Eva’s dark eyes swam with tears.
“They haven’t had to swallow the bile of their own lies.” She held the basket under Eva’s face. “We traced the account.” She waved her phone at Eva. “We know that the account in Poland is held in your name. And we know that the payments were started at the end of January 2014. We also know that the payments were backdated to the eighth of December 2013. I can prove all of that. I can also prove that you were here throughout that period. And I can prove you knew the victim.”
Eva finally gave up the battle and threw up.
The smell made Kate’s own stomach churn.
“Eva Kutenova, you are under arrest on suspicion of fraudulently receiving monies from a government agency. You do not have to say anything unless you wish to do so, but you may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something you later rely on in court. Anything you say can be used as evidence. Do you understand your rights as I have explained them to you?”
Eva nodded. “Yes.” She let her head fall to her chest. “I know it was wrong. I just needed the money. No one else even noticed he was gone. I didn’t hurt him. I liked Alan. But he was an old man, and he wouldn’t have survived long out there. The government didn’t miss him. The staff didn’t miss him. He had no family, but he was a kind man. He would help anyone in trouble if he could. That is the kind of man he was. Was the kind of man he was.” She heaved again. “He would have wanted me to take the money if he’d known how much I needed it.”
“Tell me everything, Eva. From the beginning. What happened that night?”
“I wasn’t here the night he went missing.”
“So how do you know when he went missing?”
She shook her head. “I was never certain until you told me. I only knew when I had last seen Alan, and that was the Friday afternoon before the flood. When I came back to work after the weekend, he was gone. I didn’t realise though until halfway through the week that I hadn’t seen him. I went to his room, but there was someone else in there.”
Kate nodded and let her continue in her own time.
“His things, his belongings were all gone, and the folder with his notes in too. At first I wondered if he had died too. But no one had mentioned him passing. Not like Annie’s death. Everyone was talking about that.”
“Why?” Kate leaned back in her chair making it feel more like a conversation than an interrogation. She’d found in the past that once they started talking, it was easier to keep them going if there was less pressure. It seemed counterintuitive at first, but it really did work.
“It was so sad. She was a lovely lady, but so poorly. It was the first time I had seen death to be a blessing. I was still so angry at my husband’s death then that I couldn’t think of it as the release that so many of the people here see it as.” Eva twisted the button on her cardigan again. Round and round, through the button hole, then back out again.
“I see.”
“When I realised that he wasn’t dead but that no one seemed to be missing him, I tried to talk to Sister Ama. But she was drunk and didn’t remember what she was supposed to do. By this time I realised that, if he hadn’t already been found by someone, it was likely too late to help him.”
“When was this?”
“Just before Christmas.” She frowned and stopped twisting the button for a moment. “Yes, maybe a day, two at the most, before.”
“Christmas 2013?” Kate asked to clarify.
“Yes.”
Kate scribbled a note on her pad. “Thank you. Please carry on.”
“Just before Christmas, Sister Ama started getting me to take care of her paperwork on the computer. She would dictate letters and medical notes, but a lot of the data-entry-level stuff, she just left me to take care of while she drank herself into a stupor.”
“You didn’t think to tell anyone about this?”
“Who was I supposed to tell? I was new to the country, my colleagues changed from day to day, only the night staff seemed to be full-time at that point, and my boss was an alcoholic. Who was I supposed to turn to?” She pushed the button out of the buttonhole again. The thread was starting to fray.
“You could have come to the police.”
Eva barked a laugh. “Right. And you would have taken me seriously? Excuse me, officer, but I think there is an old man missing from home but no one else remembers him. Can you go take a look, thank you.” She laughed again. “You would have laughed at my face.”
Kate wanted to tell her she was mistaken, but sadly she didn’t think she was. She recalled a moment from her previous case where the victim had gone to the local police for help. They’d effectively laughed at her and their dismissal had cost Connie Wells her life. Did she have complete faith that Eva Kutenova would have been treated with any greater respect? Erm, no. “I’m sorry you felt you couldn’t come to us for help. Please carry on.”
Eva closed her eyes and reached for another tissue. “My daughter’s hair was like yours. Red and long, and beautiful.” She wept into the tissue. “She was sick. I needed more money than I can earn here to pay for her care. Sister Ama had me updating the accounts payable and I saw opportunity. Alan wasn’t here, but the home had been receiving his money from the government all that time. Why shouldn’t my daughter have it instead?”
“When was this?”
“End of January 2014. I entered all data in the new year. Sister Ama said it was to make sure that there was enough money coming in to cover wages over the holiday period while we had to wait for new residents.”
“Sister Ama sounds like a peach. I don’t suppose you know where I can find her, do you? I’ll need to speak to her about her numerous crimes too.”
“Good luck.” She smoothed the tissue open on her lap and tried in vain to straighten the soft paper.
“What do you mean?”
“She’s dead. Liver disease.”
Bollocks. Diana Lodge had said her predecessor had passed away from illness. Kate hadn’t realised it would be the same woman. “I see. So you decided you needed Alan’s money more than she did?”
She shrugged. “Yes.”
