accustomed. I know you're not supposed to say these things anymore, but she was awfully common. The few friends she made were quite dreadful ... loud ... over-made-up...' She shuddered. 'Dreadful!'
Galbraith pressed his fingertips together beneath his chin and studied her with open curiosity. 'You really didn't like her, did you?'
Again Mrs. Sumner considered the question carefully. 'No, I didn't,' she said then. 'Not because she was overtly unpleasant or unkind, but because she was the most self-centered woman I've ever met. If everything-and I do
Galbraith thought of the photographs in Langton Cottage, and his own conclusion that Kate Sumner was vain. 'If it wasn't an affair that went wrong, then what do you think happened? What persuaded her to take Hannah on board someone's boat when she hated sailing so much?'
'What a strange question,' the woman said in surprise. '
'Except marinas and harbors are busy places, and there have been no reports of anyone seeing a woman and child being put on board a boat against their will.' Indeed, as far as the police had been able to establish so far, there had been no sightings of Kate and Hannah Sumner at all at any of the access points to boats along the Lymington River. They hoped for better luck on Saturday when the weekenders returned, but meanwhile, they were working in the dark.
'I don't suppose there would have been,' said Angela Sumner stoutly, 'not if the man was carrying Hannah and threatening to hurt her if Kate didn't do what he said. She loved that child to distraction. She'd have done anything to prevent her being harmed.'
Galbraith was about to point out that such a scenario would have depended on Hannah's willingness to be carried by a man, which seemed unlikely in view of the psychiatric report and Angela Sumner's own admission that she screamed her head off every time her own father tried to pick her up, but he had second thoughts. The logic was sound even if the method had varied ... Hannah had obviously been sedated...
*11*
Memo
To: Detective Superintendent Carpenter
From: Detective Inspector Qalbraith
Date: 12 August 97-9:15 p.m.
Re: Kate & William Sumner
Thought you'd be interested in the enclosed report/statements. Of the various issues raised, the most telling seem to be:
1. Kate made few friends, and those she had came from her own milieu.
2. She appears to have had little interest in her husband's friends/pursuits.
3. There are some unflattering descriptions of her-i.e., manipulative, sly, deceitful, malicious.
4. William is under stress over money worries.
5. The 'dream house' was clearly Kate's idea, but the consensus view is that William made a mistake buying it.
6. Finally, what on earth was the attraction? Did he marry her because she was pregnant?
Some interesting vibes, don't you think?
Witness statement: James Purdy, Managing Director, Pharmatec UK
I've known William Sumner since he joined the company fifteen years ago at the age of twenty-five. I recruited him myself from Southampton University, where he worked as an assistant to Professor Hugh Buglass after gaining his MSc. William led the research into two of our pharmaceutical drugs-Antiac and Counterac-which between them represent 12 percent of the antacid market. He is a valued and valuable member of the team and is well respected in his profession. Until his marriage to Kate Hill in 1994 I would have described William as the eternal bachelor. He had an active social life, but his real interests were work and sailing. I remember him telling me once that a wife would never allow him the sort of freedom his mother did. Various young women set their caps for him over the years, but he was adroit at avoiding entanglement. I was surprised therefore when I heard that he and Kate Hill were planning to get married. She worked at Pharmatec for some twelve months in '93-'94. I was extremely sorry to hear about her death and have authorized extended leave for William while he comes to terms with his loss and sorts out the care of his daughter. As far as I am aware William was in Liverpool during the weekend of 9-10 August, although I had no contact with him after he left on the morning of Thursday, 7 August. I barely knew Kate Hill-Sumner while she was here and have not seen or heard from her since she left.
Witness statement: Michael Sprate, Services Manager, Pharmatec UX
Kate Hlll-Sumner worked as part of my team from May '93 to March '94, when she left the company. She had no shorthand, but her typing skills were above average. I had one or two problems with her, principally in relation to her behavior. This could be very disruptive at times. She had a sharp tongue and was not averse to using it against the other secretaries. I would describe her as a bully who had no qualms about spreading malicious gossip in order to undermine someone she had taken a dislike to. She became particularly difficult after her marriage to William Sumner, which she clearly felt gave her an elevated status, and had she not decided to leave voluntarily, I would certainly have sought to have her transferred from my department. I know William only slightly, so cannot comment
