come out of absolute tragedy was wonderful, serene.
She had told herself that she had come to terms with her new state of being. Wendy the mother. Inside, she knew that she was no mother. She was a police officer and that was that. The everlasting memory of Robert, though, would change all of that. To be carrying his baby made her feel as though a part of him was still with her. A part of him which hadn't suffered, hadn't died in writhing agony at the hands of her brother, Michael. The truth be told, she had rarely been happier.
As she sat in the waiting room of the maternity ward, the fabric of the chair grew softer, enveloping her with warmth and comfort. This was the maternal glow, she thought. The miracle. Her over-rational head tried to tell her that it was purely hormonal – that this wasn't her – but she knew better than to listen to her head. Her heart was telling her otherwise. Her heart was beating for two.
*
“DCI Culverhouse? Liz Prior here from forensics. I've got some rather interesting news for you.”
“Go on.”
“Well, first of all, the DNA found on the body in the woods matches that provided by the family of Danielle Levy.”
“So it's her?”
“Yes, I'm afraid so. The thing is, there's a big crossover match between another investigation I believe you're currently working on.”
Culverhouse's eyes lit up. “Go on...”
“It's regarding the samples taken from Gary McCann's house. We found a number of hairs which we've identified as belonging to someone you may be interested in. Danielle Levy. This puts her as having been in his house and car on at least one occasion fairly recently.”
“Fucking brilliant! Well done, Liz. I owe you one.” Culverhouse didn't replace the handset, but simply pressed the hook button before releasing it and dialling Wendy's mobile number. “Knight. Culverhouse. I need you at the station as soon as you can. There's been a very interesting development.”
“I'm waiting to see the midwife, guv. Is it urgent?”
“Put it this way – your baby's going nowhere. As for Gary McCann, that's another story.”
29
Gary McCann smiled smugly as he leaned back on the two rear legs of the chair in the interview room, his hands behind his head.
“Worried about something, McCann?”
“Why would I have anything to worry about, Inspector?”
“In my experience, the cool, calm characters become just a little bit too cool and calm when they're guilty as sin.”
“And in my experience, police officers start to make up all sorts of ludicrous psychological theories when they get desperate at having nothing else in their arsenal.”
“Oh, my arsenal is positively overflowing, Mr McCann. Tell me – do you know a girl called Danielle Levy?”
“Sorry, what has this got to do with Bob Arthurs?”
“I'm not sure myself, just now. What I do know, though, is that Danielle Levy went missing from her house on Friday lunchtime and hasn't been seen since. I also know that in the process of scouring your house for material in connection with the murder of Bob Arthurs, we found a number of hairs belonging to Danielle. Can you explain how they got there?”
Gary McCann slowly lowered the front of his chair, allowing the legs to come to a rest on the floor with a clop as he brought his hands down in front of him, crossing them on the table. “Absolutely not. I've never heard of her.”
“I would like to remind you that this interview is being recorded, Mr McCann, and that we have evidence which shows that Danielle Levy has been in both your house and car recently.”
“That's impossible. No-one else uses my car and we don't have other people around at the house. Not until we started holding your police parties for you in the past few days, anyway.”
“You'll have to come up with something better than that, McCann. The forensic evidence doesn't lie. Danielle Levy has been in your house and she has been in your car. And I want to know
She had told herself that she had come to terms with her new state of being. Wendy the mother. Inside, she knew that she was no mother. She was a police officer and that was that. The everlasting memory of Robert, though, would change all of that. To be carrying his baby made her feel as though a part of him was still with her. A part of him which hadn't suffered, hadn't died in writhing agony at the hands of her brother, Michael. The truth be told, she had rarely been happier.
As she sat in the waiting room of the maternity ward, the fabric of the chair grew softer, enveloping her with warmth and comfort. This was the maternal glow, she thought. The miracle. Her over-rational head tried to tell her that it was purely hormonal – that this wasn't her – but she knew better than to listen to her head. Her heart was telling her otherwise. Her heart was beating for two.
*
“DCI Culverhouse? Liz Prior here from forensics. I've got some rather interesting news for you.”
“Go on.”
“Well, first of all, the DNA found on the body in the woods matches that provided by the family of Danielle Levy.”
“So it's her?”
“Yes, I'm afraid so. The thing is, there's a big crossover match between another investigation I believe you're currently working on.”
Culverhouse's eyes lit up. “Go on...”
“It's regarding the samples taken from Gary McCann's house. We found a number of hairs which we've identified as belonging to someone you may be interested in. Danielle Levy. This puts her as having been in his house and car on at least one occasion fairly recently.”
“Fucking brilliant! Well done, Liz. I owe you one.” Culverhouse didn't replace the handset, but simply pressed the hook button before releasing it and dialling Wendy's mobile number. “Knight. Culverhouse. I need you at the station as soon as you can. There's been a very interesting development.”
“I'm waiting to see the midwife, guv. Is it urgent?”
“Put it this way – your baby's going nowhere. As for Gary McCann, that's another story.”
29
Gary McCann smiled smugly as he leaned back on the two rear legs of the chair in the interview room, his hands behind his head.
“Worried about something, McCann?”
“Why would I have anything to worry about, Inspector?”
“In my experience, the cool, calm characters become just a little bit too cool and calm when they're guilty as sin.”
“And in my experience, police officers start to make up all sorts of ludicrous psychological theories when they get desperate at having nothing else in their arsenal.”
“Oh, my arsenal is positively overflowing, Mr McCann. Tell me – do you know a girl called Danielle Levy?”
“Sorry, what has this got to do with Bob Arthurs?”
“I'm not sure myself, just now. What I do know, though, is that Danielle Levy went missing from her house on Friday lunchtime and hasn't been seen since. I also know that in the process of scouring your house for material in connection with the murder of Bob Arthurs, we found a number of hairs belonging to Danielle. Can you explain how they got there?”
Gary McCann slowly lowered the front of his chair, allowing the legs to come to a rest on the floor with a clop as he brought his hands down in front of him, crossing them on the table. “Absolutely not. I've never heard of her.”
“I would like to remind you that this interview is being recorded, Mr McCann, and that we have evidence which shows that Danielle Levy has been in both your house and car recently.”
“That's impossible. No-one else uses my car and we don't have other people around at the house. Not until we started holding your police parties for you in the past few days, anyway.”
“You'll have to come up with something better than that, McCann. The forensic evidence doesn't lie. Danielle Levy has been in your house and she has been in your car. And I want to know
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