“And what did you do?”
“I changed the details on our computer system and deleted any record of Alan Parr, then I changed the reference name on the payment and changed the account it was paid into. It was quite simple in the end, and I could do it all by computer. All I needed was Sister Ama’s password.”
“How did you know his body wouldn’t be found?”
Eva shrugged. “I didn’t.”
“You didn’t, but you still went ahead and took the money?”
“I didn’t have a choice.” She scrunched the tissue in her hand.
“Yes, you did, Eva. No one forced you to steal the money. No one forced you to stay quiet about Alan’s disappearance. No one forced you to lie to us about who he was. You’ve made choices all along. Bad ones. So why should I believe that you didn’t know where Alan’s body was? You’ve lied to me from the start.”
“I didn’t know. I swear.”
Kate shook her head. She had to push. She had to be sure. “You’ve given me no reason to believe you. Why shouldn’t I be charging you with murder?”
“No, no. I didn’t.” She reached for Kate’s hand and tugged it towards her, begging, pleading with her eyes that Kate believe her. “I didn’t hurt him. I have lived the past three years waiting for today. Waiting for him to come back.” She let go of Kate’s hand and pulled another tissue from the box. She wiped her eyes and her nose. “A part of me wished that he would just walk back in the door and that he was okay, but most of me knew he would not. That this would only happen when his body was found.” She tossed the tissue on the table. “The more time that passed, the more I could sleep. I had prayed to God over and over to help me. To help my little girl. And then this happened. He answered my prayers. He showed me how I could help my daughter.”
“God helped you?”
“Yes. He answered my prayers.”
“It was not a criminal act. I only took what I needed. I was going to stop when I didn’t need the money any more. It wasn’t for me. It wasn’t.”
“You were going to stop?”
Eva nodded.
“For the recording please.”
“Yes.”
“And how did you plan to do that?”
“I planned to stop the payment or reroute it back to the nursing home if he was found or when I didn’t need the money any more. It was just while she needed the care.”
“And she still needs it now?”
Eva looked down but didn’t answer.
“I’ll take that as a no. So why haven’t you stopped the payment like you planned?”
“Sister Lodge is here now. I can’t get access to the computer any more. I don’t have her passwords. The system has changed, there are many passwords that you need now to do things like this. And a little machine for a card. I couldn’t stop the payments.”
“So your daughter’s only just recovered?”
“No.” She squeezed her eyes closed. “She passed away.”
Ouch. She couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for the woman. Eva had lost everyone, and now she was going to lose her freedom too. “I’m very sorry for your loss, Eva.”
Eva nodded and wiped at the fresh tears down her cheeks.
“You said only the night staff were full-time back then. In 2013. Who was on the night staff then?”
Eva shrugged. “Michal. He’s always worked nights. I think Anna worked nights then. Maybe one or two of the nurses. I’m not sure. The rotas should be on the computer in Sister Lodge’s office. In the back-up drives. They go back five years.”
“Thank you. We’ll take a look for that.” She leaned forward and rested one hand on the arm of Eva’s chair. “Given what you’ve told me, there’s still compelling motive for you to have killed Alan.”
Eva’s eyes widened and her hand shook as she lifted it to her mouth. “I didn’t. I swear.” She reached out towards Kate but stopped before she touched her. “You have to believe me. I couldn’t do something like that.”
“Do you have an alibi for the night in question? The night of the flood.”
“Well, I was at a flood party in Hunstanton. I met up with a lot of Polish people who live and work there.”
“You told me before that you got the bus to King’s Lynn to go home.”
“I did. Then my friend, Maja, she lives in King’s Lynn too, she picked me up to go to the party.”
Kate handed her a pen and piece of paper. “I’m going to need the names and contact details of all the people you can remember being there that night.”
Eva wrote quickly and gave the names of five other people who were there that night.
“Thank you. Eva, are you absolutely certain that you can’t think of anything else that could help us find out what happened to Alan?”
She frowned clearly deep in thought. “No. I’m sorry.”
Kate nodded. “Okay. I’m going to have to take you to the station now.”
“I understand. I wish I could tell Alan how sorry I am. He didn’t deserve this.”
“No one does,” Kate whispered as she led Eva out to her car. She caught a flicker of the curtains from the corner of her eye but by the time she looked up she couldn’t see anyone behind the glass.
CHAPTER 23
“Sammy, get a move on or we’re going to be late,” Gina called up the stairs before she hurried out of the hallway. She couldn’t stop the shudder that ran up her spine. “That’s getting old now.” She opened the fridge door, grabbed the milk bottle, and deposited it on the table as Sammy ran in.
“Sorry, Mum. I was brushing my teeth.”
“Hm. Did you wash your face while you were at it?”
“You said I was running late so I didn’t have time.”
Gina pointed at the door. “Get upstairs and wash your face, you little madam. If you’re quick about it your cornflakes won’t be all soggy by the time you get back.”
“Aw, Mum.”
“Don’t give me that. Now, go.”
Sammy reluctantly scooted down from her seat and trundled out the door.
