Two Wrongs (Detective Inspector Ross Reed Book 1) (9 page)

“Don't be sorry, I understand.”

Brian finally released his face from his arms, “How could someone do this? I thank God she wasn't... well you know, interfered with, but... I could understand it more you know? It seems someone killed her for nothing. Nothing.”

Plumridge couldn't think of anything to say. He wished he could, the silence was excruciating.

“Why do you want to know about Carmella's jewellery, if you don't mind me asking?” Brian enquired.

“We don't know if it's anything yet. We just thought the same as your wife. She might not have had any on, but if she did, we need to know.”

“Makes sense. Do you think someone took something from her?” Brian asked. His eyes were dry now but still looked red raw. There was a slight change to just a few seconds ago, his eyes had a slight sparkling of hope.

“I really can't say until we know she was wearing any, sir.”

“No of course not, I'm sorry.”

“We won’t hide anything from you Mr. Chapman. At the same time we don't want to give you any false hope. I do hope you understand.”

“I do.”

Luckily it was only a couple of minutes before Brenda came back in to the room. She didn't speak straight away. Plumridge didn't force her to. She looked puzzled.

“I can't be sure, but I think there is a pair of earrings missing. Brian, can you remember those stud earrings she kept wearing; we didn't know where they came from?”

“The ones she said were a present?”

“Yes, I can't find them. They could be somewhere I suppose but Carmella was very tidy, liked things organised. I can't see them in her jewellery box.”

Plumridge's heart started to beat a little faster. He tried to keep his voice steady, “Do you think you could give me a description, just in case?”

“Sure, they were just a basic stud really. Mainly gold, but they had a green stone in them. Me and Brian couldn't decide if they were really cheap or really expensive. We didn't tell Carmella that, of course. She was pleased with them and that's all that mattered.”

Plumridge made a note of this. “You say they were a gift, do you know who gave them to her?”

“Sorry, I don't, I never asked.” Brenda said, “We teased her about them but didn't push it.”

Plumridge thought about asking Brian if he had any idea, but given the vacant look on his face, he doubted he knew what day it was. “I don't suppose you would have a photo of Carmella wearing them, would you?”

“I really can't say. I don't think we have any recent photos, she only had them a few weeks.”

“Not to worry Mrs. Chapman. You've both been very helpful. Like I say, it might be nothing anyway. Thank you for your time, if the earrings do turn up, could you just let us know please?”

“Yes of course, thanks for coming round. It's nice to talk to someone.” Brenda gave a reserved smile as she finished her sentence. Plumridge couldn't help but think that what Brenda really meant, was that it was nice for someone to talk back. Plumridge could well believe that Brian sat there with a blank look on his face for hours on end.

Brian stayed where he was. Brenda saw Plumridge out. When he reached his car he decided it was time for a quick drink. He would buy a newspaper so he could read the sports section. He wanted to get back to his mundane feelings, not these real ones he was feeling right now.

Reed and Tyler had gone straight back to Steve Garrood's office, not stopping at reception to explain why.

“Yes, he's worked here since he left school.”

“Can we go and see him please?” Reed asked.

“Sure, is it to do with Carmella?”

“Maybe, I don't know yet.”

“I think he's working on dispatch these days, I'll take you over.”

They made their way across the car park in a quick walk. Then Garrood led them into a drab looking building through an open roller-shutter door. Various people in hard hats and fluorescent jackets began to look busy as they noticed the boss enter their workspace.

One person in the distance really picked up the pace. After taking a double-take at the three people heading his way, he turned and made his way to the right hand side of the room. He moved with purpose and the figure disappeared behind some boxes.

“Sir.” Tyler nodded in the man’s direction.

Reed pointed Tyler back towards the main door and headed for a walkway through some stacked boxes which were about halfway down the whole unit. The man in question would have to pass this gap if he was heading for the main door. Garrood carried on to his original destination which seemed to be a small office at the back, unaware of what was going on. Reed was about twenty metres from the far wall that he was aiming for when there was a flash, not a light, but something resembling a human as it sprinted past the walkway.

