Behind Dead Eyes (DC Ian Bradshaw #2) - Howard Linskey Page 0,51

their daddy very much and want him back. I said I was partially to blame for his behaviour and that was no exaggeration.’

‘In what way?’

She looked embarrassed then. ‘I wasn’t always there for him. Having a full-time job and two small children … I was tired a lot of the time … We drifted apart. I regret not putting the time and energy into our marriage that I gave to my career and the girls. I think he resented that and sought comfort, if that’s the right word, elsewhere. I will always feel responsible for that.’

‘Then why work at all? Did you even need to, financially I mean?’

‘Because my husband was Sales Director and my father is well off?’ She looked disappointed by him. ‘Stop being a senior manager in the company and become a housewife instead, living off other people’s money, attending coffee mornings and yoga classes? That’s not who I am, Mr Carney. It’s not who I was brought up to be.’

‘I see,’ he said. ‘I have a list of people I would like to speak to about your husband and his case. One of them is your father.’

She frowned at him. ‘Why do you want to speak to Dad?’

‘I’d like to get his perspective.’

‘I’m afraid he doesn’t want to talk to you.’

‘Why not?’

‘He isn’t necessarily in favour of this.’

‘I see,’ said Tom, ‘then it would be useful for me to know his reasons.’

‘I have always been one hundred per cent behind my husband. I never doubted his innocence for a moment. My father however …’

‘Thinks that he did it.’

‘… Is less convinced than I am. The trial soured his opinion of Richard. My husband’s behaviour obviously upset my father. We have clients and investors. My father had to explain that one of his key employees, his own son-in-law, had been found guilty of murder. Obviously that was difficult. He understood Richard wanted to appeal but when that was refused he felt it was the end of the matter. I disagree.’

‘So your father thinks you should leave Richard in prison.’

‘He doesn’t think I have any choice, but Richard wants you to help him and I support my husband’s decision.’

‘Is Daddy paying my retainer?’

She shook her head. ‘I have my own money, Mr Carney. Daddy, as you call him, has no say in this.’

Chapter Eighteen

The multi-storey car park was dark even during daylight hours, thanks to low, grey, concrete ceilings supported on thick pillars, the gloom broken only by light coming from narrow spaces at either end of a long line of parked cars. Helen crossed the ground floor then found the lift had broken down, forcing her to take the stairs, which were lit by bare bulbs strong enough to illuminate the misspelt graffiti covering the walls. As the door closed behind her she was entirely alone and suddenly felt extremely vulnerable in this enclosed space so she moved quickly, becoming out of breath as she took each set of steps without pausing until she reached her floor. This wasn’t where she wanted to be right now. Not when she had just been threatened by a powerful man with gangsters for friends, but Helen couldn’t spend her whole career hiding in the newsroom. She had just interviewed a youth worker who was helping teenagers avoid gangs by teaching them boxing and this necessitated a visit to one of the rougher parts of the city. Helen had to push the heavy door hard to get it to open and its lowest edge scraped against the ground as it moved. It eventually swung noisily open before wedging itself into the concrete. Once again she was alone and the car park was so quiet every step she made was audible as she crossed the floor.

There was something that didn’t feel quite right here, an atmosphere that Helen told herself was caused solely by her overwrought imagination, because she was in an unmanned car park and had seen too many movies where lone women were suddenly pounced on by men who lurked in dark shadows. Nonetheless, she quickened her pace.

Helen was halfway to safety and beginning to feel calmer when there was a sudden loud bang that made her simultaneously start and turn in a panic towards the noise. She almost stumbled, convinced that she was about to be attacked.

But there was no one there.

It took Helen seconds to work out the cause of the noise that had echoed across the car park. The door she wedged open slammed shut with a