‘Are any competitors making enquiries?’
‘None that I know of. To be honest, I don’t get involved in the business side of things much.’ She tugged her cardigan sleeves over her wrists and shivered. ‘I think that’s why Dad is pinning his hopes on Alice. Better luck with the next generation perhaps.’
‘Any idea why Kenneth didn’t mention his relationship to Robert when he was interviewed at the weekend?’
‘I don’t know, sorry. I can only imagine that, like me, he’s so wrapped up in Alice’s kidnapping that it didn’t occur to him to mention it. He’s absolutely distraught.’
Annette’s hand shook as she pulled another cigarette from the packet and lit it.
‘All right,’ said Carys, and rose to her feet. ‘Thanks for your time, Mrs Victor. I’ll see myself out.’
Twenty-Six
After another sleepless night, Gavin yawned before rubbing his hands together and casting his gaze over the array of items spread across the table in front of him.
It had fallen to him to sort through everything that had been collected and bagged up from Robert Victor’s house, including personal items owned by his brother, Greg.
Gavin pushed aside Robert’s laptop and turned to Andy Grey, the digital forensics expert.
‘I’m not sure how much luck you’re going to have with that,’ he said. ‘We’re presuming he took his main work computer with him, and Harriet’s lot didn’t find it on the boat or in the river.’
‘Don’t worry,’ said Grey. ‘We might get lucky – he might’ve saved all his work to the cloud, or used this as a backup of some sort. I’ll be in touch as soon as I know anything.’
He pointed to the mobile phone that had been placed in a plastic evidence bag. ‘Is that the wife’s?’
‘Yes. We’ve already cloned it so we can work through the information,’ said Gavin. ‘I was going to drop it back to her this afternoon.’
‘If you run out of time or can’t get someone to go through the phone records for you, give me a call.’
‘Thanks.’
As Grey left the room, Gavin turned his attention to the myriad of paperwork he had laid out to the right of the table.
Most of the documentation had been retrieved from Robert Victor’s office and he had spent the morning organising it into different piles.
The shock of Carys’s discovery that Robert Victor had been employed by Annette’s father gave new impetus to the investigation, and Kay had ended the morning’s briefing with clear instructions that she wanted more information about their business arrangements by the end of the day.
Bank statements and details of savings accounts had been split out from utility bills and other day-to-day household items, while a third stack of paperwork held membership cards from gym or social clubs the Victors belonged to. Letters and other correspondence, both personal and related to Robert’s work, were in the final group.
Gavin scratched his earlobe, and wondered where to start.
‘Bank statements,’ said a voice behind him.
He glanced over his shoulder to see Debbie advancing towards the table.
She picked up the first pile and began sifting through its contents.
‘What makes you say that?’ said Gavin.
‘Experience,’ she said, and winked. ‘Seriously, this part will take the most time, but at least we’ll be able to see if there were any unusual transactions to or from their personal accounts.’
‘Okay, well let’s make a start, shall we?’
Gavin took half the statements from her, pulled out a seat at the end of the table and spun it around until he could put his feet up on the radiator under the window, then settled in to read.
Putting a line through items that were easy to identify – mortgage repayments, mobile phone charges, utility bills, regular supermarket visits – he gradually built up a picture of the normal day-to-day outgoings. On top of that, he added a note of the regular salary payments Robert received.
Eventually, he had put a line through most of the entries on the statements that depicted the household income and expenditure.
He checked his watch, and noticed with a shock that two hours had passed.
‘How are you getting on?’ he asked, pushing back his chair and stretching his arms above his head.
Debbie raised her head from her work, and gestured to the documents before her. ‘I’ve worked my way through all the store cards. I can’t see any problems to flag – each one is paid off in full at the beginning of the month to avoid any interest charges. I think they’ve just got these to get the discounts and rewards. What about you?’
‘I’ve just finished going through all the day-to-day stuff. There’s not much left to do.’
‘Shall we give it another hour, and then nip out to get a sandwich or something?’ said Debbie. ‘I could probably do with some fresh air by then – I’m getting cross-eyed looking at these.’
‘Sounds good.’
Gavin pulled his chair over to the table, finding a space to lay out the remaining bank statements.
‘Do we know when Alice’s birthday is?’ he said.
‘Twenty-third of June,’ said Debbie.
‘Okay, thanks – at least that explains this cluster of payments going out.’ He whistled under his breath. ‘My parents sure as hell didn’t spend this much on me when I was a kid.’
‘I get the impression from Hazel that it was her father who tended to spoil her. I think Annette said in passing that she thought Alice had too many toys, but because Robert was always away for work I suppose he felt guilty – perhaps spoiling her was his way of making up for it.’
Gavin grunted under his breath, and turned his attention back to the documentation, determined to finish the task before taking a lunch break. He much preferred to be out and about speaking with people, or following up leads. Sitting in a meeting room going through someone else’s financial background wasn’t something that made him feel as if he was contributing to locating Alice, or her father’s killer.
He picked up his pencil and began working through the remaining entries.
Turning the page, he ran his eyes over the scratched out lines and focused on finding the gaps in the information they had to hand.
