by James Andrew
‘Unless they know he did it and don’t want him caught.’
‘An uncle might think like that.’
‘I suppose a convicted murderer would spoil the family’s reputation.’
‘So, if we accept that’s a possibility, what do we do about it?’
‘Toe the line and keep our jobs?’ Blades suggested.
‘Get some paperwork done?’
Then Blades gave a bitter laugh. ‘I don’t know how we can go on to anything else without questioning Parkes first.’
He noticed the suggestion of a grin appearing around Peacock’s mouth, which echoed his own feelings.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The interview room in Birtleby Police Station was not only bare but bleak, with its uncared-for walls direly in need of a splash of paint, its worn flooring, and the charming view from its window of a brick wall. When Blades and Peacock had caught up with Parkes, he’d been leaving the house of a customer and was indignant to find he was being taken in for questioning. He mentioned his uncle’s name several times in the police car on the way to the station, but Blades and Peacock paid no attention to this, so now Russell was squirming on a wooden seat opposite them.
‘You’re right,’ Blades said. ‘It has been suggested we dismiss you from the case.’
Parkes gave Blades a puzzled look.
‘So?’
‘So,’ Blades replied, ‘that’s what we’re doing. We’re giving you a chance to clear yourself once and for all. I suggest that you take it.’
Parkes slumped in the seat with a sullen expression; his eyes threatened dreadful things to Blades.
‘You knew Emma,’ Blades said, ‘though at first you denied knowing her as well as you did. You were good friends with her, weren’t you?’
Russell obviously resented the question, but he did reply, ‘She was a pleasant enough girl. She played a good instrument too.’
‘You’ve at no time expressed sorrow over her disappearance or death.’
Russell’s eyes bored into Blades again. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘You haven’t, have you?’
‘It was a bit of a shock,’ Russell said. ‘I didn’t know what to say. That ought to be plain to see. It’s a dreadful thing that a young woman like her has had her life taken from her. Obviously, I feel for her.’
‘It hasn’t been clear to us that you do,’ Peacock said. ‘This is the first time you’ve expressed any feelings about her at all.’
‘Then I was remiss and I’m sorry.’ Russell gave them both a beaming smile. ‘So, can I go now?’ he said.
Peacock’s look was withering, and Blades hoped his was the same. ‘You’ve lied to us,’ he said.
‘You were trying to pin something on me,’ Parkes replied.
‘You knew her, and we were asking you questions,’ Blades replied, ‘to which you gave untrue answers. Lucky you, having an uncle to stick up for you.’
‘All right. I’m sorry about that too.’ The tone was almost flippant, Blades thought, as if Russell assumed they had no power here. Arrogance like that did not suggest innocence to Blades.
‘First, you swore you knew Emma less well than you did, and then you fabricated an alibi.’
‘An alibi? Oh, that?’
‘Rose was working on the Saturday when you said you were with her. She does agree she was with you on the Friday and went walking in the park with you then and listened to the band.’
Parkes shrugged both shoulders in an exaggerated way.
‘I got mixed up about the day, all right?’
‘So, what were you doing on the Saturday of Emma’s disappearance?’ Blades asked.
‘Damned if I can remember,’ Russell replied, and the insolence was provocative.
‘That’s a pity,’ Peacock said. ‘Have you any idea how suspicious that looks?’
‘I’ll have to think about what I was up to,’ Russell said, but did not elaborate.
‘No alibi?’ Blades said.
Russell was staring back in silence now.
‘And about your previous conviction,’ Blades said, ‘what were the extenuating circumstances I’ve been told existed?’
Russell’s immediate reply was a glare, but then he thought better of it. ‘She volunteered the money and then didn’t turn up with it. I was a bit exasperated.’
‘More than that. You broke her cheekbone.’
Now there was a genuine reaction from Russell, and he was annoyed again. ‘No. I did not. She fell and broke her cheekbone.’
‘After you’d struck her.’
