Page 16 of The Truth Will Out
“What? No, you must be wrong. He can’t be dead. How? Was he hurt during the accident? We wondered where he had got to. Did someone take him to the hospital? I rang all of them in the area to see if he had been admitted, but they couldn’t tell me anything. Was he dazed and confused?”
Sam struggled to keep up with all the questions Lucy was firing at her. “Let’s get one thing straight: there is no suggestion that he died because of the accident.”
“I don’t understand. What are you saying, then?”
“That he was murdered.”
Lucy slapped a hand over her mouth and fell back in her seat. The executive chair dwarfed her slight frame. “No, he can’t have been murdered, not Robert.”
The way she uttered her boss’s name caused Sam to question their relationship. “How well did you know him?”
Lucy sat upright, and her cheeks coloured up. “He was a colleague.” She wagged a finger. “No, don’t even suggest that we were more than that. God, the thought of it. I’m not that type of girl. For a start, he’s a married man, and I’ve got a steady boyfriend. Nothing could be further from the truth, I assure you. I’m just shocked because someone I know has been murdered. That’s never happened to me before. How am I supposed to react to the news? You probably deal with these types of crimes on a weekly or daily basis. I don’t. This is a first for me. I swear, there’s nothing more to it than that. Do you know who killed him or why?”
“Not yet. Our investigation is still in the preliminary stages; hence, we have come here today to see what you and your colleagues can tell us about him.”
“Wow. Who’d have thought it? I know he could be a bit mardy at times, but for someone to go after him and kill him, well, that’s below the belt, isn’t it? I take it that’s what has happened?”
“We don’t know. Any idea why his body was found at the abandoned clinic in Workington?”
“Me? How would I know? Hey, you don’t think I had anything to do with this, do you? First of all, you sit there accusing me of knowing him better, and then you’re asking me why his body was found at the clinic. This is all news to me. You’re going to have to take my word for it. Christ, if you dig hard enough, I bet you come up with a bucketload of people who’d like nothing more than to bump him off.”
Sam cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Care to give us some idea of who you might be talking about?”
“There you go again, reading something into it—not that I meant anything by it. No doubt you’re aware of his reputation by now, after speaking to Ruth.”
“We are. How did you get on with him?”
“Hard to say, really. I suppose you’d call it an ultra-professional relationship. I knew where I stood with him. He made that clear the second I joined the surgery.”
“When was that?”
“Eighteen months ago. The other two doctors are more relaxed. I can have a laugh with them. Everyone knew they had to be on their best behaviour with Robert, though. I tried to play a trick on him once. I put salt in his coffee instead of sugar as an April Fool’s prank. He went ballistic and told me I was a juvenile little girl who should know better. Actually, he issued me with a written warning. I was in tears and threatened to walk out. Doctor Hagan stepped in. She spoke up for me and forced Robert to back down. He withdrew the warning and mumbled a half-hearted apology. From that day, I was always wary of him.”
“Wary that he would carry out his threat and issue another warning?”
“Yes. It’s always good to keep your guard up with some people. My mum told me that when I started applying for jobs after I’d left sixth form. I thought she was winding me up to be honest with you. That was until I felt the mighty wrath of Robert Morgan.”
“Sorry you had to go through that. We’ve heard from Ruth thathe’d had several complaints against him. Can you tell us more about those?”
“No, it’s none of my business. Ruth needs to tell you about those.”
Which she had. This was Sam trying to find out if Ruth could be trusted. “No problem. Can you tell us if you’ve ever seen Doctor Morgan get into any spats or fights with anyone, either at the surgery or perhaps in an altercation outside, in the car park?”
“No, I haven’t. You think someone killed him because of a fight or because they’d had a disagreement with him?”
“I don’t know. It just seems a logical question for me to ask.” Sam inhaled a large breath, disappointed at the outcome of the interviews so far. “What about his wife, Melinda? Do you know anything about her?”
“No, not really. I think I’ve only spoken to her once or twice over the phone and only seen her once when she popped in to visit Robert. I seem to recall it was some kind of an emergency. I never really found out what it was about. He was very secretive in that respect.”
“Thanks. Okay, if you can’t tell us anything else, you’re free to go back to work.”
“Phew, thanks. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. When will you find out who has killed him?”
Sam smiled. “How long is that proverbial piece of string we all go on about? There’s no time limit on these things. It’s usually dependent on what information comes our way. As it is, we’ve got very little to go on—only that he was a grumpy doctor who tended to keep himself to himself.”
Lucy pointed at Sam. “I’d say that sums him up perfectly. Sorry I haven’t been much help. I hope some useful information comes your way soon. It must be awful for Melinda, going through what she’s dealing with right now.”
“It’s never easy for the relatives who are left behind.”
