“I heard you’re studying,” I said after a moment.
She smiled, looking slightly self-conscious. “Yes. I’m a little old for being an undergraduate,” she said. “But, well,” she looked away again, back out the window, “I wanted to learn again. Strangely enough, I enjoyed school.”
I smiled back at her. “That is pretty strange,” I teased. “What’re you studying?”
“Sociology. I want to know what makes people tick.”
I chuckled at that. “Let me know when you find out.” I took a sip of my tea. “I haven’t quite figured it out yet.”
She hummed. “It might cost you. There are a few people who I think would appreciate knowing the secret to humanity.”
“I’ll start saving.”
She smiled at me, and we met gazes for a moment before her cheekbones flushed, and she turned away.
“I was just about to go for a ride when you called by,” she said, taking a step away. I stepped back too. She finished her cocoa and put the mug in the sink. “Was there anything particular…?”
“Oh, no,” I said. “I’d just hoped to speak to Sarah briefly. Give her my sympathies.” I winced. “I ought to have brought flowers or something.”
She smiled slightly. “No, please don’t. We’ve already had five bunches this morning. I haven’t put them in vases yet. They’re all in the laundry.”
“It’ll look like a florist’s when you put them all out.”
She nodded, sadness passing over her face. I wanted to reach out and take her hand, but I didn’t know her well enough.
“I’m sorry, Alice,” I said gently. “Graham was a kind man.”
She swallowed audibly. “I… have to go. Sarah’s upstairs if you wish to see her, first door on the right.” She summoned a weak smile. “Thank you for visiting, DI Mitchell.”
She left the room in a hurry, and I watched her go. I finished my tea in silence, looking out at the garden and the gathering rain. I hoped it would ease off soon, so Alice wouldn’t get drenched on her horse ride.
I put my mug in the dishwasher when I was done and took my wet running shoes off before I walked slowly upstairs. Without Alice there, I felt like something of an intruder, but I couldn’t leave without at least briefly seeing how Sarah was.
I knocked on the first door on the right, and Sarah’s voice said, “Yes?”
“Hello.” I came in.
“Darren?”
She was sitting in an armchair by the window, a newspaper on her lap. The room was large and in shades of blue, with a bedspread with lush sheets and two skylights in the roof letting in light.
“Just wanted to see how you--”
Sarah waved her hand at me, looking tired and pale. “Don’t ask me how I am. You know how it is, you must have seen enough people like me over the years.”
I sighed and sat down on the end of the bed, rubbing my hands over my thighs. I wasn’t sure what to say. Sarah, from what little I knew of her, didn’t seem one to appreciate platitudes.
“I’ll find out what happened,” I said finally.
She folded up her newspaper with precise, deliberate motions. “He seemed so normal when I left,” she said, her voice shaky. “Completely fine.” She shook her head. “I had no idea… I--”
I winced. “I know. And,” I paused, “I wouldn’t have left if I’d known you weren’t there.”
“It is what it is,” she cut in, dismissing my guilt.
We sat in silence for a minute or more, listening to the wind whistling outside and the light tapping of rain on the window. I stood up to go, recognising that my presence wasn’t helping much and the thing Sarah needed most was time and her family’s support.
“If you need anything…?” I started.
“Actually, yes,” she said, and I nodded encouragingly. “My heart medicine’s in the house. Are you done there, now? Can I pick it up?”
“I’m not sure if they’re done yet, but I can get it for you,” I offered.
She looked relieved like she hadn’t wanted to go, anyway. “Thanks, Darren. That’d be good. It’s called Coumadin, should be in the bathroom cabinet.”
“Got it.”
I headed out after she’d thanked me, grimacing as I put on my wet running shoes and stepped out into the damp weather. The rain had only gotten worse, and I took the run home carefully, cautious not to slip. My trainers were getting old and losing their grip.
I’d called Hogan before leaving to see Sarah to let her know why I’d be late into work but called her again now.
