Chapter Ten

Wednesday 8th December, 2010

More snow had fallen over night and with only seventeen days left until Christmas, bookies had slashed the odds on a white Christmas. James Darke was pleased. Every January he placed his one bet of the year that there would be a white Christmas. £50 that it would snow on December 25th. He’d lost more money than he’d won.

Matilda was late getting into work as traffic was crawling through the thin layer of snow. She wasn’t the last one in, which made her feel better. By the time she had brewed coffee, checked her emails, confirmed the man in custody was indeed the illusive Craig Matthewman, and had a brief gossip with Sian, the MIT had fully arrived and were ready to begin.

‘So, who went to Barnes Coaches to interview Iain’s colleagues yesterday afternoon?’

‘Me and Rita popped down, ma’am,’ DS Tanner said, trying to balance his wet shoes on the radiators so they dried before he had to go out again.

‘And?’

‘They all said roughly the same thing. Basically, Iain Kilbride was great at his job, would do anything for anyone, but when it came to going down the pub or having a laugh in the staff room he was nowhere to be seen.’

‘What did his colleagues make of that?’

‘At first they thought he was shy, you know, a bit quiet, but as the months and years went on, they accepted it. There was no, what’s the word …?’

‘Animosity,’ DC Rita Morgan helped him out.

‘Exactly. None of that,’ he concluded.

‘Did any of them know that he was in Emmerdale for twelve years?’

‘No,’ Rita said, trying to hide a smile. Rita Morgan was a small woman in her mid-twenties. She had elfin features, beautiful clear skin and dyed black hair. She had been asked out by the majority of the male officers in Sheffield and had turned them all down which made Matilda smile. Who wanted to date a copper?

‘What’s so funny?’ Matilda asked.

‘Well, when we brought it up, they didn’t believe us. Richard got his phone out and we found some clips of him on YouTube. Let’s just say I’m surprised he lasted twelve years on the soap.’

‘Why?’

‘Well, he was no Sir Laurence Olivier.’

‘Oh. He couldn’t act?’

‘Not really. I’ve been looking online at some interviews in soap magazines. Did you know there are so-called soap experts?’

‘Nothing would surprise me anymore,’ Sian said. ‘There was a story in the newspaper last week about a girl who’s writing her university thesis on Barbie. Can you believe that? What a waste.’

‘Anyway, Rita, you were saying?’

‘I found a feature from this soap expert that basically said Iain Kilbride was axed because he’d grown up and lost his looks. When he first joined in the eighties he was young, good looking, fit and lean. Over the years he filled out, gained a few wrinkles, his hair thinned and he didn’t fit his character anymore.’

‘That’s a bit of a cop out isn’t it?’ Sian asked. ‘I thought soaps were supposed to reflect real life. People grow up, they change and adapt. That’s what happens.’

‘It doesn’t make for good TV though, Sian,’ Matilda said. ‘So he was hired for his looks rather than his ability. When he grew older he was fired and couldn’t get any other work because he wasn’t a good actor.’

‘That’s basically his life in a nutshell,’ Rita confirmed.

‘Didn’t you say there was an article about him living in Chester?’

‘Yes.’

‘So we need to find out what made him leave Chester for Sheffield. Was there an ex-wife?’

‘Yes,’ Sian said. ‘According to Andrea Barnes, Iain Kilbride’s next of kin is Judy King.’

‘Who’s that?’

‘His ex-wife. Iain Kilbride is really Iain King. He changed his name after taking up acting. There was already an Iain King in Equity.’

‘They’re still in regular contact then?’

‘It would appear so. She lives in Greenhill but works in Waterstones in Orchard Square.’

‘Right, grab your coat and a few bars of chocolate then Sian.’