---

By mid afternoon. Robyn had obtained birth records proving Liam Carrington and Ella Fox were related.

‘I want both Liam Carrington and his sister, Ella Fox, brought in for questioning immediately,’ said Robyn aloud. ‘They’re somehow involved in this. Has Juliet Fallows rung in yet?’

‘No, guv.’

‘She said she’d come by the station as soon as she finished work. Call the clinic in Tamworth and see where she is.’

Anna squirmed in her chair. ‘I might be about to throw a spanner in the works. Got a response to the email David sent asking for more information about Roger Jenkinson and an incident with Michael Judd, the man who trespassed onto his land. Here’s Michael’s statement.’

Robyn read through Michael’s statement that detailed his actions that day and paused at one section:

I didn’t know the land was private. I thought I was on a public footpath. Mr Jenkinson shouted to get off his land. I put up my hands and said, ‘I don’t want any bother.’

‘Of course you do,’ said Mr Jenkinson. ‘Or you wouldn’t have climbed over my fence and onto my land. You know what I’m going to do to you?’

He pointed a gun at me. ‘Don’t shoot,’ I said.

‘Bit late to say that now, you shitbag. You come onto private property, no doubt to rob me, and don’t expect me to defend myself? You’re stupid. You know what this is?’

I nodded. ‘It’s a gun.’

‘Well done, Einstein. It’s one of the best – it’s a Smith & Wesson. And I’m a great shot. I can blow your head off with one little pull of this trigger and my eyes closed.’

He raised the gun and I ran. I ran as fast as I could. I ran back to the fence and scrambled back over it. He shouted something else I couldn’t make out and I fell from the fence, stumbled and twisted my ankle.

He walked up to the fence, his gun still in his hand. ‘Run, you bastard, before I splatter what’s left of your brain everywhere,’ he said.

And I did.

‘Henry Gregson was shot with a Smith & Wesson, wasn’t he? Do you think Roger Jenkinson could be his murderer?’ Anna’s face creased in frustration.

‘Oh, you’re kidding me,’ groaned Robyn. ‘We’ll have to bring Roger back in and ask him again about the gun. He might still own it. David, instruct the officer currently outside Roger Jenkinson’s place to bring him in. Looks like we’ll be in for a full house. Hope we’ve got enough interview rooms.’

David departed to do her bidding. Robyn racked her brains to fathom why Liam and Ella would be attempting to pass themselves off as a couple. And what about Astra? Surely she didn’t belong to both of them? There were lots of parts to this investigation that continued to bug her.

David raced back into the room. ‘Roger Jenkinson’s not at home.’

‘Where is he?’

David shrugged. ‘The officer watching the place said he must have slipped away, over the fields. It’s a huge property, plenty of places for him to get lost in.’

Robyn groaned. This was rapidly turning into a farce and all she needed now was Shearer smirking in the corner.

As if on cue, Shearer stuck his head in. ‘Came to see if you missed me,’ he said, sidling up to Robyn.

‘Not now, Tom. I’m up to my neck.’

‘Heard that was the case. Flint made some comment.’ His eyes glittered.

‘Tom, go away. I really haven’t time for this now.’

He raised his hands in mock obeisance and backed away, leaving her rattled. How dare Flint make any comment to Shearer about her work or otherwise? She fumed for a moment until Mitz put down the internal phone and spoke quietly. ‘Liam and Ella are on their way. Should be here in half an hour. Naomi Povey’s already here.’

‘When the others arrive, we’ll start by interviewing Liam Carrington.’ She opened a drawer, pulled out a silver foil pack and popped a couple of headache pills.

Mitz studied her actions then asked, ‘You want me to take over?’

‘No ta. I’ll be fine.’ She brushed off his concerned look and refocused on the notes in front of her. Now, to add to her workload, she had a missing suspect. Where would Roger Jenkinson have gone? Or had he been murdered? This all seemed too much to deal with. Was Flint deliberately letting her handle this in the hope she’d break? Were he and Shearer discussing how far they could leave her floundering before they waded in? She squared her shoulders. That was never going to happen.

‘Put out a call on Roger Jenkinson, Mitz. I want him apprehended as soon as possible. Check all the farms and homes in the area. His car’s still outside his property. He can’t have gone too far if he left on foot, not unless he had help from somebody.’

---

Tory Goode, the witness who claimed she’d seen a jogger near Tessa’s house on the morning she’d been killed, was sitting behind the one-way mirror looking into the interview room.

‘I didn’t know this sort of thing actually happened,’ she whispered. She’d calmed down a little, worn out by waiting around, but was still enthusiastic about helping to identify the woman she’d spotted in Barton-under-Needwood.

‘The women can’t see you but you can see them. If you spot the woman you saw on the sixteenth of February at 6 a.m. let me know. Are you clear about that?’ Robyn asked.

