Gavin withdrew his notebook and a pack of plastic bags from his jacket and set them down on the table, ready to record everything and label it accordingly.
Kay twisted the key in the lock and lifted the lid off the box.
Forty-Five
Diane Whittaker gasped.
Bank notes – fifties, twenties and tens, had been bundled together and secured with elastic bands before being stacked in neat rows that ran the length of the box.
‘How much is there?’ Gavin murmured, his eyes wide.
Kay picked up a bundle and flipped through it, then dropped her gaze to the remaining notes. ‘Thousands.’
‘What’s it all doing there?’ said Diane. ‘What’s going on?’
Kay kept her suspicions to herself for the time being, and instead lifted each bundle before sliding them across the table to Gavin. ‘Log it by denomination.’
‘Sarge.’
As Kay pulled out each bundle of notes, she began to understand what Sophie Whittaker had really been using the secret box for.
‘You never thought to order a new spare key to check the contents of this?’ she said to Diane.
‘Never! These are my daughter’s private things.’
‘If I hadn’t mentioned that Sophie might have somewhere she could hide secrets, would you have brought this to our attention?’
‘Detective, I know you have a job to do, but I find your questioning insulting.’
‘Just answer the question, Diane,’ said Matthew.
Kay met his eyes and sent a silent “thanks” in his direction.
Whether the marriage was failing before Sophie’s death, or had manifested itself within the past weeks, she had no idea. However, it was evident all was not well within Lady Griffith’s household.
‘Well, of course I would!’ Diane’s eyes shot from her husband’s to Kay. ‘Yes, I would have told you.’
Kay turned her attention back to the box. Underneath the bank notes, she found the jewellery Diane had alluded to. Each piece had its own velvet box, and when she opened them, the ceiling lights glinted off sapphires, rubies and other precious stones.
Kay removed each one and passed them to Gavin. ‘Log these as well.’
‘But—’
‘You’ll get a receipt for it all, Lady Griffith, don’t worry. Do you recognise all of these items?’
‘They were my late mother’s.’ Diane waved her hand dismissively and turned away.
Kay cleared her throat and pointed at the open boxes before repeating her question. ‘Do you recognise all these items? Are there any here that didn’t belong to your mother?’
Diane clenched her jaw, then dropped her gaze and ran her eyes over the jewellery. A small gasp escaped her lips, and she pointed a shaking hand at one piece.
‘I haven’t seen that before.’
Kay picked up a light blue-coloured box and plucked out the simple diamond ring that had been nestled within its lining. Compared to the other pieces, it appeared newer and less worn.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Positive.’ Diane’s top lip curled. ‘My mother would have never worn a diamond of such low grade.’
‘Note that, Gavin.’
‘Sarge.’
A piece of patterned cloth had been laid beneath the jewellery boxes and as Kay passed those across to Gavin, she realised it was a tea towel. Lifting the last jewellery box out, she tugged at the cloth and peered underneath.
‘Bingo,’ she murmured.
She dumped the tea towel on the table and plucked out the pad of writing paper, a glue stick and an exercise book and held them up to Diane.
‘Ever seen these before?’
‘No. What’s going on?’
Kay held the notebook up to the light, but could see no indentations on the pages. She rolled the tube of glue towards Gavin.
‘Pop that in an evidence bag and put in a request for Harriet to test it for any fingerprints against what was used on the blackmail notes.’
‘Will do.’
‘Blackmail notes?’ Voice shaking, Diane looked from Matthew to Kay, her eyes wide. ‘What’s going on?’
‘We’ve had our suspicions that Sophie was blackmailing people. Each person received letters demanding money in exchange for the blackmailer’s silence on a regular basis. The letters comprised words cut from newspapers or printed out articles that were then glued to notepaper. The same as this. This notebook contains a record of each letter sent, the amount of money received, and her victims.’
‘Who are they?’
‘I’m not at liberty to say. As you’ll appreciate, the people she targeted would rather keep that private.’ Kay closed the notebook and passed it to Gavin.
Diane covered her mouth with a trembling hand. ‘How could she?’
‘It takes all sorts, Lady Griffith.’
‘Does – does anyone else know it was her?’
‘I’ll be speaking to her victims as soon as we’re finished here to confirm our suspicions were correct.’
She didn’t say that she’d also be speaking to Sharp about re-interviewing Blake Hamilton and Duncan Saddleworth, given that both now had a clear motive for killing Sophie.
Diane was pacing the room, wringing her hands. ‘Oh my Lord. We have to keep this secret, Detective. We can’t let anyone find out. My family’s reputation—’
‘Lady Griffith, I’m in the middle of an investigation to find out who killed your daughter. We will be speaking to everyone we’ve interviewed to date to find out if they knew about her little scheme.’
‘You can’t. I’ll never be able to show my face in public again!’
‘Is that more important than finding your daughter’s killer?’
The woman fell silent, her mouth working as her eyes darted to the notebook in Gavin’s hand. ‘Give it to me.’
‘That’s not going to happen, Lady Griffith.’ Kay gestured to the contents of the box. ‘This is all going to be lodged as evidence.’
She reached out and pressed a button set into the surface of the table, a soft ringing sounding in the corridor outside.
Within moments, the bank manager appeared, his face hopeful.
Kay pointed at the empty box. ‘We’ll be taking the contents with us, Mr Parsons. In the circumstances, I’d suggest you arrange for Lady Griffith to close the account so she no longer has to pay for this service.’
‘I’ll wait in the car,’ said Matthew, and stormed from the room.
Flustered, the bank manager hurried after him, promising to bring the necessary forms for Diane to sign on his return, and Kay busied
