Martin Edwards - The Coffin Trail

After a long pause, she said, ‘But we were seeing each other at the time.’

‘I know.’ His face had aged with misery; it had lines and flaws that she’d never noticed before. ‘I shouldn’t have said yes. But you’d just started working with Ben Kind…’

‘And you were jealous?’

‘Yes!’ Tears brimmed in his eyes. ‘I can’t help it, Hannah, it’s the way I’m made. I hate it when men fancy you, but it’s even worse when you fancy them.’

It was a mistake to respond, but she couldn’t let it pass. ‘Are you suggesting that I fancied Ben Kind?’

‘I don’t want to argue about it,’ he said thickly. ‘Deny it if you want, that’s fine. But I thought you did.’

‘So you decided on tit for tat?’

‘You could say…’

‘And when the chance of a quick shag came along, you couldn’t say no?’ Her voice was getting louder.

‘I’ve regretted it ever since.’

‘Not as much as I regret it! Oh shit, Marc, how could you do this?’ She was almost choking with anger and despair. ‘When we started going out together, you told me you and Dale were finished. Over. Done.’

‘It was true!’ he insisted. ‘And then I bumped into her one evening when you were working and she was lonely and so was I and — things got out of hand.’

‘How many times?’ she demanded.

She’d seen the same hunted expression on the faces of a hundred criminals. The panicky arithmetic: what’s the least I can get away with?

‘Twice that week,’ he said eventually. ‘That’s how often we made love. I would close the shop and make my way to Brack. You and I were passing strangers, Ben Kind had you running errands all over the place for him. I’m not making an excuse, just trying to explain. Of course, that afternoon was the end. I swear it. Dale was as upset as me. Imagine how she felt when she heard that Gabrielle Anders was dead. She’d spent part of the day in question in bed with the boyfriend of one of the detectives investigating the murder. Wouldn’t you be scared stiff?’

‘How would I know? I’ve never been in that situation.’

‘She swore she’d never do anything to mess up my relationship with you, and she meant it, she kept her word.’

‘By lying to the police?’

‘We didn’t see any alternative. It seemed to be for the best. No one saw us, Joe Dowling was out. Dale didn’t harm the investigation. When the constable questioned her, she told him she hadn’t seen Gabrielle since breakfast time. Perfectly true, as it happens. The room we used was on the same corridor as Gabrielle’s and we didn’t see her on the way in or out.’

Hannah said nothing.

‘The truth is,’ Marc said, ‘Dale and I have both moved on. We’d pretty much forgotten what happened.’

‘Oh yeah?’

‘Honestly, I swear it. Then your team re-kindled the investigation and Dale found herself being quizzed again. She panicked. How could she know whether you knew or had guessed about her relationship with me?’

‘Did Leigh Moffat know that you two were sleeping together at the time of the murder?’

He shook his head. ‘They look out for each other, but Leigh has enough sense not to be her sister’s keeper. Over the years, she’s learned that there are some parts of Dale’s life it’s better for her not to know about and that suits Dale. Leigh’s obviously aware of our original relationship, when we were kids. But the first she learned about The Moon under Water was this afternoon. Dale didn’t have anyone else to turn to.’

‘And?’

‘Leigh was bloody furious with both of us. Most of all, she wanted to protect our relationship. You have to believe that.’

‘At this precise moment, I’m inclined to believe anything of the Moffat sisters.’

‘Hannah, please. Leigh is so honest, it’s painful, but she doesn’t want our lives to be wrecked by an old indiscretion. She didn’t want me to tell you, but it’s not simply a matter of protecting me. She hates the thought of me hurting you.’

Hannah considered. ‘Is that it?’

His eyes widened. ‘Isn’t that enough?’

‘Anything else you want to tell me? Additional offences to be taken into consideration?’

He tried out a tentative smile and reached towards her, but when she flinched, he thought better of it. ‘I’m so sorry, Hannah. What more can I say? I wish we’d never…it was wrong. Better for you not to know. But with a root and branch cold case review…’

‘You were terrified I might find out anyway?’ Hannah interrupted.

‘Well, yes.’

She stood up. ‘Thanks for telling me.’

He stared at her. ‘Don’t you want to say — anything else?’

‘Not right now. It’s late and I’m dog-tired and tomorrow will be as busy as today. Unlike you, I don’t have the option of putting up a ‘closed for business’ sign whenever the mood takes me. Or whenever I’m made an offer I can’t refuse.’

‘I suppose I deserved that.’ He gnawed at his lower lip. ‘Do you still want me to sleep in a separate room?’

‘Right now, Marc, I don’t give a fuck what you do.’

She strode out of the room and headed up the stairs. As she reached the top, she heard him calling from the hallway.

‘There’s more. I have to tell you.’

If he’s slept with anyone else, that’s it. I’m out of here.

‘Don’t you think you’ve said enough?’

She could hear him breathing hard. When she turned, he was standing at the bottom of the stairs. Tears filled his eyes.

‘No, these are things you should know. Not about me.’

‘Go on, then.’

‘When Dale was questioned, it brought so much back.’

‘I bet.’

He blew his nose. ‘You need — the police need — to have this information. I don’t know it it’s relevant…’

‘Tell me.’

‘Two things. First, Gabrielle Anders slept with Joe Dowling. At least once, maybe more often. Dale opened Gabrielle’s door once and saw her with Joe. She was lying on her back on the bed, letting him climb aboard. They were so engrossed they never knew they’d been seen.’

‘You never mentioned this before.’

He hung his head. ‘At least now you can understand why. Besides, I thought everyone agreed, Barrie Gilpin killed Gabrielle. There didn’t seem any point in complicating things.’

She said coldly, ‘And the second thing?’

‘Gabrielle had a lot of cash in her possession, but it seems to have vanished after she was murdered.’

‘How do you know this?’

‘Dale surprised her in the room one morning. This time Gabrielle had remembered her do not disturb sign, but Dale didn’t notice it in time.’

‘Oh really?’

‘So she told me. Anyway, Gabrielle had all this money spread out over the bed. Dale didn’t have the chance to count it before she made her apologies and left. When she came back to clean the room, the cash had vanished. But she reckoned it was thousands.’

Hannah hushed the mutterings in the briefing room and said, ‘During the original investigation into Gabrielle Anders’ murder, the initial focus was on finding Barrie Gilpin. That isn’t to say that other lines of enquiry were neglected. Ben Kind took care to keep an open mind about the case, even though the ACPO wanted a quick result.’

Her throat was dry and she took a sip of water. Apart from coffee and the maximum dose of paracetamol, she’d had nothing all day. She’d woken up with a fierce headache, and the thought of eating even toast and marmalade was enough to make her heave. She couldn’t have felt worse if Marc had clubbed her on the skull. Come to think of it, he had.

‘We all know two things, don’t we? One, we don’t need to prove a motive to secure a conviction for murder. But two, if we can’t figure out the why as well as the who, we may struggle when the case comes to court. Juries look for complete narratives. They want to know whydunit, before they decide on whodunit. So Ben looked at several angles. For instance, was the site where the body was found significant?’