Lethal Secret Read online

‘If this is current, we know where she works. But before we go there, we need to inform her family. I’ve got her driving licence; we’ll track them from that.’

  ‘Are you thinking this might be a suicide cluster?’ Claire asked.

  Whitney was surprised the pathologist had decided to comment. It was very unusual.

  ‘That was my first thought, but we need to look more into the other deaths. It could be the officer assigned to their cases jumped to conclusions. We don’t know if these victims were connected in any way. There’s also a chance it could be murder. We’ll see what you come up with during your investigation.’

  ‘I’ll let you know as soon as I have something.’ Claire looked away and continued working.

  ‘I get the hint,’ she said as she left the room and headed downstairs.

  She walked back into the lounge, where the tension was palpable. No one was talking.

  ‘I’d rather you didn’t stay here until our investigation is complete,’ she said. ‘Do you have anywhere you can go for a few days?’

  ‘I can stay with my boyfriend,’ Sarah said.

  ‘I’ve got a friend who will put me up,’ Kiera said.

  ‘Thank you. Give your contact numbers to DS Price and we’ll let you know when it’s okay to return. I noticed in Hayley’s room that she’s into yoga. Do you know where she went for classes?’

  ‘I saw her going out early one Saturday morning, with a mat under her arm, and I asked where she went,’ Kiera said. ‘She said it was out in the country and she’d be gone all day. That was the most she’d said to me in all the time she was here.’

  That might help. There couldn’t be too many centres that far out of the city.

  ‘Please go upstairs to collect your belongings. Would you like a lift?’

  ‘It’s fine. I can take us,’ Sarah said as they left the lounge and went upstairs.

  ‘What do you think?’ Matt asked once they were gone.

  ‘It’s difficult to know at the moment. We need to compare the deaths, and not just have the police officer’s word about it, to see if there are similarities. And that’s down to Claire.’

  ‘They could all be murders,’ Matt said.

  ‘Let’s not even go there. We’ve had enough murders this year, and it would be nice to have some time off,’ she said. ‘Back to our victim. I’ve got her business card from work. We can check her out there. Obviously, we need to find out where her family lives and give them the news. Who’s on duty? I don’t suppose it’s Ellie,’ she said, referring to the Detective Constable who was their resident research guru. When they needed information, she was the one to find it.

  ‘I believe it is, but not for much longer,’ he said as he checked his watch. ‘Shall I contact her?’

  ‘No. I’ll do it.’ She pulled out her phone.

  ‘Hello, guv. I didn’t expect to hear from you tonight. I thought you had a rehearsal,’ Ellie said.

  ‘I got called away. I want you to track down the family of a Hayley Tennant. She lived at 114 Brookfield Road East but was only there for a few weeks. I’ll text you her driving licence number. First impression is suicide, but we’re not a hundred per cent sure until the pathologist has done her work.’

  ‘No problem, I’m onto it.’

  ‘Thanks. Let me know as soon as you’ve got the details. I want to speak to them this evening.’

  She ended the call and texted the number to Ellie. Just as she’d finished, Sarah and Kiera came downstairs with their bags.

  ‘Can we go now?’ Sarah asked.

  ‘Yes. Don’t forget to give your details to DS Price.’

  She left them giving their information to Matt and headed into the hall just as Ellie called her back.

  ‘The next of kin listed on the victim’s driving licence is Mrs Veronica Tennant, and she lives at 101 Joll Street, in Cowley.’

  ‘Thanks. Matt and I will go there now.’

  She ended the call. Cowley was about twenty-five minutes away, so they should make it there by nine-fifteen. Not ideal, but hopefully the woman wouldn’t have gone to bed.

  She waited until Sarah and Kiera had left before going back into the lounge where Matt was putting away his notebook.

  ‘We’re going to speak to the victim’s family. They live in Cowley,’ she said to the officer.

  When they arrived at their destination, she was relieved to see a light on downstairs. It was a nice area of town and they lived in a modern detached property. After parking in the drive, they headed to the front door. Whitney rang the bell.

  A man in his fifties answered.

