‘May I have a glass of water?’ she asked as she headed over to the sink.
He nodded. ‘I can’t believe she’s gone.’ He clenched his fists and began to tremble as the news sank in.
Jacob stood at the other end of the kitchen table, unable to offer anything further. As Gina took a gulp of water, she caught her own reflection in the kitchen window and tried to focus on what lay beyond. Deep within the darkness of what would be the garden, all she could see was Jade’s face, blood oozing onto the pavement and no sign of the eye that had once been on the right side of her face. She saw the mother that would never again come home to her child. A tremor began to build in her hands. She placed the glass on the draining board before she spilt it. It was a chilly early morning and she was tense. Questioning the husband wasn’t going to be easy. ‘Mr Ashmore, can you tell me where your wife went last night?’
‘We went to a party at a friend’s house. Her name is Dawn.’ The man grabbed a tartan throw. He slumped into a chair at the kitchen table as he pulled the blanket around his shoulders.
‘Do you have a surname and address for Dawn?’
He nodded, grabbed his phone and scrolled. ‘Her surname is Brown and her address is 27 Houston Close. It’s one of the large houses on the new-build estate, just a few roads away from here.’ The man wiped his nose on the back of his hand.
‘I know this is difficult, but we need to catch whoever did this to your wife. Getting as much information now—’
‘You don’t have to explain. I know. I want whoever did this caught.’ He wiped the corner of his eye.
Gina sat opposite him at the kitchen table. ‘What time did you arrive at the party?’
‘We arrived about half seven. It only takes a few minutes to get there if you know the area. We walked.’
Gina watched as Jacob began taking notes, the sound of his pencil scraping across paper almost made her teeth itch. ‘Tell me what happened after that.’
‘We were the first there, apart from our host, Dawn. A few minutes later, her partner Steven arrived with a box of beer and wine. Then there were two more couples. I’ve never met them before so I can’t tell you much about them. I did recognise one woman, a young woman called Aimee. I’ve seen her around with her boyfriend. They live close by too. I think everyone lived close by as they all walked. I can’t remember when the rest arrived. We were ushered into the lounge where Jade and I sat together and talked. We were quite nervous.’
‘Nervous?’
‘Yes, we didn’t know anyone except Dawn. It’s always a bit nerve-wracking meeting new people. Jade was a bit tense. She’s not exactly a social butterfly, preferring to stay at home and watch a film. I encouraged her to go to the party, said it would be good for us to get out. As it happened, we all had a good time. Couples split up and were talking to others. People migrated out to the garden where some smoked.’
‘You came home without her?’
The man began messing with his phone. She could tell he was holding something back. ‘We haven’t been in the best place lately, as a couple. You know, things go a bit stale. Jade kept moaning about going home. I topped her glass up a couple of times and asked her not to ruin the evening for me. She basically snubbed me, which is her thing. I get short, she gets all passive-aggressive.’ A tear slid down his cheek. ‘It was obvious she was pissed off. Anyway, I had a few to drink and at around eleven thirty I told her I was going and I left her there.’
Jade was the one who wanted to go home yet Noah Ashmore left first. It seemed a little odd to her. She pictured Jade, a little merry from the wine she didn’t often drink, chatting away to strangers. Had she been trying to show him she could have a good time without him?
‘Did you come straight home after that?’
‘No, I ended up outside, talking to Aimee for a while. We walked as far as the woods and I left her there. I suppose I just used her to sound off a bit. She could tell there was some tension going on between Jade and me.’
‘So, let me get this straight. You left at about eleven thirty and walked towards the woods. Is that the woods that back onto Houston Close?’
He nodded as he linked his fingers.
‘How long did you spend walking?’
He shrugged his shoulders. ‘About half an hour, I guess.’
That was a lengthy time to sound off to someone he hadn’t met before that night. Jacob scrawled away, making lots of notes. He glanced at her, she glanced back.
‘What happened then?’
‘I walked home, relieved the babysitter from her duties and went to bed. I just assumed that Jade would turn up when she’d made her point.’
‘Her point?’
He held his arms up, the tartan blanket held open making him look as though he had wings. ‘That she was capable of having a good time.’ His hands dropped back into his lap.
‘I’m sorry, Mr Ashmore. I know this is hard but it’s really helping us. Can you tell us when you arrived home and when the babysitter left? We will also need to know who babysat.’
‘Tiffany left at about twelve twenty, twelve thirty, maybe. I arrived home, paid her and she left. She lives a few doors down. She studies childcare and she loves Lilly, our four-year-old.’
