Chapter 6
Six
‘Okay, come on, you can tell me now we’re on our own. Did Woody rip you a new one?’ Bryant asked once they were in the car.
Obviously, he was expecting her to be in seriously hot water.
‘Actually, he really didn’t. And I’m sick to death of talking about it.’ She paused. ‘Although something about it did bother me a little bit.’
‘Go on,’ Bryant said.
‘As long as you swear this is the last conversation we’ll have about the damn thing.’
‘Cross my heart.’
‘Woody seemed more sad than angry. He never even mentioned being left stranded on the stage looking like a fool. There was no rage, just disappointment. I don’t get it.’
‘I do,’ Bryant said simply.
‘Well, don’t keep it to yourself.’
‘He’s proud of—’
‘Oh, please,’ she said, rolling her eyes.
‘I’m gonna take my lunch break early so I can say what I want. We were all excited to see you get that award, Kim. Penn, Stacey, me and Woody. We think you deserve it. We know you risk everything on every single case you work, and we wanted to see that recognised for once.’
‘Oh come on…’
‘I’m on my own time now, so you can’t shut me up.
You got into that van with no backup because of those boys.
You had no way to communicate safely with us, and you already knew you were outnumbered.
You had no clue how far away they were taking you and didn’t give a thought to how many others might be there once you arrived. ’
‘Any one of us would have done the same.’
‘But we don’t have to, do we? You’re always the first in line because you don’t calculate the risk. A lot of boys went home that night because of you.’
‘But it wasn’t just me,’ she argued. ‘It was a team effort, and not only this team. Red’s team were involved too. That’s one of the things that frustrates me. It’s an award for one person, and it shouldn’t be.’
‘We get that, and we know you’d have mentioned everyone by name in your acceptance speech. But just this once, couldn’t you have gracefully accepted—?’
‘It doesn’t mean anything to me!’
‘Kim, I swear to God one of these days I’m gonna…’
‘Bryant, there are very few people whose opinion matter to me, and not one of them is involved in deciding those awards.’
‘Oh,’ he said, turning into the street where Ashley had lived.
‘Yeah. Now enough is enough. And you’re sure gonna regret taking your lunch break already; you’re going to get mighty hungry later on.’
‘Hang on, that wasn’t even fifteen minutes,’ he protested, but she was no longer listening.
Yesterday, the house they were parking outside had been unremarkable.
But it would never again know the joy of normality and routine.
A structure of bricks and mortar that had been lived in without a second thought now held broken hearts that would never be the same again.
It was no longer just another house on the street, remaining unnoticed by passers-by.
It would be pointed at and talked about.
She knocked on the door and waited.
Planty had texted her to say that the husband had flatly refused a family liaison officer, so she expected him to be the one to answer the door.
When the door opened, though, Kim had to look down. The girl at the door stood around three and a half feet tall and wore a Disney nightgown. The second thing she noticed was that she was missing her left arm from the elbow down.
The third thing she saw, and by far the most heartbreaking, was the smile on the little girl’s face that disappeared when she realised who it was – or, more poignantly, who it wasn’t.
‘Hey, is your daddy…?’
‘Ava, I told you not to open the door,’ someone said, his voice growing louder as he came along the hallway.
A man appeared and placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. ‘She was convinced Mummy had come home,’ he said, shaking his head.
Kim nodded her understanding. She wasn’t sure what he’d told her, but at that age the finality of death was a tough concept to grasp.
‘Go get dressed, sweetheart,’ he said, rubbing Ava’s head.
She craned her neck backwards to look up at him. ‘Can I be a princess?’
‘You can be whatever you like.’
She smiled. ‘I’ll be Snow White, Mummy’s favourite,’ she said, heading up the stairs.
The man watched her go with tears in his eyes.
Her mother would never see her dressed as a princess again.
He coughed and held out his hand. ‘Daniel Reynolds. Sorry, that sounds formal when you already know who I am. It’s just Dan,’ he finished, heading back along the hallway.
They followed him to the kitchen at the rear of the house.
Kim wasn’t surprised to see the scene frozen in time.
Two places were laid at the table. Beside the sink was a tin of cocoa. On the hob was a pot still containing the milk he’d obviously been preparing while waiting for his wife to return.
She didn’t judge him for the mess.
