Page 39 of Her Last Breath

He lowered his eyes and shook his head again as he escorted her to the door. Why was he lying to her? Why would her aunt lie? Jane could get hold of Phil’s death certificate easily enough and find out for herself. Unsettled by the revelation that Father Michael had inadvertently made, she headed back to the foodbank area.

Jane saw Colin Wilson in conversation with one of his staff as she entered the large, converted hall area.

‘Mr Wilson, are you OK to walk with me to my car? Just wanted to check a couple of things.’

He looked nervously at the volunteers, then followed Jane out of the building.

‘Why did you lie to me about knowing Alice Rogers?’ she asked him straight up.

She watched the colour rush to his face.

‘Father Michael says you knew her very well. In fact, you purposely saved the best food items for her.’

‘Not for her, for her kids.’ He looked embarrassed at least. ‘I’m sorry, Detective, I just didn’t want any trouble. Everyone in there has been talking about it all morning. Rumours on social media saying it wasn’t suicide.’ His face was asking her the question. ‘I just didn’t want to get involved, plus I don’t really know anything. Yeah, we chatted a bit about her and the kids, that’s all.’

‘What did she tell you about herself?’

‘Just that she was having issues with her boyfriend, was hoping to sort herself out so she didn’t have to keep using the foodbank.’

‘Did she tell you what her plans were?’

‘No. People are only in there with us for a few minutes. They grab their bags and go. People don’t like coming to us, but they have no other choice.’

Jane could understand that. She’d been through those tough times when money was a myth. After her father left, her mother didn’t work, so Jane was raised on child benefit and charity.

‘That’s going to change, though,’ he added. ‘We just struck a deal with some cash-and-carries and supermarkets. Any food that will go to waste or is surplus is going to come here. It’s going to be a climate change drive, rather than a foodbank. Get your food from us and help save the planet.’

Jane saw zeal in his eyes.

‘Let me know if you remember anything else that might help about Alice.’ She gave him her number, not wholly trusting his excuse for denying knowing Alice at first, then brushing her off as just one of many people that came to use the foodbank.

As she was about to get into her car, Jane’s phone buzzed. ‘DC Chan?’

‘Thought I should let you know, ma’am. Liam’s alibi checks out.’

The air seemed to be sucked out of Jane as the words sank in.

‘Are you absolutely sure?’ she demanded. ‘Check again.’

‘We are sure, ma’am,’ DC Chan said, although her voice was hesitant, scared she had disappointed Jane.

‘Where was he?’ Jane asked, trying to sound less frustrated.

‘He was at work when Burrows died, doing the night shift, 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. We have him on CCTV there, backed up by statements from his boss and other colleagues.’

In other words, a rock-solid alibi.

‘I’m sorry, ma’am.’

Jane ended the call abruptly. Her only suspect had just slipped through her fingertips.

Chapter 24

Jane felt the pressure squeeze her temples, her chest tight with anxiety. As her mind churned over her investigation, she sipped hot tea, scalding her tongue. Liam Harrison wasn’t at work when Alice Rogers disappeared, so she was still hopeful he could be linked to her death, but the problem was Mark Burrows. They knew the time of death, the time they saw the suspect van creeping around the streets near the lock-up, when Liam was in the middle of a twelve-hour shift at the abattoir. His boss and colleagues testified to his being there. Could he have had time to slip away? Was it possible even that he had an accomplice? That didn’t make sense to Jane. She believed Liam’s crimes were borne of anger and frustration, his loss of control over Alice Rogers and his humiliation at the hands of his only friend.

Father Walsh, however, had a different angle on that relationship. It seemed Liam was capable of a brotherly love towards this man, something he hadn’t shown to any of the women that had let him into their lives.

Thinking of Father Walsh, she remembered what he had let slip about her aunt Melody. She needed to check on her uncle Phil’s whereabouts, to try and make sense of the lie the priest had told her. She pushed the thought away for now; the investigation had to remain her focus.