‘After I swung my arm back, but I didn’t bring it forward. I didn’t intend to hit her. It was only a threat. But she jumped back and then fell over.’
‘Really?’
‘Really.’
‘So, why didn’t the court believe you at the time?’
‘The jury took to her more than me.’
Was that believable, Blades wondered. The answer came back no. ‘So, when you’re in debt again,’ he said, ‘something happens to another young lady you know. That’s a coincidence. As is the fact you have miraculously managed to pay off your gambling debts just when your bookie was threatening to break both of your legs.’
There was surprise in Russell’s eyes now – he had not expected Blades to know that – but that, too, turned to annoyance.
‘I admit it looks bad,’ he said.
‘Doesn’t it?’ Peacock said.
‘But it isn’t what it looks like.’
‘So, what is it?’ Peacock asked.
‘You can win when you gamble as well. That’s the whole point of gambling. And I did.’
‘So, a bookie can vouch for this?’ Blades said. ‘That’s good. What’s his name?’
‘It was a lot of small bets with different bookies at the turf. On the same horse. I have debts. I had to spread the bet around.’
‘What you’re saying is that it can’t be verified.’
Russell shrugged his perennially expressive shoulders. ‘You can ask around. Individually, the wins were small. Some of them might remember, I suppose.’
‘We know about Emma’s inheritance.’
‘That’s more than I do. Was she going to come into money? Who from?’
Blades looked at the expression on Parkes’ face, and it did not look truthful.
‘You’ve no alibi,’ Blades repeated, ‘and I doubt if you’ve given an honest answer to anything you’ve been asked.’
‘You’ve no proof I did anything to Emma. Come out with it if you have. Go on. What evidence do you have against me?’
Blades could only stare back at him and seethe. When he did speak, the words came out with reluctance. ‘Which is true,’ he said. ‘So, all right, Mr Parkes, unless some turns up and gives me another reason for questioning you, I’ll leave you in peace.’
‘Until it does,’ Peacock added.
And if it did not, Blades knew that he would have to stay away from him, but at least he had satisfied his curiosity and knew exactly where they were with the precious Russell Parkes.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
‘I was a friend of Emma’s,’ the young woman seated in front of Blades and Peacock said. ‘And my name is Harriet Haigh.’
Blades was wondering how Peacock had found her. She was exactly what he had been hoping to find, someone who could give them some sort of insight into their victim. Emma was still too much of a mystery for Blades. There was something about her he had not grasped; in fact, he was sure there was a lot.
Blades studied Harriet. She was a pale, thin young woman with a subdued look. He supposed it might be because of where she was.
‘I’m a seamstress,’ she said, ‘and I knew Emma. Our families lived just up the street from each other at one point.’
‘And you still knew her?’ Blades asked.
‘Oh, yes. We used to meet up at Lyons now and again. It’s good to get away from work and have a tea and a chat with someone.’
‘S
o, is there anything you can tell us that might help us with her disappearance?’
‘I don’t know, but I can tell you more about Emma.’
‘Did she have plans to go away anywhere?’
‘She didn’t talk about them with me and I’m sure she would have done. She probably would have loved the chance to go away somewhere else for a break at least. Wouldn’t we all? It’s hard enough getting from one day to the next, isn’t it?’
‘Tell me about it,’ Blades said. And he gave her a smile as if to suggest he shared her experience of the world and the weariness of it.
‘So, what did Emma talk about?’ he asked.
‘Anything and everything. She was chatty and she was good for a laugh. She was fun to be with.’
‘So, nothing was worrying her?’
‘She didn’t like Thomas Root.’
‘She didn’t?’
‘Hands everywhere. She had to fend him off. Only the once, mind, but that’s too often, isn’t it? She stopped laughing at his jokes and being friendly after that.’
‘Did his wife know?’
