Malcolm, her resurrected husband, moved to the other side of the room and sat in a chair. ‘I had to disappear.’
‘I was wrong to come,’ Gwen said.
‘Then why?’
‘I had to know.’
‘That I’m alive?’
‘If you are capable of murdering people. If I’m safe. If Sally and Susie are safe.’
‘You have always been safe, but then you went and married Ed.’
‘But you must have known.’
‘Yes, but I was willing to concede that it was the best thing at the time.’
‘And now?’
‘On the street, it was so much easier, but then since I’ve returned, the situation is not clear. I’d always suspected Sue, and even Ed did not know of her duplicity.’
‘But why is this so important? This talk of weapons makes no sense. The government is always trading with rogue nations, selling them arms, currying favours, especially if they have oil. What is so different with what you developed?’
‘I needed to make a stand. To show them that someone still has ethics.’
‘And leave us on our own? What ethics are those?’
‘You should not have come.’
‘I had to see you one more time.’
‘Before what?’
‘Before they take you. They will, you know that.’
‘I cannot allow them to do that.’
‘I’m asking you not to kill Ed.’
‘Why? Do you love him? Can you forgive him for what he did to me?’
‘He’s important to us, and yes, I love him. Maybe it’s not the same as with you, but he’s been there for us, you haven’t.’
‘He was having an affair with Sue Christie.’
‘I’d always suspected it. It upsets me to think about it, but I can forgive him for that; I cannot forgive you for killing Sue.’
‘She would have sold out Ed or anyone who got in her way. I tested her. She was involved with Claude Smythe.’
‘General Smythe?’
‘And with his brother. The two are traitors. Their involvement is suspect, and not even Ed knows about them.’
Gwen realised that the man who had been her husband was delusional, seeing conspiracies when there were none, killing people for no reason, upsetting his family’s lives. She pulled a gun from her handbag.
‘What the hell?’
‘I can’t allow this to continue,’ she said. ‘If someone is after you or not, it does not matter. Whatever happens, they will not use us as a lever if you’re dead.’
‘You’d shoot me? What about Sally? What about our granddaughter?’
‘You should have thought of that before. You should have remained dead. Our lives were fine before you came back.’
‘I need to finish this,’ Woolston said.
‘It stops here.’ Gwen pointed the gun and pulled the trigger.
Woolston was hit in the chest. Gwen ran over to him, tears streaming down her face. There was the sound of people running in the corridor after the noise of the gunshot.
‘Gwen, leave,’ Woolston said.
‘I’m sorry. I had to.’
The door opened, two men and a woman stood there. ‘What the…’ the hotel manager said. ‘Phone for an ambulance and the police.’
‘Let her go,’ Woolston said faintly.
‘I can't do that. She’s attempted to kill you.’
‘She’s my wife. I’ll not press charges.’
‘Charges? I don’t think that applies, do you? A clear case of attempted murder from what I can see.’
Gwen sat close to her husband, cradling his head in her lap. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘You’re right. The madness has to stop. I had wanted to stop it falling into the wrong hands, but now, maybe, it’s not so important.’
***
Isaac Cook had despaired about how to deal with Malcolm Woolston and the murders he had committed, and now the man was at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in West Smithfield in intensive care. And coupled with that, his wife, or at least his ex-wife, was under arrest, having been charged with his attempted murder.
Isaac and Larry made the trip to the hospital after receiving a phone call from Sergeant Hastings, the first police officer on the scene. At the hospital, they flashed their ID badges and proceeded to the emergency department. A doctor came out and spoke to them after they had been there for fifty minutes. ‘Mr Woolston has been shot in the chest. There’s some damage to one of his kidneys, but he will survive. He’s a lucky man.’
‘I doubt if he’ll agree with you,’ Isaac replied. Larry and Sergeant Hastings stood close by.
‘When can we question him?’ Larry asked.
‘Not today. It’s possible tomorrow, but he’ll still be weak. Is it important?’
‘Yes.’
‘Sergeant Hastings,’ Isaac asked after the doctor had left, ‘did he say anything?’
‘He was unconscious by the time we arrived. The medic stabilised him and then brought him here.’
‘He’ll need a uniform to guard him.’
‘He’s not going anywhere fast.’
‘There’s more to this case than you know. It’s not only him getting out; it’s also about preventing others getting in. His wife?’
‘Down at the station.’
‘We’ll need to interview her.’
‘No problem. She’s been charged with murder.’
Chapter 24
Gwen Barrow was looking sorry for herself when she was led into the interview room. Ed Barrow was outside with Sally.
‘We’ll talk later,’ Isaac said to the two of them as he walked through with Larry Hill.
‘Mrs Barrow, you’ve been charged with attempted murder,’ Isaac said, after dealing with the formalities.
‘He had to die,’ Gwen Barrow replied. ‘I had to protect my family.’
‘You could have told us where he was. We could have arrested him.’
‘I needed to see him, to know whether he’s sane or mad.’
‘We need to know how you knew he would be in the hotel.’
‘He phoned me.’
‘We will be checking your phone records. If we find any inconsistencies,
