Her Last Mistake - Detective Gina Harte Series 06 (2020)

by Kovach, Carla

  Gina cleared her throat. ‘What happened after?’

  ‘I awkwardly dressed and I don’t know why, I kept apologising. I have cheated on Kerry before but it seemed weird with Holly and I could tell she felt the same. She was one of Kerry’s best friends. As I was about to leave, I heard her crying so I stayed a while. We both agreed that we were going through confused times in our lives and we said we’d never mention what happened again. She was happy with that and I was. I went to get a drink from her kitchen and there was a man’s shirt hanging over the back of the chair so I know there was someone else in her life.’

  ‘Did you ask her who this other person was?’

  He paused for a moment. ‘No. I didn’t want to know but during her teary moments, she admitted he was married but she couldn’t let him go. By this time, I just wanted to get out of there so I made my excuses and left. I didn’t even know she was pregnant until it came out after she was murdered.’

  ‘Thank you for being so open. As it stands, we don’t have any witnesses who can confirm that you were at the park on the night of Francesca Carter’s murder. Did Holly tell Francesca that you were her baby’s father, putting her at risk?’

  ‘No. Way! I did not kill Fran. I did not kill Holly. If I’d have got caught out, I’d have handled it. It wouldn’t have been the first time Kerry had found out I’d cheated. I wouldn’t kill to keep that to myself.’

  Gina flicked through the case notes. Through the chaos of his wedding reception, no one could vouch for him being in the function room or garden at all times. Like many of the others, he had opportunity when it came to killing Holly. ‘Did you murder Holly Long on the night of your wedding reception?’

  ‘I can’t believe you lot. I didn’t murder Holly and I didn’t murder Fran.’

  ‘Was Holly threatening to tell your new wife about the baby?’

  ‘No. Holly hadn’t spoken to me since we slept together that one time. I told you.’

  Gina could see his hands tensing up.

  ‘Was Francesca Carter threatening to say something to Kerry about what happened between you and Holly? No one can vouch for you being at the park. All those appeals on the news and not one person has come forward to say they saw you. We’ve reviewed hours of footage and no one passed the camera in the car park with a Red Setter dog.’

  ‘They probably walked. There is more than one entrance to the park!’

  Opening a poly pocket, Gina slid out a bank statement with most of the transactions blacked out. ‘Do you recognise this account number and sort code.’

  He stared at the numbers for a few minutes and grimaced. He glanced up at Gina then at Wyre before looking down once more. Rubbing his thumb and index finger together, he turned away. ‘Never seen them.’

  Gina slammed her notes together in front of her and maintained eye contact with Edward Powell. When his eyes were on the numbers she could see a flicker of recognition. He continued to rub his fingers together. ‘Where were you last night between one and two in the morning?’

  He laughed a little then leaned back, his hair now sodden with sweat. ‘At home in bed. Kerry was there. Has something else happened? Something you can’t pin on me.’

  ‘We’ve already spoken to Kerry. She confirmed that you slept in separate bedrooms last night.’ That was her trump card.

  ‘I want my solicitor. I didn’t kill or hurt anyone and I’m not saying another word.’

  Gina and Wyre sat in silence for a few moments as the tape continued to run. Edward Powell literally looked like he’d been through a ringer. He had no alibi for all three incidents, then there was the question of him having shoe covers at his disposal. The more she researched his work, the more she realised he’d own a pair of proper safety boots too, probably similar to the imprint of the popular brand they’d found at both murder scenes, and he had motive. Edward Powell had only told them about his encounter with Holly because he’d had no choice. She realised he was going to be tough to crack. She nearly had him, but why was there a niggling doubt at the back of her mind? ‘What size shoe do you take?’

  He shrugged. Sticking to his silence. ‘Can I go?’

  ‘If you leave, I’ll have no option but to place you under arrest. We’ll wait for your solicitor to arrive before continuing with questioning.’

