Sam spoke first. ‘I think that I too would feel enormous guilt in those circumstances. But if a friend is holding something back, they’ve drawn a line. It’s not easy to know whether you should cross it or not. If Tom had given just a little, I’m sure you would have been there for him. He put up the barrier, not you.’
‘I should have done more. I should have at least done something.’
‘What exactly? If Tom was experiencing abuse at the hands of his partner, it would be very hard for him to admit it, to anyone.’ Sam shook his head. ‘Statistics show that the number of women convicted of perpetrating domestic abuse has more than quadrupled in the past ten years, but only a very small percentage of men actually tell anyone.’
Carter hung his head. ‘I’m sure you are right, but I can’t bear to think of him suffering like that, and I didn’t realise.’
‘But you still spent time with him, didn’t you?’ said Laura. ‘You didn’t abandon him. You worked on the boat and kind of hung out together?’
‘Yes, that didn’t change.’
‘So you were there for him. It’s important for someone who is in a difficult relationship to have some downtime, and you supplied that. And I’m betting you didn’t slag off his wife to him, did you?’
‘I never even spoke about her if I could help it. And I did sometimes make the effort to join in with something she had organised, like the odd barbeque, but it wasn’t often.’
‘No matter. You were still a constant in his life.’ Sam paused. ‘This hypothesis has not actually been proven, has it, Carter?’
‘No, but it makes perfect sense. And her previous husband has apparently admitted that the same thing happened to him.’
‘Do you know the man? Do you trust his word? He could have an axe to grind. I suggest you wait until you know a little more before you go into meltdown over this.’
Carter gave a dry laugh. ‘I think I’ve already done that, don’t you?’
‘You reacted badly to an unpleasant suggestion,’ Laura said evenly. ‘It’s understandable, considering the circumstances. If it were anyone else, I would say back off, leave that case to your colleagues, but knowing how much you want to do one last thing for your friend, then . . .’ She pulled a face. ‘Are you really up to seeing this through?’
‘I have to be. I can go into meltdown when it’s all over.’ He stood up. ‘I feel such a fool for behaving like that, but I’m okay now. I’d better get back to work and try to explain why I disappeared.’
‘Don’t say too much, Carter. Just keep it simple and don’t make a big thing out of it.’ Sam stood up and shook Carter’s hand. ‘If Laura should be busy and you need to talk, I’m retired now. I have all the time in the world to listen.’ He took a card from his wallet and handed it to Carter. ‘I hope you get to the bottom of it all.’
‘Me too, Sam, and thanks for listening. Poor Laura here is used to it, but I can be a bit of a challenge, I’m afraid.’
After he had gone, Laura flopped down in her chair. ‘Now do you see why I worry?’
Sam tilted his head. ‘I’m not sure what to think about that abrupt mood swing. It was pretty spectacular.’
‘It’s a new phenomenon. He’s usually very contained, sometimes almost insular. Or else he appears totally laidback and rational. He is a damned good actor, but this wasn’t a performance.’
‘I noticed the way he moved his head, as if he were trying to find the source of something, like a sound, or a smell?’
Laura picked up a pen and toyed with it. ‘When he “sees” his dead friend, he always smells burning.’
Sam’s face clouded over. ‘Burning? Always the smell of burning?’
She nodded, and told him what had happened during the crash.
They fell silent, each one thinking about Carter’s state of mind. Finally Sam said, ‘I think that young man needs watching very carefully. I’m just not sure how you should go about it. Who is going to be there to spot the warning signs if he isn’t coping?’
‘His DI is very understanding, and he has a close friend who works with him. I’m just worried about putting too much pressure on her. He drains her at the best of times. Lord knows what he’ll do if he gets any worse.’
‘He is worse, Laura. And we need someone to look out for him. There’s an unstable element to that young man, and it concerns me greatly. She only needs to watch and report if she gets concerned. I really think you should talk to her.’
Reluctantly, Laura picked up the phone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
When Carter walked back into the CID room, Jackman and Marie, with Robbie and Charlie, were sitting listening to the Home Office pathologist, Rory Wilkinson.
Carter felt his chest tighten. Wilkinson had indicated that he had an idea about what had actually happened to Suzanne. ‘Have I missed much?’ He turned on the most charming smile he could muster. ‘Sorry I disappeared. Needed to get a few things straight in my head.’
‘And did you?’ asked Jackman calmly.
‘Yes, sir. Absolutely.’ He continued to smile.
Marie looked at him with apparent relief.
‘Come join the cabaret, old chum.’ With a sweeping gesture, Rory pointed to a vacant chair. ‘I was just extolling the virtues of the new forensic technology.’
Carter noticed Jackman glance swiftly at Marie, who nodded. She seemed worried. Probably they would rather he wasn’t present.
‘My second forensic sweep confirms that Suzanne Holland was pushed with extreme violence. Her heel caught in the hearthrug, which halted her backward trajectory. I discovered this from matching blood stains on the carpet with what should have been matching stains on the floor. They did not match until you rucked the carpet up, as though catching your foot in it. That meant that her body probably jackknifed back with far more force than a simple topple. Her head smashed into the stone mantelpiece, she twisted as she fell, and landed with her temple down onto the cast-iron fire surround. A real double whammy, if ever there was one.’
‘This confirms what you surmised from the original forensic reports,’ said Jackman.
‘It certainly does. My motion graphics are incontestable. They are calculated on velocity, distance, and careful scrutiny of every single drop of blood that was shed, but I can add a bit more to the scenario.’
Everyone looked at him.
‘She was left there, in the position that she fell, for over three hours before she was moved. And one person would not have been able to get her out of the cottage alone. Two men, correction, two people, were involved in this.’
‘How do you know how long she was left there?’ asked Charlie.
‘Again, from our wonderfully informative blood. The blood that had seeped from the body had separated into clot and serum, so I could calculate the amount of time between her dying to the time she was dragged. It came to several hours. If she had been moved immediately and dragged through fresh blood, the drag pattern would have been quite different. Plus, the drag pattern stopped, and just a few drips were then found, indicating that she was lifted from the room, hence two people required.’
‘And two men were seen talking outside in the garden,’ added Carter. ‘Ponytail and another man.’