Gift Wrapped by Peter Turnbull Page A

but I was only an auxiliary. Nursing auxiliaries help patients to the toilet and empty the bedpans of those patients who can’t go to the toilet, that sort of thing. I did not return to work upon marriage.’ Mrs Wenlock sighed. ‘I did not want to go back to that. But I learned about hygiene and I kept a clean home for my family to grow up in.’
    â€˜I see. So what is your income ... if I may ask?’ Pharoah queried.
    â€˜You may ask, of course you may ask, it is your job after all.’ Mrs Wenlock paused. ‘I am living off the money James left me, and he did leave me reasonably well provided for. He left cash in the bank, he left stocks and shares. I inherited it all when, after two years from his reported disappearance, he was deemed to be deceased. I can’t claim on his life insurance policy, of course – the insurance company need a death certificate before they will pay up. I was, and am, helped by the fact that the mortgage was paid off before James vanished. That was a mighty comfort but I still have to watch the pennies. I buy my clothes from charity shops and I have not had a holiday since he disappeared. My garden is tended by a kindly gentleman who is a fellow parishioner at Saint Luke’s. He will not accept any money for his labour, just a home-cooked meal when he is here ... He is a widower, you see.’
    â€˜I see.’
    â€˜So that’s how I survive. The image might seem impressive but my outgoings are few and the dependency upon charity in one form or another is great.’ Mrs Wenlock sighed again, deeply so. ‘The money which we were putting aside for the cruise to celebrate his fiftieth birthday was used to buy food for myself over the years.’
    â€˜So things were not all bad between you?’ Carmen Pharoah suggested. ‘A cruise ... that can’t be bad ... can’t be bad at all.’
    â€˜If I am honest, it was more for form’s sake really.’ Mrs Wenlock shook her head slowly. ‘For appearances’ sake. So rather than tell the world that there were difficulties between us ... that things were stressed to breaking point, we decided to put on a show to celebrate that milestone in a man’s life, to do something to give the right impression, but the money we had earmarked for the cruise has kept me in baked beans and tinned chilli con carne for the last few years. You know, I only really cook a proper meal when Eric Lucas calls to tend the garden.’
    â€˜Can I ... can we,’ Reginald Webster brought the interview back on track, ‘ask if your husband had any enemies? That is, any enemies that you knew of?’
    â€˜Enemies? James?’ Mrs Wenlock gasped. ‘None ... if he did I didn’t hear of any ... no, I am sure ... none, no enemies. He was a professional man. He wasn’t a businessman or a gangster; those sorts of people have enemies ... not mild-mannered accountants. Mind you, even if he did I doubt very much that he’d tell me. We just didn’t have that level of communication – not at the time he vanished anyway. You know, we’d just sit here each evening in total silence ... not saying anything at all.’ Again, she shook her head. ‘I should have been a better wife. I really should have. If I did drive him into the hands of someone who murdered him ... Oh,’ Mrs Wenlock looked suddenly alert, ‘would you like his toothbrush?’
    â€˜His ... toothbrush?’ Carmen Pharoah queried. ‘Your husband’s toothbrush, you mean?’
    â€˜Yes ... for the DNA you have just mentioned. For some odd and strange reason I kept it; it’s just about the one thing I didn’t throw away. He had bad gums ... gum disease and, you see, they would bleed freely each time he brushed his teeth ...’
    â€˜Sounds ideal,’ Pharoah replied, glancing at Reginald Webster who nodded his agreement. ‘That sounds just the thing. And if DNA