“I’m heading over to Graham’s, ma’am,” I said. “Sarah’s got some medicine there she needs. I should be in before twelve.”
There was a brief silence that made me tense. “Which medicine?” Hogan asked.
“A heart medicine, Coumadin.” When Hogan didn’t immediately speak, I added, “I think Graham mentioned Sarah having a blood clot last year. Is that a problem? Are they not finished at the house yet?”
Hogan made a noise of acknowledgement on the other end of the phone. “Come into the station, Darren. The medicine isn’t up at the house.”
“Right,” I said slowly. I wasn’t entirely sure what she meant, but the pieces were coming together. “Do I need to tell Sarah she’ll have to get a new prescription?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be there soon, chief.”
“Good.” She hung up, and I put my phone down on the kitchen table, leaning forwards to put my hands against the wood. I didn’t like this at all. It wasn’t unusual for forensics to take samples of medications from a victim’s house, but taking the whole bottle seemed odd.
I called Sarah and told her that I wasn’t able to get the medication for her and that she’d have to order a new prescription immediately. She was silent for a long moment on the phone. I wondered what was going through her head, especially since I hardly knew what I was thinking myself. But she just thanked me and called off.
Dressed in my uniform, I headed over to the station and was immediately met with the smell of wet dog and almost fell over Kay’s dog as she barrelled into my legs.
“Crikey, easy there,” I said to the soggy bundle of white and brown fur butting her head against my legs.
Partly amused and partly startled, I eased her down when she jumped up on me. She gave a friendly bark, her tail wagging furiously, seeming to think it was a game and tried to jump up again.
“Lexi!” Kay chided, patting her thighs as she called Lexi over. The dog snuffled around me for another moment before Kay became the more interesting thing.
I shook my head and walked over to Hogan’s office whilst brushing fur and mud off my trousers. I’d ironed them and everything, now they looked like Lexi had used them for a dog bed and then dragged them through a muddy puddle.
Hogan had been watching the dog’s antics through the windows of her office from where she was sitting behind her desk.
“Morning, Mitchell.”
I nodded, smiling crookedly as she raised an eyebrow at the state of my trousers. “Not my fault, ma’am.”
She rolled her eyes. “Nothing ever is with you,” she said, her tone light. “How was Mrs Stewart?”
I sobered. “Alright, relatively speaking.”
Hogan inclined her head. She wasn’t much for small talk, and she went straight in, “The medicine she was asking for, forensics picked it up. There were two bottles of Coumadin, both empty of pills.”
My stomach sank.
“Do you know what Coumadin does, Mitchell?”
“Not exactly, ma’am,” I said. “She was taking it for a blood clot, I think Graham told me about it a while back.”
Hogan nodded. “It’s a blood thinner.”
I stepped over to the chair opposite her desk and slumped down. “Aw Christ.”
Lips pressed together tightly, Hogan was silent for a moment. “The pathologist is looking into it now. If it was what Graham took, we’ll find out soon.”
“Why would he take i
t, and then come on a run with me, ma’am?” I demanded, throwing out my hands in confusion. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“These things aren’t always clear, you know this. With Graham’s symptoms and the evidence from the house, it’s looking likely he did take them.” She softened her voice. “Maybe he just wanted to see you once more. Maybe he didn’t expect the pills to act so quickly.”
I stood up abruptly, and Hogan looked at me sadly. “That’s too many maybes,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “He wouldn’t have done that. I’d have known, I--”
“Darren,” she said, “people hide these things.”
I clenched my jaw and looked away. I didn’t accept it. There were too many pieces that didn’t fit right. “Please let me know when the post mortem is back,” I said.
I turned to leave before pausing. “The York folk won’t be back then? If it’s being called unsuspicious?”
She nodded, and I grunted, shaking my head as I opened her office door.
“Mitchell,” she said. I waited. “Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgement. Sometimes the truth isn’t what we want it to be.”
I turned around to face her, trying to keep my temper. “I’m looking at the evidence, ma’am. That’s it.”
