by Emily Selby
'What are you doing?'
'Going over some new evidence that has emerged.'
'Such as?'
'It transpires that Mr McBride had an argument with Amanda the morning of her death. That was the one overheard by Amanda's husband.'
'So, you've managed to talk to Mr Rychter, or Waldi, as Amanda used to call him,' Katie added, keen to share her knowledge.
Jack's chin jerked. 'How do you know that?'
Katie suppressed a smug smile. 'I've got some interesting information, too. Happy to pass as soon as you let me know what else you've discovered.'
Jack drew his eyebrows together. 'Is it a game or a barter?'
A hot wave hit Katie's face. 'Why are you so suspicious? I simply don't want to spend time talking about things you already know.'
'Sorry, old habits die hard,' he said meekly.
Katie relaxed her jaw muscles. 'What else have you learnt then? Do you think her husband’s telling the truth?'
'As far as I can tell, we found his fingerprints on the door handle, so he entered the room where Amanda was found. He either didn't touch anything, as he claims, or he wiped off his fingerprints very well, which I doubt was the case. His mobile phone shows three attempts to call the hotel reception number, which match the records from the hotel landline, and at the times he claims he tried to contact Amanda.'
'What about Mr McBride?'
'Chris has managed to get more info, but we're also very keen to talk to his daughter. I have a hunch,' he paused and winked at her. Katie's heart flipped. Seeing Jack use intuition and gut instinct rather than cold logic and evidence, and admitting to it, was still quite a new experience for both of them. She smiled. 'What's your hunch, Inspector?'
'That Mr McBride is hiding something, and that a conversation with his daughter may give us enough evidence to call his bluff.'
Katie considered what she'd just heard. 'I wouldn't be surprised,' she replied. 'From what I’ve gathered, Ellen McBride didn't like Amanda.' She added a brief summary of her impressions.
Jack nodded. 'Duly noted. This may be helpful in further investigations. Now, since you've already started...' He arched an expectant eyebrow.
'Before I dive in, is there anything about Amanda's husband that makes you think he might have been involved?'
'Innocent until proven guilty,' Jack replied.
'This is my impression as well,' Katie said and reported her conversation with Zuza.
'Hm...' Jack mumbled. 'This would support the hypothesis of a suicide.'
'That's what I think, but I just can't accept it. I don't think Amanda was a suicidal type, and if she did take her own life, the driving force must have come from outside.'
'Guilt, remember?' Jack said with a sad smile. '"I can't live with the guilt."'
'Of course! I keep forgetting about that note. By the way,' Katie added, 'I think I've found Hamish.'
'Did you really?' Jack's voice took on a proud note. His index finger shot up to his temple as he made the familiar "tip of the hat" gesture. 'Do tell,' he urged her.
Katie told him about Zuza's encounter.
'We'll check all the local hotels, motels and B&Bs.'
'Let me know how it goes, okay? Without having to beg for information. Deal?'
'Of course, ma’am! As always,' he said with his hand on his chest. 'And since we're at it, Inspector Hunch and Gossip, if I may call you that, something's bothering me. Mr McBride said he'd seen Amanda's ID, with her photo, but a different name on it. He thinks it was a driving licence. A foreign one, but he couldn't tell which country, as she snatched the document quickly.'
A snippet of conversation flashed in Katie's memory.
'When did he see it?'
'On Saturday afternoon, just before one o’clock.'
'Amanda went for her lunch break after one and took longer than she should have,' Katie recalled. 'Not that I minded, just noticed,' she rushed to add, feeling guilty about how her earlier comment might have been received. 'She got back at one forty-five, and then I went for lunch,' she carried on. 'Is this why he confronted her about doing something illegal?'
'Yes. According to McBride, the argument on Monday morning was about the foreign driving licence with a different name. Apparently, when he asked he if she'd had a licence she told him she didn’t have one. So, when he discovered what he thought was a driving license, he felt she had lied to him, but also realised there was a different name on it.'
