‘What did you tell her?’ Melanie grabbed a handful of tissues and blew her nose.
‘I told her there had been an incident involving her father and asked her to meet me here. I’ll explain when she arrives,’ Edris said.
Melanie nodded mutely then turned her attention back to Meadows. ‘How did he die?’ The words trembled on her lips.
Meadows could see the pain on her face and knew from the way she bent forward with her arms around her body that it gnawed at her stomach.
‘I’m afraid there will have to be a post-mortem. We will know more then. I’m very sorry, Melanie, but I’m going to have to ask you some difficult questions. It’s better to do this now. I understand how difficult this is but it is necessary.’
Melanie nodded and took another wad of tissues and dabbed her eyes.
‘The last time you saw Alan was Monday night, is that right?’
‘Yes.’
‘How did he seem to you? Was he happy?’
‘Just his usual self. He came home from work, showered, then relaxed with a glass of wine before we ate.’
‘Had he been worried about anything recently, problems at work?’
Melanie’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’re not suggesting that he–’
‘No, nothing like that,’ Meadows cut in quickly. ‘I just want to find out if he was troubled.’
‘No, if anything he was really happy these past few months.’
‘So, no money worries?’
‘No, it’s been a really good year financially.’
‘Alan recently purchased a new car?’
‘Yes, it was his dream car.’ Melanie’s voice trembled.
‘Did he buy it outright or take out a loan?’
‘He bought it outright. What’s the car got to do with what happened? Did someone take the car, is that it?’
‘The car is still missing. At the moment we need to have as much information as possible. I’m sorry if some of the questions seem intrusive.’ Meadows paused for a moment. ‘So, had you come into money recently?’
‘Alan received some large bonuses from work over the last few months, I expect it was to show their appreciation for all his hard work and extra hours. He wasn’t paid overtime.’
‘Did Alan plan to go out on Monday evening?’ Meadows asked, leaning forward, his hands placed on his lap.
‘No, after we ate, we planned to watch a film together but that bloody woman phoned.’
‘What woman?’
‘Jane Pritchard. She said he needed to come back into work.’
Interesting that she didn’t mention that when we spoke to her.
‘Did he often get called back into work in the evening?’
‘No. Well, it seemed to be happening more and more recently. He said he wouldn’t be long and that was the last I saw of him.’
Fresh tears ran down her face and her hand trembled as she wiped them away.
Meadows waited for her to compose herself. He noticed that Edris stood by the window watching out for Melanie’s daughter.
‘Did Alan give a reason why he kept getting called in? Was there any particular problem at work?’ he asked.
‘No, I expect Jane couldn’t cope with something or other. Alan should have been the manager… He’s been there longer than she has.’
‘I’m sorry, Melanie, but I have just a few more questions. Did Jane Pritchard call on the house phone or Alan’s mobile on Monday evening?’
‘The mobile. She wouldn’t call on the house phone.’
‘And he took his mobile with him?’
‘Yes, he always kept his phone on him. I knew something was wrong when I couldn’t get hold of him. It kept going straight to voicemail.’
Meadows made a mental note to ask SOCO if they had found Alan’s phone. The number and provider were listed on the missing person’s file.
‘How was your relationship with your husband? Any recent arguments?’ he asked.
‘No… what are you implying?’ Melanie frowned.
‘I’m not implying anything. I’m sorry we need to ask these things.’
‘We were happy, we had the odd argument like any couple that’s been together for a long time but nothing serious. There certainly weren’t any affairs on either side if that’s what you’re getting at.’
Meadows saw Edris move away from the window, as with a nod of his head he indicated the arrival of Melanie’s daughter.
‘Can you think of anyone who would want to harm your husband? Any recent fallings out, a grudge maybe?’
Melanie was distracted by the sound of the front door opening. ‘No.’ She looked away as she answered.
Hushed voices could be heard in the hallway followed by howls of distress. Claire Whitby came charging through the door and flung herself into her mother’s arms, sobbing.
‘Family liaison officer is here,’ Edris said.
