Strange Beginnings: The Freeman Files Series: Book 13

by Ted Tayler

  “Okay. Luke,” said Gus, “further confirmation you’re a team player. Much appreciated.”

  Gus ended the call. Suzie stood in the bedroom doorway wrapped in a bath towel.

  “Bad news?” she asked.

  “The worst,” said Gus. “We have to rely on others to tell us Graham Street’s story.”

  They left the bungalow forty minutes later. Gus knew he had to rid himself of this sombre mood before speaking to Stephanie Reeves. The next few hours could be vital in this investigation.

  Suzie had followed Gus through the gateway this morning for a change. She gave a brief flash of her headlights as she slowed to turn into the London Road car park. Suzie thought Gus needed a break tonight; perhaps an hour on the allotment and a meal in the Lamb would do the trick. It didn’t pay to get too close to a case. You needed to step back to see the complete picture.

  Gus followed the steady stream of traffic out of town and pulled into the Old Police Station car park at three minutes to nine. Another day, but would this one see another collar Neil Davis was so keen to quote?

  Alex Hardy and Lydia Logan Barre had travelled together from Chippenham in her Mini. Blessing Umeh was still trying to master her reversing technique, so Gus waited and watched the fourth attempt at getting her Micra straight.

  Gus spotted another car in his rear-view mirror. Neil Davis was another excellent team member. Neil had put in a long shift yesterday but was back for more today.

  “Good morning, guv,” said Neil as they eventually were able to park alongside Blessing.

  “Not for Graham Street,” said Gus. “Did Luke call you?”

  “Luke sent me a text, guv, and told me he was letting Alex know the situation. When I left Odstock hospital last night, the mood around the place hinted that they expected the worst. Street died alone, guv. Whoever was with him when he had that massive heart attack never travelled with him in the ambulance. The staff told me they didn’t get a single call for a report on his condition.”

  “All we can do is work with the living, Neil,” said Gus. “We’ve got several witnesses directly connected to the case to interview, plus others with a connection to the victim that could prove invaluable. I want you to finish gathering the information on Graham Street you started yesterday.”

  “I’ll give it my total concentration, guv,” said Neil.

  Blessing was waiting by the lift for Neil and Gus to join her.

  “Morning, guv,” she said. “Today will be a better day.”

  “Let’s hope so,” said Gus. They travelled up to the first-floor office together.

  “Stephanie Reeves has taken this morning off work, guv,” said Alex. “You know Downton village well, don’t you? I’ve left a note of her address on your desk. Arthur Jackson has agreed to accompany Martyn Street to an interview this afternoon. He asked if they could meet you in the café at the Wilton House Garden Centre. Jackson said it would be less stressful for Martyn. He doesn’t respond well to confined spaces or unfamiliar surroundings.”

  “We’ll meet them there at three o’clock, Alex,” said Gus. “I don’t normally like witnesses setting the venue for meetings, but in this case, we can’t afford to antagonise the person involved. We need Martyn Street to feel at ease and answer our questions. Matt Price told us yesterday Martyn said little when they spoke with him seven years ago. The questions I want to ask could require a more detailed response. Let’s hope that’s not beyond the young man.”

  “Who do you want with you this morning, guv,” asked Lydia.

  “My nerves wouldn’t stand another trip in that Mini of yours, Lydia. Blessing, you can have a trip in my Ford Focus. I’ll show you the delights of my old stomping ground of Downton.”

  “I can’t wait, guv,” said Blessing, collecting her notebook and pen from her desk.

  Gus and Blessing were back in the lift less than two minutes after arriving in the office.

  “I overheard you talking with Neil earlier, guv,” said Blessing. “How sad that Marion’s first husband died with no one to sit by his bedside. I hope that isn’t what lies ahead for me.”

  “None of us knows what’s in store for us, Blessing,” said Gus.

  “I’m sorry, guv. I forgot you couldn’t be with your wife when she died.”

  “That’s alright, Blessing,” said Gus. “On balance, it’s better not to know for both parties involved, isn’t it?”

  “When you’re twenty-one like me, you spend little time thinking about the subject,” said Blessing. “There I go again, putting my foot in it. I’ll sit in the passenger seat and keep quiet.”