  All she had was circumstantial evidence. She couldn’t get this wrong. He would wait. She could see it in his demeanour. He wasn’t going anywhere.

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Cass hurried away as quickly as possible. She never wanted to go into a police station again. The two men that were being booked in for fighting had scared her a little but the officers who interviewed her were happy with her statement. Still, she had no news on Elvis. They wouldn’t tell her anything, only that he was safe and in their custody.

  Her phone beeped and a rush of adrenaline dashed through her veins.

  Cass, I really need a friend and I trust you. Can you come over? I need to talk to someone or I’ll go insane. You’re a true friend, I should have seen that all those years ago, I regret that now. My true, best friend. I’m not at home. I’ll message you the address in a moment. K.

  At last, Kerry could see that they were meant to be the best of friends, just like they had been at junior school. Another message beeped through – the address. She smiled. She’d been to this house on many occasions. It was odd that Kerry wasn’t at home but maybe she’d had an argument with her new husband. None of that mattered to Cass, she was sure that Kerry would explain all once they got to speak in person. Last night, she’d felt hopeless, but now, she saw the start of a new future opening up.

  She had time to freshen up. Elvis had been wrong about her make-up and her scarf. He’d been jealous that she was making new friends. He loved it when she was down and when she overate. She now knew that this made him secure in that she’d never find anyone else, that she’d always be at his beck and call. Not now. She had Kerry and with what he was putting her through, he’d soon be history.

  Maybe she and Kerry would become newly single together. They could go on holidays, nights out, spa days, do all those things that really good friends do together, all those things that the trio of bitches had deprived her of. Holly and Fran were no more and Lilly, who’s Lilly? Kerry wasn’t asking Lilly to go over and be with her. She wanted her oldest, most trusted friend by her side. Besides, when Cass had watched Lilly, she could see that Lilly wouldn’t have time for Kerry any more. Not since she’d had her child. Friendships moved on, just like Lilly’s and Kerry’s had.

  She hurried past the Co-op and along the back, straight to her flat. Glancing behind her, she could see that no one was following her, not like the other night. It had to have been a coincidence. That person who was outside Lilly’s house had just been going the same way.

  Time for a quick freshen up then her new life would begin. Given all the bad things that had happened, Cass couldn’t help but beam a smile. She almost skipped up the stairs to her flat. Everything always works out for the best in the end.

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Gina stuffed the last of the cheese sandwich into her mouth and pressed play on the CCTV footage again. No one as yet could verify that they’d seen Edward Powell at the park. Cars came and went. She slowed it down, searching every inch of the screen, frame by frame.

  As the timeframe of the murder got nearer she watched as the family of four stepped out of the four-wheel drive before opening the boot for three bouncy terriers. Each child held a dog on a lead and the man held the third dog. They left. She scanned the side of the car for anything, a glimmer of something that may help – nothing stood out.

  Screwing up the sandwich wrapper, she lined it up with the bin in the corner of her office and threw it. Straight in.

  She moved onto the next frame. A woman got out of a small red car and bent down to tie her laces. Again, nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

  Someone knocked on her door. ‘Come in.’

  Jacob sa
t opposite her and went to speak.

  ‘Bear with me. Sorry,’ she said as she flicked back a frame. A glint had caught her eye. She played the frame again and slammed her fist on the table. ‘How on earth could we miss this?’ She knew she should have poured over the footage herself.

  ‘What is it?’

  She turned the screen around on the desk and they both watched as she played the clip again.

  ‘Did I miss something there? A woman got out of a red car.’ He scratched his head.

  She flicked to a screenshot of the frame she wanted him to properly look at and magnified it, as she did the image became more pixelated. ‘It’s not the clearest of photos but see in the rear-view mirror of the jogger’s car.’

  ‘Could be the tail of a Red Setter in the boot of a car?’

  ‘Yes, and in the reflection, we have a partial plate of a silver Volvo.’ She flicked to another screen and fast-forwarded. A surge of adrenaline passed through her body. ‘Here. Check out the road footage. There’s the whole plate of the same silver Volvo and in the back, what do you see.’

