‘You talked to Liz Curtis after I told you not to?’ Tanika said, exasperated.
‘Which is fortunate for you, since she’s now dead. I’m a witness. I can tell you all about what she was like.’
‘She’s a dog killer,’ Suzie chipped in.
‘Can I ask you what you’re even doing here?’ Tanika said to Suzie.
‘She’s my friend,’ Judith said.
‘Look,’ Tanika said, trying to take control of the situation. ‘I need you to come with me, Judith. And you’d better tell me about your third meeting with Liz on the way.’
‘What about me?’ Suzie asked.
‘What about you?’
‘I met Liz Curtis as well. Can I come?’
‘No.’
‘Are you sure—’
‘I only need one of you to identify the body.’
Suzie rocked back on her heels a bit.
‘Well, can’t say fairer than that,’ she conceded.
As Tanika drove Judith to the rowing centre, Judith recapped her and Suzie’s encounter with Liz. In particular, she explained how Liz had denied knowing both Stefan and Iqbal, even though her husband Danny later told them that Liz had known both men. Throughout the story, Tanika kept her eyes on the road and her jaw clenched.
As they pulled up at the rowing centre, Tanika parked her car and crunched the handbrake on.
Judith finally realised how cross Tanika was.
‘I should have told you sooner, shouldn’t I?’
‘You shouldn’t have spoken to her at all!’ Tanika all but shouted. ‘There’s someone out there who’s killed three people. And your life is at risk every time you get involved.’
Judith felt abashed, so she reached into her handbag, pulled out her tin of travel sweets and popped the lid.
‘Travel sweet?’ she asked by way of a peace offering.
‘No thank you,’ Tanika said in a tone that told Judith that she wasn’t going to be let off the hook that easily.
Judith put a sweet into her mouth and pretended to be insouciant as she said, ‘Then perhaps I should tell you about Andy Bishop as well.’
‘Who’s Andy Bishop?’
‘A local solicitor. He drew up the will of Ezra Harrington, the neighbour to Iqbal Kassam.’
‘What are you talking about?’
Judith told the story of how Suzie had been invited to Iqbal’s funeral and so she, Becks and Suzie had all gone along and talked to his imam, who’d explained how Iqbal had died believing that Andy Bishop had stolen his inheritance. However, Judith was careful to stop her story there. After seeing how cross Tanika had been about her conversation with Liz, she didn’t want to tell her that she’d not only spoken to Andy Bishop but had also broken into his office and stolen a bag of shredded paper.
‘You went to Iqbal Kassam’s funeral?’ Tanika asked when Judith finished.
‘We were invited, so we went. It was the right thing to do. Are you sure you don’t want a sweet?’ Judith said, offering the tin again.
‘No thank you,’ Tanika said, and Judith had the distinct impression that the police officer was barely managing to control her temper as she opened the door to her car and stepped out.
Judith put her tin back in her handbag, and got out of her side of the car.
‘Is there anything else you need to tell me?’ Tanika asked tartly.
‘Oh no, that’s absolutely everything,’ Judith said, and she even believed her words as she said them. But then her eyes were drawn to a navy blue Forensics tent that had been erected on the grass down by the river.
Tanika saw Judith frown, and she softened a little.
‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘You don’t need to approach the body. You can identify her from the photos we’ve taken. That should be enough.’
Tanika led Judith into the reception building, and Judith couldn’t help but notice the ladder, paint pot and brush that were still in the corner. Liz would never finish painting the room. Somehow Judith found this fact sadder than anything else. The bathos of it all.
‘I’m sorry to ask you to do this, Judith, but the only other person I could have asked was the scoutmaster who discovered her body, and he’s a bit busy trying to care for the scouts who were with him at the time.’
‘Don’t worry, I’m happy to help. But where’s Danny, her husband?’
‘In Nottingham. A police officer’s driving him down as we speak.’
‘Then I’m ready. I can do this.’