The throbbing in Katie’s head intensified. Bother, she needed to find a packet of painkillers!
'Did he see the name on the driving license?'
'He noticed the name looked different but couldn't read it. The document, which he describes as a small, plastic rectangle with a photo, the usual type, was upside down.'
Katie bit her lower lip.
It could have been a legal document but issued under her married name,' Katie said slowly.
Jack nodded. 'That's what I think. But why would she hide it from him? Particularly, if she needed to be able to drive for her job? The job I understand she rather liked.'
'She did like it,' Katie confirmed. 'But, it might have been for the very same reason she was hiding the fact that she was married. I was shocked to hear she was married. I think the only person who knew is Zuza.'
Jack rubbed his clean-shaven chin. 'Why would she hide the fact?'
'Perhaps because she wanted out of that relationship. So, she came back to the UK to live under her maiden name...'
Jack pushed his glasses back up his nose. 'Fair point. It makes sense. But that's not what I wanted to ask you about. We haven't found the driving's license, despite a thorough search of her flat, her desk at the hotel and her locker. Do you have any idea whether she used a storage facility or had some other secret hiding place?'
Katie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and twirled it. 'A secret storage facility?' she asked quietly. A vague sensation of recognition wafted through her overloaded brain.
A secret hiding place?
Katie turned on her heel and headed for the coffee maker. She poured herself a cup of the steaming brew. She closed her eyes and inhaled she sweet aroma for a few seconds. An image formed in her mind.
'The old safes,' she said. 'In the cupboard in the backroom, behind the reception desk. There are a few old safes there, no longer in use. I don't know why because Amanda said they were fully operational. She told me about them a few weeks ago. I think you should check them if you haven't yet.'
'I'll get onto it right away,' Jack said, reaching for the phone. He froze, with his hand on the receiver for a few seconds. His face tensed. He turned to look at her.
'Did you say your barmaid friend saw the man called Hamish in the pub at midday on Monday?'
'That's what I remember,' Katie replied. 'Why?'
Jack turned back to his laptop and after a few strokes of the keyboard he was staring at the screen again. 'Here,' he said quietly tapping the screen.
Katie considered this an invitation to have a look. She crossed to the desk. She leant over his shoulders, trying to ignore the musky smell of his aftershave that made her think of ...
Oh, stop it, Katie!
She fixed her gaze firmly on the string of numbers Jack was pointing to.
'What is it?' she asked.
'This is the number of the public phone box in front of the pub,' he replied and slid his finger a few lines lower. 'And here again. The total of three calls made from the box to the hotel reception on Friday morning and just after lunch.'
Katie's heart broke into a gallop. All of them lasting at least a couple of minutes.
'What about the other days? Monday?'
'Nothing. We've assumed this must have been one of their guests calling the hotel from the pub, maybe because they forgot their mobile. But given the information you've provided it might have not been the case.' He reached for the phone again. 'I'd better find out,' he said, more to himself than to her.
Katie took her leave
of Jack and returned to her office. No way she was leaving the station when so much new information could come to light any time. She had a pile of documents to file, she could work though her backlog. No one would blame her if she did.
14
Back in her office, Katie took a painkiller and finished filing the remaining documents. It helped calm her mind. With the headache gone, her mind calmer and her desk having some writing surface again, the temptation was too strong. She reached for her handbag and fished out her old, "sleuthing" notebook.
She hadn't even created a timeline for this case yet!
She picked up a pen and put the notebook in the freshly cleared square of desktop, opening it to the next blank page.
She wrote: "Amanda's death" at the top of it. Yeah, no matter how much her gut was tugging at her, she couldn't exclude suicide. Not yet.
But where should she start? When did the whole story begin?
She chewed on the pen. Amanda's death on Monday didn't make sense, unless there had been something in her past that precipitated it.
Pretty obvious, huh?
What did Angie say? It was Friday when Amanda returned from work upset. Was that also the day when Katie saw her using the computer in the lobby?
