Beautiful Child (10 page)

Michelle closed her eyes as the tears began to fall again. She turned her head away from everyone and raised her hand to her mouth. ‘My mother and I had not been getting on lately.’

‘Oh? Why was that?’

‘Oh you know how it is in families sometimes,’ said Michelle, still tearful. ‘But now she’s gone and in such an evil way… well I wish we’d made up, you know?’

‘I understand’ said Sara.

‘Why? Has your mother been murdered too?’

‘Michelle, for God’s sake!’ said Warren Clarke. ‘These officers need answers.’

‘Well why don’t you give them some then?’ snarled Michelle. She was looking daggers at her husband. ‘Why are you still here anyway? ‘

‘I’m staying with my children,’ Warren insisted, through a voice of restrained emotion.

‘Not if I say you can’t!’ Michelle roared.

‘Hey, now, calm down, both of you,’ said Adrian who’d never seen such an appalling display from relatives after the death of a supposed loved one. ‘I’m sure this isn’t getting anybody anywhere.’

‘Just mind your own fucking business!’ Michelle ordered in a voice raised as far as her emotions would take it.

‘Alright, that’s enough!’ said Sara. ‘Whatever the situation, Mrs. Clarke, I don’t allow my officers to be spoken to like that. Now I know that grief hits people in different ways but there’s clearly something else going on here.’

‘Well if there is I repeat it is none of your business.’

Warren stood up and marched out of the room. ‘I’ve had enough of this shit.’

‘That’s it! Walk away! You’ve never been any good to me.’

*

Tim Norris followed Sara into her office the moment she got back from interviewing Michelle and Warren Clarke.

‘How did it go?’

‘There’s definitely something for us to find out there,’ said Sara.

‘Oh?’

‘The elephant in the room was so big we almost couldn’t move because of it,’ she added as she sat down at her desk. ‘Adrian is going to see Warren Clarke at his work tomorrow to see if he can get anything out of him when he’s on his own.’

‘Adrian seems to be settling in well,’ said Tim.

‘He is.’ Sara agreed. ‘Now Tim, I have to say that I don’t think the superintendent was impressed with your absence at the briefing.’

‘I’m sorry if it put you in an awkward position.’

‘Well it didn’t do that but I can’t cover for you unless I know what’s going on?’

‘I did say I needed to talk to you.’

‘I know’ said Sara. ‘So what’s up?’

‘I need some time off, Sara.’

‘Time off? Your timing isn’t brilliant’

‘I know,’ said Tim who was feeling guilty. ‘But when is it ever in a squad like this?’

‘Okay’ said Sara. ‘So what’s the reason?’

‘Helen and I are adopting a baby and I’m entitled to paternity leave.’

The news hit Sara like a block of concrete being thrown at her chest. It brought back all too sharply the memory of the baby son she’d given up for adoption five years ago. The baby son that his father, Tim Norris, hadn’t know about until she’d joined the squad last year.

‘Sorry,’ she said.

‘No, I’m sorry, Sara,’ said Tim. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you and clearly I have.’

‘It’s just all a bit sudden.’

‘Well we’ve been planning it for a while obviously,’ he added, ‘ever since we found out that Helen couldn’t conceive. But you know that, Sara.’

Sara couldn’t deny that. ‘What are you having? A little boy or a little girl?’

‘A little girl’ said Tim ‘She’s called Jessica and she’s six months old. We couldn’t, well at least, I couldn’t adopt a little boy after… well, you know.’

‘Yes, you don’t need to say anymore,’ said Sara who knew exactly that Tim was talking about their baby son who was out there somewhere.

‘So can I have the time off?’

‘Of course you can,’ said Sara who was putting on a brave face but felt very emotional inside, ‘and I wish you all the best, Tim, you and Helen and Jessica. I really hope it goes well. I mean that.’

Tim managed a smile as he left. ‘I know. Thanks.’

