at Hillary, but wisely kept her pretty, bright-red-painted mouth firmly shut.
‘Sam, who is there on our list of witnesses who still lives locally?’
Sam quickly reached for his notebook. ‘Most of them, actually, guv. Well, localish. Darla de Lancie’s the nearest. She’s just in Botley.’
‘Right.’ Hillary checked her watch. If the woman was at work, they wouldn’t catch her in, but she was willing to risk it. ‘We’ll take her next.’ She hesitated, then glanced reluctantly at the younger girl. ‘Vivienne, would you like to come with me on this one?’
Although she was sure that Vivienne wouldn’t be with them for much longer, and that she was already bored with the idea of being a policewoman, she still felt obliged to fulfil her unspoken role as mentor with an even hand.
‘Sorry, Hillary, I can’t. I’ve got too much on.’
Again Jimmy grinned, but didn’t lift his eyes. He knew as well as the others that the only reason the little minx didn’t want to leave the office was because she wanted another chance to run across the boss and make yet another play for him. Sooner or later she’d get the message that he just wasn’t interested. And then there’d be tantrums!
‘OK,’ Hillary said quickly, visibly relieved. ‘Sam, you stay and do the notes, and get on with the background checks I asked for. Jimmy, fancy getting out of the office?’
‘I always do, guv, I always do,’ Jimmy reassured her cheerfully.
Seeing as it was lunchtime, they stopped off in the Black Bull for a sandwich and half a pint of shandy, before heading towards the Oxford suburb of Botley.
Darla de Lancie was now Mrs Pitt, and lived in a nice littledetached residence in a small cul-de-sac of similar new-builds. Each plot had a driveway with a carport against one wall, and in Darla’s small patch of lawn the other side stood a dwarf cherry tree, with spring bulbs planted around it.
Modest, but nevertheless probably still expensive enough, given house prices, Hillary thought, as she walked up the path and rang the doorbell. Darla had obviously done well for herself.
She waited, almost half-expecting her summons to remain unanswered. Even if Mr Pitt had a good job, nowadays most couples needed two incomes just to survive, and she was about to turn away from the door, resigned to having to make an appointment and thus lose the element of surprise, when the door suddenly opened.
The woman who stood there looking at them uncertainly hadn’t aged much in the ten years or so since she’d been a student. The petite figure was perhaps a little more rounded, but the riot of red hair, the freckled face and big green eyes were all the same.
Before she could speak, there came the wail of an infant from the depths of the house behind her, and the reason for the slightly thickened waist, as well as the explanation for why they’d found her at home, was made suddenly clear.
‘Sorry, can you make this quick?’ Darla said, waving a vague hand behind her. ‘I don’t buy at the door.’ Her gaze flickered nervously to Jimmy. ‘And I don’t want to talk about religion either.’
‘Sorry,’ Hillary said, holding out her ID card. ‘Please, go and see to your child, Mrs Pitt. We can wait outside a bit until you’re ready.’
Darla blinked at the information on the card and gave a quick glance around. ‘Oh no, that’s all right. Please, come in. You’re the police?’
‘We work for the police, yes,’ Hillary corrected her, as they stepped into a small, rather anonymous-looking hall, carpeted throughout in beige. ‘We work with the Crime Review Team.We’re currently taking another look at the Rowan Thompson case.’
Darla’s freckled face visibly paled. ‘Oh. I see. Can I just….’ She indicated the stairs to the left, as yet another fretful wail wafted down from upstairs.
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Please, go on through to the lounge,’ Darla said, pointing vaguely towards a half-open door. ‘Make yourselves
‘Sam, who is there on our list of witnesses who still lives locally?’
Sam quickly reached for his notebook. ‘Most of them, actually, guv. Well, localish. Darla de Lancie’s the nearest. She’s just in Botley.’
‘Right.’ Hillary checked her watch. If the woman was at work, they wouldn’t catch her in, but she was willing to risk it. ‘We’ll take her next.’ She hesitated, then glanced reluctantly at the younger girl. ‘Vivienne, would you like to come with me on this one?’
Although she was sure that Vivienne wouldn’t be with them for much longer, and that she was already bored with the idea of being a policewoman, she still felt obliged to fulfil her unspoken role as mentor with an even hand.
‘Sorry, Hillary, I can’t. I’ve got too much on.’
Again Jimmy grinned, but didn’t lift his eyes. He knew as well as the others that the only reason the little minx didn’t want to leave the office was because she wanted another chance to run across the boss and make yet another play for him. Sooner or later she’d get the message that he just wasn’t interested. And then there’d be tantrums!
‘OK,’ Hillary said quickly, visibly relieved. ‘Sam, you stay and do the notes, and get on with the background checks I asked for. Jimmy, fancy getting out of the office?’
‘I always do, guv, I always do,’ Jimmy reassured her cheerfully.
Seeing as it was lunchtime, they stopped off in the Black Bull for a sandwich and half a pint of shandy, before heading towards the Oxford suburb of Botley.
Darla de Lancie was now Mrs Pitt, and lived in a nice littledetached residence in a small cul-de-sac of similar new-builds. Each plot had a driveway with a carport against one wall, and in Darla’s small patch of lawn the other side stood a dwarf cherry tree, with spring bulbs planted around it.
Modest, but nevertheless probably still expensive enough, given house prices, Hillary thought, as she walked up the path and rang the doorbell. Darla had obviously done well for herself.
She waited, almost half-expecting her summons to remain unanswered. Even if Mr Pitt had a good job, nowadays most couples needed two incomes just to survive, and she was about to turn away from the door, resigned to having to make an appointment and thus lose the element of surprise, when the door suddenly opened.
The woman who stood there looking at them uncertainly hadn’t aged much in the ten years or so since she’d been a student. The petite figure was perhaps a little more rounded, but the riot of red hair, the freckled face and big green eyes were all the same.
Before she could speak, there came the wail of an infant from the depths of the house behind her, and the reason for the slightly thickened waist, as well as the explanation for why they’d found her at home, was made suddenly clear.
‘Sorry, can you make this quick?’ Darla said, waving a vague hand behind her. ‘I don’t buy at the door.’ Her gaze flickered nervously to Jimmy. ‘And I don’t want to talk about religion either.’
‘Sorry,’ Hillary said, holding out her ID card. ‘Please, go and see to your child, Mrs Pitt. We can wait outside a bit until you’re ready.’
Darla blinked at the information on the card and gave a quick glance around. ‘Oh no, that’s all right. Please, come in. You’re the police?’
‘We work for the police, yes,’ Hillary corrected her, as they stepped into a small, rather anonymous-looking hall, carpeted throughout in beige. ‘We work with the Crime Review Team.We’re currently taking another look at the Rowan Thompson case.’
Darla’s freckled face visibly paled. ‘Oh. I see. Can I just….’ She indicated the stairs to the left, as yet another fretful wail wafted down from upstairs.
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Please, go on through to the lounge,’ Darla said, pointing vaguely towards a half-open door. ‘Make yourselves
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