Her Last Mistake - Detective Gina Harte Series 06 (2020) Read online

  ‘Guv. I got here as fast as I could.’ DC Paula Wyre said as she hurried over, red faced. ‘I’ve just chatted with Briggs and caught up with what’s happened. He also confirmed that an officer has visited the victim’s mother to break the news.’ Her usual straight black hair was slightly fluffed up. Her checked skirt hem met her opaque black tights showing legs rarely seen at work. That was what having to attend a crime scene did after being interrupted while enjoying a night out.

  Gina’s phone beeped. She opened the email. ‘Just in time. Would you please tell PC Kapoor to make a list of people who attended the wedding in Greece and then we need to head out to speak to the victim’s mother. I have the address here. Meet me out the front when you’re done.’

  As Gina turned to leave she saw Samuel Avery grinning at another woman before slipping his number into her hand and leaving. He was wearing a blue shirt. Gina shook her head and looked around. So were many of the other guests. Had Holly turned down his advances earlier that evening and was he the man Francesca thought she saw at Holly’s flat?

  Chapter Eight

  He walked between the trees at the bottom of the manor house and entered the thick woodland. The bustle had died down a little only to be replaced by press hanging around the front of the building. As he reached the clearing, he scanned the area. He was now far enough away to let it all out. Exhilaration, excitement, everything he’d bottled up so that he could blend in with everyone else while the police were asking all the questions. He’d comforted the weepy, looked sad and done exactly what had been expected of him. Playing the part had turned him on even more.

  It was over for now. A wide grin spread across his face. He’d need to hurry back soon before he was missed. More than ten minutes and he’d definitely be missed. There were things to do. He needed to get away from this building as soon as the police gave him the okay. It wouldn’t be long now.

  Glancing back, the shining beacon of a building he’d admired for years now felt like a threat but he had to return. Everything had to seem normal.

  He ran through the events of the night, reliving when he had his hands around her throat.

  A swell filled his pants.

  Was it enough?

  That question again. It was enough, for now. But it wouldn’t be enough for long. Still riding high on what had happened, he rubbed himself over his trousers, feeling an intensity like no other building up. He unzipped his fly and placed his hands in his underpants and smiled a little until he was shocked back into reality by a cracking noise coming from behind a tree. He zipped back up, cleared his throat and lit a cigarette, hoping that the watcher hadn’t seen what he was up to. ‘Hello,’ he called as he blew out a plume of smoke. He focused on the dense woodland. ‘Who’s there?’ He was by no means scared but the thought of someone hidden amongst the shrubbery, spying on him as he’d rubbed himself in the woods shook him a little.

  A scrawny man stood and walked towards him, emerging from a hiding place behind a tree.

  ‘You were running from the police earlier.’

  The scrawny man nodded. ‘I didn’t do anything. I was leaving and they started chasing me. I heard that some woman was killed.’

  ‘So why are you hiding?’

  He shrugged his shoulders in his oversized denim jacket.

  ‘I know why you were hiding. You killed her didn’t you?’ He was going to have some fun with scrawny man, scare him a little. He knew exactly why the man was in the bushes, hiding away from the police. He’d seen him in the function room earlier that evening and he definitely wasn’t a guest, given that he’d snuck in through the garden. He wondered if the man recognised him but he didn’t think so, it was too dark for either of them to make much out. ‘Boo!’

  Scrawny man flinched, his bottom lip quivering. ‘I didn’t. I was just trying to get out, I swear.’

  ‘So you come here and hide in the bushes from the police and you’re trying to convince me you didn’t kill that woman.’ He paused and took another drag on the cigarette. ‘I tell you what, I won’t say a word. What have you got on you?’

  Scrawny man ran his fingers through his scruffy beard before giving up and turning out one of the pockets of his jeans.

  ‘It’s a lovely night. Moon’s out. Not too cold and we will keep this as our little secret.’ He patted the man’s shoulder a couple of times before grinning.

  Scrawny man stared as if waiting to be excused.