  ‘It’s a reddish-coloured spaniel.’

  ‘I think Edward Powell has got his dogs mixed up. We need to speak to the man with the red spaniel. Can you get onto it?’

  ‘That would confirm he was where he said he was. We may have just proven his innocence when it comes to Francesca Carter’s murder.’

  Gina slumped back in her chair. ‘How could we have missed this?’

  ‘In all fairness, I don’t know how you spotted it, guv.’ He squinted as she flicked back to the previous screen. ‘And, let’s not forget, he did say he saw a Red Setter. That dog is clearly a spaniel.’

  She shook her head. They were back to square one if the footage proved that Edward Powell was at the park. ‘Sorry, what did you need me for?’

  ‘Robin Dawkins. He’s ready to talk. He’s spoken to his solicitor and he’s waiting in interview room one. Before we speak to him, you need to see the CCTV footage that just came in from a pub in Redditch.’

  She grabbed her jacket and stood. ‘I’ll be there in a few minutes. Will you join me in the interview?’ She made a note on a piece of paper and passed it across her desk. ‘In the meantime, pass that registration to O’Connor, tell him to speak to the owner of the Volvo then meet me in the interview room in ten minutes.’ That was just enough time to finish her drink before she got to the bottom of what Dawkins had to reveal. Jacob smiled and left.

  She pursed her lips together, grabbed her phone and checked for messages. Still nothing from Hannah. She flicked over to Facebook. Hannah had posted a selfie an hour ago, one of her eating an ice cream. Her hand trembled with anger. With all that was going on, her own daughter couldn’t manage a quick message to tell her she was okay. It certainly was a day where the reflections in the pictures gave her the bigger story. In the window behind Hannah, she could see Samuel Avery laughing. Her daughter was out having a good time with a man who’d twice been accused of harassing one of their victim’s. She threw the phone on her desk, buttoned up her suit jacket and left.

  Robin Dawkins had been in custody all night. One thing she knew for sure was that he had been nowhere near Lilly Hill’s house last night. He couldn’t be her attacker. They were about to lose Edward Powell and Robin Dawkins as suspects. If they were gone, who else could it have been? She was at a loss. One thing she was sure of, Robin Dawkins wasn’t an innocent man. With the drugs connection to Holly’s apartment, she wanted to know everything Robin had to say. It may not have been him but he could still be hiding something that might lead them to the killer and she wanted to know what.

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Cass smiled all the way up the winding path as she passed the shrubbery. The greenhouse in the distance reminded her of summers gone by when she and Kerry picked the tomatoes for lunch. The scenery across the Warwickshire countryside was breathtaking, sectioned off patchwork fields led the eye into the distance. She re-tied her scarf and checked out her reflection in the tall door with the glass side panel. Her make-up was just right and the lipstick did suit her; she’d keep it. She ran her fingers through her freshly washed curls to break them up a little.

  Her phone beeped and a text popped up.

  Come around the back.

  She breathed in and slowly walked in her low-heeled boots on the cobbled path around the house. As she passed the large front window, a memory of a Christmas past flashed though her mind. That’s where the Christmas tree used to be, right next to the white grand piano that Kerry would play badly. A warmth filled her heart and she smiled as she remembered them trying to play ‘Chopsticks’ over and over again until they were eventually told to stop. Mustn’t keep Kerry waiting, not now Cass was needed. As she turned the last corner the large garden brought back the fuzziest of memories. The tyre swing and treehouse were still at the bottom of the garden. The long summer days, making dens and swinging back and forth, while eating lumps of cheese that they’d pilfered from the fridge.

  Another text arrived as she reached the back door.

  Come in. I’m in the wine cellar checking out the drinks. Today calls for a celebration. K. Xxx.

