Sitting in the exquisitely decorated room, staring absently at the Colefax & Fowler wallpaper, DCI Wright wondered how he had failed to raise himself to this level. What choices had he made. He glanced over at Adam Gold, mentally comparing their take-home pay, and suppressed a snort. He had failed in the rat race and he had also failed in his calling, he thought grimly, watching Karin’s body wheeled out of the house. He had failed to clean up the streets and keep this woman safe. But, by God, he would catch the culprit, he thought. The monster who took a life. He ran his hands through his hair and took stock of the scene. Some facts had already been established. The pathologist had estimated the time of death between 8 and 10 p.m. the previous evening. Cause of death was a severing of the carotid artery. She had been smashed over the head with a glass object that lay shattered on the carpet.
‘Can we go over what you know one more time, Mr Gold?’ said Detective Chief Inspector Michael Wright, looking at the smartly dressed man sitting opposite him.
Adam nodded, his head bowed. Michael didn’t like the CEO of the Midas Corporation; there was something dirty about him. Experience and police statistics also gave him more solid reasons to be suspicious of a victim’s partner; and nobody made as much money as Adam Gold without being a ruthless bastard. But he wasn’t about to mention that right now. Men like Gold were connected and could stir up a whole lot of trouble with his superiors if he put a foot wrong.
‘We’d just come back from our engagement party in Italy,’ said Adam flatly. His eyes looked blank. ‘I flew to Paris on business and came back on Monday evening when I went out with my vice president for dinner. Karin and I did not spend every evening together – we’re both extremely busy business people – although we do usually speak. When I hadn’t heard from her by this morning I was a little worried, so I sent my assistant round to her house. And she found her.’
On the face of it, it looked as if Adam’s young assistant had disturbed an intruder. Both the back and side kitchen windows were slightly ajar, although there was no sign of a struggle.
‘So, who were you with between eight and midnight yesterday evening, sir? I just have to establish who was where,’ said Chief Inspector Wright, pen poised over his notebook.
‘My colleague Marcus Blackwell. My assistant can give you his number to confirm it.’ Adam took a business card out of his pocket and gave it to Michael. ‘This is my private number. The number for Erin, my assistant, is on there too.’ He rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands and exhaled.
‘I realize this is very difficult, Mr Gold,’ said Wright with practised sympathy. ‘If we can just establish a few more things about last night, I can leave you alone. I’m sure that’s what you want.’
‘Haven’t I given you enough yet?’ snapped Adam.
‘I’m afraid the investigation will be quite intrusive,’ continued Wright. ‘We need to build up as big a picture as we can about Karin’s life. Friends. Enemies. And are you sure Ms Cavendish had no enemies?’
‘Enemies, no,’ said Adam, shaking his head. ‘But I assume you will be checking out that wacko who was harassing her over the summer?’
Michael Wright looked up quickly. ‘A wacko? Who was this?’
‘Some kid named Evan Harris. Parents live in a house that overlooks the back of Karin’s. He was caught peeping and following her over the summer. We got out a harassment order eventually.’
‘And has he given her any trouble since?’
Adam shrugged. ‘No, but he’s a little weirdo. If you don’t investigate him thoroughly then I will arrange for some other people to do so.’
Wright closed his notebook. ‘Don’t throw your money around, Mr Gold. I can assure you we’ll do our job properly.’
He glanced in the hallway. He could see the girl Erin Devereux, who had found the body, still waiting. As he was looking, his sergeant Jim Beswick pushed past her, clearly in a hurry.
‘Anything, Beswick?’ asked Wright.
‘Evan Harris, sir. Some kid that lives close by.’
Adam and Wright flashed a look at each other.
‘He harassed Miss Cavendish over the summer,’ continued Beswick in a lower voice, wary of being overheard by suspects.
‘His fingerprints are already on file and they match prints on the window ledge by the kitchen window.’
‘What are you waiting for?’ growled Michael Wright. ‘Let’s bring him in.’
Erin arrived home just as it was getting dark, never more thankful to see her apartment. She had been questioned by the gruff Chief Inspector for forty minutes and had felt guilty for every one of them. She was sure she must have looked it, too.
Just as she was putting her key in the lock, she heard the noise of a door opening. She turned round.
‘Hey Erin,’ said Chris with a look of concern.
‘Hi,’ she said quietly, silently willing him to be nice. The thing she needed right now was a friend, not a reminder of how things had soured between them.
‘I was about to come and see if you’re okay. I heard about Karin from the newsroom at work.’
She nodded, feeling a tear slide down her cheek, the events of the past month suddenly becoming too much to bear.
He moved towards her and folded his arms around her. She stayed very still, inhaling the smell of the jumper, feeling momentarily protected.