by SP Edwards
Marr nodded. It was a good question.
A very good question, in fact.
CHAPTER FOUR
It took Sam a couple of minutes to find the bar, which was hidden away in a mezzanine floor in the second biggest barn. Sam guessed that Brian McDermott was probably in his fifties. His body was athletic, a bit gone to seed maybe, and there was no obvious thinning in his white hair.
He was sat at the bar itself, sipping from a glass. Next to him was a bottle of 18 year old Glenmorangie.
'Brian?' Sam asked.
As he looked up, Sam saw that the whites of his eyes were tinged with red.
'Aye', he replied.
'DI Reid. You've already spoken to my colleague, DS Alexander?'
He nodded, and smiled sadly.
'Cracking looking lass, she was. I get the sense she was with the other cop, though.'
Sam smiled back.
'They're married.'
The barman sighed, shaking his head like he’d just had his heart broken. It was the sort of thing that you’d want to tear the bollocks off some suspects for, but Sam knew that he was just distracting himself. The only woman on Brian’s mind for the next few weeks would be the one lying by the water’s edge outside.
'I've got to ask a few questions of my own, if that's alright. I know my colleague already spoke to you.'
Brian nodded.
'Get you a drink?' he asked.
'I wouldn't say no to a Diet Coke, if the taps are on.'
Brian reached over the bar, and retrieved a silver can.
'Only cans I'm afraid.'
'That'll do fine, thanks.'
Sam took the seat next to him, and pulled out her notebook. Brian raised his eyebrows.
'I'd have thought you'd be all iPhones and whatnot these days' he said.
'Some people use them. I started about ten years too early to trust them for anything important.'
Brian chuckled.
'Aye, I tell my son the same thing. He's training as a journalist up in Edinburgh. Does everything by phone, even live transmissions. E-mailing him is as far as I go, though. He tried to talk me into getting an iPad last year: not a chance.’
Sam smiled.
'So, I'll just confirm a few facts. You were out walking your dog when you found Anna?'
Brian nodded.
'He's in one of the barns having a sleep. He's getting to be a lazy wee bugger these days, bit like his owner.'
'And you called the police straight away?'
'Yeah. I waited with the body until the two other detectives arrived.'
Sam nodded. That matched with what Becky had told her.
'And you didn't see anybody else nearby?'
Brian shook his head.
'No, sorry. It was pretty foggy, I didn't see the body until I was a few feet away from it.'
'Was there anyone else out and about that early?'
'Not that I saw. It’s usually dead at that time. Even on wedding days no-one shows up much before ten.'
'You must have arrived early to take the delivery?'
'No, I stayed over in one of the suites. Tend to do that when there’s a delivery coming in, gives me an extra hour in bed. I took the delivery in about half an hour before I took Hector for a walk. '
'That's early.'
'Yeah, our drinks supplier is in Colchester, so we're the first trip on the rounds. I don't mind, I'm an early riser anyway.'
'Where do you live?'
'Woodbridge, in Suffolk.'
A decent enough journey, thought Sam. It made sense that the barman would rather sleep here than get up at four.
'Would the driver have seen the body?'
Brian shook his head.
'No, it was too murky for that. The stream's a good fifty metres from the road, and it's not like Kev would have been going out of his way to look for anything that's not a coffee shop at that time.'
'You've got a regular driver?'
'Yeah, Kevin Waterson. The company's called Drinks-u-Like. I know, professional sounding right? But they're a good bunch of guys. I can pass the number on or get Kev to call you if you want.'
'That would be great, thanks.'
Sam handed over her card.
'DI Reid,' Brian read out loud, 'You're a Scot?'
Sam smiled.
'Grandfather's side. Mother's Welsh.'
The barman laughed, his facing brightening a bit.
'Six nations must be fun' he said.
‘Nothing but tension for six weeks. One last thing: have you got any security systems in place. CCTV, that kind of thing?'
Brian frowned and shook his head.
'No. The only cameras are in here and in the office, for the safe.’
That was risky, Sam thought. This was a multi-million pound estate.
Brian was smiling.
'Odd, eh?' he said. 'To tell you the truth, the powers that be just don't want to spend the cash on the extra security. If it wasn’t the law, I don’t think we’d even have a camera in the bar. The office has the safe. I looked, though; it’s fine. No burglary. Bad luck, eh?'
Sam nodded.
‘Bad luck’, she replied.
CHAPTER FIVE
Sam leant against the wall, smoking a cigarette and looking out across the grounds of the house. A number of CSIs were still working the fields, dotted like white scarecrows against the green.
Anna Markham's body had been taken away around fifteen minutes ago, the doctor following the ambulance. From her courtyard vantage point, Sam had been able to enjoy the sight of the good doctor's fury at the extra mud now caked to his car.
Smiling, she took another deep drag of the cigarette.
'DS Reid.'
Sam turned around to see Becky walking up to her, holding out her phone.
'I've just had a call from a Caroline Marcus, asking about Anna Markham.' Becky said.
Sam didn't recognise the name.
'What did she want to know?'
