Bloody Valentine

by James Patterson

  Jack got out of the car, accompanied by his secretary, Alice, and by the police family liaison officer, Irene Conway. His face was drained of colour. His shoulders stooped. He had aged twenty years in the few hours since Amy and Ben had seen him at midday.

  ‘Inspector Stuart?’

  ‘You have your orders,’ Ben barked at the assembled officers. They all left, including David Reece.

  Amy waited until the officers were out of earshot. ‘We’ve found your wife’s body, Mr Barnes. I’m sorry …’

  ‘You told me you’d keep me informed of developments,’ he reproached her.

  ‘We only discovered her a few minutes ago.’

  ‘Where?’ Jack’s voice was harsh.

  ‘In this van. It’s one of yours, reported stolen a week ago.’

  Jack reached for the door handle. Ben caught his hand before he touched it. ‘The crime scene has to be preserved for the forensic teams, sir.’

  ‘You opened the van?’ Jack challenged.

  ‘We’re wearing protective clothing and we didn’t step inside,’ Amy informed him.

  ‘Have you got a suit I can wear?’

  ‘Please, Mr Barnes, believe me, you don’t want to see inside that van,’ Amy pleaded.

  ‘I have a right to see my wife.’ He glared at her.

  Amy realised that Jack Barnes was a powerful man who was used to getting his own way. She was sure that if she offered a platitude like ‘remembering his wife the way she’d been when he’d said goodbye to her that morning’, he would brush it aside, but she persisted. ‘The pathologist will have to do a post mortem. The scene can’t be disturbed …’

  ‘I have no intention of disturbing the crime scene. I only want to look at my wife.’ He continued to stare at her.

  After a full minute of strained tension, during which Jack didn’t blink, Ben handed Jack Barnes a suit, hat, gloves, overshoes and a mask before donning a mask himself. He gave one to Amy.

  Amy tried one last warning. ‘Experienced officers have been affected by the sight of your wife’s corpse, Mr Barnes. Are you sure you want me to open this door?’

  ‘Get on with it.’

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Alice and Irene stepped back behind Jack.

  Amy tugged the handle and slid the door open.

  Jack stared, wide-eyed above the white paper mask.

  ‘Catch him, Ben,’ Amy cried as Jack crumpled to his knees.

  ‘The doctor’s with Mr Barnes. His family are in the apartment with him, ma’am. Oh, and the South Wales police are on the line,’ a constable informed Amy when she and Ben returned to the incident room after leaving Patrick and the forensic team in the garage.

  ‘Put the call through to the small office,’ Ben ordered.

  ‘And ask Michael Barnes to come down here. We need to interview him again,’ Amy added before following Ben.

  The phone was ringing when Ben walked in. The male voice on the end of the line had a heavy Welsh accent. ‘Am I talking to Sergeant Ben Miller?’

  ‘Speaking.’

  ‘Constable Tom Edwards. You wanted to know about the fire at Castle Owens.’

  ‘Jack Barnes’s house,’ Ben checked.

  ‘That’s the one. It happened two years ago?’

  ‘Yes. Was it caused by faulty electrical wiring?’

  ‘The wiring that connected the pump to the boiler was the wrong grade. Suitable for lighting, not power circuits.’

  ‘The builder was responsible?’

  ‘Jack Barnes called Tad Moore in to renovate the place. Tad swore he’d used the right cable, but the jury didn’t believe him. He was found guilty and fined.’

  Ben thought he detected scepticism in Tom’s voice. ‘Did you believe him?’

  ‘I’ve known Tad twenty years. I trusted him to rewire my mam’s house, but Mam’s wiring was inspected after completion. A small repair like the one in Castle Owens wasn’t. Then again, Tad admitted he’d only done a temporary job. He said he intended to return the next day to finish it. That’s what settled it for the jury. They decided he’d botched it. He paid his fine but was ruined. Went bankrupt. No one would employ him to tie up their roses afterwards, let alone rewire a house.’

  ‘Jack Barnes’s wife—’

  ‘Jodie. Nice girl. Grew up in the village. She went to school with my daughter.’

  ‘What was the cause of death?’