Tanika took a tablet computer from a police officer who was logging evidence. Bringing it over to Judith, she warned her that the photos would be upsetting.
‘Don’t worry, I’m made of strong stuff.’
Tanika swiped the screen a few times until an image appeared. It was of Liz Curtis lying on the grass, her limbs splayed like a rag doll’s, her face a shocking mess of red blood.
In the centre of her forehead there was a bullet hole.
‘It’s Liz Curtis,’ Judith said, resisting her instinct to look away.
‘Thank you.’
‘Any signs of a struggle?’
Tanika didn’t answer, but Judith correctly interpreted her silence as assent.
‘And she was found by a scoutmaster?’
‘That’s right. He and his scouts hired kayaks from Liz this morning and went out on the river at about nine.’
‘So she was alive at nine o’clock?’
‘Very much so. She did the safety briefing for everyone. Anyway, the scouts were out on the river about an hour and returned to the rowing centre shortly after ten. That’s when the scoutmaster found her body. Fortunately, he was able to stop the children from approaching, rounded them up and got them back into Marlow. I’ve a constable taking his statement now.’
‘That’s a very clear time of death. Between nine-ish and ten-ish this morning. Have you checked up on Elliot Howard?’
‘I’ll be honest, it was the first thing I did. He’s been running an auction since eight thirty this morning.’
‘He has?’
‘And it’s all being filmed on a livestream for the internet.’
‘You’re kidding me!’
‘I know.’
‘But why would an auction start at eight thirty?’
‘Apparently it’s for the overseas buyers. But he’s in the clear. He’s got witnesses all around the world who can alibi him for between nine and ten this morning.’
‘Hmm,’ Judith said, deeply frustrated. She was sure that Elliot was behind Stefan’s murder. In fact, the theory that had been bubbling away on the back burner for her had been the idea that Liz had maybe killed Stefan on Elliot’s behalf, for some reason yet to be established. And Elliot had now killed Liz, so there’d never be a chance for anyone to pin the first murder on him. But her theory fell apart if Elliot had an alibi for the time of Liz’s murder.
Judith realised there was a question she’d not asked yet.
‘You said her husband was in Nottingham?’
‘You think he might be involved?’
‘It would be nice if one of these murders was carried out by someone obvious.’
‘I know. But between the hours of nine and ten this morning, Danny Curtis was having breakfast at a service station by junction twenty-five of the M1. He was at the National Watersports Centre last night.’
‘He has an alibi for this morning?’
‘He was over a hundred miles away at the time.’
‘Are you certain?’
‘A uniformed officer picked Mr Curtis up from outside Nottingham at ten thirty this morning. Whoever did this was in Marlow this morning.’
As Tanika spoke, Judith looked more closely at the photo on the tablet.
‘What’s that?’ she asked, indicating a small object on a chain that was lying on the ground to the side of Liz’s face.
Tanika knew it was a bronze medallion. The third bronze medallion. Just as she’d feared. They’d found it on a little chain around Liz’s neck. As she’d
predicted, the word across the middle read ‘Charity’.
‘It’s a bronze medallion,’ she said.
‘She was wearing a bronze medallion?’ Judith said, her interest sharpening. ‘You mean, like the one Stefan was wearing on his jacket?’
‘You remember me telling you about that?’
‘Of course. You also said Stefan’s medallion had the word ‘Faith’ written on it.’
‘It did.’
‘Then was there anything written on this medallion?’
‘I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you.’
‘Whyever not?’
‘Because I’m not supposed to be sharing any details of the case with a civilian.’
‘I think we can both agree it would be better if you did.’
‘But I can’t. I’m sorry. It’s against rules—’
‘And regulations,’ an exasperated Judith said, finishing Tanika’s sentence for her.
‘Exactly.’
A uniformed officer entered the building.
‘Sarge,’ he said. ‘An officer has just arrived with the deceased’s husband, Mr Curtis.’
