She saw Karen finish the last dregs of the coffee, set the cup down and indicate with a faint smile and slight nod for her to continue.
“I asked to meet you here away from your home because what I want to talk to you about is a bit sensitive, but I won’t beat about the bush Karen. We’re trying to tie up some loose ends on one of our enquiries, and well basically it’s about an affair you had with a young detective, Paul Goodright, a good few years’ back.”
“Oh God is that all this is. I’ve been fretting ever since you called. I thought it was something more sinister.” She started to laugh. “It wasn’t an affair, we just went to bed together a few times.”
The response surprised Grace, but at the same time she knew from the reply this was now going to be easier than she had expected.
“How is Paul? He must be early thirties now. Is he married? Kids?” Karen Gardner was now firing off her own questions.
Grace responded with a series of nods.
“Please don’t beat about the bush any more, as you put it. About five years ago my husband discovered I was seeing someone, not Paul, another guy, and he confronted me about it. I never denied it. I told him a few home truths about all the meetings he went to, leaving me alone at night only to be wheeled out and be the dutiful wife when he needed me at his do or other. We had a big clear the air session, and to be honest it was well overdue. I suppose I was a little wild in my late twenties, early thirties. I saw a few guys, just for the attention which I wasn’t getting from my marriage, but for the last five years I’ve been the faithful councillor’s wife.” Grace saw her pause for a second glancing towards her. “I can see by your expression you’re surprised at how forthright I’m being.”
“I am a little taken aback,” replied Grace. She took another sip of her cappuccino. It was cold now, and she set it back down on the saucer.
“Look, as I say we sorted our marriage out. Oh by the way I only confessed to the one, he doesn’t know about the other couple, which includes Paul. My husband forgave me and its all water under the bridge now. Jerry’s not daft. He’s a politician at heart and he still sees me as his bit of ‘eye candy’ I think the term is. I’m by his side when he needs me, flutter my eyelids and say all the right things to his colleagues, and he allows me my freedom to shop and meet my friends down at the gym, and get my beauty treatments; it’s a happy compromise.” Mrs Gardner broke off, signalled to the waitress and ordered two more coffees, and then continued. “Now I’ve bared my soul officer Marshall can you give me a clue what this is about. The investigation?”
“Well it might not actually have anything to do with our investigation, but as I’ve said, it is a loose end that we need to tie up. I want you to try and cast your mind back to nineteen-ninety-three when you were seeing Paul.”
“Good God. I can’t remember what I did last week without my diary.”
“I think you might remember this Karen, he had the CID car stolen whilst he was with you one evening.”
“Oh yes I do remember that,” she started to laugh. “He was in a right flap. I was laughing when he came back and told me what had happened and he had to make the call back to his office. He told me it wasn’t funny. He said he had to come up with a story to cover up being with me. I wasn’t very helpful to him I’m afraid. I couldn’t take it seriously and to be honest that signalled the end of our short relationship.” Karen Gardner paused again and Grace saw her looking towards the waitress as the girl returned with the second order and cleared away their cups.
After she had gone Mrs Gardner continued. “Wasn’t the CID car involved in some kind of serious accident with another car; ran it off the road or something?” Karen stopped for a second, gazed up at the ceiling and tapped her chin. “Yes, that was it,” she continued, and Grace fixed eyes with her again. “I’m sure Paul told me that his sister and her boyfriend had been in the other car and that she had been seriously injured and her boyfriend had been killed. I think he also mentioned there was some kind of internal enquiry and if I was ever interviewed about Paul being with me I was to deny everything. That’s when he also told me he mustn’t see me again until things died down. But he never did get in touch again.” Mrs Gardner picked up her cup, took a sip, set it back down again. “Is that what this is about? Have you found out who took the car?”
“I’m afraid not,” replied Grace. “We’re looking into the possibility it was taken out of spite. A revenge sort of thing, which went wrong.” Grace knew she wasn’t being entirely honest with her answers because there was still the cover up she had got herself embroiled in. She continued. “Paul heard on the grapevine that you were also seeing someone else. Someone with a bit of character shall we say, who wasn’t too friendly with cops, and so we’re looking into the possibility he found out about Paul visiting you and took the car.”
Grace saw the perturbed look creep across Karen’s face.
“Hmm I can see your dilemma. Grace, can I just ask if all this is going to come out?”
“Not if I have anything to do with it. If you were seeing another guy, and you choose to give us that name, he will have no idea it came from you. We’ll make him believe his name cropped up through our informants, because if he did do this as some kind of perverted joke he will have told someone.”
Grace lost eye contact again as Karen dropped her gaze to the steaming cup of coffee. Then she looked up. “Paul isn’t wrong. I was seeing another young man at the time. And I suppose he was a bit of a character, as you put it. I met him through my husband’s dealing with licences. Jerry used to be involved in the issuing of the licence for the local fairground ‘feast’ when it came to this area a couple of times a year. The fairground owner brought his son to our apartment one day and I got chatting to him whilst they did their business. We met a few times over about a six-month period and then it fizzled out, sadly. He had a hell of a body I’ll tell you for someone in their early twenties.” She suddenly had a sparkle in her eyes. “He told me he was some kind of fighter, bare knuckle stuff, illegal. He told me he regularly fought with the gypsies for money.”
“What’s his name Karen?”
“You sure, he’s not going to find out I told you?”
Grace crossed her chest. “Cross my heart.”
“Okay it’s Billy. Billy Smith. His family own a plot of land near the canal where they have some static caravans. He’s still around, when he’s not travelling with the fair.”
“Thank you Karen you’ve been very helpful.”
Karen picked up her coffee cup, wiped the base on the edge of the saucer and took a sip. “If you haven’t already tried it, you should you know.” Karen Gardner said, pulling away the cup and smiling at her.
“Try what?”
“Having sex with another guy. It does wonders for your self-confidence and it keeps your hubby on his toes. Life’s not always Mills and Boon you know.” Grace was sure she spotted a mischievous smile stretch across her face as she finished off her drink.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
DAY TWENTY-TWO: 28th July.
The intermittent trill from the alarm clock pounded Hunter’s ears. Grunting he rolled over and swung out an arm to smack it off, pulling back quickly as the pain registered in his ribs. It was a sharp and tender reminder of the fight with the Paynton's.
The strong coruscating light of early morning sunshine filtering through the curtains should have given him the vigour to leap out of bed and yet somehow he felt totally drained. Dropping his head back onto the pillow he shut his eyes. In that instance the images of the melee flashed inside his head. Especially that look in his father’s eyes. Not one of anger, but actually of pleasure. He snapped open his eyelids again hoping to dismiss the mental pictures in his imagination, but they were still there, haunting him. He eased himself up into the sitting position, letting off a low moan. Seeing Beth’s face screw up as he disturbed her he kissed her gently on the forehead, rolled out of bed and made for the bathroom.