Behind Dead Eyes (DC Ian Bradshaw #2) - Howard Linskey Page 0,114

He grinned at her. ‘If she really did kill Rebecca, it’s two birds with one stone.’

‘There is one thing which undermines that theory,’ said Helen. ‘Why the hell couldn’t she just divorce him?’

‘Strange as it may sound, she has too much money,’ Tom answered.

‘How can you have too much?’

‘Usually when people get divorced, they sell the house, split the proceeds and argue about maintenance depending on their circumstances. In most cases the kids stay with the mum, the father leaves and pays support to the mother because he is often the one working full time …’

‘… And she is stuck doing part-time, lower-paid work, having sacrificed her career to bring up their children,’ Helen reminded him pointedly.

‘Pretty much,’ said Tom, ‘but in Annie Bell’s case, it’s different. She’s a board member of Soleil and a significant shareholder. They have money. Richard Bell on his own is worth bugger all. He has a well-paid job, which he would doubtless immediately lose if he splits from the boss’s daughter. With his CV – or lack of it – he’d have very little to offer another employer, so he’d probably end up as a middle-income salesman of some kind, several levels below the false position he found himself in as a family member. Crucially, that means he could take Annie Bell and her dad to the cleaners. He’d be the one who could expect to keep up a lifestyle he has become accustomed to without any of the means. For Annie Bell to give Richard half her net worth she would have to sell her house and shares in the company her father built up. Knowing her, I can’t see that happening. Can you?’

‘Okay, I agree,’ said Bradshaw. ‘Divorce would be a catastrophe for Annie Bell, which gives her a motive to fix things violently, but is there any actual evidence to support this?’

‘Let’s consider it then,’ offered Tom. ‘Her alibi was always a bit too damn perfect. We know there is a possible gap around the time the murder was committed and it’s sizable. She could have left the cinema easily, giving her around three hours to drive out to Lonely Lane, kill Rebecca then return to town.’

‘Why would Rebecca agree to meet her lover’s wife at an isolated location without even telling Richard about it in advance?’

‘I haven’t figured that bit out yet.’

‘So what else have we got?’ asked Bradshaw.

‘We know the expert witness who said the blows could not have been struck by a woman was guessing, so we can disregard that – and there’s one other thing,’ said Tom, ‘today she tried to buy me off.’

‘What?’ asked Helen. ‘She tried to bribe you?’

‘Not quite,’ he said, ‘she offered me a job.’

‘What kind of job?’ asked the detective.

‘PR director with a nice, big salary.’

‘Was this dependent on you dropping the case?’

‘No,’ Tom admitted, ‘she was at pains to tell me it was waiting for me once I have given up trying to solve the case. She told me she didn’t expect too much from me on that front. It was subtler than that but I got the message.’

‘As subtle as a brick,’ said Bradshaw then he remembered Helen’s window. ‘Sorry,’ he told her.

‘You really think Annie Bell killed Rebecca Holt?’ asked Helen.

‘I’m starting to,’ he said. ‘Why else would she try and derail the investigation her husband started? Proving it though, that’s another matter.’

That evening, while Tom was reading the paper Helen asked, ‘Do you mind if I ring, erm—’ and he knew she meant the boyfriend.

Helen was surprised at how easily the lies came to her. She had been forced to leave her flat for a few days while repairs were undertaken on the boiler, an idea that had been planted in her head by the problems Tom had with his own central heating. Then she casually added she would probably use this opportunity to get a different place because her current home was ‘a bit grotty’.

Peter had listened to this and, though she was expecting the question, she still felt a slight panic when he suddenly asked, ‘So where are you staying now?’

‘At a friend’s,’ she managed.

‘A friend? Which friend?’ he asked, his tone disbelieving

Helen had always believed honesty was the most important building block in any relationship but she also knew telling the full truth now would be way more damaging than a manufactured half-truth. She was staying with a friend; that much was true – but if Peter learned she was not merely sharing a house