  ‘Fire. Pathologist couldn’t determine more. Wasn’t enough left for a post mortem. They identified her from dental records. She was found on the living-room sofa. Pathologist thought she’d fallen asleep, which would explain why she didn’t hear the fire alarms. It was a tragedy. She was six months pregnant. If you don’t mind me asking, why are you looking into this now?’

  ‘Jack Barnes’s second wife has been murdered. She was five months pregnant.’

  ‘I don’t like coincidences. But Jack Barnes was out of the country – in America when Jodie died.’

  Ben thought it an odd remark for a police officer to make. ‘Were there rumours?’

  ‘There are always rumours when someone young dies unexpectedly. Jodie had just moved into the castle by herself. Some people thought it strange, given she was six months pregnant. They thought a man would want to be with his wife, especially as there was work to be done and builders to contend with. Jodie said that Jack was on a business trip but would join her later.’

  ‘He didn’t?’

  ‘He came quickly enough after he was told she was dead. You know what gossips are.’

  ‘Tell me,’ Ben prompted.

  ‘They thought a rich, important man like Jack Barnes, used to getting his own way, wanted to dump pregnant Jodie in the country near her family – somewhere she wouldn’t be able to see him playing around.’

  ‘Castle Owens was supposed to be a weekend place, wasn’t it?’

  ‘Weekend place? It was a castle, and Jack Barnes was throwing money at it.’

  Ben recalled Leila talking about Jack’s wandering eye, but he also remembered the look of anguish on Jack’s face when he’d seen Zee’s body. That grief was real. He’d stake his career on it.

  ‘Who reported the fire?’

  ‘A farmer who lived a mile away. He went to check on a calf before going to bed, saw the flames and called the fire brigade. They got there too late for Jodie. There were only the stone walls of the place left. I was surprised they found her body. I would never have recognised it as human.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Ben tried to end the call.

  ‘Before you go, Jack Barnes never rebuilt the castle. It was insured. He took the money but left the ruins. I heard the council asked him to clear the site. There’s no sign of any work starting. You know anything about it?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘If you have suspicions about Jodie Barnes’s death I could call the pathologist. Old Howell wrote the report. He’s retired. In fact, they brought him out to look at poor Jodie because Evans, the regular pathologist was on holiday—’

  ‘I have no suspicions,’ Ben interrupted. ‘Just wanted to confirm that Jack Barnes’s first wife’s death was an accident.’

  ‘Had to be. No one else was around. Lonely spot, Castle Owens.’

  ‘Thank you for your help, Constable Edwards.’

  ‘If you need any more information …’

  ‘I’ll contact you. Goodbye.’ Ben replaced the receiver.

  ‘Problem?’ Amy asked.

  ‘I’m not sure.’

  ‘Jodie Barnes’s death?’

  ‘What we’d been told. She died alone in a fire in a castle that Jack was renovating. Faulty wiring. The electrician was blamed and fined. There wasn’t enough left of her to carry out a full post mortem.’

  ‘Cause of death?’

  ‘To quote Constable Edwards, “Fire”, but the pathologist who examined her remains was old and retired.’

  ‘Why was he trusted to examine the remains?’

  ‘The regular pathologist was on holiday.’<
br />
  Amy looked up at a knock on the door. ‘Enter.’

  ‘Michael Barnes is here, ma’am.’

  ‘Show him in, Constable.’

  ‘Hold him a moment, Constable,’ David Reece contradicted. He walked in and closed the door behind him. ‘We found a bloodstained shirt in Ted Levett’s linen bin. We’ve sent it to the lab, but a technician said the stains matched those on the knives found in the chefs’ apartment.’

  ‘The knives were cleaned on the shirt?’ Amy asked.

  ‘Wiped more than cleaned, according to him, and after the shirt had been worn. Dirt stains confirm it. Do you want me to arrest Ted Levett?’

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Amy thought for a moment. ‘Yes, arrest him, but hold Ted here. I’ll interview him as soon as I can, and don’t allow Damian Clark to leave the building.’

  ‘No, ma’am.’

  ‘Very neat. Ted kills Zee with Bruno’s knives, cleans the blood on his shirt and drops it into his linen bin for us to find. Then returns the knives to Bruno’s apartment, unexpectedly finds him at home and kills him because Bruno’s a witness.’ David looked at Amy. ‘Someone is trying to implicate Ted as the murderer.’

  ‘Someone a touch heavy-handed and obvious. Show Michael in.’

