No Hiding Place: An edge of your seat mystery/thriller. (DI Sally Parker thrillers Book 2) (23 page)

“The honest answer to that is,
we’re going to have to for now. But that’s likely to change once I
give the DCI the heads-up on what we’ve learnt from our informal
chat with the members of the family and Kathy’s parents.

“Okay, after we’ve completed
this meeting, I want Stuart and Jordan to conduct house-to-house
enquiries, see if anyone either heard or saw anything suspicious,
like a man leaving the Whitings’ premises covered in blood. There’d
be no possibility of escaping the blood spray, if the spatter in
the lounge was anything to go by. SOCO are on their way over there
now, so we’ll be awaiting their report on any evidence found. I
have my doubts that they will find anything, though. Here’s where
things get interesting: I find it incredible to believe that Mrs.
Whiting and Samantha were in the house while the burglar was
attacking Kathy. How many burglaries do we come across where
someone is at home to confront the intruder? Most burglars tend to
cherry-pick empty homes.”

The team nodded their
agreement. Everyone’s attention turned to the door of the incident
room as DCI Mick Green entered, an unidentifiable expression
creasing his features. “Update meeting, is this, Inspector?”

“Yes, sir. I was just filling
in the team and allocating tasks before I came to bring you up to
speed on matters.”

“Saved you the bother then,
haven’t I? Carry on. I’m all ears.” He planted his backside on the
edge of one of the spare desks close to Sally and folded his arms.
His eyes drifted over to the board, where Jack continued to make
notes.

Sally swallowed the anxious
knot that had suddenly developed in her throat. “So I’m inclined to
disbelieve all this rubbish about a burglar and look at a family
member committing the crime.”

“And your reason for pointing
the finger in that direction is?” the chief asked.

“Apart from the nonsensical
angle of the burglary, we also learned that Kathy Whiting was
pregnant. I’ve yet to get that fact confirmed by the pathologist,
but I’m pretty sure we can believe Kathy’s mother.”

The chief seemed puzzled. “And
what does that lead you to assume?”

“Well, considering Gemma
Whiting died in similar circumstances, it leads me to think that
Kathy was intentionally killed because of her pregnancy. I have
very little else to go on.”

The chief inclined his head and
brought a hand up to toy with the stubble of his chin.
“Interesting. It’s definitely a motive. For the husband, you
think?”

“Up until about half an hour
ago, I would have said yes to that, sir.”

“What has altered your
opinion?” the chief asked.

“My partner. He raised a fair
point in the car—maybe the same member of the family who killed
Gemma also killed Kathy because she had just announced that she was
pregnant. Seems strange that both women were killed within four
weeks of conceiving. What are the odds on that?”

“What do you intend doing about
it, Inspector?”

“I was going to ask you to
issue an arrest warrant for Mark when I returned to the station.
However, with this new information thrown into the mix, I’m in a
quandary how to proceed.”

“I’d yank them all in. Don’t
question the family at home, put them under pressure by ordering
them to come to the station for an interview.” The chief shrugged.
“He or she who hesitates will highlight themselves as a genuine
suspect.”

Sally thought over his
suggestion for a few more seconds before she nodded. “You might be
right, sir. I’ll get on the phone straight away. Ask them to come
in today.”

“Okay, maybe give them at least
twenty-four hours to make the arrangements. Don’t be too keen to
point the finger at first.”

“Will do. I’ll ring the
pathologist, see what he can tell me about the victim after we’ve
finished. Best to have the facts in place before I start bombarding
the suspects with questions.”

“Always advisable.” The chief
stood up. “It’s a shame I had to come and find you to get an update
on the investigation, Inspector. See to it that doesn’t happen
again.”

Sally seethed as she watched
him walk out of the room. “See what I’m up against, you guys. Now
you know why I come down hard on you now and again. Maybe you’ll
give me some slack on that in the future.”

The team stared back at her,
neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

She waved her hand in front of
her face. “Never mind.”

Jack cleared his throat. “So
shall I draw up a list of suspects we’re going to want to talk to
in the next twenty-four hours?”

