‘No. Mum loves the one we’ve had since nineteen eighty-nine.’
‘Did you see the car and its driver arrive?’ They still had no idea who was in the boot of the car and couldn’t assume it was Maura Pickering. Maura could be the perpetrator or her car could have been stolen.
‘I was already in bed. Mum wakes up about five every morning in pain so I have to tend to her. She had a big fall and has taken a while to get back on her feet properly. It’s been one thing after another so I’ve been off work for a while caring for her.’
‘What time did you go to bed on Saturday the fifteenth of November?’
‘Around nine thirty, just after putting Mum to bed. I usually go up at that time.’
‘Was the car on the drive then?’
‘No, I looked out to see if it had arrived and it wasn’t there.’
‘Did you hear it arrive later?’
She slowly shook her head. ‘No, I fell asleep around ten and I didn’t hear anything before then. I would have heard it pulling up if I’d been awake because the drive is right under my bedroom window.’ Gina waited for Jacob to note down the times.
‘Would your mum have heard anything?’
‘She sleeps in the bedroom overlooking the garden and she’d have taken her hearing aids out. I did ask her while we were waiting for you but she said she was asleep by then anyway.’ Gina knew they’d have to ask Agatha Wild but made a note for uniform to do that.
‘When did you wake up on the Sunday?’
‘As I said, it would have been around five. I would have had to have gone down to get Mum’s pain medication around that time. She’s normally desperate by then. I don’t leave it with her because she can forget she’s taken it already and I don’t want to risk her overdosing.’
‘What time did you first notice the silver Mercedes parked on your drive?’
‘I gave Mum her tablets and looked out the window. It was maybe about six that morning. The car was there. It was dark but I could see it parked up. I didn’t take too much notice of it being there. I never do take any notice when anyone parks up. People can come and go and I often never see them. They pay through the app so there’s no need for me to greet them or be here.’
‘How long was the booking for?’
‘The car was meant to be off our drive for midday but it was still there. This happens sometimes. People often take a bit more time and think it’s okay to pay when they return. I get angry after a couple of days and mark them down on the app. As I said before, I tried to call the number attached to the booking but itdoesn’t work. I’ve given this information to your PCs. I guess I should have realised something was wrong and called you then but I’ve been busy with Mum.’
‘What made you check on the car today?’
‘I had another booking. I was well mad by then because I knew I’d need to start looking for somewhere safe to park my car on the road. I went outside around ten, maybe ten thirty this morning to move my car… that’s when I was… I saw…’ She swallowed and looked away. ‘I saw the flies first, and then there was the smell and I just knew, then I called you around ten forty, at a guess.’
PC Smith knocked on the open back door. ‘Guv, can I have a word?’
‘Excuse me a moment.’ Gina left Jacob to continue asking the questions and tie up the interview. PC Smith stood on the path waiting for her. ‘Is Bernard able to speak with me now?’
‘No, guv. He’s still working the scene but he said in a few minutes he’ll be able to share what they’ve found with you. PC Ahmed has also found someone who wants to give a statement. They saw the driver of the car. I also heard forensics saying that the victim is not the owner of the car. It’s a man.’
THREE
Jacob hurried down the side path to the house to meet Gina at the end of the drive. She peered across at the scene but could barely see anything now the large tent had been erected over the whole car. The gathering in the road had got bigger since she’d pulled up. Neighbours held phones out and a uniformed officer kept asking them to keep back and stop filming but Gina knew the officer was wasting his time. It was like herding cats. She also knew that some inaccurate version of the news would have already hit social media by now before she’d even had a chance to speak to a relative of the victim.
PC Shafiq Ahmed crossed the road and they headed away from the crowd to talk privately. ‘Alright, guv. I’ve been speaking to Mrs Cole at number fifteen who saw the car pulling in and she said she’d like to speak to you.’
‘We’ll head over now. Thanks, Shaf.’
Gina nudged through the crowd and headed along the pathway until she and Jacob reached the semi in the cul-de-sac.
A woman opened the door. ‘Detectives?’
Gina nodded. ‘I’m DI Harte and this is DS Driscoll.’
‘Come in.’ The woman stepped barefoot into her hallway with a toddler on her hip, her long brown hair falling over her red T-shirt. She nudged open the door to a dining room. ‘Have a seat. Can I get you a drink?’
