Frozen Grave (Willis/Carter #3)(100)

‘What about Ellerman?’ said Carter. ‘What do we do about him now?’

‘We have the women shutting us out and we have Ellerman with enough alibis to sink a ship. They want to deal with this themselves.’

‘Even though we’ve told them he could be a murderer.’

‘Yes. They don’t seem to get it. They don’t think he’s capable.’

‘Because he’s not, maybe?’ Willis looked across at Carter. ‘Because one of them or more than one of them knows more than we think about the murders?’

‘They didn’t know about one another till the letter came?’ said Tucker.

‘Perhaps. We only have their words for that,’ answered Carter.

‘We need someone on the inside,’ said Tucker.

‘Harding.’ Willis looked across at Carter. ‘Could we ask Harding?’

‘Ring her now and tell her we need her help.’

‘Harding? She’s one of the names on the list?’ Tucker got out the list to look her up. ‘Dr Jo Harding?’

‘Yes. She’s the pathologist attached to Archway. She’s already agreed to help.’

‘Were they close?’

‘No. Harding’s never close to anyone,’ answered Carter. ‘But they were having a sexual relationship at one time, briefly. Harding also knew Olivia Grantham in the same way. All three had sex.’

Willis phoned her. ‘Dr Harding, we need you to talk to some of the women on the list. We’re not getting anywhere with them.’

‘Okay. Which one first?’

‘Megan Penarth.’

‘What’s the line you want me to take?’

‘Tell her you didn’t invest any money but that you’re angry and upset. We need her to trust you. But you’d better ring once and hang up. We don’t want her thinking we put you up to it – we’ve only just left her place. Then, when you do get through, ask her for help to deal with it.’

‘Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll let you know when it’s done,’ Harding said and hung up.

‘Now, Eb, tell me to mind my own business, but I would feel better if you phone and find out about your mother. It might affect what we do today.’ Carter waited to start the engine.

Willis picked up her phone, opened the door and got out of the car.

Carter watched her talking. She had become as thin as a reed. She lost weight so quickly. Her olive-coloured skin normally gave her a healthy-looking glow but not at the moment. She turned her face from the breeze that had sprung up. She was clutching the phone tight to her head, sheltering the mouthpiece with her hand.

‘Is she okay?’ asked Tucker.

Carter sighed. ‘It’s always difficult to tell with Willis. In all the time we’ve been partners, she’s never really opened up to me about all parts of her life.’

‘Her mother, you mean?’

‘Yes, her mother, Bella. I know the facts but I don’t know the feelings. I think she feels that if anyone really found those out she would enter a world full of chaos and unpredictability and she can’t bear to be out of control.’

‘She’s a good detective.’

‘She’s brilliant at some things. But she also has large gaps in her knowledge. She cannot get behind it when it involves crimes of passion, matters of love. She doesn’t really see it. It’s still black and white to her. She’s had no parental love.’

‘What about boyfriends? Men in her life?’

‘You’ll have to ask her all that. She would hate me telling you anything about personal stuff. Talking about her mother is okay – she is in the public domain. But Ebony’s sanctity would be a terrible thing to break into. I’m not sure how she’d recover. It’s taken me over a year to gain her trust and friendship.’

They watched her put her phone away and walk back to the car. She had a look of sadness on her face. She was staring at the ground as she got in and put on her seat belt.

‘Okay, Eb?’

Willis didn’t look at Carter. She stared straight ahead. He started the engine.

‘Yes, I don’t have to go to the hospital. There’s nothing I can do. She’s earned herself an indefinite stay in Rampton.’ Willis closed her eyes and laid her head back onto the headrest. ‘She attacked a pregnant woman, cut out her baby.’ Tucker reached forward and put his hand on her shoulder.

Carter put the car into gear and pulled out of the lay-by. ‘We’ll head to Exeter and drop off Tucker and then we’ll hit the motorway home.’

A text came through from Harding. Willis read it:

We’re in. I have an invite to meet her and a couple of the others.

After they’d dropped Tucker back in Exeter, Carter and Willis started the drive back to London.

‘We’d better make sure Harding follows a brief,’ Carter said, as they took the motorway north to Bristol. There were frozen fields either side of them as after the floods of autumn had come the cold of midwinter. The day was already dark with layers of deepening grey.

‘Is she dead, the woman your mother attacked?’

‘Yes. So is her baby.’

‘Christ – she’s a monster.’

‘Yes. I warned them when I was there. I could see it building in her. The business about finding my father – I should have handled that differently. That tipped her over the edge. She knew I wouldn’t want him to see her. I couldn’t risk his life being ruined. She knew I’d think that in the end.’