“He used to say that if he found out he was going to be a father again, he’d run,” Alice confided. “That was when the children were young and we were worried I might fall pregnant again, though. When he had the problem with his girlfriend, though, he did the right thing and offered to marry her.”
“And he didn’t have any problems at work?” Janet wondered.
“Not that I knew about, and I would probably have known,” Alice replied. “My friend, the one I’d been on holiday with, worked for the same construction company as Wes. She was in the office, but she heard about everything that happened.”
“And she didn’t ring you when Wes didn’t turn up for work?” Janet demanded.
“She wasn’t back at work yet,” Alice explained. “After our holiday, she flew to Greece for another fortnight in the sun. She was having an affair with the man who owned the company, you see, so she got extra holiday time and she joined him in Greece. Officially, it was a business trip.”
“She never said anything about Wes not getting along with his work colleagues?” Janet asked.
“They all got along just fine,” Alice replied. “Oh, there were a few that he didn’t care for, but it was a large company, and he got along just fine with the guys he usually worked with in Doveby Dale.”
“What about his family?” Janet wondered.
“His parents both passed away when we were first married. His father had cancer repeatedly, from the time Wes was young, and he finally lost his battle against the disease within a year or so of our wedding. His mother just seemed to fade away after that, although she always refused to see a doctor. After she died, they found out that she’d been battling a similar cancer for years but she’d never had any treatment for it.”
Edward nodded. “No siblings?”
“No. He was an only child, which is one of the reasons why we had two kids. I would have stopped at one, myself, but Wes said he was always lonely when he was a child and that losing his parents had been even harder because once they were gone he was alone in the world. He was very convincing, really,” she chuckled.
“What about close friends?” Janet asked.
“He had a few friends, but I don’t know that he was close to any of them. Men don’t have friends in the same way that women do, though, do they?”
“Perhaps not,” Edward said. “Do you know anything about the woman in his life at the time?”
“He had one, but that’s about all that I know. I only know that because he was often out overnight, and he only did that when he had a woman with whom he was staying. As I said earlier, we basically communicated via notes left around the house. I wasn’t interested in his love life and he wasn’t interested in mine.”
“I don’t suppose you remember any of the messages that were on his answering machine when you finally listened to it,” Edward said.
Alice shut her eyes and sat back in her seat. “There were six messages. Four of them were from his employer. One was from a woman, but she didn’t leave her name. It was something along the lines of ‘I miss you. Come see me,’ although I didn’t pay that much attention to it at the time.”
“And the sixth message?” Janet asked.
“Was from a male friend, inviting Wes to meet him at the pub,” Alice told her.
Janet had to stop herself from reaching over to pat the woman’s arm. Whatever Alice said, she obviously still cared about Wes enough to remember those messages from twelve years earlier.
“Was he ever in trouble with the police?” was Edward’s next question.
Alice opened her eyes and then sat back up and laughed. “Never. Which isn’t to say that he was an angel. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but he had a friend with the police. When Wes got stopped for drink driving once, Harold took care of everything for him.”
“Harold?” Janet repeated.
Alice flushed. “I don’t want to get anyone into any trouble,” she protested.
“I don’t think anyone is worried about someone drink driving all those years ago,” Edward said. “But we are interested in speaking to Wes’s friends. It’s just remotely possible that one of them might know where Wes is now.”
“If Harold knew, he would have told me,” Alice said firmly. “We were, well, we were quite friendly for a while, Harold and I.”
“Harold Colbert?” Edward asked.
Alice sighed. “Yes, Harold Colbert. He and Wes were friends before I met Wes and their friendship continued until Wes disappeared.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t ring him to make the missing person report,” Edward said.
“I did ring him, but he had me speak to someone else. As I said, Harold and I were very close at one time,” Alice replied.
“Before or after Wes disappeared?” Janet asked.
“It was before, although we did have another go at a relationship after as well. Harold was seeing someone when I reported Wes missing, but that didn’t work out, so we tried again. It was odd, though, and I ended things pretty quickly the second time.”
“He didn’t know anything about where Wes had gone?” Edward wondered.
“He would have told me if he did. He was the one who’d left the answering machine message, actually, asking Wes to meet him at the pub one night. He was as surprised as I was that Wes was missing,” Alice told him.
“I think we need to speak to Harold,” Edward said to Janet.
“Harold doesn’t know where Wes is,” Alice said. “If he’d heard from Wes, he would have rung me. He knows how much it bothers me, the not knowing.”
“I don’t suppose you still have the answering machine tape from Wes’s machine?” Edward asked.
“I gave it to Harold. He said he’d enter it as evidence in the missing person case and that it would be kept forever,” Alice replied. “He gave me a transcript of the messages. I still have a copy.”
“May I see it?” Edward requested.
“I suppose so.” Alice got to her feet and crossed to a large desk in the corner. She pulled a ring of keys from her pocket and used one to open the top drawer. It only took her a moment to find the papers she wanted.