He frowned as he noted a payment of four figures that had landed in the joint account earlier that year. The bank’s reference details for the transaction were in a jumbled shorthand, which made no sense to him.
Gavin reached out for the preceding month’s statement, but found no corresponding transaction. Frustrated, he tried the following month – and found an identical amount that had arrived midway through April.
Each month after that, a similar amount had been paid into the Victors’ joint account.
‘Debbie? What do you make of this?’ Gavin held out three of the statements, and pointed to the transactions. ‘Any idea what those reference numbers mean?’
The police constable’s brow furrowed as she ran her gaze over the statements.
‘I’m not sure. It’s obviously an electronic payment made into the account, but each of the references are different. It could be a payment made from overseas perhaps?’
‘What if––’ Gavin broke off as his phone began to ring. ‘Hello? DC Piper.’
‘Detective, it’s Alan Evershall.’
Gavin frowned as he tried to place the name, before the caller spoke again.
‘We met on Sunday morning at Allington – I own the Daisy Lee.’
‘Ah – Mr Evershall. Yes, I remember. What can I do for you?’
‘Actually, I might have something for you.’
Gavin leaned forward and shoved the bank statements out of the way, pulling his notebook closer. ‘Oh? What’s happened?’
‘I’m not sure if it’s anything of importance, but I thought I should tell you.’
‘Go on.’
‘Well, I was cycling back along the towpath from Allington this morning – I tend to do my shopping at a little sup
ermarket on the A20 and cut back home via the castle to vary the route. Keeps me healthy, see?’
‘Yes.’ Gavin bit back a sigh, and willed Evershall to continue rather than give him a blow-by-blow account of his shopping expedition. ‘Did you see something?’
‘I think so. I got back to the towpath just past the castle grounds – there aren’t many boats moored there at the moment – I think there’s a film crew there this week and the owners have to keep the private moorings clear. I heard someone here at the yard mention it last week because all the boat owners have had to moor up this way for a bit. Wouldn’t do to clutter up the scenery, would it?’
Gavin chuckled, and rolled his eyes at Debbie. ‘Not at all, Mr Evershall.’
‘Right, right. So about two hundred yards down the towpath, going towards the lock, there’s an abandoned Canadian-style canoe.’
‘A canoe?’
‘Yes. You see a few of them around the place – they’re really cheap to hire and a lot of the kids around here use them over the summer.’
‘What made you think this one was suspicious?’
‘It had been scuttled and pushed into the reeds. They get quite tall this time of year until the council comes along and tidies up the towpath. The thing is, there was a soft toy floating in the water inside it, stuck under the thwart – you know, the beam that goes across the middle of the canoe to strengthen the sides.’ Evershall paused, as if collecting his thoughts. ‘Of course, it might be nothing, but––’
Gavin began to pace the carpet. ‘Where are you at the moment?’
‘Back at the Daisy Lee.’
‘And is the canoe still in the water near the castle?’
‘Well, yes, I suppose so. I’ve only been back twenty minutes. I would’ve called you sooner, but I had to get the chicken livers in the refrigerator otherwise they’d go off in this heat. I––’
‘Did you touch anything in the canoe, or did you remove the soft toy?’
‘No, don’t worry – I’ve seen enough of those crime shows on the television.’
‘All right, brilliant. Mr Evershall, would you mind heading back to where you saw the canoe and make sure no-one else goes near it? We’ll meet you there as soon as possible.’
‘Of course, no problem at all.’
‘Thank you.’ He ended the call and turned to Debbie. ‘Have you come across any foreign investments amongst this paperwork?’
‘Not yet. I’ll keep an eye out.’
‘What about building societies? Did Robert have any other accounts – ones that aren’t in joint names, I mean? Somewhere that money could’ve come from?’
‘They didn’t find any in his office, but you know as well as I do that doesn’t mean he didn’t have one somewhere.’
‘That’s what I’m thinking. Tell you what. Can you keep going with this, and I’ll catch up with you later? I need to tell Kay and Barnes about this lead,’ said Gavin, and hurried from the room.
Twenty-Seven
Barnes squinted against the afternoon sun and glared at the row of catering company vehicles, large articulated trucks, and assorted cars that lined the narrow road that led past the castle.
He shook his head. ‘No wonder they’re always going on about how much films cost to make these days,’ he said. ‘Look at this lot.’
Gavin grinned. ‘This is only for a TV commercial.’
‘Is it? Bloody hell.’
The younger detective constable’s mobile emitted a blast of music, and Barnes waited while he took the call.
To his right, a pair of actors posed beside a new sports car, its bodywork waxed and gleaming under the stage lights that surrounded it.
‘Thanks, Hazel.’ Gavin wandered over to where he stood, pocketing his phone. ‘Harriet’s team found a toy rabbit trapped in the hull of the canoe while we were on our way over here, and took a photograph. Annette Victor has confirmed it’s similar to one Alice took with her the morning of the boat trip. Apparently, they’d spent the night at Kenneth’s house for dinner and had breakfast there on Friday before Greg collected Alice to take her to Tonbridge. Annette said Alice fell in love with the rabbit as soon as she saw it that morning and insisted Greg pack it in her bag to take with them.’
