‘No way.’ He sucked the blood away from his finger again.
‘You said she took her handbag with her when she left the car,’ Alldridge said. ‘What did she keep in it?’
‘Honestly? I’ve no idea. The usual stuff, I suppose — wallet, credit cards, phone, some make-up — oh and some mints — she had a thing about not wanting bad breath.’
Masking something on her breath, like you? Holly Little was tempted to reply. Instead, she said, ‘Do you think she left because of something you said?’
He reacted like he’d been stung by a wasp. ‘What — what are you implying?’
‘I’m not implying anything, sir.’
‘Presumably you and your wife do online banking?’ Alldridge asked, jumping in to calm him down.
‘Yes.’
‘Have you checked your bank and her debit and credit cards to see if she’s spent anything since you saw her? For instance, did she buy any cat litter?’ he asked.
‘Good point,’ Niall said. ‘She only ever uses her debit card — she doesn’t like running up interest. Give me a moment, I’ll check our online banking.’ He lifted up his phone, tapped the screen and waited. ‘No transactions on her regular card,’ he announced. ‘I’ll just check the other card.’ He tapped the screen again, then after a short while shook his head. ‘Nope. She’s not bought anything or withdrawn any cash since I saw her, not from the accounts I can see.’
Alldridge looked again at the chessboard, studying it more closely now. He frowned, thoughtfully. ‘You’re in the middle of a game?’
‘Yes, Eden and I play regularly — she taught me how to play a few months ago. We used to play Scrabble, but she has a much better vocabulary than me — she’s better educated — and always thrashed me. She thought if I learned chess, we might be able to play something that’s more of a level playing field for us.’
Alldridge nodded. ‘Who’s white?’
‘Eden.’
‘And whose move?’
‘Mine.’
The officer leaned forward, studying the pieces more intently now.
‘Do you play?’ Niall asked.
‘Yes, whenever I can — I’m a member of a chess club.’ Alldridge nodded thoughtfully. ‘Interesting situation you’re in.’
‘Not great, a rook down, eh?’ Niall said. ‘I think I’m struggling.’
‘Looks like she used Botvinnik’s classic English Opening and you’ve countered with his French Defence,’ Alldridge said approvingly.
‘I’m not too up on all the Grand Master moves,’ Niall said. ‘I tend to play survival chess.’
Smiling, Alldridge studied the game for a few more moments then switched his attention back to the job he was here to do. ‘It may be a silly question,’ he said, ‘but have you checked the house thoroughly? The outside? Do you have a garden shed?’
Niall looked, for an instant, as if the thought had not occurred. ‘Yes, well, yes, there’s not exactly much to check.’ Then, defensively, he added, ‘Like...’ He windmilled his arms again. ‘This place is not exactly a stately home set in rolling acres, is it?’
‘Like Parham House?’ PC Little interjected.
‘Is a huge mansion like Parham House the kind of place you feel you should be living in?’ Alldridge said a little sarcastically.
‘Yes, and as I said, one day I... we... will.’
The two officers shot a glance at each other. ‘I think it might be a good idea if we check the house and your garden with you, sir,’ Holly Little said.
‘Be my guests, but I can tell you, she’s not here.’
‘Let’s make sure, shall we?’ she said.
14
Niall stood up, clearly rattled. ‘Right, this is the lounge — front parlour — drawing room—’ He assumed an exaggeratedly posh accent. ‘And this,’ he pointed through the archway at a smoked-glass dining table with four white suede chairs, ‘is the formal dining room.’
Next, they went into the kitchen. ‘Wow, this is nice — I’d love a kitchen like this!’ Little said.
‘It’s very nice but it sure wasn’t cheap,’ Niall said.
Alldridge eyed him with growing discomfort. Holly stopped and stared at the island unit, and then at the floor. ‘Blood?’ she asked, noticing the red blotches.
‘From the damn potato peeler,’ Niall replied. ‘You’re thinking I murdered her, aren’t you? I saw you looking at all the crime books and DVDs in the living room. If I’d murdered Eden, do you really think I’d leave bloodstains everywhere?’ He shook his head. ‘I’m not a complete idiot.’
Both police officers smiled. But there was no humour in their expressions. ‘Can we see upstairs?’ Holly Little asked.
‘Sure. Then after that I’ll give you a tour of the garden — sorry, the grounds — to see if you can find evidence of a freshly dug grave, eh?’ He half smiled.
They carried out their check of the house, then went out into the well-tended garden. The immaculately mowed lawn was lined on either side with a riot of colour. Flowers and shrubs, all weed-free. There was a potting shed and a little wooden summerhouse, both in good condition, sited attractively between two mature fir trees at the far end.
As they walked along, Holly Little observed, a little enviously, ‘Someone has green fingers, what a beautiful garden — all we have in our flat are window boxes.’
‘That’s me,’ Niall said proudly. ‘My hobby — passion. I do all the beds and Eden looks after the lawn.’
Little stopped to admire one dense plant that was chest-high, full of bright-red flowers that were in the shape of long, narrow brushes. Part of one side of it was missing — it looked like it had been broken away. ‘This is stunning!’
‘Callistemon citrinus,’ Niall said. ‘Or in English, a bottlebrush plant. One of my babies. Unfortunately, Eden got rather distracted the other evening when she was mowing the lawn — she said our new mower ran away with her — and she took a chunk out of it.’
‘Will it grow back?’ Alldridge asked.
‘If disease doesn’t set in.’
Both officers noticed the slight anger in his voice as he said it.
He led them out to the front to the bike storage unit and unlocked it. Alldridge and Little scanned inside. Other than a dark pool of dried oil on the floor, it was spotless, a Honda motorbike, a posh road bike and two paddleboards propped against one another.
They went back indoors and sat in the lounge again.
‘Can you think of any reason at all why your wife might not have come back to you in the car park of Tesco yesterday, sir?’ Holly Little asked.
‘No, none. None at all, it makes no sense.’
‘Do you or she have any enemies that you are aware of?’
‘Enemies?’ Niall looked genuinely surprised. ‘No, none — other than her mother.’ Then he quickly added, ‘Joke!’
‘Your mother-in-law?’ Alldridge probed. ‘Is there some animosity between you?’
‘Oh, plenty,’ Niall said with a tinge of bitterness. ‘She always felt her daughter could have done better.’
‘You’re sure your wife isn’t with her now?’ PC Little asked.
‘I told you, I’ve checked with everyone, including all the local hospitals. I’ve had three texts from her mother this morning asking if I have any news of her — want to see them?’
‘If you don’t mind.’
He showed the officers each of them, in turn.
‘Has your wife ever experienced any mental health issues?’ Alldridge asked.
‘Other than she must have been mad to marry me?’ Niall said with a grin that fell from his face as fast as his comment fell flat. ‘No.’