Page 77 of The Chapel of Bones

‘You said I could call you any time,’ she began, sounding uncertain. This was true. Wesley had given her his private number and told her to contact him if she remembered anything – or even if she just needed someone to talk to. ‘I just wondered how you were getting on.’

Wesley was suddenly lost for words. Howwerethey getting on? A patrol car had been sent to Charles Lanson’s address in Ilfracombe to bring him in for questioning. But it was far too early to make this public.

‘We’re following a number of leads,’ he answered, feeling awkward about fobbing her off with the usual trite statement. ‘Sorry I can’t tell you any more yet. How are you?’

‘I’ve still got a lot to arrange. I think the funeral should be down here, in the village church. That’s where Phil’s funeral was held, and I know that Sue felt really at home in Belsham.’

‘Have you anything to tell us?’ Wesley asked, more in hope than expectation. ‘Anything you’ve remembered since we last spoke?’

There was a long silence, and he sensed she had more to say. He waited, and eventually his patience was rewarded.

‘I told you that Sue and Phil used to come down here a lot on holiday, and that’s why they decided to retire here.’

‘Yes, you did.’

‘I think I also mentioned that a cousin of hers used to live here.’

Wesley pressed the phone closer to his ear. ‘That’s right. You said she went abroad.’

‘That’s what Sue was told.’

‘Wasn’t it true?’

There was another pause, as though she was deciding what to say next. ‘I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I didn’t tell you much about her cousin, did I? To be honest, I didn’t think it was relevant.’

‘And now you think it might be?’

‘I don’t know, but you said that any information might be helpful. Anyway, her cousin’s name was Tina, and I remember Sue saying she’d married someone who had three kids – an older boy and two much younger ones, teenagers. I think something happened to one of the younger kids; some kind of accident not long before Tina left her husband and went abroad. Sue didn’t talk about it much and I did wonder whether she was hurt that Tina never got in touch to tell her where she was going. As far as I know, they used to get on pretty well. Funny that she cut Sue off like that, isn’t it?’

A teenager killed in a tragic accident and a stepmother who’d vanished abroad. Wesley had heard something like this before. ‘Can you remember any more details?’

‘I think Sue mentioned once that Tina’s husband worked with animals.’

For a few moments Wesley was lost for words.

‘Could it have been a zoo?’ he asked, thinking of the leaflet found in Sue’s bin.

‘I’m not sure. But whatever it was, it must have been somewhere in this area, mustn’t it?’

‘Do you mind coming into the station to make a statement? This could be important.’

‘No, I don’t mind. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it before, but I didn’t think it could have anything to do with . . .’

‘Do you know approximately when Tina left the country?’

‘As I said before, it was quite a while before Sue moved down here, possibly as long as fifteen years ago. Sorry I can’t be more accurate. I wasn’t seeing much of Sue at that time because I’d just got a small part in a soap and I was busy with my career. And before you ask, I don’t know what the cousin’s married name was. Sue always just referred to her as Tina.’

After a couple of minutes reassuring Judith that she wouldn’t get into trouble for unwittingly keeping information from the police, Wesley ended the call and rushed to Gerry’s office.

‘That’s a turn-up for the books,’ said the DCI with a huge grin on his face, leaning back in his chair like a man who’d just enjoyed a satisfying lunch. ‘We appear to have found a link between Dale Gadson and Sue Potter. It’s likely that Sue’s cousin, who lived here years ago and went abroad, was Dale’s stepmother.’

‘After her stepdaughter, Dale’s half-sister, killed herself like that, no wonder she wanted to get away. We need to find her and see what she has to say about the incident.’

‘That might not be easy, Wes. Abroad’s a big place. She could be anywhere.’

Wesley paused. ‘According to Judith, Sue was hurt that Tina never contacted her. Which makes me think that she could be dead.’

‘Don’t be such a pessimist. Ask someone to try and trace her, will you. And after what happened to Dale, it’s high time we found out more about that accident back in 2011.’ Gerry looked at the computer on his desk, an item of equipment he always treated warily, like a potentially vicious creature that might bite at the slightest provocation.