Geoff talked of the strategy and aims set out in the PCC’s police and crime plan. There were budgets to consider. It all seemed a lot of hard work to Gus. Geoff had used a more derogatory term.
It was the modern way. The words and pictures the public received had to conform to a language that Gus and his mentors didn’t recognise. Villains weren’t villains these days. They were stakeholders.
“What about this pick-up driver, guv,” asked Neil. “Is he worth a look?”
“How will you identify him, Neil?” said Gus. “There might have been CCTV coverage of the street opposite the bank back in 2011, but the records got wiped years ago. The police only hang onto ANPR records for two years. It’s a long shot, but according to the Chief Constable, Wightman and Price did interview eyewitnesses from the scene. So, keep your fingers crossed they recorded the names. Maybe one witness has a photographic memory and can recall a vehicle registration or the name of the company written on the side of the truck.”
“If we could find the driver,” said Blessing Umeh, “we could determine whether he was one of the connections you mentioned to Luke, guv.”
“We should give thought to how we get a list of those possible connections,” said Gus. “Where to start, anyone?”
“The husband, guv,” said Alex.
“Theo Reeves may never have been a suspect,” said Gus, “but how can we trust that he was aware of everyone Marion knew? His view of their marriage will colour his list of names. Theo believed everything in their relationship was fine. Marion died in a vicious assault, so that has to get called into question.”
“The killer could have been someone Theo was unaware of, guv,” said Lydia. “Someone Marion knew through her work or from her first marriage. What do we know about that period of her life?”
“Very little,” said Neil. “I found a footnote in the murder file that mentioned Graham Street, Marion’s first husband. He was much older than her and will be in his early seventies now. Graham Street was wealthy, sophisticated, and mixed with people at the top of the social tree. Marion’s family came from a working-class background.”
“Well, there’s an angle we can pursue,” said Gus. “Neil, you can follow up on that footnote. We need everything you can dig up on Graham Street, how he met Marion and their relationship.”
“Got it, guv,” said Neil.
“We’ve got the names of the staff at the printing firm, guv,” said Luke. “DI Wightman interviewed them seven years ago. We could look closer at how they interacted with Marion Reeves outside of work. Perhaps, we can uncover connections with clients and businesses the firm used. It’s unlikely the detective team interviewed people from outside the company.”
“Marion could have met that pick-up driver she talked to that day, guv,” said Blessing. “He could have visited her firm and made deliveries or collections regularly. Nobody suspected Marion of conducting an affair, but it wouldn’t be the first time a wife kept secret assignations from a husband.”
“What a delightful turn of phrase, Blessing,” said Gus. “I haven’t heard it described that way for years. But you’re right. We believe the killer was someone Marion knew well because she was happy to let them sit in her car. However, we also know that Marion was kind-hearted enough to stop on her way home to pick up that young schoolteacher. Simon Turner wasn’t someone she knew well. He was a near neighbour, a passing acquaintance. We will have to judge each connection on its merits. The killer could be someone Marion had known well for years or someone she was having a fling with that she’d only met through work in the recent past.”
“What about the staff at the company where Theo Reeves worked, guv?” asked Luke. “We should check with Theo whether the couple met with his work colleagues on social occasions. That could throw up a connection Wightman and Price overlooked.”
“Indeed,” said Gus. “Let’s consider other characters involved in the case. The children, for instance. Stephanie and Martyn are unlikely to add many names to our list. Is there anyone we’ve missed?”
“Did Martyn attend the same school as Stephanie?” asked Lydia.
“No idea,” said Gus. “What difference would that make?”
“Well, Marion was more likely to attend those awkward sessions with Martyn, where the teacher discussed a child’s performance with a parent. Did Theo go along too? Did they both go to South Wilts Grammar for Stephanie’s appraisals?”
“Martyn was working with his hands back in 2011,” said Gus. “I see which way you’re going now. Martyn could have left school at sixteen and not been good enough for Grammar School. How did Theo Reeves get on with his stepson? Nothing was made of their relationship by Wightman and Price.”
“As soon as both their alibis checked out, they didn’t dig deeper, guv,” said Alex. “The detectives probably thought it irrelevant. What happened after Marion’s death? Did Martyn continue to live under Theo’s roof? That could tell us which way the wind blew.”
“Another thing to add to your list of questions when you speak to Theo Reeves, guv,” said Luke.
“I’m not complaining at this stage, Luke,” said Gus. “It’s when we don’t have a single question to ask that I get stressed.”
“Is there anything else you need on the walls or whiteboards, guv,” asked Alex.
“What were you thinking, Alex?”
“You queried the time it took Marion Reeves to cover the distance between her home in Oakley Road and where witnesses saw her Lexus on the A36 that morning. It might not be practical to walk the various routes involved, but