Probably...
Katie took the pen from her mouth. She'd use question marks wherever she wasn't sure of her recollection of events.
"Friday," she wrote.
- Amanda is on the computer in the lobby, saying something about her computer not working (?work computer or personal one?)
- Amanda returns from work upset, talks to her mother on Skype, using Angie's laptop and Angie's account; she searches through her possessions, looking for something.
Saturday:
- About 9.30 am - Amanda disappears from reception, Mr McBride sees her talking to a man wearing a t-shirt and flip-flops; Katie covers for her.
- Amanda returns about 10 am, looking upset and ?frightened. She tells Katie she has a little gift for her.
- Amanda goes for her lunch break at 1 pm and returns at about 1.45 pm, relieving Katie at reception.
- Katie returns from her break 2.00 pm;
- At about 3 pm, when their shift finishes, Amanda tells Katie she'd like to give her something as a "Thank You," and hands her an origami crane and a folder with origami-ready paper. They agree to have lunch when the hotel is closed for boiler repairs, to do origami.
Katie read her notes. When did Mr McBride see Amanda's driving licence?
"- Just before 1 pm, Mr McBride sees a foreign ID with Amanda's photo on it." Katie scribbled on the side of the page and drew an arrow to the right place on her timeline.
She continued writing.
"Amanda goes home looking scared."
"Sunday - day off" - she wrote underneath.
- Amanda stays in her room, feeling unwell
- About 10.30 pm, she leaves to go to work, claiming she needs to help the night shift (?confirmed with Mr McBride?)
Monday
- Before 7 am, Amanda goes home to shower and get changed
- She returns to work - ?when
- About 11.45 am, Amanda has an argument with Mr McBride; they talk about ?the out-of-date/illegal ID and/or ?some inaccuracies she found in the hotel books; Waldi Rychter overhears the argument
- about 12.00 pm, Waldi calls reception but no one answers; he goes back in to check if Amanda is free. But she is not at reception or in the back room; he also checks the clean linen storage because the door is open - no one there
-12.30 pm, Katie receives the text from Amanda: "Talked to AM. Hope all goes well with your chat. Come and see me afterwards - got something urgent to tell you."
- 12.45 pm, Waldi returns and paces in the backyard
- 12.55 pm, Katie pulls up to park her car, she sees the repair van driving behind her; the van parks at the main entrance
- 12.59, Katie enters the hotel to meet Mr McBride; Amanda is not at reception.
- 1.10 pm, the tool box spills (?shot is fired in the clean linen store room)
- 1.15-1.17 pm, Mr McBride arrives to meet with Katie; he is 15 min late
- 1.30 pm, the meeting with Mr McBride finishes
- 1.35 pm, finds Amanda's body and calls the ambulance and police
- 1.45 pm, Chris arrives."
Katie looked at the timeline. There were still so many gaps and question marks. For example, what happened on Saturday morning to make Amanda appear frightened? Was the conversation with the angry customer important? Or was it to do with Mr McBride discovering her foreign driving licence, despite her claiming she didn't have one?
Why did Amanda go to work on Sunday night even though she wasn't scheduled to do so? Did Jack actually ask Mr McBride about it?
She chewed on her pen. Did Jack even know this was one of the things he should ask about?
Katie reached for her phone, found Jack number and pressed the green button.
'Katie, just the person I was thinking of!' Jack greeted her. 'We're at the hotel. There are three safes in the cupboard, but only one is locked. We didn't find the key, but I have called for help.'
'Have you checked Amanda's desk? The one at the reception?'
'It doesn't open with the key. We would need a numbered code. Do you happen to know it?'
'No idea, sorry,' Katie replied pulling the notebook closer. 'By the way,' she rushed to add before he could interrupt her, 'have you talked to Mr McBride yet?'
'No, but I'm going to. Hold on,' Jack said and paused. He must have changed rooms because she could hear a door close. 'Sorry, I had to move, he was standing right beside me. Is there anything else you want me to know?'