Adrian parked his car about fifty metres short of the row of half a dozen shops where Warren Clarke’s butcher’s shop was located. The area of Newton Heath around it was a mixture of social housing and streets of two up, two down terraces that could still be snapped up for a bargain price.

‘Thank you for seeing me,’ Adrian began as he joined Warren Clarke in a small office at the back of the shop. There was barely enough space for them both to be in there comfortably and the bars at the small window made it feel even tighter. But there were two chairs and a small wooden desk and they both sat down. 

‘It’s the least I could do after the little show my wife and I put on yesterday,’ Warren answered by way of an apology.

‘So what was it all about, Mr. Clarke?’ asked Adrian. Warren Clarke was looking everywhere except directly at Adrian. His elbow was on the desk and he was rubbing his face almost constantly. He was clearly uncomfortable and if Adrian’s hunch was right then he had good reason to be.

‘My marriage has been in trouble for months,’ said Warren. ‘Something like this happens and it’s supposed to bring you together but it’s way too late for that for me and Michelle.’

‘It’s driven you further apart?’

Warren nodded his head. ‘It hasn’t always been like it is now between us. We’ve got three boys. We have had some happy times.’

‘So what went wrong?’

‘I don’t know to tell you the truth,’ said Warren. ‘My wife has always been very demanding. It’s no surprise as she’s an only child. She was always used to having everything her own way and that’s stayed with her. Her father was the only one who could stand up to her. I certainly couldn’t and Rita certainly couldn’t.’

‘Did you get on with Rita, your mother-in-law?’

Warren paused before answering. ‘Yes, I do… I mean, I did,’  he said.

‘Warren, did you know that she might have been seeing someone?’

Warren didn’t answer.

‘Warren, was it you Rita was expecting that night?’

Warren put his head in his hands and then lifted his face back up again, wiping his mouth and under his eyes with the back of his hand. ‘It had only been going on a few weeks’ he declared. ‘But it was becoming something very special for both of us.’

‘So it was you? You were having the affair with Rita?’

‘Yes, it was me.’

‘But how did that come about? I mean, the age gap for starters and she was your mother-in-law?’

‘Rita was lonely,’ said Warren. ‘So was I. I was lonely inside my marriage. Michelle was giving me a hard time over nothing one night and I stormed out of the house and got into my car. Without really thinking about it I drove round to Rita’s place. I cried on her shoulder and one thing led to another. Perhaps I should be ashamed but I’m not. If I could go back I’d do it all again. Rita made me feel good about myself again. I hadn’t known that for some time. So to be the one who discovered her body… well I’ll never forget that as long as I live.’

‘But she was expecting you the night she died?.’

‘I waited three days after discovering the body before I reported it to the police.’

‘Why did you do that?’

‘I don’t know!’ cried Warren. ‘I suppose I didn’t want people to think it might’ve been me who’d killed her.’

‘And did Michelle know about the affair?’

‘Yes, she knew.’

‘Must’ve caused something of a rift between Michelle and Rita?’

‘You could say that,’ said Warren, ‘but it drew Rita and I closer together.’

‘United against a common enemy.’

‘Something like that,’ said Warren. ‘Yes I know there was an age gap but Rita and I never noticed that when we were together. And she was still an attractive woman. At least she was to me.’

‘Warren, I think we should carry this on down at the station.’

Warren looked up aghast. ‘ You can’t think that I… that I did it?’

‘I just think it would be better.’

‘I didn’t kill her!’

‘Then you won’t have anything to fear from answering some further questions down at the station,’ said Adrian. ‘Now come on. Don’t make me have to arrest you.’

‘You can’t arrest me!’

‘Mr. Clarke, you’ve admitted to discovering the body of Rita Makin but not telling anybody about it for three days. You’ve also admitted to having been in an intimate relationship with Rita Makin. I’d say we’ve got an awful lot to talk about. Wouldn’t you? We will also need to take your finger prints and a DNA sample. It would help you ultimately if you co-operated’

*

‘Good work, Adrian,’ said Sara as they walked down the corridor towards the interview room where they were holding Warren Clarke.

