‘And your friend will confirm this?’
Ethan nodded eagerly. ‘I was there all night. His parents and sister were there as well. I can give you their address and phone numbers.’
‘Okay. I’ll take those later. Can you tell me about that morning, the last time that you saw your mum? What was her mood? Did you notice anything unusual?’
Ethan took a deep breath.
‘She left before me. She had an early shift; she works as a nurse at the DRI. She’d just had her breakfast when I got up, left me some coffee in the pot and two slices of bread in the toaster. There was nothing unusual.’
Kate jotted a couple of words on the top sheet of paper in her folder.
‘And her mood?’
He shrugged. ‘Normal. She’d been a bit down, I think. Her work is really stressful and she sometimes lets it get on top of her.’
His consideration and expression were more adult than Kate had expected. This was a young man who was clearly aware of his mother’s life.
‘There’s nobody else at home? It’s just the two of you?’
‘Yes. It has been for the last ten years. My dad left us when I was eight and then he was killed in a car crash a couple of years ago. I didn’t really know him.’
‘And what about boyfriends? Was your mum seeing anybody?’
Ethan smiled sadly.
‘No. She always said that she didn’t have time for romance. That I was the only man in her life. Daft really. I’m going to university at the end of this year and I’d always hoped that she might meet somebody after I’ve left. You know, company for her.’ He looked down at the table-top and ran his finger along a scratch in the surface.
‘I think she needs something more in her life other than me and work. She’s a good person, she deserves to be happy.’
Kate felt herself warming to Ethan. His compassion and understanding made him seem mature way beyond his years. She really hoped that she didn’t have bad news. ‘Okay,’ she said with another swift look at her notes. ‘You’ve provided a description of your mother. About five feet five, long dark hair, brown eyes. Any distinguishing marks? Tattoos? Scars, that sort of thing?’
Ethan shook his head. ‘She hated tattoos. Always threatened to disown me if I got one. She had a Caesarean scar from when she had me but there’s nothing else that I can think of.’
Kate smiled, trying not to allow her dismay to show in her face. The description fitted perfectly and she could see from Ethan’s colouring that he could easily be related to the woman from the canal.
‘Do you have a picture of your mum? Maybe on your phone.’
Ethan scrabbled in his jeans pocket for his phone. He tapped in his password and flicked at the screen, obviously trying to find the best shot of his mother.
‘There’s this one,’ he said, passing the phone to Kate. ‘It was taken at my eighteenth birthday party. My mates thought I was a bit sad for inviting her but she’d promised not to stay long.’
Kate studied the image in the screen. The woman was wearing a dark red dress that made a stunning contrast with her olive skin and dark hair. She was holding a glass of wine and smiling into the camera, looking slightly self-conscious. ‘Is this recent?’ Kate asked.
‘Last October.’
She continued to look at the phone screen, reluctant to allow Ethan to see what might be in her eyes when she looked up. There was no doubt. This was the woman from the canal. ‘When did you expect her home?’ Kate asked, delaying the inevitable.
‘Late evening,’ Ethan said. ‘She sometimes went to a meeting after work.’
‘Meeting?’
Ethan looked down at the table-top again. ‘GA. Gamblers Anonymous. She’d had a bit of a problem. But she was getting on top of it. She told me last month; said I was old enough to know what she was really like. She hoped I’d learn from her mistakes. I don’t think it was her GA night, though. I wondered if she’d been offered an extra shift at the hospital. She did that sometimes, slept at work for a few hours then carried on. She usually let me know, though.’
Kate nodded, trying to work out the best way to break the sad news to him.
‘It’s her, isn’t it?’ Ethan asked suddenly. ‘The body in the canal; it’s my mum?’
Kate slid the phone back across the table and held Ethan’s defiant stare. He wanted the truth and he was trying to be strong.
‘I think so, yes,’ she admitted. ‘The description matches and your photograph confirms it. We may need you to formally identify the body; she’s been examined but they’ll try to make her look just like she did when she was alive. I’m so sorry, Ethan.’