  Gus smiled as he unlocked the Focus. Blessing was a treasure they couldn’t afford to lose. He drove out of the car park, and they were soon passing the junction to Crook Lane, which led to the shiny custody suite that replaced the Old Police Station.

  “We should reach Stephanie Reeves’s house in about an hour, Blessing,” said Gus.

  “Is it near the Abbey, guv?” asked Blessing.

  Gus had to think for a minute what Blessing meant.

  “That’s a TV series, isn’t it?” asked Gus. “I don’t think there is such a place, Blessing. I talked to one of my friends from the village a month or two back. He was visiting Lacock Abbey with family members. That property featured in the filming of Downton Abbey, along with other stately homes for different scenes. All that on top of being the birthplace of photography. If you want to see that Abbey, it’s only three miles from our office. You could pop over in a lunch break.”

  “You learn something new every day, guv,” said Blessing.

  Gus was on familiar ground when they reached the village of Downton. It lay six miles southeast of the city of Salisbury on the Hampshire border. Gus and Tess had enjoyed living on the doorstep of the New Forest. They had picnicked there and gone for long walks surrounded by trees and wildlife.

  Stephanie Reeves and her partner lived in a three-bedroomed property close to the River Avon in Waterside.

  “Not very imaginative of the planners, was it, guv?” said Blessing as Gus pulled up outside the house.

  “They’re not known for their imagination, Blessing,” said Gus. “I haven’t briefed you on how I plan to handle this meeting because I haven’t got a set plan. I’ll ask a few general questions, and we’ll see where that leads us.”

  “Got it, guv,” said Blessing. “The practice I had on the way here will stand me in good stead. I’ll sit and listen until you tell me to do otherwise.”

  “That’s my girl,” said Gus. He rapped the solid wooden door with the leopard’s head door knocker. What a refreshing change from a UPVC and glass door and a battery-driven bell chime.

  A tall, attractive young woman with long dark hair opened the door.

  Blessing noticed the loose-fitting smock top and comfortable shoes; she guessed that Stephanie Reeves was around five months pregnant.

  “Stephanie Reeves?” asked Gus.

  “You must be the people from Wiltshire Police. Please, come in.”

  Stephanie led them through the hallway to a large farmhouse-style kitchen at the rear.

  “I’ve been baking,” she explained. “I hope you don’t mind the smell of fresh bread and cakes? Would you like a coffee? I was just about to make one.”

  “Mr Freeman takes his coffee, black without,” said Blessing. “I prefer mine white with one sugar. Thank you, you’re very kind. When’s the baby due?”

  Gus did a double-take. He’d been enjoying the smell of fresh bread and dreaming of Kassie Trotter’s buns.

  “Just in time for Christmas,” said Stephanie. “Sit yourselves down anywhere you wish. What was it you wanted to know?”

  “We should introduce ourselves first,” said Gus. “DC Umeh works with me as part of a Crime Review Team. My name is Freeman, and I help the team review cases that were never solved in the weeks after they occurred. Your mother’s murder took place seven years ago, and her killer remains at large. We spoke with your father yesterday to c
heck things he told the police in the original investigation and see whether he remembered anything new. He did expand our knowledge on various elements of the case. We’re hoping you can also give us a fresh perspective.”

  “I’ll try,” said Stephanie. She placed a tray of drinks on the wooden table and took a seat beside Blessing. “Yours is at the front, Mr Freeman. DC Umeh and I have similar tastes.”

  “How long have you lived in this delightful property?” asked Gus.

  “Five years,” said Stephanie. “Danny and I moved in together in 2013.”

  “Danny?” asked Gus.

  “Danny Ellis,” said Stephanie. “He’s a stonemason. Danny works at Salisbury Cathedral. He accepts private commissions too, but getting the contract for conservation work on the Cathedral was like getting the Forth Bridge painting contract for him. As soon as you get to the other end, it’s time to start again. There will be a job for our child if my scan was right, and it’s a boy. He can take over from where his father left off.”

  “Danny’s a skilled craftsman,” said Gus. “Where did you meet?”