‘Shit.’
‘Detectives?’
Barnes looked across a wide expanse of lush grass to where a uniformed constable beckoned to him from the taped-off towpath, and elbowed Gavin.
‘Come on. Looks like Harriet’s happy for us to take a look now. Where’s this Evershall bloke who phoned you, anyway? I thought you told him to meet us down here?’
‘Uniform cordoned off the path at the other end, past the canoe, so he’s waiting for us there. I figured we could take a look at the canoe first and then speak to him once we’ve got our bearings.’
Barnes took the clipboard the PC held out to him, signed his name as a record of accessing the potential crime scene, and then ducked under the tape.
Despite several members of the public using the towpath over the weekend, it was imperative the team secured any evidence that might remain until it could be salvaged and recorded.
His shoes kicked up dust and loose stones as he and Gavin hurried along the path towards a group of forensic specialists clad in white suits.
‘When I called Harriet on our way here, she said they’d done an initial check on this stretch of the path, but didn’t find anything else,’ said Gavin.
Barnes swore under his breath as he almost rolled his ankle on the uneven ground. ‘I don’t remember any reports coming in about a stolen canoe, do you? I thought anything like that was supposed to be flagged to the task force.’
‘No. Maybe the owner is away at the moment.’
‘Make a note to have someone go through the statements uniform took from the property owners between East Farleigh and Tovil, just in case.’
‘Will do.’
Barnes paused a few metres away from where Harriet and her team had congregated, then pivoted and looked back towards the castle, his thoughts tumbling over each other.
‘What’s up?’ said Gavin.
‘I was wondering – perhaps Greg didn’t steal the canoe. Maybe it was his plan all along to use it.’
‘That would make sense. After all, the second boat was hired in Robert’s name.’ Gavin began walking again. ‘So, we’d have to find out where he’d hidden it, or who he arranged to borrow it from.’
‘Ian, Gavin.’
Harriet Baker turned away from her colleague as they drew near, then beckoned them over. ‘We’ve processed the riverbank here, so you can take a closer look.’
‘Thanks,’ said Barnes.
‘I’ve left the canoe and everything in situ while we were waiting for you. I figured you’d want to see the scene as Mr Evershall found it.’
‘Brilliant,’ said Gavin. ‘Have you met him?’
‘Briefly – he’s over there by the other cordon.’
‘All right, we’ll get our bearings here and then speak to him.’
Barnes followed Harriet to the water’s edge where two CSIs were starting to pack away their cases of equipment.
Patrick, the photographer, stepped aside to let him pass.
‘I’ll upload some of these images as soon as I get back to the lab so you’ve got something to show the rest of your team,’ he said. ‘Probably easier than you trying to take photos and dropping your phone in the river.’
‘Appreciated, thanks.’ Barnes looked across to the opposite bank. Half a dozen uniformed officers milled about the towpath, keeping onlookers at bay. ‘Have the media caught wind of this yet?’
‘No – we’ve been lucky,’ said Harriet. ‘We plan to move the canoe once you’ve taken a look and we’ll cover it with plastic sheeting before we carry it along to the trailer we’ve got on standby.’
‘Let’s have a look, then.’
Harriet gestured to the reeds at the water’s edge. ‘You’ll need to be careful – the bank is quite slippery in plac
es.’
Barnes heeded her warning. He didn’t fancy returning to the incident room in a wet suit.
He’d never hear the end of it from Gavin, for a start.
He reached out and held back a clump of reeds, and spotted the sunken canoe close to where he stood.
The bright-red hull poked out of the shallow water by a few centimetres, and it seemed any attempts to scuttle it hadn’t taken into the account the slope of the river bed.
He leaned out further as the water in the canoe eddied, and a light-blue toy rabbit spun in the gentle movement.
Barnes swallowed, stepped back and jerked his thumb over his shoulder.
‘Do you want to take a look before they move it, Piper?’
‘Sure.’
Barnes waited on the towpath and glared at the outline of the canoe.
At this angle, he could see how it had caught Evershall’s attention.
‘He did that in a hurry, didn’t he?’ said Gavin. ‘You’d have thought he’d have pushed it out into deeper water.’
‘Probably didn’t think he had time,’ said Barnes. ‘Thanks, Harriet – we’ll go and speak with Evershall and come back here when we’re done, but I think you’re okay to start moving this out of the water. Our luck with the media isn’t going to last for much longer.’
He pointed at two cyclists standing on the opposite towpath a few metres away from the second cordon who both held mobile phones aloft.
‘Dammit,’ said Harriet.
Barnes gestured to Gavin to follow him as the CSI lead began to call out instructions to her team, and set off towards Alan Evershall.
‘I’ll let you lead this one,’ he said as they drew closer, and pulled out his notebook.
‘Mr Evershall, thanks for waiting,’ said Gavin. ‘Do you want to sign in so we can talk over here?’
He glared at a group of onlookers who hovered at the cordon, their eager expressions turning to disappointment as he and Barnes led Evershall away to a spot a few metres along the towpath.
‘Was I right?’ said Evershall. ‘Is it to do with the missing girl?’
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