“Can’t say I’m looking forward to this,” Katy mumbled and rang the bell.
A few moments later, a grey-haired gentleman, sporting a goatee beard and a moustache, opened the door. “Hello? If this is about one of those charities, you’re wasting your time. My wife and I only give to reputable dog charities, they need the funds more, in our opinion.”
“It’s not, Mr Simmonds.” Katy flashed her ID. “I’m DI Katy Foster and this is my partner, DS Charlie Simpkins. Would it be all right if we came in and spoke to you and your wife for a moment?”
“The police? Why? What’s this all about? We’ve always kept on the right side of the law over the years. Can’t recall us doing anything we shouldn’t have done. I’m perplexed as to why you should be standing on our doorstep.”
Katy smiled. “It would be better if we told you inside, sir.”
He stepped behind the door and gestured for them to enter the hallway. Stripped oak floorboards and magnolia walls greeted them.
He brushed past them and led the way up the long narrow hallway into a large kitchen at the rear. The kitchen formed part of an extension which included a large conservatory. Katy admired her surroundings, her envy gene on full alert.
This room is amazing!
“Darling, this is, sorry, my mind isn’t what it used to be, DI Simpkins and DS Foster, was it?”
“The other way around but we’ll answer to anything,” Katy replied with a smile to put the couple at ease.
“Oh dear, have we done something wrong?” Mrs Simmonds asked. She wiped her hands on a tea towel and hung it over the handle of the oven.
“Why don’t we take a seat?” Katy suggested.
The four of them moved to the dark coloured wood dining table in the conservatory. Mr Simmonds reached for his wife’s hand and clutched it tightly. A lump appeared in Katy’s throat. She was about to tell this nice couple that their world had been torn apart.
“Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to tell you this, believe me, I’ve tried different ways over the years to break the unwanted news to relatives.” Charlie nudged her knee under the table.
“Now you’re scaring me,” Mrs Simmonds said.
Her husband tore a tissue out of the box sitting in the middle of the table and handed it to his wife. “Please, whatever you have to tell us, get it over with.”
Katy sucked in a large breath. “It is with regret that I have to tell you your son was found dead a few hours ago.”
The couple faced each other and shook their heads. Tears slipped down Mrs Simmonds’ flushed cheeks. “No, this can’t be true. Not Bobby. Oh, God, not after losing Gina…”
Her husband shuffled his chair closer and rested his wife’s head on his chest. “Hush now. Let’s hear what the inspector has to say, darling.”
“We’ve just been to break the news to his wife, she asked us to come and speak to you. I’m sorry this has come as such a shock.”
“Oh, her. Bloody hell, I suppose she’ll get the house now.” Mr Simmonds spat the words out with venom.
Katy’s interest piqued. “What are you saying, Mr Simmonds?”
“I’m saying they’ve been struggling for a few months to come to a conclusion on splitting up the house, don’t you think it’s a coincidence that all her problems are solved now that he’s dead?”
“Robert! You can’t go around making accusations of that magnitude. We don’t know all the facts yet,” Mrs Simmonds chastised.
Her husband sat back in his chair and folded his arms. “Go on, tell me she wasn’t shifty when you spoke to her. Where was she when he died?”
“We questioned her about that. According to Anne, she was away from the house, staying with a friend.”
“Ha! I rest my case. Pretty convenient, wasn’t it? Don’t answer that, I have my own theories about what happened and she would be right at the top of the list as a prime suspect.”
“I’m interested to know why you should say that, Mr Simmonds. Has she ever threatened your son?”
“No, she hasn’t. Robert Simmonds, you take that back this instant. Just because they fell out of love, it doesn’t mean either of them would go after the other to get revenge. At least, I hope not. Anne has always been a quite reserved character in our eyes. She failed to integrate in the family, to embrace us as part of her extended family over the years. That’s been a bugbear with us. I’m afraid what my husband has to say about her has been clouded by his judgement of the woman because of that fact.”
“I see. We’ll bear the information in mind, should any other evidence emerge in the meantime. I take it you were close to your son, is that correct?”
“Yes, very close to him. We were his parents.” Mr Simmonds huffed out a breath.
“Robert, that was uncalled for, apologise to the nice police officer.”
“I’m sorry. My mouth has a tendency to run away from me at times.”
Katy nodded and smiled. “Accepted. What I was getting around to asking is, are you aware of your son having a dispute with anyone over the past few months?”
“A dispute? About what?” Mr Simmonds demanded. He turned to face his wife and they both shrugged.
“Anything, perhaps, with a neighbour or a falling out with a work colleague?”
Mr and Mrs Simmonds shook their heads. “No. What are you saying?” Mr Simmonds said, sitting forward in his chair.
“We believe your son lost his life in an accident, however, the pathologist has suggested that foul play could be involved just because of the injuries he sustained.”
Mrs Simmonds gasped. “What… injuries? You haven’t told us how he died, why haven’t you told us that?”
Katy inhaled and let the breath seep between her lips. “It’s a difficult one. We’re a little in the dark as to how