“Tyler!” Reed shouted. Then he set off after his quarry. As soon as he turned the corner, he could see the man heading for the main exit. Reed wasn't slow, he went to the gym a couple of times a week, tried to keep himself fit, but even at this early stage of the chase the gap between the two men was getting bigger. Reed had been sweating before he had started running, now the extra effort to run was causing it to pour from him, and he could feel his shirt sticking to his back.

“Tyler!” Reed tried again, desperation creeping into his voice.

The man was nearing the end of the boxes and then it would be only another few metres before he would be out of the factory. Reed was feeling slow and out of breath. Then, rather slowly but very carefully, a pallet truck was pushed out from behind the stack of boxes. The man was running so fast he had no time to adjust his stride. He managed to avoid the first fork, but no such luck with the second. He continued his run in midair before crashing hard to the floor. He didn't attempt to get up. He just rolled around holding his knee.

Slowly, and just as measured as the pallet truck, Tyler's head peeked from around the corner. Reed slowed to a walk, fighting to get his breath in the humid air. Although Reed couldn't hear Tyler over the thumping sound of his own heartbeat going off in his ears, he was pretty sure he saw her mouth the word, “Whoops.”

As Reed got closer, he definitely heard her say, “Going somewhere, Mr. Gulliver?”

Lee Gulliver was taken straight to Wymondham headquarters. Police can hold suspects for 24 hours without arrest so Reed had decided to do the interview first thing in the morning. He wasn't sure what he was going to ask anyway. Working at a chemical factory wasn't a crime and everything else they had on him was circumstantial.

Gulliver had been at Splitz nightclub with Carmella Chapman on the night she was murdered, he had given her a lift home and the bleach that was poured over her body was made at the factory where he worked. He had also lied about the route he and Carmella had taken home; if he had taken her home at all. It wasn't looking good for him but it didn't make him a killer either. Reed was hoping a good night’s sleep might produce some inspirational questions for him to ask at the interview.

Simultaneously, a night in the cells might prompt Gulliver to actually start telling the truth. Reed sometimes wished they could use the same system as America where they put inmates in a communal holding cell. He imagined that coming face to face with some scary-looking criminals could do wonders for someone's talking reflex.

Kate had sent a text saying she would be home late because she had to give a late riding lesson at the stables. Evie was being picked up from school by her Nan. Reed had just received a grilling from DCI Whitehead about all the things he hadn't done, the main thing was finding the murder scene and the murder weapon. Forensics confirmed that Carmella had been moved after her death and despite a thorough search of Thetford Common, the murder site was yet to be located.

Whilst Whitehead had given his lecture, he had looked at Reed like it was his fault these things hadn't been found; perhaps he had missed the sign saying ‘Murder site here.’ Every possible place was being looked at; it was just a process of elimination. They had decided to narrow the search down to places that were accessible by car as Carmella's body had been transported to where she was discovered. If it had happened at a private residence, they stood next to no chance of finding it unless something pointed them in the right direction in the first place.

As Reed was going to be finishing work relatively early he had offered to buy Tyler dinner and she had accepted. They decided to go to the White Horse in Great Ellingham. It was a lovely traditional country pub that served a good range of food at good prices. The ceilings were low and the walls were covered in various old farming tools. There were always plenty of customers around no matter what time of day it was. Despite this, Reed had always managed to find a table with relative ease. He liked that the pub was void of a jukebox, allowing people to actually have a conversation over their meal.

They had travelled in silence most of the way there. Reed was grateful that Tyler was comfortable enough to do so, he hated it when people made pointless conversation. He had been forced to do it enough times himself at family meals and during certain work situations and understood that sometimes it was necessary, but it didn't mean he liked it.