  “You’ve spoken to my father,” said Stephanie. “There’s no point denying I went through hell after Mum died. I drank to forget. That didn’t work out the way I hoped. Danny was often in the pubs I drank in; he was seeing another girl at the time. Someone I was at school with, and they both tried to help me stop punishing myself. I stayed with Dad for as long as I could stand it. Then Danny called to say he wasn’t with Becky anymore. Would I like to go for a meal? I moved out of Oakley Road a couple of months later. We lived in Danny’s flat in the city centre for eighteen months. Then we agreed to get a foot on the housing ladder. As soon as we set eyes on this house, we knew it was a family home and would be perfect.”

  “Does Theo know you’re expecting?” asked Gus.

  “Yes, I called to tell him the news. Dad knows where we live,” said Stephanie, “and that we’re happy. He always had different ideas about what I should do with my life. We’ll let him see his grandson when the time comes, but he doesn’t leave the house much since Mum died. He sits in that big house surrounded by memories.”

  “Theo didn’t mention you were pregnant,” said Gus. “He admitted it disappointed him you didn’t go on to university and follow a professional career. But he also said Danny seemed a decent sort. Has your father not been to this house at all in the past five years?”

  Stephanie shook her head.

  “We invited him over several times in the first year, but he could never make it. In the end, we stopped asking.”

  “You work at the local primary school in the village, don’t you?” asked Blessing.

  “Yes, it’s just across the road. I love it. The children are wonderful at that age. I can’t wait to have one of my own. It’s such a shame they have to grow up, isn’t it?”

  “How’s Martyn these days?” asked Gus.

  “I wouldn’t know,” said Stephanie. “I haven’t seen or spoken to him since Dad threw him out.”

  “Theo suggested he said it might be best for Martyn to move out,” said Gus. “To throw him out sounds a touch heartless.”

  “As I said, Mr Freeman, it’s a shame they have to grow up.”

  “I thought you and Martyn were close,” said Gus. “Theo was proud of the way you stuck up for Martyn when he got bullied.”

  “I was younger than Martyn by five years,” said Stephanie. “He was slower than the other kids, and they never let him forget it. My parents did everything they could to help Martyn. They didn’t need to spend as much time with me because I was bright for my age, or so the teachers kept telling them. I listened to Mum and Dad discussing Martyn at home, and nothing they did seemed to help. I decided if I helped as well, it might be the extra push he needed. When that happened, I was about five. Five years later, I wished I hadn’t bothered.”

  Gus looked at Blessing. She had been in the office when he ran through the chief things they had learned from Theo Reeves yesterday. They should tread carefully in the next few minutes. He hoped Blessing stuck to her word and kept quiet.

  “Martyn was fifteen,” said Gus, “and, physically, no longer a child.”

  “Mum was very protective,” said Stephanie. “Although I was still only ten, I sensed her attitude towards Martyn was changing. She was less tolerant of his moods. Dad saw little of that because he worked long hours.”

  “Can you tell us how the relationship between Marion and Martyn changed?” asked Gus.

  “Mum would take him to his room and lecture him for ages. I’d creep up the stairs to his bedroom door and try to hear what they said. I didn’t understand much of it, not then. I noticed when he greeted me after he got home from school, he got aroused. Martyn always wanted to cuddle me when we were younger, and I was happy he was in a good mood. It meant what we were doing must be working. Perhaps he wasn’t a retard like the boys in the street said, but then things changed. I was uncomfortable around Martyn because of the way he rubbed up against me. That’s why Mum lectured him. She kept telling Martyn it was wrong, and he mustn’t have those thoughts.”

  “Did it change his behaviour?” asked Gus.

  “He couldn’t understand why I didn’t want a cuddle. Martyn thought he’d done something to upset me. Then I had my first period, and I got the lectures from Mum. It was a similar message. Don’t let anyone touch you. It’s wrong. It was my turn not to understand.”

  “Marion wanted to protect both of you,” said Gus. “The number of teenage pregnancies has increased since Marion was a teenager. Of course, she had concerns. What was it like when you had your first boyfriend?”

  “A nightmare,” said Stephanie. “I hadn’t even kissed him, and Mum panicked I would get pregnant. That relationship didn’t last long. She frightened him away.”

