‘Thank you, Mr Norton. Is there anything else you can tell us about the figure you saw in the bushes? Did you see which direction they left in?’
He shook his head. ‘No, they were just there one minute and gone the next. That’s all I know. I really have to get back to my wife. You have all my details.’ He pulled his muted phone out of his pocket. ‘She’s trying to call me again.’
‘Okay. PC Kapoor is heading back over. She’ll take over from here. We’ll need you to go to the station to make a formal statement after finishing here and we’ll need your clothes and to take some samples.’
‘Oh, bloody hell!’ He stood, towering above Gina and Wyre.
‘Thank you.’ Gina met Kapoor halfway. ‘He’s not a happy man but we need his clothes and fingerprints for elimination purposes. Can I leave him with you?’
The uniformed officer smiled. ‘Of course, guv.’ Her voice pierced through Gina’s ears. She headed towards Wyre and gave Bernard one last wave as he headed behind the screen.
‘What do you think of our Mr Norton?’ Gina exhaled and a plume of white mist told her that the temperature was already starting to drop again.
‘I’d say there’s something he’s definitely not telling us. He’s caring for his seriously sick wife but he comes out in what looks like his best clothes for a random walk around a lake that he has to drive to. While you were talking, I checked where Bloomsbury Avenue is. It’s a fifteen-minute drive from here and is surrounded by lots of scenic walks and the river runs alongside it.’
‘Why would he drive all the way here for a walk?’
‘Exactly.’
‘We need to dig a bit deeper on him, that’s for sure. I don’t buy his reasons.’ She glanced back. As Kapoor was speaking to Otis Norton, his gaze met Gina’s for a moment longer than was comfortable.
7
The Fish and Anchor stood proudly on the country road just outside Cleevesford. Gina glanced at the bus stop before she pulled in. ‘That’s where Amber Slater should have alighted the bus to meet her date.’
Wyre nodded. ‘And now we’ll hopefully get to find out if she made it here. I called ahead like you asked and they have the CCTV on a hard drive that we can take away with us.’ She paused. ‘You know, George brought me here after he proposed.’
Gina had never been taken out anywhere this nice on a date or during her marriage. Terry had soon conditioned her to stay at home while he went to the pub before coming home to hit her. She remembered one particularly bad time she’d been screaming hysterically and he’d clasped his hand over her mouth, nearly suffocating her. She shivered as she thought of Amber Slater’s glued lips and knew that her panic would have been much worse. Was she being silenced in the worst possible way? Gina glanced at Wyre who seemed to be deep in thought. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’
Wyre shrugged. ‘Maybe I seriously need to get back out there, have some fun and just think about myself.’ Wyre paused. ‘I now know how you feel when we all ask if you’re okay.’ A smirk flashed across Wyre’s face.
Gina pushed her past to the back of her mind and smiled at her colleague. ‘I’ll try not to ask again but just know that you can talk to me if you need to. I’ll shut up now.’ She parked the car in front of the building. The empty hanging baskets squeaked as the wind blew their rusty hinges. The walls were painted in a crisp white. Gina was sure she’d seen it mentioned that the gastropub had been shortlisted for the ‘Cleevesford In Bloom’ trophy. A cute loveseat greeted customers beside the huge door and everyone entering had to walk under an archway that was surrounded by climbing roses in the summer. But today, everything was bleak and the opaque skies that were filling with snow covered the landscape in a blanket of mist. The licensee’s name hung above the door: Lennie Dack.
‘Something smells good but I don’t know if I could face it after seeing that poor woman’s body.’ Wyre stood behind Gina and followed her into the pub that had barely been open five minutes.
The smell of frying onions oozed from the kitchen as a door burst open and a woman dashed out to place candles in bottles on the intimately separated wooden tables. Gina’s stomach began to rumble despite the horror of what she’d seen earlier, but now wasn’t the time to consider stopping for lunch, not with a murderer on the loose.
A short man with a bald patch and a circle of fuzzy speckled black hair started cleaning the bar. Gina squinted to read his name tag. Lennie. Just the person she wanted to see. His dark flawless skin had a shine that reflected the fairy lights dangling from the bar. This really was the perfect place for a romantic meal. His nose twitched and he turned away and sneezed into his elbow. ‘Excuse me. It’s the cleaning fluids. I’m allergic. Can I help you?’
Gina held her identification up. ‘DI Harte and DC Wyre. We spoke on the phone just now.’
A wide smile filled his face. ‘Ah, yes. I have the footage ready for you to take. It’s timestamped and all that and it covers the back of the pub, the front and the car park. We have CCTV on everything here so hopefully you’ll get what you need. Has something happened to one of our customers? I know the staff have all checked in.’
Gina smiled. ‘We hope not. We’re just following up on a lead at the moment.’ Gina opened her bag and pulled out the photo of Amber Slater that Lauren Sandiford had sent her only a few hours ago. ‘Do you recognise this woman?’
The man pulled a pair of glasses from underneath the bar and wiped them clean with his crisp white apron. He took the photo from her and held it under the light of the bar. ‘I’ve seen her in here before but not on Friday night. Maybe she was our no show. In fact, bear with me. What was the name again?’
‘Amber Slater.’
He grabbed a diary and flicked through a few pages. ‘Yes, no show.’
‘Is there another name on the booking?’
‘All we have is Amber Slater. She definitely didn’t turn up on Friday. I was working all day from open until close and I personally greet each customer who comes here for evening service. We pride ourselves on making our customers feel special. We even make an effort to remember their names on arrival. We only have twenty covers and most people who book to dine stay for the evening. We’re not McDonald’s.’ He smiled. ‘We’re hoping to achieve a Michelin star soon and I’m proud to say, it’s on the cards.’
Gina took the photo back from him. ‘Can you remember when you saw her before?’
‘That’s a tough one.’ He scrunched his eyes up and turned again only to catch another sneeze. ‘Excuse me. At the back of my mind, I think I remember her coming in a couple of times but it was over a month ago. Of that, I’m sure. It was definitely before Christmas. She’s been in at least twice while I’ve been on duty and I can say for certain that she was with different people. Both male. I wish I could remember what they looked like. I am so sorry. We will have written over that footage too.’
