Eventually the chief inspector came back to the yard office.
Chrissie and I had already been questioned by Sergeant Venables, who had taken down the details of our movements that morning, not that I’d mentioned my second excursion into the house.
‘Did you go anywhere other than into the hallway?’ the DCI asked me.
‘No,’ I replied.
‘Not into the kitchen?’
‘Not on this occasion,’ I said. ‘But I’ve been in there before, on Tuesday morning.’
I wracked my brain to think if I had left any clue this morning.
‘Why?’ I asked.
‘No reason,’ he said. He consulted his notebook. ‘And can you confirm that the back door was unlocked when you first tried it?’
‘That’s correct,’ Chrissie said. ‘I had a key but it wasn’t needed.’
‘I went and locked the door after I’d spoken to you,’ I added.
He made another note in his book.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘That will be all for now.’
He turned to go and I walked out of the office with him.
‘Has Declan Chadwick been informed of his wife’s death?’ I asked.
‘I understand that he was told earlier by the custody sergeant at Bury St Edmunds, once Mrs Chadwick’s death had been confirmed by the doctor.’
Poor Declan, I thought.
‘As his lawyer,’ I said, ‘I formally request that he be released on compassionate grounds.’
DCI Eastwood pursed his lips. ‘I’m afraid that will not happen.’
‘Have some sympathy, man,’ I said. ‘His wife has just killed herself.’
‘I agree that this is an unfortunate incident,’ he said, ‘but I still have a murder investigation to conduct.’
I personally thought it was more than just an ‘unfortunate incident’.
And I wasn’t giving up that easily. ‘I intend applying to a judge to order his immediate release.’
‘Mr Foster,’ said the DCI intently, ‘there have been some further developments of which you are so far unaware.’
‘What developments?’ I asked angrily.
He paused briefly, as if deciding whether to tell me.
‘We have had initial results of the forensic tests on Mr Chadwick’s car.’
‘And?’
‘Zoe Robertson’s blood has been found in the vehicle.’
17
While the news of Declan’s arrest may have swept round Newmarket at the speed of sound, reports of a death at Rowley House Stables moved at that of light, including up to the Tattersalls sales complex.
My phone rang. It was Kate.
‘I’m so sorry about last night,’ I said before she could say anything.
‘It’s me who should be sorry,’ she replied. ‘I was inexcusably rude in hanging up on you. And I am more than sorry for what I said. I am totally embarrassed by it.’
‘You had every right to be angry,’ I said, trying to reassure her. ‘It was just not a good moment.’
‘No.’ She paused. ‘I’ve just seen the news. Was the body in the bag Arabella Chadwick?’
‘Yes,’ I said. No client/lawyer confidentiality issues this time.
‘And was it her on the phone to you last night?’
‘Yes,’ I said again. ‘She called begging me to come to their house straight away. I decided I had to go. But I’d much rather have been with you.’
‘I am so sorry,’ she said quietly. ‘I have no excuse for being so horrible, especially when someone was in greater need. Did you find her dead when you got there?’
‘No. She was very much alive then. In fact, I spoke to her on the phone at midnight. It was only this morning I found her dead.’
I explained to her that Declan had been arrested and I had gone to Bury St Edmunds to be with him during questioning.
‘I called her on my way back to the hotel.’
‘Hold on a minute,’ she said. ‘Didn’t Declan get arrested for killing Arabella?’
‘No.’ I laughed, although it was hardly a laughing matter. ‘He’s been arrested on suspicion of murdering Zoe.’
‘Blimey,’ she said. ‘It’s like an episode of CSI. So who killed Arabella?’
I weighed up in my mind if I was free to tell her and decided that I was.
‘It would appear that she killed herself.’
‘Oh God! How awful. Poor Arabella.’
‘How well did you know her?’ I asked.
‘Not that well. I met her a few times. Five or six maybe. We all thought she was rather distant and aloof, arrogant even.’
‘Who’s we?’
‘The girls at Tatts. She used to come here sometimes with Declan. You know, for receptions and such.’
‘Do you know if she had any problems?’ I asked.
‘Her husband being arrested for murder was surely one.’
‘Yeah,’ I agreed. ‘But anything else? Something before that?’
‘What sort of problems?’
‘Anxiety or depression?’
‘Not that I’m aware of, but I wouldn’t be, would I? People are pretty good at keeping that sort of thing secret. Was that why she did it?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I was just wondering. I have to go and see Declan and I’m not looking forward to it.’
‘Doesn’t he know?’
‘Yes. He does. He was told by the police this morning.’
‘Poor man,’ Kate said, but then she changed her tone. ‘Unless, of course, he did kill Zoe. In which case he deserves everything he gets.’
‘Janie told me she was at school with Zoe. Did you know her too?’
‘Vaguely. She was three years below me. She was always known as That Crazy Chadwick Kid. Not very kind, I suppose, but accurate. Then there was all that fuss when she went missing. Let’s just say she didn’t exactly endear herself to the good people of Newmarket. There was a fair amount of finger-pointing and accusations. All of it unfounded, of course, but the damage was done. Quite a lot of us would have happily murdered her after that.’
‘You included?’ I asked pointedly.
‘You bet,’ she said, laughing. ‘I was first in line.’ She paused again, but then decided to explain. ‘All the local men between sixteen and sixty who knew her were questioned and had to account for their whereabouts on the day she went missing. My dad was one of them. He told the police that he was on a business trip to London but his alibi didn’t bear out. They threatened him with arrest, so he came clean. He was with another woman, wasn’t he? Broke up my parents’ marriage, Zoe did.’ Only indirectly, I reckoned, but thought better of saying so. ‘Look, I must get back to work. I’ve already taken longer than my coffee break.’
‘What are you doing later?’ I asked quickly. ‘I plan to go to the races this evening. I’ve never been to a proper race meeting before. Would you like to come with me?’
‘Won’t you be needed in Bury St Edmunds?’
‘Not if I can help it. I’m going there right now but intend being back in time. First race is at quarter past five. What do you say?’
‘I’d love to,’ she said.
‘Great. I’ll call you when I know how things lie.’
We disconnected.
My day was definitely on the up. At least, I thought so.
Declan looked smaller and even more vulnerable than ever, his bloodshot eyes having seemingly sunk back deeply into their sockets.
We were once again in the legal consultation room at the investigation centre, and he was slumped down on one of the chairs, his elbows resting on the table with his head in his hands.
‘Help me, Harry,’ he cried out in despair. ‘What am I going to do?’