Undermined Read online

  Daniel introduced Kent and she nodded.

  “I can’t believe this,” she said, “this murder, my father, people thinking my mother is dead, any of it.”

  Kent led the way back to his car. “It’s late Mrs Rios, I’m sure you’ve had a stressful day, so let’s take you to your hotel and we can talk about it in the morning.”

  Vanessa Rios nodded. She looked as tired as Daniel felt. Leaving things until the morning seemed like a good idea. He had to work hard to stay awake as Kent drove back through quiet towns and suburbs to the hotel. He was surprised when Kent got out of the car and followed them inside, waiting silently until Vanessa had checked in and gone to her room.

  “I’ll come here for you both in the morning,” Kent said when they were alone, “and I’m going to have to trust you not to start questioning her over breakfast. And I still need that alibi checked. No more one man investigation. There’s a team. My team.”

  The unfairness stung, but yes sir was the only possible response and Daniel gave it.

  Despite the long day, the people from the case marched through Daniel’s brain until he stopped trying to sleep and got his notebook out. Suzanne Price sounded like someone who made enemies easily. Even her son had found it hard to say kind things about her, but none of them seemed like motives for murder. Roy Edwards was a cheating husband, but he was getting away with it. He wouldn’t want to be in Roy’s shoes when Marian found out about Suzanne...the notebook started to slip from his hand.

  He woke some time later, the images from his dreams still clear in his head. Images of being caressed by a dark man with darker eyes.

  I don’t think so.

  Chapter 3

  Present Daniel thanked past Daniel for hanging up his suit before going to bed, rather than throwing it over a chair, and for packing enough clean shirts, as well as the Acqua Di Parma fragrance Megan had given him. Present Daniel felt as if he’d been run over by a truck, but he wanted to stay on this case. Like he’d said to his sister, this case was interesting.

  He heard the buzz of his phone as he tied his tie. Bethan was making an early start as usual. He put her on loudspeaker and carried on getting ready.

  “Boss, I’ve had Marian Edwards on the phone, shouting the odds. She’s threatening to get an injunction to stop you saying that she isn’t legally married.”

  “Why me?”

  “Um, gay?”

  “The woman’s mad. Her husband isn’t her husband, he’s been cheating on her, and his girlfriend has been murdered, and Marian’s worrying about my sexuality?”

  “Yup. According to her, you represent some sort of gay mafia working to undermine the institution of marriage. You couldn’t make it up.”

  Daniel wondered aloud how Marian Edwards had discovered that her husband might be a bigamist, and there was a moment of embarrassed silence from Bethan. “Sorry boss, I just asked the wrong person about the first Mrs Edwards, and, well, small town.”

  Kent was right about that at least.

  Phone call over, Daniel looked up the offence of bigamy, finding that it was more serious than he’d expected - up to seven years in jail. If Edwards hadn’t divorced his first wife, and Suzanne had found out, then she could have made a lot of trouble.

  Daniel checked his tie in the mirror and flattened his hair. Then he grinned at himself. I’m smart, clean and I smell nice. Now I’m going to find out who killed Suzanne Price with or without Glamorgan police. Take that, DCI Kent.

  But first, coffee. Vanessa was already in the restaurant when he arrived, so he folded himself into a chair and asked how she had slept.

  “Better than I will in a couple of months,” she said, patting her stomach, “but the baby starts kicking as soon as I lie down.”

  “Just one?” Daniel asked with a smile, “my sister had twins and she said as soon as one stopped, the other started. My mother says the same - I’m a twin too.”

  “Then I shall count my blessings,” said Vanessa with a big smile of her own. Daniel said he’d promised not to talk about anything to do with the case, so they enjoyed their breakfasts with talk of babies, and the weather in Spain. Vanessa talked a bit about her mother, who she said had been ill, and was having a week off, staying with friends in Granada, and that sent them down the rabbit hole of Moorish Spanish cities.

