The Cordell house in Hartlebury was not what Kim had been expecting.

The two-storey farmhouse was an L-shaped building formed of chunky grey stone. A porch with trailing plants waiting to bloom draped over the wooden structure. Red ivy clung to the gable end wall.

She had expected something showier, more ostentatious, a status symbol reflecting his wealth and standing. She’d expected marble, pillars, a portico entrance maybe, but this place overlooking the Worcestershire countryside was both peaceful and charming and jarred with the image of Cordell in her mind.

Bryant’s wrinkled forehead reflected her thoughts.

‘Doesn’t fit, does it?’ he asked.

She shook her head as she knocked on the farmhouse door. Only one vehicle was parked in the gravel driveway.

The door was answered by what Kim would call a handsome woman. Her black hair was short and tidy and showing a generous sprinkling of grey. Her height exceeded Kim’s five nine by a couple of inches.

What an imposing couple the two of them must have made, she thought.

Kim held up her identification and introduced herself.

‘I thought the family liaison officer had been dispatched,’ Kim said as the woman stood aside and they entered. She suspected the single car on the drive belonged to Mrs Cordell.

‘I sent her away, Inspector,’ she said. ‘I can make my own tea, and I don’t want strangers in my home. My sons are both on their way,’ she stated in a manner that said that was all she needed.

Kim followed her through to a lounge that although small lacked clutter. A brick fireplace was the star of the show with recessed bookshelves either side. A curtainless window looked out onto fields of different colours. Plush fabric sofas were decorated with scatter cushions. A nook led off from the space, its walls filled with shelves of books, in front of which was a reading chair, table and lamp.

‘What a lovely home it is, Mrs Cordell,’ Kim said, taking a seat.

Mrs Cordell swept her hands beneath her legs when she sat as though straightening a skirt.

The woman nodded, acknowledging her words.

‘May we start by saying how sorry we are for your loss,’ Bryant said, taking a seat beside Kim.

Again, the nod but no words.

She sat upright with her hands in her lap and her ankles crossed.

‘Mrs Cordell, we have a forensics team on their way if that’s okay?’

She nodded. ‘Of course, but I’m not sure what they’ll find. My husband hasn’t been here for weeks.’

‘Oh,’ Kim said, unsure of the reason.

The woman’s face changed as though she’d just realised something.

‘You’re that detective. The one at Heathcrest. The one who said my husband had—’

‘Yes, that was me,’ Kim said, still peeved they’d been unable to charge him. Not that it mattered now.

‘Yes, that was the day I threw him out.’

‘Mrs Cordell, I didn’t mean—’

‘Because I knew you were right. I knew he’d done it,’ she said standing. ‘And now I find myself in need of a cigarette, and as I don’t smoke inside you’ll have to follow me to continue.’

Kim rose and followed, wondering if this woman realised that her husband was actually dead. There was no registering on the emotional Richter scale either way.

They walked through a kitchen diner formed of light wood and flagstones.

Mrs Cordell reached for a pack of smokes. She really wouldn’t have pegged the woman as a smoker.

‘Twenty-six-year abstinence, officer, but I think the occasion calls for it,’ Lilith Cordell said as though reading her mind.

Her first admission of any feeling in any way, Kim thought, as they passed through French doors into a well-sculpted garden that was both cosy and private, with seating areas positioned to take advantage of the view.

The woman lit the cigarette, drew on it and blew out smoke.

Bryant looked longingly at the cigarette. His own four-year abstinence had been tested to its limit recently but he hadn’t given in.

‘So, you believed he did carry out illegal abortions?’ Kim asked, continuing the conversation.

‘Yes. I knew before I asked him outright. I always knew when he wasn’t telling the truth. He was an over-protester when he lied. I threw him out. I was sickened. Especially…’ Her words trailed away as she stared forward.

‘Especially?’ Kim probed.

‘Because I had two miscarriages, officer. Both girls. I have strong opinions on abortion in general, never mind ones that are beyond the legal limit.’

Kim understood that the thought must have forced her to picture her own two girls that had not made it to full term.

‘And that ended your marriage?’ Bryant asked.

She shook her head. ‘No, it was the final nail in the coffin of our marriage. Just not something I was prepared to see past. At first, I think he felt it would all blow over, that I’d let him back like I always did, but just two days ago he seemed to realise I meant it. He reacted as I expected and threatened to take the house.’

Kim’s opinion of their victim had never been high but she was now getting the impression of a spoilt, petulant child.

‘And could he have?’

‘Maybe,’ she said, ‘if he wasn’t going to listen to the boys. My youngest, Luke, was going to speak to him.’ She glanced around. ‘I could have lost everything.’

And now she didn’t have to, Kim realised.

‘Mrs Cordell, you do understand that your husband’s death was brutal? Someone hated him enough to actually cut his throat. Do you have any idea who could have done that?’

‘Probably most people he’s ever met I shouldn’t wonder. Heck, even I wanted to for the last couple of—’

‘Mum… Mum…’ Kim heard from inside the house.

Lilith Cordell discarded the cigarette and rushed inside, straight into the arms of one of her sons.

‘Oh Luke, it’s awful, your father was…’

‘Don’t think about it, Mum,’ he soothed, holding her tight. ‘I’m here now. We’ll get through this together.’

Kim stood outside, uncomfortable witnessing this first reunion after the news of the man’s murder.

It was the first expression of emotion Kim had seen, and yet when mother and son eventually separated both were dry-eyed.

Luke seemed to notice their presence for the first time. Either his memory or his recall was sharper than that of his mother.

‘You’re investigating the death of my father?’ he asked, incredulously.

The handsome features had turned hard.

‘Yes, Mr Cordell, my name—’

‘I know your name and I know what you tried to do to him. In fact, the whole world knows.’

Kim met his gaze defiantly. Regardless of the fact the man now lay in the morgue she would not apologise for doing her job. Cordell had broken the law not her.

‘Are you the only police officer they have over there at West Mids?’ he asked, aggressively, causing Bryant to step forward and his mother to whisper his name.

Kim didn’t need protecting from anyone as she took a step closer towards the raging hostility.

‘I’m the only one that matters to you, right now, because I’m going to find out who did this to your father,’ she said firmly.

She wasn’t sure that was the response he’d been expecting but it quietened him for long enough that she turned to his mother.

‘Mrs Cordell, the forensic team should be here soon but if you think of anything else that might help…’

‘I’ll tell you what will help,’ Mrs Cordell said, reaching for her cigarettes. ‘Send your search team to his flat in Dudley, especially the bedroom. The forensic guys will have a field day in there.’