‘Okay,’ she said, raising her voice to make it clear the briefing had begun. ‘Dexter and I have just conducted another interview with Amie Tanner following the discovery that a previous boyfriend of hers, Russell Speakman, died under suspicious circumstances just over fifteen years ago. It would be fair to say it didn’t go brilliantly. I think for now we need to take a step back, keep our powder dry and await more concrete evidence. It’ll be there, one way or the other. We’re still waiting for forensics, are we, Aidan?’
‘Yep. Due to hear back shortly, but nothing of note yet.’
Caroline looked at him as he spoke. She could tell something wasn’t quite right. He seemed vacant somehow. ‘Okay, let me know the second we hear anything back. In the meantime, I want to make it clear that Amie and Gavin Tanner are still of great interest to us. He’s been her alibi twice when people close to her have died under suspicious circumstances. And yes, that’s all it is for now. Circumstantial. And that’s exactly why we keep digging. Sara, you’ve done brilliantly uncovering what you have so far, so keep on that. We need to look especially at what happened to her dad. We know he died quite young. Is there anyone else? Any other ex-boyfriends, friends, colleagues, contacts? Let’s trace as much of her life as we can and speak to as many people as we can. Circumstantial evidence won’t help us in court, but it could lead us towards some hard, solid evidence which will.’
‘On that,’ Sara said, flicking to the right page in her notebook, ‘I don’t think we’re going to find anything suspicious when it comes to her dad’s death. He’d been ill for some time and died in a hospice. And by all accounts her dad doted on her and he was the most important thing in her life, so my instinct is we’re on dodgy ground with that one.’
‘Alright. As I say, we’ll keep digging anyway. Carefully and respectfully. Dex, can you chip in and see what else we can uncover about the death of Russell Speakman? I want to review the full coroner’s report. Transcripts from the hearing, if we can. Find out who the coroner was, who did the post-mortem, who investigated the incident. I want to speak to them all. It’s entirely possible there are methods available now which weren’t fifteen years ago, and that we might be able to get some answers. If it was accidental, fine. If more than a few people had suspicions otherwise, that’s going to need investigating.’
‘Cool,’ Dexter said, nodding. ‘I’ll get onto that. Should all be fairly simple to find out.’
‘Great. Now listen, everyone. You’re doing brilliantly. I know we’re understaffed and under-resourced, but you’re pulling out all the stops and going well beyond what’s expected, and I can’t ask much more than that. We’ve not had EMSOU on the phone trying to take over the case and even the Chief Super’s been quiet, so let’s crack on and make sure things stay that way, alright? The last thing we need now is for bureaucracy to get in the way.’
26
At the close of the team briefing, Caroline noticed Aidan heading towards the kitchenette and followed him.
‘Aidan, can I have a quick word?’ she asked.
‘Sure.’
‘I just wanted to check everything’s okay. You seem a bit down today and I’m worried about you.’
Aidan seemed to consider this for a moment before answering. ‘It’s fine, honestly. It’s nothing.’
‘Well it’s clearly something. Look, we’re a small team. I care about you all. If something’s on your mind, I want to help.’
‘I know. I appreciate that. But you don’t need to worry. It’s not work related.’
‘It doesn’t need to be. I’m talking as your friend, not your boss. I’m concerned, that’s all.’
Aidan looked at her and let out a sigh. ‘I just had some bad news, that’s all. A bit of a shock.’
‘Nothing serious, I hope?’
‘No-one’s died, if that’s what you mean. It’s just… I’ve been seeing this guy for a while, and I thought things were looking really promising but he decided to let me know last night he’s going to Australia for work. An offer he can’t refuse, apparently. Which made me feel brilliant.’
‘Ah,’ Caroline said, not quite sure of the right words. She knew it was terrible to be so pre-occupied with it, but the biggest surprise for her had been the boyfriend bit.
‘Sorry, you probably didn’t need to know that,’ he said.
‘No, it’s fine. I mean, of course it is. I just didn’t realise… You know.’
‘I don’t tend to talk about my private life at work, so if you could keep all that to yourself…’
‘Of course. No, of course. I wouldn’t dream of telling anyone. So what are you going to do?’
Aidan shrugged. ‘What can I do? I’m not moving to bloody Melbourne. Not after the way he acted. I mean, you’d think he might at least tell me he’d been offered a job and was thinking about it, wouldn’t you? Or given it some thought, perhaps? But no, the first thing he tells me is he’s flying out next Wednesday. Doesn’t even seem to have been a hard decision for him. So if that’s the way he feels, sod him. Plenty more fish in the sea and all that.’
‘Well, that’s a very refreshing outlook.’
Aidan shrugged again. ‘Not much choice, really. I’m crap at being single. Nothing else to do but get back on the horse and find someone else.’ He stopped talking as they heard footsteps approaching.
Caroline tried not to look awkward and guilty as Sara said hello and flashed an extra smile at Aidan. The poor girl. She’d been down enough, thinking that Aidan
