‘What was she like?’
‘I don’t know. Where’s my money?’
‘Was she young or old?’
‘I don’t know. I didn’t ask her age.’
‘Was she tall or short?’
He shook his head. ‘She might have been taller than me, she might not. I’m not sure.’
‘You must recall something about her,’ Geraldine urged him. ‘What about her hair? What colour was it?’
‘She was wearing a scarf wrapped round her head. I couldn’t see her hair.’
It was not clear whether the old man could not remember anything about the woman who had given him his new coat, or whether he simply did not want to tell Geraldine what he knew. However much she tried to persuade him, he remained adamant that he could remember nothing else. When she wanted to take the coat from him, he refused to give it up. Threats made no impression on him. In the end she had to offer him a new coat, and a further cash inducement, before he agreed to give her the coat which was sent straight off for forensic examination. With any luck, some helpful DNA evidence would be recovered from it. They might at least be able to trace whoever else had worn the coat recently.
‘I read your account of the coat,’ Eileen said to Geraldine at the next briefing.
‘And the old rough sleeper was sure it was a woman who gave it to him?’ Ian asked.
Geraldine shrugged. ‘That’s what he said.’
‘Did you believe him?’
‘I don’t know why he would have lied about it, but who knows? He seemed more than a bit addled, although he was sufficiently on the ball to wheedle a new coat out of our chat, as well as a hefty tip for his information.’
‘Well, man or woman, we could be dealing with a completely new killer,’ Eileen said. ‘The victim was strangled but not with the same noose, and so far there’s no evidence of the DNA that was found on any of the other bodies. But equally it’s possible David was acting as a one-man vigilante trying to find the killer. He tried to disguise himself as a tramp and was, ironically, caught by the killer and became his next victim.’ She turned to Ian. ‘What’s your feeling about it all?’
‘Given the absence of any matching evidence, this could be a different killer jumping on the bandwagon,’ he suggested.
‘Meaning we could have a copycat killer out there looking for rough sleepers?’
Geraldine nodded in agreement. ‘For a psychopath wanting to kill, they might be an easy target.’
‘But it’s also possible this murder had nothing to do with rough sleepers and the earlier deaths at all,’ Eileen said, ‘except by association. Isn’t this more or less the same as happened with Mark, who appeared to be homeless but wasn’t?’
‘But think about it,’ Geraldine replied. ‘If you wanted someone dead, and there were a number of murders in the local area, all targeting tramps, you might dress your intended victim in an old coat, strangle him, and hope everyone would think it was just one more rough sleeper being killed, or at least that the victim had been mistaken for a tramp. That way, the killer would escape suspicion.’ She paused.
Eileen nodded. ‘Yes, you’re right. So are you suggesting we need to treat the murders of Mark and David as if they were completely new cases?’ She frowned. ‘And both their killers had the same idea about disguising their victims by dressing them as tramps?’
‘If so, Mark’s killer did a more thorough job of it,’ Ian said.
‘It seems unlikely,’ Eileen said.
‘But possible,’ Geraldine replied.
‘How do we explain the fact that three of them were killed with the same red fabric?’ Eileen asked.
‘We can’t, not yet,’ Geraldine admitted. ‘But I think we should consider the possibility that there’s another killer involved, perhaps an accomplice.’
‘So what do you suggest we do now?’ Eileen asked.
Hiding her gratification that the detective chief inspector was soliciting her opinion, Geraldine replied, ‘We just have to do what we always do in a murder investigation.’
Eileen frowned. ‘Very well, the first question to ask is: who benefits from David’s death?’
‘I’m guessing his wife? And Malcolm said a woman gave him his new coat,’ Geraldine said. ‘Shall I go and speak to Ann Rawson again?’
‘That might be a good idea,’ Eileen replied.
She gave Geraldine a taut smile. But it was a smile. Geraldine left Eileen’s office feeling as though a dark cloud above her had finally drifted away.
49
Returning to David’s house, Geraldine tried not to be influenced by the wary expression on his widow’s face. Once she was convinced that someone was guilty, it was difficult to remain completely impartial and continue to see only the facts. There was really nothing to implicate Ann in her husband’s murder, other than the fact that she stood to inherit the house and a small pension. Those might conceivably provide a motive for murder, but she was only in the position in which many women might find themselves if their husbands predeceased them. With a twenty-year age gap between Ann and David that was quite likely to have happened at some point, even if he had died of old age. She was unlikely to have killed him in order to possess their house in her own right.
‘Have you found out who did it?’ Ann asked, without inviting Geraldine in.
‘Not yet, but we’re following several leads. How’s your daughter?’
Ann flinched and her voice hardened. ‘What do you expect? She’s fifteen and her father was murdered. She’s upstairs and I’d rather you didn’t bother her. She had a bad night and she’s asleep now. The other policewoman has gone for now, thank goodness, and we really don’t want to be disturbed any more than is strictly necessary. We just want to be left alone. So when are you going to end your investigation and let us arrange a funeral? This waiting is unbearable. My daughter needs to say goodbye.’
‘Like I said, we’re following several leads,’ Geraldine repeated phlegmatically. ‘We’ve discovered where the coat your husband was wearing came from.’
