Single Handed (Gareth Dawson Series Book 3) Page 4

  “Just that there’s been a development and that they need to speak to me.”

  “Do you know what time they’ll be here”

  Annette glanced at the clock built into the cooker. “He said they would be here about three, so any time soon.”

  Gareth put Laura’s mug of tea down on a small coffee table and sat next to her while Annette paced up and down the lounge.

  “Annette, calm down would you?” Gareth said with a hint of irritation in his voice. “Just sit down and drink your bloody tea.”

  “I can’t, Gareth,” Annette hissed back through clenched teeth. She continued to pace, her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach.

  “This is a lovely house, Annette,” Laura said a moment later. “Have you lived here long?”

  Annette turned to Laura and looked at her, wondering if she was being patronising. When she saw the concerned look on the other woman’s face, she realised that she wasn’t. She was just trying to take Annette’s mind off things.

  “Um, about a year. Me and Philip came back from Australia, and we only needed somewhere small. It was a right wreck when we moved in.” She watched as Laura looked around the lounge.

  “Well, you’ve done a fantastic job with it,” she said appreciatively.

  “Thank you,” Annette replied, managing a brief smile. She crossed to an armchair and perched on the edge of it. “Gareth says you’re a lawyer?”

  “I am,” Laura said, sipping her tea. “I work in a small firm in the city. That’s how Gareth and I met.” Annette saw Gareth flash Laura a quick frown. “I mean, that’s how we know each other,” she added quickly.

  They sat in silence for a few moments. Annette was just debating whether or not to ask Gareth and Laura if they wanted another cup of tea when she heard another vehicle pulling up outside. Her heart started thumping in her chest as she heard the front gate open and close again.

  Annette stared at the photo of Philip on the bookshelf. The one of him standing on a foreign beach in full scuba diving gear, his hair still wet from a dive. A moment later, the doorbell rang, followed by a sharp rap of knuckles on the door. It was a classic policeman’s knock.

  “I’ll get that, will I?” Gareth said, rising to his feet.

  Annette took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

  “Yes, please,” she whispered.

  9

  Malcolm drew himself up to his full height as he saw a shadow approaching the door through the frosted glass window. A few feet behind him was Kate, and he knew without looking that she would be standing with her head slightly down and her hands clasped behind her back. Just like they were taught to do in police college when they had to deliver terrible news. He had thought about getting her to tell Mrs McGuire about the discovery, but thought better of it.

  The door opened, and a familiar face looked out. It certainly wasn’t the one he had been expecting to see.

  “Gareth?” Malcolm said, caught off guard. “Gareth Dawson?”

  “Hello, Malcolm,” Gareth replied, extending his hand for the policeman to shake. “Good to see you again, mate.”

  “Er, likewise, but what–”

  “Annette’s my little sister,” Gareth said, his face crinkling into an affable smile before it faded quickly.

  “Oh, right,” Malcolm replied. “I didn’t know.”

  “Some copper you are,” Gareth said, his smile returning for a few seconds.

  “This is DC Hunter.” Malcolm nodded over his shoulder. “Kate.”

  “Hello, Kate. Come on in, anyway.” Gareth stepped back to allow Malcolm and Kate to enter the house. “Annette’s in the lounge with Laura. You remember her, do you?”

  “Yes, of course I do,” Malcolm replied. He frowned and stopped for a second before lowering his voice.

  “Gareth, it’s great to see you, but why is Laura here? She’s a lawyer. Why would Annette need a lawyer?”

  “She’s not here in a professional capacity, Malcolm,” Gareth replied. “When she heard that you lot were coming round, Annette asked me to be here. Laura was with me when she called, so I asked her to come as well.” Malcolm thought for a few seconds about the implications of a lawyer being present, but dismissed them almost as quickly.

  “So she’s here as a friend?”

  “Yes.”

  A few moments later, Malcolm and Kate were sitting in the lounge, waiting for Annette and Gareth to make more mugs of tea. Malcolm didn’t really want one, but it would give Annette time and something to focus on before they got down to business. Laura was in the bathroom, so for the time being it was just Malcolm and Kate in the lounge.