Chapter 26
As Judith and Tanika emerged from the reception building, they saw a police van pull up and an officer help a disoriented-looking Danny Curtis out of the back.
‘Would you wait here?’ Tanika said to Judith.
‘Of course.’ Judith said.
‘Thank you,’ Tanika said and went over to introduce herself to Danny.
Judith had been entirely sincere when she’d said she would stay put, but she found it so very frustrating not being able to hear what was going on. Surely there was something she could do? Well, no one could really blame her if she went for a little stroll, could they? She ambled off to the side of the Portakabin hoping Tanika wouldn’t notice. She didn’t appear to. So Judith looked up at the sky as though idly checking the weather, and then slipped around the edge of the building.
Now she was out of view, she picked up her pace, moved along to the next building, the toilet block, raced around it and emerged next to where the police van had parked. Tanika and Danny were standing on the other side.
Oh so slowly, Judith edged along the side of the van, for once grateful for her diminutive size. Her head barely appeared above the van’s windows, so she was pretty sure that Tanika and the other police officers on the far side wouldn’t be able to see her through the smoked glass. But if she stood on her tiptoes, she could make out Danny and Tanika’s faces. And if she really concentrated, she could just about hear what they were saying.
‘It can’t be true,’ Judith heard Danny say.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Tanika said. ‘We’ll have a family liaison officer here as soon as we can.’
‘But what am I going to do now?’
‘I know this is hard, Mr Curtis, but I need to ask you a couple of questions. I’ll be as quick as I can.’ Judith saw Danny nod. ‘Starting with, can I ask what you were doing in Nottingham last night?’
‘Last night?’
‘We need to get a sense of your movements.’
‘I’m a coach. Of the GB junior canoeing team. They’re based outside Nottingham.’
‘It was a planned trip then?’
‘When we’re not in competition, training’s every Tuesday night.’
‘So you go to Nottingham every week?’
‘That’s right. I go up in the afternoon. We train that evening, I spend the night at the centre, and I come back Wednesday morning.’
‘So if anyone knew you well, they’d know you’d be away from the family home between Tuesday afternoon and late Wednesday morning every week.’
‘I suppose so.’
‘Can you think of anyone who might have wished your wife harm?’
‘No. It’s impossible. Everyone liked Liz.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m the one who’s grumpy. Who shouts and is difficult. Liz just gets on with things. You know? Never loses her temper. She didn’t have a bad bone in her body.’
As Danny said this, Judith couldn’t help thinking about Liz’s dog Crumble. If Suzie’s story were true, then Danny had wildly misjudged his wife.
‘Then can I ask,’ Tanika continued, ‘how had things been between you and Mrs Curtis?’
‘I’m sorry?’ Danny replied.
‘It would be good to get a sense of your relationship.’
‘Well, I started going out with Liz when I was twenty. We’ve been together ever since. She’s the only person I’ve ever seriously dated.’
‘And you were getting on?’
‘Yes. I love her. I’ve always loved her. Why are you asking?’
‘Is it possible she didn’t feel the same towards you as you did towards her?’
‘Are you asking, was she playing around? You’ve got to be kidding me. We’ve been working down here all the hours God gave. Trying to get the place back on its feet since the floods. Working seven days a week. Painting, mending, rebuilding.’
‘Okay. Then can I ask, did she perhaps have any financial problems?’
Danny gave a bitter laugh.
‘Ha! We were all financial problems. We’re broke. That’s the problem.’
‘She was in debt?’
‘Not personally. I don’t think so. We never joined our bank accounts, so I can’t tell you exactly what her financial situation was, but we’ve been living on thin air for years. Turns out, these days, if you want to follow your dream of working on the river, you’d be wise to put all your buildings on stilts.’
‘Your business was in trouble?’
‘Not the business. Liz inherited it from her dad years ago, so there’s no mortgage or anything. As long as we take more money than we spend, we’re in clover. But we didn’t have the sort of savings set aside for the last flood. Not after the one before.’