  That Vanessa ran a bar made perfect sense. She was full of information, but seemed equally happy to listen. It wasn’t hard for Daniel to imagine himself on a tall stool, arms resting on the bar, bottle of beer in front of him, the beach behind, the sound of the sea and the smell of lunch being cooked drifting on the breeze.

  “You don’t have any plans for children then?” Vanessa asked, waking him from his daydream, and Daniel shook his head.

  “One day maybe, when I find the right guy.”

  “Someone like your colleague who drove us back from the airport? I’m a happily married woman but I think he’s gorgeous. More likely to be interested in you than me though.” She winked.

  Daniel shook his head, trying not to think about his dreams.

  “You should join the police,” he said, “I guess running a bar hones your observation skills.”

  “It does, and I am now observing that a very handsome policeman has arrived.”

  Daniel looked up. Kent was walking towards them looking good enough to eat. And he was smiling, talking to the woman next to him. Vanessa jumped up, as quickly as a seven months pregnant woman can.

  “Mum! What are you doing here?”

  “I came to look after you of course. And see what your father is up to now.”

  Daniel saw that the woman, who could only be the first Mrs Edwards, looked pale and underweight compared to her daughter. He got up and offered her his seat and she sat down without argument. Kent jerked his head and Daniel followed.

  “Organise some coffee and something to eat in the lounge please Owen. We can talk here better than at the station.”

  Daniel nodded.

  “Then you can explain why I’ve had a complaint about you from Gavin Price.”

  “He was very drunk sir.”

  Kent leaned forward to speak, “you will find out Owen, that I don’t cover up for officers who break the rules. Now I’d like your side of the story.”

  Daniel told him.

  “No sleeping tablets? But you didn’t look at anything personal of Gavin’s? Just Suzanne’s stuff?”

  “No sir.”

  “Don’t fuck up again.”

  “No sir.”

  “Did you see her phone? It wasn’t on her body.”

  Daniel said that there had been a new iPhone on the kitchen table and that Gavin had ignored its pings. Also that the sisters next door said Suzanne always had the latest model. Kent nodded. “That could be it, we need to see if we can get it officially.”

  Barbara Edwards took the lead once they were settled on comfortable sofas in the lounge, with herbal tea for Vanessa and coffee for everyone else. When Barbara accepted coffee, Vanessa frowned.

  “Coffee won’t make any difference Vanessa, and you know it.”

  “But Mum…”

  “What everyone needs to know,” said Barbara, looking at each of them in turn, “is that I’m dying. I have cancer and it’s spread, and the doctors have done everything they can. It’s OK. I’m hanging on to meet my grandchild. But it’s OK. So coffee is neither here nor there, and this morning I feel like coffee.”

  Vanessa blew her nose, and attempted a smile, as Barbara continued, “So what I want to know is, what’s going on with Roy?”

  Kent explained that they had interviewed Edwards “in connection with the suspicious death of Ms Suzanne Price,” and that he had been asked not to leave Cardiff. Barbara and Vanessa looked shocked. If possible Barbara lost even more colour from her face.

  “We have some questions for you if you don’t mind,” Kent said, and the two women nodded, “Owen?”

  Daniel had no idea what questions Kent wanted answering, so he thoug
ht ignore the dickhead, and asked what he wanted to know.

  “May I ask if you and Roy Edwards are still married, Mrs Edwards?”

  “Call me Barbara, and yes, as far as I know. A sergeant Davies from Melin Tywyll asked me the same thing yesterday. I’m pretty sure that you can’t divorce someone without them finding out about it.”

  “Did you know that Roy Edwards has re-married, claiming to have been widowed?”

  Barbara reached for her daughter’s hand and squeezed it. “The rotten bastard,” she said in a quiet voice. “And a mistress. Whatever did I see in that man?”

  Then Vanessa and her mother had their arms round each other and Vanessa started crying. Barbara looked at the two men.

  “I think Vanessa came to find her father because she’s about to lose her mother.”

  “I shouldn’t have come,” said Vanessa, “we should go home Mum.”

  “Give us a minute,” said Barbara, rubbing her daughter’s back gently.

