got their car registrations.’
‘As suspects?’ Jen sounded shocked.
‘Not yet.’ Matthew grinned. ‘They’ll be helping us with our enquiries. Respectable people like them, they’ll be glad to help the police.’
Ross got to his feet and stretched. He’d been still for long enough. They were both looking at Matthew for an answer, but his thoughts were too tentative at this stage. If he put them into words, they might disappear altogether.
‘Could it be about money?’ Jen said. ‘We know that Walden had plans for his two hundred grand, but then he sent it to his solicitor for safe keeping instead. We know he’d been planning a big donation to the Woodyard, then thought better of it. Perhaps he’d discovered something dodgy had been going on. The organization at the Woodyard seems a bit chaotic so fraud could have been relatively easy. Preece and Salter are both trustees and they both have a background in finance. Could they be filtering off donated cash or charitable funding for their own use? It does happen with charities. There have been a few cases recently in the press. One guy got away with hundreds of thousands. And it can take years for any crime to come to light. That would fit in with the conspiracy theory.’ She looked at Matthew. ‘Jonathan wouldn’t be aware of that. He manages the place but I guess he has nothing to do with the financial administration.’
Matthew didn’t know what to say in reply. He appreciated Jen’s kindness. He wanted to tell her that Jonathan was the most honest man he’d ever met, that his husband would work at the Woodyard for nothing to keep it running, that he fretted if he’d thought he’d undertipped a waiter in a mediocre hotel, but until they found Walden’s killer, Jonathan would still be an object of suspicion.
‘It would be interesting to look at Preece’s and Salter’s bank accounts. They seem prosperous enough, but they might have had problems with money.’
He was thinking that Preece had provided the deposit for the house in Hope Street. Matthew had gained the impression that the man was trying to buy his daughter’s affection. He was probably still subsidizing her lifestyle. Perhaps that, and the guilt-ridden donation to begin the development of the Woodyard, had depleted his savings.
‘Let’s bring Preece in too. If he hasn’t disappeared like the others. We’ll interview them separately, see if we can find some inconsistencies in their stories.’
He couldn’t imagine what Salter’s guilty financial secret might be. It could be related to the Devonshire Building Society, perhaps. Could he have been stealing from them too?
Ross gave an embarrassed little cough. Matthew could see now that he’d been building up to this throughout the conversation, gathering his courage. ‘Perhaps we should look at Jonathan’s bank account too. Just to put you both in the clear in case the press gets hold of the connection.’
Jen jumped in, fighting. ‘Is this your idea or Oldham’s? Been brown-nosing again, Ross? More cosy chats over a few beers? Hoping for another speedy step up the ladder?’
Matthew raised his hands, a gesture of agreement and peacemaking. ‘You’re quite right, Ross. I’ll give the forensic accountants all the details. For Jonathan’s accounts and mine. We have to be transparent here. And as all our victims and witnesses seem to be connected to the Woodyard, I’ve already discussed the conflict of interest with Jen. She’ll be taking over the case tomorrow. You’ll be reporting to her from first thing in the morning.’
He sent them away then and sat for a moment in his office. Matthew felt no resentment about the request to disclose his financial affairs, but he wished it had been done differently. The decision had obviously come from Oldham, but filtered through Ross. The DCI had been too idle or too cowardly to ask himself, and that wasn’t fair either to Ross or to him. He suspected that Jonathan would find the idea of being a suspect faintly amusing, especially if the motive was supposed to be greed. Money had never mattered much to either of them.
Matthew tried to set office tensions aside and replayed the conversations he’d had with Salter and Preece. Suddenly his perspective shifted. There was something that mattered more to both these men than money too. He wound back the timeline since the opening of the Woodyard to look for a trigger, something that might have led to one murder and two abductions. Then he stood up and made for the door.
‘Where are you going,