  She pressed the handle and as expected, the door wasn’t locked. As she entered the boot room she bent over and unzipped her boots before slipping them off. Kerry wouldn’t appreciate the white carpets getting stained and she knew the house rules – shoes off. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and entered the kitchen, her tights making her slip a little on the porcelain tiles. She held her arms out for balance and gripped the kitchen island, allowing her handbag to dangle around her neck. ‘Kerry?’ she called. There was no answer. Cass swallowed and felt a shiver running through her body. ‘Kerry.’

  As she stood in silence, she heard the back door closing and locking.

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Gina glanced at Robin, then at his solicitor. Several minutes of silence was too much considering her other leads were screaming for attention. She placed her hands under the table and tapped her foot. The suited woman whispered in his ear and Robin whispered back. Jacob leaned back and yawned as they waited.

  ‘My client wishes to make a brief statement.’ The solicitor pulled up the sleeves of her shirt, picked up her refill pad and began to read. ‘On the night of Monday, the eleventh of May, between eighteen hundred hours and twenty hundred hours, my client was in Redditch and can prove his whereabouts. He entered several pubs in Redditch and he is certain there will be CCTV footage to prove that he had no involvement in the murder of Francesca Carter. He will give you a list of the establishments that he went to.’

  Gina slid one of the CCTV stills across the table. ‘We already know. Unfortunately, a certain piece of CCTV footage shows us something of great concern. What were you doing here, Mr Dawkins?’ The photo clearly showed the man in front of her passing a small packet of something white to another man in the foyer of a pub. There was no chance of it being anyone else, the sideburns and quiff were a huge giveaway and it wasn’t a look many other young locals followed.

  The solicitor scrunched her brow and gave her client a glance.

  ‘He, the man, dropped something on the floor. I was just passing it back to him. That’s the truth.’ He cast a pleading look in his solicitor’s direction.

  ‘You don’t have to say anything.’ The solicitor moved her ash blonde hair to the side before whispering in his ear again.

  His shoulders slumped as he finished whispering back. After taking a few seconds to brush his sideburns with his fingers, he pulled his chair closer to the table.

  ‘In the footage before this frame, we see you pulling several of these packets from your pocket and passing this man one of them. A few seconds later, he passed you some cash which you put in your pocket. You then go outside where we have a second camera pointing in your direction as you count a wad of cash with Phillip Brighton. A search of your garage also came up with a large quantity of cocaine that had been stored in the boo
t of your car. The cocaine is portioned out into neat little wraps, all perfectly weighed out and they look the same as the wraps in this footage. Please explain yourself?’

  Gina knew Robin Dawkins and Phillip Brighton had nothing to do with Francesca’s murder. They were both together, drug dealing in Redditch at the time. She had all the evidence she needed. Phillip Brighton had breached his bail conditions and would be hauled back in and this session would end with Robin Dawkins being charged.

  ‘Okay.’ He held both hands up and leaned back before linking them behind his head. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. ‘I was stupid. I lost my job and I did a stupid thing. I’ve never done anything like this before. I knew I’d let Cass down and we needed the money.’

  ‘Cassandra Wilson.’

  He stared at the wall behind them. ‘She knew something was up and she’s going to be angry with me, especially when Kerry finds out what I’ve done. She was so fixated on what Kerry thought of her.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘She wanted the reception to go off well. Kept asking me to go and speak to Kerry to see if Kerry remembered her from school. Kerry did know who she was, I saw her looking over several times. I don’t know why Cass wanted to know her. Kerry was a bitch. I could see her laughing and glancing over with Fran.’

  Gina leaned in. ‘I thought Cassandra and Kerry were friends. She visited Kerry the other night.’

  ‘Well if they are, she never told me.’ He parted his lips before continuing. ‘Kerry picked on Cass at school. When we got to the party, I told her to rise above everything that happened in the past and get on with the job. I said it was all in the past but Cass was hell-bent on getting back in touch with the girl who made her school life a misery. I didn’t understand it and we had a bicker about it before we got there. I just couldn’t understand why she was punishing herself, trying to be something she isn’t.’