“Shit! How dreadful. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“It is what it is. Most men disrespect women. You only have to watch the daily News at Ten to realise how prevalent it is these days. I’m sworn off men now, have been for years. I tried to sit Tina down and point her in the right direction, but she refused to listen. The key to her relationship with this fella was the amount of dosh he flung her way. He was slightly older, too. Maybe she was crying out for a father figure in her life. Was I to blame for that?”
“I doubt it. Please don’t punish yourself thinking along those lines.”
“I know it’s going to linger, to cripple my logical thinking over the coming days.”
Charlie entered the room, putting an end to the maudlin conversation. Katy smiled, appreciating her partner’s kind gesture.
They sat there quietly as Mrs Lascombe sipped at her tea while staring at a spot on the wall ahead of her. Eventually, she heaved out a sigh. “Thank you, that was just what I needed. Hot and sweet for the shock. Shouldn’t you be going now? What are you doing towards the investigation?”
“Our main priority in the first few days is to gather as much evidence from the scene as we can and to let the next of kin know of any fatalities.”
“Now you’ve done that, what’s next?”
“Now the real work begins. If you’re sure you’ll be okay, we’ll be on our way.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll get to the hospital soon. I’m sure the news will hit me later. Maybe having the appointment so near is what’s holding back the grief.”
“Possibly. I’ll leave you a card. If you think of anything we might not have covered and feel it’s important to the investigation, don’t hesitate to get in touch.”
“I will.” She showed them to the door and gently closed it behind them.
“Crap, that was tough. Thanks for offering to make the drink, I think it helped.” Katy set off towards the car.
“Not sure I would be that composed if someone told me my only daughter had died.”
“As I said back there, people deal with grief in different ways. Let’s hope neither one of us have to deal with something like that in the future.” Her thoughts lay with her daughter and the health scare she’d suffered a few years back which had terrified the shit out of AJ and her.
“I suppose. Where to now?”
“Back to the station. Let’s see what the team can tell us about the main victim and confirm it’s Tina’s body, even though we’re pretty sure it is.”
The incident room was as quiet as a library when they arrived. “All right ladies and gents?”
They all looked up from their screens and nodded. Karen motioned for Katy to join her.
“What have you got, Karen?”
“Plenty in the archives about Ray Thatcham.”
“Such as?”
“He’s seen as a do-gooder in the community. Has raised several million for a dozen or more charities.”
“I’m surprised to hear that. What type of charities?”
“Mostly helping to raise awareness for the youth in our society.”
“Raise awareness to what?” Katy asked, perplexed.
“Anything and everything.”
“How strange. Okay, I’m more than a little shocked to hear this. I put him down as a player, not someone willing to give back to the community.”
“Maybe it’s a smokescreen,” Charlie suggested.
“To stop the likes of the police digging into his business dealings, is that what you mean?”
Charlie shrugged. “Maybe. There again, I could be making it up as I go along because I can’t think of another viable explanation.”
Katy smiled. “A plus for not stating the obvious and being willing to think outside the box. Keep digging, Karen. Any news on what type of business he’s running? I know he’s an exporter, but do we know what that entails?”
“I’m still checking.”
Katy turned to face the rest of the team. “Anyone got anything else? No, wait, we’ve got something I should mention. According to a sergeant with Thames Valley Police, there were four people on the boat when the police boarded. What we need to find out is who the other two people were and what they were doing there.”
Graham was the next member of the team to speak up. “I might have some news on that front, boss.”
Katy walked towards him. “Go on, Graham.”
“I chased up the house-to-house enquiries not long ago and discovered a man reported seeing two men in sopping wet suits running along the footpath. They jumped in a black Range Rover which seemed to be waiting for them.”
Katy nodded. “That’s something. Could he describe these blokes? Is it worth him sitting down with a police sketch artist?”
“I can follow up on it, if that’s what you want.”
“Yes, do it, Graham. Did the witness say if they came from the direction of the boat or not?”
“I can check.”
“Also, see if the boat was alight at the time or not.”
“Will do.” Graham reached for the phone and dialled a number.
Katy left him to it, stopped off at the vending machine to buy a coffee for Charlie and herself, and then went through to her office.
Graham rapped on the door a few minutes later. “Take a seat. Anything else for me?”
Graham sat and leaned forward in his chair. “Yep, Mike Wade told me he saw the two men running from the direction of the boat. He thinks he saw them get off it, but he can’t be a hundred percent sure. When I pressed him about it further, he admitted that the men jumped off the boat before it hit the bank.”
“Interesting. Did he say why he didn’t mention that at the time?”
“He was too scared. He’s since spoken to a family member who had urged him to do the right thing.”
“I’m glad someone has made