‘Well I just put two and two together, ma’am,’ said Adrian.

‘Do you think Clarke is the killer?’

‘I’m keeping an open mind, ma’am, until we question him more thoroughly,’ said Adrian. ‘I don’t know if he’s capable of actual murder but then he’s covered up some important facts up till now.’

DS Joe Alexander walked up and handed Sara a file.

‘Ma’am,’ Joe began, ‘this gives details of Warren Clarke’s financial situation. He’s on his uppers, ma’am. The way things are going he’s about two months away from bankruptcy. He’s desperate for cash and Rita Makin changed her will only a week ago.’

‘Don’t tell me’ said Sara. ‘She bequeathed everything to Clarke?’

‘She did, ma’am,’ said Joe. ‘Rita Makin wasn’t wealthy by any means but she had a private pension and there was a considerable amount of equity in her house. If it had all been put together it would’ve given Clarke enough to save his business.’

‘Thanks, Joe.’

Sara turned to Adrian. ‘I’d say this changes things a little?’

‘I’d say that too, ma’am,’ said Adrian. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have given him the benefit of the doubt. But we’ll see what he says.’

*

The tape was rolling in the interview room as Sara and Adrian, sat on one side of the desk, began their interrogation of Warren Clarke, who was sat on the other side. Warren had his arms folded across himself and he was looking away from them.

‘Mr. Clarke?’ Sara began. ‘Your prints and DNA sample match one of the traces we found in Rita Makin’s house.’

‘Well that’s hardly surprising,’ said Warren who was terrified at what was being played out. ‘I was there a couple of times a week, sometimes more. And I discovered the body.’

‘But you didn’t tell us for three whole days, Mr. Clarke.’

‘I told you before I was scared someone would think that I did it!’

‘Well to be honest that’s what I’m thinking at the moment.’

Warren slammed his hand on the table. ‘You can’t! You can’t think that! I loved Rita. I could never harm her!’

‘Oh come on, Mr. Clarke! You told us that you called in on the way home that night on the way back from your parents. But seeing as your parents live twenty miles away that’s quite a detour just to claim you were passing. Then there’s the question of where you were the night you deemed to report having found Rita’s body.’

‘I just drove over there,’ Warren claimed. ‘I knew I had to do something to put things right.’

‘Classic avoidance tactic that,’ said Sara. ‘The murderer calls in the murder to the police and thinks that will insure them against any suspicion.’

‘I didn’t kill her.’

‘What was it like in those intervening three days, Warren?’ asked Adrian.

‘It was like a living hell.’

‘How did you manage to look your wife in the eye?’

Warren shook his head. ‘I don’t know! Christ, this is a nightmare.’

‘If you were brave enough to murder her mother then you were more than capable of keeping up the pretence,’ said Adrian. ‘Come on man, it stands to reason.’

‘You’re in trouble financially, aren’t you, Warren?’ said Sara.

‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

‘Did you know that Rita had changed her will recently?’

Warren looked up and paused. ‘Yes.’

‘Leaving everything to you with the proviso that you passed everything on to her grandsons when the time came?’

‘Yes!’

‘Did your wife Michelle know that her mother had cut her entirely out of her will?’

‘Oh yes’ said Warren. ‘She knew alright.’

‘How did she find out?’

‘I told her one night in the middle of a row’ Warren admitted.

‘And how did she react?’

‘She came at me with a carving knife. Look, if anyone had a motive to kill Rita it was Michelle. It’s her you should be talking to, not me. I loved Rita and I didn’t kill her.’

*

Matt wasn’t feeling particularly well disposed towards Charlie but he’d still agreed to look after the boys again. He couldn’t help it. Charlie always knew exactly what to do to touch his heart and he’d done it again. He’d just put the boys to bed when their mother Wendy rang him. He felt a bit awkward. He didn’t want to drop Charlie in it with his ex-wife but at the same time he did want to hurt Charlie for taking him for granted.  

