I wept onto Mrs Wheeler’s shoulder. ‘Was – was – she happy?’ I blurted out between convulsing sobs.
She pulled me around by my shoulders so that I was facing her. ‘Oh yes,’ she said, smiling through her tears. ‘Amy had everything she’d ever wanted.’
Chapter Nine
I woke up still raw after the visit from Mrs Wheeler. Her words had been comforting but had dug up fresh guilt. How had I let such a gulf grow between me and Amy? Sisters who could once read each other’s minds, and yet in the end we couldn’t even make time for a weekly phone call?
I sent Amy a text:
Sorry we drifted apart, and sorry I didn’t realise it until too late. But you’re always in my thoughts too. xo
It was also tough to square Mrs Wheeler’s perspective of Amy’s happiness with what Rachel had said about her wanting more. Although I wanted to believe Mrs Wheeler, I knew who was closer to Amy and who knew her best.
The morning routine was getting slightly easier with each day and things were finally starting to go more smoothly – the older kids had left on time for the third day in a row and Auntie Sue had offered to walk with Betsy. Maybe this child care lark is easier than everyone makes out, I thought to myself as I put my feet up and sank back into the armchair with a cup of tea.
A moment later, the peace was shattered by the front door bursting open and the thunder of boots up the stairs. It caught me completely off-guard and I spilled my tea onto the armchair, only getting a glimpse of a figure hurtling around the bannister. Seconds later, Lucas reappeared, running back down the stairs two at a time.
‘I forgot my trainers!’
I glanced at my watch: three minutes until the bus came.
‘You’re not going to make it now.’ I grabbed the keys to the Mini. ‘Come on. I’ll drive you.’
I made a mental note for the future to not relax until after 9 a.m.
As I was in Alnwick already, I decided to call in on Jake Ridley, telling myself that it was strictly to see if he had any news on Amy’s case.
I called at Costa on the way and took two coffees to go. Jake was on the phone when I arrived, and as I sat waiting for him to finish, I regretted my messy top-knot and no-make-up look.
He welcomed me into his office with a smile and gratefully took his latte.
‘I have got something for you, actually.’ He opened a folder. ‘First of all – Mike’s business. It’s a private limited company, and he had some outside investment at the start – shareholders that he’d have to pay back if it went belly-up. And you’re right – it does seem that he has run into some difficulties.’
If Amy had been aware of Mike’s problems, that might explain why she had kept her finances separate from his. It made sense, but an alarm had started ringing in my temples. I focused firmly on Jake.
‘Secondly, the life insurance. Both Amy and Mike took out very large policies two years ago. According to the insurance company, the reason they gave for wanting the additional insurance was to cover their joint debts and to secure the financial well-being of their children – all perfectly normal, except that we know their debts were nowhere near that size.’ Jake shrugged.
My heart was pounding.
Jake closed the folder and folded his hands in his lap. ‘There was one more thing. I had a chat with the coroner’s office. This is all off the record, you understand. And under the circumstances, it might make sense to keep this to yourself for now.’
I nodded and took a long, deep, breath.
‘There was a problem with the car, as you know. There’s no reason for this, given its age and service history. Apparently one of the front wheels was missing several nuts, and the police suspect that they could have been loosened deliberately .’
My hand flew to my mouth and I suppressed an urge to scream.
‘Are you OK?’
I shook my head, saying nothing.
Jake poured me a glass of water. ‘This is very upsetting, I know, but there are now some reasons to suspect that Amy’s death was perhaps not an accident after all.’
I sat paralysed in my chair.
‘The police are looking into it, and we should pass everything you have to them,’ Jake said slowly. ‘They need to know that Mike is in financial difficulty, and his response to the life insurance policy.’
‘Do you think he did it?’ I threw the question at him.
Jake sighed. ‘With the majority of murders the perpetrator is usually known to the victim. A spouse would be an obvious place to look. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.’
Oh my god, the kids, I thought. What would this do to them?
‘So what happens now?’ My hands were shaking. I held them together in my lap so that Jake wouldn’t see.
‘I’ll pass this on,’ Jake said, closing the folder. ‘They’ll probably talk to Mike, maybe take him in for questioning. They might wait to gather more evidence first. I’m sure they’ll need to speak to you, at some point.’
I nodded glumly, weighed down by the feeling that before things got any better, they would get far worse.
I took the coast road home. I needed the space and the view of the open sea to help me think. Even though the evidence pointed to Mike, I couldn’t work out how he could have done it – he had been in the pub the night of the accident and had spent the whole evening there. I tried to imagine how he might have sabotaged Amy’s car, drugged her then convinced her to drive, but I couldn’t make the pieces fit together. He would be home at the end of the week. I had to find some answers before he got back.
My instinct was that whatever I was
