Indian Summer (14 page)

Before the pair went out Max revealed what Clare had just told him, adding, ‘Find out how much this friend knew about the drug taking. Was she the supplier?'

Tom looked fierce. He disliked cases concerning children, and he hated drug addicts. Put the two together and he became almost incandescent in his desire to make the punishment fit the crime. He set Piercey and Beeny to questioning Starr's friends and their husbands for the source of the cocaine. Was it linked to the case they were already pursuing? Follow all leads.

While the team dispersed Max went to make two mugs of coffee. He offered one to Tom, who muttered, ‘The evidence is piling up against Starr Keane. She had motive and opportunity, and drug-fuelled rage would easily lead her to choke him to death with her bare hands.' He gulped coffee, eyeing Max over the mug as he drank. ‘I'll wager she discovered where Brenda lived and was on her way to give her a taste of the same, when she drove across the autobahn without looking.'

‘We should trace Brenda as a matter of urgency. She won't be aware that the father of her new baby is dead,' Max pointed out. ‘You told me Starr's mother and duo of beefy brothers are on their way here. If they hear about Brenda, I wouldn't put it beyond possibility for them to have a go at her. She might need protection.'

‘I'll get on to the
TA
Headquarters asap. Once we have her full name we'll contact hospitals, nursing homes and health centres. She must be working locally now.'

Max nodded. ‘I'll be in touch with the hospital for a full report on Starr Keane's condition – a document we can use as evidence – and I'll chase up the Veterinary Officer to talk about the horses on base. He might know who else rides them aside from the people taking part in the jousting. We need to know who was on that horse just before midnight. I hope it was not to commit another crime not yet discovered. We've enough on our plate.' He sipped his coffee thoughtfully. ‘I've stumbled on something puzzling, Tom. Ben Steele told me his platoon, of which Philip Keane was a member, was involved in a suspected friendly fire incident in Iraq two years ago.'

Tom hit his forehead with the flat of his hand. ‘Jeez, Frank Priest mentioned that and I began to follow it up when something developed and it went from my mind because it doesn't connect with this case. What did Ben say about it?'

‘Quite a lot. Enough to make me decide to check it out. There's no mention of it on Keane's record.'

Tom frowned. ‘Well, Frank said it was a legit attack. SIB withdrew the charge.'

‘Ben echoed that, but SIB would have documented the case.'

‘And?'

‘I went on line, entered the date and details and . . . blank! According to SIB records it never happened.'

Tom stared at him. ‘You mean it's been
wiped
?'

‘Yes, I think that's what I do mean, Tom.'

SEVEN

A
s Connie drove to Rathausstrasse she had to listen to a long account of the rise and fall of Spartan power. Olly Simpson's passionate interest in ancient kingdoms found expression during car journeys whether he was driver or passenger. Connie turned down the sound in her right ear and concentrated on the jigsaw of roads that would take her to the apartment where Starr had left her children. George Maddox had alerted the Welfare people, so Connie was not surprised to see a car bearing military registration outside the block of flats.

‘They beat us to it,' she commented.

‘Who?' asked Olly, returning from the exotic and bloody past.

‘Not the Spartans.' She brought the Land Rover to a halt behind the parked car. ‘Julia Reiter has climbed several rungs up the property ladder by divorcing her squaddie husband and marrying a local businessman. Sizeable place, by the look of it.'

He grunted. ‘Starr should have done the same. Better option than badgering the poor bastard to leave a job he loved.'

The front door was an inch ajar, so Connie rang the bell then walked in. The sound of women's voices and of children crying came from a room at the end of a corridor. Despite the elegance of thick cream carpet, crystal chandelier and gilt-framed oil paintings along the walls, the odour of babies' vomit and urine hung in the air. Connie turned to wrinkle her nose at her companion who appeared not to be affected by it. Maybe Spartan homes smelled worse!

