The Long Call (Two Rivers #1) - Ann Cleeves Page 0,78
looked at the room. No appreciative difference in attitude, but he’d done his best. And he’d meant it.
‘We’re not sure yet if Christine’s disappearance is linked in any way to the Walden murder. It seems a coincidence, especially as Walden had been seen making overtures to another learning-disabled woman, Lucy, who lives in Lovacott, in the days before his death. And that Christine’s home is very close to where his body was found. But there’s no evidence that Walden knew Christine so we should keep an open mind. We’ve moved forward considerably today, though, so let’s sum up what we’ve learned so far and plan out actions for tomorrow. Then we can finish in time at least for you to get the last hour before closing in the pub.’
A weak cheer from the back row.
‘We’ve discovered that Walden had a place to live other than twenty Hope Street. A flat in Braunton. We have Jen Rafferty to thank for this. She’s not here so I can tell you that, without the danger of making her feel she’s indispensable.’ A pause and another little cheer. ‘So, I’d be very interested to know why he moved into the house in Ilfracombe with the two women.’
Vicki Robb, sitting at the back, stuck up her hand. ‘Could he just have been feeling lonely and desperate? Maybe having suicidal thoughts and thinking he needed company to keep himself safe.’
Matthew thought about that. He’d been viewing this from his own perspective. He needed solitude far more than he needed company, but not everyone was like him. He nodded. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Good point. Yes, that makes sense.’
The woman coloured with pleasure and Matthew continued. ‘Someone has been in the flat and trashed the place. It looks more like a search to me than an act of vandalism. A search by someone in a hurry. There would have been a lot of noise – glass and crockery got smashed – so it could have happened at night when the bookie’s shop below is shut. Or very early in the morning. Can we get some canvassers into Braunton tomorrow to do a house-to-house? Find out if anyone saw or heard anything unusual? There was no break-in so they would have used a key. It’s possible that the killer stole one from Walden after his death. So, we’re talking an evening between Monday and Wednesday inclusive. It seems likely that the person who was in Walden’s flat was implicated in his death, so this is important.’
Ross stuck up a hand. ‘They could have used the same key we used to get in. The one Walden had left in Hope Street.’
‘They could, Ross, and that would implicate one of the women living there. Let’s get the canvassers to show photographs of Preece and Henry and ask specifically if any of the women were in Braunton on that night.’
It occurred to Matthew that they could be close to tying up the investigation. It could be that easy: they’d get a description of someone lurking outside Walden’s Braunton flat and they’d have their culprit. In his mind he explored a variety of scenarios that might fit. Could Walden have been murdered simply for access to the flat? Perhaps by one of the men Walden had met through St Cuthbert’s? An addict raging for a fix, desperate enough to commit murder. Maybe Matthew was overthinking this, looking for complex motives that didn’t exist. It was possible that word had got out about Walden’s wealth and he’d been killed just for his money. Greed often provided motive enough. But the man wouldn’t have been daft enough to keep cash in his flat, would he?
He turned back to the room. ‘Have we tracked down Walden’s bank accounts?’
Ross shook his head. ‘Sorry, there doesn’t seem to be any account in his name.’
‘The hotel must have paid him through his bank. Nobody gets paid by cash any more.’
‘I’ll check with them tomorrow.’
‘That has to be a priority.’ Matthew tried to hide his irritation. He thought that even if Walden hadn’t hidden cash in the Braunton flat, there might be information there that would have allowed the intruder access to the money: passwords, the e-reader that allowed transfer of funds, building society pass books. It seemed even more likely now that greed had been the main motive in the case; Walden’s attachment to Lucy Braddick and the disappearance of Christine Shapland could be nothing but distracting coincidences.
He continued: ‘We were given a letter that had been delivered to