Page 55 of Their Burning Graves
She shrugged. ‘You wouldn’t believe me if I told you where I’ve just been and no, sorry. I was supposed to go back to the café, but I got sidetracked and then panicked, driving straight here.’
Cain helped Luke into the back of the van, then slammed the cage doors so loud the noise echoed around the quiet cul-de-sac. The van left, and Ben came out of the house, passing where Heather Rigg was standing on the step watching everyone. He crossed towards where Morgan and Amy stood.
‘That went better than I expected. Heather said you’re good to go in. If you find anything that looks the slightest bit evidential, then show it to Wendy when she gets here. She’s on her way from Kendal. Ava is still at school; I’d like the search completed before she’s due home at four, if possible.’
Morgan looked at her watch, it was just gone two. ‘No problem, we’ll get on with that now.’
Amy passed Morgan some gloves and she tugged them on.
‘Cain is going to assist me in questioning Luke whilst you two do the searching.’
‘Boss, how did this happen?’
Morgan hadn’t been gone long enough for such an important break to have happened.
Ben leaned closer, lowering his voice. ‘His wife came in to give a statement as soon as I got back to the station, and she said that Sally had told her she couldn’t be friends any more because Luke’s attention was embarrassing. She also told me and Amy that she wasn’t home at the time of the murders, but Luke was. We have motive, he was obsessed with Sally, and she didn’t want anything to do with him, and he had the opportunity. It’s circumstantial but it’s better than nothing, I have to try. Make sure to seize his laptop or computer too – there might be a link on there to Tim.’
She nodded. ‘Of course you do.’
He jogged back to the car where Cain was waiting for him. Morgan watched them drive away.
‘Do you think he did it?’ she asked Amy.
‘That’s for us to find out. I did Heather’s interview with Ben though, and I tell you something isn’t right with that family. She was very open and honest about him, said she was humiliated by his behaviour.’
Morgan looked across at the small woman standing on the doorstep, her arms wrapped around her stomach as if she was hugging herself. She didn’t say it out loud, but the thought was there inside her head.But were you so humiliated that you decided to teach him a lesson, Heather? You could have killed the Lawsons and set him up. Who is going to take his word over yours when there are those photos on his phone?
She followed Amy to the house, where Heather greeted them warily and stepped to one side to let them in.
‘He’s going to be so angry when he’s released. I’m worried he’s going to come back here and kick off.’
‘We’re going to give him bail conditions not to come back. Why don’t you pack some things for him in a suitcase that we can give to him until this is all sorted out? It will save someone having to escort him here,’ said Amy.
Heather nodded.
‘Let us have a look around first and then we’ll give you the okay. Does he have a home office?’
‘I’ll show you. It’s the spare room, not much of a room to be honest. I wanted a guest bedroom, but because of Covid and working from home he needed an office, and what Luke wants he gets.’
She walked upstairs, and they followed her. This house wasn’t as big as the Lawsons’, but it was a nice size for a newish build. Heather pointed to the door furthest away.
‘We had to swap rooms to accommodate him. He wouldn’t have an office next to Ava because he said her stupid music, Facetime calls and TikTok video making would drive him mad. So we moved Ava down the other end, to our master bedroom, and now we’re in Ava’s; she got a good deal out of it with her own en suite.’
‘She certainly did, I’m thirty-five and haven’t got my own bathroom yet,’ replied Amy, smiling kindly.
‘What shall I do?’
‘You can watch to make sure we don’t make too much mess, or you can go downstairs and make yourself a coffee. We’ll shout you when we’ve finished, if that’s okay?’
‘Fine, I don’t want to know what he’s got in that office.’
She left them to it. Morgan waited until they could hear her downstairs in the kitchen and whispered, ‘Don’t you think this is all a bit convenient?’
Amy shrugged. ‘It doesn’t always have to be hard.’
‘I suppose not, it’s the perfect excuse for her to get rid of her husband though, isn’t it? What if she’s the killer and setting him up?’
‘Christ, Morgan, for once can we just focus on the evidence we do have? I’m starving, therefore I’m hangry because you failed to bring back even one half of a sandwich. So yes, it is very convenient, but right now I want it like that. I want it to be just as Ben said, that Luke’s ego got the better of him, so he took his revenge out on her whole family.’
