“I said our colleagues missed something during their initial investigation,” said Gus, “and we needed to uncover what lay behind Marion’s clandestine meeting on Monday morning.”
“Do you think there was an earlier meeting on Sunday afternoon, guv?”
“At the café? I’ll reserve judgement on that. I reckon Marion met a friend or colleague who happened to be visiting the garden centre for the same reason.”
“Where will this person Marion arranged to meet have come from, guv?” asked Lydia. “An old friend or colleague, a person Theo knew too. Could it be someone from Stephanie’s school, a teacher or another parent?”
“I’m conscious we know little about Marion’s life before 1990 when Theo bumped into her in the Haunch of Venison. Doesn’t it seem odd to you Marion never talked about her life with Graham Street?”
“I can understand why Marion might not want to tell Theo the gory details of their marriage,” said Lydia. “Put yourself in Theo’s shoes. Isn’t it better not to know what a girlfriend got up to before you met? You can kid yourself everything’s new for both of you if the past is a closed book.”
“Theo suspected Marion had a chequered past,” said Gus. “So, he went along with the idea of only looking to the future to avoid having his nose rubbed in it.”
“There will be dozens of couples out there who have done the same thing, guv,” said Lydia.
“We’re almost at the Churchfields Industrial Estate already,” said Gus. “Find a place to park as soon as we get inside. We’ll walk and talk for a while. What did you see between Oakley Road and here? Did you spot a place where Marion might have stopped?”
“Sorry, guv,” said Lydia. “I was listening to you.”
“I can’t fault you for that, Lydia,” said Gus. “Despite the rumours, we men can multi-task when required.”
He referred to his notebook and translated his unique shorthand notes.
“We left Oakley Road and proceeded along The Avenue, slightly above the speed limit,” he said. “On either side of the road, there were small housing estates, a training centre, and various business premises where Marion might have stopped. Once we turned onto the A36, we soon reached the Wilton House Garden Centre on our right. I’m surprised you didn’t drop in for coffee since we didn’t get offered one by Theo Reeves.”
“I saw the sign, guv,” said Lydia, “but once you’ve seen one Garden Centre, you’ve seen them all.”
“You should have listened to Blessing when she was telling us the dimensions of the Wilton House estate,” said Gus. “Moving on, there were several shops on our left on the A36 before a signposted junction to Netherhampton Road, with access to Quidhampton.”
“Netherhampton Road was the eastern boundary of the estate, guv,” said Lydia.
“You were listening, well remembered, Lydia,” said Gus. “We also passed the Cricket Field Hotel on our right before you turned off the A36 down Cherry Orchard Lane and then negotiated the mini-roundabout that brought us onto Brunel Road, where we are now parked. Any of those places could have been where Marion picked up a passenger or spoke to someone on her mobile phone, confirming where and when they were to meet. Let’s take a walk.”
CHAPTER 6
“We’ve been parked on Brunel Road for three minutes, guv,” said Lydia. “I have seen no security staff patrolling the estate. Nobody has approached us to ask what we’re doing here.”
“That’s unlikely to happen, Lydia,” said Gus. “I guarantee any security this site has is confined to hours of darkness. Look at the number of premises surrounding us and the variety on offer. Major car dealerships operate alongside artisan craft outlets. Parking bays dotted here and there, larger lay-bys for trucks. There’s even a snack van with a permanent pitch a hundred yards ahead. They don’t need security during the day with hundreds of employees milling about the place, plus the constant stream of traffic.”
“Maybe that’s why Marion’s car escaped notice, guv,” said Lydia. “Her Lexus was just one vehicle among hundreds. Why would anyone stop to look inside?”
“Did you notice the large board near the entrance showing the site layout and a list of names of the businesses?” asked Gus.
“You can’t miss it, guv,” said Lydia. “I expect you’ll say I was travelling too fast to read what it said.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to catch every name, Lydia,” said Gus. “I was trying to see a light engineering firm next door to a fitness centre. I might have missed it, of course.”
“Theo Reeves told us this site was still a hive of activity, but the businesses might have altered over the years. Brunel Road is the major thoroughfare; we need to move to the edges of the estate to find the spot where Marion Reeves parked her car, Was the name of the street given in the murder file?”
“It didn’t register, Lydia,” said Gus. “My mistake. I should have made a note. Call Luke Sherman and get him to dig it out, please? While you’re on the phone, ask him to follow up on Marion’s mobile phone. Is that still in evidence? Why didn’t we see a call history from that phone? I can’t imagine Billie Wightman and Matt Price didn’t get details of every call to and from that mobile from Marion’s service provider.”
Lydia stepped away from Gus to call the office. Gus tried to work out whether it was quicker to return to the car and start again or head towards the Salisbury side of the estate and hope for the best. He elected to wait.
“Stephenson Road, guv,” called Lydia. “It’s on the edge of the estate on the Salisbury side.”
Five minutes later, they stood on Stephenson Road, and Gus pointed to the name of a small engineering firm on a board near the pavement.
“No job too small,” said
