Frozen Grave (Willis/Carter #3)(93)

‘Do you have a room we can use to have a chat?’ Carter asked. Emily looked towards the receptionist for approval. She nodded.

‘Um . . . Yes. We have a room next door we can use,’ Emily said, trying to smile, but it didn’t quite come off. ‘Tea?’

‘Yes, please.’

Emily asked the receptionist to bring tea and they went into a study to have some privacy. It was a light room, sparsely furnished, and felt like a doctor’s waiting room. Outside, it was already dark. Emily went across to pull the curtains on the two bay windows.

She strode over and sat down, bolt upright, legs to one side, slightly uncomfortable-looking in her tweed pencil skirt. Willis looked at her shoes – they were shiny court shoes – highly polished.

Willis surreptitiously switched on her recorder and placed it on the table, out of sight. She was hoping Emily would think it was her phone and not ask. They needed a sample of her voice, to see if they could match its style to the person who wrote the letter. Willis was working Emily Porter out. She was studying the way Emily held herself, the way she answered questions. Carter would start by asking her the basics so that Willis could establish a baseline of behaviour.

‘Thanks for sparing us some time, we just have a few questions for you.’

‘Yes, okay . . . um. Please take a seat. Tea will be coming in a few minutes.’

‘This is a great-looking school,’ said Carter. ‘Have you worked here long?’

‘Ten years.’

‘It must be very rewarding.’

‘Yes, it is.’

‘Do you have children of your own?’

‘Um . . . No, I don’t.’

‘I bet it puts you off when you’ve got so many here to look after. This is a boarding school, isn’t it?’

‘It’s both a day school and term-time boarding.’

‘You’re known as Mrs Porter here? Were you married at one time?’

‘Yes, I was. Um . . . I kept my married name. I got used to it and they already knew me as that here. I didn’t see the point in changing it back.’

‘And do you live near here in the grounds?’

‘I live in a house in the middle of Taunton.’

‘How does that work out for you? Is Taunton a lively place in the evenings?’

She smiled. ‘Lively enough for me.’

Carter looked at Willis. She held his gaze for a second, which told him she had established a normal baseline for Emily Porter. Some things would be difficult to gauge. Emily has a habit of pushing her glasses back up her nose as she talks and when she pushes them she scrunches up her face. She is nervy and abrupt and has the annoying habit of ending or beginning many of her sentences with an ‘um’. Her body is still, upright. Her legs are still. They don’t move. When she’s answering Carter she keeps her head vertical, her movements small. She reminds me of a puppet. Now Carter would see how Emily behaved when she was under stress.

He took out the letter.

‘Did you get one of these?’ He held it up for her to see.

‘Um . . . Yes.’ Legs clenched, knees clamped. She holds her hands tightly until she pushes up her glasses, this time adding a small grooming movement with her hand as she pushes her hair back from her face.

‘When did it arrive?’

‘Um . . .’ She looks up to the left. ‘I got it on the Wednesday morning when I went home to finish some marking at coffee time. I had two free periods so I went home and checked my mail.’

‘Was it a shock?’

‘Um . . .’ She pauses. She was thinking what she should say. ‘I would have to say – not really.’ She stares straight ahead. Her legs relax a little.

‘Did you already know about the existence of the list?’

‘Did I write it, you mean? No, I didn’t.’ Her shoulders rise a little. Could be anxiety, could be lying.

‘How long have you known JJ Ellerman, Mrs Porter?’

‘Um . . . About five years now.’

‘How did you meet?’

‘On a dating site for Christians.’

‘You are divorced?’

‘Um . . . Yes. My marriage only lasted two years, unfortunately. I’ve been with JJ since it ended.’

‘Five years is a long time.’

Emily’s eyes went to Willis. Willis didn’t react. She was taking notes.

‘Yes . . . Um.’ Emily glanced briefly at Tucker, who smiled, and then she turned back to Carter. ‘I suppose it is, um . . . but I wasn’t in a hurry to settle down with someone else. One marriage is enough.’ She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes.

Willis wrote in her notes: Demeanour changed. Eyes looking up to the right. Face colouring. Hands restless in lap. Body language not corresponding to words.

‘So you never wanted anything more from Ellerman? You never thought: “This isn’t going anywhere?” Not even now, five years down the line?’

‘No. It suited us both.’

She’s lying – beginning to perspire, breathing rate increasing, fidgeting.

‘So you will be happy to continue your relationship with him?’

‘Absolutely not. Of course I can’t.’ More lies.

‘I’m sorry if this is an indelicate question, but have you invested money in any of his business schemes?’