For a second, Ann stood perfectly still. ‘That’s good, isn’t it?’ she asked, in a brittle voice. ‘That must mean you know who killed him.’ She hesitated, then frowned in disbelief. ‘Are you telling me he was murdered for his coat? That’s terrible!’
‘That’s a possibility,’ Geraldine conceded. ‘Nothing has yet been proved.’
‘But you do have the person who stole David’s coat in custody?’
There was an undeniable note of triumph in Ann’s voice as she said that but it meant nothing. If she was innocent, she might be justifiably thrilled to know that her husband’s killer had been apprehended. Geraldine left without mentioning that Malcolm was still at liberty, or that he had told the police a woman had given him David’s coat. Her next visit was to David’s work place, in a small office block on the outskirts of the city. It looked dingy from the outside but the interior of the building appeared to have been recently painted, and the furniture was smart and modern. A young receptionist looked up from her screen as Geraldine entered.
‘Do you have an appointment?’
Geraldine held up her identity card and explained she was there to speak to David’s partner.
‘Oh yes, of course, we’re expecting you,’ the girl replied, with a hesitant smile, as though she wasn’t sure whether her usual professional welcome was appropriate in these circumstances. ‘We were all devastated by the news,’ she added. ‘Please, take a seat and I’ll see if Geoffrey is free now.’
A moment later she returned and led Geraldine into an office. David’s partner looked quite young. He had ginger hair and his face was covered in faint freckles.
‘This is terrible,’ he greeted her, rising to his feet behind his desk, ‘just terrible. If there’s anything I can do to assist your investigation, you will get on to me right away, won’t you? I�
�ve spoken to Ann, his widow, and offered to do whatever I can to make sure she’s all right. Do you have any idea who did it?’
‘This is slightly delicate,’ Geraldine said, as she sat down, ‘and I need to know I can speak to you in complete confidence.’
The young man nodded solemnly as he sat down again. ‘Of course.’
‘Were you close to David?’
‘We worked together.’
‘I mean, in a personal sense.’
The lawyer frowned. ‘We’re – we were – we were both married –’
‘I didn’t mean anything personal in that sense,’ Geraldine interrupted, ‘I meant, were you friends?’
‘Not exactly. David was a lot older than me, and I’ve got a young family, so I don’t really have much spare time. We didn’t socialise, but we got on well as partners, speaking professionally.’
‘Did he ever confide in you about any problems he might have been having?’
‘What kind of problems?’
‘I don’t know. Anything really.’
‘No, I can’t say that he did.’
‘Do you think he had any enemies?’
‘Oh, I see what you mean.’ He shook his head. ‘If he did, I didn’t know about them. David was a quiet sort of bloke. We didn’t talk much about anything really, apart from the practice. It’s not as if he specialised in criminal law, where he might conceivably have upset a violent client. No one he worked with was likely to want him dead. He dealt with conveyancing. So unless someone had a grudge against him because they weren’t able to buy a house, I can’t see how this could have anything to do with his work. ’
‘Did you ever talk about anything outside of his work?’
‘We talked mostly about work but we sometimes talked about politics – David was worried about what’s happening in the world, well, aren’t we all? And he talked about his garden, but we didn’t talk about personal matters, and we didn’t really talk much at all.’
‘Was he unhappy about anything, do you think?’
‘Not that I was aware of.’
‘What about at home?’
‘You mean his daughter?’
‘What about his daughter?’
‘Well, she’s a teenager, you know. He used to worry about her, but that’s par for the course, really, isn’t it?’ He gave a short laugh. ‘Our oldest is seven, and David used to tell me I had it all to look forward to!’
‘Did he ever mention his wife?’
‘Ann? No, not as such. She used to get stressed about Aimee as well, but well, that’s teenagers for you, isn’t it? I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. And it’s not going to be easy for Ann now, is it? Poor Aimee. She’s only fifteen. That’s a hard age to be, and more so now she’s lost her father. Seriously, if there’s anything at all I can do to help, you must let me know.’
Geraldine tried to probe gently, but she had to conclude that if David had been experiencing any problems with his wife, his business partner knew nothing about them. She questioned the receptionist briefly but she hardly knew David and had only met Ann once. Clearly David had not confided in either of them.
Her next visit was to David’s GP who was also not aware of any problems, marital or otherwise. An enquiry into David’s financial affairs was similarly unhelpful. His whole life appeared to have been generally steady and uninteresting. There was no obvious reason why anyone might have wanted to kill him and disguise the murder as part of a campaign against the homeless. Back at the police station any suspicions of Ann were quashed by the discovery that David had no life insurance policy and his wife was actually worse off now than she had been while he had been alive and earning. If she was responsible for his death, she had not killed him for his money. Geraldine was relieved she had not told anyone else she had been convinced Ann was guilty of murdering her husband.
50
The sergeant allocated to work with Ann and her daughter came to the police station to report back. Ostensibly visiting the bereaved family to offer them support, her job was also to get to know them and gain an impression of how they really felt about David’s sudden death. Linda Bennett was a plump woman in her early forties, and very experienced. Her wavy blond hair was obviously dyed and probably permed, framing a smiling face with round cheeks. Looking more like a nursery school teacher than a police officer, she was ideally suited to her role as a family liaison officer.
