‘You’ve not mentioned this before.’
‘It was a long time before her death.’
‘It’s relevant,’ Wendy said. ‘Anything else you’ve not told us?’
‘No, that’s it. I just saw the woman that one time.’
The two women ate their meals. They shared a bottle of wine, chatted like old friends. Wendy was anxious to finish the meal and to get back to Challis Street with what to her was vital information; Shirley O’Rourke was happy to take her time.
It was two hours later when the two women parted with a brief hug. Wendy had arrested the other woman, but there was no lasting animosity.
***
Superintendent Caddick came looking for a friend. Isaac knew that he would only offer him civility. The presence of the man, agitated and looking lost, in his office had come as something of a surprise to Isaac. Usually, the man’s visits had been those of a blustering senior attempting to throw his weight around, but not this time.
‘DCI, Isaac, we need to wrap up these investigations.’
‘We’re working as hard as we can.’
‘What do you have that I can pass on?’
‘Pass on to who?’
‘I have people to report to, the same as you.’
Isaac did not feel inclined to talk. Wendy’s brief message had intrigued him, and she was due in the office in five minutes. He wanted to see her, not his superintendent.
‘We are doing our best,’ Isaac said.
‘Do you need my help?’ Caddick said. Isaac knew that something was wrong, but he did not know what. He had been told of Caddick from other stations, even seen it himself in the past, but the man’s behaviour was out of character.
‘This department needs a free hand, and I need to be more actively involved,’ Isaac said. Whatever he said to the man, he, at least, intended to act professionally.
‘You have a free hand.’
‘Not with these reports that I have to submit.’
‘Okay, forget the detail for the time being,’ Caddick said. Isaac sensed a minor victory, but not because of his persuasive argument.
‘Thank you. We have a development. I will be pursuing this with my team. I will keep you informed.’
Caddick sat still, unsure how to proceed. Upstairs, in his office, he had a presentation to prepare: full of facts, short on hyperbole. And downstairs, he got straight answers to straight questions, but nothing that would help him. He felt trapped, and not for the first time in his career. Sometimes, before, there had been a breakthrough at the right time, and he had been able to take the credit and to sideline the person who should have received it. Isaac Cook, he knew, was well-connected; a man who could not be moved easily. If the commissioner was not behind his superintendent, he was trapped. Caddick reacted in the way that a trapped animal does; he went on the attack.
‘DCI, I need results. I’ve let you off the reports, vital as they are, but I need something in return. You’ve got two days to wrap up this case.’
‘And then?’ Isaac saw the change, knew that something was happening.
‘I’ll bring in another man.’
‘You’ve not got the authority to remove me at such short notice. I will need a warning, and then there’ll need to be a handover.’
‘You can stay and assist.’
‘I’m due for some leave. It may be a good time,’ Isaac said, knowing full well that he did not intend to take leave, had no need to. But he had to see how far Caddick could be pushed.
‘You’re subject to regulations. Deserting a murder investigation at a crucial juncture will not be seen favourably.’
‘And what do you think changing out the SIO will be seen as? Superintendent, you’re in trouble, and you want me to help you out.’
‘I need support, not hostility,’ Caddick said, his voice raised.
‘There is no hostility here. We have shown respect for your title.’
‘But not for me.’
‘Respect is earned, not given.’
Caddick realised that he was indulging in an argument he could not win. He retreated from the office as Wendy came in. She acknowledged the man; he nodded his head in return.
Chapter 28
Gwen Waverley, aware of another visit from the Challis Street Homicide Department, had attempted to put them off. When her lawyer had questioned Isaac about why it was so important, considering that the woman’s father had just died, his reply was only to say vital new evidence.
Isaac felt, as did Wendy, that Gwen Waverley and Amelia Brice meeting was significant, and if Shirley O'Rourke's timing was correct, then Gwen was already married to the other’s former lover.
The door at the Waverley house was opened reluctantly. Ushered into the living room, Isaac and Wendy were given tea. They sat patiently waiting.
After a few minutes, the sliding door from the dining room opened, and Gwen Waverley came through. ‘We can do it here or in the dining room,’ she said.
‘Here will be fine,’ Isaac said.
Another man came in. ‘This is my lawyer, Bruce Bamford,’ Gwen said. Isaac and Wendy shook the man’s hand. Isaac had not met him before.
‘I believe that you’ve questioned my client excessively,’ Bamford said.
‘My apologies, but this is a murder enquiry,’ Isaac said.
‘Very well. Could you please ask your questions and leave.’
‘Mrs Waverley,’ Isaac turned to face the woman. ‘We have confirmed that on one occasion you met with Amelia Brice.’
‘Not since she caught me with Quentin.’
‘According to a reliable source, you met her at the Westbourne pub in Bayswater about one year ago. At that time, you would have been married to your husband. Our witness will testify in court that this is correct.’
‘Do you have a date?’ Bamford asked.