‘Yes. I’m clear.’

Anna gave the woman a smile.

Robyn gave the instruction and David opened the door and five women entered the room and moved to their positions, where they waited, facing the glass. Tory took her time in studying each woman.

‘Miss Goode, do you recognise any of the women on the other side of the glass?’ asked Robyn.

Tory chewed her lip and craned her neck forward. ‘I don’t know. I can’t be sure.’

Robyn waited, hoping for a more positive identification, but Tory sat back and shook her head.

After Tory left, Robyn entered the interview room and was soon joined by Naomi Povey. She walked to the chair, pulled it out from under the table and sat down, all the while scowling.

‘I’m going to have you for harassment,’ Naomi spat. ‘I’m not happy at having to take part in an identity parade.’

‘Thank you for your assistance. I won’t keep you, Miss Povey,’ said Robyn. ‘It’s only a couple of questions.’

‘I’m not sure I feel like answering any more of your questions. I’ve got better things to do with my time.’

‘I’m afraid it’s necessary for our enquiries. When was the last time you saw Roger Jenkinson?’

Naomi flushed. ‘A few days ago.’

‘We’re concerned about him. He’s disappeared. I wondered if he’d contacted you.’

‘I can’t help you with that. I haven’t seen him since last Tuesday.’

Robyn gave a knowing smile. ‘Miss Hall, have you any idea where Mr Jenkinson might be at this moment?’

Naomi scowled. ‘No. I’m not his minder. He doesn’t have to tell me where he is or what he’s doing and check in every hour.’

‘I wonder how much he actually tells you. I suspect he’s kept quite a few things from you.’

‘Crap. He tells me everything. We’re a team – a solid team.’

‘I was led to believe he wanted to end your relationship.’

‘You’re wrong.’

‘Did he ever suggest you and he split up?’

Naomi let out a soft snort. ‘We had our ups and downs. He might have said something in the heat of the moment but he’d never have left me for her.’

‘But he wanted to, didn’t he?’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. He stopped seeing that tart after I phoned her. It was over. Got it? Over.’

‘I’m afraid that wasn’t the case. Mr Jenkinson continued to see Tessa even after you tried to break their relationship up.’

Naomi’s head shook from side to side. ‘No. No. That’s not possible. I’d have known if he was still seeing her.’

Robyn persisted. Naomi was definitely beginning to crack. ‘Again. I’m sorry to contradict you, but we lifted his fingerprints from Tessa’s house, and off a Valentine’s card he sent her.’ She watched Naomi’s reaction very carefully. The woman was in denial, her eyes blinking repeatedly.

‘No. This isn’t true. He can’t have. He was with me on Valentine’s Day. We spent it together. He loved me. Only me.’

‘Mr Jenkinson kept a few secrets from you, Naomi. Or maybe he only thought he’d kept them from you. Did you find out he was still seeing Tessa, and murder her?’

Naomi spluttered, ‘No. I didn’t. Check with my work colleagues. They’ll tell you I was at work that day. I went nowhere near her house.’

Robyn waited for Naomi to digest what she’d been told before she dropped the next bombshell. She was banking on Juliet’s information that Roger was keeping Naomi in the dark about the lottery.

‘Did he tell you about their lottery win, or did he keep that a secret from you too?’

Naomi’s mouth flapped open. ‘What lottery win?’

‘He didn’t tell you he and the others had won over six million pounds in December?’

There was silence followed by a chuckle and then further chuckling. ‘Go on. You’re winding me up.’

‘Mr Jenkinson and his fellow teammates won a jackpot amount of money on the lottery, and that is why I’m concerned for his well-being. He could be in danger.’

The woman bristled suddenly. ‘You needn’t worry about Roger. He can handle himself. I don’t know where he might be, so if that’s everything, I’m leaving. If you drag me in one more time without good reason, I’ll report you for harassment.’

With that, she slammed her chair back with force and marched out of the interview room. Robyn looked across at the glass and spoke to Anna, still watching and listening behind it.

‘Get someone to follow her, will you? I have a feeling she knows exactly where Roger is. I want an officer watching her movements. I’m going to interview Liam Carrington.’

As Robyn exited the interview room, she glanced along the corridor towards the double doors that led into the station foyer. Through the glass she spotted two figures – Liam and Ella. He had one hand on the back of her lustrous hair, holding her head into his chest and shoulders. Robyn observed the couple standing in silence, arms wrapped around each other as if welded together. An officer approached and spoke to them. Liam withdrew. Ella reached for his hands and they stood again for a moment like two children about to play, no word passing their lips. It was obvious now looking at them. They looked so similar: their foreheads, noses, even their mannerisms. It was clear they were related. Robyn turned away. It was time to get to the bottom of the mystery.