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“I didn’t hate Katherine. I hated the situation we were in, but I didn’t hate her. I could never hurt her, let alone kill her. I couldn’t kill anyone. It’s not in my nature. I know everyone says that, but it’s the truth.”
I saw Detective Stevenson consider what I was saying to him. He didn’t say a word as he reached back into the folder and pulled out another bag, placing it in front of me.
“Unfortunately, though, Mr. Cooper, we also found this in Mrs. Cooper’s room.”
I looked down at the paper he had placed in front of me. It was Katherine’s last will and testament. I sat there reading through it. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Not only was she appointing Kevin as the executor of her will, but she had left everything to him, including my house and shares in my father’s business that I didn’t even own. There was no way she had written this will.
“Detective Stevenson, this cannot be her will. She doesn’t own the house, and I don’t have any shares in my father’s business. I can give you a copy of the contract she signed when we were married. It quite clearly states that although Katherine could stay at the house, at the end of the five years, she would have no right to the house. She knew that, so she wouldn’t have put that into her will, as it is against the contract she signed.”
“I must admit, having seen the contract, I did find this will strange. There is one other thing to add to your woes. Vast amounts of money have been withdrawn from your joint account. Do you know anything about this?”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I could feel the panic I had been feeling for the past few hours starting to manifest itself into anger. I held my fist under the table, desperately trying not to let it show. The more Detective Stevenson was telling me, the more it looked as though the evidence all pointed towards me being the murderer.
“If you are suggesting that it is me withdrawing the money, why would I? It is a joint account, not my personal one. I don’t need the money that is in there, and if I am honest, I rarely check it. If someone is removing money, then my wife must have given them access.”
I was really expecting the next words from his mouth to be that he was placing me under arrest for the murder of my wife, but I was shocked when he spoke.
“Mr. Cooper, as you can see, everything appears to be pointing directly at you being the murderer of your wife. However, between you and me, I don’t think you did it. I received an anonymous call a few days ago telling me to look for the will you see in front of you, and that you had an argument with your wife and threatened her. I suspect whoever is behind your wife’s murder set that call up. The problem is, without proof of that, you are the prime suspect.”
I looked at Detective Stevenson as he spoke. Everything about him told me he was being sincere in what he was saying. However, the stern look on his face told me that I needed to take heed of any warnings he was giving me.
“So, as the prime suspect, will you be placing me under arrest?”
He gave me a slight smile as he spoke. “As I said, you may be the prime suspect, but I don’t think you did it, so for the moment, no, I won’t be placing you under arrest. However, I do think you should get yourself a good solicitor to join you next time you come into the station. Also, I suggest speaking to the guys at Kings. Get Richard and Tyler to investigate where the money from your account is going. They will find it a lot sooner than we can.”
I had to hold back my feelings as soon as he mentioned Richard’s name. I felt my heart sink thinking about how he would be feeling right now. It was nearly seven o’clock in the evening now, and I was sure he would have already tried to contact me a few times by now. I just hoped he didn’t think I wanted nothing more to do with him, because that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
“I have one last question for you, Mr. Cooper. Unfortunately, a personal one. Are you currently in a relationship with anyone? I know you said that any infidelity would lead to a divorce, but that really doesn’t matter now, does it?”
Could I trust Detective Stevenson? I guessed, like everything else, he would find out the truth in the end. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves before I started to speak.
“I have met someone. This week, actually. We wanted to see where our attraction would take us, but haven’t really started any form of relationship yet.”
I watched as he raised his eyebrows. I knew he was about to ask me who it was, so I saved him the trouble.
“Before you ask, it is Richard from King Brothers. We met in a bar the other evening. At the time, I didn’t know who he worked for, so it came as a bit of a shock when he walked into Jayden’s office. I would appreciate it, though, if you didn’t mention anything to your friends at King Brothers. I’m not sure if Richard has told them all yet.”
The detective smiled and nodded his head. “Thank you, Mr. Cooper, for being honest with me. It’s a rarity in this job. I spend most of my time trying to get the truth from people. I promise I will not say a word to anyone. But do reach out to them. They are going to be your biggest ally. Get Jayden or Mason to give me a call. I won’t be able to tell them anything about the case, but I may be able to give some helpful pointers. For now, you are free to go, pending further investigations. But I ask that you do not go back to the house for now, and you do not leave the country. If you could, let us know where you will be staying so we can contact you if necessary.”
“I will, Detective Stevenson. Thank you, I want to help you find the person who killed my wife and her unborn child. I may not have liked her, but she didn’t deserve to die.”
I was escorted out of the interrogation room and to the booking desk where my phone was returned to me. I was then shown out of the station and sent on my way. I was glad that I had walked to the station, as I wasn’t sure I would be able to drive when everything hit me.
I needed to speak to Richard. I needed to see him. I turned on my phone and found countless messages, calls, and voicemails, all from his number. He must have been frantic with worry that he couldn’t get hold of me, especially as he seemed to know that the police were at my house. I dialled his number and waited for him to answer.
“Daniel, please tell me that is you.”
At the sound of his worried voice, I completely broke down.
“Katherine’s dead… I need to see you… Can I come to you, please, Richard?”
Chapter Seventeen
Richard
Ihad been sitting at home for most of the afternoon worrying about Daniel. I had tried to call him countless times since I’d gotten here and left various voice messages, but still nothing. I had even called both Jayden and Kye to find out if they had heard anything about what was happening at Daniel’s house, but Paul had been unable to get any information.
I looked at the clock and saw it was way after six in the evening. I knew that Daniel often worked late, but never this late, according to him. I was just about to call Mason and ask him to contact Callum to see if he could find anything out when my phone started to ring.
