Sharp shook his head, and took a sip of his coffee before replying. ‘He says not, even when the doctor asked him.’
‘What about his solicitor?’
‘I phoned his boss before I called you to let him know their client survived. The partner of the firm who I spoke to will take on Peter’s case now. On the basis that he didn’t want to spend every waking hour in his client’s room here while he recovers, he’s agreed to us having uniform there. They’re under strict instructions not to question him about the case, and if he does attempt to converse with them, they call us immediately but provide no response to him in the interim.’
Kay pushed her coffee to one side, unable to face another sip of the burnt foul-tasting liquid.
‘When do we tell Sophie’s parents?’
‘Before any media statement – and that’ll be done early tomorrow as well, to avoid the local press catching wind of this and coming to its own conclusions.’
Kay dropped her phone back into her bag before raising her gaze to Sharp. ‘Do you think his actions are an admission of guilt?’
He yawned and stretched his arms over his head. ‘Maybe.’
‘Come on. Neither of us is going to be thinking straight at this time of night.’
‘You’re right,’ he said, and stood. ‘Let’s get out of here. I’ll see you back at the station in a few hours.’
Eighteen
Kay took one of the steaming cups of coffee from the tray Gavin held out, and inhaled the aroma.
‘Perfect timing, Gavin – thanks.’
‘No problem. Figured we’re going to need this,’ he said, and made his way over to where Barnes and Carys sat.
‘You’re not wrong there,’ she murmured.
She fought down the urge to yawn, and turned her attention to the pile of paperwork on her desk. Aside from Sophie Whittaker’s murder, she was still juggling two burglary cases and a suspected arson attack on a corner shop near Maidstone West train station.
Sophie’s murder would take precedence, but she worked her way through her voicemail messages while she prioritised what she could fit around the major investigation.
She hung up the phone and spun her seat around at the sound of voices approaching the incident room and took a sip of her drink as Sharp appeared, followed by DCI Larch.
She couldn’t help but wonder if Sharp had taken his own advice and got some sleep before arriving at the station that morning, or whether he’d spent the past few hours preparing for his early meeting with DCI Larch and the Chief Superintendent.
Either way, he wore dark circles under his eyes and she suspected he’d made use of the change of shirt and tie he kept on a hook on the back of the door to his office.
She resolved to send one of the admin staff out to get him a sandwich after the briefing, otherwise he’d be running on empty.
His murmured conversation with Larch stopped as they passed the desks, and the room fell silent.
‘Cheers, Gavin,’ he said as he took the last two coffees and passed one to Larch. He took a sip, and then put his cup down. ‘Right, we’ve had an update from the hospital, and Peter Evans is now in a stable condition and should be released within the next couple of days,’ he said. ‘We’ve met with the Chief Superintendent this morning and our media advisor, and a statement will be issued to the press at nine o’clock. In the meantime, you are all requested to refrain from giving out any information to callers regarding the matter, and to provide all journalists with the number for the press office. The reception desk officers have been ordered to do the same. Guv?’
‘Thanks, Sharp.’ Larch turned his attention to the team. ‘Obviously, a suspect attempting suicide while in custody is a worrying occurrence and a formal investigation will take place immediately. There will be an internal review as to why Peter Evans was left alone considering he was placed on suicide watch, and why he wasn’t considered a risk. We’ll be interviewing his solicitor, too.’ He glared at the team. ‘The investigation will also focus on how it happened.’
He turned to Sharp. ‘Right, I’ve got another meeting upstairs before the media briefing. I’ll leave you to it.’
Kay waited until he’d stalked from the room, the door slamming shut in his wake.
‘Never mind how it happened,’ she said, and frowned. ‘Shouldn’t we be asking why?’
‘Guilt,’ said Barnes. ‘We found out what his motive was.’
Kay bit her lip. ‘Is that it? What if he isn’t the killer? Eva Shepparton only had Sophie’s word she hadn’t told anyone else she was pregnant.’
Sharp stood, ran a hand over his close-cropped hair and uncapped a marker pen, adding a note to the whiteboard. ‘Okay, then. Who else would have cause to kill Sophie if they found out she was pregnant?’
‘Josh Hamilton, if he’s not the father,’ said Kay. ‘Considering Sophie’s purity pledge was all about her remaining chaste until they got married in a couple of years’ time.’
‘Or his parents,’ said Carys. ‘There are a few statements that mention Blake Hamilton was pretty determined to marry his son into English aristocracy – however tenuous the link might be.’
Sharp added the names to the board. ‘We also need to consider Sophie’s parents,’ he said, before turning back to the team. ‘Uncomfortable as it is, we know these sorts of murders are often committed by someone close to the victim.’
‘Surely if Sophie loved him, she would have told Peter she was pregnant?’ said Kay. ‘Or was she going to tell him once they’d run away?’
‘Maybe she was worried he’d change his mind about running away with her if she was pregnant?’ said Gavin.
Sharp finished updating the notes on the board. ‘All right. This morning’s tasks. Barnes – you and Debbie investigate the Whittakers. Tread carefully, but find out if she was seeing someone else – maybe it was affecting her schoolwork,
