‘Of course.’
‘I mean it, Carter – I’m holding you personally responsible.’
‘Can we have your laptop?’
‘No, you can’t. Don’t push your luck.’
‘Do you always send messages from your laptop? Carter asked.
‘Yes, I do.’
‘If we send a message and he checks the IP address, he’s going to know it’s not you.’
‘Then I’m going to have to do this with you. I’m not having technicians dismantle the hard drive in my laptop.’
‘Okay, I understand. Go online at your usual times and reply to any messages you have. We’ll be over to see you later. Did you reply to the Dogger?’
‘Not yet.’
‘When you do, keep it interested but vague.’
He finished up his conversation and stood and picked up his coat.
‘Don’t get comfortable, Willis – we’re off to talk to Mrs Ellerman.’
They parked up and walked across the road to the house. Carter was watching the movement at the kitchen window. A shadow passed there. They stood and waited after ringing the bell. Dee Ellerman was dressed in black leggings and a dark tunic top. Her dark hair was scraped back into a ponytail. She had large dark eyes that looked tired and slightly dazed as she came to the door. Carter wondered if she was on medication.
‘Sorry to bother you. Mrs Ellerman?’
‘Yes?’
They showed their warrant cards. ‘Can we come in for a chat?’
She looked from one to the other, before stepping back into the house.
‘My husband isn’t home.’
‘It’s you we’d like to speak to.’
They followed her as her slippered feet shuffled across the parquet floor and into the living room. The parquet floor gave way to green-flecked carpet.
‘Would you like us to take off our shoes?’ He could see by her face that she wanted to say yes but instead, her eyes flicked towards the kitchen entrance. ‘We’re happy to sit in the kitchen, if that suits you better?’
She led them into the kitchen, which was L-shaped with a living area at one end.
‘Would you like a drink?’ she asked.
‘No, thanks.’ Willis couldn’t risk spilling anything. She was clumsy to the extreme.
‘Love a coffee, please,’ said Carter. ‘We won’t keep you long, Mrs Ellerman. Thank you…’ he said when she handed him a cup. He took a sip of the coffee and tried not to grimace. ‘We wanted to have a chat with you about your husband. He seems to have got himself in a spot of trouble with complications in his life.’
‘The letter, you mean?’ She sat opposite Carter and Willis.
‘Yes. You’ve seen it?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did your husband show it to you?’
‘God, no! I got a copy in the post.’
‘What did you make of it?’
She sat with her elbows on the table, her hands clasped. She stared at her hands. ‘I was expecting it.’
‘How do you mean?’ asked Carter.
‘It’s not the first time women have got in touch with me.’ She glanced up at them both.
‘This has happened often?’ Carter said, smiling sympathetically.
‘It has increased in the last five years.’
‘Since your son died?’ asked Willis.
‘Yes.’ She looked from Willis to Carter. ‘Craig. My son was called Craig. My husband was responsible for his death.’
‘Is that what you believe?’ asked Carter.
‘That’s what happened. He was showing off in his car. He skidded taking a corner too fast and he hit a tree. Craig died two weeks later when the life-support machine was switched off.’
‘We are so sorry, Mrs Ellerman. I know it must still be very raw for you.’ Carter leant forward, to put his hand on her shoulder.
She bowed her head, composing herself. ‘Yes.’
‘It must be very difficult for you, especially when you’re alone here. Mr Ellerman is away from home a lot, isn’t he?’ Carter asked.
‘All the time. He comes home at weekends but he doesn’t always stay. This place reminds him too much of Craig. We remind each other of Craig.’
‘Yes, I understand; it must be so difficult. Would you like to speak to someone in our victim-support unit, Mrs Ellerman?’ Carter asked. ‘It’s always helped people in the past.’
‘No… thank you.’ She looked at the clock on the kitchen wall.
Carter glanced at Willis; she took out her notebook.
‘Okay, well, we’ll get on with some questions, then we’ll be out of your way,’ said Carter as he drank the rest of his coffee. Willis took out a copy of the letter and handed it to Carter. He took it from her and opened it up, turned it round to face Dee Ellerman.
‘When you got this letter, what did you think?’
She shrugged. ‘Not a lot. Nothing surprises me any more. I perhaps wondered at the amount of women on the list. That’s a lot of lies, even for my husband.’
‘Excuse me for asking, Mrs Ellerman, but why do you stay with him?’ asked Willis.
Dee Ellerman turned to her.
‘I don’t know. I stay because we have all this together, maybe.’ She looked around. ‘Maybe because he is my connection to Craig. I couldn’t bear to leave this place, to leave Craig.’
‘I understand,’ said Carter. ‘But, financially, it must be a struggle. Do you have a large mortgage?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t handle that side of things. JJ doesn’t want me to worry about that.’
‘So what do you know about his finances? Do you take an interest in his business at all?’ asked Willis.
‘I listen to his plans sometimes but I don’t know the ins and outs. I never look at his bank statements.’
‘Did you know that he was in financial difficulties?’
‘Yes. The bank keeps ringing.’
‘That must be difficult, stressful for you?’
‘JJ says to ignore them. He usually manages to find some money from somewhere every month.’
‘The women on the list seem to have parted with a lot of money,’ Carter said, glancing at the letter.
‘More fool them.’
‘Mr Ellerman never mentioned his fund-raising to you?’ asked Willis.
‘No.’
‘So what do you feel about the women on this list?’ asked Carter. ‘Do you feel anger? Shame? Sadness? Do you feel sorry for them in any way?’
She shook her head. ‘They knew what they were getting into. They knew he was married. They shouldn’t have done it… got involved with a married man.’
‘But he promised them he would leave you,’ Willis said, her eyes fixed on Dee.
‘Lies come naturally to him.’ Dee looked at Willis and glared. Her sadness had been replaced by anger. ‘He will promise anything to get what he wants,’ Dee continued. ‘He never had any intention of living with any of them.’ She rolled her eyes, as if she couldn’t care, but her hands were shaking.
‘What about you, Mrs Ellerman? Will you stay with him now?’ asked Carter.
She didn’t answer for a few seconds and then she shook her head sadly.
‘I don’t see how I can.’
‘Mrs Ellerman, what do you know about the Spanish properties?’
‘I don’t know much about them. He’s always talking about us living out there. It’s been his goal for several years now but the business always seems to keep us here; there’s always a crisis.’
‘Do you have any paperwork that we can see for these properties?’ Carter asked.
She hesitated and then stood. ‘Of course. It’s in his office.’
‘Would it be easier if I came with you, to help?’
‘Yes, perhaps it would.’
Carter looked back at Willis and smiled.
Lisa’s gym was packed with people – it always was in January. They’d all be gone by March. New Year’s good intentions were hard to sustain. She managed to get away and phone Megan during her lunchbreak.