The young man had started to breathe quickly and unevenly, obviously trying to contain his emotions. Kate wanted to hug him. He reminded her of her son Ben when he was upset, trying to fight the little boy inside who just wanted to cry and run to his mum.
‘What… what happened to her?’ Ethan asked. ‘Did she drown?’
‘We don’t know for certain, yet,’ Kate admitted. ‘We’re still waiting for some test results to confirm what we suspect.’
‘But she wasn’t attacked? It was an accident?’
‘Ethan, I’m sorry. There’s not much more that I can tell you at the moment but, when we do know something, I promise I’ll let you know.’
‘And you’ll tell me the truth? I’m not a kid, you know.’
‘I’ll tell you the truth. It might be hard for you to hear it but I’ll make sure that you know everything that we find out.’
He stood up as if to leave.
‘When can I see her?’
‘Tomorrow, probably. Is there somebody that can go with you? It’s not something you should have to do on your own. An uncle or aunt?’
Ethan’s face clouded with resentment.
‘I said I’m not a kid. I can handle it. She’s my mum.’ His voice broke on the last word and he collapsed back into the chair, his body wracked with sobs.
‘I know this is awful, Ethan,’ Kate tried to reassure him. ‘But we’re going to do everything possible to find out what happened to your mum. Can you help us? If I give you some paper and a pen, could you write down the names of her friends, family members, anybody else that you can think of who might be able to help? And I’ll need the details of her GA meeting. Somebody there might have some information. The more we know about her life, Ethan, the more likely we are to find out the truth about her death.’
It sounded trite, rehearsed, and Kate hated the statement as soon as it was out of her mouth but it galvanised Ethan. He held his hand out for a pen.
‘I’ll write down everything I know about her life. Whatever I can do to help.’
Kate slid a piece of paper over to him and took a pen from her inside jacket pocket.
Ten minutes later, Kate was racing upstairs to the team office, armed with the details of Maddie Cox’s life. Ethan had been thorough; the list consisted of friends from years earlier, work colleagues, and details of the day and venue of her regular GA meetings. He’d added his own details, including his mobile and home phone numbers and his contact details at school. Kate reminded him to include details of the friend he’d stayed with that first evening.
Kate’s sorrow for the boy had deepened when he’d scanned through the pitifully short list, smiled up at her, and told her that he hoped it would help. He still didn’t know that they were looking for a murderer somewhere on his list. And, if the killer wasn’t on the list, somebody from Kate’s team would question him again for more names, more details. Ethan wasn’t a suspect, not in Kate’s view, but he might end up feeling like one as the investigation gathered pace.
She’d texted Hollis as soon as she’d seen Ethan off the premises and he’d followed her instructions to assemble the members of her team. Barratt was swinging on his chair as he chatted to Cooper, and Hollis was at his computer searching for something on the internet. O’Connor was absent which wasn’t much of a surprise to Kate. Although officially one of her team, he was
often far too involved with his own investigation into local gangs to be of much use. Raymond’s orders though; she had to keep him. The atmosphere was one of expectation. At last they had a lead on the body from the canal and now, with an identity, they could start to make some real progress and trace her movements and contacts. Three pairs of eyes turned to her as she slapped her notes down on her desk.
‘Right, listen up,’ she said. ‘We have an ID for the woman in the canal. Maddie Cox, aged forty-one. Works at the DRI as a clinical nurse specialist. Cooper, find out what that means. What’s her role? Who does it bring her into contact with? She was last seen at home two days ago, leaving for work after breakfast. We have a list of friends and colleagues. The son, Ethan, appears to be the only family.’
‘Is he a suspect?’ Hollis interrupted.
Kate paused, remembering Ethan’s tears and desperation to retain control. ‘Not at this time, but keep an open mind. He’s got a solid alibi that we can easily follow up on.’
‘We need to check that she was at work two days ago, what she did there, and if anybody noticed anything unusual about her. Barratt, get over to the DRI and talk to her colleagues. She attended GA meetings regularly. We need to find out who she spoke to, who she was close to there. According to Ethan, there’s a meeting tonight. Barratt, can you get down there and ask around? See if anybody knows anything about her life. Was she in a lot of debt? That sort of thing.’