'She was asking me to confirm whether or not Anna was dead.'
'What did you say?'
'Said I couldn't confirm anything. She could have just been press.'
That was true, thought Sam. But if she was press, how the hell had she found out about the murder already? The family could have run to the press, she supposed, but that would have been a first.
‘Give Rob a call, see if he knows who she is.’
Becky did so. A quick thirty seconds later they had the answer.
‘Caroline’s is Anna’s best friend. Rob is still with Anna’s parents, so they didn’t tell her. It must have been the fiancée.’
‘What’s his name?’
‘Gregor Stanic.’
Anna nodded.
‘OK, thanks Becky. I’ll take care of it.’
Becky gave Sam Caroline’s number before returning to the main barn.
The first ring had barely sounded when there was a soft ‘click’.
'Hello?' asked a female voice. It was high, almost a squeak. Caroline Marcus – if that was who it was - sounded frantic.
'Caroline?' Sam asked.
'Yes. Who's this?'
'My name’s Detective Inspector Reid. I believe you rang my colleague a few moments ago.'
'Oh god, is Anna OK? The other detective wouldn't tell me.'
'Were you and Anna close?' Sam asked.
'Oh god, really, though, is she OK?'
'Caroline, I think it would be useful if you came to see us.'
‘Of course, yes, where, Hendon House?'
Sam looked back across the field, where the white CSIs were still dotted against fields.
'Actually, I’ll come and see you’ she decided, ‘What's your address?'
Caroline lived close by; this side of Colchester. Sam checked her watch. A twenty minute drive at most.
'OK, Caroline, I'll be with you soon, give me an hour or so.'
She cut the call before Caroline could ask the question again, then dialled through to Marr.
'And that, DI Reid, is why you'll be a Superintendent someday,’ Marr replied.
Sam lowered her voice.
‘Don’t be so fucking patronising’ she said, though she was smiling when she hung up.
CHAPTER SIX
Caroline Marcus' flat was in the Hythe area of Colchester. Traffic was pretty light, so Sam had no problem dealing with the one way system. She arrived at the building five minutes later than she’d planned, but didn't think that would be much of a problem. Caroline wasn't going anywhere until she got confirmation that Anna was dead.
Even so, it was a surprise to see her waiting by the outside door to the building. It didn't take much working out that it was her: her hands were still trembling.
'Caroline?' Sam asked.
Caroline nodded. Her forehead was a mess of worry lines.
'Thanks for coming.' she said.
'Of course. Shall we go up?'
They'd been in the flat less than five seconds when Caroline asked the same question. Convinced that she wasn’t a reporter, Sam gave her the answer. The honest one.
Caroline instantly deflated, the anxiety flooding out and the numbness rushing in. Her hand stopped shaking. She sank onto the sofa, her eyes fixed on the carpet.
'I'm sorry,' Sam said. 'Shall I make us a drink?'
The reply was non-existent, but Sam carried on anyway. There was little point just staring at the poor girl and waiting.
As Sam busied herself with the kettle, she heard the click of the door behind her. Caroline had locked herself in the bathroom. Briefly, Sam was worried. Then she heard the unmistakable sound of retching.
Two steaming mugs of tea were on the coffee table by the time Caroline re-emerged. Her face had regained a bit of colour, but she still looked very shaky.
'I couldn't find the sugar,' Sam said, trying to sound as comforting as possible. This was the one bit of the job she had never, ever clicked with. Some people had the art of the death message down pat; it seemed to be something you were born with, just like some people could walk into a room and be everyone’s friend within minutes. Sam had tried, but it just felt so unnatural; what you were meant to say, and how you were meant to say it. The simple fact was that no matter what she said, Sam never felt like she was really helping. Maybe someone good at delivering bad news – Becky was exemplary – really did think she was making a difference. Maybe that was the key.
Caroline sat down.
'I'll get this out of the way,' Sam began, 'Who told you about Anna’s Death?'
Caroline said nothing, and wouldn’t meet Sam’s eyes.
'It's OK, you won't get them in trouble,’ Sam continued, ‘You were Anna's best friend, it's natural they would have told you.’
There was no smile, but Caroline replied.
'Greg. Greg rang me after the cop had left his house.'
That was as expected, thought Sam. Partners were always more likely to take friends into account; they spent more time together. Family, especially parents, well…the family was what mattered in the end.
'What did he tell you?' asked Sam.
'That Anna had been killed, and that her body had been found by the lake at Hendon House.'
'OK. And have you told anybody else at all?'
Caroline shook her head.
'No, honest.'
'That’s alright, we just have to check. I'm going to ask you a few questions about Anna now, if that's OK?'
Caroline nodded her agreement.
'How long had you known her?'
'Fifteen years. Since college. Post-16.'
'And you'd been friends since?'
'Yes. All through university.'
'Did you go to the same University as each other?'
'Yes. Economics at the LSE.'
'Impressive. How did you find it?'
Caroline smiled.
'A bit boring. At least I did; Anna liked it. She was focused. Pretty average ability wise, like me, but a much harder worker. She nearly got a first, I was at the bottom end of the two-ones.'
