‘I think what we can draw from this,’ Matilda said, going over to the white boards which held photographs of the family, ‘is that money is an issue with this family. If the rumours are true that Craig was stealing parcels, maybe he was selling them for the money. The same for the charity fraud too.’
‘And what better way to get your hands on a large amount of money fast than by saying one of your kids has been kidnapped for ransom,’ Finn said out of nowhere. ‘There’s already a GoFundMe page set up for them.’
‘Is there?’ Sian asked.
‘Yes. I noticed it this morning. Someone posted a link to it on Twitter. I don’t know who’s set it up but it’s to raise money to help the Armitages with the funeral. Already there’s more than three grand raised.’
‘Five grand now,’ Rory said, looking at his laptop.
‘And Linda went round to Sally Meagan quickly to beg for the ransom money,’ Finn continued. ‘Who knows how differently it would have played out if they’d handed over the fifty thousand.’
The whole room fell silent and everyone turned to face the DC who quickly blushed and sank in his chair.
‘Sorry,’ he said quietly.
‘No. You’re right,’ Matilda said. ‘Every line of questioning always seems to lead us back to Craig and Linda. I wanted them brought in yesterday but then Keeley was found so that went out of the window. While we’re all here, what do we think of Craig and Linda?’
Everyone was silent. They obviously all had an opinion, but nobody seemed to want to speak up first. Eventually, Christian cleared his throat and began.
‘Their reactions have been extremes of each other. Craig has remained staid, non-reactive, almost docile, whereas Linda has needed sedating. She’s screamed and wailed and collapsed to the floor. They’re complete opposite of each other. It’s almost as if they’ve decided on who is going to play which role.’
‘And Linda was at home on her own when the ransom demand came through,’ Rory said.
‘But BT confirmed that a call was made at the time she stated,’ Scott added.
‘Maybe Craig made that call from a burner phone,’ Christian said.
‘Craig was in Chesterfield delivering parcels.’
‘Has the tracker on his van been looked at, or his phone?’ Matilda asked.
‘Yes. He was definitely there. CCTV confirms it, too,’ Sian said.
‘If this was just to get fifty thousand pounds, why kill her?’ Christian asked.
‘Maybe it was an accident. Fingers crossed the post-mortem will come up with something that can point us in the right direction,’ Matilda said, turning to face the board again. She looked at the smiling face of the family in happier times looking down at her. She glared into the eyes of Craig, moved on to Linda, then back to Craig. It was difficult for her to work out how she felt towards the couple. In this situation, she wasn’t seeing the true Craig and Linda. But if they were playing a cruel and murderous game, their real personalities would be deeply hidden beneath the guises they wanted the public to see.
Matilda squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She could feel the beginnings of a tension headache creeping up the back of her neck. She felt sick to her stomach with this case.
‘If Craig and Linda are this calculating, are Jodie and Riley in danger?’ Sian asked.
Sian’s questions brought Matilda back from her reverie. She turned around. All eyes turned to Sian. That was a question nobody wanted to answer.
Chapter 31
Briefing has thrown up a few new lines of enquiry. C and L seem to have a lot of money worries. L asked Sally Meagan for 50k ransom money but was turned down. Could K’s kidnap have been a ploy to get money gone wrong? Try and do some digging.
Ellen Devonport was in the kitchen of the Armitage home in Acorn Drive making tea for everyone when she felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. She froze when she read the text from Matilda. Was it possible Craig and Linda had manufactured Keeley’s kidnap for money and the whole thing had gone terribly wrong? Ellen’s first thought was that she wouldn’t be surprised. The disturbing fact was that the majority of people murdered were killed by a relative or someone they knew and trusted. What troubled Ellen was, if that was the case here, how could Craig and Linda be so cold as to act the grieving parents when they knew what had happened to their daughter?
Ellen composed herself. She finished making the tea and put the mugs on the tray to take into the living room. She walked slowly out of the kitchen, her hands shaking slightly.
In the living room, Jodie was curled up on the sofa next to her father who had his arm around her and was staring into space. Linda was in the armchair. She looked physically and mentally drained. Riley was in a large bean bag, his glassy eyes darting around the room.
‘Would anybody like anything to eat?’ Ellen asked quietly as she placed the tray on the coffee table.
Nobody replied.
‘I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.’
She edged out of the room, closing the door firmly behind her. There was a dark atmosphere in the living room. She hoped to God it was genuine. What would happen to Jodie and Riley if their parents were arrested for Keeley’s murder?
Ellen headed for the dining room. On the night Keeley went missing, Linda had been frantically looking through the drawers in the dresser for bank statements to see how they’d manage to pull together the fifty-thousand-pound ransom money. Ellen wanted to get a closer look at the statements. How financially solvent were they and what did they spend their money on?
The house was deathly silent. The only noise came from the dishwasher and the hum of the fridge. She was sure she’d hear anyone leave the living room. She opened the cupboard of the pine dresser and pulled out the red folder that contained the bank statements. Everything was neatly arranged: joint current account, two savings accounts, accounts for the children, mortgage statements and credit card statements. A quick look at the current account told Ellen they had more money going out each month than they had coming in. They dipped in an out of their overdraft on a monthly basis, yet still managed to transfer a few hundred to their savings accounts each month. How was that possible? They had six credit cards, all of them with high credit limits and each card was almost at its limit. They paid the minimum amount required each month.
Ellen went back to the bank statements and cast her eye quickly down the list of payments. Supermarkets and Amazon featured heavily, which wasn’t surprising, but the amounts were. Around two hundred pounds was spent each week in the supermarket. Was that necessary for a family of five? Some of the amounts to Amazon were small, a tenner here, twenty pounds there, occasionally around a hundred, but they all mounted up to a great deal of money – money they didn’t physically have.
Would fifty thousand pounds have been enough to lower the debts they’d accumulated? Ellen didn’t think so. It would pay off a couple of credit cards and the overdraft, but unless they changed their spending ways, it wouldn’t be long before another fifty grand was needed.
She put the red folder back in the drawer and pulled a buff cardboard file out. It was thick and filled with letters. The first was from a local firm of solicitors Ellen hadn’t heard of. It was a demand on behalf of a building contractor for alterations to the house going back two years. The letter threatened legal action unless the debt of three thousand eight hundred pounds wasn’t settled within thirty days. There was nothing in the file to show if the amount had been paid.