‘So he came to live with you?’
Eveline nodded and wiped her nose. ‘It was summer last year. We wanted to help get him off the drugs and we helped get him onto a methadone programme. We had a lot of hope until he strayed off the path again. He stole from us, used my credit card and got me into debt. He sold my dead grandmother’s wedding ring. All that could have been forgiven but he became violent when he couldn’t get his own way and started smashing the house up. We were scared of him – he kicked one of my dogs – and the neighbours fell out with us. It took weeks after we told him to leave for him to stop coming around. He threw a brick through the front window, poured paint stripper on our car, sent threatening messages. We couldn’t cope. He was no longer my son. I didn’t have a choice when I made him leave.’ She began to sob. ‘Maybe I should’ve tried harder to get him back on the drug programme, but he blew it and he didn’t want it.’
‘You did try ’ard, love. We did everything.’
She sniffled. ‘And we failed, because he’s dead.’
Jacob scribbled a few notes and Gina looked down. She could see the lines of pain etched into their faces. ‘I’m sorry and I know this is hard for you. When did you ask him to leave?’
‘It was last September. The last time we heard from him was in November of last year. We keep in touch with Nicky as we see little Joshua quite regularly. She’d have told us if she’d seen him.’
‘We’ll take Nicky’s details after we’ve finished speaking, if that’s okay? Do you know where he went after he left you?’
Eveline shook her head and blew her nose. ‘He said he was getting as far away from us and Nicky as possible. He hated us all.’
‘I’m sure that was the drugs talking.’ Gina wanted to offer Eveline a bit of comfort. ‘Did you know he’d come back to Cleevesford?’
‘No. I know what he did was bad but if I knew he was back, I’d have gone out looking for him. We had no idea.’ A few wisps of her red hair fell over her face as she hunched over the table and began playing with a spider plant leaf, wiping the dust with her finger from base to tip. ‘I feel terrible as we’d started to live again. I’d convinced myself he’d made a new life and things were better for him. I lied to myself so that I could get on with life. Maybe I was being selfish but things got easier. We managed to laugh again, we went on holidays, we had fun, and all this time he was out there, suffering, and now he’s been murdered.’
A lump formed in Gina’s throat. The baggage this poor couple were carrying felt greater than her own. She couldn’t imagine losing her grown up daughter, Hannah, in such a way. She couldn’t imagine the heartache it would cause her and her young granddaughter, Gracie. Pushing that image out of her mind, she looked up. ‘Is there anything else you can tell us? What was he like before all this?’
‘He was always a handful. Nicky put up with a lot. He was a drinker and he was a bit of a wild child. He got into trouble at school for not doing homework, skipping classes and occasionally for minor scuffles. We hoped he would calm down. We’re not aggressive in any way or form. I don’t know where he got it from. When he met and married Nicky, we couldn’t have been happier. He seemed calmer for a few years. He settled into a job at a medical supply factory on the industrial estate. We were so proud when he became a line supervisor. It doesn’t sound much but it was a lot for him. For the first time in his life, he seemed calm and settled, then the baby came along. All was fine for a bit then redundancies were announced and, unfortunately, he was on the list. After that, all he could get was low paid, short-term agency work. He’d gone from a respectable salary to odd-jobbing for minimum wage. They’d cancel him some days, at the last minute. With every job rejection, he became more and more depressed. That was the start of it all.’
Eveline licked her dry lips. ‘Can I see him now?’
Gina smiled sympathetically and nodded. ‘Of course. We’ll be with you the whole time. If there’s anything else you think of to tell us or ask, just go ahead. Here’s my card just in case you need to contact me after.’ She passed her card over the table.
Something niggled Gina about Eveline but she couldn’t think what it might be. She took another glance around the room, then back at the couple. No, it wasn’t coming to her at all.
‘I saw the news earlier. That letter from the murderer, it mentions you.’
A judder filled Gina’s chest as her heartbeat began to ramp up. She now officially hated the press more than ever. Compromising their case was unforgivable. ‘Yes, that’s right. I’m going to be working hard on this case and I will find your son’s murderer. One last thing, can you think of anyone else who might have a grudge against him?’Please don’t mention that letter again.She loosened her clenched fists.
Eveline shook her head. ‘Maybe the debt collectors and anyone else he may have stolen from. He’d fallen out with everyone in his life. The problem is, I don’t know who any of these people are.’
Gina pulled her car keys from her pocket and kept glancing at Eveline. She was sure she hadn’t met Eveline before but her mind was on full alert. There was something about the woman in front of her that gave her an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
‘Well, the morgue wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be,’ Jacob said as he offered Gina a cherry drop.
‘No, thanks.’ Gina paused as they pulled into Nicky Swinton’s road. It was time to speak to Alexander Swinton’s wife. Even though they hadn’t been together any longer, Gina hoped she might be able to help.
‘You look like your mind’s whirring away.’
It was, in more ways than one, and she couldn’t shake any of it. ‘There was something about Eveline, something I can’t put my finger on. Did you get the same feeling?’ It was annoying her now. Normally her mind made links with ease, especially when it came to recognising someone. Maybe she was following the wrong links.
‘I can’t say I did, guv.’ The smell of cherry came at her when he spoke.
‘Why don’t houses have numbers on doors any more? We’re on the right side. It’s an even number.’
Jacob glanced out of his side, squinting in the darkness. ‘There. It has to be this one. Pull over.’
A street lamp caught a glint of frost shimmering on the top of a car. Gina pulled up next to the new-build semi and grabbed her bag. ‘Let’s see what his wife has to say. We know that Eveline Peterson called her earlier so she’s clued up on what’s happened. Let’s hope that she can give us a breakthrough on this case. Whoever murdered Alex wanted him to suffer. Who hated him that much and why? Maybe Mrs Swinton knows.’
He crunched and swallowed his sweet before opening the car door, letting the frosty air in. Gina shivered as she hurried to the house, not wanting to get any colder than she had to. She heard a youth shout and several others laugh in the distance.
‘Bloody Halloween.’ A plastic skeleton dangled from the knocker. Gina tapped, trying not to disturb it.