She looked steadily at me. “And I trust you. Just be careful, you’re too close to this.”
I sagged. “Yeah, I’m aware.”
She gave me a nod, appearing satisfied. “Go on, then.”
I headed out, feeling like I’d been through the wringer even though it was only just gone twelve.
Kay came over, perching herself on the side of my desk. She held out a Tupperware and wafted the contents in front of me. Whatever they were smelled delicious, of rich cinnamon and sugar. Kay pulled the box back when I tried to take one, and I looked up, betrayed.
She just grinned at me before taking pity on me and offering the box again. I took one quickly this time.
“S’good,” I said through a mouthful of soft pastry and icing.
Kay looked proud. “Anna’s cinnamon twists.”
“Should’ve guessed,” I said, licking my fingers.
“Oi,” Kay said, “I can bake when I want to.”
I recalled the time Anna had been away on a cruise with her parents and Kay had brought rock-hard cupcakes into the station for Maha’s birthday.
“Sure,” I said unconvincingly.
Kay put the lid back on the Tupperware with a snap. “Those cakes were a one-off!” she protested. “And,” she stood up, smiling even as she tried to look annoyed, “if you’re going to insult me, no more cinnamon twists for you.”
“Mean, Kay, that’s just mean!”
“Lexi looks hungry,” Samuel piped up. “She can have Darren’s.”
I shot him a glare because that was just out of order, and he ducked back behind his desk. Kay walked away, laughing.
I made myself another coffee and, when Kay popped to the loo, I nicked another cinnamon twist. It was worth the smack on the head I got when she came back. I had a mouthful of pastry and coffee, and probably icing on my chin, when Alice came into the station. I almost choked and swallowed too fast, my eyes watering.
“Can I speak to DI Mitchell?” I heard her ask Samuel, whose desk was close enough to the door that he served as a quasi-receptionist as well as doing admin when he could be bothered. More often than not, he was sketching on any available piece of paper. I’d once gotten a typed-up report back from him with Wonder Woman drawn on the back. It was a pretty good rendition, to be fair, but not exactly what he was being paid for.
Hastily wiping my mouth, I watched Samuel point Alice over to my desk and stood up to greet her. Lexi ran over, and Alice smiled at her, crouching to coo over the silly dog.
“DI Mitchell,” she said when she stood up. She reached out to shake my hand, and I returned it, hoping my fingers weren’t too sticky with sugar. “I’m sorry for dashing off on you earlier.” She didn’t meet my gaze. She’d changed out of jodhpurs into a pair of well-fitting jeans.
“How’d the ride go?” I managed to ask, directing her to a seat beside my desk.
She shook her head. “It was pouring, and my mare seemed a little hot in the hind leg. I’ll have to have the vet over, I think. If it’s laminitis again--” She cut herself off and blushed. “Sorry. I didn’t come to talk about horses.”
“Good,” I said, bemused. “Because I don’t have a clue what laminitis is.”
She smiled weakly, her expression turning sad. “I wanted to ask about my uncle,” she said. “And I’m right in thinking you’re leading the investigation or has someone from York taken over?”
“No, still me,” I said, the information from Hogan weighing on me.
Alice sat forwards. “Have there been any developments? Do you know anything more?”
I rubbed my forehead and couldn’t quite meet her bright eyes. “I’m afraid not. Nothing is confirmed yet, and the post mortem may take a while to come through. This isn’t a high profile case, I’m sorry.”
Alice chewed her lip, frowning at the floor. “He wouldn’t have killed himself,” she said, her voice lowered but the fierceness in her tone undeniable. “I just know it.”
I made a noncommittal noise. “I’m sorry,” I said, as gently as I could. “I can’t say anything until we’ve got more information.”
Alice exhaled sharply. “But what about your run? You were the last person to see him, to talk to him,” she met my gaze head-on, “so you must have some idea. He must have said something?”
“I can’t--”
“Please.” She reached out and put her hand on my arm where it was resting on my desk. “I just need to know.”
