anything in front of Mick; he’s upset about Saul. Used to drink with him in the pub now and again. I did see her a couple of times with another man, not in the village; it’s too small for that.’
‘Where then?’
‘There’s a little pub a few miles away, The Grain, do you know it?’
‘No.’
‘Well, I go there twice a month to meet a couple of my friends on a Friday for a bite to eat and glass of fizz. I saw them together, leaving, as I parked, then again a couple of weeks later. This time they were arguing as I went in. She looked pretty mad at him. Nothing to do with me. I went inside.’
‘Who was it?’
‘Greg Barker, our esteemed mayor. He’s a creep if you ask me. He was like a dog on heat. I have no idea what she saw in him. Saul was far better looking and much nicer.’
‘Thank you.’
She walked out of the shop with a renewed passion to go and speak to Greg Barker about the O’Briens. She couldn’t speak to him about the Potters, though, that wasn’t her place. Ben would do that; but she had to speak to him first, because once he was brought in for questioning she had a feeling he wouldn’t tell them anything. But it was certainly interesting to know that this man now had connections to both dead families.
Ben was busy on his phone, CSI were processing the scene and she felt a little like a spare part. She crossed to where Ben was leaning on the bonnet of the CSI van and waited for him to end his call.
‘Boss, no one saw anything. The only CCTV is on the Co-op on the corner, but staff don’t know how to access it. The manager is in at twelve and will sort it out then. What should I do now?’
‘Please can you go to the hospital? I need you to speak to Harrison Wright; check he’s okay and see why he did that yesterday. You could also check in on Bronte. That was Declan on the phone. He fast-tracked the toxicology samples and there’s been a hit. All three of them had traces of GHB in their blood.’
She nodded. She’d heard of GHB; it was a date-rape drug and could knock a person out with only a few drops. Which would explain how the killer managed to take out an entire family without a fight.
‘If they were drugged then it had to be someone who knew them or had access to their food or drink.’
‘Yes, which is why I want you to speak to Harrison. It’s the kind of drug used by partygoers trying to chase a high. If he’s well enough to be discharged, can you ask him if he can come in to the station. Tell him it’s just a friendly chat with me; there’s a couple of things I forgot to ask about the family. Is that okay?’
The relief flooding through her entire body at the thought of escaping this scene was palpable.
‘Yes, of course it is.’
‘Good, whatever you do try not to make him feel as if he’s under suspicion for anything. We have no concrete evidence, it’s all circumstantial.’
He passed her the car keys.
‘Thanks, I won’t.’
Then he walked away and she was relieved he hadn’t asked if she was okay and had finished freaking out, because the way she felt she’d probably burst into tears of embarrassment and feel even more of a fool than she already did.
She had a nightmare trying to find a parking space outside the hospital. The car parks were full and the on-street parking was mainly for blue badge holders. On her fourth attempt a car’s reverse lights came on and she stopped to let it out, waving thank you enthusiastically at them even though they couldn’t see her. As she walked into the main part of the hospital she realised she had no idea which ward Harrison would be on, so she went to the desk and showed her warrant card explaining she needed to speak to him. The receptionist eyed her up and down, and Morgan realised that she looked different; in the picture she was wearing full uniform. Today she was wearing a pair of black linen trousers and a white shirt.
‘Hang on, why do you need to see him?’
‘It’s more of a welfare check. I found him yesterday when he attempted suicide. I wanted to see if he was okay and have a