‘I understand.’
‘I’m going to get a PC to come over and formally interview you in a short while. Will that be okay?’
‘Err, yes. It’d be nice to know what has happened? Can you tell me anything?’
‘I will get someone to explain everything to you very soon. I’m sorry we’re being vague. I can tell you that a serious crime has taken place and you’ve been really helpful.’
Jacob closed his notepad.
Just as Gina went to get out of the chair, her phone rang. ‘Excuse me one moment.’ She answered her phone, leaving Jacob to finish up with Joyce. It was one of the PCs.
‘Guv, the CSIs have started working the scene and they’ve found a couple of things.’
She headed to the door and opened it, stepping out onto Joyce’s drive before ending the call and speaking to the PC in person. ‘What have they found?’
‘A business card in the pocket of a torn blue hoodie. There are small pieces of glass caught in the hoodie. It looks like it could have been used to punch the glass out of the back windowpane.’
‘What’s written on the business card?’
‘“Justine Crawford. For all your commercial videography needs.” There is a number on it. I took the number down.’ He passed the handwritten number to Gina.
She grabbed her own phone and began typing in the number. ‘The number’s not connected. What size is the hoodie?’
‘Large. It looks like a man’s hoodie but it might not be.’
Gina called Wyre at the station. ‘Can you please look up the contact details for someone called Justine Crawford who is a commercial videographer? Her business card has been found at Maura Pickering’s house. In the meantime, we’re going to head to the victim’s sister’s house. She said she was going to deal with her brother. We need to know exactly what she meant by that statement.’
EIGHT
JUSTINE
Justine lay on her yoga mat in the savasana pose, eyes closed as she let go of her stresses over Craig’s potential affair and Danny’s filthy football boots. She also worried about her son spending so much time gaming at night. He looked more tired than usual lately. He needed his father. Maybe it was girl or friend trouble. Either way, Danny didn’t want to speak to her about it.
The feel of the breeze in her hair and the sounds of the ripples coming from the lake in front of them filled her with joy. Despite it being chilly, the instructor had opened the window a little and after the session, it was more than refreshing. She could easily convince herself that the wall-to-ceiling glass doors in front of them were open, just like they always were during the summer months.
She lived for her once a week, lakeside yoga sessions. All her worries were melting away. She thought of her video deadline – what deadline? She had two weeks to get it done. Loads of time. Craig – he came to the forefront of her mind again and she almost felt slightly choked up despite a successful yoga session. She’d blatantly accused him of cheating several times now and it was clearly having a toll on their marriage. She sensed that she’dannoyed him during their last call, which might have been why he didn’t answer all the time.
The instructor signalled the end of the session by saying, ‘namaste’.
Justine yawned. Every muscle had been stretched and she enjoyed the feeling of improving and being able to hold the poses for longer every week. A bit of quiet chatter started to build up in the room. She turned to her side and smiled at Lindy who scratched her head and sat up. On her other side, Pia was already on her feet and had rolled her mat up.
‘How are you not half asleep?’ Justine asked. The chill in the air was giving her goosebumps now. She grabbed her sweater and pulled it over her head.
Pia shrugged and let her brown locks fall loose from a scrunchie. ‘I feel full of energy. Ready to take on the day after that session.’
‘I’ll have what you’re having,’ Justine replied with a laugh.
‘You will, because I have something for both of you. Feeling rough, it’s a cure all. Tired, it’ll fix that. This will add some bounce to your steps and who doesn’t want more bounce in their lives?’
‘Ooh, tell us more.’ Justine was up for more bounce in her steps but she doubted that Pia’s hocus-pocus inventions were really the cure for anything.
Lindy piped up as she stood while readjusting her sports bra. ‘Yes, don’t keep it a secret, I need all the help I can get.’ Lindy yawned and gazed ahead at the lake, her focus seemingly on the run-down building on the other side.
Justine stretched, giving Lindy a moment to enjoy the view. The next bit, the chats and the smoothies were what she really came for. She was aware that Lindy had been struggling to come to terms with the loss of her mother so it was helping her too. It had been a huge risk bringing Lindy into her and Pia’s friendshipduo because three was always a crowd her mother used to say. She thought of Craig again and swallowed. Who was their number three? Justine let out a long breath. Lindy had been new to the class and offering her friendship had been the right thing to do.
Pia broke Justine’s rambling thoughts. ‘Well, the product I need to share with you both is our new kombucha flavour and I’d appreciate it if you could drink it before you have your smoothies because I need your palates to be clean.’ Pia led them to the changing area and pulled her bag from a locker. ‘I have Berry-Cherry-Nice with Hibiscus. It has a green tea base and it should fizz and zing on your tongue. It’s refreshing and zingy, and best of all, it should put a spring in your step and keep that gut healthy. Who doesn’t want perfect gut bacteria?’
‘You sound like a walking advert, Pia,’ Justine said. Pia was a walking, talking health guru, always perfect and glowing, holding some qualifications in nutrition that Justine had never heard of.
