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Billy Morrison suddenly decided to straighten his stationery, before asking, “You lads want a cuppa?”
“No, thank you.”
He collected all the mugs and put them near the tea-making facilities. “Neither do I, to be honest.” He turned to face Gardener. “I think you better tell me what our Barry’s been up to.”
“I’m sorry,” said Gardener. He truly was. He hated delivering bad news to anyone, especially if a relative had died. “We were called to the shop because the butcher had found a body in his doorway. We got there as soon as we could. It would have made no difference. I’m afraid your brother Barry had been dead for quite some time.”
“Dead?”
Gardener knew Morrison had heard correctly, but it would be some time before it sank in.
“Yes. I’m so sorry. The Home Office pathologist estimated his time of death at sometime between midnight and two o’clock.”
Morrison glanced down at his hands and started to rub them together. “Are you sure it was him?”
“He was positively identified by Mr Wrigglesworth.”
Reilly turned away from the window, studying Billy Morrison.
Gardener wasn’t sure if he would speak again, so he asked, “Would you like us to call someone for you? Or maybe you’d like to see a family liaison officer?”
“No. I’m okay.”
“What about your wife? Should we contact her?”
Morrison stared at the ceiling for some time, tears forming in his eyes. Gardener could tell he was struggling to remain composed.
“It’s never easy to tell someone they’ve lost a close family member,” said Gardener. “I realize it’s a difficult time, but I really do need to ask you some questions.”
Morrison still stared at the ceiling and mouthed the words ‘Stupid bloody fool’ through gritted teeth. Gardener wasn’t sure to whom he was referring, but he doubted it would be a senior ranking police officer. Reilly pulled out a pad and pen.
Morrison turned his gaze to the window, and eventually started talking. “Stupid bloody fool. I told him. I kept on telling him, not to work too hard.”
He glanced at Gardener. “I always thought he’d work himself to death, you know. He never stopped. He’d be in here at about six o’clock. He’d work right through his shift, and when I came in around eight, he’d still be here, just wanting to finish one more job. Whether that be filing, or keeping records straight, or doing an airport run.
“I always reckoned that when he left here, he never bothered sleeping. He’d just carry on working somewhere else. He was a bit obsessed with money, even when he was a lad. He was always after making a bob or two, always up to some scheme or other. He never used to sit still. When we were teenagers, most of us were out chasing girls. Not our Barry. As far as he was concerned, there was always money to be made.”
“Were you partners?”
“Yes, different roles. I run the pitch. He ran the cab business. I have a couple of lads working for me. He had five.”
Gardener was pleased Morrison was opening up. He had to make the best of it, because he had no idea when the shock would hit. “And how is business?”
“Oh, you know, up and down. We’re scraping a living, not breaking records. Last few years have been tough. An uncertain Brexit and the price of fuel means we sell less cars by day, and less cab rides by night. People are either not going out as much, or they’re choosing to walk home. You only have to read the news to see pubs are closing every day.”
“But you’re not in any financial trouble?”
“Oh, God no,” said Morrison. “We make sure of that…” He stopped mid-sentence and composed himself.
“No. No financial trouble. We were partners, and we both ran the business economically. We didn’t waste money, or spend it unnecessarily. We always put plenty away in the good times. You see, neither of us like letting people go. It’s tough enough out there so we always made sure there was money in the account to pay the drivers and the salesmen. We could both miss a wage or two if necessary.”
“So Barry had no money worries?”
“None that I know of.”
Gardener wondered how much they would discover that Billy didn’t know about Barry.
“Did he ever seem distracted to you, bothered about anything?”
