Page 51 of Gone in the Night
Morgan wondered how much carnage Cain had just caused in that little studio, and her face cracked into a huge grin. Ben and Marc were going to be mortified when he got back to the station with Palmer, and she kind of wished she could be there to watch the drama unfold.
At least he was quiet for the time being. It was time to go and speak to Stefan Montgomery.
The gates to his large lakeside mansion were wide open, so she drove straight through them and parked next to the Porsche 4x4. It occurred to Morgan that the Porsche could probably have made it up the narrow coffin road to where Sharon’s body hadbeen found, if Stefan was a competent driver and wasn’t afraid of scratching or dinting his car. As she got out of the small white car she took a slow walk around the Porsche to see if there was any damage. A few scratches, but nothing to shout about.
‘I can assure you everything is in order. Do you want to run a PNC check to confirm that? Although you have no right on private property.’ Stefan’s voice was loud and cocky, and she glanced his way.
‘No need, I was just admiring it. I like these cars, wouldn’t mind one myself.’
‘On your wages I think you might regret that purchase; the insurance alone and fuel costs a small fortune each month.’
The tiny red hairs on the back of Morgan’s neck bristled. How did he know what her circumstances were? She could be richer than him, even though she had no idea of his net worth and clearly wasn’t. She shrugged. ‘That’s good to know, it doesn’t deter me from looking at one though, but thank you for your advice.’
Stefan was staring at her, but it didn’t bother her, she was used to it.
‘What do you want?’
‘I need to speak to you about your alibi for the night Sharon was murdered.’
‘Do I need a solicitor?’
‘You tell me, do you?’
‘No, because I didn’t kill her. You better come inside unless you’re taking me to the station on some made-up charges.’
‘If I was here to arrest you, Mr Montgomery, there would be a team of armed police behind me. I just need to talk to you about what happened leading up to Sharon’s murder, but if you’d prefer to come to the station to talk that’s fine.’
He shook his head. ‘No, I’d rather not.’
He turned and went back inside of his house, and she followed him. He led the way into a huge room that looked out onto the lake. The view was breathtaking. She could see right across to the round house on the other side of the water. There was someone out on a ride-on mower on the other side cutting the grass.
‘This is beautiful, what a view.’
He nodded. ‘It’s nice, but you don’t notice it when you see it day in day out, might as well be living in the city. It would be an easier commute that’s for sure.’
Morgan didn’t think she’d ever not pause for a moment to take it all in. ‘Which city?’
‘Manchester, my business is based there. I work from home a lot these days, hate driving to Manchester, the roads are awful.’
She nodded; they were awful. ‘How are you both?’
He fixed his gaze onto her, his eyes boring into her it was so intense.
‘What, like you’re bothered?’
‘I am, I’m truly sorry for your loss. I know how painful it is to lose someone close to you.’
‘You do? Are you just saying that? Is that the corporate spiel they tell you in police school on how to address grieving parents?’
Morgan didn’t like Stefan much more than Leah, but she did feel his pain. The problem with being an empath was she felt everyone’s pain whether she wanted to or not.
‘My dad was murdered a few years ago, and my mum was murdered in front of me when I was a toddler, so yes I know how much it hurts.’
‘Oh, sorry. That must have been hard.’ His tone had lost all the cockiness from seconds ago.
She nodded. ‘Is the family liaison officer with Beth?’
‘I have no idea. Beth is staying at Storrs Hall Hotel. She packed a case and left after we got back from the mortuary.’
