Dead to Me

by Pamela Murray

  Burton stood with arms folded, deep in thought. ‘It’s a shame that the pathologist couldn’t pinpoint the exact time of death, because looking at that footage I would have put my money on her having been poisoned just prior to her getting in the cab.’

  ‘Which brings us back to the other three women as being our suspects,’ Fielding reiterated. ‘Louise Simmons did tell us that the psychology behind murders comes down to the basic reasons of revenge, money, and sex. A financial reason has already been hinted at with the death of Harry York, with him being on the board of governors at Thornton School.’

  ‘But forensic accounting discounted that one,’ Summers spoke up.

  ‘Yes, they did,’ she agreed, ‘so, perhaps not money then, although we can’t discount it entirely.’

  ‘How do the women know one another again?’ Burton asked, arms still folded.

  ‘Lifelong friends. They grew up together,’ Fielding replied. ‘Went to the same school, then off to different universities before meeting up again afterwards.’

  ‘Mmm.’ He had unfolded one of his arms and began tapping his index finger on his lips. Fielding recognised the action; it was one of his many subconscious ones when he was deep in thought. As she and the team watched, the tapping slowed down then came to a stop.

  ‘Maybe,’ he said, perhaps more to himself than to them, ‘just maybe.’

  There was a prolonged pause, with everyone hanging on to what might come next.

  ‘Maria was the only married one of the group wasn’t she, having only been wed last year?’

  ‘That’s correct. What are you thinking?’

  ‘I’m thinking jealousy. One of the others was jealous of her perhaps?’

  ‘Because she married first you mean? Surely it can’t be as simple as that?’

  ‘You said yourself that revenge, money and sex are all reasons why someone would murder.’

  ‘I know I did,’ Fielding admitted, ‘but that would make it a little too obvious, wouldn’t it?’

  ‘I don’t know, maybe it is as simple as that,’ Preston remarked. As she shared her life with a psychologist, she had a fair understanding of the subject. Her partner had often thrown things by her when trying to get to grips with the human mind, and valued her take on things as a police officer. ‘Should we get them in and interview them again?’

  Fielding looked up at Burton and said, ‘Yes, I think we should. Get them all in at the same time but interview them individually.’

  He nodded his head in agreement, but said nothing. It was Sally’s case after all.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  The plan was to invite them in, five minutes apart, then have them all sit and wait in reception until called through. That way, Fielding, along with Burton, could watch them on the main area’s CCTV from another room in order to get their reactions on seeing them all there at once. It was a technique they’d used before, and, as before, they hoped that it may cause a different sort of response from one of them.

  Then, ten minutes before the first woman was due to arrive, Fielding had an unexpected call from the CSI team.

  ‘Detective Fielding?’ Fielding recognised the young woman’s voice as that of Holly’s, from the forensic unit.

  ‘Hello Holly. What can I do for you?’

  The woman was thrilled that Fielding had remembered her name. ‘I thought that I’d better let you know. We were going over the evidence again from Valerie Wilton’s crime scene, and it seems that we have found a hair near to the front door which doesn’t belong to the victim.’

  ‘A hair? That’s excellent news. When will you be able to test it for DNA?’

  ‘Well, actually, that’s why I’m calling. We are testing it now and hope to know more about it soon, hopefully within the next hour or so.’

  Fielding couldn’t believe their luck.

  ‘Thank you, Holly, I really appreciate you calling.’

  ‘Not a problem. I’ll be back in touch as soon as we have something.’

  ‘That sounded positive,’ Burton said when she’d finished the call. ‘Did I hear you right, a hair’s been found somewhere?’

  ‘Yes, that’s right. CSI found a hair at Valerie Wilton’s crime scene and it’s being tested right now.’

  ‘Great news,’ he began, but then noticed on the monitor that Selena Douglas had just arrived at the main enquiry desk. ‘Ah, here we go, the first one’s coming in now.’

  As they recalled, Selena came across as a bit of a peacemaker, a pacifier who tried to keep order and calm between the friends. After approaching the desk and signing in she was asked to take one of the visitors’ seats.

  ‘It’s good that we can hear so clearly,’ Fielding remarked.

  ‘We’ve got Peter Westerby to thank for that,’ Burton said to her. ‘He’s managed to give the feedback a bit of “oomph”, as he put it. It’s not normally like this.’

  ‘Thank goodness for Peter Westerby then!’

  After about five minutes of looking at her phone, Selena turned it off and placed it in her handbag. It was at that point that she looked up and noticed Barbara, who must have just appeared on the scene and was standing at the desk. She too, it seemed, had not initially seen her friend as she came in. Fielding could appreciate that. She’d often walk past someone she knew and, because she hadn’t expected to see them there, had completely blanked them. In fact, she was infamous for it.

  ‘Oh!’ Selena said out loud, which made Barbara turn around.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ they said almost in unison.

  ‘Well, it appears that none of them informed the other that they’d be coming in today,’ Burton said, as he continued to watch the screen.

  ‘I was asked to come in,’ Barbara said to her friend.

  ‘Me too,’ came the reply.

