by Emily Selby
Katie's jaw dropped. This wasn't quite her understanding of her chat with Zuza a few days ago. Did Zuza lie to the police? Or to her? Should she tell Jack about it? But how? She wasn't sure anymore if she remembered it all well...
'Do you want me to ask around if anyone saw my pen being used and by whom?' Katie asked, trying to recall her conversation with sobbing Zuza. She'd better check with her again.
'No. At this stage, I'm thinking of bringing the girlfriend back for another interview. But let me know if you hear anything.'
Katie nodded absentmindedly. She would pop in to see if Zuza was at work, in the pub on her way home. The pub should be open for lunch.
'I've heard you can transcribe tapes. Here's mine,' he carried on and put a tape on her desk. Katie glanced at it.
'When do you need it for?'
'Before the end of the week.'
'Okay,' she answered mechanically.
'Oh, one more thing, Katie,' Jack said with his hand on the handle. 'You can go back to your flat this afternoon. We've finished with it. Do you have someone to stay with in case you don’t feel comfortable tonight?'
Katie thought of Michelle and Kevin. She was sure they wouldn't mind if she stayed for another night, but she was very keen to get back to her own flat.
'I'll be fine, thanks.' She snapped back into the here and now. 'Speaking of this evening,' Katie added. 'I've got nothing to do, I can come in and transcribe the interview, so you have it ASAP.'
'No rush, Katie. But thank you.'
She'd do it this evening. She was dying to hear what Chiara and Sofia had said. But even more, she wanted to know if Zuza lied to her or the police, and why.
21
The moment she walked out of her office, Katie had a clear direction in mind. First - The Royal Oak.
Happy to have finished covering at Willow Park, she had the whole afternoon at her disposal. Which, although tough on her finances, was great, because she had time to find a way to broach the subject with Zuza. She couldn't just ask her why she'd lied to the police. She needed a plan.
She climbed into her car with an idea, and by the time she reached the pub, she knew what and how she was going to proceed.
Luckily for Katie, Zuza was behind the bar this lunchtime. The pub was starting to fill up. If she wanted to keep it casual and, above all, discreet, Katie didn't have much time to conduct her undercover interview.
'Hi, Zuza, good to see you again. How are you?'
'Much better than the last time you saw me.' The barmaid indeed, looked much better. No dark circles under her eyes, no scruffy hair. 'What can I get you?'
'Nothing. Just wanted to check how you are. You didn't come to our last meeting at the Club.'
'Yes, sorry,' Zuza replied with a shudder. 'I've not been really in a mood for crafts.'
'I find it a good distraction from all the grim things going on in town lately.'
'You're right. It helps. It makes you feel happier. Maybe I should do something positive. Like create "Thank You" cards for all my friends who have been supporting me.'
Katie jumped on the opportunity. 'Great idea. Let me know if you want access to the club. You know you can use it outside the normal meeting hours?' she probed gently.
'Yes. And I have.'
This is a good start.
'When did you last work on a card?'
Zuza squinted her big blue eyes. 'I tried making a card for Mother's Day. But I didn't finish it.'
Aha!
'That was back in March?'
'No, in May. Mother's Day in Poland is on the 26th of May.'
Aha... So, it was in May. Sofia was right.
'What sort of card did you make?'
Zuza flicked her blond curls back and nodded at someone behind Katie's back. 'I tried those fancy hand-writing. I used you pen. I hope you don't mind.'
Katie sucked in breath, and she gave herself a mental nudge to keep her body language under control.
'No, of course not.' She shrugged. 'I've said it's okay for people to use my tools, as long as they return them.'
Zuza's pretty face flinched. 'I'm sorry. I think I might have lost your pen. I came back a week later, on my day off, wanting to finish the card, but I couldn't find the pen anymore.'
'Did you tell the police about it?'
A flicker of fear appeared in Zuza's eyes. 'No... I forgot. I-I...'