  ‘I’d like to speak to Mrs Veronica Tennant. I’m DCI Walker from Lenchester CID, and this is DS Price.’ She held out her warrant card and Matt did the same.

  ‘What’s it about?’

  ‘Who are you?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m Ken Tennant, Veronica’s husband.’

  ‘We’d like to come in and speak to you both.’

  ‘Is it one of the children?’ he said, panic in his voice.

  ‘Please, Mr Tennant, if we could speak to you inside.’

  Whitney hated this part of the job more than anything else. She had to go in and totally destroy people’s lives, knowing things would never be the same again.

  He opened the door and ushered them in. ‘My wife’s in the lounge watching television.’

  They followed him into the room.

  ‘Who is it, Ken? It’s very—’ The woman, who’d stood as they entered, stopped speaking mid-sentence.

  ‘It’s the police,’ he said.

  ‘What’s happened?’ She clutched her hands to her chest.

  ‘Please sit down,’ Whitney said.

  They did as she’d asked, and once they were both seated on the sofa, Whitney and Matt sat opposite on chairs.

  ‘You have a daughter, Hayley?’ Whitney said.

  ‘Yes,’ Mr Tennant replied.

  ‘I’m very sorry to tell you, that earlier this evening, Hayley’s body was found in the house where she was living.’

  ‘Found? What do you mean? Is she dead?’ Mr Tennant asked, colour draining from his face.

  ‘Yes. I’m sorry, there was nothing we could do.’

  ‘How did she die?’ Mrs Tennant’s voice was strained.

  ‘The pathologist is with her now. We’re not certain, but the initial indication is that she took her own life.’

  The couple exchanged knowing glances, resignation etched across both of their faces. It was a strange reaction and not one Whitney had seen before.

  ‘You don’t seem surprised?’ she said.

  ‘Hayley’s been distant from us for a few months. She stopped coming around. She stopped taking calls, and the occasional time we did see her, she was very withdrawn,’ Mr Tennant said.

  ‘Did this change happen slowly, over a long period of time?’ Whitney asked.

  ‘It was over a couple of months. We phoned her many times, but she never answered. We tried hard, but what could we do? She wanted nothing to do with us.’ His voice cracked.

  Mrs Tennant let out a groan and started to sob. ‘I don’t know what happened to her. Or why she changed so much. We couldn’t get through to her. It was like she no longer cared about us. We should’ve done more. If we had then maybe this wouldn’t have happened. We don’t even know her new address. We only found out she’d moved after one of her sisters called to see her and was told.’

  Mr Tennant took her hands in his. ‘You can’t blame yourself. We all tried.’ He looked at Whitney. ‘We have two other daughters, and they couldn’t find out what was wrong with Hayley either. She cut herself off from all of us.’ He visibly swallowed, obviously trying to not lose control.

  ‘Had anything happened at work recently that might have explained the change in her?’

  ‘Not that I know of,’ Mr Tennant said.

  ‘Do you know any of Hayley’s colleagues? Someone we could speak to?’ Whitney asked.

  Mrs Tennant glanced at her husban
d, an anxious expression on her face. ‘I’m sorry, she did sometimes mention her colleagues, but I can’t remember their names. Can you?’ she asked her husband.

  ‘No.’ He shook his head.

  ‘Don’t worry. We can find out,’ Whitney said, reassuring them. ‘What can you tell me about her hobbies? I understand she enjoyed going to yoga.’

  Mrs Tennant frowned. ‘Yoga? I had no idea she’d taken it up.’

  ‘Maybe it was something she’d begun recently,’ Whitney said.

  ‘She’d become a stranger to us.’ Mrs Tennant’s eyes filled with tears and she began to shake.

  Whitney had put them through enough. They needed to be alone with their grief.

  ‘I’m afraid we need a formal identification of Hayley. Are you able to come in tomorrow? I can send an officer to collect you.’

  Mr Tennant gave a grim nod, his efforts to retain control crumbling as his face distorted.

  ‘Is there anyone we can phone to be with you?’ she asked.