  ‘After seeing Jack, I’ll do whatever I can to help bring the bastard who killed Zee to justice,’ Michael said vehemently.

  ‘I’d appreciate your co-operation after your attitude earlier,’ Amy said.

  Michael moved uneasily. ‘I didn’t know then that Zee had been murdered, or that Jack had been sent her heart.’

  ‘You didn’t like Zee.’ Amy had stated a fact, not asked a question.

  ‘At first I thought she’d caught Jack on the rebound after Jodie’s death,’ Michael agreed. ‘But after seeing how happy she made Jack, I made an effort to get to know her.’

  ‘Did Zee improve on acquaintance?’ Ben watched Michael’s face.

  ‘She wasn’t the obvious choice for Jack,’ Michael was cautious. ‘Jodie was a college lecturer; Zee was a waitress. She was kind, though, and helped Jack relax. He’s always worked too hard.’

  Amy recalled Leila’s insistence that Zee was mercenary. ‘You weren’t worried about the money Jack was spending on her?’

  Michael shrugged. ‘It’s Jack’s money.’

  ‘You live rent-free?’ Amy checked.

  ‘Only because Jack refuses to take rent from us. He owns the building and converted it to give the family a London base. He’s protective towards Mamie and thought she’d feel more secure with her brothers as well as her sister around.’

  ‘It doesn’t bother you, accepting your brother’s charity?’ Ben persevered.

  ‘Jack’s rich, but money’s never been as important to him as running a successful business. We live rent-free, but Jack doesn’t pay us an allowance, as he does Mamie and Leila.’

  ‘How much does he pay them?’ Ben’s pen was poised over his notebook.

  ‘You’d have to ask them or Jack.’

  ‘You live on what you make from your art?’ Amy queried.

  ‘Last year I made less than two thousand pounds from sales to galleries and spent five thousand on materials. Please treat this as confidential. It could ruin my reputation as a serious artist if it got out. I illustrate advertisements, comic books and graphic novels. One a week brings in around fifty to sixty thousand a year.’

  ‘Nice work if you can get it,’ Ben commented.

  ‘I don’t need my brother’s money,’ Michael agreed.

  ‘And your sisters?’

  ‘Our father left money in trust for Mamie. Leila gave up nursing to care for her when our parents were killed. I have no idea how much is in the trust. I’ve never asked. Jack supplements it. I asked him if he wanted me to contribute. He didn’t.’

  ‘Do you know if your brother has made a will?’ Amy saw Michael hesitate. ‘I’m asking you because I’d rather not press Jack at the moment.’

  ‘Before he married Jodie, I was executor and a beneficiary along with Leila and Mamie. After he married, he changed his will in Jodie’s favour. When she died, he reverted to his original will, which he changed again when he married Zee. His last will favoured Zee and the child she was carrying.’

  Amy closed the interview. ‘Thank you, Mr Barnes.’

  Ted had been cautioned and was under guard in his apartment. Damian was at the porter’s desk. Skinny, pale-faced, he looked like a man who seldom ventured out into fresh air. He glanced at the photograph of Ted’s shirt that Amy was showing him.

  ‘Ted wore it the day before yesterday.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Ben questioned.

  ‘Positive,’ Damian retorted. ‘The guy only has five shirts and he bought three of those from the charity shop after he started work here. There’s blood on it.’

  ‘We noticed,’ Ben said dryly.

  ‘Surely you can’t think …’

  ‘What, Mr Clark?’ Amy asked.

  ‘Ted worshipped Mrs Barnes. If it hadn’t been for her persuading Mr Barnes to give Ted a job and flat, he’d be in a hostel, or living rough.’

  ‘You like Ted?’

  ‘Not when I first met him. I’d seen him selling The Big Issue. I thought Mrs Barnes had picked him up because she felt sorry for him. The way some people take in stray dogs. Ted knew what I thought of him because I wasn’t very welcoming, but he wasn’t afraid of hard work. He took on the dirty jobs from his first day: collecting the rubbish, putting out the bins, checking the chemicals in the pool, and if I want an hour or two off, he’s always willing to cover for me.’

  ‘You’re trying to tell us Ted Levett is a nice man who isn’t capable of murder.’

