‘She won’t be able to hear anything. The garage isn’t as close to the house as you think. Besides, DCI Darke’s bedroom is at the back of the house. There’s plenty of distance.’
‘I still think it’s going to be awkward. Speaking of DCI Darke,’ he said, leaning forward in his seat, ‘did you see the way she charged out of here earlier with a face like thunder?’
‘Difficult not to,’ Sian said. ‘I thought she was going to break the glass in the door the way she slammed it.’
‘What’s going on?’ Finn asked.
‘No idea.’
‘Surely you know, Sian. She tells you everything.’
‘Well, she hasn’t told me this time.’
‘It must be serious then. I wonder if it’s to do with the ACC and her husband.’
‘Could be,’ Scott mused. ‘If it was to do with the case, she would have told us.’
‘Sian, have you got any Minstrels in your drawer?’ Rory asked.
‘You’re banned from taking anything out of my snack drawer until you put something back in. It’s running empty at the moment.’
‘I’ll do a shop at the weekend. I’ll fill it up for you on Monday.’
‘Nothing until you do. I’m going to try and find something to put these in.’
‘Scott, go and steal us a Toffee Crisp or something,’ he whispered once Sian had left the office.
The phone on Scott’s desk began to ring. ‘Do your own dirty work,’ he said as he went to answer it. ‘Homicide and Major Enquiries. DC Andrews speaking.’
‘Hello Scott, it’s Danny Hanson from the Sheffield Star. How are you?
Scott pulled out his chair and sat down. ‘I’m ok thank you. What can I do for you?’ He never wanted to stay on the phone long with journalists in case he said something he shouldn’t.
‘I was wondering if you could give Aaron Connolly a message for me?’
Scott looked over to Aaron’s desk. ‘Erm, sure. He’s here somewhere in the building, I can find him for you if you want to hold?’
‘No. A message will be fine.’
‘Ok.’
‘Tell him that Leah Mercer is having a boy.’
Scott waited for him to elaborate. He didn’t. ‘Is that it?’
‘Yes.’
‘Ok. Will he know what that means?’
Danny laughed. ‘He should do.’
‘Fine. I’ll pass that on for you.’
‘Thank you, Scott.’
The line went dead.
Scott looked down as he pondered the message he had written in his untidy scrawl.
‘Rory, where have I heard the name Leah Mercer from before?’
‘Bloody hell, Scott, are you losing it? Leah’s family were butchered while she was away on honeymoon earlier this year.’
‘Oh yes, I remember now.’
‘Why?’
‘I just had a call from Danny Hanson. He’s told me to tell Aaron that Leah is having a boy.’
‘What’s that got to do with Aaron?’
‘That’s what I thought.’
‘Where is Aaron?’ Rory asked.
‘I’ve no idea.’
Chapter 41
Aaron was in the corner of the car park talking quietly on the phone. Matilda saw him as she headed for her Range Rover. She immediately saw red and shouted his name so loud it echoed. He dropped his phone and almost jumped out of his skin.
‘Sorry. I was just … I … I was taking a few minutes. It’s not easy trying to make a private call when you’ve got Sian and Rory glaring at you,’ he said with a strained smile.
‘How is Katrina?’ Matilda asked. She walked up to Aaron and, although he loomed over her, the expression on her face, the rage oozing out of her, definitely put her in control of this conversation.
‘Katrina?’
‘Yes. You know, the woman you’re married to, the mother of your child.’
‘Oh,’ he nervously giggled. ‘She’s … she’s fine, yes, everything’s fine.’
‘Is it?’
‘Of course, yes.’
‘Nothing preying on your mind, no other worries I should know about?’ she asked, defiantly crossing her arms.
‘No. Not that I’m aware of.’
‘So, who’s this woman you’re having an affair with?’
His eyes widening betrayed any words that were about to come out of his mouth. Matilda raised a hand.
‘Before you even start waffling, save your breath. The look on your face has given you away. Come on, get in the car.’
She pointed the fob to the Range Rover and unlocked it. She climbed in behind the driver’s side and waited while Aaron tentatively walked around to the front passenger seat. He clicked the door closed carefully and sat in silence.
‘We have a dead child and a missing teacher to investigate, but I can sit here all day until I get the truth out of you,’ Matilda said, facing forward.
He took a deep breath. ‘I’ve made a really big mistake.’
‘That’s certainly one way of putting it. Are you going to tell me who she is?’
Another deep breath. ‘Leah Mercer.’
Matilda turned quickly to look at him. ‘Leah Mercer? You are joking, surely.’
Earlier this year, while on honeymoon, Leah’s mother, father, and brother, Jeremy, were brutally murdered. Her niece, Rachel, was the only survivor to the massacre, and responsibility for her upbringing rested with Leah. Once the funerals were over, she had moved to Liverpool, where Rachel and Jeremy had been living, to start a new life as guardian to her niece and try to make sense of everything that had happened in recent weeks.
Leah and Aaron had grown close during the case, and before she left Sheffield, they had shared a kiss. Aaron had asked if he could call her once she was settled in Liverpool and they’d swapped numbers. Within a week of her leaving, she’d called him and invited him to spend the weekend with her and Rachel. He hadn’t given it a second thought.
The affair had been passionate and intense. Leah had wanted someone to hold her, to make love to her, to want her, and Aaron had been eager to oblige. Back in Sheffield, Katrina had been itching to have a second child. It had taken years for them to conceive and the pregnancy had not been an easy one with Katrina in and out of hospital. His weekend escapes to Leah’s had been explained as training courses which Katrina had believed. He had treated them as mini holidays, and he had looked forward to having Leah in his arms. He had found himself smiling and relaxing in her presence.
When she’d told him she was pregnant, the life had drained out of him. He’d realised it wasn’t because of the worry of a difficult pregnancy that he’d told Katrina it was a bad idea to have another child, it was because he didn’t want one. He loved the bones of Dwayne, but he hadn’t really developed a relationship with him. Another child would be disastrous, both for him and Katrina, and for him and Leah.
He had left Liverpool and vowed not to return. He had ignored Leah’s calls, texts, and emails. It was childish, he knew, but he couldn’t face the responsibility of being a father again. He had planned to tell Katrina everything. If she chose to leave him, he would deal with it, but he hoped she’d understand the pressure of his job and how he had succumbed to temptation while caring for a woman who had lost everything. He would also do right by Leah too. He planned to return to Liverpool and state that he would contribute financially towards the upbringing of their child, but he needed to be honest with Katrina first. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.