Barratt raised two fingers to his forehead in a mock salute and leapt out of his chair.
‘What else?’ Kate asked the remaining members of her team.
‘CCTV,’ Hollis said. ‘Now we know who she was and where she worked, we can check cameras around the hospital and try to trace her movements on the night before she was found.’
‘Good. Sam?’
‘A clinical nurse specialist is somebody who’s studied to Master’s level,’ Sam said from behind her monitor. ‘She’ll have had a specialism. Presumably, from what the son said, oncology.’
Kate felt the beginnings of a blush at the second mention of Nick Tsappis’s field of expertise. She’d been trying not to think about her conversation with him or about his business card that hung heavily in her trouser pocket. This wasn’t the time.
‘Thanks, Sam,’ Kate said. ‘Could you…?’
‘I know, I know, CCTV,’ Cooper said with a grin. ‘I can try the phone companies as well. We can get her records now we’ve got a name. Did you get a network?’
Checking Ethan’s notes, Kate was impressed to discover Maddie’s mobile number and the network provider. The boy had been thorough. Kate passed the details on to Cooper and checked her watch. ‘Look, guys. It’s getting on for seven. We can pick this up tomorrow. There’s no point in trying the hospital this late and there’ll be nobody at the council who can give us CCTV tonight.’
She couldn’t resist a sympathetic glance at Sam Cooper as she made a note of Maddie Cox’s phone details and then started the log-off process on her computer. Sam was in for a tough night when she got back to her boat.
18
‘God, I hate hospitals,’ Hollis said as the doors slid open with a welcoming hum. ‘They smell funny and everybody always has this false quietness about them. I can’t believe we’re back here again.’
‘Everybody hates hospitals,’ Kate said, scanning the walls for the sign that would take them to the ward where Maddie Cox had worked. ‘I bet even the people that work here hate the place.’
They walked in silence down the corridor, Kate lost in childhood memories of visits to her mother when she’d been hospitalised for cancer treatment when Kate was eight. She hadn’t had to face the memories last time, probably because she’d been in a hurry and was being rushed through the corridors, but this time she was inundated with images of holding Karen’s hand and trying to keep her sister quiet as they padded along narrow corridors in search of her mother.
Kate hadn’t really been aware of her surroundings the previous day. Everything had been such a rush. The corridor was wider and brighter than the ones in her memory and the doors off were pale wood with porthole style windows rather than the darkly painted solid ones that she recalled from previous visits. The floor was tiled with a mosaic in green and white and an orderly was busy with a mop and bucket making sure that the place was clean for visiting hours.
‘This is it,’ Hollis said pointing to a closed double door. ‘Aspen ward.’
‘Aspen?’ Kate looked round at the corridor. ‘This is where we were yesterday.’
She pushed one side of the door, expecting it to be locked, but it yielded to her touch and allowed them access to the semi-circular nurses’ station. A familiar face looked up from a page of notes that she was reading.
‘Back so soon, detectives?’
Kate stared at her, still waiting for her brain to process the coincidence.
‘I assume you’re here for further information.’
‘Yes,’ Kate said. ‘Well, actually, no. We’re here about another matter. Can we talk in private?’
The nurse sighed and picked up the telephone next to a keyboard. A hushed conversation ensued and then she stood up. ‘I’ve called for somebody to cover me for twenty minutes. It’s all I can spare.’
She led them to the deserted staff room behind the desk. There was an air of neglect to the mugs draining next to the sink and the battered-looking fridge. The row of dilapidated chairs along one side gave the space a waiting-room-like quality as though the nurses were no different from the patients.
There was no offer of tea or coffee as the nurse pointed to the chairs.
‘Have a seat.’
She leaned against the sink as Kate and Hollis settled in chairs, allowing Kate the opportunity to study her more closely. In her mid-twenties with her hair in a ponytail instead of the previous day’s bun, she looked more like a college student than a seasoned professional. Only her expression gave away her experience. Her grey eyes regarded them with annoyance and her arms were crossed, closing off her body.