'Did they ask you about the pen? Do you know that the pen was used-'
'Yes, I do,' Zuza interrupted, her face tense. 'I just didn't recognise it back then when they showed me the photo of it. I forgot completely about card making, I kept thinking about... about all sorts of things to do with Zac, and...' Her voice trailed off. Tears glistened in her eyes, threatening to fall.
Katie opened her mouth. Questions were swirling in her head. Which one should she ask first?
'Two coffees to go, please?' Someone called out and Zuza's snapped back into her role.
'Please, take a seat. I'll get them for you,' Zuza replied and busied herself with the coffee machine.
Katie chewed on her cheek, considering her next move.
'I think you need to tell them about it,' Katie said after Zuza finished serving the coffee. 'That you used the pen, but it disappeared later.'
'They'll think I took it to kill Zac!' Zuza glared back at her.
'Why would they? They haven't suspected you so far.'
Zuza froze. Her mouth trembled. Tears glistened in her eyes again. She leant on the counter.
'I didn't really tell them everything, you see...'
'What didn't you tell them?'
'About the argument we had the day he died.'
'You suspected he had another girlfriend, didn't you?' Katie remembered. That was a trail she’d yet to explore. 'Did you tell them about that?'
Zuza's eyes widened. She shot a quick glance around. 'How do you know? Did I tell you that?'
Katie nodded. 'You were very upset that day.'
Zuza sighed heavily. 'I didn't tell the police. I didn't want to sound like a crazy girlfriend with a motive to kill him,' she said so quietly, Katie had to lean closer to hear. 'But I've been thinking about it. I've checked his Facebook account. I spent all evening the other day going through his photos. Most of them with his mates. A lot of cars. Nothing. Maybe, he was just trying to make me feel jealous.'
'No girls at all?'
'I know. Strange. He was a good-looking man. There were always a lot of girls around him. But he was more interested in his stupid car races than in girls. So, I've learnt to live with it. He seemed interested enough in me, and I was happy. Until this summer. I could feel something was going on. But apart from the lipstick smudged t-shirt nothing.'
Zuza looked away and wiped her eyes with a tissue.
'No other proof?'
'No.'
'The person with the lipstick might be important to the investigation,' Katie said cautiously. 'Do you know who else might know? Have you checked with his mates? Are you in touch with them?'
'One or two. We're friends on Facebook. Do you think I should contact them and ask if they knew of this other woman?'
'Only if you feel comfortable doing so. And you should definitely talk to the police.'
'Do you think this could help find Zac's murderer?'
'Yes, I do. I also think it could help you to come to terms with what happened.'
As well as clarify if you're guilty or not.
'I know he wasn't perfect, he had anger issues, often got into fights. He might have done some illegal stuff. He nearly assaulted me once, but I was in love with him. Most of the time, he was funny, caring and cute. He loved his grandma. He was a person who was loved. I don't want for his murderer to-you know–'
'To get away with it?' Katie suggested. 'You're right. Murder is wrong, and justice needs to be served, properly dealt with.'
'Yes. I wanted to say that I'm not doing it for myself. I don't care if he had another girlfriend. I just think that someone killing
another person should be punished. I will talk to the police,' Zuza said solemnly. 'As soon as I have an opportunity.'
Katie forced her lips into a smile. She had a hunch that an opportunity like this would appear very soon, and it might not be in Zuza's control.
Katie left the pub with even more questions. But maybe the interview she was about to type up would answer some of them.
22
Katie sneaked back into her office, grabbing the spare key to her house from her cubbyhole and a fresh cup of tea from the staff room on the way. With Jack's tape and the dusty typing equipment ready, she sat at the desk ready to dive in. It took her a while to get used to the process again, but halfway through the cup of tea she was able to listen to the tape and operate the machine.
It was hard to process the information as she was typing, and she had to keep pausing and rerunning some passages.