More proof that she still cares about Wes, Janet thought as Alice walked back towards them. She handed Edward the stapled sheets, and Janet slid forwards to get a better look.
The message from the “unidentified woman” had been date-stamped on the twenty-ninth of February and didn’t give them any additional information. Harold had rung on the third of March.
“Thank you,” Edward said, handing the sheets back to Alice. “We may be back with more questions.”
“You aren’t going to find him, not now,” Alice said sadly. “Harold did his best years ago and he couldn’t find him.”
Edward didn’t bother to reply as he headed for the door. Janet found herself almost running down the corridor as Edward rushed back towards the lifts.
“Are we in a hurry?” she asked as the lift lowered them back to the ground floor.
“Yes, we are,” he said as the lift doors opened. “Harold has had more than enough time to destroy vital evidence.”
Chapter 10
“You think the skeleton is Wes Zachery and you think Harold killed him,” Janet said as Edward started the car.
“I’m loathe to accuse anyone of murder in the absence of evidence, but I suspect that Harold may well know more about the skeleton than he’s admitting,” Edward replied.
“When we first talked about the skeleton, he said we might never know his identity. I just assumed that he saving himself the trouble of saying ‘his or her,’ but maybe he didn’t bother because he knew exactly whom we’d found,” Janet said thoughtfully.
“You didn’t mention that before.”
“It was just a little something that bothered me. People often use male pronouns for people where the gender is unknown. As I said, I simply assumed that was what he was doing. It annoyed me, but it didn’t immediately suggest that he knew whom we’d found.”
“You should have asked Alice about the watch,” Janet suggested.
Edward frowned. “I should have done, but that might be better done with photographs. For now, I’ll settle for talking to Harold and also to Clive.”
“Where are we going?”
“The station in Derby. I’m hoping that’s where we’ll find both men.”
Janet sat back and watched the scenery go rapidly past. It wasn’t long before they were pulling into a large car park outside of the Derby station. Edward pulled out his mobile and within minutes had everything arranged.
“Let’s go,” he said as he dropped his phone back into his pocket.
He gave his name to the constable at the front desk, and they were escorted into a large conference room on the ground floor. Moments later, Harold walked in. Janet thought he looked angry.
“Edward? This is highly unusual,” he said tightly as he put the folder he was carrying on the table.
“I apologise for interrupting your day, but I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t believe that it was important,” Edward replied. “We’re just waiting for one more person.”
“Who?” Harold demanded.
The door opened again and a distinguished-looked man in a dark suit walked into the room. Harold’s back stiffened and he carefully turned his head away from the man before scowling.
“Edward, lovely to see you,” the new arrival said. “And this must be Janet. I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is to meet you. I’m Clive Duncan-Powers.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, too,” Janet replied.
They all took seats around the table.
“Clive, this is very unusual,” Harold complained before anyone else could speak. “I appreciate that Mr. Bennett is very highly connected, but I’m not certain that he should be permitted to interrupt my workday on a whim.”
“If I thought it was just a whim, I wouldn’t have allowed it,” Clive replied.
“I simply have a few questions for you,” Edward told Harold. “I’ve been doing a bit of investigating on my own, you see. I know how busy you are with other things and I knew that the skeleton in Doveby Dale would be a low priority for you. I was simply trying to help.”
“I appreciate that,” Harold said through clenched teeth.
“When did you last see Wes Zachery?” Edward asked.
Harold stared at him. “Pardon?” he said after a while.
“When did you last see Wes Zachery?” Edward repeated the question.
Harold chuckled. “I’m sorry, but that wasn’t at all the sort of question I was expecting. When did I last see Wes? That’s a difficult one. He disappeared, but you must know that. I saw him not long before he vanished, while his wife was away on her holiday with her friend. We had a pint at the local pub one night.”
“Do you recall the date?” Edward asked.
“It was years ago now, so, sorry, but no, I don’t recall the date,” Harold replied. “You should talk to Alice. She’ll be able to tell you when she was away, anyway.”
“I have spoken to Alice,” Edward told him.
Janet was certain that Harold’s face lost some of its colour. “What did she tell you?” he asked.
“Tell me about your relationship with Margaret Appleton,” Edward said.
“We were friends, I suppose. I investigated a minor incident at her home and then took her out once or twice,” Harold replied. “I can’t see what any of this has to do with anything, though.”
“No?” Edward asked. “I would have expected you to suggest that the skeleton might be Wes’s. You and he were friends, after all. Surely, he comes to mind every time an unidentified body turns up anywhere.”
“Of course he does, but I try to keep my personal feelings away from my police work,” Harold replied. “Just because I’d like to know what happened to Wes doesn’t mean I try to identify every body we find as his.”
“How many unidentified bodies have been found in Derby in the past year?” Edward asked him.
“I’ve no idea,” Harold snapped.
“Not many,” Clive interjected.
