Chapter Sixty-Three
Cass smiled all the way up the winding path as she passed the shrubbery. The greenhouse in the distance reminded her of summers gone by when she and Kerry picked the tomatoes for lunch. The scenery across the Warwickshire countryside was breathtaking, sectioned off patchwork fields led the eye into the distance. She re-tied her scarf and checked out her reflection in the tall door with the glass side panel. Her make-up was just right and the lipstick did suit her; she’d keep it. She ran her fingers through her freshly washed curls to break them up a little.
Her phone beeped and a text popped up.
Come around the back.
She breathed in and slowly walked in her low-heeled boots on the cobbled path around the house. As she passed the large front window, a memory of a Christmas past flashed though her mind. That’s where the Christmas tree used to be, right next to the white grand piano that Kerry would play badly. A warmth filled her heart and she smiled as she remembered them trying to play ‘Chopsticks’ over and over again until they were eventually told to stop. Mustn’t keep Kerry waiting, not now Cass was needed. As she turned the last corner the large garden brought back the fuzziest of memories. The tyre swing and treehouse were still at the bottom of the garden. The long summer days, making dens and swinging back and forth, while eating lumps of cheese that they’d pilfered from the fridge.
Another text arrived as she reached the back door.
Come in. I’m in the wine cellar checking out the drinks. Today calls for a celebration. K. Xxx.
She pressed the handle and as expected, the door wasn’t locked. As she entered the boot room she bent over and unzipped her boots before slipping them off. Kerry wouldn’t appreciate the white carpets getting stained and she knew the house rules – shoes off. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and entered the kitchen, her tights making her slip a little on the porcelain tiles. She held her arms out for balance and gripped the kitchen island, allowing her handbag to dangle around her neck. ‘Kerry?’ she called. There was no answer. Cass swallowed and felt a shiver running through her body. ‘Kerry.’
As she stood in silence, she heard the back door closing and locking.
Chapter Sixty-Four
Gina glanced at Robin, then at his solicitor. Several minutes of silence was too much considering her other leads were screaming for attention. She placed her hands under the table and tapped her foot. The suited woman whispered in his ear and Robin whispered back. Jacob leaned back and yawned as they waited.
‘My client wishes to make a brief statement.’ The solicitor pulled up the sleeves of her shirt, picked up her refill pad and began to read. ‘On the night of Monday, the eleventh of May, between eighteen hundred hours and twenty hundred hours, my client was in Redditch and can prove his whereabouts. He entered several pubs in Redditch and he is certain there will be CCTV footage to prove that he had no involvement in the murder of Francesca Carter. He will give you a list of the establishments that he went to.’
Gina slid one of the CCTV stills across the table. ‘We already know. Unfortunately, a certain piece of CCTV footage shows us something of great concern. What were you doing here, Mr Dawkins?’ The photo clearly showed the man in front of her passing a small packet of something white to another man in the foyer of a pub. There was no chance of it being anyone else, the sideburns and quiff were a huge giveaway and it wasn’t a look many other young locals followed.
The solicitor scrunched her brow and gave her client a glance.
‘He, the man, dropped something on the floor. I was just passing it back to him. That’s the truth.’ He cast a pleading look in his solicitor’s direction.
‘You don’t have to say anything.’ The solicitor moved her ash blonde hair to the side before whispering in his ear again.
His shoulders slumped as he finished whispering back. After taking a few seconds to brush his sideburns with his fingers, he pulled his chair closer to the table.
‘In the footage before this frame, we see you pulling several of these packets from your pocket and passing this man one of them. A few seconds later, he passed you some cash which you put in your pocket. You then go outside where we have a second camera pointing in your direction as you count a wad of cash with Phillip Brighton. A search of your garage also came up with a large quantity of cocaine that had been stored in the boot of your car. The cocaine is portioned out into neat little wraps, all perfectly weighed out and they look the same as the wraps in this footage. Please explain yourself?’
Gina knew Robin Dawkins and Phillip Brighton had nothing to do with Francesca’s murder. They were both together, drug dealing in Redditch at the time. She had all the evidence she needed. Phillip Brighton had breached his bail conditions and would be hauled back in and this session would end with Robin Dawkins being charged.
‘Okay.’ He held both hands up and leaned back before linking them behind his head. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. ‘I was stupid. I lost my job and I did a stupid thing. I’ve never done anything like this before. I knew I’d let Cass down and we needed the money.’
‘Cassandra Wilson.’
He stared at the wall behind them. ‘She knew something was up and she’s going to be angry with me, especially when Kerry finds out what I’ve done. She was so fixated on what Kerry thought of her.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She wanted the reception to go off well. Kept asking me to go and speak to Kerry to see if Kerry remembered her from school. Kerry did know who she was, I saw her looking over several times. I don’t know why Cass wanted to know her. Kerry was a bitch. I could see her laughing and glancing over with Fran.’
Gina leaned in. ‘I thought Cassandra and Kerry were friends. She visited Kerry the other night.’
‘Well if they are, she never told me.’ He parted his lips before continuing. ‘Kerry picked on Cass at school. When we got to the party, I told her to rise above everything that happened in the past and get on with the job. I said it was all in the past but Cass was hell-bent on getting back in touch with the girl who made her school life a misery. I didn’t understand it and we had a bicker about it before we got there. I just couldn’t understand why she was punishing herself, trying to be something she isn’t.’
Gina knew from her notes that Kerry and Cassandra had been in touch but Cass had spoken about Kerry in nice ways. Her upset had been directed at the man sitting in front of Gina. A slight churn in her stomach told her something wasn’t right. Cass had come to the station, made a statement stating that she knew nothing of the drugs in the garage and left. She hadn’t said much about Kerry. Gina made a note on the next page of her pad. Cassandra’s name with a question mark next to it.
‘How do you know Phil?’
‘From the pub. Everyone knows Phil the Pill.’
‘Where were you during Holly Long’s murder? Several people say you were out of the room when her murder could have taken place.’
His solicitor sighed.
‘Yeah, and so were many of the others. It’s a big place, we were all over it.’ He paused. ‘Okay, I’ll fess up. I’m not being nailed for this. I have a past yes, but I also have someone who will vouch for me. At the time I was in the toilets with Phil, scoring something to relax me when I got home. That was the only time I headed towards the stairs.’