After all parties had introduced themselves and Jack made his comments about this being an informal interview, Sofia launched into a tirade about wasting time. She insisted she and her mother be interviewed together.
'My mother is in poor health. As you can see, she's in the wheelchair. She needs emotional support. This has been a very stressful time for us.'
Initially, Jack tried to insist on the women being interviewed separately but eventually, he gave in.
'However, if I have any further questions, I'd like to get back to you individually,' he said.
He proceeded to ask them about their connection to the abandoned house.
It was interesting to hear how he manoeuvred the information. He only had to hint at things and get Chiara and Sofia to talk.
'So, you're staying in the family house. This is not the house at 1, Stream Drive?'
‘No, that house is uninhabitable. It's a ruin, Inspector.'
'Since when?'
Chiara replied. Her voice was weak. Katie had to re-run all she said a couple of times before she could catch the words.
'It's been several years, Inspector. At least fifty, I’d say. My mother moved out and went to live with her new husband when I was... about six or seven.'
'Has anybody lived in the house since?'
'Not to my knowledge. Only a part of the house was finished. My parents were planning further works, but the money ran out. It was left in that state, unfinished.'
'Was anything valuable left in the house?'
'I'm not aware of anything. I'm sure if there were any things, they would have gone by now. My family, my mother's family, that is, are not well-off. And I'm afraid when my father died, the Marino side of the family were not particularly supportive. My father left a number of debts, my mother couldn't work with two little children in tow. You see, Inspector, back then suicide was a shame on the family. Particularly for a Catholic family like mine. We are Italian. These things mattered.'
Chiara spoke weakly, but her words were careful. She seemed open about her past, yet measured. Katie wondered, whether she had rehearsed her answers.
'I'm very sorry to hear about your father's situation. How old were you when it happened?'
'I must protest, Inspector!’ Sophia interrupted. 'These things have nothing to do with the house. You wanted to know about the old house, let's talk about that. Please, don't traumatise my poor, sick mother with your questions. Why are you even asking us about this old house? What's the connection between it and your investigations? Murder investigations, I understand.'
'Indeed, Ms Parker. There have been two murders in the last weeks. One of the victims, Ash Stanley, appeared to have a certain connection with that old house. Can you tell me anything about that connection?'
There was a long silence. Katie could only guess Chiara and Sofia might have exchange glances. Jack probably watched them carefully. After a while Sofia asked in a clipped voice.
'Can you please rephrase your question? I'm not sure I'm following.'
'Did you know Ash Stanley?'
'Yes,' Sofia continued in the clipped voice. 'We've both met him. Not a pleasant man.'
'Oh, Sofia, darling, he was an awful, awful man. All of them were,' Chiara cut in, with her trembling voice, brimming with pain. Katie's skin crawled. Chiara must have been deeply traumatised by her interactions with Ash Stanley and his family.
'In what way was he awful? Did he make any threats?' Jack continued in a very matter-of-fact way.
'No, he didn't,' Sofia replied, calmly, while someone, presumably Chiara was blowing her nose in the background. 'But I understand my mother had some unpleasant memories of the Stanley family as a child. These are old things though, Inspector, and very painful for my mother. If possible, please, don't go there. I'll try to answer whatever questions I may.
'Uhm,' Jack made a grunting noise. 'So, what did Mr Stanley want from you?'
'He just tried to buy us out of the house.'
'What do you mean by that?'
'He inherited a minority share in the house, ten per cent from his father,' Sofia continued, calmly. 'It was an old deal. His father forced my grandmother to agree to it. It was as a way of paying off some of my grandfather's debts to the Stanleys. So, my grandmother, pushed to the edge, in a desperate attempt to protect herself and two small children, offered him a tenant-in-common deal in exchange for writing off some of the debt. Do you understand what tenant-in-common means, Inspector?'
'It's a way of sharing the ownership of a property, where the owners have distinct shares and have the right to leave their share to anyone upon their death.'