The last few days had been filled with too much information; the murder of Carmella Chapman, the bleach found on her body, Lee Gulliver being the last person to have seen her, and the fact that he worked at the company where the bleach had been manufactured.

There were also links to the unsolved murder of Tina Westwood. Both girls had been killed with a single blow to the head; their bodies had been discovered no more than a short journey apart. The same brand of bleach was present on both girls, albeit Tina had traces on her chest and hands while Carmella's body had been saturated.

Reed had two main theories at this present time. The first being that the two murders were similar by chance. Lee Gulliver had killed Carmella and poured bleach over her body to help distort any evidence and was now hoping he could lie his way out of it. The second was that the killer of Tina had resurfaced and was now announcing that he was back. Another thing to consider was the earrings. Tina had one earring missing when her body was found. Carmella had none and it wasn't clear yet if she had been wearing any when she left the house. If she had, why would Gulliver remove them? If it was the same killer again, and he wanted recognition for what he had done, it made sense that he would do the same things but on a grander scale. Maybe Carmella had removed them herself and mislaid them somewhere.

Then there was the murder site of Carmella. Where was it? Search teams had combed the area between the Chapman's home and where Lee had supposedly dropped her off. They had found nothing. If Gulliver was the killer it was unlikely that they ever got that far. If he was telling the truth, it would suggest she was taken. Was it by choice or was she forced? The neighbours hadn't heard anything, not Gulliver's car or the screams of Carmella. Reed didn't need Whitehead to point out the importance of the murder scene, all he needed right now was a nice cold pint and a bite to eat.

“This is your treat right?” Tyler asked.

“Yes.”

“Good, I'm bloody starving.” She gave Reed a cheeky smile to let him know this wasn't going to be cheap.

They made their way inside. Reed ordered a pint of Carling Extra Cold and Tyler settled for a small glass of white wine. Reed told her she could have a large one as he was driving and that he could pick her up in the morning. She had declined as she wanted a clear head in the morning. They took two menus from the bar and made their way to an outside table.

There were only four tables outside, two on a patio and two on the grass. A man and a woman were having a drink at one of the patio tables so Reed headed for a table on the grass. Although the sun's heat had eased, it was still very mild and the air was ghostly still. Reed loosened his collar to let some air through.

“You look worn out.” Tyler stated.

“I am. Bloody Whitehead. He doesn't say as much but I swear he thinks I'm some backward country boy.”

“You mean you’re not?”

“Very funny.” Reed couldn't hold his smile.

“What has he said now?”

“Well, nothing directly, he just states the bloody obvious.” Reed made a mouth shape with his hand, and moved it as he imitated Whitehead, “We need to find the murder site.”

“Mentioned it a couple of times has he?”

Reed ignored Tyler's question, “It's like it's my fault we haven't found it.”

“Perhaps you shouldn't take it so personally; we all know what he's like.”

The waitress came over to take their order. Tyler ordered a cheeseburger and chips. Reed, in all his wisdom hadn't even looked at the menu, so he went for sirloin steak.

“Sorry sir, we don't have any sirloin, we have rump?”

“That will do fine.” Just his luck. He couldn't even get that right. A choice of two and he buggered it up.

They sat for a little while in silence just sipping their drinks. Both winding down, relaxing a little. Perhaps the alcohol was starting to work. Reed's legs were aching from chasing down Gulliver.

“Why run?” Reed asked.

“You will have to tell me the start of this conversation; the bit that was just in your head.” Tyler said, holding out her hands, palms facing upwards, to indicate that she didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

“Gulliver, why did he run? Let's be honest, any evidence is purely circumstantial, so why did he run?”

“Something to hide?”

Reed thought for a moment, “Could be. He could be worried about wrongful arrest I suppose. At least it gives us something to push him on tomorrow.”

Their meals arrived; they dropped the work conversation in an instant, not wanting to lower the tone of the food. Reed ordered another drink, a coke this time; he ordered Tyler another wine without asking her but she didn't complain.