‘I’m sorry to bother you again,’ Kate began. ‘I can see that you’re really busy but this is important. I didn’t get your name yesterday.’
‘No, you didn’t,’ the nurse responded. ‘I’m Staff Nurse McGlynn. Gemma.’
Kate caught a movement in her peripheral vision. Hollis had taken out his notebook.
‘Thanks, Gemma. And thanks for yesterday. I may have been a little abrupt with you.’
‘I don’t see what else I can tell you,’ Gemma said. ‘I gave you everything I knew about Dennis Lambert yesterday.’
‘We’re not here about Dennis Lambert,’ Hollis interjected. ‘This is a different case.’
‘I think you should sit down,’ Kate said. ‘We have some bad news.’
The woman followed Kate’s instruction almost automatically as though she understood the code. Perhaps she’d used it herself, many times, to prepare a family member for the worst.
‘You worked with Madeline, Maddie Cox?’
A nod in response, wide grey eyes fixed on Kate’s face.
‘And you haven’t seen her for a few days?’
‘She’s not been at work. I assumed she was off sick.’
‘Why did you assume that? Did she have a lot of time off?’ Hollis asked.
‘No. She was hardly ever off sick.’ The woman was starting to look uncomfortable, preparing herself for bad news.
‘And you last saw her when?’
Gemma’s eyes flicked up to the ceiling as she tried to work out the answer to the question. ‘Tuesday. She was here on Tuesday. We had a bad day. Two patients died on the ward and another was sent home because there wasn’t much else that we could do.’
‘And how did she seem?’
Gemma pursed her lips. ‘Fine. Same as ever.’
‘Nothing bothering her?’
A snort. ‘Only the same things that bother all of us in this job: long hours with little support, that sort of thing. I’m sure you two get i
t.’
Kate smiled her understanding. ‘Had you noticed anything different about her in the past few weeks? Was she especially stressed, depressed?’
Gemma shook her head. ‘Not really. She’s very professional. Good at her job. We’re not really friends so I’m not sure I’d have noticed any difference unless it affected her work.’
‘Did she have any friends on staff?’
‘Not that I know of,’ Gemma said. ‘She’s quite a private person. Has something happened to her?’
‘Possibly,’ Kate said. ‘We’re just talking to people who knew her, trying to make sense of what we know so far. Her son reported her missing yesterday.’
‘Missing? How? Like she ran away or she’s been kidnapped or something?’
Kate remained silent, hoping that Hollis had the sense to do the same.
‘She wouldn’t just take off. Her son, Ethan. She thinks the sun shines out of him.’ The nurse stood up and walked up and down the small space. ‘She’d never leave Ethan. Oh Christ. Oh shit.’ Gemma collapsed into the chair next to Hollis. ‘That body in the canal. I heard about it on the radio last night. You think it’s her.’
She took their continuing silence for confirmation.
‘But I don’t understand what this has to do with yesterday. Why the questions about Dennis Lambert? Yes, she was the nurse practitioner on his case but what’s that got to do with her ending up…’ She tailed off, lost in her own thoughts and speculation.
‘She was on Dennis Lambert’s case?’ Kate asked.
‘Yes. Yesterday, when I said you needed to talk to somebody else, it was Maddie. I told you she hadn’t been in. You left your card. I was going to pass it on to her when she came back.’ Gemma’s face froze as she realized the implication of her final sentence. Maddie wasn’t coming back. Hollis reached out and patted Gemma’s arm but she pulled away.
‘I can’t believe this. She was here on Tuesday and everything was normal and now…’
Kate’s brain kicked up a gear. Two murders in the last couple of days and now there was a link. Coincidence? She’d been trained not to believe in coincidence, not to trust it; to examine it from all angles, strip-search it and breathalyse it if necessary before accepting it as genuine.
Merciless: a gripping detective thriller (DI Kate Fletcher Book 2) Page 13
