didn’t they?’
‘Too big a commitment, I guess,’ said Thea vaguely. ‘A fortnight is quite a long time, after all.’ She swung a foot like a bored teenager, wishing herself somewhere quite else. ‘I’d better try her phone again, I suppose.’
‘Weird that Melissa didn’t have a phone on her,’ said Gladwin, watching the swinging foot. ‘Tell me again where she put that memory stick.’
Thea concentrated her mind. ‘She had a little shoulder bag,’ she recalled for the first time. ‘She put the clothes in a plastic carrier bag, that she pulled out of the shoulder bag, and dropped the stick into the first bag. Is that making sense? There might have been a phone in there as well.’
‘Car keys? Money? Where were they?’
‘In the shoulder bag, presumably.’
‘Which is nowhere to be seen.’
‘So she was mugged in a woodland garden, outside a bird hide? They garotted her and stole her bag.’
‘Looks like it. I hate to sound melodramatic, but I can’t help feeling there was something important on that memory stick. Sorry, Thea, but can we go through the whole conversation you had with her, one more time?’
Under the questioning gaze of another plain-clothes officer, who strolled towards them somewhat warily, as well as a team of white-clad forensics people, who all seemed to suddenly have nothing to do, Thea recounted everything she could remember. Very little was added to her original testimony, other than a description of Melissa as cheerful and unafraid. ‘You’ll want to look through those boxes,’ she realised, when she’d finished.
‘Right. And we need to get a look at whatever’s on this camera card, as soon as we can. And find that car. It must be out there somewhere.’
‘She didn’t seem to be coming this way,’ said Thea suddenly. ‘She went off towards Vineyard Street, and this is the opposite direction.’
‘Did you watch her go?’
‘Yes, for a little way. She must have doubled back after I’d gone into the house. There’s some sort of short cut into town through there.’ She pointed to the east, where Oliver had said something about Silk Mill Lane. ‘Or maybe she wanted to look at the birds.’
‘You got the impression she knew her way around? That she’d been here before?’ It was going over something Thea had already told her, but she was used to such repetitions when it came to police questioning.
‘Definitely. She went straight to those boxes, without any hesitation. She knew just what was in them.’
‘Would you have heard her if she’d doubled back?’
‘I doubt it. The dog didn’t bark or anything. But obviously all sorts of things must have been going on, and I had no idea.’ She sighed. ‘I hardly even thought about her, once she’d gone.’
‘You didn’t like her very much,’ said Gladwin astutely.
Thea frowned. ‘That’s putting it rather strong, but no, I didn’t take to her, I suppose. She didn’t seem to be inviting me to. She never really looked at me. I was just somebody she had to get past, in order to fetch her things.’
‘You tried to stop her?’
‘Not exactly. I tried to assure myself that she had a right to be there. That’s what I’m being paid for, basically.’
‘You got assurances from her – is that what you mean?’
‘More or less, yes.’
‘Thea – this is going to sound insane, and it is, of course. But
I’m
being paid to do a thorough job as well. So, I have to ask you, formally, whether you had any personal involvement in the killing of this youngwoman. I’ll have to order your fingerprints to be taken and an examination of your shoes made.’
Thea’s chin lifted bravely. ‘There’s no reason why I should be immune, I realise that, of course. It’s just …’
‘I know. Just answer the question, there’s a love.’
‘I did not kill her. I don’t know who did.’ It was difficult to say, especially in the hearing of the other police officers. The mere act of proclaiming her
‘Too big a commitment, I guess,’ said Thea vaguely. ‘A fortnight is quite a long time, after all.’ She swung a foot like a bored teenager, wishing herself somewhere quite else. ‘I’d better try her phone again, I suppose.’
‘Weird that Melissa didn’t have a phone on her,’ said Gladwin, watching the swinging foot. ‘Tell me again where she put that memory stick.’
Thea concentrated her mind. ‘She had a little shoulder bag,’ she recalled for the first time. ‘She put the clothes in a plastic carrier bag, that she pulled out of the shoulder bag, and dropped the stick into the first bag. Is that making sense? There might have been a phone in there as well.’
‘Car keys? Money? Where were they?’
‘In the shoulder bag, presumably.’
‘Which is nowhere to be seen.’
‘So she was mugged in a woodland garden, outside a bird hide? They garotted her and stole her bag.’
‘Looks like it. I hate to sound melodramatic, but I can’t help feeling there was something important on that memory stick. Sorry, Thea, but can we go through the whole conversation you had with her, one more time?’
Under the questioning gaze of another plain-clothes officer, who strolled towards them somewhat warily, as well as a team of white-clad forensics people, who all seemed to suddenly have nothing to do, Thea recounted everything she could remember. Very little was added to her original testimony, other than a description of Melissa as cheerful and unafraid. ‘You’ll want to look through those boxes,’ she realised, when she’d finished.
‘Right. And we need to get a look at whatever’s on this camera card, as soon as we can. And find that car. It must be out there somewhere.’
‘She didn’t seem to be coming this way,’ said Thea suddenly. ‘She went off towards Vineyard Street, and this is the opposite direction.’
‘Did you watch her go?’
‘Yes, for a little way. She must have doubled back after I’d gone into the house. There’s some sort of short cut into town through there.’ She pointed to the east, where Oliver had said something about Silk Mill Lane. ‘Or maybe she wanted to look at the birds.’
‘You got the impression she knew her way around? That she’d been here before?’ It was going over something Thea had already told her, but she was used to such repetitions when it came to police questioning.
‘Definitely. She went straight to those boxes, without any hesitation. She knew just what was in them.’
‘Would you have heard her if she’d doubled back?’
‘I doubt it. The dog didn’t bark or anything. But obviously all sorts of things must have been going on, and I had no idea.’ She sighed. ‘I hardly even thought about her, once she’d gone.’
‘You didn’t like her very much,’ said Gladwin astutely.
Thea frowned. ‘That’s putting it rather strong, but no, I didn’t take to her, I suppose. She didn’t seem to be inviting me to. She never really looked at me. I was just somebody she had to get past, in order to fetch her things.’
‘You tried to stop her?’
‘Not exactly. I tried to assure myself that she had a right to be there. That’s what I’m being paid for, basically.’
‘You got assurances from her – is that what you mean?’
‘More or less, yes.’
‘Thea – this is going to sound insane, and it is, of course. But
I’m
being paid to do a thorough job as well. So, I have to ask you, formally, whether you had any personal involvement in the killing of this youngwoman. I’ll have to order your fingerprints to be taken and an examination of your shoes made.’
Thea’s chin lifted bravely. ‘There’s no reason why I should be immune, I realise that, of course. It’s just …’
‘I know. Just answer the question, there’s a love.’
‘I did not kill her. I don’t know who did.’ It was difficult to say, especially in the hearing of the other police officers. The mere act of proclaiming her
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