“Do that. I’m looking at
inviting Mark, Colin, and Leona Whiting. Can anyone think of anyone
else?” They all shook their heads. “Very well, let’s look into all
the suspects’ backgrounds again, specifically pinpointing the last
six months, see if anything strange crops up that we can tackle
each of them with. I’ll ring Simon in the meantime.” Sally
dismissed the team and rushed into her office to make the call.
Simon’s assistant answered the phone in his office and informed her
that it would be another thirty minutes before he could respond to
her call. Sally tackled some important paperwork while she awaited
his return call.

“Inspector, how can I
help?”

“Thanks for calling back,
Simon. Have you had a chance to carry out the PM on Kathy Whiting
yet?”

“The hospital hasn’t released
the body as yet. Some bureaucratic claptrap that I told them to get
sorted ASAP. I have a feeling my disapproval will only make them
dig their heels in even more. Why?”

“I dropped by to see Kathy’s
parents this morning, and they told me that their daughter had just
found out she was pregnant.”

“Oh, dear, how
unfortunate.”

“I don’t think it’s a
coincidence, either. My money is on it being intentional, but
before I go after the suspects, I need the fact verified by your
good self. I know your hands are tied until you have the corpse in
your possession, but as soon as you know, will you get someone to
ring me?”

“Of course, even if I have to
leave the PM suite myself, you will have that information ASAP.
Intentional, you say? And the suspects you have in mind?”

“Yep. All members of the
Whiting family. It has to be one of them, doesn’t it?”

“Do you think we missed
something with the first murder?”

“I have no idea. Maybe. I’m
getting this niggling doubt that maybe if I’d done a better job in
solving Gemma’s murder, Kathy wouldn’t have lost her life.”

“That’s being daft. How could
you have known this would happen? If your assumption concerning
that family is right, then the culprit is one cagey bugger. If
you’re intent on apportioning blame for Kathy’s case, then you
should put some of that blame at our door, Sally. We’re the ones
who struggled to find the evidence you needed to arrest the
murderer. That is how it works, isn’t it?”

Sally smiled.
He is such a
nice man.
“Thank you, Simon. Those few words have just chased
away several doubts running through my mind. I appreciate your
kindness.”

“Not at all. No point in
apportioning blame where it’s not needed. Let me breathe fire on
some people down at the hospital and get you the info you
need.”

“You’re an angel. Thank you.”
Sally hung up, finished off the paperwork she’d started, then
rejoined her team. Everyone had their heads down, researching the
family. “Found out anything of interest, Jack?”

“Nothing at all so far, boss.
How do you want to play this? Are you going to ring the suspects
and call them in or go round there and personally invite them to
pop in to see us?”

“You think the culprit is going
to do a runner, I take it?”

“The thought had occurred to
me. The thing that’s bugging me is why we should take the risk. You
know, if the person killed Gemma and has seemingly got away with
the crime, then what on earth makes someone purposefully go out and
kill in exactly the same way? Surely they’d realise what suspicions
that would raise, wouldn’t they?”

Sally hitched up a shoulder.
“Your guess is as good as mine. It only takes the minutest detail
to freak a murderer out. In this case, I believe Kathy revealing
her pregnancy, if that’s what she did, was the trigger. Right, if
nothing has shown up here, I say we head out and begin rounding
them up. Let’s start with Colin and Leona Whiting.”

Jack rushed down the stairs of
the station, trying hard to keep up with Sally’s determined stride.
“Hey, slow down, boss.”

“Out of breath? Shame on you,
Bullet.” She laughed, intentionally using his ex-army nickname to
enforce her point of him being unfit. She could sense him mimicking
her and quickly turned to catch him in the act. “Something wrong
with your nose, Jack? It’s all screwed up.”

He gave a slight cough and
clutched the tip of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “I
have an itch, thought I was going to sneeze there for a
moment.”

“Hmm… I believe you.”

Sally and Jack arrived at Colin
Whiting’s home at almost four o’clock. He was outside the property,
rinsing off his car with a hosepipe. He seemed surprised to see
them, and not in a good way, either.

“Hello, Mr. Whiting. You seem
anxious to see us. Have we come at a bad time?”