Meadows stood as the officer entered.
‘Melanie, I’m going to leave you with PC Williams. She will answer any questions you might have and keep you up to date with the investigation. We may need to come back to ask some more questions.’
Melanie nodded.
‘There will also have to be a formal identification,’ he reminded her.
‘I’ll do it.’ Claire looked up at Meadows through her tears.
‘No, love.’ Melanie looked horrified at the idea. ‘I’ll do it. When can I see him?’
‘As soon as we have heard from the hospital. PC Williams will make the arrangements.’ He nodded at the PC who stepped forward.
Meadows felt relieved to step outside. The Whitbys’ house was heavy with grief.
‘So, what do you think?’ Edris asked as they climbed in the car. ‘Do you reckon Alan was banging Jane Pritchard?’
‘I suppose it would give him a reason to go back into work for the evening. It’ll be interesting to see what Jane has to say about the phone call. Let’s get hold of the phone records first. See if she was the one to make the call. Someone lured him back.’
‘Yeah, and I can imagine Jane Pritchard shutting the lid on the freezer,’ Edris said with a grin.
Chapter Seven
I hate being on the bus. I feel sick, my tummy feels all squashy like someone is stirring it with a spoon.
‘Are you OK, Liam?’
Leah is sitting next to me. She’s looking at me now. She is smiling but she looks like she is going to be sick too.
‘I don’t feel well.’
‘It won’t be much longer.’
She puts her hand on my head. It’s cool like a flannel, it feels good. Leah always makes me feel better.
Why don’t you look out of the window? See how many red cars you can see.’ Leah smiles.
There are lots of cars going past. It’s loud, the bus is loud, and Kevin is singing. The noise scratches at my skin. A red car, that’s one. I don’t want to look for red cars. Red is angry, I hate red. I want to ask Leah about Alan. I’m glad he is frozen like ice cream. I bet he will be mad when he melts. Leah says we mustn’t talk about it but I need to let the words out. There are too many words in my head, pushing and squashing. My head will break if the words don’t come out.
‘Leah.’
She’s talking to Cillian. ‘Leah!’ I pull on her sleeve.
‘What’s the matter? Are you going to be sick?’
‘No. Is Alan going to come back?’
‘No, sweetie. Alan is never coming back.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
‘Is it my fault?’
‘No, Liam.’ Leah touches my arm. ‘You were asleep when Alan got hurt, weren’t you?’
Leah looks worried. I nod and look out of the window. I don’t remember things. Sometimes I get angry, the red comes and fills my head like fire. My head and hands hurt. I want to punch, kick, and bite to make the fire go away. Then everyone hates me, except Leah. Alan makes me angry, makes the fire come; but not anymore, he’s cold like Kevin’s snowman. I can see
pictures in my head. Hear people shouting. It makes bubbles in my stomach. Leah says I was asleep. Leah doesn’t lie.
‘You OK now, Liam?’
Leah’s voice is yellow like the sun, it makes me feel warm.
‘No, I want to go home.’
‘We’re going to the pantomime. You’ll have fun.’
I smile for Leah but I don’t want to go. Too much noise and people look funny at you. I want to go home. No, the policeman might be there. I know what they do, they will come and take me away, lock me up. I want to stay with Leah. I have to keep the words in my head. I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it.
Chapter Eight
Meadows’ stomach emitted a low growl as he entered the police station. He had skipped breakfast that morning and there hadn’t been time for lunch. Now he could feel hunger gnawing inside him.
Sergeant Folland was sat behind the reception desk talking on the phone. He acknowledged Meadows with a nod of the head as he walked by. Meadows stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to Edris who was following.
‘Do me a favour, go to the canteen and see if they can rustle up a sandwich.’
‘I thought you’d never ask.’ Edris grinned. ‘I’m bloody starving.’
‘While you’re at it see if Valentine is back and ask Folland if he can spare her for a few days. We’re going to need some extra help. Oh and can you check in with SOCO, see if they found Alan’s phone.’ He took the pile of files from Edris’ hands.
