‘Cowards also target those who are vulnerable,’ Finn said to Matilda.
‘Let him go,’ Matilda said to Sian in her earpiece.
‘What? Really?’ Finn seemed shocked.
‘We don’t have any physical evidence.’
‘He’s volatile. He’s quick to temper. He does things on the spur of the moment. That could include killing his daughter.’
‘Then find me the evidence and we’ll charge him.’ Matilda stood up and stormed out of the room. She was angry that she was unable to charge Craig, frustrated that they were no closer to understanding who was involved in Keeley’s death. But the interviews hadn’t been a complete waste of time. Her suspicions had been further aroused. It was going to take time, but the dots were being connected, slowly.
Chapter 39
It was obvious Valerie had been crying. Her eyes were red, and she could disguise the quiver in her voice by pretending to have a cough as much as she liked, but she was fooling nobody, especially Matilda. She was the queen of trying to hide her emotions at work. However, she didn’t draw attention to it. If Valerie wanted to talk, she knew Matilda was always available.
‘I’d like you to listen to something,’ Matilda said as she scrolled through the apps on her iPad. ‘Here we are.’
Craig Armitage’s voice was loud as the recording started. “I know you have a job to do. I know you have questions to ask, but you are way off the mark here. I love all three of my children and I would never do anything to harm them. If you think I could have hurt my own daughter, then you are sick. I would lay down my life for all of them.”
Matilda ended the recording. ‘Anyone else hearing that would think he was the perfect father defending his family.’
‘He didn’t say he didn’t kill his daughter,’ Valerie said, wiping her nose with a tatty tissue.
‘Exactly. He said he hadn’t hurt her. In his head, he will have justified abusing her as a father loving his daughter. When he killed her, he wouldn’t have thought he was hurting her, merely silencing her, as if putting her to sleep.’
‘Then why throw her down an embankment and leave her to the elements?’
‘To throw us off the scent. To make us believe we’re looking for someone who strangled her, panicked, and fled.’
‘Is Craig capable of that?’
Matilda sighed. ‘I hate to say this, but, yes, I believe he is.’
Valerie thought for a moment. ‘Ok. Where do you want to go with this?’
‘I already have DC Ellen Devonport in the house as FLO, but I’m worried she may inadvertently uncover something, and Craig could turn violent with her. I’d like a car covertly parked close by to keep an eye on what’s going on in the house.’
‘That’s fine.’
‘Also, some of the neighbours have raised questions about Riley’s illness. They don’t seem to think he was brain damaged due to epileptic seizures. We’ve been on to social services and they’ve never received any complaints and don’t have the family under their watch. I’m not sure where to go with this.’
‘If it isn’t pertinent to the case then it’s none of our business,’ Valerie said firmly.
‘I’m aware of that. It’s just … if Linda purposely harmed Riley, she may have had a hand in Keeley’s death.’
‘Hang on,’ Valerie raised a hand. ‘We’re talking about Riley and Keeley, but what about the eldest daughter? What about Jodie? Has she shown signs of being abused? Why would Craig wait until he had a second daughter? Why would Linda wait until she had a third child?’
‘I’ve wondered that myself. Maybe … I don’t know … maybe something happened within the family that changed their outlook on things. I’ve no idea,’ Matilda said. ‘I feel like I’m clutching at straws here. One moment I think the parents have put on this elaborate play to cover up killing their own child, then someone says something else and it throws me off in another direction. I’ve never been more conflicted.’
‘Has the teacher turned up yet?’
‘Sebastian Page? No. Sian’s back at Mary Croft today talking to the teachers.’
‘And what about his brother?’
‘Post-mortem is later today.’
‘Have any other suspects come up within the investigation?’
‘No.’
Valerie took a deep breath. ‘I think you should bring Jodie Armitage in and have her interviewed with an appropriate adult present. You’ll need to ask her some difficult questions.’
‘Will do.’
‘Now, Matilda, I saw the article in The Star last night from our favourite journalist. The Chief Constable said we should ignore it, let it fizzle out and hopefully you’ll have an arrest soon and this whole thing will go away. However, once the press finds out about this boy in France claiming to be Carl, they’ll be all over it and you. How do you want to play this?’
‘Personally, I’d like to cut Danny Hanson’s balls off and turn them into a nice pair of earrings, but I’m guessing the Chief Constable may frown upon that,’ she said with a smile. ‘I think we should leave him to write what he wants. If this boy does turn out to be Carl, then we have a good news item. If not, then we just tell the press it’s another weirdo in a long line of pranks.’
Valerie nodded. ‘Good thinking. Well, I shan’t keep you any longer.’
Matilda stood up and slowly made her way towards the exit. She turned back. ‘Any change with Arthur?’
Valerie seemed to deflate in her chair. She shook her head. ‘We played him a video last night of the last time we all went away together. We went to Greece for my fiftieth. I’d not seen it myself, so it was lovely to look back. He fell asleep on a sun lounger with a paperback on his chest. He was annoyed that he had to wear a T-shirt for the rest of the holiday because of the patchy suntan.’ She giggled at the memory. ‘I looked over at Arthur in the hospital bed; there was nothing there. It’s like he was watching strangers. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever get him back.’
***
On her way back to the HMET suite, Matilda fired off a text to Daniel telling him she’d love to see him over the weekend. Who knew what lay around the corner? Stroke, cancer, heart attack, being hit by a car, terrorist attack, nuclear bomb, anything could happen at any time. Why should she spend her evenings wallowing about being happy with Daniel when she could be dead by next week?
She entered the suite which was buzzing with activity.
‘I’ve been to Mary Croft,’ Sian began.
‘Just give me a few minutes, Sian,’ Matilda said, not stopping and heading to her office. Walpole, Compton, Pelham … No, no, no, not this again.
‘I’ve been emailed Riley Armitage’s medical records …’ Scott said.
‘Not now, Scott.’ Pelham-Holles, Cavendish, Pelham-Holles again … Stop it. Fucking stop it.
She closed her office door and sat down behind her desk. Matilda wasn’t great at marshalling her thoughts. Her head was a whirlpool of activity. It was like an internet browser with a dozen windows open, several of which were frozen – James, Carl, work, Daniel, grief, worry, isolation, loneliness. Her phone started to ring. She looked at the display and saw it was Danny Hanson calling. Fuck. He was the last person she wanted to talk to. He was another window open in the internet browser of her mind.