‘That’s an understatement.’ She sniffed and continued. ‘Kain was sucking everything out of Mum and I hated seeing her shrink. He took every ounce of her energy and money. Our arguments came to a head after Mum had paid him for a second time to get a CCTV system fitted to her house. There had been a few burglaries and she was scared. But he didn’t do it. He pissed her money up the wall and the things she told me will make your blood chill. She’d started to realise that Kain was never going to fit the system and as soon as he asked her for more money, for better cameras – apparently, she said no.’
‘What happened next?’
Jacob turned a page over and was scribbling notes at speed.
‘He screamed his mouth off at her, saying that she was a waste of space, that she’d never helped him. She said he pushed her over and then stole money from her purse. I went over to the house and told him he had to leave. I wanted to call the police but Mum begged me not to. In the end, I didn’t, only because Mum said she’d disown me if I did and all Kain could do was stand behind her, looking smug.’ Lindy leaned back on her settee and stared at the ceiling rose for a moment. When she looked back at them, Gina saw that Lindy’s mascara had mixed with her fresh tears. ‘I don’t know where it all went wrong. In that moment I saw him as nothing but a vicious animal but now that he’s dead, all I can think of is my little mop-headed brother with his blond curls and his big gappy smile. The drink changed him. He had no way back and none of us could seemingly help him. I tried so hard and I still had hope that he could deal with his drinking. I never lost hope.’
Gina shivered as thoughts of her own past ran through her mind. Her abusive ex-husband, Terry, drunk and angry as he punched and raped her – the look on his face after she’d pushed him down the stairs to his death. Her knowing that she’d have done it all again to protect her daughter, Hannah, from the monster that he was. She also knew that there would always be that glimmer of the person the victim knew, before they became so cruel and she could see that confusion playing out on Lindy’s face. She thought of Briggs again. Only he knew about her past. It pained her to see him rejecting her in such a cold way.
‘Your late mother’s neighbour, Joyce, said she’d had problems with Kain and that she’d spoken to you about them,’ Jacob said.
‘Yes, he’d threatened her and Joyce had been worried about Mum. I doubt he’d have really done anything to Joyce. He was all angry talk and no substance.’
‘But he pushed your mum.’
Lindy frowned. ‘But he’d never have hurt Joyce.’
Gina wondered if Lindy was in denial but the way she saw it, Kain was the victim and Lindy was a potential suspect given the conflict between them. ‘Did your mum have a small blue teddy bear?’
She shook her head. ‘Mum was an anti-clutter freak, so much so that she got rid of all her knick-knacks. She used to joke and say it was less for us to sort out once she croaked it – her words, not mine. We thought it was funny at the time. Mum had that kind of humour, a little bit morose at times. Is this about Mum or Kain?’
‘It’s relevant to the case but I’d ask that you don’t mention it to anyone else.’ Gina took in Lindy’s reaction to her mentioning the teddy bear but Lindy didn’t react at all. ‘Do you know if Kain had any enemies or any fallings out with anyone recently?’
‘He had an acrimonious divorce that was finalised a few months ago. He busted a gut to buy a new place and, in my opinion, he overstretched himself with the new mortgage which is why he ended up losing his house. His ex-wife cited his drinking as the reason for the divorce. It was his unreasonable behaviour but he resented her for leaving him and he resented her more for getting together with a man from her past as soon as they’d split up. I don’t blame her, though. She deserved more.’
‘What’s her name and do you have contact details for her?’
‘Sheena May. She lives at number fifteen High Street, Cleevesford. I can’t see that it would have anything to do with her. She’s moved on.’ Lindy frowned. ‘He was in debt but it was credit card debt. I know he put his business on the line and also burnt his way through a business loan.’
‘Could he have borrowed money from anywhere else?’
‘Like a loan shark? No.’
‘How about friends?’
‘Kain didn’t hang out with anyone. He preferred to hang out at home and watch TV on his own. He wasn’t a pub drinker; he drank at home.’
‘Work or business colleagues?’
Lindy shrugged.
‘Can I take your surname?’
‘Pickering.’ She dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a finger.
‘What is the name of your brother’s company?’
‘What’s left of it. The staff have gone and the rental lock-up has an eviction notice pasted to the roller shutter. There’s nothing there. Mum and I helped to clear the unit out. For what it’s worth, it’s K Pickering’s CCTV and Security Installations.’ She cleared her throat. ‘I know he took money for jobs then he spent it, letting the customers down. He applied for bankruptcy and they lost their money.’
‘Do you know who these customers are?’
‘His paperwork and computer is in the spare room wardrobe at Mum’s house. I know that because Mum keeps her coats in there and she said that the boxes were creasing them up.’
Gina watched Jacob typing out a message to PC Smith, telling him to mention it to the search team. As soon as they could get that paperwork to the station, they could look into who these wronged customers were. She made a mental note to pass on the information about the industrial unit, just in case anything was left there. ‘I’m sorry to have to ask you this but did Kain have any distinctive or unique features such as a tattoo?’
‘Yes, he has Sheena’s name on the top of his right arm in a heart.’ She paused and swallowed. ‘I don’t want to see his body.’
‘That’s okay. You don’t have to.’ Gina was glad. After what she saw earlier, she didn’t think it would be possible. The scent of Kain’s decomposing body was still coating her nostrils. ‘Do you know the name of his dentist?’
