Chapter Thirteen
I made my excuses to Mike and dashed home. What did the police want from me? And what was I going to say? At least Jake would be there with me.
Thankfully, the police had come in an unmarked black Mondeo – if any of the neighbours had seen a police car, the whole village would have known by the morning. By the time I arrived, I was sweating, and my hand trembled as I turned my key in the door to let them in. Jake greeted me with a shy smile and I was careful to keep our eye contact to socially acceptable standards, the heat already rising in my cheeks.
It was the same dinner lady and intern, and I invited them to sit down at the kitchen table. The cottage felt ridiculously small with this many people inside it. I could practically feel the intern breathing on me. I sat on my hands to stop myself fidgeting.
This time, I actually paid attention when they introduced themselves.
Dinner-lady-police-officer – or DCI Bell, as I was to call her – was leading proceedings while her work experience-police-boy colleague PC Knowles made notes in a tiny leather-bound book. She assured me that it wasn’t a formal interview, and I wasn’t under any kind of caution – they just wanted some background on the family. I glanced at Jake for reassurance and he gently nodded.
What was that thing about looking to one side when you lied? Not that I was planning to lie. I had nothing to hide, and I would answer anything they asked – but I was nervous that DCI Bell might think I was lying. Was it to the left or right? I decided I would try to keep eye contact with her as much as I could. Or was that weird, too?
I wasn’t sure why DCI Bell made me so nervous. She was disarmingly ordinary, and if she hadn’t been in police uniform, I wouldn’t have given her a second thought. Amazing how a badge could transform someone.
DCI Bell asked me how close Amy and I were, and how frequently we had spoken in the weeks leading up to her death. I fought back tears as I explained that the time difference and my work schedule had meant we hadn’t spoken that often. How often was not often, DCI Bell wanted to know? I struggled to remember the last time I’d had a proper conversation with my sister, sitting down to talk and giving one another our undivided attention. If DCI Bell judged me for that, she hid it well.
We talked about Amy’s state of mind and what I’d learned from my family since coming home. I told them about Mike’s outburst at the reading of the will, and how it had prompted me to search through their stuff. Was that a criminal offence? Surely Jake would stop me talking if I was inadvertently confessing to a crime? My heart was racing, and I could feel my cheeks burning up.
PC Knowles’s voice was surprisingly deep, and it startled me when he started speaking. He referred to the Detective Chief Inspector and it took me a second to realise he meant the dinner-lady, and by then I had missed the question. Jake got up and poured me a glass of water. He touched my shoulder when he set it down and I flinched.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll repeat the question: could you describe to me and DCI Bell how your brother-in-law reacted when confronted about the status of his financial affairs?’
I took a deep breath and focused on the glass of water in front of me, then remembered I was supposed to be maintaining eye contact.
‘He was angry, I’d say.’ I pictured Mike’s face when I’d told him what I knew about his financial situation.
‘And what did you understand to be the reason for his anger?’ DCI Bell asked.
The three of them were watching me closely.
‘He didn’t think it was my business, clearly.’ I took a shaky drink of water and a deep breath. ‘He was hoping to have the insurance money to pay off his debts. He’d been planning to use some of it to pay back the people he owed.’
I looked up at DCI Bell, who glanced quickly at PC Knowles. ‘Did he say that, Isabelle? Can you remember exactly what he said?’
I thought back to that night. I’d been drinking, but I could remember the conversation pretty clearly.
‘He said that after the accident, he thought he could use the insurance money to get his business back on track.’
‘That’s great Isabelle, really helpful,’ said DCI Bell. She smiled, but I noticed it didn’t reach her eyes. There were smoker’s lines around her mouth. ‘We’ll let you know if we need anything else.’
I shifted nervously in my seat. I’d told the truth, but how were they going to use it?
And I knew I had to tell them about the messages from Phil Turner. The words were right there, but saying them out loud would be an unforgiveable betrayal of Amy. DCI Bell and PC Knowles started to pack up.
‘Wait!’ I blurted out. ‘There’s something else.’
PC Knowles glanced at Jake, but DCI Bell didn’t flinch. She kept her eyes on me, waiting for me to start.
I took a sip of water, my hand shaking as I set the glass down. ‘Amy was having an affair. I logged on to her Facebook account and I saw messages from Phil Turner.’
DCI Bell’s eyes stayed on me. ‘And these messages, Isabelle, what did they say?’
I took a deep breath to steady myself.
‘There were three messages. It was Phil pleading with Amy. Like they had ended things and he wished they hadn’t broken up, that they could get back together. He said he was desperate.’
‘Thank you, Isabelle. That’s very interesting. We’ll look into that right away, and I’ll be in touch if we need anything further.’
I bit my lip. ‘What do you think? Does it mean Mike had a motive?’
DCI Bell gave a polite