  ‘Go on. Hop it.’ Before scrawny man scarpered off, he grabbed a little packet from his hand and watched as scrawny hurried deep into the woodland.

  He pinched the cigarette and dropped it in his pocket, along with what he’d taken from scrawny man. Taking a lungful of fresh air, he headed back. The air had never tasted so good. Everything tasted good, felt good and smelled good. Life was amazing, and now he had a little something to make it even more amazing.

  The swell in his pants returned. Power was everything. The game, the fun, his hands around her neck. He was ready to start planning his next move.

  Chapter Nine

  Cass wiped the last of her eyeliner away from her puffy eyes. The waterproof stuff was the best – it had lasted through her tears back home and the sweat that had dripped down her forehead all night as she’d served the crowd, all for a measly thirty-five pounds cash in hand. She’d been stupid to volunteer to help Samuel and Elvis, especially as it had been Kerry’s wedding, the girl who hadn’t given her a second glance at high school. Maybe now, Kerry would appreciate a real friend, not her plastic friends, Francesca and Lilly. Maybe now that Holly had gone, there would be room for a replacement number four. The Awesome Foursome – what a stupid name.

  She pinched the excess skin underneath her chin and held it tight, observing her face shape without it. Why did some women only attract more beautiful women to be friends? Cass would be a great friend, not like the others. She’d heard Francesca drunkenly saying that Kerry’s new husband Ed was far too hot for Kerry – that wasn’t loyal friendship. She’d also heard one of them say that Kerry had made the hugest mistake in marrying Ed, that he was a player. And Lilly had been saying to Brendan that Kerry’s wedding hadn’t been as genuine as theirs and that Cleevesford Manor was a bit of a grubby hole. Cass knew she shouldn’t have heard Brendan and Charlie rating Kerry’s backside ten out of ten but that’s when she’d spotted her Elvis and Samuel sniggering along. So much bitching amongst so called friends. She clenched her fists. Having it out with Elvis in the morning would be her priority.

  Cass hadn’t heard Holly saying anything but she had spotted her ditching a drink in the corner of the room when she thought no one was looking. She’d seen the glance passing back and forth between Elvis and Holly and then Samuel. Did they know something she didn’t? Elvis had been missing a couple of times but he was always playing up, cheating. Well not quite cheating, he’d call them friends. Was it cheating if he had women friends she wasn’t friends with? She’d have done everything to make sure Holly wouldn’t take him from her. He wasn’t much but he was all she had.

  She peered around the bathroom door and spotted Elvis lying flat out on their bed, one leg hanging over the edge as he filled the room with his growling snores. Falling asleep so easily hadn’t surprised her one bit, not since she’d slipped an extra-large measure of vodka into his drink when they’d arrived home. They’d been in less than half an hour and it looked like he’d been asleep all night. As they sat in the living room winding down, he declared that he needed to go to bed. She feared he wouldn’t reach their bed as he staggered towards it and that’s where he’d been since.

  She plodded over the creaky floorboards of their old rented house and kissed him on the forehead, just missing his silly Elvis quiff. He was no Elvis; he may have had the voice but his arms were like strings of spaghetti and he didn’t have the moves, not in the same way. Some people were mildly impressed by him but most people laughed at him. He just couldn’t see it. For a couple of years now, he was convinced he’d be a s
tar and one day would make it to Vegas. I’ll check out Britain’s Got Talent, he’d say, and he did. He didn’t pass the audition stage to get on the television. He wasn’t bad enough or good enough to provide the level of entertainment the public had become used to seeing. He was Mr Mediocre.

  Reaching over, she gave him a nudge. He snorted again. There was no waking him, which was good. As she ground her teeth, she gave up fighting the itch to find out the truth. She reached into his pocket and began searching for his phone. Pulling it out, she noticed he had a new message. As she pressed to open it, the screen flashed a password box.

  CASS.

  CASSANDRA.

  He’d never used a password before. She threw the phone back into his pocket along with the unused party popper, old receipts and the small pile of cash he thought made him look like a big shot. If he’d definitely been cheating on her with Holly, she was going to find out somehow. Now that she was dead, the truth would come out and she wouldn’t have to do the digging.

