Page 76 of Her Last Breath

Chapter 50

Startled by the knock on her door, Jane looked up to see DC Chan standing there.

‘Full background check on Colin Wilson, ma’am,’ she said, as she came and sat down opposite Jane. ‘Born and brought up in Burnley. Attended Burnley College, father was a lorry driver interestingly, mother a homemaker. After college he left for a course in Social Policy at the London School of Economics.’

‘LSE? Bloody hell! How did he go from there to being jobless and volunteering?’

‘Post graduation, he worked at a few charities, mainly admin, before shifting focus to the operational side. Went out when he was twenty-three for a role in the Middle East, then changed tack to helping out mainly in Africa. He’s worked for Oxfam, UNICEF and then got a job fifteen years ago with Saving Lives. The one with the daytime TV ads.’

‘When did he leave Saving Lives?’ Jane asked.

‘He didn’t leave, ma’am. He was fired. Eight months ago.’

‘For what?’

‘Still trying to work that out. The HR department said they won’t release that information, it has to come from the CEO. He’s out of the country though, ma’am, due back this evening. He’s asked for a face-to-face meeting tomorrow morning.’

Jane was not amused by the hold up. ‘Fine. As early as possible, please. Does Wilson have family ties to Burnley? Is that why he came back?’

‘His father passed away five years ago, the mother shortly before that. They left the house to Wilson. Interestingly, even while he was away, he kept it as his registered address for bills in the UK, although he’s been registered as non-resident for the time during his posting.’

No tax man snooping around his finances. Jane thought about the money that Alice seemed to come into every now and then. Did Colin Wilson have a load of cash stashed away somewhere?

‘Get me a full financial check on him.’

‘OK. And, ma’am, again, really sorry about the delay on this.’

‘DC Chan, the best coppers aren’t the ones that don’t make mistakes. They’re the ones that fix their mess before anyone gets wind of them. No harm done, you’ve been vital for this investigation. Don’t forget that.’

As the day turned into early evening, Jane decided it was time to stop avoiding DCI Sameer Malik. She walked hesitatingly to his office, but it was her professional responsibility to update him. She couldn’t back away from that.

Sameer seemed to relax when she went into his office; maybe he was feeling the tension of their disagreement just as much as she was?

He listened to her distractedly as she provided a summary of the day. He definitely wasn’t focusing properly on what she was saying.

‘All sounds good,’ he said, confirming her suspicions of his non-engagement.

‘I think we’re getting close to making our case against Colin Wilson stronger. Hopefully, this means we aren’t looking beyond eight months of activity. What we can’t be sure of is what he was doing out in the Congo.’

‘Yeah.’ Sameer got out of his chair, sat on the edge of his desk facing her. ‘And you? What’s going on?’

Jane felt a pulse of despair, as though her very core had been ripped from her, as though she could easily collapse and sob in his arms. She wouldn’t though, it wasn’t how she had built herself up all these years.

‘Everything is fine, sir.’

‘Jane …’

‘Please. I’m not ready, just let me get on with my job.’

He groaned, as though frustrated with her. ‘OK, Joan of Arc, you carry on. But when it hits you and you feel like falling down, just let me know.’

‘You sound like a corny Taylor Swift song.’

‘Don’t knock the Swift.’

‘I see your kids have brainwashed you.’

‘Seriously though, you’re not alone on this.’