A petite, dark-haired woman clutching two small boys was seated on a pale leather settee to the left of the large square room. She looked deeply distressed; her eyes showed the blankness that comes with a state of shock, and the narrow hands holding the two boys close to her body were shaking. The children looked terrified, too scared to utter a sound. It was the chubby baby sitting unwillingly on the lap of a plain-looking woman in her early thirties who was crying ferociously, holding out her arms towards Julia Reiter while she kicked her fat legs against the woman's knees in her fury. A tall, younger woman standing by the settee turned sharply on growing aware that people had entered the room.

Connie spoke quickly, showing her identity document. ‘Sergeants Bush and Simpson, SIB. Who are you?'

The woman made introductions, and the Keane boy, Prince, was identified. ‘Our task is to take him and Melody into care, but we only arrived five minutes ago and Mrs Reiter is, of course, very shaken by what we had to tell her about her friend.'

‘My colleague and I need to talk to Mrs Reiter about that,' said Olly. ‘Perhaps the children could be taken into another room.'

Knowing that would solve nothing in the short term, Connie suggested a cup of tea for Mrs Reiter, with milk and biscuits for the children, might calm things down enough to embark on vital questioning. Addressing the Reiter child, she asked if he could show her where the biscuit or cake tin was in the kitchen. After a few wary moments he edged away from his mother and went across to Connie, followed by Prince who clearly believed safety lay in sticking close to his small friend. The same thought must have been in Olly's mind, for he also went to the kitchen where he kept the boys occupied selecting iced biscuits to arrange on a plate while Connie made tea.

‘We can't do our stuff until they've settled everything with Mrs Reiter and taken the kids away,' she murmured to Olly. ‘She'll be more receptive with these two out of earshot for a bit.'

It was almost forty-five minutes later before the orphaned pair, Melody thankfully asleep and Prince clutching a toy hippopotamus and a currant bun, were installed in a large saloon car along with two bags containing their clothes and supplies then driven away. Starr's clothes and toilet articles remained in the bedroom she had taken over, awaiting scrutiny for any evidence of relevance to the murder of Philip Keane.

Julia Reiter was more controlled once her friend's children had left, although she still looked stricken as Connie sat facing her to ask questions certain to be painful.

‘I feel terrible allowing them to be taken away by strangers,' she confessed, her eyes filling with tears. ‘Starr would never forgive me. Or poor Flip.' Her voice thickened. ‘I can't take it in.
Both
of them gone, just like that!'

‘It's the best solution for their children right now,' Connie said soothingly. ‘The Welfare people are trained in how to handle youngsters who've lost their parents, and you aren't equipped to keep them indefinitely. Fortunately, they're both very young. At that age they usually adapt quite quickly.' She indicated Olly in the far corner. ‘See how trustingly your Bernard is playing games with Sergeant Simpson so soon after Prince left.'

The woman nodded as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue from a box beside her, and Connie then asked how long she had known Starr Keane.

‘She was Flip's steady when he and my Harry were at Tidworth, way back. We'd been married just a few months and often made a foursome with them at weekends. When Flip broke with her – she was Starr Walpole then – she and I still met for coffee or a matinee at the local flicks.' A wobbly smile appeared. ‘We used to fantasize about the male hunks on the screen. It was just a bit of a giggle.'

‘Your husband was happy enough about that? Continuing to see Starr, I mean.'

‘You know what men are like. Anything that keeps their wives happy so long as it doesn't affect
them
.'

Connie nodded agreement. ‘But the foursomes were at an end?'

‘Yes. The lads were in serious training for imminent deployment to Iraq. Harry simply wanted to crash out on the sofa with a couple of cans after a hefty meal each evening. Wasn't much fun, I can tell you.'

‘You maintained the friendship after the men left for Iraq?'

She nodded. ‘I suppose we need companionship much more at those times, although I did go off her a bit when she told me she was pregnant. She was over the moon; said she'd stopped taking the pill so he'd give her a baby. I thought it was unfair on Flip. Trapping him like that. She reckoned the only reason he'd split up with her was because he thought they shouldn't take it any further just as he was going to a warzone.'