‘Anything else while I’m at it?’ Edris teased.
‘No, that will do for now.’ Meadows grinned before heading up the stairs.
The office was quiet when he walked in. The first thing he saw was DS Stefan Blackwell engrossed in a game on his computer, and he didn’t appear to have noticed Meadows.
‘Good to see you’ve got some time on your hands,’ Meadows commented.
‘Just taking a break,’ Blackwell said.
‘Make the most of it, we have a murder investigation which should keep us all busy.’
Blackwell scowled and shut down the game.
‘Briefing in half an hour,’ Meadows called to Rowena Paskin, a smartly dressed DS who was busy typing. She looked up and nodded before smoothing back her wispy brunette hair and returning her attention to the screen.
Meadows dumped the files on his desk then set up the incident board. Alan’s name was positioned in the centre, on the left-hand side he listed the residents and staff members, on the right side the relief staff.
Edris returned and handed Meadows a sandwich and mug of tea. ‘Valentine will be up shortly. She seemed really pleased to be joining us.’
‘Good, try not to distract her.’ Meadows bit into the sandwich.
‘Wouldn’t dream of it,’ Edris said, putting on a look of mock innocence. ‘I’ve got the phone from SOCO, they’ve already checked it for prints. It’s dead after being in the freezer but we might have some luck when it has dried out.’
‘Better put in a request for the phone records. It will be interesting to see if Jane Pritchard did call Alan on Monday evening, even better if we have the evidence to confront her with.’ Meadows gobbled down the rest of the sandwich and swilled it down with tea before turning back to the board.
When Valentine entered the office, Meadows called for everyone’s attention. Blackwell dragged his chair over and plonked himself down. Paskin and Valentine pulled up chairs and sat with notebooks and pens poised.
Meadows surveyed his small team before turning to the board.
‘We were called to a suspicious death in Bethesda House residential home at 8 a.m. this morning. The victim, Mr Alan Whitby, was found in a large chest freezer in the cellar. He went missing Monday night. Until we have a confirmed time of death, we will work on the premise that he died sometime on Monday evening or the early hours of Tuesday morning.’
Meadows saw Blackwell’s lips twitch. He would find it funny.
‘Bethesda is a home for adults with learning difficulties ranging from autism to schizophrenia.’
‘Are you sure it wasn’t a knife in the shower?’ Blackwell mimicked a stabbing knife as he screeched the legendary Hitchcock theme tune. ‘My money’s on the schizo.’
‘That’s Psycho, you fuckwit,’ Edris snapped. ‘Schizophrenics are not psychopaths.’
‘Like you would know, you keep your brain in your trousers,’ Blackwell growled.
‘OK, that’s enough.’ Meadows looked at Edris whose ears were glowing red. ‘We’re supposed to be a team.’
‘Yeah,’ Blackwell said, glaring at Edris. ‘You can start by showing a little bit of respect. I still outrank you even if you are the golden boy.’
Irritation crawled at Meadows’ skin but he refused to rise to Blackwell’s dig. He knew there was some good beneath Blackwell’s negative attitude but had yet to uncover it.
‘If you have a problem, Stefan, let’s hear it.’ Meadows kept his voice even. He deliberately used Blackwell’s first name to dispel the use of rank and superiority among his team.
‘No, I’m not the one with the problem, Detective Inspector.’
So he’s still pissed that I got the job and he missed out on promotion.
‘Good.’ Meadows smiled. ‘Then let’s get on, shall we?’ He turned back to the board. ‘There are six residents in Bethesda: Kevin, Liam, Edward, Steven, Vanessa and Nicole. They are all potential witnesses. However, gaining information from them will be difficult.’
‘So you’re ruling them out as suspects?’ Paskin asked.
‘I think it’s unlikely that one of them committed the crime but I think we need to keep an open mind. If one of the residents is responsible then they would have had assistance in covering it up. Alan Whitby’s car is missing and the residents don’t have the capability to dispose of a vehicle.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ Blackwell asked.
