Chapter 45
I was questioned for hours in a small interview room at the police station. This time, by a detective, a woman with short grey hair and round glasses.
The questions kept coming on a loop: When did I last see Max? Why was he in the freezer? Why didn’t I report him missing? What was the state of my marriage?
I kept giving them the same answers: I don’t know. He walked out on us. There was another woman. No, I don’t know who she was. I thought he’d left us. I didn’t even know the freezer was turned on, or locked. I’m a schoolteacher.
But my mind was a blur, and all I could think was, where’s Holly? Is she with her? Why did she do this to me?
I was given a duty solicitor. A young woman who didn’t seem much older than me, which did not inspire confidence.
I was charged, refused bail and remanded to HMP Send, the local women’s prison. I have been here for six weeks. I spent Christmas here. I spent New Year’s Eve here. I am terrified I will spend the rest of my life here, waiting for I don’t know what.
A court date. A trial. Further instructions.
Last week, Max’s body was released and he was cremated. There was a funeral somewhere out there. I know this because Jen comes to see me. She is the only person who comes to see me, apart from my solicitor.
‘Why won’t Holly visit me?’ I ask her. Holly is staying with Jen in London, which is a massive relief. At least she hasn’t decided to move in with Teri.
Jen looks at me sadly. ‘I don’t know. It’s a lot for her.’
I snort a laugh, then cry in my hands. Every single night in this place, my thoughts are on a loop.
I should have called the police the second I realised that Holly had killed Max.
It’s what any sane person would have done.
Except me. And now I’m here, and the way things are going, I could be here for a very long time.
‘I’m sorry to hear it’s a lot for Holly,’ I say.
I’d meant it sarcastically but, judging by Jen’s face, I missed the mark.
And the truth is, I do feel sorry for Holly – partly.
That’s what’s driving me insane. One moment I’m frightened for her, worried sick at how she must be feeling, and the next I’m appalled, baffled and so angry I could scream.
Meanwhile, Jen is still talking. She tells me about the funeral, that it was well attended, and Holly was there, as was Teri.
‘How is Holly?’ I ask.
‘She’s not great,’ she says. ‘She’s very quiet.’
I nod. ‘Does she talk about me?’
‘Not really, Kate. She’s not supposed to talk about the case. I’m sorry. But listen, I’ve spoken to another solicitor and…’
This is what Jen does, telling me that she’s doing everything she can to get me released.
‘I know you didn’t do this,’ she says.
I don’t sleep. At night, I lie on my small bed in my cell feeling sorry for myself, wishing I’d called the police.
Then, I replay that moment in Teri’s house.
Holly’s face all made-up, not saying anything to help me, listening to Teri telling the police that she was afraid of me.
Then I curl into a ball and cry, because I still can’t believe she threw me under the bus like that.
Maybe she never did believe me. Maybe she always did prefer Teri.
Maybe Teri, with her evil ways, managed to get inside her brain and twist it.
And I’ll be going to prison forever.
My solicitor comes to see me. I drag myself to the visitor room, expecting the same non-update she’s given me every other time.
‘Any news about a trial date?’ I ask, sitting down.
‘No. But something is happening.’
‘What do you mean?’
She glances at the clock on the wall. ‘I’m not sure. The police have some more questions for you. Someone will be here any—’
The door opens, and I recognise the same detective who interviewed me after they found Max’s body. The woman with the grey hair.
I stand up, my heart hammering. She says her name: DI Sandleford. Which is good because I didn’t remember it.
‘Sit down, please, Mrs Price.’ she says.
I do as I’m told. She pulls out a tablet that looks like an iPad.
‘What’s happening?’ I ask, fear gnawing on my entrails.
‘I have some questions to ask you about Beatrice George. Specifically, about the time she stayed with you in your house.’
I glance at my solicitor. She nods.
‘All right…’
‘I’m trying to get clarity on the sequence of events. Now. Let me see…’ She scrolls through her tablet. ‘Your husband left on the Saturday, is that right?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then on the Sunday, you drove Holly to…’
Oh, God. Is this about the accident? ‘I drove her to her friend’s house.’
‘And how long were you away for?’
That’s not the question I expected. I try to think. ‘Well, I dropped Holly off, and then…’ Then I went scouting for locations to dump my dead husband’s body. ‘I went shopping.’
‘So how long would you estimate that you were out of the house for?’
‘Maybe two hours. I’m not sure. Why?’
‘And when you came home, your husband hadn’t returned?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Did you go into your garage?’
‘No.’
‘Are you absolutely sure?’
I pretend to think about it. ‘I had no reason to go in there. Max keeps his car in the garage, and that’s about it. I don’t remember the last time I went in there, I mean…before…you know. That last time.’
She nods.
I look at my solicitor. She’s taking notes but doesn’t seem bothered by the detective’s questions.
‘Did you notice anything different about the kitchen when you came home?’ DI Sandleford asks.
I take a sharp breath. I think I know where this is going. ‘Actually, yes. The rug had been moved. Normally it’s in the dining room, but somehow it had got pulled into the kitchen.’
‘But you didn’t move it.’
I swallow. ‘No.’
‘Do you know who did?’