Reed enjoyed every last morsel of his meal, using a slice of bread to soak up the last few drops on his plate. He noticed that Tyler was only half way through her meal and felt somewhat of a greedy pig. Not wanting her to think the same, he decided to let her catch up by taking himself off to the toilet. He announced this and immediately wondered if he should have. He scuttled off as quick as he could, feeling a little embarrassed. On the way to the toilet he contemplated his table manners. Was it more polite to just get up and leave with no explanation or do you tell someone that you were about to do one of nature’s necessities? In hindsight, he decided that nobody wanted to know what he was leaving for and would simply tell them he would be back in a minute.

Reed made his way through the maze that was the White Hart. It was a seemingly small establishment but if you didn't know where all the little corridors led, you could find yourself walking in circles. There were little rooms everywhere, one had a pool table in; the room was too small and you were lucky if you could get your cue down to take a shot. There were fruit machines in another and the others were filled with tables to eat at.

There was a female laugh coming from the last dining room on the left before he reached the toilets; the laugh stopped him in his tracks. He slowly peeked around the corner to see who it was. There was a man in mid-flow of conversation, telling a tale of some sorts and building up to the big ending. Reed didn't know what it was about and he didn't care. The man was seated but everything about him looked tall. His face was long and thin, his arm was lying across the table; reaching the other side with ease, his fingers resembled the prongs on a garden fork. His hair looked immaculate; it was mousy brown and styled to within an inch of its life.

The man kept glancing up, not surprising as Reed was staring straight at him. Just as the man’s female companion, who was facing away from Reed, started to turn to see what the man was looking at, Reed walked away.

For someone who was supposed to be somewhere else they had gone to a lot of effort to be here. They had put on their best clothes including the red silk top Reed had bought her for her birthday, done their hair so that it displayed the fancy looking hair clip that Evie had picked out for a Christmas present, and lied about where they were going to be. So what the hell was his wife playing at?

Reed paid the bill on his way back through. He had taken much longer than necessary at the toilets. Staring at himself in the mirror as he washed his hands, thoughts spinning around his head, none making any sense. When he had spoken to Kate earlier, she had stressed that she was going to be late because she was giving a lesson at the horse yard.

So why was she lying? He felt angry, upset and confused. It could be perfectly innocent of course; he could be a client at the yard, a friend or even a business associate. Reed himself was having dinner with someone who was of the opposite sex. Tyler was a friend and a work colleague. Nothing wrong there but he hadn't lied about it. Perhaps it was just the shock of seeing her that was twisting his thoughts. But there was something about the way she had laughed that had caught Reed’s attention in the first place. She used to laugh like that with him. The way the man was telling his story, he seemed so at ease, like they had spoken a hundred times before, and his hand, reaching across the table into her space, what was he trying to get? Her?

Reed decided he would go home and wait for Kate to come in and explain all, then he would realise what a fool he had been.

Tyler hadn't noticed Reed's sudden strange mood, or at least she didn't say anything. Reed didn't rush to leave because he had noticed that Kate and the mystery man had cutlery set out on their table, obviously about to have a meal. He drove Tyler home and arranged to pick her up in the morning. He then headed for home himself. Kate was picking Evie up because she could trust herself to be on time, whilst Reed could be at work until any hour, and even if he did get home, he could easily be called out again.

He kicked the cat out, literally; it was his only guilty pleasure when no one was home. He then put the TV on and tried to make himself look comfortable for when Kate entered, not that he would interrogate her as soon as she stepped in, Evie would be there for one, plus he wanted to play it cool, a bit of general chit chat, let her tell him of her own accord.

Reed had just started to get truly comfortable, instead of just trying to look comfortable for Kate's sake, when his mobile phone started ringing and vibrating, dancing to its own tune, moving around the kitchen table. Kate? Reed ran through to the kitchen and snatched up the phone.

It was Whitehead.

“Sir?”

“We've found your murder site for you.”