didn’t?’
‘No, of course not!’ said Lucy decisively. ‘As I said, I do get depressed and I did have moments of despair when I couldn’t see a future for her and thought - maybe even said, that she’d be better off dead - but I never really meant it. I loved her; I loved her very much. You have to believe that! Oh Tom, what kind of a person would do something like this?’
Gordon shook his head and said, ‘I don’t know, Lucy. That’s what we, or rather the police, have to find out.’
‘Have you seen John?’
‘They wouldn’t let me. They’re holding him at Caernarfon: he’ll appear in court on Monday morning.’
‘I want to be there,’ said Lucy, becoming animated. ‘I have to tell them that he’s lying; that he’s just trying to protect me. John couldn’t kill anyone. He even opens the windows to let out flies.’
‘I don’t think going up to court’s a very good idea,’ said Gordon. ‘That would be the wrong way to go about things. It’s really the police we have to convince in the first instance and then, when John realises that you had nothing to do with Anne-Marie’s death, he can retract his confession and the police can begin a proper investigation. Just as a matter of interest, what were you doing while John was outside building the snowman?’
‘I put Anne-Marie down for a sleep and than I went upstairs to look through the wardrobes for clothes for Captain Mainwaring.’
‘Cap …?’
‘Captain Mainwaring - the snowman John built.’
‘How long did that take you?’
‘Twenty minutes or so.’
‘Twenty minutes?’ repeated Gordon, unable to disguise the element of surprise in his voice and making it sound like a question.
‘I got side-tracked,’ said Lucy. ‘I’d been having a good rake and found things in the wardrobe that I hadn’t seen for years. I tried some of them on just to see if I could still get into them. John was happy in the garden – I could hear him whistling and Anne-Marie was sleeping so … it was fun. A trip down Memory Lane if you like.’
Lucy construed Gordon’s ensuing silence as an accusation. He was in fact wondering how the police would view the twenty-minute period while she was in the house alone with the baby while John was out in the garden.
‘I didn’t do it,’ insisted Lucy. ‘Oh God, this is all just too awful to bear.’ She broke down in tears and Gina did her best to soothe her.
‘I believe you, Lucy’ said Gordon. ‘But we have to be honest with each other; I have to know everything if I’m to be able to help. That’s why I have to ask you if you were still having one of your low spells on the day Anne-Marie disappeared. Were you depressed on that day, Lucy?’
‘No,’ insisted Lucy. ‘Like I told you, I ‘d been a bit down the day before but I was definitely coming out of it and John was cheering me up with talk of the fun we were going to have when the weather got better. We were going to take Anne-Marie to the beach, the zoo … all sorts of things …’
Gordon nodded then opened up his bag. ‘I’m going to give you something to help you sleep,’ he said. ‘You must get some rest. You’ll be no good to John or anyone if you’re completely exhausted.’
He gave Lucy a sedative and watched her take it before Gina escorted her off to bed.
‘Tea?’ asked Gina when she came back.
‘Please.’
‘What’s going to happen?’ Gina asked as she returned from the kitchen with a tea tray and laid it down on the coffee-table.
Gordon looked at her and saw that her expression had become troubled. She’d been masking it well in Lucy’s presence but now the worry was all too evident.
‘I’m not sure,’ he replied honestly. ‘The real problem is the confession. It’s stopping the police from even looking for anyone else and frankly I think they’ll be quite happy about that because if John and Lucy didn’t do it, it’s not easy to imagine who did. And what was their motive in taking the body
‘No, of course not!’ said Lucy decisively. ‘As I said, I do get depressed and I did have moments of despair when I couldn’t see a future for her and thought - maybe even said, that she’d be better off dead - but I never really meant it. I loved her; I loved her very much. You have to believe that! Oh Tom, what kind of a person would do something like this?’
Gordon shook his head and said, ‘I don’t know, Lucy. That’s what we, or rather the police, have to find out.’
‘Have you seen John?’
‘They wouldn’t let me. They’re holding him at Caernarfon: he’ll appear in court on Monday morning.’
‘I want to be there,’ said Lucy, becoming animated. ‘I have to tell them that he’s lying; that he’s just trying to protect me. John couldn’t kill anyone. He even opens the windows to let out flies.’
‘I don’t think going up to court’s a very good idea,’ said Gordon. ‘That would be the wrong way to go about things. It’s really the police we have to convince in the first instance and then, when John realises that you had nothing to do with Anne-Marie’s death, he can retract his confession and the police can begin a proper investigation. Just as a matter of interest, what were you doing while John was outside building the snowman?’
‘I put Anne-Marie down for a sleep and than I went upstairs to look through the wardrobes for clothes for Captain Mainwaring.’
‘Cap …?’
‘Captain Mainwaring - the snowman John built.’
‘How long did that take you?’
‘Twenty minutes or so.’
‘Twenty minutes?’ repeated Gordon, unable to disguise the element of surprise in his voice and making it sound like a question.
‘I got side-tracked,’ said Lucy. ‘I’d been having a good rake and found things in the wardrobe that I hadn’t seen for years. I tried some of them on just to see if I could still get into them. John was happy in the garden – I could hear him whistling and Anne-Marie was sleeping so … it was fun. A trip down Memory Lane if you like.’
Lucy construed Gordon’s ensuing silence as an accusation. He was in fact wondering how the police would view the twenty-minute period while she was in the house alone with the baby while John was out in the garden.
‘I didn’t do it,’ insisted Lucy. ‘Oh God, this is all just too awful to bear.’ She broke down in tears and Gina did her best to soothe her.
‘I believe you, Lucy’ said Gordon. ‘But we have to be honest with each other; I have to know everything if I’m to be able to help. That’s why I have to ask you if you were still having one of your low spells on the day Anne-Marie disappeared. Were you depressed on that day, Lucy?’
‘No,’ insisted Lucy. ‘Like I told you, I ‘d been a bit down the day before but I was definitely coming out of it and John was cheering me up with talk of the fun we were going to have when the weather got better. We were going to take Anne-Marie to the beach, the zoo … all sorts of things …’
Gordon nodded then opened up his bag. ‘I’m going to give you something to help you sleep,’ he said. ‘You must get some rest. You’ll be no good to John or anyone if you’re completely exhausted.’
He gave Lucy a sedative and watched her take it before Gina escorted her off to bed.
‘Tea?’ asked Gina when she came back.
‘Please.’
‘What’s going to happen?’ Gina asked as she returned from the kitchen with a tea tray and laid it down on the coffee-table.
Gordon looked at her and saw that her expression had become troubled. She’d been masking it well in Lucy’s presence but now the worry was all too evident.
‘I’m not sure,’ he replied honestly. ‘The real problem is the confession. It’s stopping the police from even looking for anyone else and frankly I think they’ll be quite happy about that because if John and Lucy didn’t do it, it’s not easy to imagine who did. And what was their motive in taking the body
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