’s door. ‘Did you go to university, ma’am?’ he asked as he started the engine.

‘Yes.’

‘Where was that?’

‘Oxford.’

‘What did you study?’

‘Law, and I also have a masters in criminal psychology. But don’t worry, Barry, I’m still human.’

‘They must be wary of you up at headquarters, ma’am.’ He chuckled. ‘You must scare some of those plonkers to death.’

‘That’s no way to talk of your elders and betters, Barry,’ she said with a wink.

* * *

The meeting at Winfrith was once again tense. The chief superintendent, Neil Dunnett, was less confrontational at first. Matt Silver was his normal calm self. He expressed some surprise over Sophie’s plans for Berzins. Barry Marsh looked nervous and said little.

‘You want to keep him in custody? But you said you don’t think he did it,’ said Silver.

‘While he’s in custody the real culprit will think his scheme is working. If we release him, we couldn’t keep it from the press and that would put our murderer on his guard. I’d really like to put Berzins into a safe house.’

Dunnett interrupted. ‘We’ve had notification that his brother is to come across and visit. Apparently he’s a policeman in Latvia. Did you know?’

‘About his brother being in the police? Yes, sir. Berzins told me. And it doesn’t surprise me that he’s decided to give us a visit. Wouldn’t we all try to do the same? In some ways I’m surprised it’s taken this long, but I don’t know how the Latvian police work. Maybe he’s been on a case.’ She paused. ‘I don’t want him told in advance about our decision not to press charges. We could see what he’s like, and if he seems okay get him to stay in the safe house with Berzins. He’d be doing something useful and reduce our manpower needs. When does his brother want to come across?’

‘His flight was due this afternoon. He should be landing about now. I’ve sent a car to Heathrow to pick him up. That might smooth difficult waters.’

Sophie wondered how long Dunnett had known about the brother’s visit, and why she hadn’t been informed earlier. She decided not to press the point.

‘Good idea, sir. Are we in contact with whoever is picking him up? It’s just that I’d prefer it if the case wasn’t discussed on the journey, before I’ve had a chance to weigh him up. Is that okay?’

Dunnett merely nodded.

‘So who are your suspects?’ asked Silver.

‘It might be Donna’s brother. He stands to inherit almost half a million in property. He’s tall enough and quite powerfully built. If the father was still alive I’d also put him in the frame, going on his son’s description of him as a violent bully. I’ve no reason to doubt the son’s word, but I have put someone on to checking death certificates just to make sure that the father really is dead. We only have the son’s say-so, and he has no direct evidence, by his own admission. But we are looking into the lost year in her life. Between the date she dropped out of university and when she surfaced again last spring with a broken leg. We know nothing about her during that year. We don’t know where she lived and who she met. My guess is that she remained in Bournemouth, because there has to be a link with Susie Pater. And I’d also guess that she either knew Susie directly, or our murderer formed the common link between the two of them.’

‘So you think it was someone who hasn’t entered into our reckoning yet?’ said Silver.

‘Someone who’s covered his tracks really well. But we’re chipping away at the edges, and I’m beginning to get a feel for him. Nothing more definite than that at the moment.’

‘How well do you think Kevin McGreedie is handling the Pater case?’ asked Dunnett.

‘It couldn’t be in better hands. He’s meticulous.’

‘Good. You know, I’m not convinced about the link with your cases now that Berzins is not a suspect. After all, he was the connection, with his morning at the railway station at the same time as Pater’s murder. Now he’s out of the frame it could be treated independently, and handled just by McGreedie, leaving you to concentrate on the Swanage end,’ said Dunnett.

Silver stiffened slightly. Had this already been discussed between the two of them, with Silver arguing for Sophie’s wish to keep the cases together? Or hadn’t it been discussed at all?

‘Please don’t, sir, not at this stage, anyway. Kevin and I work well together. I know I can leave him to manage all of the Bournemouth inquiries about Susie Pater, but we’re both convinced of the connection. I know there’ll be a lot more house-to-house visits and personal interviews in an area like that, and he knows it like the back of his hand, but I need to keep a handle on it. We speak every day, either on the phone or in person. He was across with me earlier today, and I’ll be at Bournemouth University tomorrow, so will see him after that. It really is better left as it is.’

‘We’ll leave it as it is for now, then,’ Dunnett said and left the room.

* * *

Sophie sent Marsh out of the office while she tackled Silver. ‘Matt, why wasn’t I told about Berzins’ brother coming across? And why is he trying to split the inquiry?’ Sophie was angry. They should all be working together, pooling ideas and keeping each other informed. That was the way to set about a complex case like this, not this political infighting.

‘I didn’t know, believe me. It was as much a surprise to me as it was to you,’ said Silver.

‘Can you please contact the driver and ensure that he doesn’t speak to Berzins’ brother about the case? I don’t trust Dunnett to do it. I would have sent one of my own people to Heathrow if I’d known. Do we know where the brother will be staying? And for how long? This is awful. I can’t work properly if things are going on behind my back. What does that man think he’s doing?’

‘Okay, leave it with me. I’ll chase it up right now, and I’ll have another word with him. Tactfully, of course, since he’s the boss. And I’d already told him of our decision to keep Kevin in charge of the Pater case, so that was a surprise as well,’ said Silver.

‘Dunnett might be the chief super, but it’s my case and I should make all the tactical decisions. It’s not as though I don’t consult you both. He’s trying to become part of the investigation for his own pet reasons. He’ll end up mucking it up unless we’re careful. I’ll go over his head if I think that’s going to happen.’ She didn’t wait for a reply.