Mrs Collins glanced at Gina as she continued. ‘We travelled to one of the sites we’d stayed at before, in fact it was the only one that I knew was open at this time of the year in Evesham. We have friends that live close to it and when we’ve visited in the past we’ve taken the caravan there as it’s cheaper than a hotel and they live within walking distance. It always meant we could have a drink.’ She sobbed and continued. ‘We obviously didn’t visit friends this time. We started to argue as soon as we got there. The man who runs the site had booked us in and he knew us by name. He could tell by my red eyes and my husband’s clenched jaw that something was wrong. We didn’t even unhook the caravan. We left and just drove, heading towards Shropshire. I don’t know why. It was as good a place as any.’
‘You know how it looks, running away like that?’ Gina leaned in.
She nodded and half hiccupped as she calmed down a little. ‘I told him that but when he’s on one, it’s either his way or no way. I was confused, spurned and even jealous of the girl he’d had a fling with. Part of me wanted to tell him where to go, take the kids and leave. Another part of me wondered how I’d be able to tell people and if it was my fault? Did I love him enough, give him enough attention? I mean look at me compared to her.’ Mrs Collins’s lips began to quiver as she held back a sob. ‘Anyway, I couldn’t process what was happening. I let him take the lead and with a foggy head, I followed.’
Gina rubbed her gritty eyes. ‘Why did you provide a false alibi for him? You said you and Mr Collins were at Tesco, together.’
Glancing between the two detectives, Mrs Collins began to tremble. ‘I didn’t. He was with me.’
Gina pressed her lips together and shook her head. ‘We’ve seen the CCTV from every angle.’
‘He stayed in the car.’
‘It’s not helping your case when you continue to lie to us. Perverting the course of justice is a very serious offence, Mrs Collins.’
She snatched her shaking hands from the table and placed them out of view. ‘I’m sorry.’ She began to cry again.
Gina pushed the box of tissues across the table and the woman pulled a couple from the box and snivelled.
‘He was at home on his own. No one can verify that, no one. He wasn’t online. He wasn’t talking on the phone. He said if I didn’t say that he was with me, he’d have Amber’s murder pinned on him and the real murderer would walk.’
‘What about the rest of the weekend?’
She looked away.
‘Mrs Collins. Were you with him all weekend? By that I mean did you see him all day and all night or were there times when he was out of view or may not have been in the house?’ Gina felt her hair itching the back of her neck as she waited with anticipation.
‘He was at home but we weren’t together. He spent the weekend in his study. He has a daybed in there and we’d been arguing about all this. About the messages.’
‘Could he have left without you knowing?’
She slowly nodded, her large eyed gaze meeting Gina’s. ‘I don’t know, maybe. He didn’t do it though. He’s the father of my children. He can’t be a murderer.’
‘Do you recognise this woman?’ Gina held the photo of Madison up to Mrs Collins. ‘Or this one?’ Then the photo of PC Kapoor.
‘No. I’ve never seen either of them before.’
‘Monday night. Where was he? Did you see him?’
‘Yes. We both sat at the kitchen table drowning our sorrows and bickering. I did see him that night – all night. We’ve been together since we left in the caravan too.’
Things weren’t fitting together. If Mr Collins had taken PC Kapoor, what had he done with her?
‘He cheated on me. It’s clear from the messages he’s an arsehole but that’s everything. I was foolish. He was too. We should have known how this could escalate by running away and not being straight with you.’ The woman scraped the legs of the chair along the floor and clicked her fingers as if to retrieve a thought. She waved her arms and her eyes seemed to widen. ‘That’s it. I can prove he was in on Monday night. Our neighbour popped by to deliver some Avon that I ordered from her, and my husband answered. If you don’t believe me, you can ask her. Her name’s Elaine. It’s the house next door to ours. On the right if you’re looking towards us.’
They would definitely be checking out her claim. O’Connor knocked at the door, smiling. He had something. Gina nodded for Jacob to continue with the formalities as he announced her leaving the room for the tape.
‘O’Connor. What have you got?’
‘Mr Collins has made a confession.’
60
As I return to the place I call my real home, I hear nothing, not even a chirping early morning bird. It’s been a little quiet around here since the blizzardy weather started. Every creature with any sense is holed up right now. The snow is coming thick and fast against my face, clouding my vision. I can hear something now. The tick, tick, tick of my hot car engine parked on the drive. I glance each way, no one sees me coming and going, there’s too much distance between each property. My mother certainly likes to live in a secluded manner and never did get the trees and shrubs pruned back around the perimeter of the garden. It literally resembles a jungle now, albeit a naked branched jungle. Each one defined with a strip of snow balancing on the top just waiting to be toppled by something as delicate as a robin.
I hurry through the door. ‘Hailey, I’m home.’ I will call her Hailey from now on as she is now Hailey. As I go to unlock the room she sleeps in, a memory hits me.
She isn’t me. She isn’t me. She isn’t me.That voice in my head again. I have turned her into you. I can’t bear to listen any more and my head hurts.