He threw the hosepipe aside and
strode towards the outside tap to switch off the flowing water.
“Any time you show up here, Inspector, is bad timing. What now?
Someone else hit me with a harassment charge, have they?”

“Remind me to check into that
when we get back to the station, Sergeant,” Sally said, winking at
her partner. “Actually, I’m here to deliver you and your wife an
invitation.”

He frowned and leaned back
against the wall. “What are you frigging on about?”

“Is your wife at home? I think
it best if we discuss this with both of you at the same time.”

“She is. She’s been under a
huge amount of stress lately, Inspector. Please bear that in mind
before you drop any bombshells on us.”

Sally’s interest was piqued.
“Has she? I’m sorry to hear that. May I ask why?”

“If you must know, we’re in the
process of having counselling and are about to start our first
course of fertility treatment.”

“I see. Well, I hope that all
works out for you. Shall we go in?” Sally asked.

Whiting huffed disapprovingly
and grudgingly led the way into the house. “Leona, love, we have
visitors.”

Sally heard Leona’s heels cross
the wooden kitchen floor, then she appeared in the doorway, wiping
her hands on a tea towel. Her smile swiftly disappeared when she
recognised Sally and Jack. She turned and quickly walked back into
the kitchen. Uninvited, Sally chased after her. She found Leona
sitting at the kitchen table, her head buried in her hands,
sobbing.

Sally raced across the room and
stopped inches from the woman. “Leona, what’s wrong?”

“Why? Why are you here to
hassle us again?”

“Sorry? Hassle you? What gives
you that impression? I haven’t even said hello to you yet.”

“You being in our home can only
mean one thing, Inspector. You can deny it all you like, but I know
where this is leading. I’m not stupid.”

“Then I must be. I have no idea
why you’re reacting like this unless… you’re guilty of something.
Are you, Leona?”

Her head rose, and Sally saw
confusion along with tears swimming in her eyes. “Are you telling
me you’re not here to arrest Colin?”

“Should I be?” Sally countered,
raising an eyebrow.

“I just presumed you’ve finally
come to arrest him for Gemma’s murder. I know it’s been months
since we last saw you, but I’m also aware that you rarely leave a
case unsolved.”

“That’s true.” Sally looked
over her shoulder at Colin, who was staring back at her in
puzzlement. “Why don’t you take a seat next to your wife,
Colin?”

Jack followed the man into the
room and stood alongside Sally. “I take it you haven’t heard the
news today then?”

“News? What news?” Colin
demanded.

“From Mark or your mother,
about Kathy.”

The couple glanced at each
other and shook their heads.

“No. What about Kathy?” Colin
asked.

“She was attacked last night at
the family home.”

“What?” Colin asked, his back
rigid.

“Is she all right?” Leona had
the decency to ask after a long pause.

“No. I’m afraid she lost her
life after she was rushed into hospital. The injuries she sustained
were too much for her body to recover from.”

The couple held hands. “How
terrible,” Leona said, shaking her head. “Poor Mark, he must be
devastated. How did it happen? You said her injuries were too much.
What kind of injuries?”

“Mainly to the head. Similar to
the way Gemma died. Only this time, the incident took place inside
the residence, not outside the home,” Sally informed them, trying
to gauge their reactions to the news.

Leona seemed genuinely shocked,
but Colin appeared to be keeping his emotions in check.

“Similar injuries, you say? Who
was at home when the incident happened? Do you know, Inspector?”
Colin asked, his eyes shrinking into slits.

“Your mother and your niece,
Colin.” She intentionally withheld the fact that an alleged
burglary had taken place.

Colin uncurled his hands from
his wife’s. “And Mark? Where was
he
?”

“At work.”

“All right. Why don’t we cut to
the chase, Inspector? Why are you really here? I take it’s not just
to tell us about Kathy.”

Sally smiled tautly. “Yes,
you’re right. I’m here to ask both you and your wife to accompany
us to the station for questioning.”

“May I ask why?” Colin asked,
clear anger rising in his tone.

Sally shrugged. “Because a
second major crime has been committed concerning a member of your
family. Is that a strong enough reason, Mr. Whiting?”