Once she was sure that Kelly was out for the count, Petra took the opportunity to have a snoop round the house. A few changes had been made since she’d been living there and none of them were to her taste. She wrinkled her nose at the deep-pile cream carpet and red walls of the master bedroom. The sheets on the king-size bed were black silk, the cover a deep shade of scarlet. Like a tart’s boudoir, she thought, although it didn’t come as any great surprise. Sharon was as common as they came.

Petra went into the bathroom and noticed that it needed a good clean. She ran a finger along the window ledge, picking up a smear of grease and dust. ‘Lazy cow,’ she muttered. The loo didn’t look too sparkling either. She’d have to give the whole place a good going over if she was going to stay for a while. There were enough germs in this one room to start a bloody epidemic.

Petra was on her way downstairs to get some cloths and a bottle of bleach when the front door opened and wife number two stepped into the hall. Sharon, a small busty blonde, looked up and stopped dead in her tracks, her jaw dropping.

‘What the… what the fuck are you doing here?’

Petra scowled at her. ‘Taking care of my daughter. You got a problem with that?’

‘I’ve got a problem with you being in my house.’

‘I think you’ll find that it’s Roy’s house, darling. How is he, by the way? Enjoying a bit of peace and quiet I should imagine.’

‘Get out!’ Sharon ordered, jerking her thumb towards the door. ‘Get your bloody coat and fuck off!’

Petra shook her head. ‘Oh, I don’t think so, love. Kelly’s in a state, in case you hadn’t noticed, and I’m going nowhere until she’s back on her feet again.’

‘You ain’t staying here!’

‘And who’s going to stop me?’

Like two cats preparing to fight over territory, the women glared at each other, their hackles up and their claws out. Petra was the first to make a move. She swept down the stairs and pushed her face into Sharon’s. ‘If you want me out, you’re going to have to throw me out.’

For a moment Petra thought she was actually going to try – the slut was certainly stupid enough – but quickly she backed off, resorting instead to empty threats.

‘You wait ’til I tell Roy about this.’

‘Yeah, and what’s he going to do about it?’

‘He ain’t going to be happy.’

‘Try talking to someone who gives a shit.’ Petra strode off towards the kitchen with a wide smile on her face. Ding dong. First round to her. But she didn’t intend to get complacent. The fight, she suspected, was only just beginning.

15

It was after nine before Gerald Frayne finally made it home and sat down at the table to eat his dinner. He sipped on a glass of beer while his better half dished out the beef stew she had kept warm for him. He was lucky, he knew, to have a wife like Nina, a partner who never whined or complained about the antisocial hours he often had to keep. Since their move his workload had, naturally, lessened considerably – Haverlea was hardly the crime capital of the north – and although a part of him missed the faster pace of London it was a sacrifice worth making to keep Nina happy.

For over twenty years, she had put up with the stress and fear of being a cop’s wife, of wondering whether he would be another statistic, the subject of the next news flash, the one who never came home. His being part of the Flying Squad hadn’t done much for her peace of mind either. Now, as he neared retirement, he was content to return to uniform and spend his days dealing with less dangerous adversaries.

Still, he had to admit that this morning’s phone call had set the adrenalin flowing. DI Ian McCloud, an old colleague, had rung from Cowan Road station to tell him about a murder that had taken place in Kellston, and a possible suspect living in Haverlea. Sadie Wise had apparently paid a visit to her estranged husband and later he’d been found stabbed to death in his flat.

Nina laid the plate in front of him and sat down on the opposite side of the table. ‘So what did you think of her?’

Gerald dug hungrily into the stew, chewing on a mouthful while he considered his answer. Although it would probably be frowned upon in certain circles, the two of them often discussed cases and he always welcomed her input. Nina was smart and insightful and very discreet. He valued her intelligence and her judgement. ‘She seemed genuinely shocked, but then she could be an excellent actress. If she did do it, she had twenty-four hours to prepare for our visit.’

‘Don’t they know what time he died?’

‘Not exactly – they’re still waiting on the autopsy – although they think it was between ten and one.’

‘Which puts her in the clear, doesn’t it?’

‘Probably,’ he said. ‘She claims she left the victim’s flat at around nine and the landlady of the guesthouse confirms that she checked out at about ten or just before.’

Nina placed her elbows on the table and put her chin in her hands. ‘But?’

‘But there’s nothing to say she didn’t return to the Mansfield. She might not have gone straight to the station. Perhaps she changed her mind and went back over to her husband’s flat instead. Perhaps she was still unhappy about something. There’s no proof that she actually caught the train she said she caught… or that she got home at the time she said she did.’

‘Apart from the boyfriend. Do you think he’s lying?’

Gerald tapped his knife against the side of the plate. ‘In all honesty, I don’t know. He seems a decent type but people do all kinds of stupid things for love.’

‘Like moving to Haverlea,’ Nina said, grinning.

Gerald smiled back at her. ‘That was smart, not stupid. I get to see a lot more of you, don’t I?’

‘Ah, well batted, Frayne.’ She paused and then added, ‘I think I know her. Sadie Wise, I mean. Did you say she worked in Peterson’s?’

‘That’s right.’

‘A pretty girl, yes? Blonde?’

‘Is she?’

Nina grinned again. ‘Don’t pretend you didn’t notice. I’ve seen her in the bookshop. She seems nice.’

‘Even nice people do bad things sometimes.’

‘I suppose. What was this Eddie Wise like?’

Gerald took a sip of beer before replying. ‘It’s all a bit sketchy at the moment. No criminal record, but he might just have been lucky. He’d been dating a girl called Kelly Gissing. Her dad’s inside for robbery, doing a five-stretch. Mind, that’s nothing new for him; Roy’s been in and out of nick all his life – just like his brothers. The Gissings are what you’d term habitual criminals. She was the one who found Eddie.’

‘But she’s not a suspect?’

‘She’s not been ruled out, but it seems unlikely.’

Nina inclined her head, her face becoming thoughtful. ‘Maybe Eddie got involved in something dodgy. This might not have anything to do with either of the women.’

‘Now you’re just being sexist.’

She smiled again, her brown eyes creasing at the corners. ‘It’s possible, though, isn’t it?’

‘It’s also possible that if Sadie Wise didn’t do it herself, she got someone else to.’

‘What, straight after she’d been to see him? Why would she put herself in the frame like that? It’s not very sensible. If she was going to hire a killer, wouldn’t she wait a few days, a week, a month? Enough time, anyway, for her visit to seem disconnected from the murder.’

‘I know,’ Gerald said. ‘But there’s… I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s just a feeling. Maybe I’m wrong, but I sensed she was holding back, hiding something.’

‘Gut instinct.’

‘Pretty much.’ He felt his nose starting to run, gave a loud sniff and got up to fetch a tissue. ‘Perhaps I need to talk to her when the boyfriend isn’t there.’