'That's right,' Sofia continued. 'It also means that the property can't be sold as a whole unit without all parties agreeing to it. But sadly, it was not enough,' Sofia carried on. 'My grandmother also had to sell the workshop and lease the land. Ever since, we've been unable to sell the house because of that stupid agreement. Stanley junior wanted the house to himself in order to sell it to the developer. He expected to make a great deal of money.'
'So, when did he try to buy the house from you?'
'Mum, do you remember when he first contacted you?'
'No, my memory is not so good. I am really not sure,' Chiara replied, her voice trembling again. 'Don't you remember, baby? I think it was a few months after your Grandma died.'
'Yes. Early summer. June or July.'
'And you didn't want to sell the house. Why?' Jack asked.
'It's my family home, Inspector,' Chiara said with pride.
Sofia gave a big sigh. 'I know it may sound strange, but Mum has an emotional attachment to the house. And from the more pragmatic point of view, the price he offered wasn't particularly enticing. Sorry mum, but I've done some research and consultations behind your back. Apparently, the plot was worth more, but unfortunately, we only lease it.'
'Did Mr Stanley know about the land being leased?'
'I don't think so. I didn't tell him about it. I didn't want to show all our cards, Inspector,' Sofia replied.
Katie was surprised to hear Sofia speaking about family secrets so calmly and candidly. It was so unlike the secretive Sofia she saw in the Crafts room.
'Am I correct in thinking the plot has been leased to Mr Bower? Have you had any dealings with him over it?'
'That's right. The moment I realised the land was leased out, I contacted Mr Bower senior, but...' Sofia hesitated. 'How do I put it? He didn't strike me as someone who was in a position to do business with at the time. He was in hospital. More recently, I was contacted by Mr Bower Junior. He offered to buy the house from us, and he insisted the lease was due to expire soon. We don't have the original document, but as far as we know, this should have not been the case. Anyway, he insisted the house was worth very little because of the short lease. He hinted that if we sold the house to him, he could help us get rid of the other claimant. I was surprised to see he was aware of the ownership problem, as I'd believed the agreement was not common knowledge.'
Wow, that was an interesting development. Katie rewound the tape to make sure she had caught all that was said. Mi
chael Bower did have contact with the Marinos. And it sounded as though he might have planned to get rid of Ash Stanley. Katie ran her tongue around her bone-dry mouth. She pressed the play button again.
'Has Mr Bower Junior ever mentioned how he was going to- let me quote this, "get rid of the other claimant"?'
'No, he never said anything. Actually, what I said might be a misinterpretation. I can't remember his words exactly,' Sofia said carefully.
So, Michael has been playing dirty...
'If I may bring your attention to the issue of inheritance on death in the case of tenants-in-common, Inspector,' Sofia added hastily. 'Unless the agreement was dissolved, my mother, who has inherited the house, would not become the owner of the entire property on Mr Stanley's death. We do not benefit from his death. On the contrary, it makes it even more complicated for us in terms of dealing with our share of the house. It'll be months if not longer before we know who inherits his share in our property.'
Interesting... Who did then?
'Do you know who might benefit from his death?'
'No, Inspector. We were not in any way acquainted.'
The interview progressed. Jack asked a few more questions related to the decision to move to Sunnyvale. Katie tried to listen, but it was hard to type and follow at the same time. She had to switch between listening and typing mode. This time it was Chiara who explained. She gave Jack some stuff about reconnecting with her roots and old friends and family, wanting to live in a quiet place to recover from a horrendous trauma. Katie found it difficult to listen to Chiara speaking in her trembling voice - she kept thinking back to all the horrible things that had happened to young Chiara: the abandonment, bullying, rejection, health problems. Katie's heart went to the woman.
'I have a few more questions,' Jack said. 'Can you please tell me about your movements on the morning of Friday, 29th of September and the evening of Friday 6th of October.'