  As they sat down together and began chatting, they speculated why they’d both been called in. Surely there was nothing more they could tell the detectives, as Maria had seemed fine to them right up to the time she got into the cab. Granted she’d had an argument with her best friend, but that was because Caroline had played a stupid trick on her. But then Caroline had always been a bit like that, always wanting to steal the limelight.

  As if on cue when she was being talked about, Caroline Watkins walked in through the door. She stopped in her tracks and lifted up her sunglasses.

  ‘What’s happening?’ she asked, looking from one to the other before dropping the sunglasses into her bag.

  ‘We were asked to come along,’ Selena replied.

  ‘But at different times,’ Barbara added, already having had the discussion with Selena.

  They may ask us all in and interview us together like before,’ Selena offered, but Caroline shook her head.

  ‘I’m not convinced,’ she said, ‘especially if they’ve asked us to come here at different times.’

  ‘So, what’s your take on it?’ Barbara asked, ‘I mean, from a legal point of view.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Do you think they suspect us of having done something?’

  Burton and Fielding’s ears pricked up.

  ‘Well, we haven’t done anything wrong, have we?’ Caroline retorted angrily, nostrils flaring to match her mood.

  ‘Then why contact us at all?’

  ‘Because our friend died. You know, our lifelong friend Maria!’ Selena’s voice raised more than Burton or Fielding had heard her do so before. Maybe this was the time to get them into an interview room before they became even more aggravated by one another.

  ‘Okay, I think we should step in,’ Burton said, rising from his seat. ‘I fear if we leave them any longer they’ll be done for disturbing the peace.’

  ‘Did you notice, though?’ Fielding asked as they were leaving the room. ‘Caroline didn’t tell them that we’d called her in about that fancy dress outfit.’

  ‘That’s right. I wonder why she didn’t mention it?’
/>   CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  ‘Jack, can you join us on this one please?’ Burton asked his colleague. He thought it would be good to give the acting detective sergeant the experience of interviewing on his own. If Summers took Selena, and Fielding took Barbara, then he’d tackle the seemingly self-inflated solicitor himself. He never flinched from a challenge, and she appeared to be one by all accounts.

  Jack Summers was thrilled to be given the opportunity.

  As the three detectives descended the stairs, the women looked up. Caroline’s stone-cold face gave nothing away, but the other two looked a bit worried.

  ‘Ladies,’ Burton acknowledged, as he approached the desk and asked if interview rooms one to three were available. It was all for show, of course, as he could have just gone there without involving the desk sergeant.

  Fielding watched their expressions. Barbara and Selena exchanged glances and appeared to be concerned that they would be interviewed separately. Caroline, again, sat expressionless. Fielding could imagine the woman in court, posing a formidable figure as she defended or prosecuted, depending upon her role. She would not like to be a witness being cross-examined by this one, that was for sure.

  Burton turned to face them again. ‘Right then, let’s get this started,’ he said. ‘DS Summers, could you take Ms Douglas in please. Ms McKay, would you go with DI Fielding. And if you could come with me Ms Watkins.’ He intentionally made it sound very formal. He and the team had prepared set questions for them, and he looked forward to hearing their individual responses away from one another.

  With Burton leading the way, they all headed to the interview rooms. As he went into room number one, Fielding and Barbara McKay went into room two, with Summers and his charge going into the third one.

  Burton was the first to start.

  ‘So, Ms Watkins, could you please go over the events of the evening when Maria Turnbull was killed?’ He used the word ‘killed’ deliberately and waited for a reaction.

  ‘But I’ve already told you what happened that night.’ It was said in a manner devoid of any emotion, which seemed to compound what they’d already suspected about her personality: cold and calculating.

  ‘If you could just humour me and go through it once again please.’ Burton wasn’t going to let her off that easily.

  Caroline Watkins sighed deeply before answering.

  ‘Like I said before . . .’

  Did Burton detect an eye-roll?

  ‘. . . I arranged the evening without saying where we were going as I thought it would be different enough for everyone to enjoy. Something unlike what we’ve done before; a few laughs, a bit of fun. How wrong I was about that!’ she exclaimed.

  ‘It has sunk in that your friend died, hasn’t it?’

  Caroline looked at him strangely. ‘Of course it has. What on earth do you mean by that?’

  ‘It’s just that you seem to be, well, a bit cold about it, that’s all.’

  ‘A bit cold!’ she repeated. ‘I’ve lost my best friend. How dare you!’

  ‘Well, your other two friends seem to be quite cut up about it, but you, you’re very different.’

  ‘Detective Burton, I based my career on keeping a cool, calm exterior. If I was to get hysterical every time I set foot in a courtroom then I wouldn’t be much good to either my company or my client, would I?’

  ‘But this isn’t about you, or about your work; this is about a woman, your friend, who died on a night out that you arranged.’

  ‘So, are you accusing me of having something to do with that?’ she asked indignantly.

  ‘Did you?’

  ‘No, of course not!’ she spat.

  Burton made a mental note not to go up against solicitors. Guilty or innocent, this one had a ready answer for everything which, when he thought about it, was to be expected from someone of her profession.

  It was then that it dawned on Caroline. ‘Look, I don’t like what you’re getting at. Do you honestly think that one of us would murder our own friend?’