‘Hi!’ said Matt. ‘This is a lovely surprise. I haven’t heard from you in a while.’

‘I know’ said Wendy. ‘I’ve been a bit… a bit busy with stuff, which is no excuse I know but you know how it is.’

‘I do,’ said Matt, noting the edge in her voice. Something was wrong. ‘What’s the matter, love?’

It took Wendy a few seconds to compose herself before answering. ‘Oh Matt.’

‘What is it?’

‘I really need my old friend,’ said Wendy, tearfully.

‘Well I’m here but tell me what the matter is, sweetheart? Is it Neville?’

Neville was the bloke Wendy had been seeing these past few months. He was a hill farmer up in the Lake District and Matt liked him. He was so into Wendy and Matt thought he was making Wendy happy. ‘If he’s hurt you I’ll burn his fucking barn down.’

‘No, no, it’s the other way round,’ said Wendy. ‘I’ve hurt him. I’ve dumped him and I didn’t even have the decency to give him a good enough reason. And I was happy with him, Matt. I felt happier than I’ve been for a long time.’

‘Sweetheart, you don’t dump somebody because they make you happy.’

‘I know‘

‘Look, why don’t you come over? We can talk’

‘I can’t drive,’ said Wendy. ‘I’ve already had nearly a bottle of wine already and a second one is looking very tempting at this point.’

‘Get a taxi’ said Matt. ‘I can’t come and fetch you because I’ve got the boys here and they’ve just gone to bed.’

‘You mean, they’re with you?’ Wendy questioned. ‘Again?’

Charlie and Wendy had certainly had an amicable divorce, more amicable than Charlie deserved thanks to Wendy’s strength of character and dedication to her children’s welfare. Wendy had never expected any of their friends to take sides even though she was the injured party but despite all the grown up attitudes, there were still areas of contention. Charlie and Wendy had once been in love with each other and that meant that upsets can still occur that made it difficult for those who were in the middle.

‘He had something on tonight, Wendy,’ said Matt, lamely.

‘That’s more important than maintaining a relationship with his children?’

‘I don’t know what to say, Wendy,’ said Matt.

‘I know,’ said Wendy. She had absolutely no problem with Matt looking after the boys but Charlie seemed to dump them on him all the time which wasn’t right. Charlie was their father. He should be using the time to maintain his relationship with them. ‘I wouldn’t expect you to, Matt.’

‘I know that,’ said Matt, ‘now are you going to get that taxi?’

‘Have you got plenty of wine in?’

‘Is the pope German?’

Wendy laughed. ‘Silly me for asking. Alright, I’ll ring for that taxi. But I warn you, it’s not good news I’ve got to tell you.’

‘I didn’t think so,’ Matt replied, ‘so it’s a good job I’m not a good news only friend.’

‘You’re much more than that’ said Wendy. ‘Always have been.’

‘Then get that taxi booked and get over here.’

‘I look a mess’ said Wendy, ‘I didn’t put any make up on today.’

‘Well I think I’ll let you off’ said Matt. ‘And bring an overnight bag. I may as well do breakfast for all three of you’

Less than an hour later, Wendy turned up on Matt’s doorstep. Her auburn hair rested gently on her shoulders and though she wasn’t wearing any make-up, she still looked every inch the woman in her late thirties who shouldn’t have to prove herself.

‘I’m so glad to see you,’ she said as she fell into Matt’s arms and he held her tight.

‘Sweetheart, whatever is it? I’ve never known you like this. You had some dark days when you and Charlie split up but nothing compared to this. Please, Wendy, tell me, what is it?’

‘Are the boys asleep?’

‘Dead to the world’ said Matt, ‘ I checked on them a couple of minutes ago.’

‘Can I just go in and see them?’