“Is there some part of what I’ve just said you don’t understand?”
“No. I understood all of it. It just makes me uncomfortable addressing a superior officer by their first name.”
“Get used to it. The second point I need to address is vitally important to the success of this investigation. Confidentiality. Everything we discuss regarding this case is to stay among the team and the team alone. The last thing we need is some cavalier PC running off on his own personal crusade trying to save the day based on some titbit of info he’s managed to glean from one of us. The information we choose to share will be at my discretion. Let’s get started, shall we? Harriet, since you’re a few steps ahead of the rest of us, why don’t you tell us what you have so far.”
Taylor’s head was spinning. The DCI from Exeter certainly enjoyed listening to the sound of his own voice.
“OK.” She put the chain of events together in her head quickly. “It all started a week ago today. Milly Lancaster’s car was found wrecked on the rocks at the bottom of Merryhead. Milly’s body still hasn’t been found. We suspect it was washed out to sea. We found traces of blood on the windscreen. Then the torso of an elderly man was hauled up in the nets of a fishing boat. He had been cut in half. The autopsy report indicated he had only been in the water for a few hours but he had been dead for almost a week. The body was identified as Stanley Green.”
Taylor paused and looked around the room. All eyes were on her. DS Paul Southern was watching her with particularly keen interest.
“Go on,” James urged.
“Then there was a huge explosion in Polgarrow. Dennis Albarn’s house blew up, with him inside. It looked like an accident, because the gas stove was responsible for the blast, but Dennis Albarn was dead before the house went up.”
The room was silent for a moment.
“Three dead pensioners,” James said eventually, “all of them from a small village outside Trotterdown. It’s all very disturbing, isn’t it?” Clearly, he didn’t expect anyone to answer him. They knew what they were there to tackle.
“All three knew each other well,” Taylor decided to take the initiative, “which isn’t particularly unusual in such a small community. What is unusual is this: forty years ago, all three of them attended a wedding in Plymouth.”
“Can I stop you there?” DC Brown broke in. “Surely you can’t think there’s some connection between a wedding that took place forty years ago and what’s happened in the past week? There must have been loads of people at the wedding.”
“Let her finish,” James said.
“I do think there’s a connection. There were only four people at the wedding. Alice and Stanley Green, Milly Lancaster and Dennis Albarn.”
“And three of them were murdered in the past seven days,” Carrick said. “Where’s this Alice Green now?”
“She’s staying at my house. After everything that’s happened I thought she’d be safer there than at home. I figured she might be next.”
“Good thinking,” James told her. “I’d say that gives us more than enough to be going on with, wouldn’t you?”
“Have you questioned this Alice Green?” asked Carrick.
“Of course. She was one of the first people we spoke to. She’s as upset as everybody else about all of this. Probably more so, as she’s just lost her husband and her best friend. She’s putting on a brave face but she’s hurting inside.”
“Bring her in again,” James said.
“What for? Don’t you think she’s been through enough?”
“We’re not going to attach electrodes to her and shock a confession out of her. I just want to get some more background on this wedding. Maybe there was someone there she didn’t know about. She’s the only one left from the wedding party. She may know something without even realising it. She could be the next victim for all we know. It’s in everybody’s best interest that we talk to her.”
“Sorry. You’re right. It’s just . . . I’ve become quite close to her over the past week. She’s a nice old lady. She keeps bees in her back garden.”
“My dad used to keep bees,” Brown said.
James glared at him. “Right. Jane, you and Harriet can speak to the beekeeper. She’ll probably be more comfortable talking to female officers.”
“Are we going to bring her down to the station?” Taylor was still uncomfortable at the thought of dragging Alice into an interview room.
“Yes. I want every interview recorded. That’s the way it’s going to be. Paul, I want you to go through all the forensics and autopsy reports with a fine toothcomb. I want to know if anything jumps out at you. Similarities in the causes of death and the like. Phil, you speak to everybody who knew the deceased. Friends, family, former work colleagues. Find out what made them tick. Take that tall PC with you.”
“Thomas White,” Taylor said.
“That’s him. He seems to have his head screwed on. I’m going to do a bit of strategizing.” He looked at the team. “I think I made the right choice here. We’ll meet in the Unicorn at seven sharp to go over what we find out.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
“Have you worked with DCI James for long?” Taylor asked DI Jane Carrick. They were driving to her house.
“Three years, and there’s never been a dull moment. He’s a bit of a stickler but he’s a good boss and his record speaks for itself,” Carrick replied.
“I still don’t feel comfortable with this first name thing. It doesn’t feel right. You’re a DI, not a work buddy.”
“I’ll make you a deal. When this is all over, if you ever find yourself in Exeter, you’ll bloody well address me as ma’am, but until then, I’m Jane. Deal?”
“Deal. And this is my house here . . . Jane.”
Carrick gazed at it. “It’s huge. I’m moving to Trotterdown. You guys obviously make a lot more money than us lowly Exeter plods do.”
“It’s a very long story.”
Alice’s van wasn’t where it had been parked that morning. “It looks like she’s gone out,” Taylor said, “I’ll go in and see what’s going on.”
“I’m coming with you. After everything that’s happened we can’t be too careful.”
Taylor felt sick as they went in. What if something had happened to the old lady while I was meant to be looking after her? What if she’s lying dead on the floor? Then she caught sight of the note on the kitchen fridge.
“She’s gone home. She said she needed to be at home for the bees and the jackdaw.”
“Jackdaw?”
“A pet. She’s lived in the same place for over thirty years. I suppose it must be hard to leave.”
“We still need to speak to her.”
* * *
They found Alice in her back garden tending to the bees. She smiled at Taylor and looked DI Carrick up and down.
“Morning, dear,” she said to Taylor. “I’m sorry, I had to come home. The bees need looking after and the jackdaw gets lonely. I left you a note.”
“I saw it. This is DI Jane Carrick from Exeter.”
“Exeter?” Alice stared at Carrick. “You need to eat more, love. You need a bit more flesh on your bones. I can whip up a slice of bread with some honey on it, if you like. The honey’s been a bit funny lately, but I think it’s still all right to eat.”
“I’m fine. How many bees do you have?” Carrick said.
“Just the six hives at the moment. I’m thinking of getting some more. I sell the honey at the market in Berryton. I’ve got a licence, you know.”
“I’m sure you have, but that’s not why we’re here. Can we have a word with you down at the station? It shouldn’t take long,” Taylor said.