Sue Fortin - The Dead Wife

‘It doesn’t sound bad enough that someone would want to murder her though,’ said Steph. ‘I can’t help thinking there must be more. What exactly did she mean when she said she’d got herself into something?’ It was meant to be a rhetorical question, but Sonia answered anyway.

‘Like I said, the marriage. She’d got herself married and was in too deep just to walk away. I suppose she wasn’t able to support herself financially. She was scared of not having a future.’

Steph remained unconvinced. She placed the phone on the table. ‘Do you think there could possibly be anything else she was scared of?’

‘No. Oh, I don’t know. Maybe there was, but I have no idea what it could possibly be. Believe me, I’ve played out every single scenario in my mind and I keep coming back to that wretched family.’

‘I don’t mean to sound harsh, but for you just to think something isn’t enough. That’s probably why the police came to the conclusion they did.’ Now wasn’t the time to mention her mother had been the investigating officer, Steph decided. She’d only mention it if it became an issue if she decided to take this job on. And at the moment, that was a big if.

‘You see, I believe Elizabeth wanted a divorce and Harry was refusing to agree to one. Probably didn’t want to lose any money in a divorce settlement, unlike his brother, who had to pay his ex-wife a fortune.’

‘I know, but murder her? That’s a bit extreme.’ She saw the disappointment in Sonia’s eyes.

Sonia picked up the phone Steph had left on the table. She scrolled through and passed the phone back to Steph. ‘Listen to the next voicemail and you tell me you need more evidence.’ She sat back in the chair, her arms folded across her chest.

Steph put the mobile to her ear and listened. It was Elizabeth again; her words were almost a whisper and there was a slight slur to them. ‘It’s me. Your daughter. The one stranded in the fucking middle of nowhere. Not for much longer. I tell you, Mum, I’ve had enough of this lot. I’m totally fed up with Harry. God knows why I ever married him in the first place. Anyway, the shit is going to hit the fan now. I’m going to tell the sorry lot of them about the affair. I can’t wait to see the look on their faces. And then, I’m coming home.’

The message ended abruptly. Steph looked at Sonia. ‘Had she been drinking?’

‘Possibly. Probably, but it doesn’t matter. She wasn’t that drunk and she said she was going to tell the others about the affair. She sent me that message the night before she died.’

‘Why did Elizabeth leave voicemails? Why didn’t she speak to you herself?’

‘I was a care worker. I worked unsociable hours. Both times she left a message I was on a call-out. I can’t always answer my phone when I’m working.’

‘And she never discussed this with you in person?’

‘No. This all happened in the week leading up to her death. Like I said, every time I tried to call back to speak to her, she was busy.’

‘What about friends? Who were they? Is there anyone there who could back up your suspicions? Someone she would have confided in?’

Sonia gave a small shake of her head. ‘She didn’t really have any friends there. That was half the trouble. She was so bored. She had her sister-in-law, Natalie – she was married to the youngest of the brothers. But outside the family … no, I can’t remember her talking about anyone in particular. Well, I say that … there was someone she mentioned, someone called Camilla. I remember that because at the time I laughed and said what a posh name that was.’

‘Has anyone spoken to Camilla? Do you have a surname?’

‘I assume she was spoken to by the police – they did say they were speaking to everyone who knew her. I’m afraid I don’t know her surname. She was a relatively new friend.’

Steph beat down a sigh. There wasn’t much to go on at all. She passed the phone back to Sonia. ‘And you’ve shown this to the police?’

‘Yes, of course I did.’

‘And what did they say?’

‘That they’d look into it. I waited for nearly a week before I had to chase them. They said there was nothing to suggest anyone was having an affair, least of all Harry. They said that Elizabeth was clearly drunk and was probably referring to business matters. Harry seemed to think she was going to tell the rest of the family about him wanting to leave the business. She knew that would cause trouble. Elizabeth sent me an email telling me to ignore her voicemail. The police said it was proof Elizabeth hadn’t been serious.’

Steph’s throat felt dry and she took a swig of the remains of her coffee. ‘Do you know the name of the officer that dealt with this?’ She sat a little straighter and her body tensed as she waited for her mother’s name to be mentioned.

‘Won’t ever forget it. Right snotty cow, she was. She headed up the investigation into Elizabeth’s death. If you can call it an investigation. Took all of two days and that was that – they declared it an accident. DCI Wendy Lynch.’

Steph studied Sonia Lomas for any sign that she knew the connection. There seemed to be none, but was Sonia just good at acting? ‘Why have you asked me to look into this? Why not someone else?’

‘I would have thought that was obvious. You tweeted about Conmere. You’re a journalist. You’re going to be there on the inside, so to speak; you can ask questions the police didn’t, find things out they couldn’t. People are more likely to talk about it to someone other than a police officer. And now that a couple of years have gone by, people won’t be so on their guard.’

Steph wondered whether it was because of her connection to her mother, but if it was, Sonia didn’t let on. Steph wasn’t sure if maybe Sonia did know and this was the real reason why she had chosen her. Tentatively, she tested the water. ‘I’m sure the police have investigated this—’

Sonia cut her off. ‘They didn’t do their job properly. They didn’t want to upset the influential Sinclair family. The whole of the Cumbrian police force is crooked.’

Steph swallowed. She found it hard to believe that her mother could be crooked; it just wasn’t her style. Wendy had been dedicated to her job and had put it above all else, including her own family. However, Steph acknowledged the sweeping nature of Sonia’s comment and she may well have a point, no matter how paranoid it was making her sound. ‘That’s quite an accusation,’ she said, calmly.

Sonia gave a her a defiant yeah, I know look but didn’t pass further comment on the issue, instead changing tack. ‘There’s one more thing,’ she said. ‘The email Elizabeth sent me, the one telling me not to worry … I don’t believe it was from her. I think someone else sent that to stop me from worrying.’

A few taps on the screen and Sonia was pushing the phone back to Steph for her to read the email in question.

Hello Mum

Please don’t worry about me. Everything is fine. I was just feeling a bit fed up and had a little too much wine when I phoned you. Just ignore me. Will speak to you soon.

Love

Elizabeth

‘What’s the significance?’ asked Steph, rereading the message.

‘Because she signed her name Elizabeth. She never used her full name on emails or birthday cards to me. She always just put E.’

‘And you think someone sent this, pretending to be her?’

‘Yes. I think someone heard her on the phone to me, leaving me that voicemail. Whoever sent me that email is responsible for her death. They didn’t want the truth getting out.’