  “How do you know him, then?” Kate asked in a low voice, nodding at Gareth who was in the kitchen, his back to them.

  “He’s got a bit of history. Ex-petty thief. Spent some time locked up for murder before being released on appeal.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep, last year. He’s kept his nose clean since though, or at least as far as I know he has. We’ve even used him a couple of times as a security consultant for burglaries. Nothing like a poacher turned gamekeeper.” Malcolm stopped talking as Gareth and Annette returned to the lounge and sat down.

  He watched out of the corner of his eye as Kate appraised Laura, just as any good copper does when they meet someone for the first time. He knew that Kate would be running through a set of questions in her head, and that the answers she came up with would dictate how she interacted with Laura. Kate was already, he knew, a very good policewoman, and she could go a long way in the force if she let herself.

  “Thank you, Mrs McGuire,” Malcolm said as a cup of tea was placed next to him. He put his notebook away, having made one or two preliminary notes out of habit.

  “Please, it’s Annette.”

  Malcolm picked up the mug and took a sip. There wasn’t any sugar in it, even though he’d asked for two spoons, but he made an appreciative face anyway. Putting his cup down, he reached into his pocket for his notebook to signify that the pleasantries were over and it was time to get down to business.

  “Annette,” Malcolm said, deliberately lowering his voice and maintaining eye contact with her. What he was about to say would destroy her, if not now, at some point in the future. This moment would be with her for the rest of her life, and Malcolm was determined to get this as right as he could. “Earlier this morning, some human remains were discovered just off the North Norfolk coast, at Cley-next-the-Sea.”

  A loud sob escaped Annette’s lips, and she threw her head into her hands. To Malcolm’s surprise, it wasn’t Gareth who comforted her, but Laura. The lawyer wrapped her arm around Annette’s shoulder and pulled her toward her. He waited for a moment before continuing.

  “Although this is the start of the investigation, we have reason to believe that they belong to your husband, Mr Philip McGuire.”

  “What do you mean, reason to believe?” It was Gareth. “How sure are you?”

  Malcolm took a breath while he considered his response. He couldn’t reveal too much of the detail at this point in time. It would just be too traumatic for Annette to find out that her husband’s hand had been found in a lobster pot, and that a police dive team was up there at the moment looking for the rest of him. In the end, Kate beat him to a reply.

  “We also discovered Philip’s car up there. According to the parking ticket in the window, he bought a day ticket on April the fourth. That was the day he disappeared. It’s a popular spot for scuba divers to get to the Rosalie wreck.”

  Malcolm looked at Kate, who shot him an apologetic look. He shook his head, almost imperceptibly. It had been exactly the right thing to say.

  “So what happens next?” Annette said in a small voice from the sofa. Laura still had her arm wrapped around the woman’s shoulder, and she was looking at Malcolm intently.

  “Well, the, um, the remains have been taken to the Norfolk and Norwich hospital to be examined. We may be able to confirm the identity sooner, but DNA tests will tell
us for sure. They’ll take a few days to come back. One of the things we need to do today is to take a sample of Philip’s DNA for comparison. His toothbrush or comb, perhaps?”

  “His toothbrush is in the downstairs bathroom,” Annette replied. “It’s the only one in there. Mine’s upstairs.” Malcolm nodded at Kate, who got to her feet.

  “It’s just by the front door, Kate,” Gareth said. “The bathroom.”

  “Thanks,” Kate replied, flashing a quick smile at him.

  “Can I see him?” Annette asked as Kate made her way across the lounge. Malcolm saw Kate’s step falter at the question, just for a second.

  “Not at this time, Annette,” Malcolm replied, softly. She would learn the truth about the discovery at some point in the future, but not today.

  “Will I be able to see him in the future, then?”

  “I’m not sure, to be honest with you. If he’s been in the water for some time, well…” He let his voice trail away, not sure exactly what to say.

  A few moments later, Kate returned with a brightly coloured toothbrush in an evidence bag.

