Page 73 of Her Last Breath

‘Pedro, get the detective whatever she wants.’

‘Tea would be great,’ Jane said.

Pedro departed immediately, leaving the two women alone.

‘Tell me, what can I do for you?’ Sarah asked.

Loud and local, she was not someone to be messed with, but with an undeniable warmth that only existed up North.

‘I want to speak to you about Bill Hargreaves.’

Immediately the woman’s blue eyes clouded over, genuine shock and sympathy on her face.

‘My God, it was so awful what happened to him.’

‘Can you tell me about him?’ Jane asked.

‘Not much to say. He was a good worker, only here a couple of months. Nice man, very old school. Gentlemanly, my old ma, may she rest in peace, would have said.’

‘Prior to you, he was at Bailey’s Haulage?’

Sarah looked disgusted.

‘Business rivals?’ Jane asked.

‘No. Didn’t like the way Bailey’s did business, that’s all. I never worry about my rivals. There’s enough for all of us, if we play nice.’

‘You say you didn’t like how they did business?’

‘Yes, they got shut down a month ago. Being investigated for smuggling and people trafficking. Young girls from Asia and Eastern Europe. Sickens me.’

‘You said Bill was a good worker, yet you still let him go?’

‘He was caught drunk at the wheel. Luckily by one of my other workers, but I wasn’t going to risk him going to prison and my firm getting dragged through the mud.’

Sarah showed Jane the Burnley Business of the Year award on her wall, plus a couple of other nationally recognised awards. It wasn’t gloating, just context so she understood what she said next.

Pedro came in with Jane’s tea. With his tanned skin and hazel eyes, he looked like he should be on a reality dating show.

‘You know people assume that this was my late husband’s business or my father’s place,’ Sarah said when Pedro had gone again. ‘They’re wrong, though. I built this up from scratch. I was the secretary back in the day for a guy in Blackburn doing the same thing. Lecherous swine. When he got a bit too “paws on” for my liking, I quit. Only by then I knew his business model inside and out, so I took that knowledge and started my own firm. I’m sure you can imagine what that was like for a woman all them years back.’

‘I hope things have changed now.’

‘It was a good day when that piece of shit went out of business. I bought his lorry stock from him.’

Sarah grinned, revealing perfect teeth, before becoming serious again.

‘It really knocked me when I heard Bill hung himself. But I have to protect the livelihood of the fifty other drivers and their families I employ.’

‘You can’t blame yourself,’ Jane said meaningfully. ‘In the end it was Bill’s choice.’

‘Yes.’

Jane let the silence linger between them for a moment. Outside she could hear Pedro’s muffled voice as he took calls. No doubt fielding them for Sarah while she spoke to Jane.

‘How was he with the other drivers? Do you know if he had any enemies?’

‘Bill? No, as gentle as the morning dew, that man. He didn’t have friends or enemies. Kept himself to himself, really. I only knew him for a couple of months, but I’m wise enough to read people. He was harmless, had a good heart.’