  ‘I’m a writer, Sergeant Miller. I study people,’ Damian said pompously. ‘I believe we’re all capable of murder if we’re threatened, but there’s no way Ted Levett killed Mrs Barnes. He thought too much of her.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Amy ended the interview.

  ‘Do you want to interview Ted Levett?’ Ben asked Amy.

  ‘Not before I interview Mamie Barnes.’

  ‘Why Mamie?’

  ‘I’ve been told people with Down’s Syndrome don’t lie. I thought I’d test the theory.’

  Chapter Twenty-three

  The constable on duty outside the penthouse opened the door when Amy and Ben approached.

  Irene Conway met them in the hall. ‘Michael, Leila and Jack’s secretary, Alice, are with Jack in the den. Mamie’s in the living room. Anni went to the gallery.’

  Amy entered the living room. Mamie was sitting on a sofa holding a rose and Valentine card.

  ‘Hello, Mamie.’

  ‘You know my name?’

  ‘I’m Amy Stuart, this is Ben Miller. We’re police officers.’

  ‘You’re here because someone did something bad to Zee, aren’t you, Amy?’

  Amy hesitated, unsure what Mamie had been told.

  ‘Zee gave me these.’ Mamie held up the card and rose.

  ‘They’re lovely, Mamie.’

  ‘Please sit down.’ Mamie had been taught to play the hostess.

  Amy and Ben sat on a sofa opposite Mamie.

  ‘Is Zee dead?’

  ‘What did your brothers and sister tell you?’ Amy asked cautiously.

  ‘That Zee’s in heaven and I won’t see her any more.’

  ‘That’s right, Mamie,’ Amy answered.

  ‘I liked Zee.’ Mamie paused. ‘Now Jack hasn’t a wife again. Jodie, his first wife, was nice like Zee. She used to take me to the park.’ Mamie’s eyes filled with tears. ‘She died.’ Mamie fumbled beneath her blouse. ‘Jodie gave me something for “a borrow”, but I wasn’t able to give it back. You’re the police. I should give it to you.’

  ‘Not if Jodie wanted you to have it, Mamie.’

  ‘It’s gold.’ Mamie pulled a pendant from her collar.

  ‘That’s lovely, Mamie.’ Amy admired the antique embossed locket.

  ‘There’s a secret
inside. Jodie showed me.’ Mamie’s voice rose. ‘I tried to give it back, but Leila said there was no time and Jodie wanted me to have it and—’

  ‘Don’t get upset, Mamie,’ Amy tried to distract her. ‘Can you show me the secret?’

  Mamie flicked the catch on the locket. It opened and a square of film fell out. Mamie picked it up and held it carefully by the edges. ‘It’s a picture of my nephew, taken before he was born,’ Mamie said proudly. Her bottom lip trembled. ‘Only he wasn’t born. He was in Jodie’s tummy when she died.’

  ‘When did Jodie give you this, Mamie?’ Amy took the film and handed it to Ben.

  ‘When we saw her in Wales.’ Mamie clamped her hands over her mouth. ‘Leila made me promise never to tell anyone. I knew we were in Wales because I read the signs when we went over the big bridge. When we reached the castle, Jodie told me we were in Wales.’

  ‘How long did you spend with Jodie, Mamie?’ Ben asked.

  ‘Part of a day. Jodie made us lunch. That’s when she gave me the locket for “a borrow”. After we’d eaten, Jodie fainted.’

  ‘What happened then, Mamie?’ Amy prompted.

  ‘Leila lifted Jodie on the sofa and sent me to the car. I waited a long time. When Leila came out of the castle I told her about the locket. That’s when she said Jodie wanted me to keep it. I tried telling Leila that Jodie only gave it to me for “a borrow”, but Leila got cross and told me to shut up about the locket. Then Leila drove back to the hotel in Cornwall. After our holiday, Leila said Jodie had died and I wasn’t to upset Jack by talking about her. I wanted to tell Jack about the locket, but I was afraid he’d be angry with me, like Leila. Then Jack met Zee.’ Mamie’s voice dropped to a whisper. ‘Now she’s dead too.’

  Leila walked in with Jack, Michael and Alice.

  ‘I thought I heard Mamie talking,’ Leila reproached Amy. ‘You can’t interview her. I’m her guardian and I won’t allow it. She left the building before Zee this morning. She knows nothing—’