'Me too' said Sam. Not entirely true. She’d got a two one, but it had been pretty comfortable. She definitely could have done better, that much was for sure.
'Did she meet Greg at University?'
Caroline shook her head.
'No. She met him about three years ago.'
'How?'
'Through me.'
'You work with Greg?'
'I used to. Harpenden & Marshall accountants in Chelmsford. Greg learned his trade there before going freelance to get the extra money. He spent eight years in the army, so he had the discipline to do it.'
Made sense, thought Sam. Hard work and discipline. Just the sort of apprentice that any company would snap up, knowing they could replace him with another apprentice when the time came for him to move on.
'How was he to work with?' Sam asked.
Caroline thought about it for a moment.
'He was OK. To tell you the truth, he was sort of the office slut. Sorry, that sounds bad. But he had a few partners there: a couple of affairs with married women.'
Again, it made sense enough. Fit, ambitious.
'Did you and he..?'
Caroline shook his head.
'Oh no, I had a steady boyfriend then. One I actually liked. He moved up to Scotland, though. Better opportunities, apparently.'
Caroline's lip curled slightly. Sam guessed that the break-up had been mutual-but-not.
'Would you have been interested if not?' Sam asked.
There was no reply for a moment, then:
'Yeah, I guess so. Greg's a good looking guy. Quite masculine. I can see why he did as well as he did. I mean, he got Anna to settle: that’s no mean feat in itself.’
'Did Anna enjoy her sex life?'
Caroline paused and looked up.
'Thanks for saying it like that.’
‘Like what?’
‘Well, whenever that question comes up; the way people ask…it just pisses me off. Shag around. Sleep around. You know, like it’s wrong for a woman to enjoy sex.’
Sam shrugged, and was pleased to see Caroline smile for the first time.
'True. But no, that wasn't actually what I meant. To be honest, I thought Anna would always be a bit of a workhorse; married to the job. She’d always talked about getting married at Hendon, but after five years or so of work any talk about blokes or marriage disappeared. Until she met Greg, she hadn’t seemed in the slightest bit bothered.’
'Did you set her and Greg up?'
'No. They met at one of the Christmas parties. It was just after Andy left, so I wanted a girl-date who could sit and be bitter with me. Fat chance: Anna and Greg started off arguing about Iraq and ended up kissing. That's love for you.'
‘What did you think of them as a couple?’
‘When they first started, I thought they’d be too much for each other. Greg’s your clichéd alpha, and Anna was as tough as nails. I was happy to be wrong, though. I know it’s something you hear about all the time, but they just seemed to make each other better. He dropped a lot of the posturing, and she opened up more. They looked after each other.’
‘Did anyone have a problem with the relationship that you know of?’
Caroline laughed.
‘Tom. Thomas Coulthard, sorry.’
Sam made a note of the name.
‘He was Anna’s other best friend. He’d known her for years, since school. They played together all the time when they were kids. He was the one friend from when she was really young that stuck around.’
‘What did you think of him?’ Sam asked.
Caroline’s body language had changed: there were goosebumps forming on the pale skin of her arm.
‘You know how some men just…well, t
hey set alarm bells ringing?’
Sam nodded. As a cop, dealing with men like that was an occupational hazard.
‘Tom’s like that for me. I don’t know why. He’s harmless; pathetic, really. I just didn’t like being around him. I tended to make myself scarce whenever he and Anna would hang out. She didn’t see him too much in the last couple of years, so it didn’t cause any problems.’
‘They still saw each other?’
‘Every two or three months. Not a lot. They used to hang out all the time at college I think, though: before we started uni.’
‘Was he in love with Anna?’
Caroline nodded.
‘Yeah, or at least he used to be. When they were younger, they talked about it. Anna wasn’t interested, so they never brought it up again. At least, that’s what she told me.’
‘What did you think?’
‘I wasn’t too convinced. Even though he is how he is, I did feel a bit sorry for him. The way he used to look at her; like a dog looking at its owner. Desperate for approval.’
‘Could he have killed Anna?’ Sam asked.
Caroline looked thoughtful.
‘No, I don’t think so. I just don’t think he’d be up to it, to be honest.’
‘Can you think of anyone who would be up to it?’
‘I really can’t. I mean, who the hell would hurt Anna? She was great. I mean, she was a bit intense sometimes, but she was so kind to me, and her parents, and she loved Greg. Really, really loved him. And now…’
Caroline coughed, and then a sob came seemed to come from nowhere. Five seconds later, she wasn’t capable of talking anymore.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Marr groaned loudly, not relinquishing his grip on Sam’s hips as he came.
For a moment they were both still, then Sam moved off him and collapsed back onto the bed, breathing heavily.
Marr reached across for the half-empty pack of cigarettes on the bedside table.
‘Don’t you only smoke those after sex?’ Sam asked.
‘Yeah. It would be more suspicious if I didn’t smell of it every now and then, anyway: it’s not like she doesn’t know I smoke.’
Sam nodded, and they were silent for a moment.
‘Do you think Lizzie knows?’ she finally said.