Page 73 of Worse Than Murder
‘Where are they taking it?’
‘I’m not sure. They won’t want to drive it too far, so somewhere nearby that’s secure and sterile.’
‘That’s disappointing. I thought they were going to open the doors in front of us all.’
‘Trust me, nobody wants to see a body that’s potentially spent thirty years in the water.’
The crowd begins to disperse.
Two marked police cars follow the low-loader. Aaron stays behind and walks over to Gill. He’s pointing out to the lake. His work isn’t finished just yet, it seems.
I look over to Alison and signal for her to join me. She says something to her mother and hands her into the care of her stepfather as if she’s an unexploded bomb, before heading over the uneven pebbles to me.
‘Do your mother or stepfather recognise the car?’ I ask her.
‘They both say it’s Travis’s car.’
‘How are things with you?’
She shrugs and, even in the dim light, I can see she’s struggling with everything she’s learned lately. ‘I haven’t said anything to them yet. When I think back to that time, I remember my mum doing a lot of crying. I don’t want to upset her by having a blazing row.’
‘That’s a good idea.’ I give her a sympathetic smile. It’s difficult to know what to say when there are so many unanswered questions. ‘Did Travis ever talk about his past to them?’
‘I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Do you want me to question them?’
‘No.’ I’m quick to answer. I don’t want Alison getting involved in this. She’s too close to distance herself from the stark truth. ‘Look, I’d like to talk to your mum and Iain. Will they talk to me?’
‘Yes. I’m sure they will.’
‘I’m not sure how much I’m going to be able to help. I very much doubt Gill will want me stepping on anyone’s toes. But I’ll do my best.’
‘Thank you,’ she says. ‘Thank you so much.’
She looks pleased as she turns and leaves. I’ve given her hope. I only hope it’s not false hope.
‘I thought you weren’t going to be a detective anymore,’ Carl says.
‘The problem is, I’ve been a police officer my whole life. I’m not qualified for anything else. I can’t just not work. What else can I do?’
‘You could go into partnership with Mum and Dad. Dad was saying last night how you know a lot about wines.’
‘I know how to drink them, Carl. That’s all. Come on, let’s get back.’
We head for the woods, but I hear my name being called. I turn back to see Aaron running towards me.
‘Did that go well?’ I ask.
‘Yes, it did. Very smoothly,’ he says with a grin. ‘The divers that went down to the car were wearing body cameras. I was watching from up here, and I still have my detective brain on occasionally. I’ve just been telling Inspector Forsyth. I believe the car was pushed into the lake rather than driven in.’
‘What makes you think that?’
‘The car was sitting on a shelf.’
‘There’s a shelf in the lake?’ Carl interrupts.
‘Oh,’ I almost forgot Carl is next to me. ‘Carl, this is former DS Aaron Connolly. He was on my team who helped look for you. Aaron, this is Carl.’
A smile spreads across Aaron’s face. He holds out a hand for Carl to shake. ‘It really is a pleasure to finally meet you, Carl.’