  Kent and Daniel took their coffee to another table out of earshot.

  “So what do you know about this other wife?” Kent asked and Daniel told him, including Marian Edwards’s threats of legal action.

  “I know I shouldn’t find it funny, sir, only I can’t help it.”

  “And how does this woman know you’re gay?”

  “No idea sir, but it’s a small town and I was brought up there. It’s never been a secret.” Then Daniel heard himself say, “Unlike the gay mafia. We try to keep that quiet.”

  Now he’s going to go ballistic.

  Daniel looked at Kent, expecting angry sarcasm. Instead. Kent was smiling. Daniel thought that Kent should smile more often. He smiled back.

  “I’ve arranged to borrow you for a few more days,” Kent said, “I need you to find out what Barbara and Vanessa are doing next. Then we need background checks on all the main players, and ideally someone intelligent to look at it all. So come to the station when you’re done here.”

  Daniel kept his face neutral. He wasn’t going to say anything to bring back the earlier version of the man next to him. Kent got up and squeezed Daniel’s shoulder. “See you in a bit,” he said and left, waving briefly to Barbara and Vanessa, who waved back. Daniel felt the warm imprint of Kent’s hand on his shoulder, and watched as Kent walked away.

  What just happened?

  Barbara smiled at Daniel across the hotel lounge, and he went back to sit with her and Vanessa.

  “Vanessa is going to get her stuff and then we’re going to Melin Tywyll, see if we can’t sort out who’s married to who,” said Barbara, “off you go love.” She flapped her hand at her daughter, sending her towards the lifts.

  Daniel took the opportunity to find out more about Roy Edwards. Barbara said that she and Roy had left Wales for the Spanish sunshine when they were newly married, first working for other people, then setting up on their own.

  “But Roy’s always seen himself as a bit of a player and he got worse after Vanessa was born.”

  “So did he have affairs?”

  “Not really, just a lot of flirting and staying up late chatting to women. By the time he left I wasn’t sorry. I don’t regret spending my time in Spain as a single parent. I’ve met some amazing people - a few idiots, but most people have something interesting to say. Mal - your boss - came a couple of times. Such a nice bloke. Broke all my waitresses’ hearts, even though I told them he wasn’t interested in girls. He must be having a really tough time with a case based in Cwmcoed. But,” she said, “that’s not my story to tell, even if I’m a Cwmcoed girl myself.”

  Daniel put that information to one side.

  He asked Barbara what contact Vanessa had had with her father.

  “He visited a few times, came to her wedding, sent a present when he heard about the baby, but he’s never been what you might call involved.”

  “Will you see him while you’re here?”

  Barbara thought for a moment and shook her head. “No. He’s gone too far this time.”

  Daniel thought how easy it was to talk to Barbara and Vanessa. If anyone could get through to Marian Edwards it would be these two. Whyever had Roy Edwards had left this lovely warm woman and his young daughter for Marian? He could understand anyone wanting to get away from Marian, though maybe he was biased. But then Roy had chosen Suzanne with her gaslighting behaviour and her unwelcoming son. He realised that even though he had only known them for a few hours that he had come like the Spanish part of the Edwards family. The others, not so much.

  Asking for Kent at Cardiff Central Police station garnered him a scowl from the officer on the front desk. As Kent led Daniel through CID, no one looked up or spoke. Daniel got the impression that it was deliberate, though whether it was directed at him or at Kent he couldn’t tell.

  Kent made room in his office for Daniel to read through a pile of reports, but by lunchtime they were no further forward. No one from the village said they had seen Roy since the weekend. Bethan had been on the phone to say that there was no progress on establishing an alibi in Melin Tywyll either.

  At one o’clock, Daniel’s phone pinged with a message from Megan: Eat something!

  He offered to get sandwiches for them both, but Kent put his coat on and led him back through CID, both of them getting the silent treatment again. They ate supermarket sandwiches on a bench overlooking the River Taff. It was cold, but better than being inside. Suddenly Kent touched Daniel on the arm and pointed across the river. A heron stood on one leg, as still as the rock beneath its foot, watching the water.