  Cass grabbed her own phone and clicked the Facebook app. Her feed was full of comments about Holly’s death. Already Holly’s wall had been filled with ‘RIPs’, and comments along the lines of, ‘How could anyone do this to such a wonderful person?’

  Elvis’s snoring changed tune to a deep guttural sound, making Cass flinch. Was Holly as wonderful as people made out? Cass believed no one could be that perfect. She would make it her mission to find out, but to do that she needed to be in the fold. Holly didn’t matter any more. What mattered is that she could start again with Kerry. And she had her chance to do exactly that now Holly was gone.

  Clicking on messenger, her finger hovered over Kerry’s name.

  Just do it, Cass!

  And she did. As easy as that.

  Chapter Ten

  As they pulled into the modern estate in Worcester, Gina enjoyed the tune of the early morning birds filling the air with their wake-up call. The Lyppards was one of many small housing developments in Warndon Villages. As one road snaked into an island and straight onto another road, Gina’s satnav told her that the close she was looking for was next on the right.

  ‘Well. It’s been a long night but Briggs has promised us breakfast when we get back to the station and I am starving,’ Gina said as Wyre stared into the darkness as they pulled in.

  ‘Me too. I think I’ll drop my standards and tuck in for once.’

  Gina rarely saw Paula Wyre eat anything that was brought into the office. If the offerings weren’t compatible with her gym workouts, she abstained.

  ‘I was out with friends last night and we were going to have a late dinner after the band, but I got the call and headed back before eating anything so I’m starving. I can always work it off at the gym later.’

  ‘Sorry you were called back. With Jacob’s delay at the airport, we were a bit short-staffed.’

  Wyre shrugged as Gina slowed down. ‘What happened to that woman is terrible and I’m glad I’m here. I’m dreading seeing her mother though.’

  ‘And me. I don’t know how I’d cope if it were Hannah.’

  One light was on in the whole cul-de-sac. It was the house where life would never be the same again. One person in this road had received an earlier visit from an officer giving them the worst news ever and their nightmare wasn’t about to end with that; in fact, it was only just beginning.

  They hurried across the block-paved drive and knocked on the door of the semi-detached house. The hall light flicked on and a blotchy-faced woman, a little older looking than Gina, answered while dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

  ‘Marianne Long? I’m Detective Inspector Harte and this is Detective Constable Wyre. May we come in?’

  The woman opened the door wider. She went to speak but coughed into her tissue instead. Another woman sat at the kitchen table in her dressing gown. ‘This is my neighbour, Beryl. She came to sit with me after I got the news.’

  ‘I’ll put the kettle on.’ Beryl tightened her towelling robe around her ample hips and walked with a slight shuffle to the sink.

  ‘I can’t believe she’s gone,’ Marianne said as she tucked her grey streaked brown hair behind her ears and buttoned her cardigan up. ‘I want you to catch the bastard who hurt her! Tell me you will.’ Marianne stared directly at Gina.

  The ticking of the kitchen clock filled the silence as Gina paused. She wanted to catch the perpetrator as much as Marianne needed her to. ‘I will do everything I can to find this person and bring them to justice.’

  ‘Here you go, love.’ Beryl placed a full teapot, some cups and a small bottle of milk on the table. ‘I’ll go in the living room. Just call me in if you want me. I’m not going anywhere, I promise,’ she said to her friend as she left.

  ‘She was murdered. No one has told me how or where. No one has told me anything. Have you arrested anyone?’

  Gina shook her head. They had nothing but a million statements and a mass of bagged and tagged evidence that would take time to process. ‘At the moment we haven’t but I promise you wholeheartedly, we are doing everything we can. I mean everything.’

  Marianne looked away, her eyes glistening with spent tears. ‘What happened?’

  ‘Late yesterday evening, Holly’s body was discovered by a friend in her hotel room. We’re still unsure of the cause of death. I’m so sorry, Ms Long.’

