Even after all these years, the man could still surprise her.
‘Dan, I don’t know what you were told, but we deliberately don’t share much until we have a better understanding of the incident.’
He nodded his understanding and waited for her to continue.
‘Your wife wasn’t mugged. She wasn’t stabbed for her possessions. There’s no doubt she was murdered,’ Kim said as gently as she could while still having to say the actual words.
‘How can you know that it wasn’t?—?’
‘All her possessions were accounted for, and there’s no evidence that the attacker even tried to steal her handbag. It was one single stab wound that was carefully placed for maximum effect. The killer wanted her dead,’ Kim said, needing for him to understand, while also trying to get the detail that would aid their investigation.
‘But there must be some kind of?—?’
‘Dan, can we do this my way? I’ll tell you everything, but let me get some background first. Does Ashley always go to netball practice on a Sunday night?’
‘Yeah, it’s a walking netball club, just for fun and exercise. She’s been doing it for about two years.’
‘And do they always go for a drink afterwards?’ she asked.
He shook his head. ‘Not always. Last night, she was coming straight home, but what does that have to do with anything?’
‘So, she always walks that same route?’
‘It’s barely a mile, and I offered?—’
‘I know, Dan, it’s not about that, and it probably wouldn’t have made any difference anyway. Whoever killed Ashley meant it,’ she said, watching for his reaction. Despite being a naturally cynical person, she still didn’t enjoy having to suspect a victim’s nearest and dearest, but more people were killed by someone they knew than a stranger. And of those people, a high percentage were murdered by their spouse or partner. Until they widened Ashley’s circle, she had no choice but to analyse the reactions of the man before her. It was a fine line to tread, treating him as a grieving husband while looking for signs that he might be a suspect.
‘That’s impossible,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘No one could have wanted to hurt her. Everyone loved Ashley. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.’
Kim already knew the answer to her next question, but she had to ask it anyway.
‘Had she mentioned anything unusual? Strange calls, being followed, an argument with anyone?’
He shook his head as Kim expected. It was likely that if anything of that nature had happened, he would have insisted on picking her up.
‘Honestly, there has to be some kind of mistake. I would have known if she had a problem with anyone. We tell each other everything.’
‘How about at netball? Anyone she wasn’t keen on?’
‘Well, there were a couple of people she didn’t get along with brilliantly but not to this extent.’
‘And who might they be?’ Kim asked, feeling a prick of interest. She hoped to remove this man from the top of her list as soon as possible.
‘She doesn’t like Harriet because she’s too aggressive. She’s come home more than once with a bruise from her and Diana, who also takes it all too seriously.’
‘Surnames?’ Kim asked.
Dan shook his head. ‘I only know the name of the organiser. Nicola Sykes – she lives at the top of Mucklow Hill. But I don’t get it.’
‘Dan, your wife was stabbed on her way home. We feel this was a targeted attack. It was intentional, and it was planned. The killer stabbed her face on, meaning that it’s unlikely to have been mistaken identity.’
His face was a mask of horror as the words sank in. Pain filled his eyes along with a question.
‘Oh God, did she suffer?’
Kim shook her head. She didn’t yet know how long it had taken for Ashley to bleed out. She didn’t know how long her attacker had stood there, watching the life drain out of her. But this man didn’t need to know any of that.
The pain turned to anguish.