Her expression betrayed her cynicism. ‘Flip was
OK
, but he certainly wasn't the
noble
type. Harry told me Flip had had enough of Starr and her pushy, gobby family and used Iraq as a get out. Well,
I
found Ma Walpole and the two bruisers Starr called her brothers more than I could take, to be honest. I usually arranged to meet her in town.' She grimaced. ‘A Christmas party at her mum's was the last straw for me. Talk about a free-for-all!'

Connie had the picture well enough and turned to essentials. ‘When did Starr tell Flip about the pregnancy?'

‘She didn't. And she made me promise not to let on to Harry. Some rubbish about waiting until it was born because she might miscarry like her mum did twice.'

‘And you said nothing to your husband?'

Slight colour tinted her pale face at the faint tone of surprise. ‘Harry and I had been trying for a baby with no luck. He wouldn't have wanted that kind of news from me while he was out there under stress. Anyway, it was Starr's secret. Not mine to tell.'

‘Of course. She didn't miscarry and produced Prince.'

Julia Reiter frowned. ‘A lovely healthy baby. I agree Flip had to be told, and that he should take responsibility for his son, but they should never have done what they did when he was just ten days back from Iraq.'

‘Oh?' said Connie, knowing what they had done.

‘The whole family went round to the Keanes' house and created a scene. At least, that's what Flip told Harry. The neighbours all turned out to see what was going on, which was terrible for the Keanes who're very religious. Next thing, the Walpoles are planning a wedding. Right over the top, it was.'

There was a pause as Julia controlled her excessive emotion once more. Connie glanced at the corner to see Bernard was now asleep on the floor and Olly was on his feet. He inclined his head to signal to Connie that he would go to examine the things Starr had brought with her to the house. She nodded agreement.

‘That wedding began the breakup of my marriage,' came the sad comment as Connie turned back to Julia. ‘Harry was disgusted with Flip for letting himself be dragooned by that awful family. Apparently, he'd been on the verge of getting engaged to a nurse he met in Iraq. The lads fell out big time over it, and Harry refused to attend the wedding. We had a major wrangle over it and I went more to annoy Harry than anything.'

She sighed deeply. ‘Everything went downhill from then on. Harry had lost a good mate, for which he blamed
me
. I was losing my husband because I was sure he was also blaming me for our failure to have a family. Harry was all wound up inside over feelings of inadequacy while his best friend had managed it without even trying. When the battalion was deployed out here I only came with him because I thought we could make a fresh start. Ha, what a hope!'

There was a longer pause, and Julia's box of tissues was raided again. ‘I like living in Germany, so I moved to a bedsit and got a job in town. When the divorce was final I married my boss. Bernard is his son, but I think of him as mine.'

Connie smiled. ‘He's a charming little boy. So polite over sorting a plate of biscuits. You've remained Starr's friend, Julia?'

‘Didn't really have a choice. Don't get me wrong. She can be good fun, and she's marvellous with the kids . . . but . . .'

‘You have a new life, fresh interests now?'

‘Yes. You know, I'm not part of the Army any longer.' She hesitated. ‘Friedhelm finds her . . . he's a quiet, cultured man, you see.'

‘There's a lack of rapport between them?'

Julia nodded.

‘So how does your husband feel about this present visit?'

‘He's away on business, thank goodness. Starr turned up here without warning in a real state. Said she was leaving Flip because he'd broken his promise to quit the Army when he got back from Afghanistan; said they'd had a serious row and he claimed she disgusted him so much he couldn't sleep with her any more. I thought she'd be upset over that, but she was just frighteningly vindictive. I've never seen her like that before. She said she'd come to me because I'd been through it and knew how men could be utter brutes.'

At that point emotion overwhelmed her. ‘She said
that
 . . . she . . . had no idea Flip had been
killed
 . . . no idea he'd just been murdered, or she'd never have . . .' She peered through tears at Connie. ‘It's a nightmare! Who could have done that? Who could have . . . ?'

‘That's what we're endeavouring to find out, Julia,' Connie told her gently. ‘You can take some comfort from knowing neither of them was ever aware of what had happened to the other.' Allowing a little time for Julia to recover somewhat, she said, ‘There was no sign that Starr
did
know what had happened to Flip, was there?'