  Gina could only imagine the pain and heartache this fellow mother was going through; and she knew a mother never stopped thinking about what their grown-up children might be doing. She often thought of Hannah, even though she lived far away and they were always at loggerheads. Hannah was the only real flesh and blood that Gina had left and to suddenly hear the type of news that Marianne had received would feel like it was the end of the world.

  Marianne grabbed her straggly hair with both of her hands and pulled it as she yelled out. ‘You’ve made a mistake. Tell me, it might not be her. I need to see her.’

  ‘I can arrange that for you.’ Gina knew it was definitely Holly. Francesca Carter had identified her. Her luggage had contained identification. ‘Can you tell me a bit about Holly? It would really help us if we got to know her a little better.’

  Marianne walked out of the room and came back a moment later with a tablet. She scrolled through her photos and placed it on the table, showing a photo of Holly. ‘This is her a week ago, all dressed up for her friend Kerry’s wedding. I emailed this photo to the officer who came earlier.’ Marianne paused. ‘She was so happy and I thought she looked beautiful.’ A little cry escaped Marianne’s lips. ‘I know she was excited that her friend was getting married; she was always excited for other people but never herself. She thought she’d never meet the right person, get the good job, be good enough but I always told her she was. To me, she was perfect. She’d had a few boyfriends but never once did she introduce me to any of them. I asked her why.’ The woman smiled through the tears. ‘She told me they weren’t good enough to bring home and if she ever brought someone home, it would mean he was the one. That’s the thing about Holly. She was so guarded. She always thought something would go wrong. I wouldn’t have minded her bringing friends or boyfriends home to meet me, even if they didn’t last. I joked with her that she was embarrassed of me. She wasn’t though. We had a good relationship.’

  Ms Long flicked through the photos. ‘This is Holly, aged five. I love this photo of her in her little school uniform. She was bullied at school in the early years but she’d stood her ground a little more, made some friends who looked out for her and things seemed to improve after that. Her friend Kerry had always looked out for her after taking her under her wing at junior school.’

  ‘Can you tell me a bit about Holly’s friends?’

  The woman placed the tablet on the table and DC Wyre flicked over the pages in her notebook before pouring them all a cup of tea.

  ‘They were really close: Holly, Kerry, Lilly and Francesca. They did lots together as teens: days out, shopping, playing with make-up, as teens do. They had th
eir little dramas and fallings out, but nothing serious. When they all started work and began to leave home, they spent a little less time with each other. I worried for Holly then.’ Marianne leaned back and sipped her tea while deep in thought.

  ‘Why did you worry?’ Gina swigged the tea, enjoying the warm liquid as it slid down her drying throat.

  ‘She isolated herself a little. I used to call her most nights to see if she was okay. I wasn’t smothering her; I was just worried as she lived alone. She stopped answering my calls all the time. That’s when I knew she was feeling depressed. Since her teens she’d had a few minor bouts of depression but she always bounced back. I tried not to worry too much but I did and I called a lot. One day she snapped and told me she just needed some time to herself. That was only about three weeks ago. I thought maybe Kerry’s wedding would be just the tonic she needed and when she called me before flying out to Greece she sounded fine, almost ecstatic. I suppose I stopped worrying. She said we’d catch up after the wedding and that was it.’ She wiped a hair from her mouth and placed it behind her ear. ‘She didn’t call after the wedding but she messaged me, telling me she was busy catching up at work. That was the last I heard from her.’

  Gina’s mind flashed back to what Lilly Hill had said. ‘Do you know if Holly was seeing anyone?’

  ‘She never said. Do you know something I don’t?’

  ‘One of her friends thought so but they didn’t have any idea who it might be. Did she mention anyone at all?’

  Marianne shook her head. ‘She never told me anything. I can’t believe how little I know. How could I not have known that she was seeing anyone?’

  ‘We can’t confirm that yet, it’s just an avenue we’re investigating at the moment.’ Gina hated the fact that she had to see people in Marianne’s position when she had nothing to ease the pain even a little. ‘Do you know of anyone Holly may have had a disagreement with? Did she have any known enemies?’