  ‘I really don’t know, which is why I’m asking the questions to try and find out.’

  ‘Well let me tell you for certain. I did not murder my friend! Now, if you wish to ask me any more questions then I must insist on speaking to a solicitor from my own firm.’

  And with that she sat back and folded her arms. Burton had been challenged, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

  ‘That won’t be necessary,’ he said, and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms as well.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Leaving all three suspects alone in their respective interview rooms, Burton, Fielding and Summers met up in the corridor to discuss their outcomes.

  ‘Caroline Watkins has cried wolf and asked for a solicitor,’ Burton said.

  ‘Barbara has been co-operative and helpful throughout the interview. She confirmed that they went to a bar called The Anthologist and they shared a couple of bottles of sparkling wine before going to Madame Ortiz’s.’

  ‘Same here,’ Summers said.

  ‘I also asked Barbara about her knowledge of digitalis, as she’d told us earlier that she once worked as a secretary at a GP practice.’

  ‘Go on,’ Burton urged.

  ‘Well, she knew of it, with it being in one of Maria’s heart medications, but only in the pharmaceutical context.’

  ‘Okay, I see,’ Burton then had another thought regarding the drinks. ‘Did either of you ask if they had anything to drink at the fortune teller’s place? I know I didn’t.’

  When the other two shook their heads Burton added, ‘Maybe we should.’

  Back in the room with Caroline Watkins, Burton was met with the same stone-faced expression.

  ‘Not again!’ She let out an exasperated sigh.

  ‘Just one last question. When you were in Madame Ortiz’s place did you have anything to drink?’

  ‘There was a carafe of water on the table,’ she said after a few moments of keeping him waiting for an answer.

  ‘Did Maria take a drink from it?’

  ‘No, she didn’t. None of us did.’

  ‘Are you certain?’

  ‘Yes, I’m certain,’ she replied coldly.

  ‘And what about when you were in with Ortiz, was there any water in there?’

  Burton could see her thinking back to the evening and trying to recall.

  ‘I believe that there was. Yes, definitely, there was another carafe like the one in the waiting area.’

  ‘So, it’s possible that Maria might have taken a drink from that without you or any of your friends knowing?’

  ‘It’s possible, I suppose, but you’ll have to ask Madame Ortiz as I didn’t go in with Maria.’

  Burton had every intention of doing so. Not wishing to incur either her deathly stare or the threat of bringing in a solicitor, he felt that they had no option but to let her and her friends go. After he left the interview room, he texted both Fielding and Summers telling them that they could do the same.

  After all the suspects had left, the three discussed their respective interviews.

  ‘Selena was quite distressed by the whole thing; says she is trying to come to terms with her friend’s death and finds that she cannot until the whole matter is over with and her killer has been found,’ Summers said.

  ‘That doesn’t sound like a guilty person to me. But then, it could easily be an act on her part.’ Fielding looked at Burton, who nodded in agreement.

  ‘I didn’t get the impression that she was putting on an act but, like you say, it’s a possibility,’ Summers continued.

  ‘And I felt the same about Barbara,’ Fielding said. ‘Like Selena, she was really upset by it all, and it came across as genuine. So, if she and Selena are putting on a show for us then it’s a very convincing one. How did you fare with Caroline?’

  ‘She’s a hard one alright. I still can’t make my mind up about her, but one thing’s for
sure she could be either lying or telling the truth and we’d never know which one it was. I think she’s spent too long in the legal system to know right from wrong – and I know how cockeyed that sounds, but you know what I mean. If she’s spending her life defending somebody who’s guilty then she’s going to spin a few isn’t she, maybe even come to believe them herself.’

  ‘So, is she still high up on our list?’ Summers asked.

  ‘I think so. Are they all agreed on the drinks?’

  As Burton listened, the other two described things exactly as Caroline had told him – the two bottles of Prosecco they’d shared in the bar, and the water carafes at Madame Ortiz’s. The next thing he wanted to do was to get a warrant to search Madame Ortiz’s premises in order to examine the two carafes. Although, if they had held any dubious substance they would by now have been washed out. Even so, forensics would still be able to work their magic on them and the property. He also considered getting a sniffer dog and handler in; he’d have to ask about poisons, and be specific about the type, but he was certain some would be trained to search for them.

  Although he hadn’t yet fully excluded any of the friends, Ortiz was now his number one suspect.

  ‘But that wouldn’t prove Madame Ortiz guilty of anything,’ Fielding argued when Burton told them of his plan. ‘Any one of the women could have slipped something into Maria’s water if she had any.’

  ‘That’s true, I know’ he said, ‘but at least we’d know the how and when.’

  ‘Why don’t we just ask her first if we can take a look around?’ Summers asked.

  ‘If we ask her without first going there, then, if she’s guilty, she can easily dispose of what it is we’re looking for.’

  ‘So, a warrant then?’ Fielding asked, and Burton nodded his head.

  ***

  ‘I could come along and open up this afternoon if you’d like?’ Marilyn ‘Madame Ortiz’ Parkinson told Burton when he rang her. ‘Why exactly do you wish to look around my business premises, detective?’