'I've just remembered the comment Angie made about Amanda working through Sunday night. I can't remember if I told you about it, but I found it strange. Could you check with Mr McBride?'
'Chris has done it. Angie told him, I think.'
What a relief!
'So, what does he think?' Katie asked.
'He says it wasn't him who decided. It must have been the night receptionist. But then she didn't tell him either. The way Amanda told him about it was as if it had been part of the broken boiler pandemonium.'
The boiler kerfuffle seemed to be quite a convenient coincidence. First the spilling toolbox drowning out the sound of the gun. Now the night-time duty. Or, Katie corrected herself, the other way around.
'Sorry, I've got to go back to the other room,' Jack said. 'I'll keep you posted,' he promised and finished the call.
15
Keen to gain some distance from all the information collected so far that day and to keep the potential headache at bay, Katie focused on her day job. When she finished dealing with paperwork, she shut her computer down and was ready to go home. She grabbed the door handle when her mobile rang.
'You were right, Inspector Redford,' Jack's voice brimmed with excitement. 'Guess what?'
'You've opened the safe,' Katie replied automatically. 'What did you find there?'
'Bits and pieces, including a mobile phone, the driving licence Mr McBride saw and a foreign ID.'
Katie's heart fluttered.
'A phone? She had another mobile?'
'I wouldn't be surprised. But it's password protected. I'll get into it.'
'What about the documents? Are they hers?'
'Most certainly. And I can assure you that the documentation is fully legal. Polish driving licence and her ID card, both issued in her married name.'
Katie exhaled slowly. What a relief! She couldn't bear to think of her friend as being a fraud.
'Did Mr McBride recognise it?' Katie asked.
'Yes, but only the driving licence. He claims he's got no idea what the other things are.'
'Things?' That was an unusual turn of phrase. 'What other things were there?'
'Ah, sorry,' Jack added. 'We've found some money. McBride claims to have no idea about the money nor the slip that was with it.'
Katie tightened her grip on the phon
e.
'A slip? Like a payment slip?' she asked.
'Rather like a compliment note, handwritten but no name or address.'
'What does it say?'
'Actually, I'll be there in a few minutes. I'd like you to have a look at it if you don’t mind. I just have a hunch that Mr McBride is hiding something from us.'
Katie disconnected. She put her handbag on her desk and unzipped her jacket. She hated waiting with her curiosity piqued but, fortunately, she didn't have to wait long and no more than a few minutes later, the staffroom door opened. Katie jumped to her feet and rushed next door.
'Thank you for staying,' Jack greeted her, holding up a plastic evidence bag containing a piece of paper.
'Let me see?'
Jack passed the bag to her. 'Just don't take it out,' he warned. 'We'll be checking it for fingerprints.'
Katie nodded. She pinched the bag with her fingertips. The little note simply read:
"With regards to our mutual friend."
'I don't understand,' Katie said, moving her head slightly, as if this could help shake off the confusion rising in her mind. 'What you think it means?'
'No idea,' Jack replied, 'but I'm interested to know if you recognise the handwriting.'
Katie inspected the note again. 'It's hard to tell,' she said slowly. 'Do you think it might be Amanda's?'
'No, I've already checked it. It is not hers. Do you have a sample of Mr McBride's handwriting?' he asked.
'Didn't you find anything in the hotel?'
'I haven't looked for it yet. At this stage I didn't want to raise any suspicions. Remember? Mr McBride denied any knowledge of it.'
Katie narrowed her eyes. 'I think I might have my hotel contract with me.'
She rushed back to her office. A quick look in her handbag confirmed her suspicions, and she pulled a plastic sleeve out and handed it to Jack.
'What about the fingerprints?'
'We'll try, but it may be difficult,' Jack replied snapping on a pair of disposable gloves. 'Are you sure it was Mr McBride who filled in this document?' he asked.