  “Did you ever talk with your Mum about her childhood?” asked Gus.

  “Only in general terms,” said Stephanie. “She was born in Ringwood, across the border in Hampshire, went to school there until she was fourteen. Then her parents split up, and her mother moved to Salisbury. My Mum rarely went to school once she got here. She played truant and went into the city centre. She started smoking and drinking before she was fifteen. Then, she met Martyn’s Dad.”

  “Graham Street,” said Gus. “A wealthy business person who was a good deal older than Marion. What did she tell you about him?”

  “Nothing much,” said Stephanie. “She said he ruined her, ruined her life. If she hadn’t met my Dad when she did, Mum didn’t think she would have lived to see thirty. Graham Street sounded a horrible man.”

  “So, Marion met Graham Street in 1982,” said Gus. “They were married until 1990 when your mother finally plucked up the courage to walk out. Theo and Marion met soon after and married in the following year. You arrived in 1993. I wonder when they got married?. Was it just before she had Martyn in 1988, or much earlier?”

  “I don’t know,” said Stephanie. “Mum never spoke about that period of her life.”

  “Was there anyone from that time she was still in touch with?” asked Blessing. “Any girlfriends she made when she arrived in Salisbury?”

  “Only Serena,” said Stephanie. “Serena Campbell. She was Mum’s best friend for years.”

  “Remind me again what you were doing on the Sunday afternoon before your Mum died,” said Gus.

  “I spent the afternoon studying in my room,” said Stephanie. “Mum drove over to the garden centre.”

  “Theo told us she bought bedding plants but added he thought Marion visited the café for coffee and cake.”

  “That would have been with Serena,” said Stephanie. “That’s where they used to meet.”

  “Was it a regular thing?” asked Gus. “Theo wasn’t aware of it.”

  “No, I got the impression Mum never wanted Dad to find out about Serena. I don’t know why. She’s posh. A couple of years older than Mum, but very attractive.”

  “Where can we find her?” asked Gus.
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  “At the café,” said Stephanie. “She works there several afternoons each week.”

  “I’ve got several more questions,” said Gus. “I’m afraid they might be less easy to talk about but bear with me. Can we talk about the days leading up to your mother’s murder?”

  “You’re going to ask about the money, aren’t you?” asked Stephanie. “I was at school on Friday when Mum withdrew that cash. She said nothing that morning about needing to pop into town while she was at work. Because the builders were at the house every day, Mum had started work later and only took thirty minutes for lunch. She hardly had time to eat the packed lunch she took every day and drink a cup of coffee. I never saw the money, nor did I know why she needed it.”

  “Was there anything you can remember that seemed odd on Saturday and Sunday?” asked Gus.

  “Nothing. I was revising for my exams. I cycled to my friend’s house to get away from the house for a while. Martyn was his usual self, out drinking at lunchtime on Saturday, cooped up in his room in the evening. He had little imagination. It was the same routine every weekend.”

  “The builders worked on Saturday morning, didn’t they?” asked Gus.

  “Stuart and Derek,” said Stephanie, “God’s gift to women. Or at least they thought they were. Maybe they thought getting off with someone they did work for went with the territory. I wondered whether they’d tried it on with Mum before they turned their attention on me.”

  “Was it anything more than innuendo?” asked Gus. “Did one of them touch you?”

  “I never gave them a chance,” said Stephanie.

  “You had a lot to put up with during your teens, didn’t you?” asked Gus. “Do you think you can tell us about Martyn now?”

  “I told you what happened when he was fifteen. Mum must have got through to him because he kept his distance for the next three years. When he reached eighteen, Mum gave him some money from his father. She wanted Martyn to learn to drive, but he couldn’t cope with the theory paper. He was working at Wilton House, walking back and forth every day, and some men he worked with suggested he met them one Saturday night. They got him drunk, and I woke up in bed at one o’clock to find Martyn climbing into bed with me. I screamed, and by the time Dad woke up and came to my rescue, he found Martyn standing by the doorway. Mum had followed Dad along the corridor, and she convinced him Martyn mistook the door because he was drunk.”