  ‘No, thank you. We need to contact Hayley’s sisters, but we’ll do that ourselves.’

  Their goodbyes went unnoticed as they let themselves out and drove back to Lenchester. George was due back from her holiday today. She’d give her a call. Whether they were dealing with a suicide cluster, or several murders, it was something the forensic psychologist could help them with.

  Chapter Three

  George headed upstairs with her suitcase, wanting to unpack as soon as possible. If there was one thing she couldn’t stand, it was not putting everything away immediately. She’d left Ross downstairs making tea. They’d just arrived back from an impromptu week in Portugal. Someone Ross knew had offered them their holiday home, as one of the bookings had fallen through. When he’d asked her to go, she’d been reticent. Although they’d had a couple of successful weekends away, going overseas for a proper holiday was different.

  But she’d been right to say yes. They’d stayed in a lovely fishing village, Cabanas de Tavira, in the Algarve, and had spent much of their time exploring. They’d walked through the salt pans and into the historic town of Tavira. In the evenings they’d dined alfresco in one of the many restaurants situated on the boardwalk of Cabanas, overlooking the channel which led to the beautiful sandy beach. The weather had been glorious and, because most schools had already started back, they’d avoided the craziness of peak season.

  She’d go back there in a heartbeat. Being with Ross was relaxed and easy. Hopefully it was a good omen for her brother’s upcoming wedding, where she planned to introduce him to her family. Once they’d discovered he was a sculptor, her parents weren’t happy with her choice of partner. He was also from a working-class family with no connections to aristocracy, which her previous boyfriend had, and her parents had been ecstatic over. But seeing as she saw them rarely, what they thought was immaterial. It was her happiness that counted.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Ross called up the stairs.

  ‘I’ll be down in a minute.’ She hurriedly unpacked her suitcase and joined him.

  ‘I thought you must’ve fallen asleep,’ he said.

  ‘No. I just wanted to get everything sorted.’

  ‘It’s a shame we have to go back to reality. I had a lovely time. We’ve definitely got to go back there again.’ He slipped his arms around her waist, dragged her close, and kissed her.

  ‘Yes, it’s a beautiful place,’ she said as they finally parted. ‘I’ve really enjoyed myself. I’ve been to Lisbon before, but never the Algarve, and I’m definitely a convert.’

  ‘What are your plans tomorrow?’ he asked.

  ‘In the morning, I’ll go into work to collect my mail and make sure everything is in place for when the new students start. I’ll probably work from home in the afternoon, as I have some chapters to read from one of my PhD students. What about you?’

  ‘I’ve just received a text confirming a new commission.’

  ‘What is it?’ She found Ross’s work fascinating, and from their conversations and watching him work, she’d learned a lot more about sculpture than she’d known before. It was incredible the way he was able to sculpt recognisable faces out of different materials.

  ‘It’s a full-size bronze depiction of a Labrador who belonged to some farmers living near Oxford. Their family want it as a surprise for their golden wedding anniversary. I’ll be working from several photographs.’

  ‘Will you show it to me once you’ve finished?’ she asked.

  ‘I’d be happy to. The anniversary party is only a couple of months away, so I won’t be able to see you much while I’m working on it.’

  Her heart sank. She’d hoped they’d spend a bit more time together. But she understood. Work came first.

  ‘That’s not a problem. Remember, we have my brother’s wedding soon, and we’ll be away for four days.’

  ‘Don’t worry, it’s in my diary. I’m looking forward to it.’

  ‘I don’t think you realise what you’re letting yourself in for. If you did, you wouldn’t be saying that.’

  ‘Meeting your family isn’t a problem. The service at Westminster Abbey will be cool. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The same for the reception at the Imperial War Museum. I doubt I’ll get the chance to go there again. I’m going to make the most of it. Plus, we’ve got our tickets to see Hamilton, and we’ll have time to look around the art galleries. It’s going to be a great few days.’

