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“Which could have been the burglar,” offered Reilly. “Or it might have been Jane or Robbie Carter.”
Gardener continued. “Option one is the burglar surprised and attacked her but may not necessarily have killed her.”
“But she could have died afterwards as a result,” said Cragg.
“Yes,” said Gardener. “But I don’t think so. Option two is he came home and something very similar happened. Maybe they had an argument, things got out of hand, the accident in the bathroom happened and he stormed out.”
“That doesn’t sound likely to me,” said Cragg. “If that was the case, why come here and report her as dying or dead?”
“Good point. Unless it was to take the heat off himself,” said Gardener.
“Or to cover what really happened,” said Reilly.
“What were your first impressions of him, Maurice?”
Cragg sighed and finished his tea. “Well, with all due respect, Mr Gardener, I’ve been pounding this beat a lot longer than you and I’ve seen all manner of people – all walks of life. I’ve come across every criminal known to man and quite a few murderers, I can tell you. He didn’t strike me as one.”
“You were quite happy that he was in a state of shock and wasn’t really aware of what was happening?”
“I’d have to go with my gut instinct on that one and say yes.”
“Okay, Maurice, I’ll go with that.”
“Which leaves us with option three.”
“Amongst the mess on the bathroom floor we found a bottle of pills. No idea what they were. My guess is a prescription drug of some sort, not painkillers that you can buy over the counter.”
“And you think that she might have been feeling off colour, gone to bed, either taken the tablets or had a fall trying to take them?”
“That’s option three,” said Reilly.
“But you don’t sound convinced by that one, either.”
“No,” said Gardener, “because it doesn’t explain the bruising and doesn’t account for the break-in. I don’t mind admitting that I’m puzzled. But I need to keep an open mind. So, if it’s all the same to you, Maurice, I’d like you to take care of a few things while we speak to Robbie Carter.”
“What would you like me to do?”
“The first thing is an incident room.”
Before Gardener had a chance to continue, the sandwiches arrived. Judging by the smell and the wait they’d had, they’d been freshly prepared. Gardener’s stomach rumbled. Reilly moved so fast that Gardener didn’t even see him – all he felt was the breeze as the Irishman passed him.
“Not a problem,” continued Cragg, “we can use the same one as last time.”
Gardener gave a quick thought to Cragg’s comment. The squad lost a very promising young PC in Gary Close who had been killed by an obsessive doctor earlier in the year, hell-bent on seeking revenge for the death of his wife. He’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Gardener quickly continued. “Can you also contact HOLMES, get them here and set them up in the next room?”
“As good as done,” said Cragg, standing up and leaving the table.
As Gardener turned, Mike Atherton came through the door.
“Mike,” said Gardener, “have you been on duty all this time?”
“No, sir. I’ve had a few hours at home but I wanted to get back and see if you’d consider using me on this case, to work alongside your team.”
“We’d value your help. In fact, I have something specific for you in mind. You must know the area and the people pretty well. We have more than just a murder to investigate, there’s a burglar
y and all the subsequent enquiries that go with it.”