‘She wasn’t supposed to, but she must have done. It’s not exactly a big place. Anyway, that’s what Emma threatened him with, that she’d tell her. It worked. The only thing is he turned his attentions to that daily maid Louisa instead. She’s no better than she ought to be. Emma said Louisa enjoyed it. She encouraged him. I thought that was probably a good thing, but Emma worried for Louisa then. She would. That’s the sort Emma was. I often told her she cared too much about things. She ought to be just glad Louisa was distracting Thomas from her.’
‘That’s just the sort she was,’ Blades said. ‘What do you mean by that?’
‘Emma was proper. She thought things ought to be as they should. She’d a real sense of right and wrong. I remember her telling me about school, when a boy was being punished for something he hadn’t done. I don’t remember what it was. Oh, yes, I do. Someone had put glue on the teacher’s chair, and this boy Douglas was the one who got the blame. I don’t know why. He always was in trouble about one thing or another.’
‘But it wasn’t him this time?’ Peacock asked.
‘It was a great lump called Fred. And he’d done it to get Douglas into trouble. He owed him one because he’d told on him one time.’
‘And Emma didn’t think that was right.’
‘No, she didn’t. But she knew she would never get Fred to admit to it. Do you know what she did? She admitted to doing it herself.’
‘She did?’ Blades said. ‘That was brave.’
‘She took the cane for someone else.’
‘And what did Douglas do?’
‘He wasn’t worth the effort. He just smirked off. Thought if she was stupid enough to admit to it, fair enough. Only thing he knew was he hadn’t done it.’
‘Interesting,’ Blade said.
‘So, why are you telling us this?’ Peacock asked.
‘She didn’t think it was right the way Mr Root was treating Louisa. She faced Louisa with it, and they had a dreadful row. She told Louisa it wasn’t right, and Louisa turned around and stuck up for him. I don’t know why Emma was bothering trying to help her. I don’t think Louisa minded Mr Root nipping her bottom now and again.’
‘Had Emma decided to do something about it?’ Blades asked. ‘What?’
‘She knew she wouldn’t get any joy from Mr Root. She said she would tell Mrs Root. I told her she probably knew already, so what good would that do? Emma said Mrs Root couldn’t know, and, if she did, she couldn’t like it and needed to be encouraged to sort her husband out.’
‘Did she say when she was going to talk to Mrs Root about this?’ Peacock asked.
‘Friday.’
‘That’s Friday the fourteenth?’ Blades asked. ‘Just before she disappeared?’
‘I don’t know exactly when that was.’
‘She was last seen on Saturday, the fifteenth,’ Blades replied.
That struck Harriet. She went quiet for a minute and Blades could swear her skin turned paler.
‘The day before she disappeared. Do you suppose that had anything to do with it?’
‘It’s a line of inquiry,’ Blades said.
‘Definitely suspicious,’ Peacock said.
‘Isn’t it?’ Harriet said, and her eyes were wide.
‘Did she tell you what she was going to say to Mrs Root?’ Blades asked.
‘She was going to tell her Mr Root was carrying on with Louisa and that Mrs Root ought to put a stop to it before it led to anything. Louisa was a young girl and needed protecting.’
‘That’s straightforward enough,’ Blades said.
‘And Amelia ought to remember all about that,’ Peacock said.
‘I wonder what that led to?’ Blades said. This was something to question Amelia Root about – and Thomas.
All three of them sat for a moment lost in thought, and the silence felt overwhelming to Blades.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Amelia’s dignified pose had slipped.
‘You’re saying my husband has been bothering Louisa?’
Blades and Peacock were seated with Amelia in her parlour. Amelia was slightly crumpled in her seat as if having difficulty in coping with the statement she had just heard. Both men were upright and alert in theirs. The disbelief in Amelia’s eyes was convincing, Blades thought. Anyone would have thought any suggestion of misbehaviour between Thomas and Louisa was news to Amelia.
‘Emma told you about this before she disappeared.’
An irritated look had now appeared on Amelia’s face. ‘Thomas wouldn’t behave like that. He has a position in the town.’
