have been in the house for more eight years?’
‘It appears so,’ Delia said carefully.
David Plumley swallowed. ‘I showed people over that p-property myself,’ he stuttered. ‘Are you telling me…?’ His voice trailed away and his colour changed to an odd shade of green.
‘So you handled the sale yourself?’
‘Well yes, partly. It’s a lovely house. I remember it quite well. Not the usual run-of-the-mill place. Large, Victorian semi-detached, as I recall it. They’re always popular. Sell very quickly as a rule. Particularly in such a good area. An old lady.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘A Mrs Isaac was selling it. She was quite elderly and a wee bit muddled. She wasn’t really up to showing people round the place so when her son and daughter-in-law couldn’t get up here we showed prospective purchasers around ourselves. Subsequently she went to live with her family.’ He frowned again. ‘I can’t remember where they were from.’
‘Were you the only member of staff who showed people around?’
‘No. I had an assistant at the time called Jenny. She did some of the viewings for me. There weren’t that many. The Godfreys appeared fairly soon after the property had gone on the market. The Mount is a very popular area. Number 41 was only on the market for a couple of months as I remember.’
‘When you showed people round was there any time when they were alone in the property?’
‘Absolutely not,’ David Plumley said. ‘That would be totally against our rule book. Oh no. Quite definitely no one would ever have been ever left alone in the property.’
‘Do you know whether Mrs Isaac had carers in?’
Plumley screwed up his face. ‘I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘I mean she wasn’t that bad. Just a bit dotty and a bit frail. I don’t think I remember any carers being there.’
‘Does Jenny still work here?’
‘No. She left a few years ago. Her husband got a job in Australia.’
‘Are you still in touch with her?’
David Plumley coloured. ‘No,’ he said shortly. ‘But I can vouch one hundred per cent that Jenny would not have left people alone in the house. It would be against all the rules in the book. They could have stolen something for a start and then we would be liable. Jenny was a professional.’ He smiled and WPC Shaw wondered why the embarrassment? Plumley had mentioned a husband. An office affair?
‘And the Godfreys?’ she prompted.
‘As far as I remember he was a bit of a wide boy while she was typical of a woman who wanted her own way. I remember she was saying she’d have this changed and that changed and she didn’t like this. She was quite a picky person. She slightly irritated me. She seemed to want to change everything. Original fireplaces, central heating system, all the colour schemes, paint over the banisters. She would have spent a lot of money -’ he gave a deep sigh – ‘removing every single vestige of a period property. Ghastly woman. She should have had a newbuild.’
‘She wasn’t pregnant?’
‘Not that I saw. I mean it’s a long time ago and she could have been in early pregnancy without it showing but I know she wasn’t obviously pregnant. I can’t recall much detail now but as far as I remember this was how they struck me. Mr Godfrey had made a lot of money in a fairly short time and…’ He laughed. ‘His wife was going to make sure she spent it. He appeared…’ He paused. ‘Indulgent. Does that help you?’
‘Yes. Thanks,’ Delia said. ‘You’ve been really helpful. I wonder if I might trouble you for the contact details of Mrs Isaac’s family.’
‘It’ll take a while,’ Plumley said. ‘It was a few years ago. Can I ring you later?’
‘That’ll be fine.’ WPC Shaw gave Plumley her card. ‘These are my contact details. If I’m not there just leave the names and addresses on the answerphone.’
‘I will.’ Plumley stood up and shook her hand.
As soon as he got the phone call from Sergeant Shotton, Alex Randall sent Paul Talith round to number 41 to talk to the Sedgewicks and tell them that they were following a lead at their previous house in Bayston Hill. He would be interested to note their reaction.
Talith broke the news to both Sedgewicks in the now familiar sitting room.
Alice appeared composed. In fact she didn’t react at all, but sat, hands folded on her lap, a polite half-smile on her lips, looking around the room. Her husband, however, was incandescent.
‘A lead,’ he taunted. ‘What lead?’
‘I’m sorry but I’m not at liberty to reveal that, sir,’ Talith said, watching the man’s face carefully.
The careful politeness failed to improve Aaron Sedgewick’s mood. ‘That’s right,’ he flung back bitterly. ‘Hide behind bureaucracy, why don’t you?’
Talith didn’t rise to the challenge.
Aaron thundered on. ‘I don’t know why you’re hounding us in this way,’ he shouted. ‘My wife was simply the person who
Sedgewick ranted on. ‘There’s nothing at all to connect my wife with the child’s death. I shall speak to Acantha and demand that you stop persecuting us.’
Talith thought the word ‘persecuting’ a little strong but he kept his cool, a talent he was fast honing to perfection.
‘We’re being as quick and thorough as we can, Mr Sedgewick.’
‘So why have you come round today?’
‘Just to clarify some details.’
‘Clarify? What details?’
‘The patio, sir, that you constructed in the garden of your old house?’
‘What about the patio?’ Sedgewick responded irritably. ‘This is quite ridiculous. It’s just a patio.’
‘We’re only doing our job,’ Talith said steadily. ‘That’s all. Now. The patio? Did you build it?’
‘Yes I did,’ Sedgewick admitted.
‘Yourself, sir?’
‘Yes. Well, I had some help from a firm of builders that I owned back then but I did most of the work. Want something doing and all that.’
‘Can you remember exactly
‘It would have been around 2003 or 4. I know it was sometime during the summer. It was really hot and then suddenly it turned wet. We had the devil of a job trying to drain the water off so we could lay the flagstones.’ He eyed Talith. ‘I admit I built a patio,’ he said, mocking him. ‘It’s hardly a major crime. You don’t even need planning permission. So what of it?’
Talith kept quiet and watched Sedgewick’s eyes narrow as he stopped blustering and started to work out what was behind this trail of questions.
‘Why are you interested in a small building project?’
‘We’ve taken the sniffer dogs round there,’ Talith said steadily. ‘They are specially trained to detect long- decayed bodies.’ He waited. His inspector had taught him the value of a pause of the right length and in the right place.
Aaron Sedgewick was scowling like a troll.
‘Exactly what are you implying?’
Again Paul Talith waited for Aaron Sedgewick to realize where this was heading – which he finally did.
‘You think my wife buried someone under the patio?’
Talith gave a swift glance at Alice. Even though her husband had just spoken the most outrageous of sentences which involved her she was still sitting, staring in front of her, a fixed smile on her face.
Talith felt a shiver. This woman was not quite right in the head.
He looked back at Aaron. And right in front of Talith’s astonished eyes the colour drained out of Aaron Sedgewick’s face. For a moment Talith even thought he would pass out. ‘Sir,’ he said urgently. ‘Sir?’
Aaron stared right past him, as though seeing his own ghost.
He completely ignored the presence of his wife, muttering, ‘My wife. My wife? My wife?’
