me that she’d been nowhere and accuse me of getting at her. Then I’d find drink bottles in her bag.’
‘Did she ever attend any AA meetings?’
‘She did back then, they were at the church on the high street. Anyway, with her drinking, I knew it was all happening again. There was something else?’
‘Go on.’ Cherie had been going to AA meetings at the church. Had she been back over the past couple of weeks? Had she attended a service and planted a Bible passage into the vicar’s mind?
‘On the night of our dinner party, last Saturday, Marcus, Cherie and Isaac seemed to be casting weird looks over the table. I felt a couple of kicks by my feet and the room had gone silent a couple of times. They all knew something. Then, while Joanna and I were cleaning up, the others went in the garden to smoke. Marcus seemed really upset but I later found out that Penny had left him, which in my book explained it, so I didn’t think any more of it. The kids stayed at my parents’ house on Saturday and I joined them yesterday. I need to protect my children from whatever’s going on, from their mother. She walked out on her job too, that just showed how badly things were going. I just want her to get better. I want to go back to how we were before she started drinking again.’ He stared out of the window like a broken man, shoulders slumped. ‘She didn’t kill anyone. She wouldn’t hurt a fly. I mean, she cared for old and vulnerable people for a living.’ He shook his head and scratched his chin. ‘At least, that’s what I wanted to believe. I’ve been so stupid.’
‘Tell me what you mean by that?’
‘Last week she walked out on her job. She said she couldn’t cope. There were far more than the pressures of working at the care home on her mind.’
Gina retied her hair. ‘Why did she start drinking?’
‘I don’t know. There wasn’t an incident that I can recall and she hasn’t mentioned any traumatic events. She doesn’t talk to me much. I think something happened between her and her friends. Isaac, Marcus and Penny. That is just my theory. They all seem to have some insider club thing going on and they do this nudge, nudge, wink, wink thing. She’s also quite terrified of Halloween and goes mad when trick or treaters knock, but she insists on having her friends over every year on the date she fears. I don’t get it. I really don’t know my wife at all.’ He leaned back and stared at the roof of the car as he ground his teeth.
Gina shuffled a little to get comfortable, moving her knee from right under the steering wheel. ‘The ketchup on the back of the kitchen door. It’s outlining a simple picture of a ghost. Can you tell me anything about that?’
He sighed and shook his head. ‘No.’
‘It means nothing to you at all, in any context.’
‘Only that she was scared of Halloween and that included ghosts, ghouls, vampires and anything else horror.’
Taking a deep breath, Gina knew she had to broach the subject of him not going back into his house until forensics had taken all they needed. ‘I’m sorry to have to tell you this but your house is now a potential crime scene. We have found remnants of a hooded black coat and a drawing of a ghost, which are both relevant to our current investigation. We need to search the house for further evidence. Do you have anywhere else you could go until we call you?’
He leaned back. ‘Go ahead. I need to get to the bottom of it to preserve my sanity. Something’s happened to her, hasn’t it? She’s next, isn’t she?’
Gina couldn’t rule out that possibility. ‘We can’t say as yet but we’re hoping your house may contain the evidence we need to find her.’
He pulled a bunch of keys from his pocket, removed two and handed them to Gina. ‘Front and back door keys. Oh, and here’s the garage.’ He passed the last one over. ‘I’ll be at my parents’ house. I have nothing to hide in there.’ He pointed to the house. ‘If Cherie does, then it’s time for it to come out. Can I go now?’
‘We’d appreciate you meeting one of the team at the station to give a formal statement.’
‘Okay. I’ll drive there now.’
‘Thank you.’
‘There’s one more thing. Cherie thought I