Page 21 of Her Last Breath

Everything about this case was knocking through the walls of denial she had built for herself over the years. She knew that if it wasn’t her leading this investigation, if her brother hadn’t drowned, Alice’s case would have already been dismissed out of hand.

‘Did you find anything in her stomach? Alcohol or drugs?’

‘Some alcohol, yes, but in a low quantity. She would not be drunk on the amounts I found. I have ordered a full toxicology report and diatom analysis, but you know these things will take time. The diatom analysis I have sent to my colleague at the Natural History Museum. Toxicology, well, unless you know any other former work friends in the labs?’

Jane didn’t. She thanked the doctor, as she headed to interview Liam Harrison, taking the fire exit stairs down to the basement. It gave her time to process her thoughts before she faced him. She could see Burnley through the windows on each floor as she descended, the yellow-stoned town nestled in the dark nest of hills surrounding it.

Reaching the entrance to the basement level, Jane scanned her ID, entering the windowless space where all the light was artificial. There was a dank smell even before she entered the small interview room. Liam Harrison had every reason to kill his ex, and Jane felt she had enough to convince her team and her boss that Alice Rogers didn’t take her own life.

She was callously murdered.

Chapter 12

‘Texts. WhatsApp messages. Harassing calls. Turning up at her home unannounced, banging on her door until the neighbours told you to clear off.’

Liam Harrison stank of sweat and butchered meat, staring at Jane without remorse. They sat either side of a plastic table, on uncomfortable chairs, the walls painted a dull vanilla.

DS Johnson was with her, Jane wanting to build on their new dynamic. Having a deputy you couldn’t trust could prove fatal in this line of work.

‘You made her life absolute hell, Liam,’ Jane added.

Liam didn’t flinch, giving no clue that he was scared or concerned in any way. Jane could feel her anger coiling, primed to spring free. She visualised the terror that Alice would have felt, not only for herself, but for the two kids she had to protect. Casting a glance at Liam’s solicitor, an emaciated man who looked bored, Jane was grateful that at least she didn’t have to deal with an overenthusiastic lawyer intent on wasting her time.

‘Where were you on Monday the eighteenth of August, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., Mr Harrison?’ DS Johnson asked.

No response.

‘We checked with your workplace,’ Johnson continued. ‘Ray Peel confirmed you weren’t at the abattoir. So I’ll ask again, where were you on the eighteenth of August, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., when we believe Alice Rogers was last seen alive?’

Liam stayed silent as DS Johnson turned the pages in his interrogation binder. Each section had been divided with colour-coded tags, allowing him easy access to whatever he needed. Jane bit back the sudden desire to laugh at how meticulous Johnson was, how very different from her own scattered approach to paperwork.

‘We are questioning you in relation to murder, Mr Harrison,’ DS Johnson pushed. ‘I suggest you start answering me. I mean we haven’t even got to your assaulting two police officers while trying to evade arrest and being in possession of a knife.’

Liam glared at him.

‘You have a history of hurting women, don’t you, Liam?’ Jane’s voice was calm, but her eyes burnt. ‘You’ve been inside, done time.’ She paused. ‘How did you feel when one of the women who you kicked the shit out of daily decided she’d had enough?’

A slight trembling in his fingers revealed his nerves, as Liam emptied his paper cup of black coffee.

‘Piss you off, did it? How dare someone take a stand against you. Especially one of these women who were nothing in your eyes. Is that what happened with Alice?’

He stared at her angrily, attempting bravado. Jane was not intimidated at all.

‘You have no alibi, Liam,’ warned DS Johnson. ‘So you’d better start talking.’

Liam spat into the empty coffee cup. Jane felt as though he had gobbed in her face, her hackles rising.

‘Stalking, abuse, controlling behaviour,’ she listed. ‘One of your exes was very forthcoming, laid it out in detail for us. You used to tell her what to wear, kept tabs on her, slapped her around when she wouldn’t give you access to her phone. She said you were paranoid as hell, always accusing her of cheating.’

Liam started to crush the paper cup in his hand, spittle filled black liquid flecking the table.

‘Is that how you treated Alice?’

Jane felt she knew this man. Having no purpose in life, he found it by wielding power over those under his control. Why did the women let him? Was there a softer side to a guy like this? A charming man they fell for?

‘Alice broke free though, didn’t she?’ Jane taunted him. ‘Yes, she saw through your coercive bullshit and kicked you out. You couldn’t deal with that, could you?’

Jane understood how Liam would respond to losing influence over a woman like Alice – frustrated and humiliated. How it would drive him to the ultimate violence against her.