He followed her gaze. ‘It was such a good day. Lazy breakfast, morning at the zoo. Then a film before Ash went off to netball.’
And him at home making a hot drink for her return.
It was as though the universe had given them one perfect day before changing their lives forever.
She and Bryant took a seat at the table.
Dan turned away from them and rested both hands on the counter as he stared down into the sink.
‘I said I’d come and fetch her, but she wouldn’t hear of Ava being disturbed. She always says that she likes the idea of us waiting for her.’ He paused. ‘I just can’t…’ His words trailed away as his back began to shake with sobs. There was little they could do except wait.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, wiping at his eyes. ‘It’s just that the world seems like a very different place this morning.’
‘We understand, Mr… Sorry, Dan. It’s going to take a long time for it to feel real again.’
‘Longer for Ava, I imagine,’ he said, looking towards the ceiling.
‘Don’t rush her,’ Kim advised. ‘She’ll understand it when her mind is ready.’
‘I know,’ he said, taking a seat at the table. He took a deep breath. ‘The officer that came last night said you’d give me more details.’ He rubbed at his forehead. ‘I’ve been going out of my mind.’
The informing officer was always told to offer as little detail as possible.
‘So, was it a mugging?’ he asked.
Kim knew she had to get more information before revealing any more details. He was currently sitting with the shock of being told she was dead, but the whole truth would knock him right back to square one. She needed his focus before that happened.
‘Before I go into it, Dan, can I get some background?’ she asked.
‘Of course,’ he said, knitting his fingers together.
Kim wasn’t sure for whose benefit she was delaying the information, but as she asked the background questions, she was building a picture, taking in her surroundings, assessing his personality, considering him as a suspect and trying to get to know the woman who now lay in the morgue.
‘You’ve been married for how long?’ she asked.
‘Four years,’ he said, glancing at a wedding photo on the wall.
She did the same. The two of them beamed at each other in the picture. Kim felt as though the world could have ended at that minute and they wouldn’t have noticed.
To the left of that photo was one of Ashley, her long brown hair hanging free as she gazed adoringly at her newborn daughter.
To the right was a picture of the three of them.
Ava as a toddler sat between them, laughter in all of their faces as the adults tickled the delighted child.
It wasn’t a professional photo. It had been taken by someone who had just happened to catch a moment.
They had obviously liked it enough to put it on the wall.
Kim pushed away the sadness rising within her as she imagined all the life events Ava would be forced to experience without her mother.
At that moment, she breezed into the room, dressed in her princess outfit. Kim didn’t react to the fact the girl was holding her artificial arm. Dan turned to the side, and Ava handed him the prosthetic before climbing onto his lap.
‘She can get it off,’ he said, pointing to the clasp that rested on her shoulder. ‘But it’s a bit tricky to put on.’
Once the prosthetic was attached, Ava turned on her dad’s lap to join the conversation.
Kim met Dan’s gaze and shook her head.
‘Hey, sweetie, you know that picture we started last night of Lilo and Stitch? Could you go finish it for me?’
She frowned.
‘You have a picture of Lilo and Stitch?’ Bryant asked to distract her, his eyes wide.
She nodded. ‘A whole colouring book.’
‘No way. Can I see it?’
Ava jumped from Dan’s lap, and Bryant followed, mumbling something about the evil Doctor Jookiba.
Even after all these years, the man could still surprise her.
‘Dan, I don’t know what you were told, but we deliberately don’t share much until we have a better understanding of the incident.’
He nodded his understanding and waited for her to continue.
‘Your wife wasn’t mugged. She wasn’t stabbed for her possessions. There’s no doubt she was murdered,’ Kim said as gently as she could while still having to say the actual words.
‘How can you know that it wasn’t—?’
‘All her possessions were accounted for, and there’s no evidence that the attacker even tried to steal her handbag.
It was one single stab wound that was carefully placed for maximum effect.
The killer wanted her dead,’ Kim said, needing for him to understand, while also trying to get the detail that would aid their investigation.
‘But there must be some kind of—?’
‘Dan, can we do this my way? I’ll tell you everything, but let me get some background first. Does Ashley always go to netball practice on a Sunday night?’
‘Yeah, it’s a walking netball club, just for fun and exercise. She’s been doing it for about two years.’
‘And do they always go for a drink afterwards?’ she asked.
