‘Does your crack DCI have any suspects?’
‘Oh yeah. He’s on his way to arrest one of the local yobs now while I tell the wife the case is just about solved.’ Fiona couldn’t hide the disdain in her voice. ‘I’m not sure the poor thing has even grasped her husband has been murdered yet.’
‘She does appear frail. I take it you don’t think the case is quite so simple?’
‘I don’t know yet, but I do like to investigate and cover every avenue before leaping to an arrest. It makes us look foolish when it turns out to be a false one. His theory is plausible, but by no means proven.’
‘Do you have any suspects yourself, Fiona?’
‘No, but I’d like to rule a few people out and check alibis. There are half a dozen people who could know something, maybe more.’
She had Carlos’s attention. ‘Such as?’
‘Well clearly we have to look at family. That’s just his wife, from what I can gather. As you know, more often than not, the victim is known to the killer. The wife seems muddled and frail, so she doesn’t go to the top of my list, but there’s an estranged daughter I’d like to talk to. Presumably there’s also a son-in-law. We don’t know if there’s any financial motive yet – other than the fact he had no wallet on him, so that’s missing. Then I want to speak to people who saw him in the local community centre before he disappeared. From what I’ve managed to find out so far, he was a bit of a mystery. Known but not known, if you understand the meaning. Then there’s the spade. Was it his or someone else’s? If our local yobbo was involved, he’s hardly likely to be walking round the woods carrying a spade.’
‘I see. Why the community centre? Where is it?’
‘It’s on the side of the green where you cross to go into the woods. Harold Sissons had been to the weekly lecture there, so he could have gone to the woods afterwards, either alone or with someone.’
‘He couldn’t have been metal detecting, then, unless he went home first. His wife told Sophie he didn’t go home that afternoon. Have you managed to speak to anyone from the centre yet?’
Fiona sighed. ‘I’ve been told not to, but I will. I’m loyal in that I’m not going to talk about my boss, but I’ve still been assigned, so will do my job.’
‘Why doesn’t he want you to interview people there?’
‘He says they were interviewed after Harold Sissons went missing and we shouldn’t waste time repeating work that’s already been done.’
Carlos rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh. ‘Are forensics still working in the woods?’
‘They’ve left the area cordoned off but have finished. Why?’
Carlos gulped his coffee. ‘Fiona, I need to tell you something.’
‘Why does that fill me with dread?’
Carlos grimaced. ‘About the dead man’s wallet…’
Fiona listened as Carlos explained his find from this morning’s outing and how he had hoped the wallet would be discovered when forensics or the police returned to the crime scene.
‘I do hope you’ve got an alibi for last Thursday, Carlos, or you might find yourself under arrest.’
Carlos pulled out his notebook and traced back to the date. He looked over to Fiona. ‘To be honest, I don’t, apart from Lady here. We were on a stakeout. Surely, Masters wouldn’t think I had anything to do with it. I didn’t even know the man.’
‘Perhaps not, but something he said in the car after we left next door this morning made me fear for you. I think you’d better tell me where this wallet is, and I’ll go and find it after I finish up next door. He won’t be happy, but I can come up with some excuse as to why I decided to return to the scene of the crime. It will save him embarrassment later, so I should get away with it.’
‘Please don’t get into trouble on my account. I’m a big boy.’
‘Think of it as a favour to Rachel. We can’t have her boyfriend locked away for Christmas, can we?’
Carlos had introduced Rachel to Fiona shortly after he first met her, and the two women had become inseparable when Fiona later moved to Leeds, where Rachel was based. Complete opposites in that Rachel’s a fitness fanatic and health food guru while Fiona’s a junk food addict and would swear she’s allergic to exercise. Their humour brought them together. That and the fact they both go to church – a rarity in the police force.
The women had bonded and Rachel was gutted when Fiona moved to take up a DS promotion. Carlos had forgotten it had been Derbyshire Fiona had moved to and wondered why Rachel hadn’t reminded him so he could look her up. Surely it wouldn’t be jealousy, although Rachel still bore the scars of a broken engagement. Her loss was his good fortune, but the scars ran deep and their relationship, though solid, sometimes felt like walking on broken glass. Convincing her of his love was all he wanted to do, but the man before him had done that, and then betrayed her with another woman.
He sighed. ‘Thanks, Fiona. I appreciate it.’
‘She does love you. You know that?’
‘I hope so. Love isn’t something we talk about yet. I need to give her space and time to trust me.’
‘She’s the most stable woman I know. This hiccup over that pathetic ex of hers will pass. It’s all about trust. Hey, listen to me – the one who can’t hold a relationship together for longer than a month – giving advice.’ The infectious laugh rang out, causing Lady to jump up and wag her tail frantically.
‘Thanks again, Fiona. You’re a good friend, and your turn will come.’
Fiona turned serious. ‘Maybe, but what if I don’t really want it to?’
Carlos couldn’t tell whether she was joking or not. He liked this woman and had a feeling he might be getting to know her a whole lot more over the Christmas break.
‘You’re a wonderful person. There’s a Mister Right out there looking for you.’
‘How do you know it’s not a Miss Right?’
Carlos flushed, hoping he hadn’t made a dreadful mistake. She thumped him on the arm, laughing.
‘No, I’m straight. Shame, really, because I think I’d have much more luck with women.’
They laughed again as he walked her to the door.
‘Sorry about the wallet.’
‘You’re going to owe me. That’s enough reward for now. Hey, while the boss isn’t here, do you want to join me next door? I know you’re gonna stick your oar in, so you might as well.’
Carlos grinned. ‘Love to, but do you want to check with the old lady first? I might have offended her this morning when she asked me to join Sophie for her meeting with Masters. I didn’t think he’d welcome my presence.’
‘Goodness, that would have been a disaster. The right decision, whether she was offended or not. I’ll ask and text if she says yes.’
Carlos hurriedly shut down his computer and gave Lady fresh water. Moments later, he got the text message with a thumbs-up sign. He scribbled a note to Sophie letting her know where he would be should she arrive home early and opened the front door, stopping in his tracks when he saw another car approaching the house next door. He recognised the man at the wheel with a face so hot it could melt snow. Closing the door quickly, he fired a text back to Fiona, warning her of Masters’s imminent arrival, and let out a huge sigh of relief their paths hadn’t crossed again so soon.