Page 7 of Her Lips Are Sealed

‘Yeah, Dan Webb, twenty-first of June, 1980. Well enough to adopt her cat. Is she okay? What are the crime-scene guys doing down there?’

‘I’m sorry, there’s no easy way to tell you this. A cleaner found Rachel’s body.’

He nodded slowly as if trying to absorb her last sentence. ‘Body?’

‘I’m afraid Rachel is dead.’

‘What, how?’ He slumped into the chair he’d been perched on. ‘Is this for real, did she put you up to this?’

Morgan wished that Rachel had put her up to this. She shook her head.

‘It’s very real and I’m sorry for your loss. How close were you to her?’

He pushed himself up and began to pace up and down the small space behind her, making her feel a little uncomfortable.

‘I, I don’t know what to say. How, was it an accident?’

Sucking in a deep breath, she shook her head once more. ‘No, we believe she was murdered.’

At this he stopped pacing and sat down opposite her. ‘By whom?’

‘That’s what we’re trying to find out. Did you hear anything from downstairs last night or this morning?’

‘No, I was at work. I’m a nightshift porter at the Belsfield. I got home about eight twenty and went straight to bed.’

‘Was her front door shut? Did you see anyone leaving?’

‘Yes, it was shut and no, there was no one around except for that rude parking attendant. The one who waits around the corner to slap a ticket on your car even if you’re unloading shopping.’

‘You came home and went to bed?’

He nodded. ‘Oh God, did I do that when she was fighting for her life downstairs?’

‘We don’t know her time of death yet; probably not.’

‘I hope not, that would be horrible. I can’t believe this; I like her a lot, she’s a good neighbour. We get on great, that great we share the cat. We weren’t in each other’s flats all the time, but occasionally she’d come in for coffee or a glass of wine or I’d go to hers. We’d watch unsolved true crime documentaries together if we were both bored at the same time and take notes about the case, joking we’d solve them if they let us loose with the files. That kind of thing.’

‘Were you ever romantically involved?’

He laughed. ‘No, she wasn’t into guys.’

‘Oh, did she have a girlfriend?’

He shook his head. ‘Not for the past six months. They split up and she said she was sick of being tied down.’

‘What about you, have you got a girlfriend?’

‘Yes, well when she wants to be. It’s complicated.’

Morgan smiled at him. ‘Can you tell me the name of Rachel’s ex-partner?’

‘Michelle, I don’t know her surname. Is she really dead? I can’t believe it. I was chatting to her last night before I went to work and she was happy. We were laughing about the cat’s latest vet bill, and she said technically I should pay half because the cat spends more time with me than her.’ He shook his head. ‘I told her to bugger off, it was an unwanted adoption. I can’t believe this. Who would do that to her? How did she die?’

‘She sounds like a great person, my kind of person. I wish I knew, but we will find whoever did this. I’m sorry I can’t disclose any details just yet.’

‘Are you sure it’s Rachel? She has a sister who looks almost identical to her.’

‘Pretty sure, the cleaner identified her.’