“Hurry up or they’ll be soggy.” The heavy footsteps on the stairs quickened. “Bloody kid’ll be the death of me one of these days.”
A soft beep from across the room alerted her to her phone. It was still plugged in. She retrieved it and sat back down, enjoying her cup of tea as she opened the app.
How are you doing this morning? xx
Kate. Gina couldn’t keep the smile from her face as she replied.
I’m good. How’re you?
Really? You’re okay after yesterday?
Gina frowned. She didn’t really want to think about yesterday or her meeting with Jodi. She especially didn’t want to think about how she felt about it all. Nor how she hated living in her own house now.
Yeah, I’m fine.
“Mum, can I have a drink please?”
“Yes, water or milk?”
“Milk, please.” Gina poured a large glass while she was still waiting for Kate to respond. It didn’t normally take so long unless she was already at work. She passed the glass to Sammy and bent over her to kiss the top of her head.
“Love you, munchkin.”
Sammy grinned. “Love you too, Mum.”
“Are you still happy about the school thing? Ready for another day of protection punishment?”
The name had been Sammy’s idea. Gina hated it, but it kept it a little bit fun for Sammy, and she was happy to go with whatever made it easier for Sammy.
“Yeppers. It really wasn’t so bad yesterday. Mrs Eastern’s actually kinda fun. Not like Mrs Partridge. She just made me sit and talk to her all through dinner time.”
“How could she? Sit still and talk? You? Never.”
Sammy giggled. “I did, though.” She stopped giggling and frowned. “It was hard to start saying the fings.”
“Things.”
“Right. But when I started, it got easier. It was like when you take the plug out of the bath and the water starts to run away. At first it’s a bit hard to pull the plug out, ’cos of all the water just pushing it down and keeping it stuck in place. You know?”
Gina nodded but didn’t speak. She didn’t want to stop Sammy.
“But when it comes out it all starts to run really fast. It was a bit like that. With my words.”
“Do you want to tell me what you told Mrs Partridge?”
Sammy shrugged. “I don’t fink—”
“Think.”
“Right. I don’t think I can remember everything I said. It was a lot.”
“That’s okay. You can just tell me the parts you remember.”
“I told her about how I thought I’d shot Connie’s face off. And how I thought I was a bad person and should go to jail but that it wasn’t really me what did it. She said she knew it wasn’t me, but she didn’t know that I’d been there. That I saw what happened to Connie. Well, sorta saw.” She pulled a face and put her spoon back in her bowl. Appetite clearly lost. “I asked her if she thought I was a bad person ’cos I saw that. And she said no, but she could understand why it upset me. She said it would’ve upset her too. And she’s like a gazillion years old. So that made me feel a bit better.”
“Why?”
Sammy shrugged. “Didn’t wanna be a baby. But if Mrs Partridge would be upset seeing someone’s face blew off, then I’m not being a baby.” She looked at Gina as though the logic was completely reasonable and she couldn’t understand why everyone else just didn’t get it.
In a Sammy way, Gina did get it. And she wished again that she could go back in time and stop Matt from taking Sammy that night. She’d do anything for Sammy to have been safe in their house that morning. Then none of it would have happened.
“
I asked her if it really was my fault that everyone’s going to jail and all the kids won’t have dads any more. Like me.”
Gina bit her lip. “What did she say?”
“She said no. That it was Ally’s fault, and my dad’s fault a bit, but it was just as much the other kids’ dads’ fault as his. They didn’t have to do the bad stuff, and if they hadn’t, they wouldn’t be going to jail. It’s kinda simples really.”
Gina smiled. “I guess it is. Did that make you feel better?”
Sammy nodded and reached for her glass. “Yeppers. Even if I did have to sit still for hours and hours and hours.”
“Sammy, dinner time is only an hour long.”
“And?”
Gina chuckled and her phone pinged. She ignored it. Sammy was talking and she needed to focus on her. “What else did you talk to Mrs Partridge about?”
“Hm. Well, we talked about the scary dreams.”
“You did?”
Sammy nodded.
“Do you remember them?”
Sammy nodded and put her empty glass down. “But I don’t like to. I wish I could forget them.”
“Are they all the same or are they different?”
“They all start the same, but sometimes they end different.”
“What happens in them?”
“They all start with me on the marshes, just like it was the day Connie died. In the dark, then watching it get lighter, with all the water all around. Then I hear the bird scarers and the shooting, and I try to get that rabbit for Dad, and then it changes. Sometimes I just wake up then. I can go back to sleep after those ones. They’re not so scary. It’s the other ones that I don’t like.”
“What happens in the other ones?”
Sammy tucked her hands under her thighs and rocked from side to side like she was trying to bury them further and further away.
“It’s okay. You can tell me. Sometimes telling people helps to make the dreams less scary.”
“That’s what Mrs Partridge said.”
“Did she?”
“Yes.”
“Do you believe her?”
Sammy shrugged. “It didn’t stop me being scared last night when the bad one came. I still woke up and cried.”
“That’s okay. It takes time for the scariest ones to go away. For them to get less scary. It happens over time and the more you talk about them, kiddo.”
Under Parr Page 22