“And now we have one that fits the profile of your missing friend and you don’t make the connection?” Edward asked Harold.
“I should have made the connection,” Harold said. “Is that what you want me to say? Maybe I made a mistake, or maybe I’ve saved poor Alice from a great deal of heartache. She’d love to know what happened to Wes, and the chances of the body in Doveby Dale being his are small.”
“I don’t agree,” Edward said. “I’ve arranged for DNA testing to be done on the remains. It should be easy enough to check that against one of Wes’s children.”
“Alice had affairs,” Harold said flatly.
“Yes, I believe she had one with you,” Edward replied.
He shrugged. “I’m single.”
“The first time we talked about the skeleton, you said we’d never know who he was,” Janet interjected. “You were already confident that we’d found the remains of a man. What made you so certain?”
“I was simply guessing. It seemed more likely to have been a man, especially if Maggie was the one who’d put the body there. She had men in and out of her life all the time. If one of her lovers had a heart attack or something, I can see her simply tossing the body in a corner and piling boxes around it,” Harold replied.
“Is that what you think happened?” Edward asked.
“It’s a possibility,” Harold said.
“It’s also possible that you and Wes were both having affairs with Maggie at the same time,” Edward said. “Maybe you found out and got angry. Maybe you killed Wes and hid the body.”
Harold flushed. “Are you going to let him accuse me of murder?” he asked Clive.
“We’re just having a conversation about possibilities,” Edward said with a shrug.
“For now, I think it’s best if I remove you from the case,” Clive told Harold. “I didn’t realise that you’d once been involved with Margaret Appleton, or else I never would have agreed to your request to be assigned to the case in the first place. You should have told me.”
“I didn’t think it mattered,” Harold muttered.
“A man was killed and his body was hidden at a house that belonged to the woman with whom you were involved at the time, and you didn’t think it mattered?” Edward demanded.
“We don’t know for certain when the man died,” Harold said.
“He died on the last day of February, nineteen eighty-eight,” Edward countered.
“You can’t know that,” Harold said.
“The man’s watch gives us that much,” Edward told him.
“What watch?” Harold asked.
Edward and Clive exchanged glances.
“The skeleton was wearing a watch,” Clive said. He opened the folder he’d carried into the room and handed Harold a photograph. “The face was damaged and the watch stopped on the twenty-ninth of February.”
Harold stared at the photograph for a long time. “Maybe he forgot to reset it,” he said eventually.
“Maybe. We can worry about that later,” Clive told him. “Edward, thank you for your assistance. We’ll take it from here.”
Edward got to his feet. “Happy to have helped. Let me know if you need me to do more.”
“I’ll ring you, and I’ll watch my post for an invitation, as well,” Clive said.
Edward laughed. “You’re getting ahead of me.”
“But not by much,” Clive countered, winking at Janet.
Edward took her arm and escorted her out of the building.
“What happens now?” Janet asked as they drove away.
“Clive will assign someone else to the case, and that someone will start a proper investigation. I don’t think it will take the new inspector long to solve the c
ase. I wouldn’t be surprised if Harold confessed, actually, although he’ll probably claim that Wes’s death was accidental and that he’s only guilty of hiding the body.”
“What did Clive mean about an invitation?” was Janet’s next question.
Edward laughed. “We’ll talk about that later.”
Back at Doveby House, it didn’t take long for Janet and Edward to tell the others what had happened.
“Why didn’t Harold know about the watch?” Joan asked when they were done.
“I may have suggested to Clive that he not give Harold the full preliminary report from the crime scene team,” Edward said. “There was something bothering me about Harold, so I took that precaution.”
“I can’t believe a police inspector would kill someone,” Joan said.
“It may have been an accident,” Edward said.
Janet nodded, but she didn’t believe it. She was fairly certain that Harold had murdered Wes and then hidden the body. What she really wanted to know was how much Maggie Appleton had known about Wes’s death. There was no way they’d ever be able to find out, of course.
“And now, we should go out for dinner to celebrate,” Edward told Janet.
He took her to the expensive and wonderful French restaurant in the village. She ate far more than she should have and enjoyed having a lengthy conversation with the waiter in French, a language she’d learned in school and then taught for many years.
“And now, we have one more thing to discuss,” Edward said when they got back to Doveby House.
“Do we?” Janet asked, feeling sleepy and content, with her tummy full of wonderful food and several glasses of wine.
“I thought maybe I should open the safe in the library for you,” Edward said.
Janet blinked. “Now?” she asked, suddenly wide awake. She and Joan had discovered the small wall safe not long after Edward’s first visit, and they knew that he’d opened the safe when he’d been there. Janet had asked repeatedly for the combination, but Edward had never actually supplied it. Both she and Joan had almost given up on the idea of seeing what was inside that safe.
“Right now,” he said with a grin.
“I should get Joan,” Janet said with a frown.
The Zachery Case (A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Book 26) Page 8