Mrs Walker obediently studied the picture. ‘The hairstyle isn’t too far out, not really.’
‘You’re sure it’s your cousin?’
‘Fairly sure.’
Cooper sighed. Fairly sure wasn’t much, but it would have to do for now.
‘The other details fit,’ said Mrs Walker. ‘Audrey was forty two, and an inch or two taller than me.’
‘Was Audrey married?’
‘For a while. She met a bloke called Carl, who worked offshore on the oil rigs. He was all right, but they drifted apart after a bit. I think he went to Germany after the divorce went through.’
‘Would you have his address, if we needed it?’ asked Cooper.
‘I expect so.’ Mrs Walker frowned. ‘Audrey and I were always very close, you know. Her mother is Auntie Viv, my mum’s sister. Audrey was my chief bridesmaid when I got married.’
‘Excellent. So we could say that you knew her very well.’
‘That’s what I said.’
‘And when did Audrey Steele go missing?’ said Cooper.
Ellen Walker stared at him. ‘Missing?’
‘When was she last seen? We don’t have her recorded as a missing person. But it seems she must have been missing since at least February or March last year.’
‘She isn’t missing. She died.’
‘Yes, we know she died,’ said Cooper patiently. ‘We know now that she died. But before anyone knew what had happened to her, she must have been missing.’
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ said Ellen Walker nervously. ‘Audrey died. She had a brain haemorrhage and died.’
Now it was Cooper’s turn to stare. ‘How do you know what she died of?’
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‘It was on the death certificate.’
‘What?’
‘Her mother will have it put away somewhere, if you want to see it.’
With an effort, Cooper tried to focus his thoughts and figure out what Mrs Walker was telling him. ‘We are talking about Audrey Steele?’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Ellen, when did your cousin die exactly?’
‘The second week of March last year. She was cremated at Edendale. An awful day, it was, too. It sleeted all afternoon.’ Ellen Walker shivered at the memory. ‘There’s nothing worse than sleet, is there? It makes you feel cold and damp right through to the bones.’
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10
Liz Petty was already waiting in the DPs office when Fry entered. She looked cheerful, as though she might have good news to share. But Fry watched her uncertainly as she took a chair. SOCOs were civilians, and therefore unpredictable, in her view.
‘We’ve had an initial technical analysis of the two phone calls,’ said Petty. ‘I thought you’d be interested in what we’ve come up with.’
DI Hitchens turned and raised an eyebrow at Fry. ‘Was there anything interesting in the background?’
‘The background noise has been enhanced. Technical Support say they need a bit more time to work on it, but they’ve sent a few notes through, in case they’re any use.’
‘Anything might help us at this moment.’
Petty tugged at her sweater and fiddled with her hair as she looked down at the papers she’d brought. Watching her closely, Fry was reminded of some of the suspects she’d interviewed over the years, who gave away their nervousness with little mannerisms. After all, Petty couldn’t really care all that much about how she looked at work. That navy blue sweater worn by scenes of crime officers wasn’t intended to be flattering - though it looked better on Liz Petty than on some of her middle-aged male colleagues.
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‘I’ll try not to take up too much of your time,’ said Petty, and handed round copies of the analysis.
Fry took the copy she was offered. She saw references to traffic noise, bird song, a barking dog. And there was a puzzling reference to a loud, echoey voice, like someone shouting in the background, but inside a building - and not really shouting as such.
‘Do the boys in Technical Support never go to church?’ she said.
‘Sorry?’
‘The shouting they refer to would be the eulogy for the deceased councillor, delivered by the vicar from his pulpit. That means the funeral service had already started when the call was made.’
‘It has to give us a better chance of identifying him, if we decide to follow that route,’ said Hitchens.
Fry sighed as she recognized one of the phrases the DI used to avoid commitment.
‘They’ve done well to bring out that amount of detail from the tape,’ she said. ‘I didn’t notice any of it. The quality of the recording is too poor.’
‘But how is he disguising his voice?’ asked Hitchens. ‘Don’t you need special electronic equipment to do that? How did he manage it in a public phone box?’