This is so bad. I have a terrible feeling I’m about to walk over a cliff. I rub my forehead with my fingertips. ‘I’d meant to ask Holly, but then so much happened after that…I never thought to.’
‘What did you do then?’
‘Erm…’ I pretend to think. ‘I was about to prepare my lessons for the following week when my neighbour, Teri, knocked on the door.’
She nods, slowly, like she was expecting that. ‘You’re talking about Beatrice George?’
‘Yes.’
‘How long would you say after you returned home did Ms George knock on your door?’
‘Not long. A few minutes really.’
She looks at me straight on. ‘Why did Ms George come to stay with you?’
I have stressed this part to Holly. If anyone asks, Teri showed up at the house because she’d twisted her ankle and wanted some ice.
You weren’t there when it happened. You do not say anything about the accident.
Nobody knows about it and Scarlett is never going to tell, so there’s no need to bring it up. If anyone asks, it never happened.
‘She knocked on the door,’ I reply. ‘She’d twisted her ankle when she was out running and wanted some ice. I helped her to our sofa, gave her some ice, and then later bandaged her foot.’
She scribbles on her tablet.
‘Why are you asking me all this? We’ve gone over this already.’
She raises a hand. ‘Was Holly there when Ms George knocked on your door asking for some ice for her ankle?’
‘No. She was still at Scarlett’s. I went to pick her up an hour or so after that.’
‘So you left Ms George alone in the house while you went to pick up Holly?’
‘That’s right.’
‘For how long?’
I try to think. ‘Half an hour maybe?’
She makes a note.
I pray silently that Holly is telling the same story. Oh, God. Who am I kidding? For all I know, Holly is telling them that I drove my car into Teri.
‘Then you returned with Holly. Did either of you go into the garage when you got back home?’
‘No.’
‘And Ms George was still in your house?’
‘Yes.’
‘How did she seem?’
‘She was still in pain. She asked if she could stay that night because her bedroom is upstairs and her bathroom is downstairs, and she was worried about going up and down the stairs.’
‘How well did you know her?’
‘I didn’t know her at all. I’d met her the previous Friday for the first time when I helped her move some furniture into her house. Then I met her again that Sunday morning when she came to borrow a screwdriver.’
‘But Ms George stayed longer than one night. How come?’
‘Well, every day I expected her to leave, but every day she claimed she was still very hurt and concerned about using the stairs in her house. We have the spare bedroom downstairs. I liked her company. I didn’t mind her staying. I don’t understand. Why are you asking all these questions?’
DI Sandleford puts her tablet down and crosses her arms. ‘Did you know Mr Price had been in a relationship with Ms George? While married to you, I mean.’
She studies my face, waiting to see how I’ll take this news. I should probably blurt something like, ‘Teri? Really? I had no idea!’ But I don’t trust myself to speak. I’m too busy holding my breath.
‘I…I knew he’d had an affair,’ I say finally. ‘Was it with her?’
‘Yes.’
I swallow. ‘You’re sure?’
‘Positive.’ She sits back. ‘We have uncovered new evidence linking Ms George to your husband’s death.’
‘Oh, my God.’ This time, my hand flies to my mouth.
‘We believe that while you and Holly were both out that Sunday, your husband came home. We believe that Ms George confronted Mr Price at that time, and during that confrontation, we believe that Beatrice George killed Max Price using a knife from the kitchen. Evidence suggests that the body was then concealed in the garage, under a tarpaulin. There would have been a little blood on the kitchen floor, and we believe Ms George brought in the rug from the living room to cover it. She would have seen the empty freezer and probably intended to hide the body inside, but there wasn’t enough time.
We believe that was the reason she arranged to stay at the property afterwards.
She probably moved the body to the freezer while you went to pick up Holly from Scarlett’s house, but she still needed to dispose of it.
There’s some evidence she attempted to do that at least once. But she obviously didn’t manage it.’
I am folded in two, sobbing with relief.
‘I know this is a shock,’ she says.
‘Does that mean—’ my solicitor begins, but I speak over her.
‘What about Holly?’ I blurt. ‘Do you know if anything happened to her while she was with Teri that day? When I called the police to get her out?’
‘Yes. We’ve had long conversations with Holly.
You had good reason to be concerned for her welfare.
You see, Ms George – Teri – told Holly that you’d killed her father and hidden him in the freezer, and she was going to call the police to report it.
Holly, understandably, got very upset. She didn’t even know her father was dead, and she realised in that moment that Teri must have done it and was trying to pin it on you.
Teri wanted Holly to say she’d suspected the same, and that she was afraid of you.
Teri threatened that if Holly didn’t go along with the lie, she would say Holly was in on it.
She was very frightened. Teri was about to call the police, but, as you know, you called them first.’
I don’t reply. I am dizzy with relief that Holly never meant to throw me under the bus. She was left with no choice but to stay silent. I can see that now.
‘But she can tell you herself when you see her,’ Sandleford says. ‘We’re no longer pursuing charges against you. The CPS has authorised your release from custody. There’s still some paperwork that’s being processed, but you should be out of here in a couple of hours.’
I drop my face in my hands. ‘Oh, thank God.’ Then I look up. ‘Where’s Teri now?’
‘In custody,’ she says.