Ann Cleeves - The Moth Catcher

‘Your family not about?’

‘They’ve been in France for Easter. I’m joining them next week and we’ll travel back together.’ He paused. ‘What is this about?’

‘Lizzie Redhead,’ Vera said.

‘Ah yes, Lizzie. One of my more spectacular mistakes.’ A boyish grin that didn’t quite convince.

‘Tell me.’

For a moment he said nothing. ‘She came to work for me.’

‘And then?’

‘And then I fell for her, Inspector. Hook, line and sinker. Not my usual style. I’m happily married. If I stray occasionally, it’s recreational. No strings on either side. But Lizzie was different.’

‘In what way different?’ Vera really was curious to know.

There was another silence. Vera thought that he’d been sitting here, his family away, thinking about Lizzie. And now he wanted to talk about her to the only person who would listen. Even if that person was a cop.

‘She was wild, funny and very beautiful. Most women I meet are attracted to me. Or attracted to my money. Lizzie didn’t seem to be. I fell for her. I’d have done anything for her by the end. When we first got together I couldn’t quite believe it.’

Vera wasn’t sure she believed this story even now. It felt like something she chuckled over in a women’s magazine while she was waiting to see the dentist. But what would she know about relationships? Like Holly, she was a loner. ‘Then Lizzie ripped you off.’

‘At first I couldn’t accept that she’d done it.’ He paused and played with the wedding ring on his finger. ‘It sounds daft, but I thought we were soulmates.’ A pause. ‘I grew up too quickly, got into bother because that was the way my family earned a living. I’d never had anything like a romantic encounter. Sex was almost always a financial arrangement. Even my marriage felt a bit like that. I was ready to settle down and have kids, and Kate could give me stability and a family. And a bit of respectability. Her background’s very different from mine.’ He paused again and stared out of the window. ‘With Lizzie, it was like falling in love for the first time. She was bonkers, you know. Fearless. We made love in places I wouldn’t have dreamed of. On building sites, in half-built houses, in the car by the side of a busy road. It wasn’t just the sex. I told her stuff I hadn’t told anyone else in the world. And all the time she was stealing from me. Fiddling the books and sliding cash into her own online accounts.’

‘So she had to pay.’ Vera pulled his attention back into the room.

He shrugged. ‘In my position you can’t be seen to let people take the piss. Even if you want to.’ He paused again. ‘If she’d asked for the money, I’d have given it to her. I’d have left my wife and married her. But she made a fool out of me and I couldn’t let that go.’

‘You could have come to us. She’d have been prosecuted.’

‘And got a fine that her parents would have paid! Or a suspended sentence.’ His face was red and she saw how Jason might get, if he was angry. Mad. Violent. Even against someone he claimed to love.

‘So you persuaded her parents to sell you their business.’

‘I’ve got a brother who works in that field. Not the sharpest tool in the box, so occasionally he needs a hand. He wanted to expand into Kimmerston. It seemed a good way of helping him out and showing people it wasn’t a good idea to mess me about.’

‘You threatened Sam and Annie Redhead.’ Vera’s voice was quiet.

‘I didn’t need to.’ The words came back at her immediately.

‘Of course. You have a reputation.’ She hoped he could hear the sneer in her voice. ‘You’re a hard man.’

There was a moment of silence before Vera continued. ‘Then Lizzie got into a fight in a bar and was sent to prison anyway.’

‘That was nothing to do with me.’ He paused. ‘I heard that she went crazy when we separated. Perhaps I was good for her and kept her sane for a while. She shouldn’t have ripped me off. We’d have been good for each other .’ Another pause. ‘How is she anyway?’

‘Out of prison,’ Vera said. ‘Released today.’ Looking up, she could tell this wasn’t news to him. He’d been keeping tabs on Lizzie. He was still obsessed with her. Vera thought she should check to see if Jason had visited her in Sittingwell.

‘Why are you here?’ As if it had just occurred to him to ask. ‘She can’t have got into trouble already, if she was only released today.’ His voice light, as if he didn’t give a toss.

‘I’m investigating the murders in the valley at Gilswick. You’ll have seen the story all over the news. I don’t suppose you knew any of the victims?’

‘I’m afraid not.’ The answer came quickly, without thought. Even if he’d been best buddies with Martin Benton, or Shirley Hewarth had been one of his recreational shags, he’d have denied it. Not cooperating with the police would be a habit, like Vera’s need to have secrets.

‘You hear things,’ Vera said. ‘You have contacts all over the county. Anyone saying anything about the murders in Gilswick?’

‘I’m a businessman.’ Jason pushed himself off the desk and looked at his watch. ‘I don’t have those kinds of contacts.’

‘Can you think why someone would want to murder three people? Different people. A young graduate, a teacher with mental-health problems and a social worker.’ Because Jason might not mix with contract killers, but he’d make sure he knew what was going on in his patch. His livelihood depended on it.

This time he seemed to consider the question before answering. ‘Someone screwed up,’ he said. ‘An angry ex-con. People get sent to prison to sort them out, but it often makes things worse. Plays with their minds.’

‘Was that what happened to you?’

‘Nah.’ He grinned. ‘I was one of the people detention worked for. A success story. Inside once and never in trouble again.’

‘Never convicted at least.’ Now, she saw, the conversation was becoming a game again. Perhaps he was already regretting being so frank. ‘How do you think Lizzie will have handled being inside?’

‘She’s like me. A natural survivor. And she was in an open nick, wasn’t she? A doddle.’ Jason looked at his watch again. ‘Look, I’ve enjoyed the chat, Inspector, but I’ve got to go.’

They walked together through the house. Some of the finishes, and the way the rooms were laid out, reminded Vera of the Valley Farm conversions.

‘Did you have anything to do with the development in the valley at Gilswick?’

‘The two barns? And then the renovation of the farmhouse? Yes, that was done by one of my companies.’ He was standing by the front door, impatient for her to go.

‘A bit of a coincidence,’ Vera said. ‘You built the house where Lizzie Redhead’s parents live.’

‘Not really. Anything high-end, built in this part of the county, I’ve probably got a hand in it.’

She walked through the door. He grabbed a jacket from the bottom of the stairs and followed her out. So it seemed he really did have a meeting; he didn’t just want to get rid of her.

‘Lizzie Redhead,’ she said.

‘What about her?’

‘How do you feel about her now?’

She expected another flip and sarcastic comment, but this time Jason considered before answering. ‘I still dream about her. I lie beside my wife at night, but I dream about Lizzie.’

She took her time walking down the path to the road where her Land Rover was parked. Jason climbed into a sports car standing on the drive in front of the house; there was the sound of screeching tyres and he drove away. Vera looked after him, wondering who he was in such a hurry to meet.