‘The young girl is understandably all over the place,’ she said.
‘What about the widow?’ Geraldine asked and stopped abruptly, afraid she had spoken out of turn.
‘Ann’s worried about her daughter,’ Linda replied, not at all put out at being interrupted and slightly misunderstanding Geraldine’s question. ‘She’s doing everything she can to calm the girl down, but it’s not easy. Aimee’s clearly volatile, even for a teenager, and according to her school she’s been slightly wild recently.’
‘Wild in what way?’ Eileen asked.
‘Oh, nothing untoward, and certainly nothing that suggests any particular disharmony at home. She’s fallen in with a crowd of kids who are experimenting with alcohol and other substances. Nothing too hard core, just cannabis from what I can gather, but they are only fifteen and sixteen so the school’s getting involved and the parents are concerned. And from the way she conducts herself, I’m pretty sure Aimee’s experimenting with boys as well.’ She shrugged. ‘She’s only fifteen, but she’s physically very mature and could easily pass for eighteen or more. It’s a confusing rebellious age to lose a parent like that. There is something else we need to follow up,’ she added. ‘According to Aimee, her father played squash every Tuesday evening, although she told me she didn’t know who her father played with.’
This revelation was greeted with a suppressed buzz of excitement. According to Ann, both she and David spent every evening together.
‘And that’s not all,’ Linda went on. ‘Aimee told me both her parents went out on Tuesdays, but not together.’
Eileen nodded. ‘How many squash courts are there in York?’
‘I’m on it,’ Geraldine replied.
Remembering her gut feeling about Ann, she was keen to investigate anything that might point to a schism within the family, however small, one chink in the wall that could bring the whole edifice tumbling down. But all she said was that she would follow up Aimee’s statement, and try to track down anyone David might have spent time with.
‘Presumably he’s not been playing for a while, or Ann would have known about it,’ Ariadne said.
Geraldine nodded. ‘Let’s just find out about these squash games before we dismiss what Aimee said,’ she replied. ‘Or before we start to draw conclusions,’ she added under her breath.
‘What’s that?’ Ariadne asked.
‘Nothing. Just thinking aloud.’
The third sports club that Geraldine contacted confirmed David was a member who played a regular weekly squash game. She drove straight there to find out more.
‘And you’re sure he played here regularly?’ she asked the manager. She was irritated that she had been kept waiting for half an hour by the manager who was in his early twenties, and cocky.
‘Sure, I’ve got the attendance record right here,’ he replied, nodding casually at his screen. ‘I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, as long as it doesn’t break any confidentiality.’
‘Can you let me have a printout of that?’
‘No, I’m not prepared to share our records. You have heard of GDPR?’
‘I don’t think you understand,’ Geraldine replied. ‘I need a printout of all your records, showing dates and times of attendance, so we can see who was here at the same time as David Rawson.’
‘No, I’m sorry, that won’t be possible. It’s against our rules.’
‘I’m not interested in your rules,’ Geraldine replied. ‘N
ow please let me have the records I’m asking for.’
‘I’ve already told you I can’t allow –’
Finally Geraldine lost her patience. ‘If you’re not willing to hand over the information we need, then the police will contact your head office to advise them that your club is closed with immediate effect, while we take charge of your records.’ She pulled out her phone. ‘A team of uniformed officers will be here in a few minutes to evacuate the club.’
The manager gaped. ‘You can’t expect us to close. The weekend’s our busiest –’
‘We not only have the power to take any steps necessary when investigating a serious crime, but I must warn you that you’re about to be charged, personally, with obstructing the police in the course of a murder enquiry, a charge that carries a custodial sentence. This is wasting police time as well as yours.’
Keeping her own expression impassive, it gave Geraldine some satisfaction to see the self-important young club manager’s eyes widen in alarm.
‘OK, OK,’ he babbled, ‘wait, wait here, wait here, just let me call head office and then tell me what to do. I don’t want to obstruct you. I was just trying to protect our customers’ privacy.’ He grabbed his phone and began talking very fast. ‘No, no, she’s here, she’s here right now, and she’s threatening to shut us down if I don’t co-operate. Yes, yes, of course this is genuine.’
With the manager’s help, Geraldine established that David had been visiting the sports club every Tuesday for at least the past three years. Having obtained the contact details for his sports partner, she left. David’s squash partner was a man called Norman Gregory, who worked in the same building as him, only for a different company on a different floor. Geraldine went straight back there and found Norman at his desk. The encounter was brief but interesting. Norman confirmed that he had played squash with David every Tuesday. He even checked his diary to confirm that. He also confirmed that David’s wife had never accompanied him to the squash club. His assurances failed to explain why Ann had lied about being at home with her husband every evening when she must have known perfectly well that he had been out on Tuesday evenings for at least a few hours each week. It seemed that Geraldine had been right to mistrust Ann. They now needed to find out what she had been up to while her husband had been on the squash court.
Deathly Affair Page 22
