‘To Aidan? No, of course not. It’s not my place to do so. Anyway, what would I say? I’m not exactly going to go running up to him tomorrow morning, singing “Sara and Aidan, sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G.” am I?’
Sara laughed. ‘No, what I mean is I don’t think he’s interested. I don’t think I’m his type.’
Caroline gave a disapproving look. ‘Oh, I don’t know about that. It probably hasn’t even crossed his mind. That’s no bad thing, though.’
‘Mmm. Maybe.’
‘Listen, you get yourself off home and get some sleep,’ Caroline replied, standing up, her mind drifting back to the investigation. ‘Tomorrow’s going to be a big day.’
23
The next morning, Caroline arrived at work having had very little sleep. Despite her exhaustion, she just couldn’t slow her brain down enough to drift off properly. In any case, the excitement of new leads and a potential breakthrough on Operation Cruickshank had provided her with enough energy to carry on.
Sara had already been in the office a couple of hours by the time Caroline got there. Caroline would’ve assumed she’d never left, were it not for the fact she was wearing different clothes.
‘What else have we got?’ Caroline asked her, eager to hear the latest.
‘Not much. Just detail. Police records show there was suspicion in the case of Russell Speakman’s death and that Amie Tanner was spoken to in connection with it, but that no further action was taken. She had an alibi, no apparent motive and there wasn’t anything that linked her strongly enough to what’d happened. Amie and Russell didn’t live together, but she was a frequent visitor. There were reports that neighbours heard them arguing earlier on the day he died, but then there’s nothing until his body was discovered the following day.’
‘Who found him?’ Caroline asked.
‘His mum. She’d popped round with a Sunday roast. Something she did each week, apparently. When he didn’t answer the door, she looked through the letterbox and found him in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs.’
‘Wow. Happy Sunday. Are there any notes on how Amie behaved? Was she as awkward and obstinate back then too?’
‘Not at first, although it seems the officers who spoke to her at the time rubbed her up the wrong way, because there are mentions later on that she started to become uncooperative. By then it was apparent they had no real evidence anyway, so it was irrelevant.’
Caroline nodded. ‘Right. Good stuff, Sara. Let’s get our ducks in a row, then we’ll get her brought in for questioning. And this time we’ll do it properly.’
It was clear that Amie Tanner was less than pleased at having been arrested and brought in for an official interview under caution. There were two types of people: those who started talking at this point because they knew things were getting serious, and those who seemed to take it as a personal affront and doubled down on their obstinacy. It looked very much like Amie Tanner was going to be in the latter camp.
She’d chosen to be accompanied by a solicitor, presumably because she was at least wise enough to realise that an interview under caution was a far more serious matter than a casual chat in one’s own kitchen.
‘Okay, Amie,’ Caroline said as the interview began, Dexter sat beside her. ‘We’ve been doing a bit of research and investigation at our end, as you might imagine. Does the name Russell Speakman mean anything to you?’
Amie stayed silent for a moment, briefly glancing at her solicitor, who made a non-committal gesture. ‘Yes. I used to know him. Fifteen or so years ago, it will’ve been.’
Caroline nodded. Amie had very little choice but to answer that question. There was no way she was going to get away with claiming she didn’t know Russell, and the predictable “no comment” wouldn’t have held much sway in keeping the police off her back. It wouldn’t look great in court, either. ‘What was your relationship with Russell?’ Caroline asked.
‘We went out for a bit.’
‘Was it serious?’
‘Not especially. It only lasted two or three months.’
‘I see. And what caused the relationship to end?’
Amie sighed. ‘You know the answer to that, or you wouldn’t have called me in here. Russell died. It was a tragic accident, but your lot were hell bent on sending someone down for it. You failed. You failed, because there wasn’t anyone at fault. It was an accident. The coroner confirmed it. I was brought in by the police and interviewed, as you’ll know from your records. And you’ll be able to see from your records that I was released without charge because I didn’t do anything wrong. And now — fifteen bloody years later — someone else I know happens to have died, and apparently I’m Dr Death or something because I suddenly become number one suspect every time someone within ten miles pops their clogs.’
‘Okay. Well I think we need to calm down a little bit, Amie. We just want to get to the bottom of things. We need to determine the facts. And the facts, as I understand them, are that you were released without charge fifteen years ago because you had an alibi, is that correct?’
Amie looked at her. ‘Yes.’
‘And can you tell me who that alibi was?’
Amie sighed and shook her head, knowing this would all be on record already. ‘Yes, it was Gavin. My husband.’
‘Or your friend, as he was then.’
‘Yes. We got together a little while after Russell died. He was very supportive and helpful. These things happen.’
‘The same Gavin Tanner who was your alibi on the night Martin Forbes died.’
‘Yes. He’s my husband. We live together. Who else do you think is going to be able to say where I was? The Sultan of sodding Brunei?’
‘Amie, let’s calm it down. These are simple, straightforward questions. All we’re trying to do is establish the facts. There’s really no need to get worked up. If everything is as you say it is, nothing’s
