With only two weeks until Christmas, shoppers were out in force. The hardy gift buyers were wrapped up against the bitter elements as they braved the arctic freeze to ensure their loved ones had a merry Christmas. Heavy winter coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and a good strong pair of comfortable shoes were the standard uniform of shoppers in Sheffield city centre.
Matilda left Sian in the car parked on double yellow lines, with the hazard lights flashing. As she made her way through the throng of shoppers, she saw the looks on their pinched red faces; steely determination. These people had a list and they would get every item regardless of whom they had to stand on to get it. Militant shoppers were to be avoided at all costs.
Waterstones was a large book shop on two levels with a welcoming Costa franchise upstairs. There was something about the lingering smell of freshly brewed coffee and books that made it so inviting. The effect was lost on Matilda. She read occasionally, mostly when on holiday, but she wasn’t a big reader.
The store was heaving with people. Shelves and tables were stacked high with the bestsellers and carols played on a loop through the sound system.
‘Excuse me, I’m looking for Judy King. Is she working today?’ Matilda asked one pale-looking shop assistant.
‘Yes she is. I last saw her in cookery. Follow me.’ Without smiling, he turned and led the way upstairs.
‘Is the new Lee Child out?’ Matilda asked, thinking of a possible gift for her husband. She knew he was a fan of the thriller writer.
‘Yes,’ the assistant said, stopping halfway up the stairs and looking at Matilda. ‘It came out in August.’
‘Oh. Thank you.’
The bookseller led Matilda up the stairs and around the corner into the cookery section. ‘Judy, you have a visitor.’
Judy King was standing in an alcove straining under the weight of half a dozen hardback cookery books in her arms. She was tall, slender and in her mid-forties. She had dyed brown hair and the face of a woman who had been through many troubles. She was drawn around the eyes and her mouth hung down at the corners. She looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
‘I’m DCI Matilda Darke from South Yorkshire Police. Would it be possible to have a word?’
‘Oh. Yes, sure,’ she said, taken aback.
The young assistant left them. Judy placed the books carefully on the floor in front of her.
‘Is he all right? He looks like death warmed up,’ Matilda smiled.
‘Jonathan? Oh, he’s harmless. What can I do for you?’
‘Judy,’ Matilda said, stepping forward and lowering her voice. ‘I’m afraid I have some bad news. Your ex-husband, Iain, was found dead at his home earlier this morning.’
‘Iain’s dead? Oh my God. What happened?’ Her right hand went up to her necklace from which hung a large depiction of Jesus on the cross.
‘It looks like he’s been murdered.’
‘Oh my …’ and with that, Judy collapsed to the floor.
Matilda had heard about people fainting upon hearing bad news but she had never seen it happen. Until now. Judy King had dropped to the floor with a loud thud. People turned to look at them, and a couple of staff members rushed over to help. Matilda was given dirty looks from shoppers as if she were directly responsible for Judy’s fall. In a way, she was.
Judy soon opened her eyes and was helped into the staff room where she was given a plastic cup of water from the cooler. Matilda managed to win the staff round and eventually they were left alone.
‘I’m sorry,’ Judy said, wiping her brow. ‘I’ve never fainted before.’
‘That’s perfectly understandable. You’ve had a shock.’
‘Well, yes. It was awful. When you said Iain had died I thought you were going to say he’d choked on his own vomit or something.’
‘Why would I say that?’ Matilda frowned.
‘He’s been drinking heavily lately. God only knows what it’s been doing to his insides. I haven’t seen him too often over the last few months but each time I have he’s looked worse and worse.’
‘Has he always been a drinker?’
‘No. Well, I mean, he likes a drink, but don’t we all? Lately he’s been having more than usual. I’m surprised he’s kept hold of his job.’
‘Is there a reason he’s been drinking more?’
‘Not to my knowledge.’
‘Were you close?’
‘Well, we were married for twelve years. You don’t just forget twelve years. It’s a large part of your life. We haven’t seen much of each other recently. I work, and he worked, and we never made arrangements to meet up. We just kept in touch. Neither of us seemed to have a lot of people in our lives so we kept an eye on each other.’
‘When was the last time you spoke to him?’
Judy looked up as if thinking. ‘I haven’t seen him for about a month but I spoke to him on the phone a couple of days ago. Saturday I think it was.’
‘What about?’
‘Well, he was slightly drunk. I don’t usually like talking to him when he’s had a few but he sounded serious. He kept talking about the past. He hasn’t done that for years and doesn’t like bringing up the past. He said he wished he’d done things differently when we were still together.’
‘What did you say?’
‘There’s nothing I can say when he’s in that condition. I just listened and when there was a gap told him to go to bed and sleep it off.’
‘Judy, I’m going to need you to identify Iain. Is that something you’ll be able to do?’
‘Oh God,’ again she reached for the necklace. ‘I suppose so, yes.’
‘And I’ll need a formal statement from you too.’
‘Ok. I’ll have a word with my manager, let him know what’s happening.’
Judy stood up to leave the room but decided to check her appearance in the small smeared mirror in the corner. She wiped her eyes and ran her fingers through her tangled hair before disappearing through the doorway.
Matilda went over their conversation in her head. Something Judy had said seemed to turn a light on but then quickly extinguish it again. What had Matilda not picked up on?