I swallowed. “I know. I need to understand it, as well. But there are not enough facts yet.” I looked away. “Graham… he wasn’t well when I saw him, he had a nosebleed. I don’t know why, but I’ll find out. We weren’t close, but I’ll miss him too, Alice.”
She nodded, taking her hand off my arm. “Okay,” she sighed. “Just if you need any help, please let me know. I want to make it right.”
I paused. “Make it right?” I said.
Alice winced, turning her head away. “Yes. We met for lunch about a week ago.” She paused for a long time, seeming distant before she shook herself. “We didn’t part on the best of terms.”
I tried to keep my expression neutral, leaning forwards slightly. “You’re not in trouble,” I said gently, “but if there’s something you need to add to your statement, you need to tell me right away.”
Colour rushed to her cheeks, and she pressed her hands down on her knees, her shoulders hunched.
“It had nothing to do with… what happened, though,” she said weakly. “I just wish…”
“Alice, you offered to help.” I tried to be tactful so that I wouldn’t cause her to clam up further. “I know you don’t think this is important, but any information about the time before his passing could help. Anything at all.”
“I don’t even know what it was,” she said, reaching up to tighten her ponytail with fidgeting, anxious movements.
“Let’s step into the other room, okay?” I stood up slowly, trying not to spook her, and gestured to the interview room. “We’ll just go through it, as well as you can remember. It’s important to make sure we’ve got all possible information. Please, Alice?”
She was motionless for a long moment, and I waited. Then she nodded, getting up slowly like her legs weren’t quite steady beneath her. She touched her head and swayed slightly.
“Alice?” I said, alarmed.
“Sorry,” she said, sitting down again with a bump. “I’m dizzy. I didn’t eat this morning.”
“Don’t worry.”
I fetched her some tea and took another of Kay’s pastries, with her permission this time. She raised her eyebrows at me and looked pointedly at Alice before winking. I rolled my eyes.
Alice seemed steadier after eating a little and let me show her into the in
terview room. I turned on the recorder as discreetly as I could manage.
“Go from the beginning,” I prompted after I’d announced my name and Alice had followed suit.
“There’s not a lot to tell,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s just… we went for lunch at The Teaspoon. The cafe by the shops, you know?”
“Yes.”
“Wednesday, I think it was. Around two o’clock.” She drank some of her tea. “He just didn’t seem himself. He usually eats enough for three, I’m sure you know?”
I was reluctant to interrupt, but she looked over at me, waiting for an answer. “No, actually,” I said. “We haven’t— We hadn’t eaten together.”
Alice just nodded. “He does, he did, I mean. But he just picked at it. He’d been short with me on the phone before, too, like he didn’t really want to come. And he checked his phone all through the meal. He just wasn’t himself at all.”
She shook her head, frowning. “And he hated that phone. He was so grumpy when I bought it for him like I’d betrayed him by giving him a piece of tech as a present instead of a pair of slippers.” She rolled her eyes at the memory before sighing. “But he was glued to it, all through lunch, and he didn’t look happy.”
I made a mental note to myself to check in with the technical team who were tasked with looking through Graham’s phone to see if anything had been deleted or hidden close before his death. I would also need to follow up on this visit to the cafe, to see if others’ had seen them there, not that I doubted Alice’s veracity.
“I teased him about it a little,” Alice continued, chewing her lip again. “I asked if it was Sarah, but he didn’t want to talk about it. He was just… not himself, I suppose.”
I ran the new information through my mind. “Did he look healthy?” I asked. “Or sick?”
She made a noncommittal gesture with her hand. “He looked normal. Tired and almost worried, but not ill.” She paused, seeming to be hesitating.
“Go on.”
She cast me a look and exhaled. “I don’t know that I should say it, but I wondered if it was marriage problems,” she admitted. “Sarah’s away almost every week. I always thought it must be difficult.”
DI Mitchell Yorkshire Crime Thrillers: Book 1-3 Page 5