And that was less convincing. Was Amelia really saying the only reason Thomas wouldn’t bother Louisa was that it would affect his standing with the neighbours? Was this how a wife reacted when she heard her husband was straying?
‘And he’s related to her. It would be unthinkable.’
Why was there no suggestion Thomas loved Amelia too much to do such a thing? Blades glanced across at Peacock, and took in the doubting look on his face, before turning his gaze on Amelia again.
‘It’s surprising how often I come across that sort of thing, as a police officer,’ Blades said. ‘I can find it difficult to believe a husband hasn’t strayed.’
A snort erupted from the haughty Amelia; she opened her mouth to speak but closed it again. Her mind was racing, with what thoughts was what Blades was trying to work out.
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said.
‘Louisa’s an attractive young lady,’ Peacock said. ‘Vivacious, lively, and at an age when she might be expected to be tempted by a bit of fun. Was Thomas?’
‘Definitely not,’ Amelia said.
‘How can you be sure?’ Peacock asked.
‘I know my husband,’ Amelia said.
‘It was worrying Emma,’ Blades said.
‘What was?’ Amelia asked, and her voice had risen.
‘Emma came across the pair of them having a cuddle,’ Peacock said.
‘She felt concerned for Louisa,’ Blades added. ‘She taxed Louisa with it and told her she would talk to Thomas – and tell you if it continued.’
‘I know nothing about this,’ Amelia said.
‘She was threatening to speak to you on the Friday before you left on your holiday.’
‘The day before she disappeared,’ Peacock added.
Amelia stared from one of them to the other, but said nothing, and seemed at a loss.
‘Did she tell you what your husband was up to?’ Blades asked.
‘Definitely not. Are you suggesting Thomas did away with Emma because of that?’ she asked.
‘Is he the kind of man who would do that?’ Blades asked.
‘Definitely not,’ Amelia replied. But that was all she said. It did strike Blades she was hiding something, though he could not work out what. Blades thought Amelia had probably known for some time Thomas was misbehaving, but he wonde
red how she might have reacted when Emma faced her with it.
Amelia was now upright and the expression on her face was one of indignation and anger, as she struggled to assert herself. ‘I must ask you to apologise for insinuations about Thomas. He’s never strayed; he’s not the type of man to do that and certainly not with the likes of Louisa. Louisa was common, even if she was Thomas’s second cousin. He was fond of her – they were related – but Emma was mistaken if she thought there was something going on between him and Louisa. And he wouldn’t be violent towards Emma. I’ve been married to him for thirty years, and he’s never lifted a finger to me. He’s not an aggressive man.’
‘So, Emma talked about this with Thomas?’ Blades said.
As Amelia gazed back at him, Blades could see another emotion working its way through her. Along with the anger, there was what looked like shame.
‘All right,’ Amelia said. ‘And she brought it up with me as well. But Emma was wrong. I can see Louisa setting her cap at a man, but the idea that Thomas would respond to this’ – and here Amelia struggled for words – ‘is ridiculous.’
The glare Blades received from Amelia had the self-righteousness and resentment in it he would expect, but also something Amelia might not have realised was obvious – doubt.
With a tolerant look on his face, Peacock said, ‘Men can find things difficult at a certain age.’
‘Not my Thomas.’
‘We’ve agreed Emma did raise suspicions with your husband about what was going on between him and Louisa,’ Blades said.
Blades winced at the venom that appeared on Amelia’s face, but she did not say any more.
‘What was Thomas’s reaction to this?’ he asked, then waited for a reply, but none came. ‘And how could Emma be wrong about something like that?’
‘Maybe she misinterpreted something that she saw.’
‘That sounds difficult.’
Amelia stood up and put on a most dignified expression. ‘This interview is at an end,’ she said.
But when Blades told her to sit down again, she did.
‘There must have been strong emotions around on the day you set off on holiday,’ Blades said. ‘You were angry, probably with your husband, and definitely with Emma. Thomas would have been furious at being found out; Emma would be indignant. All that must have led to a serious argument.’