  “Is it this one?” she asked, holding the bag up for Annette to see. When she nodded in reply, Kate sat down and started filling out the paperwork for the chain of evidence record.

  A few minutes later, Malcolm knew that it was time to leave. Although she was obviously devastated at the news, Annette was with people who could support her. Malcolm made sure that she had his contact details, and reassured her as much as he could that the police would support her in the days and weeks to come.

  Kate had gently probed Annette about whether or not Philip wore a wedding ring. The hand had already been x-rayed at the hospital and, according to the pathologist, it had a ring on the fourth finger. The policewoman managed to ascertain that yes; he wore one, and it had the date of their wedding inscribed on the inside. That Kate got this information without revealing anything about the grim discovery sent her further up in Malcolm’s estimation.

  He got to his feet, accompanied by Kate, and said goodbye to Annette. She barely responded to him, and he made his own way to the front door. Malcolm let Kate go in front of him and had taken a few steps toward the gate when Gareth caught up with him.

  “Malcolm?” He stopped and turned to face the younger man.

  “Gareth? What can I do for you?”

  “Are you sure it’s him?”

  “We’ll need to wait for DNA like I said, but we’re pretty sure. There’s only one missing scuba diver in Norfolk at the moment, so to find the remains of one near a popular dive site, along with his abandoned car, is fairly conclusive in my book.”

  “He was an experienced diver, though.”

  “I don’t know much about diving, to be honest,” Malcolm replied, “but from what I do know it can go wrong very quickly, no matter how experienced you are.”

  “Well, all I can say is thank God for that.”

  “It must be difficult,” Kate said, stepping back to join the conversation. “At least the uncertainty for Annette is over now, though. She can start to grieve and eventually move on.”

  “No,” Gareth replied, a glint in his eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant thank God he’s dead.”

  “He was your brother-in-law, Gareth,” Malcolm said, not liking the expression on his face.

  “That’s as may be, but he was an utter bastard to my little sister. Did she tell you he beat the crap out of her the night before he disappeared?”

  “No, that wasn’t mentioned in the report,” Malcolm replied, glancing at Kate.

  “I thought that was why he’d vanished,” Gareth said, his face hard and unyielding. “Because he knew I was looking for him to return the favour with interest.”

  10

  Gareth waited in the hallway for a few seconds after Malcolm and the female police officer had left. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been quite as honest with Malcolm about his brother-in-law—Malcolm was a copper, after all—but it was true. He’d never had any time for Philip at the best of times, but when he found out what he’d done to Annette, Gareth had been ready to make him see the error of his ways.

  He thought back to when he had first heard about Philip. Annette had been in Australia for a while when she had hooked up with him after they met on a holiday resort where they were both working. Annette had been a childminder on the resort, and Philip was the instructor at the scuba diving school that the resort ran. The next thing Gareth knew, the two of them were married. At the time, he’d been annoyed that he didn’t even get so much as an invitation to the wedding, but he’d later found out that no-one had. The ceremony had been on a beach, with only a minister and a witness in attendance. Then the whole thing with Jennifer had happened, and Gareth’s attention had been elsewhere.

  Gareth took a deep breath and walked back into the lounge. To his surprise, Laura was sitting alone. He looked at her and she glanced at him with a concerned expression before nodding in the direction of the kitchen. Through the open door, Gareth could see Annette’s back. It looked as if she was washing up the mugs. He stepped into the kitchen and cleared his throat softly, not wanting to make her jump.

  Annette turned around and stared at him, her eyes vacant.

  “You okay, sis?” he asked, instantly regretting it. Of course she wasn’t okay. She’d just found out her husband was dead. She blinked once or twice before replying.

  “What do I do now, Gareth?” she asked in a whisper. “What the hell do I do?” He had no reply for that.

  “I don’t know, Annette,” he replied, taking a mug out of her wet hands. It looked as if she was about to drop it on the floor. “Come through to the lounge and sit down.” She hesitated, looking at the dirty crockery. “The mugs can wait. Come on.”