‘Fairly certain. I think it would be a good idea to learn as much as we can about the medical condition of each of the residents before we start questioning. There are files on my desk. Perhaps you would like to do the research and brief the team in the morning.’
He might learn a thing or two.
‘If you insist.’
‘Good. Now there are six full-time staff, each a support worker, the manager Jane Pritchard and Alan Whitby who was the supervisor.’ He pointed to the names listed on the right. ‘Leah Parry is Liam’s support worker. She discovered the body this morning. She was also the sleep-in on Monday night. Gemma Scott is Kevin’s support worker, and she was on duty Monday night. I have yet to meet with the other members of staff. Relief staff come in on Friday evening and work through to Monday morning.’
‘According to Alan’s wife Melanie, Alan received a phone call from Jane Pritchard at 9 p.m. on Monday asking him to go into work to deal with a problem. We interviewed Jane this morning and she told us the last time she saw and spoke to Alan was at 6 p.m. Monday evening. Either she’s lying or someone else made the call to get Alan out of the house.’
‘He was driving a silver Jaguar XF which is still missing. I’ve asked Traffic to keep an eye out for it, my guess is it’s been dumped somewhere,’ Edris said.
‘We’re waiting for the reports from SOCO but I don’t hold much hope of finding fingerprints. The cellar had been cleaned down with bleach. Until we have the post-mortem report we don’t know if he was dead or alive when he went into the freezer. I would guess Alan weighed about fourteen stone, so it’s highly unlikely that someone could have wrestled him into the freezer on their own. It’s my guess that we are looking at two people to move the body.’ Meadows looked around the group. ‘Any thoughts, questions?’
‘There was no sign of a break in,’ Valentine said. ‘The cellar was obviously a prearranged meeting place. Can we assume that it’s someone within the house as opposed to an outsider?’
‘Or it could be the wife,’ Edris offered. ‘She would know her husband’s workplace and the routines well enough. She could have foll
owed him there, saw him having it away with the manager then shoved him in the freezer.’
‘Thinking with your dick again.’ Blackwell sniggered.
‘Well, I suppose it’s not an impossibility,’ Meadows commented. ‘But she would have needed help.’
‘Maybe Jane was fed up of being the other woman and the two of them were in it together,’ Edris suggested.
‘And the motive?’
‘Maybe to split the insurance policy.’
‘It’s worth checking out Melanie’s alibi and seeing if Alan had an insurance policy. If only to satisfy Edris.’ Meadows grinned. ‘According to Melanie there were no problems in the marriage and certainly no money worries.’
‘Alan seems to have been splashing the cash recently,’ Edris said. ‘New car and caravan. A large bonus from work apparently.’
‘Drugs?’ Paskin offered. ‘Any of the residents on permanent medication? He could have been selling.’
‘Good point,’ Meadows said. ‘I’m sure any medication will be listed in the files. Can you check that out, Blackwell?’
‘Yep.’
‘Paskin, I think you should pay Melanie Whitby a visit in the morning. See if Alan has a laptop, also get any bank statements and see if you can get an alibi. Valentine, can you make a start on interviewing and checking alibis for the relief staff please.’
‘Does this mean I can ditch my uniform?’ Valentine’s eyes lit up.
‘Yes, while you’re with us,’ Meadows said. ‘Leah and Gemma were the only staff on duty Monday night. The sleep-in room is close to the cellar. I’m sure one of them or one of the residents on that floor must have heard or seen something. I have requested a constant presence at Bethesda House, and Matt Hanes is over there at the moment. Edris and I will go to the hospital tomorrow, see if there’s anything to be learned from the post-mortem. We’ll meet back here for Blackwell’s briefing after.’
Meadows moved away from the board. There was a scuffing of chairs as the team moved back to their own desks. He sat at his computer and started adding the information to the database. He looked up every now and then to see Blackwell engrossed in the files, his forehead creased with concentration. Meadows smiled.
He might develop a bit of compassion yet.
Frozen Minds: A murder mystery set deep in Wales (DI Winter Meadows Book 2) Page 4
