Barnes grunted in response, then braked outside the house and climbed from the car, reaching into the backseat for his jacket before shrugging it over his shoulders.
Kay tucked the notebook back into her bag and joined him as he stalked across the gravel towards the front door.
Blake Hamilton’s face broke into a sneer when he opened it and found the two detectives on his doorstep.
‘This is becoming tiresome, Detective Hunter.’
‘We won’t keep you long, Mr Hamilton. We’ve had some developments in our investigation we’d like to speak with you about.’ She smiled. ‘We can either do that here, or at the police station. Your choice.’
He stepped back and held the door open. ‘Come in.’
‘Thank you.’
‘My wife isn’t in. She’s taken Josh out for the day. Shopping, or something.’ He led the way through to the vast living area, but stopped short of offering them a seat.
‘I won’t take up too much of your time, Mr Hamilton.’ Kay withdrew Sophie’s notebook from her bag. ‘I’d like to ask you about the blackmail letters you’ve been receiving for the past two months.’
Blake took a step back, his face flushing. ‘How the hell do you know about that?’
‘Have you any idea who was blackmailing you?’
‘I had my suspicions.’
‘Were you aware of anyone else being blackmailed at the same time?’
‘I presume the only reason you’re here is because Duncan Saddleworth told you I was also being blackmailed.’
‘That’s correct. There was also a third man being blackmailed. Did you know Felix Ashgrove?’
‘Christ, a long time ago. He was a guy that Duncan was involved with in Oxford. Haven’t heard his name mentioned in years.’ He pointed to the notebook in the plastic bag in Kay’s hand. ‘What’s that?’
‘We were informed about a safe deposit box yesterday that was previously overlooked. This notebook was inside it, together with a lot of money. And notepaper that Duncan Saddleworth confirms matches that of the letters he had been receiving until recently. This notebook contains a record of letters sent to you, Felix, and Duncan.’
‘You never said who it was, Detective. The blackmailer?’
‘Sophie Whittaker.’
He snorted, an explosive sound that ended in a bitter laugh. ‘Wow, and I thought her mother was a conniving bitch.’
‘The problem is, Mr Hamilton, that although the entries in this notebook finish the day before Sophie was killed, the letters to Mr Saddleworth haven’t stopped. Were you aware of this?’
He bowed his head. ‘Duncan did mention to me that he’d received another letter. He seemed convinced that when Sophie died the letters would stop, too.’ He raised his gaze to hers. ‘I have no idea who is blackmailing Duncan now.’
‘You’ve not received any other letters?’
‘No.’
‘What did you do with the ones you received before Sophie died?’
‘I destroyed them. I had no intention of paying up, but neither did I want my wife finding out.’
‘Why did you pay Saddleworth to ensure the purity pledge went ahead?’
Hamilton had the decency to blush, although he recovered quickly. ‘I viewed it as a business investment,’ he said. ‘I knew Duncan needed the money. The arrangement suited us both well.’
Kay’s eyes narrowed. ‘And what if Sophie decided she didn’t want to go ahead?’
‘Well, she didn’t, did she? She took the pledge.’ His lips thinned. ‘I’d appreciate it, Detective, if this conversation was kept between us. Courtney doesn’t know about me and Duncan. I’d prefer to keep it that way.’
‘If this conversation has no bearing on the murder of Sophie Whittaker, then I’ll consider it. I’m not making promises though.’
‘Thank you, Detective. I owe you.’
Forty-Nine
As Kay left the police station and headed towards the river, she pulled out her mobile phone and scrolled through the contact list before hitting the call button.
Peter Evans answered before the third ring, his voice weary.
‘Detective Hunter.’
Kay didn’t pause for niceties. ‘Did you give Sophie Whittaker a ring?’
‘Yes. She refused to wear it though. She said she had to keep it a secret.’
‘Can you describe it for me?’
‘It was a gold band with a single diamond. It took me four weeks to save up for it. I even worked some overtime. I know she was probably used to more expensive jewellery, but it was everything I could afford. I wanted her to have it now, and we were going to get married in France.’
‘We found it in a safe deposit box that Sophie had at a bank here in Maidstone.’
He exhaled, his relief apparent. ‘I wondered where it had gone. I thought maybe her mother had found it.’
‘Her mother didn’t know anything about it,’ said Kay. ‘She was quite surprised to see it. I’ll arrange for it to be returned to you as soon as possible.’
‘Thank you.’
Kay finished the call, then picked up her pace and wound her way past the stone-clad walls of the Bishops Palace and down towards the footpath that ran alongside the river. She stood for a moment, and watched a pair of ducks paddle their way across the water, four diagonal lines following in their wake, before she turned right and back in the direction of town.
A woman with a toddler in tow appeared in front of her, and Kay stood to one side to let them pass on the narrow path.
The woman smiled and murmured her thanks, before her attention was taken up by a happy chortle from her daughter as she spotted the waterfowl on the other side of the river.
Kay thought back to Matthew and Diane Whittaker, having to collect their daughter from the morgue and organise a funeral, and realised that despite her own loss, she couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for the sixteen-year-old’s parents to have to endure such a tragedy.
She was jolted from her reverie at the
