Page 59 of The Chapel of Bones

‘Ever heard of Suzy Porter?’ said Gerry.

‘No. Who is she?’

‘You might know her as Daisy Cootes.’

Richmond looked genuinely puzzled.

‘Is there anyone else here who has access to your computer?’

His expression changed. ‘Er . . . only my wife. She uses it for her work. She’s a writer,’ he added with a note of cautious pride.

‘Can we have a word with her?’ said Wesley, feeling a little sorry for the man, who looked completely out of his depth.

Richmond stood aside to let them in and called upstairs, ‘Someone to see you, love. The police.’

It was a while before the woman appeared at the top of the stairs. ‘I’m working. What do they want?’

‘Just a word, Mrs Richmond,’ Wesley said. ‘Nothing to worry about,’ he lied.

She walked downstairs slowly, holding up her long skirt so she wouldn’t trip. She had purple hair and fitted the description given by the bookshop staff of the woman who’d had a disagreement with Suzy at her book launch.

Richmond hurried out to make tea while his wife, who said her name was Beryl, sat silently in their soulless front room.

‘Why did you send threatening emails to Suzy Porter?’

The woman looked puzzled. ‘I don’t know anyone called Suzy Porter.’

‘You might know her as Daisy Cootes.’

Her eyes widened in realisation. ‘Oh,her,’ she said, almost spitting out the words. ‘I sent the emails because she’s a thief.’

‘What did she steal?’ Wesley could see the fire of fury in her eyes, as though she considered herself the victim of some great injustice.

‘Lawrence the Lion. Although his original name was Callum the Cowardly Lion. That’s what I called him.’

‘You mean she stole your idea?’ Wesley asked as realisation dawned.

‘And she made a fortune from it. I entered a story competition and she was one of the judges. I made the shortlist and went to the presentation in the town hall. Someone else won, but I spoke to her afterwards, hoping she’d give me some feedback.’

Wesley could see tears in her eyes, as though she was reliving a painful experience.

‘She was most unpleasant,’ Beryl continued. ‘She said my idea was rubbish. Then the following year I found out she’d stolen it.’

‘And you thought you’d get your revenge by killing her.’ It was the first time Gerry had spoken, and she stared at him in horror.

‘You mean she’s dead? Daisy Cootes has been murdered? Look, I never killed anyone, I swear. I was just letting off steam with those emails. I wanted her to know how much hurt she’d caused, that’s all. I couldn’t have killed her, I don’t even know where she lives; only the email address on her website. Honestly.’

‘So you didn’t know her real name is Suzy Porter?’

The answer was a vigorous shake of the head as tears began to cascade down the woman’s cheeks. ‘I never harmed her. I only meant to frighten her. I’m really sorry,’ she added in a whine. ‘When was she . . . ?’

‘Oh, she’s still alive, but someone with a similar name was murdered in the same village. Did you get the wrong woman?’

‘No. You’ve got to believe me, I never killed anybody. I wouldn’t do anything like that.’

‘Where were you last Friday evening?’

‘At my writers’ group. They’ll all tell you I was there.’