  “He’s often here,” Kent said, “I watch him fly and I have no trouble believing that birds are descended from dinosaurs.”

  Not what Daniel had been expecting from Kent, but he’d take it over the sarcasm and hostility. The heron made a grab for something in the river, then lurched into the sky, prehistoric wings flapping clumsily for a few moments, and then it was gone.

  Kent crumpled his sandwich wrapper and stood up. “Let’s go and see if the autopsy report is through,” he said.

  It was, and there were no surprises. Toxicology results showed that Suzanne had ingested enough benzodiazepines and alcohol to render her unconscious. Daniel was sure that the relief showed on his face, and he blushed as Kent looked over. Kent just smiled and went back to his reading. An hour later, Daniel had had enough of looking at reports.

  “Sir, I’d like to go back and talk to Suzanne’s neighbours again. They come over as a bit scatty, but I don’t think they miss much.” And if he’d read the two of them correctly, they would have been talking to everyone in the street, picking up any gossip the house-to-house would have missed.

  “Get your coat then,” said Kent “I’ll come with you - anything to get out of here for a while.“

  They got the silent treatment again as they left. Daniel decided the strange atmosphere was a can of worms best left closed.

  Once in the car, Kent visibly relaxed, his shoulders dropping and his face softening. Daniel risked a conversational opening, hoping the friendliness by the river was still in place.

  “Barbara says she wants to meet Marian Edwards.”

  Kent smiled, “Barbara should be working for the UN.”

  Daniel took another tentative step. “You’ve met her before then? In Spain?”

  This could go either way.

  “A couple of times. They let rooms as well as run the bar and it’s a great place to stay. I found it by accident the first time, and then went back.” There was a pause. “One night a bunch of drunks started kicking off in the bar and I was about to wade in, but Barbara had sorted it almost before I stood up, had them eating out of her hand in no time flat. She’s pretty impressive.”

  “I liked her a lot. And Vanessa.”

  “I didn’t meet Vanessa until last night, but yes. So whereabouts in Spain did your parents go?”

  An actual conversation!

  As they wound their way out of the city and up to Cwmcoed, Daniel felt the tension betw
een them continue to loosen.

  By the time they got back to Bute Street it was fully dark and had started raining. The street lamps cast pools of light between deep shadows. Kent parked opposite Suzanne’s house. Figures moved behind the blinds of the house next door, so the sisters were in.

  “I’ll wait here,” Kent said. The strain was back in his face. Daniel remembered Barbara’s comment about how it must be hard for Kent to have a case in Cwmcoed. He thought about the peculiar atmosphere in the police station and wondered what was behind it. Was Kent an aggressor or a victim? He couldn’t decide. Which is why he didn’t hear the engine behind him as he stepped into the wet street. He looked towards the sound and froze, dazzled and blind. The headlights raced towards him, filling his vision, paralysing him.

  This is why rabbits die. Move.

  He threw himself backwards, hitting the pavement hard. The breath flew out of him. He heard a bang and something hit him. He lay where he was, waiting for his lungs to start working, eyes closed against the blurred images jumping across his retinas.

  “Shit. Owen.” Daniel felt a warm hand on his neck and he opened his eyes to see the hazy outline of a dark figure bending over him.

  “Thank God, I thought he’d killed you.”

  Daniel drew in a ragged breath and then another.

  “Winded,” he managed to say, “just winded.” He began to roll onto his knees and felt a strong arm round his waist.

  “Lean on me,” said Kent, and somehow it was easier to do what he was told than to protest. Kent felt like solid muscle, safe and steady.

  “I’m OK,” he said as his vision started to clear. They were next to Kent’s car, but Kent still had an arm around him, holding him up.

  People were starting to open their doors or peer round their curtains, alerted by the noise on the street.

  “I think he caught you,” Kent said, pointing at Daniel’s leg. There was a tear in his trousers and a bloody bruise starting to swell. It didn’t look like a major injury, but of course once he’d seen it, it started hurting like hell.