He shook his head. ‘Not always. Last night, she was coming straight home, but what does that have to do with anything?’
‘So, she always walks that same route?’
‘It’s barely a mile, and I offered—’
‘I know, Dan, it’s not about that, and it probably wouldn’t have made any difference anyway.
Whoever killed Ashley meant it,’ she said, watching for his reaction.
Despite being a naturally cynical person, she still didn’t enjoy having to suspect a victim’s nearest and dearest, but more people were killed by someone they knew than a stranger.
And of those people, a high percentage were murdered by their spouse or partner.
Until they widened Ashley’s circle, she had no choice but to analyse the reactions of the man before her.
It was a fine line to tread, treating him as a grieving husband while looking for signs that he might be a suspect.
‘That’s impossible,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘No one could have wanted to hurt her. Everyone loved Ashley. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.’
Kim already knew the answer to her next question, but she had to ask it anyway.
‘Had she mentioned anything unusual? Strange calls, being followed, an argument with anyone?’
He shook his head as Kim expected. It was likely that if anything of that nature had happened, he would have insisted on picking her up.
‘Honestly, there has to be some kind of mistake. I would have known if she had a problem with anyone. We tell each other everything.’
‘How about at netball? Anyone she wasn’t keen on?’
‘Well, there were a couple of people she didn’t get along with brilliantly but not to this extent.’
‘And who might they be?’ Kim asked, feeling a prick of interest. She hoped to remove this man from the top of her list as soon as possible.
‘She doesn’t like Harriet because she’s too aggressive. She’s come home more than once with a bruise from her and Diana, who also takes it all too seriously.’
‘Surnames?’ Kim asked.
Dan shook his head. ‘I only know the name of the organiser. Nicola Sykes – she lives at the top of Mucklow Hill. But I don’t get it.’
‘Dan, your wife was stabbed on her way home. We feel this was a targeted attack. It was intentional, and it was planned. The killer stabbed her face on, meaning that it’s unlikely to have been mistaken identity.’
His face was a mask of horror as the words sank in. Pain filled his eyes along with a question.
‘Oh God, did she suffer?’
Kim shook her head. She didn’t yet know how long it had taken for Ashley to bleed out. She didn’t know how long her attacker had stood there, watching the life drain out of her. But this man didn’t need to know any of that.
The pain turned to anguish.
‘Was she… I mean…?’
‘There was no sexual assault,’ Kim assured him.
Tears were forming in his eyes as everything started to register, but she had to press on.
‘How about work – any issues there?’
‘She never talked about work at home. She preferred to keep it separate. She saw a lot of bad things as a social worker, and she never brought it back here.’
Another warning bell sounded in her head. Not every family welcomed the intervention of social services.
At that second, Ava came running into the room and launched herself into her father’s arms. He took her onto his lap and held her close. ‘I want Mummy to come home now,’ she said between sobs.
Bryant followed with an apologetic smile. Kim nodded to indicate it was okay and that they were almost finished anyway.
‘Me too, sweetheart,’ Dan said, pulling Ava closer, as though the circle of his arms could protect her from the pain.
‘Just one last thing and we’ll give you some space,’ Kim said. ‘Is there anyone from your family we can call?’
He shook his head.
‘Ashley’s?’
‘She only has a brother. They’re not close.’
Kim saw his body stiffen at the mention of the brother.
Ava felt it too as she paused crying to look up at him.
He regained his composure. ‘I’ll let him know, but he won’t be interested. Leave that with me.’
‘Let me have his details in case we need to speak to him.’
Bryant took out his notebook and took the full name and address.
‘Okay,’ Kim said, standing. ‘Again, we’re sorry for your loss and we’ll be in touch soon.’
She indicated for him to stay where he was. They’d see themselves out. And there was time enough for her to talk about identifying the body.
‘Did you get to finish your picture?’ Kim asked Bryant, once they were outside.
‘Not really, but I did get to find out everything I needed to know about why Stitch is so powerful. How about you?’
‘I found out that there are a couple of netball players she didn’t like and she was a social worker, and there’s a brother that she didn’t get along with.’
‘Well, that’s something,’ he said as they got in the car.
Kim was still thinking about Dan’s manner when talking about the brother.
His body had tensed, and there’d been anger in his eyes… but there’d been something else when he’d pulled his daughter closer.
She was pretty sure that what she’d seen was fear.