The Long Call (Two Rivers #1) - Ann Cleeves Page 0,46

bus or drinking tea in witnesses’ houses.

* * *

When Matthew had been growing up, Chivenor had been an RAF station and the yellow search and rescue coastguard helicopters had been based there. He remembered one Christmas, during a brisk post-lunch walk on the beach, seeing an officer dressed as Father Christmas being winched down to the sand to the delight of the other children. He’d been carrying a sack full of sweets. Matthew had been entranced. He’d wanted so much to believe that Santa was real despite his parents’ telling him otherwise. His mother had been horrified and had muttered loudly about blasphemy and filling children’s heads with dangerous nonsense, while other parents had glared at her for spoiling the magic.

Now, the base was still there, but much of the land had been sold off for housing. Sharon Winstone, the woman who’d discovered Walden’s body, lived in a cul-de-sac of raw, red-brick properties, detached from their neighbours by barely more than six inches. He was early and when he arrived, loud music was playing. Through the living room window, he saw that she was watching a keep-fit DVD and exercising violently to pumped-up music. Although her face was red and she was sweating, her hair, which looked rather like a brown helmet, hardly moved. He rang the bell, but there was no response. He leaned on it and at last she heard the ringing over the noise. She turned, gave him a little wave, switched off the screen and came to the door. She was wearing purple floral leggings and a long T-shirt.

‘Sorry, I thought I’d have time for a shower before you got here.’ She seemed bothered by her appearance and he thought she was going to ask him to wait while she changed. In the end, she led him straight into the room where she’d been doing the workout. ‘I saw about the poor man at Crow Point on the TV. I thought you’d be in touch.’

She offered him coffee and brought in a couple of mugs of instant, put a coaster on the pale wood table before setting it down for him. She’d told Ross she had a boy at school but there was no sign of him here. Any toys in the place had been hidden away. The house was spotless, a show home, bland. A small dog lay in a basket with a floral print cushion to match the curtains. It had lifted its head when Matthew came in, then went back to sleep.

‘I know you spoke to my DC,’ Matthew said, ‘but could you take me through what happened on that day? I’ll make some notes and ask you to sign a statement.’

‘Sure.’ Any upset she might have felt at coming across a dead man on the beach had long gone. He thought she was enjoying the attention, perhaps even the company.

‘You don’t work?’

‘Not at the moment.’ A tight smile. ‘Taking a career break.’

He wondered what that was all about. Had she been recently sacked? Given up work because of stress? She didn’t seem the anxious type, though there was something driven about the exercise. ‘So, you were walking your dog on the beach at Crow Point. Had you taken your car down the toll road?’

‘Yes. I parked close to the house by the shore, crossed the dunes onto the beach and walked towards the point. I was on my way back when I saw the guy lying on the sand.’

‘You were on your own?’

There was a pause and he could tell she was wondering whether she’d get away with a lie.

‘We’re told all sorts of things during an investigation. Not all of them are relevant and not everything comes out in court. But we do need the details.’

‘I was meeting a friend on the beach,’ she said. ‘A man.’

‘I’ll need his contact details.’

‘Okay.’ She looked up at him, a kind of challenge. ‘But he’s married, so can you catch him at work?’

He nodded. ‘We’ll try. Where did you meet him that day? Did you park together?’ He was thinking of the evidence Colin Marston had given.

She nodded.

‘And he drives a Passat and you drive a Fiesta and he’s older than you?’

‘Yes!’ A look of total astonishment. ‘He was my boss at work and it came out that we were seeing each other. So embarrassing. I had to leave my job.’

No, you didn’t have to leave. He could have been the one to go. Matthew thought he should get Jen Rafferty to bring her