This was going to be long and gruelling for all of them. She hurried across the road towards the woman. ‘Do you know Mr Blair at all?’ Gina asked.
She shook her head and adjusted her woolly beret, her brown hair neatly positioned over her shoulders. ‘I saw him come and go but I didn’t really speak to him.’
Gina pulled out a photo of Susan Wheeler. ‘Have you seen this woman recently or a silver Peugeot hatchback parked up anywhere around here?’
Again, the woman shook her head. Gina caught a whiff of orange as the woman came closer to scrutinise the photo. ‘No, sorry. Is he okay? I mean, I live here with my kids. It’s to do with that body found by the river this morning, isn’t it?’
They hadn’t had the formal identification but she was one hundred per cent certain it was him. It was simply a matter of time before it was confirmed. It seemed that news had spread quickly. If the neighbour had been brazen enough to come right over and ask, she’d be talking to everyone else in the street soon. Gina hoped one of them would come forward with some information.
‘Was it natural causes?’
‘I’m sorry, I can’t disclose any details of the case at the moment. Here’s my card. If you remember anything, please call me.’
The woman tucked her scarf into the top of her coat and nodded. ‘Of course, Detective.’ She placed the card in her pocket and headed back to her car, where she was immediately greeted by the man next door. The whole street would know soon, especially when they began conducting further door-to-door enquiries in the area.
Gina jogged along the path and listened to the dog whimpering behind the door.
‘A dog handler is on the way. I’ve had a look through the letterbox, it looks to be an old Labrador and it was wagging its tail, so we’re going in.’ Jacob placed the key in the lock and, as smooth as butter, it opened the door, allowing the pungent smell of dog mess to escape. Jacob coughed and held his arm across his mouth and nose as he entered.
The old, overweight dog bounded out and PC Kapoor swiftly grabbed its collar. It waddled along as it was gently led back towards the house. As Gina went to step into the hallway, the image of her own home with Terry lying dead on the floor forced her to stop. The half-moon glass in the front door brought it all back. The layout of the hall was the same as hers, same type of house. She took a deep breath and forced it away.Get over yourself, Gina.So vivid was the memory, she remembered the smell of her own sweat as her heart pounded at the sight of him taking his last breath. The sounds of baby Hannah’s cries had forced her out of her shock-filled trance. She’d run to the window and checked to see if any of her neighbours had been looking out of their windows. No one had heard a thing, they never did.
‘Hey,’ called the man in the van as he pulled up on the path in front of Keith’s forensics van. Gina unclenched her fists and flinched. ‘Have you come about the dog? I bet some busybody has moaned about it. The thing has been barking non-stop since the other day and we’ve barely slept.’
Gina walked over to Don Fellow.
Don smiled in recognition. ‘Has he turned up yet? We ’aven’t seen him.’
‘I’m afraid not.’
‘I’ve heard that a body has been found. Wife was on Facebook this morning.’ The dog’s barks boomed from the house. Don stepped out of his van, rubbing his hands together as he headed closer to Gina. He pulled his hat on and rubbed his hands together again. ‘What’s going to happen to his dog?’
Quite often people concerned themselves in these situations with what would happen to the pets. ‘Hopefully one of his family members will come for it, if not, we will have to call the RSPCA and hope they rehome it.’ Gina had already convinced Hannah she needed a family dog following a previous case. The thought of what would happen to it had preyed on Gina’s mind. She knew she couldn’t and wouldn’t try to guilt Hannah into having another dog, and she didn’t have the time to look after one.
‘I can look after him, for now. He’s an old boy, I don’t think he could cope with kennels and no one will want him. Wife’ll kill me… that wasn’t the right thing to say. She won’t really kill me.’
She smiled warmly at the man. ‘It’s okay, Mr Fellow. It would be lovely if you could take the dog for now. We can let Dale’s parents know to get in touch with you. It looks like he hasn’t been fed and he may need a good walk.’ Kapoor had been dragged out of the house by the dog and the way it waddled in the ice conjured up an image that almost made her chuckle. It wouldn’t get much further than the end of the street if it tried its hardest. ‘I’ll get PC Kapoor to bring him over to you in a moment.’
Mrs Fellow opened the door and Mr Fellow put on his fakest smile. Gina could tell his wife had sensed he was going to come out with something she wasn’t going to like. ‘I got something to tell you, love. We’ll go inside and put the kettle on.’ Her brow furrowed as she shrugged her shoulders, leaving the door slightly open as she waited.
‘Right. I best go and fill her in. I’m really sorry to hear about poor Dale. That’s awful news. How did he die?’
‘We can’t say anything as yet, sorry. It’s really good of you to take his dog in though. I’m sure he would have been really grateful. You’re very kind.’ The man nodded and headed towards his house.
‘Or just plain daft. Wish me luck,’ he called to Gina as he closed the door.
With the dog out of the way, they were free to start looking over the house. She finished suiting up so as not to contaminate the scene. Face masks were passed around and for once, each and every one of them had welcomed having to wear one. With the dog mess contained in the kitchen, they closed the door temporarily and began doing a walk-through of the house.
‘We’ll start upstairs.’ Jacob nodded and followed her up the carpeted steps where they were greeted with a small room containing just the toilet and a washbasin. Dale hadn’t been expecting any visitors. The toilet seat was up and the little mat around it, protecting the carpet, had a yellow tinge along the edge that touched the toilet. She took a few steps onto the landing and opened the first door that led to a modern bathroom which looked like it had recently been done out. It looked like a posh en suite in an upmarket hotel. Granite toilet roll holder and matching soap dispenser – they looked barely used. Gina pulled her mask and allowed it to rest under her chin.
‘I think this must have been his bedroom, guv.’
She followed Jacob into the room. The curtains were closed and it was dark. He flicked on the light. Double bed, neatly made. He’d even added a couple of cushions and a throw. Both bedside tables were adorned with personal items. One had a packet of antacids sitting on the side and a real-life crime magazine, the other had a glass of water and a copy ofJane Eyreon it. ‘It looks like two people use this room. I don’t know about you, I sleep alone and I only tend to use one of my bedside cabinets. Do you have a favourite side of the bed?’
‘The left,’ he replied as he continued looking around.
‘Same here. I sleep on the left and only use the cabinet on the left. I wonder who’s been staying here with Dale.’ She kneeled down and looked under the bed. Nothing. There were no boxes, not even a collection of dust bunnies or cobwebs. Dale kept a fairly tidy home. She slid open his drawers, one by one, as Jacob did the same the other side. Nothing out of the ordinary. ‘Just pants and socks, no secret compartments, nothing unusual.’
She left the bedroom with Jacob close behind and headed to the second bedroom at the front of the house. The open curtains barely let any light in given the greyscale sky. He had a desk with a stack of labelled in-trays on it. Jobs to do, jobs to invoice, bookkeeping. The bookkeeping tray was empty. ‘Susan Wheeler could have taken his paperwork with her when she left.’
