Page 43 of The Girl in the Grave
‘What did she want from him?’ asked Josh.
‘Weed, sex and money mostly. I think she was lonely, though, she just wanted someone to be her friend. What happened was they argued, she called him a heartless bastard who didn’t mind screwing her when he had no one else. Then she started crying and I heard him trying to shush her. A couple of minutes later I heard them having sex. I was horrified and ran off back to the reception. I mean, they were having sex in the embalming room where he prepares the bodies. I could hear her groaning; it was so embarrassing. I was praying my dad wouldn’t turn up. It would have been enough to give him another heart attack. She was far too young for James; then again, he’s always liked women younger than himself.’ She stopped suddenly, the realisation that she’d said too much making her blush.
Josh wanted to punch the air; at last, a connection to Dean&Sons that gave them motive and a good enough reason for a search warrant.
‘Thank you for being so honest. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to act on the information you’ve told me. I must; there could be vital evidence. There’s also another missing woman who I’m afraid might die if we don’t act quickly.’
Alex’s face had lost all its colour. She’d pushed her sunglasses on top of her head.
‘What happened after they’d had sex?’ Josh was aware there were families all around them and kept his voice quiet.
‘He drove out of the gates with her sitting in the passenger seat of one of the fleet cars. I don’t know where they went, sorry.’
‘How long was he gone?’
‘Thirty minutes, I’m not sure. The roads are bad around here; those roadworks to replace the water mains on the A592 have caused us no end of problems. I don’t know whether he took her home; I don’t know where she lived.’
Josh felt bad: the woman looked thoroughly miserable now. He began to wrack his brains how he could play this.
‘I have an idea. I need to get a warrant and search for any forensic evidence at the funeral home, but I don’t want to get you in trouble with your family. Could you phone Crimestoppers from a payphone? It’s anonymous and you don’t need to give them any contact details. Tell them you saw James Dean in a car with a woman who you believe has been found murdered. They will have to give us the authority to follow up on it. Then I’ll take it from there. All you have to do is act surprised when we turn up. I’ll act like I’ve never met you before, Alex.’
‘I suppose that might work.’ She stood up. ‘Look, I need to get back now, or Dad will wonder where I’ve been. I’ll stop off and make the phone call at the public phone box on Glebe Road. If it still works.’
She stood up then, drained the last of her drink and smiled at Beth. Josh stood up, too. He held out his hand and shook hers.
‘Thank you, you’ve done the right thing. Hopefully it’s nothing to do with James and we can rule him out. No more sneaking around.’
Beth waited until she left and was out of hearing.
‘I didn’t expect that.’
‘No, neither did I. Thanks, Beth.’
She nodded. ‘Glad to help.’
Josh took a large coffee over to Sam as a peace offering. She was leaning against the bonnet looking bored, but she took it from him and got back inside the car.
‘So, was that worth an hour of your time?’
He nodded. ‘Every minute’
‘That good eh? Now what?’
‘Now we have to go back to the station and get a search team together, then wait for the call to come in.’
‘What call?’
‘From Crimestoppers; it’s going to drop James Dean knee-deep in shit. And it will give us enough to get a warrant to search the funeral home.’
She sipped her coffee. ‘Whatever you say, boss. But what about the warning you had to keep away?’
‘If it’s come through Crimestoppers, they will have to act on it, because the information is far too good to ignore. The beauty of it is that it’s nothing to do with me. Well, technically it isn’t.’
He got in and drove back to Kendal station as fast as the speed limit allowed. He knew this could be the big break they were looking for. If they searched the undertaker’s and found Annie Potts alive, then perhaps he could deal with the other crisis in his life.
Fifty-Eight
Beth started the drive home, relieved that Josh hadn’t been angry with her and that Alex had come through with some useful information. But she didn’t make it far before she slowed the car to a stop. Something was bothering her, and she didn’t know what. Something at the back of her mind was calling her back to the cemetery for another look. Maybe a look at the gravesite would help her to focus on what was niggling at the edge of her consciousness. She couldn’t stop thinking about Annie Potts and what might be making Josh so convinced that the same monster who killed Chantel Price had abducted her from the hotel. Maybe Josh would open up to her a little later when he came home from work.
