It felt much longer than twenty-four hours since she’d met the man for the first time. She wondered how those hours had passed for him. On a practical level, she knew he had identified the body, but on an emotional level, was he any closer to acceptance of the finality of the situation? Had their child stopped looking at the front door waiting for her mum to come home?
These and many other questions were in her mind as they headed towards their destination.
Had Daniel known that Ashley was pregnant? If so, why had he not mentioned it? Was there any possibility that Ashley had kept it secret because he wasn’t the father?
When delivering the news, she would be again watching his reaction very carefully. She knew he was fearful of something. She just didn’t know what.
‘Hello, hello, what’s going on here?’ Bryant said, pulling up in front of the Reynoldses’ drive.
Daniel stood at the rear of his car, boot open, moving stuff around to make room.
‘Going somewhere?’ she asked as they got out of the car.
‘Y… yeah, just wanted to, er… get away for a few days,’ he said, closing the boot.
Ava appeared, pulling a pink suitcase covered in butterflies.
‘Just leave it there, sweetie,’ he said, taking her hand and leading her back inside.
Kim said nothing as she followed, but her curiosity was piqued. Even more questions entered her head about this man. Where was he going just one day after his wife had been murdered? And why?
The first thing she noticed as she entered was just how tidy the house seemed to be. His shoes left imprints on the freshly vacuumed carpets. The surfaces were clear, and no toys littered the space.
The kitchen was pristine, and a rubbish bag was tied off ready to be put out.
He stood in front of the sink and folded his arms. Kim detected a slight difference from the previous day. Yesterday, everything about him had been open. He had made no effort to hide his grief. Today, there was a hint of impatience, a guarded demeanour, almost like his priority had shifted.
His manner made a seed of suspicion grow in her gut.
‘We just need to ask you a couple of questions,’ she said, nodding towards Ava.
‘Sweetheart, go check your room.’
‘I got everything, Daddy, just like you?—’
‘How about Paddington? Did you get him from your bed?’
‘I don’t want to?—’
‘You have a Paddington?’ Bryant asked with wide eyes. ‘No way.’
‘I do too,’ she said, heading out the room.
Thank goodness she had a partner who could appeal to people of all ages. Even so, his ability to keep her occupied would be limited. Understandably, the girl didn’t want to be too far away from her father.
‘Dan, I want to ask you about Ashley’s brother.’
He stiffened immediately. ‘Has he contacted you?’
She shook her head, wondering why he would think that he had.
‘We understand he intercepted Ashley on her way home from netball a couple of weeks ago. Did you know about that?’
He nodded. ‘She told me. That’s why I kept offering to go and pick her up, but she wouldn’t hear of it.’
‘We have a witness who says it looked pretty heated between them.’
‘They don’t get on,’ he said, stealing a glance at the clock above her head.