  When he’d surprised her with the Hamilton tickets, she’d been thrilled. It was the hottest show in town, and one she’d wanted to see. He’d bought the best seats in the stalls, which was perfect. It would make enduring her family a lot easier. Whitney had persuaded her to buy a dress for the wedding that was totally different from anything she’d ever worn before. She wondered what Ross would make of it.

  ‘Agreed. I think I might settle down with a book and have an early night, if you don’t mind,’ she said, suddenly feeling quite tired, as they’d been on the go all day.

  ‘Okay.’ He frowned.

  Did he think he was staying overnight? She hadn’t asked him to, and she could do with some alone time. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’

  ‘Of course not. I need to get back as I want to make an early start.’

  Was he just saying that? She didn’t know. She did occasionally miss social cues. Actually, it was more than occasionally. Much to Whitney’s amusement.

  Her mobile rang, and when she picked it up from the kitchen table she stared at the screen. That was weird. She’d just thought of Whitney and now she was calling her. The officer would probably explain it away as being something to do with the law of attraction. George didn’t believe in all that woo-woo stuff.

  ‘Hello, Whitney,’ she said.

  ‘Are you back?’

  ‘Yes, we’ve been here about an hour.’

  ‘Good. I’m not disturbing you, am I?’

  George glanced at Ross, who was sitting at the table, his hands around the mug of tea he’d made.

  ‘Not really. Ross is with me.’

  ‘I won’t keep you long. We’ve had a death which I thought you might be interested in. It looks like a suicide, but—’

  ‘Why would I be interested in a suicide?’ she interrupted.

  ‘If you let me finish … It looks like a suicide, but this is the third one, identical in nature. Well, we think it’s identical. We’ve still got to check.’

  ‘You’re thinking suicide cluster?’

  ‘We’re not sure. It could equally be a murder, in which case it would be murders, as there are three of them, if they are linked. We need to wait for Claire’s findings.’

  ‘You’re right. I am interested.’

  ‘Can you come in tomorrow, so we can go through everything together? Unless you’ve got other things to do.’ Whitney gave a laugh, and George realised what she was implying.

  ‘Actually, Ross is about to go home, and I’ll be on my own for the rest of the evening. So, yes, I can come in. I’d i
ntended to call into work in the morning to get myself prepared for the onslaught of new students in a few weeks, but that can wait.’

  ‘I’m sure you’ve already got everything prepared,’ Whitney said.

  ‘In principle, yes. But I want to go back over it all to double-check it’s as it should be.’ It was uncanny how the police officer knew so much about her. They’d known each other less than a year and, to the outside world, their relationship probably appeared strange, as they were such different people. But George found comfort in their differences, and she knew she could always rely on Whitney for support. She wasn’t out to undermine her, as often happened in the university, when people were competing with each other for kudos in their research.

  ‘What time will you be here?’ Whitney asked, interrupting George’s thoughts.

  ‘First thing in the morning, if that works for you?’

  ‘It does. I’d better leave you to it; I don’t want to get in the way of your evening with Ross.’

  ‘Goodbye, Whitney,’ she said, ignoring the comment.

  She ended the call and glanced at Ross.

  ‘For someone who’s tired and wants to have an early night with a book, you certainly became all animated and interested as soon as a case was mentioned.’

  ‘Is that a problem?’ she asked, not knowing what else to say.

  ‘No. I’m not at all offended that you want to throw me out in favour of a good book.’ He laughed. ‘All I meant was you clearly enjoy working with the police and have a great relationship with Whitney. She brings you out of yourself. I’m all for it.’

  Could he be any more different from her ex, Stephen? Stop it. This was the last time she’d think about Stephen and Ross in the same sentence.

  ‘I do enjoy working with the police, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy my work at the university. I’m lucky I have the best of both worlds. Putting the theory into practice makes me happy.’

  ‘I’m glad to hear that. Right, I’m off.’ Ross finished the last of his tea and put his mug in the sink. ‘You’ve got a busy day tomorrow, crime-busting.’

  Chapter Four

  ‘Good morning, everyone,’ Whitney said the following morning as she walked over to the board in the incident room. Most of the team were already there, and they glanced up at the sound of her voice.