‘Yes. Whatever.’
The house was sparsely furnished, without much effort to make everything match perfectly - but it was no more than he would have expected from a man living on his own. There was a stereo with sizeable speakers in the sitting room, and a TV in the other corner, with a remote sitting on an arm of the settee.
‘Did you help Neil move in?’ asked Cooper.
‘Yeah. The furniture is a bit of a mixture. Some of it he was given, some he bought second hand. There were some new things. The stereo is new.’
Cooper walked over to the stereo and popped open the caddy of the CD. Nirvana. For some reason, he was surprised. But he didn’t really know much about Neil Granger yet. He turned back
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to Philip, who was standing staring vaguely at the remote control on the settee.
‘Are you sure there’s no one you’d like to call, who can be with you? We could get a doctor, if you’re not feeling well.’
‘No, I’m OK.’ But Granger sat down suddenly in one of the armchairs, as if his legs had failed him. ‘Actually, I could do with a stiff drink.’
‘We’ll try not to keep you too long.’
‘It’s all right. You want a statement, you said?’
‘Tomorrow. A formal statement tomorrow. But anything you can tell us right now to help us catch your brother’s killer quickly would be very helpful.’
‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘Had your brother lived here long?’
‘He only moved in last summer. He’d been working away for a while to save up for a deposit.’
‘It can be hard getting on the property ladder these days. Did he have a good job?’
‘He worked at Lancashire Chemicals after he came back to this area. They thought a lot of him there. He was earning more than me, anyway.’
‘Do you know how much he paid for this house?’
‘No, I can’t remember. Is it important?’
‘Don’t worry about it.’
It was something they could find out. Also what Neil Granger’s mortgage payments had been, in relation to his wages at the chemicals factory. Cooper wasn’t sure whether his curiosity on this was personally influenced. He knew all too well how difficult it was to get enough money together for a deposit on a house in Derbyshire and feel able to meet the mortgage commitment. It was taking him a long time on a detective constable’s salary, even after ten years in the force. But perhaps house prices in Tintwistle were lower than in desirable Edendale.
Cooper looked into the kitchen. Surprisingly clean and neat. Carpeted stairs started near the back door. He wondered where he should go about finding a diary, letters or an address book.
‘How many bedrooms are there?’
‘Oh, two,’ said Philip. ‘Neil has his computer set up in the small one.’
‘I see.’
It wasn’t a bad little house. It had been kept in good condition
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inside. It would be ideal lor one or two people setting up lor the first time.
Cooper went out into the back garden to look at the area where Philip said his brother had kept his car. There were distinct wheel marks in the ground, which the SOCOs could compare to the VW’s tyres, if it was thought useful. But there had been showers since Friday and the outline of the car had vanished.
The stone cladding on the front of the terrace had been only a facade. The cladding ended suddenly, presumably because it hadn’t been worth the expense of covering the back of the houses. It had been all about outward appearance.
Cooper went back into the house and found Philip Granger silling on a chair in the kitchen.
And there’s no girlfriend around?’ he said.
Philip had already been prompted for the names of anyone in a close relationship who might need to be contacted before news of his brother’s death began to leak out. But it was surprising what important details slipped the minds of bereaved relatives, only to be remembered at the second or third time of asking.
‘Neil had a lot of girlfriends, on and off,’ said Philip. ‘I don’t think there was anyone particular recently. I suppose I’ll have to do some phoning round.’
‘Please let us have any names and phone numbers, too. We’ll need to speak to them. Also to any other friends or associates.’
‘Associates?’
‘Work colleagues, perhaps. I don’t know. Anyone your brother had connections with. Particularly anyone he might have fallen out with.’
Granger looked up from his feet and tried to focus on Cooper. ‘Who do you think did it, then?’
‘We don’t know at the moment, sir. That’s why we need any leads you can give us.’
‘You think it was someone Neil knew?’
‘Yes, it seems likely in the circumstances.’