  Gareth reached out and gently took Annette’s hand, leading her back into the lounge. As Annette sat down in an armchair, Laura whispered to Gareth.

  “Do you want me to go?”

  “No,” Annette replied before Gareth could say anything. “Please stay. Just for a bit.”

  The three of them sat in silence for a few moments before Annette spoke again.

  “What’s wrong with our family, Gareth?”

  “How d'you mean? There’s nothing wrong with our family.”

  “We don’t seem to have much luck with our spouses though, do we?” The irony of Philip’s death, following on from Jennifer’s, hadn’t really occurred to Gareth until Annette mentioned it. He opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again. “I don’t know what to do,” she said again.

  “Annette,” Laura replied, getting up and crossing to Annette’s chair. She knelt down in front of her and took her hand. Gareth took a step toward Annette, but Laura looked at him and shook her head almost imperceptibly. “Listen, there’re a few formalities that will need to be done. First, they’ll have to identify the body to make one hundred percent sure it is Philip.”

  “But they won’t let me see him,” Annette said, her voice breaking. She swallowed, hard, and Gareth could see how hard his little sister was working to keep her composure. He thought back to when he’d found out Jennifer had died and tried to remember what he wanted to hear at the time. For some reason, he couldn’t think of anything. When he had found out that awful news, his entire world had just tilted on its axis, and it still hadn’t righted itself. Annette was coping a hell of a lot better so far than he had done.

  “If he’s been in the water for three weeks, Annette, seeing him probably isn’t going to help. They’ll need to do a DNA test to be sure.” Gareth watched as Laura stroked the back of Annette’s hand. “There’ll need to be a post-mortem to find out how he died, but once that’s done then the coroner will be able to release Philip’s body.”

  “They’ll issue you with a death certificate,” Gareth said, pleased to be able to contribute something to the conversation. “Then you’ll be able to start planning stuff.” He remembered that much from Jennifer’s death.

  “Stuff?” Annette l
ooked up at him, tears in the corner of her eyes.

  “Like his funeral.”

  “Oh, I see.” She stared into space for a moment. “Can you go, please?”

  “Of course I’ll go, Annette,” Gareth replied, confused. Just because he couldn’t stand the man didn’t mean that he wouldn’t go to his funeral.

  “Not to his funeral. Can you just go, please? I want to be on my own.”

  Laura got to her feet, wincing as one of her knees clicked. “I’ll wait in the car.” When Gareth had given her the keys, she turned back to Annette. “Annette, if there’s anything that I can do, or my firm, all you have to do is ask.”

  Gareth waited until Laura had left the room before saying anything to Annette.

  “Are you going to be okay, sis?” She didn’t reply, so he repeated his question a moment later. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Annette said with a weak smile. “I just want to be on my own.”

  “Sure, I get that. When Jennifer died, everything changed. It took me a while to get my head round it.”

  “Oh, I’ve got my head round it all right,” Annette replied. “No problem with that. Philip’s dead.” There was a note of determination in her voice that surprised Gareth. “I know he’s dead, and I’m now a widow. Just like you’re a widower. Is it that way round?”

  “I think so, yes,” Gareth said. “I don’t like the thought of leaving you on your own, Annette. Not when you’ve just found out Philip has died. It doesn’t seem right.” Gareth looked at his little sister carefully. She was frowning, but otherwise looked as if she had just heard she had lost her job or something. Not her husband.

  “I’ll be fine on my own, Gareth,” Annette said, laughing bitterly. “I need to get used to it, don’t I? Please, just go.”

  “You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?” Gareth didn’t think for a moment that she was, but he felt he had to ask, anyway.

  “Gareth,” Annette said, turning to face him. “I’ll be fine. I’m going to pour myself a large glass of wine.” She put her hand up, palm facing Gareth. “I know, it’s not even four in the afternoon. But I’m going to pour myself a big glass of the old vino.” Gareth saw her look at the photograph of Philip on top of the bookcase. “And I’m going to do something that I need to be on my own to do properly.”