Chapter 2 #2
‘Thank you. We’ll head into the house to speak with them now.
It looks like Bernard is going to be a while.
’ She watched as the assistant with the camera took what seemed like a constant stream of photos and the other assistant started placing stepping plates down.
A gust billowed through Gina’s hair and she wondered just how much evidence they’d probably lost due to the blustery winds.
She also didn’t envy the team with all the oak leaves and bird droppings covering the car and drive, then there was the body in the car.
She took a deep breath at the thought of seeing Maura Pickering’s body before having to inform her relatives.
Gina and Jacob walked around the cordon and were pointed towards the back gate by another uniformed officer. They headed alongside the house until they reached the garden and stepped through a barn door that led to a spacious kitchen diner where they were greeted by Tina Wild and the man.
‘Is it okay if I go now? If I leave, I might just make my meeting in Coventry and I gave a statement to a police officer called PC Ahmed a short while back.’
Gina turned to Jacob. ‘Could you quickly check with PC Smith?’ Jacob nodded and left with the man. ‘Ms Wild, are you okay to speak with me in here?’
‘Please, it’s Tina, I prefer Tina, and my mum is Agatha.
’ She stroked her grey-threaded braid that fell over her right shoulder and poured a couple of glasses of water, before placing them on the small kitchen table.
‘Take a seat. I’ve told Mum to wait in the lounge for a bit.
She’s eighty and, as you can imagine, she’s really upset by what’s happened. ’
Gina nodded. ‘Of course.’
Jacob stepped back into the kitchen diner. ‘All sorted, guv.’ He sat down at the table with them and placed his notebook down and pulled his pen from his top pocket.
Gina continued. ‘This must have been a huge shock so thank you for speaking to us. I’ll get an officer to speak to you later about what happens next and offer you some ongoing support. Are you okay to speak now?’
The woman picked up her glass with shaky hands and held it to her lips before taking a nervous sip.
‘I just want to get this over with and then we’re going to stay with my Aunt Sue until you’ve finished here.
I’ve already given your officers her address and I packed a few things while we were waiting. ’
‘I understand. I’m glad you have somewhere else to stay.
’ Gina paused for a moment, hating the fact that they needed information now and poor Tina looked like she could really do with a bit of time to process what was happening.
‘It would really help us if you could tell me how the booking system works and about this booking in particular?’
Tina sipped her drink again and almost spilled her water on placing the glass back on the table. ‘Err, yes. What day is it? I’m so sorry. This has thrown me.’
‘It’s okay,’ Gina replied sympathetically. ‘It’s Thursday.’
‘Okay.’ Tina picked up the iPad on the table and logged in to the app. Her hands began to tremble even more.
‘Do you need a moment?’ Gina knew that shock hit people in different ways.
Tina closed her eyes for a second, then continued. ‘No. Right, here’s the booking. Maura Pickering was meant to arrive on Saturday evening and then pick her car up by midday on Sunday. The booking was made at ten-fifteen p.m. on Friday the fourteenth of November.’
‘Do you have her address and phone number?’
‘I have access to a phone number but not an address. The number isn’t in use.’
‘Do you know the purpose of the booking?’
‘No, but most people I speak to use our space to catch the train into Coventry or Warwick. Our space is cheaper than what the station charge and it’s not always safe to leave a car on the street here. The roads are a bit tight and cars get damaged and scratched.’
‘Do you have CCTV?’
Tina shook her head. ‘No, it’s so expensive.’
‘How about a camera doorbell?’
‘No. Mum loves the one we’ve had since nineteen eighty-nine.’
‘Did you see the car and its driver arrive?’ They still had no idea who was in the boot of the car and couldn’t assume it was Maura Pickering. Maura could be the perpetrator or her car could have been stolen.
‘I was already in bed. Mum wakes up about five every morning in pain so I have to tend to her. She had a big fall and has taken a while to get back on her feet properly. It’s been one thing after another so I’ve been off work for a while caring for her.’
‘What time did you go to bed on Saturday the fifteenth of November?’
‘Around nine thirty, just after putting Mum to bed. I usually go up at that time.’
‘Was the car on the drive then?’
‘No, I looked out to see if it had arrived and it wasn’t there.’
‘Did you hear it arrive later?’
She slowly shook her head. ‘No, I fell asleep around ten and I didn’t hear anything before then. I would have heard it pulling up if I’d been awake because the drive is right under my bedroom window.’ Gina waited for Jacob to note down the times.
‘Would your mum have heard anything?’
‘She sleeps in the bedroom overlooking the garden and she’d have taken her hearing aids out. I did ask her while we were waiting for you but she said she was asleep by then anyway.’ Gina knew they’d have to ask Agatha Wild but made a note for uniform to do that.
‘When did you wake up on the Sunday?’
‘As I said, it would have been around five. I would have had to have gone down to get Mum’s pain medication around that time. She’s normally desperate by then. I don’t leave it with her because she can forget she’s taken it already and I don’t want to risk her overdosing.’
‘What time did you first notice the silver Mercedes parked on your drive?’
‘I gave Mum her tablets and looked out the window. It was maybe about six that morning. The car was there. It was dark but I could see it parked up. I didn’t take too much notice of it being there.
I never do take any notice when anyone parks up.
People can come and go and I often never see them.
They pay through the app so there’s no need for me to greet them or be here. ’
‘How long was the booking for?’
‘The car was meant to be off our drive for midday but it was still there. This happens sometimes. People often take a bit more time and think it’s okay to pay when they return.
I get angry after a couple of days and mark them down on the app.
As I said before, I tried to call the number attached to the booking but it doesn’t work.
I’ve given this information to your PCs.
I guess I should have realised something was wrong and called you then but I’ve been busy with Mum. ’
‘What made you check on the car today?’
‘I had another booking. I was well mad by then because I knew I’d need to start looking for somewhere safe to park my car on the road.
I went outside around ten, maybe ten thirty this morning to move my car…
that’s when I was… I saw…’ She swallowed and looked away.
‘I saw the flies first, and then there was the smell and I just knew, then I called you around ten forty, at a guess.’
PC Smith knocked on the open back door. ‘Guv, can I have a word?’
‘Excuse me a moment.’ Gina left Jacob to continue asking the questions and tie up the interview. PC Smith stood on the path waiting for her. ‘Is Bernard able to speak with me now?’
‘No, guv. He’s still working the scene but he said in a few minutes he’ll be able to share what they’ve found with you.
PC Ahmed has also found someone who wants to give a statement.
They saw the driver of the car. I also heard forensics saying that the victim is not the owner of the car. It’s a man.’