‘Murder?’
‘Maybe, or manslaughter at the very least.’ He looked at her earnestly. ‘We have to find who did this, and where they took her body. Anything at all that you can tell us might help.’
Joanne’s voice was stronger now. ‘Some of this is just my thoughts on what happened. But, whatever. I believe the upset between Tom and his wife was serious, possibly irreconcilable.’
Robbie tensed. This was the first time he’d heard it described as anything more than “a bit of a tiff.”
‘Tom was with us for four or five days before they went on that trip.’ She paused. ‘Well, Tom was a sweetie, a real softie, and he really loved Suzanne. He couldn’t understand why his friends, and Carter McLean in particular, couldn’t love her too. He hated the fact that no one liked his wife. He was aware she had had a lot of men before she met him, but he swore that from the moment they got together she had been faithful to him. He thought that meant she deserved a second chance.’
Joanne glanced at her watch, but went on. ‘Whatever it was, he was devastated. He and my Ray would talk well into the night, and I could hear Tom crying. It was horrible, and Ray made it worse by begging me to leave Tom alone. All he would tell me was that Tom had been hurt, and couldn’t bear to talk about it.’
Alarm bells began to ring in Robbie’s head. Harvey Cash had said the same thing. Suzanne hurt people.
‘I should get back to work. But if I think of anything at all, I’ll ring you.’
Robbie gave her his card and thanked her. He hurried back to his car. He needed to talk to Harvey Cash, and he’d damn well buy another ticket to Sanxenxo if he had to.
He ran into the office, pulled out his pocketbook and looked up Harvey’s number. Sod the cost of the call, this was important.
Harvey Cash was incoherent.
Robbie gritted his teeth and desperately tried to get him to concentrate. It took a while, but finally he got his answer.
He hung up and felt a surge of excitement. Now all he needed was for Carter McLean to confirm it, and they had a motive for Suzanne’s death.
*
When Carter walked into the CID office, Robbie Melton practically vaulted over his desk and ran towards him.
‘At last! Can I take five minutes of your time, Sarge? It’s urgent,’ Robbie said.
‘Take as long as you like. Marie is just talking to Jackman, and we think that the Leah Kingfield problem is probably sorted.’
‘Oh, that’s a relief, especially for the super. Can we go to your office, please? What I want to ask about concerns Suzanne Holland.’
Robbie followed Carter into his office, sat down and began immediately. ‘Sarge? Is there a chance that Suzanne Holland was a husband beater?’
Carter felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. ‘I . . . I hadn’t considered that.’
‘Then do, Sarge. Because I think she was a bully, and not just verbally. I think she may have been physically abusive.’
Carter was too shocked to speak.
‘Sarge, did Tom ever say anything about his relationship with Suzanne that made you think it wasn’t a . . . a healthy one?’
‘Like what?’
Robbie was almost bouncing in his seat. ‘As in, did he ever describe his home life as being volatile? Emotional? Crazy?’
‘Kind of, although he never said much. He used to say that she was unpredictable, and he was always getting things wrong. Is that what you mean?’
‘Exactly.’
‘But he didn’t talk about her much at all, Robbie, and that was my fault. I didn’t like her, and that hurt him, so he kept his problems to himself, and I did nothing to help.’
If he’d just been a bit more understanding, if he’d tried harder, if . . .
‘And maybe your attitude made no difference at all, Sarge. Most guys who are involved with abusive women don’t talk about it, they can’t.’ Robbie threw up his hands. ‘Think about it! You’ve lost your self-respect, you feel powerless and manipulated. You might even start to believe all the crap she is feeding you about yourself. You are traumatised by her behaviour, embarrassed by it and ashamed of being unable to stop it. Tom Holland couldn’t “offload,” as you put it, to anyone at all.’
Carter looked at Robbie. ‘Tom did change. He got quieter and, well, a bit introverted, I guess. How did you get to this, anyway?’
‘By listening to a drunk.’ Robbie sighed. ‘And I’m surprised to say that I’ve become rather fond of him.’
‘Suzanne’s first husband?’
‘Suzanne’s first victim.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Marie and Jackman went upstairs to report to Superintendent Ruth Crooke. Carter had opted out, saying, “The girl is safe now. I know it, okay? Just tell the super that, would you? I want to get to work on Suzanne.”
‘I feel relieved of course,’ Ruth said, ‘but it’s been such an unsettling time that I can’t bring myself to believe it’s over.’
‘We have no real proof, ma’am,’ Marie said apologetically. ‘But I’m pretty sure the old boy was telling the truth. He and Carter go back a long way, and Carter said that Sidney’s info has always been reliable.’
‘And you, Marie? What’s your impression? You said there was a bad feeling on the streets the other day. Is it something I should be concerned about?’
‘The beat bobbies think the unrest is caused by the Cannons’ relatives and friends, ma’am. There are two camps. Half are convinced that they will get off, like they usually do, and the others are cautiously expecting them to go down. They are divided, and they are taking it out on us.’
‘And me in particular, I guess.’ Ruth sounded exhausted. ‘After all, I was the officer in charge of that investigation.’
‘It’s par for the course, ma’am,’ Jackman added. ‘It happens every time we nail a local villain.’
‘Marie? You didn’t answer my question.’ Ruth was looking at her.
‘I believe that Leah is good to go. And Carter does too.’
Ruth exhaled. ‘In which case we’ll just keep an eye on her for a while, but I think I can relax a little, don’t you?’
‘You mean, give up the Monopoly?’
Ruth gave a weak smile. ‘Thank heavens! That get-out-of-jail-free card was giving me the heebie-jeebies.’
Marie left Jackman talking with the super and walked slowly down to the office. Something was bothering her. Something about the morning had hoisted a red flag. The problem was that Marie had no idea who or what was waving it.
‘I know that look.’ Gary Pritchard came and stood beside her.
‘Mmm. It’s that one that renders me totally useless for hours while I try to fathom out what is bothering me.’
Gary pulled over a chair and sat down. ‘Is it a recent something, or an historical one?’
‘Oh recent. Today, in fact. I’m sure of it.’
‘Then retrace your footsteps. Think about every place and conversa—’
‘Got it! You’re a star!’ Her smile faded instantly. Now she had to work out why breakfast with Sidney should have registered a warning.