‘You’ve spent all your savings?’
‘We’ll be able to build them up again. Once we open properly.’
‘OK, just a couple more questions. What do you know about a local man called Iqbal Kassam?’
‘That’s what that woman asked me.’
‘Would that be Judith Potts?’
‘That’s right. She asked about that guy who got killed the other week.’
‘I understand your wife used his taxi services a few weeks ago.’
‘Only to get some shopping. She wasn’t gone more than an hour or so. I’m sure loads of people used him.’
‘And how well did your wife know Stefan Dunwoody?’
Danny didn’t answer immediately and he was guarded when he did.
‘Yeah, that Judith woman asked about him as well. Why?’
‘If you could answer the question.’
‘But why are you suggesting Liz had anything to do with those men?’ Danny said, and Judith could hear anger in his voice.
‘It’s very important that you answer the questions I’m asking you, Mr Curtis.’
Danny sighed.
‘I asked Liz about Stefan after I’d spoken to Judith. Okay? And she said she’d not had anything to do with Stefan for months. Hadn’t been to his gallery. Hadn’t spoken to him at all. And before you ask, I also asked if she’d been to his house. She laughed at me. She told me she’d never been to his house and didn’t even know where Stefan lived. So that’s all you need to know about Liz and Stefan. Are we done now?’
‘Nearly. Do you own a firearm?’
‘No! Why would I own a gun?’
‘Then one last question. If I were to say “faith, hope and charity”, what would that mean to you?’
Listening from behind the van, Judith’s ears pricked up. ‘Faith, hope and charity’? Why was Tanika asking that question? Judith guessed it was somehow connected to Stefan’s medallion.
For his part, Danny seemed just as puzzled by the question as Judith.
‘It wouldn’t mean anything. Why are you asking?’
‘Does the phrase not resonate with you in any way?’
/> ‘It’s a motto, isn’t it? I don’t know.’
‘It’s from the bible originally, but maybe it has some other meaning for you?’
Before Danny could answer, the phone in Judith’s handbag started ringing. Oh bloody hell, she thought to herself as she moved away from the van at speed. She really didn’t want to get caught eavesdropping, but where was the button to silence the stupid thing? She pressed all of the buttons on the side of the infernal device until it went quiet. There, that was better. She answered the call.
‘Hello,’ she whispered into the phone.
‘It’s me,’ Suzie said on the other end of the line. ‘Becks just got back. And she has news about Andy Bishop. Big news. We need you here at once.’
Chapter 27
‘So what have you got?’ Judith asked as she swept into her house, whipped off her cape and threw it onto the Blüthner as she passed.
‘Andy Bishop’s the killer,’ Becks said.
‘You’re kidding? Well, that’s what we in the bridge community call a strong opening bid.’
‘I’ve no doubt about it.’
‘Okay, so how come you’re so sure?’
‘It was how he was with me.’
‘And how was that?’
‘For starters, he was a creep. One of those men who talk to your breasts rather than look you in the eye.’
‘Bloody lech,’ Suzie said.
‘Exactly,’ Becks agreed. ‘And when he showed me out the front door, he brushed his hand over my bottom. It was vile.’
‘Do you need a whisky?’ Judith asked.
‘No, I’m fine.’
‘Are you sure? I think I’ll have a whisky.’
‘Well, since you’re asking …’ Suzie said.
‘Okay, two small whiskies to steady the nerves. Go on,’ Judith said to Becks as she went over to her sideboard and fixed a whisky for herself and Suzie.
‘Andy and I went down the High Street together,’ Becks said. ‘And I didn’t know what to say. I’d only got him out of his office to buy Suzie time.’
‘Which you did brilliantly,’ Suzie added. ‘Little good it did me. All I had time to do was photograph his diary, and it doesn’t say anything. We’ve looked.’
The Marlow Murder Club Page 18