It took longer for Matilda and Sian to find somewhere to park than it did to find Gordon Berry’s house. Eventually, they found a space in the next street and walked back.
‘How are your legs?’ Sian said.
‘Fine now they’ve stopped throbbing. You should have seen my thighs on Sunday night, Sian. They looked like someone had been at them with a cheese grater.’
‘It was worth it though, surely.’
‘Oh God, yes, absolutely. And it was lovely of Scott to come on board too. You know, he got his sister to hand around his sponsor form at the school where she works. He raised over a grand on his own, bless him.’
‘He’s a good lad, Scott. He thinks the world of you, too.’
‘Does he?’ Matilda asked, looking surprised.
‘Yes. Him, Rory and Faith, they won’t hear a word said against you. All three of them see you as a career template.’
‘Oh. I’m not sure if I like being seen as a role model. I certainly don’t feel like one.’
‘Well they have a lot of respect for you. The whole team does. Don’t let it go to your head though. For every Scott, Rory and Faith, I’m sure there are a dozen who can’t stand you.’
‘Ah, thanks, Sian. I can always trust you to keep me grounded.’
They reached Gordon Berry’s house. It was in darkness, curtains closed, no sign of anyone.
‘You wouldn’t think anyone lived here,’ Sian said. ‘Look at the state of those windows. They haven’t been cleaned in months.’
‘Probably why he keeps his curtains closed.’
When Matilda knocked on the door it swung open slightly. They looked at each other with blank faces. Sian took her telescopic truncheon out of her back pocket and extended it to its full length with a flick of her wrist. Matilda pushed the door wide.
‘Hello!’ she called out. ‘Mr Berry.’
There was no reply. Matilda poked her head into the house. It was dark. There were no sounds of movement.
‘Mr Berry? I’m DCI Darke from South Yorkshire Police.’ When she didn’t hear anything, she raised an eyebrow to Sian and stepped into the house.
The first thing Matilda noticed was the freezing cold. Two rooms led off from the dark hallway – a kitchen and a living room. She chose the lounge first. Sian stayed behind, baton held aloft.
Matilda walked inside and turned on the light switch next to the door. There was an obvious sign of a disturbance – broken coffee table, armchair pushed into a bookcase, sofa cushions on the floor.
‘I don’t like this,’ Matilda turned to Sian.
‘No. Me neither. Shall I check upstairs?’
‘Sure. Be careful.’
Sian left Matilda alone in the lounge. Matilda made sure she didn’t touch anything. On the mantelpiece, there were an array of framed photographs. She leaned in to get a good look at them. They were the standard school pictures of young children, holiday snaps. One of the men she recognized from outside the police station, presumably Gordon Berry, in a holiday pose – his arm around another man on a sun-kissed pub terrace.
‘There’s nobody upstairs,’ Sian said, entering the room, baton now firmly back in her pocket. ‘The main bedroom is very untidy, and the bed hasn’t been made. It doesn’t look like there’s been a burglary because there’s some expensive music equipment up there.’
‘So whatever happened was isolated to the living room then?’
‘It would appear so.’
‘OK, Sian. Get onto Forensics. I want a full team here to give this house a serious going over.’
‘Will do.’
Sian pulled her mobile out of an inside pocket and moved over to the window to make a call. ‘Matilda, you’re going to want to see this,’ she said, looking down at something behind the sofa.
‘What?’
Sian pointed.
‘Is that what I think it is?’ Matilda asked following Sian’s gaze and seeing a thick rope with a noose tied at the end.
***
‘Who was working on where the rope came from?’ Matilda asked. She and Sian were back in the car while a forensics team made a full sweep of Gordon Berry’s home. Sian had splashed her lottery winnings on two takeaway medium lattes and two muffins.
‘Rory.’
‘And?’
‘Hang on, I’ve got it on my phone somewhere,’ Sian said, searching through her emails. ‘Here we are. It’s a twelve-millimetre polyhemp rope. It has the look and feel of natural fibres, but it isn’t. It’s fully weatherproof and doesn’t shrink when wet.’
‘Where can it be bought from?’
‘Absolutely everywhere. Rory looked online and there are more than a thousand stockists in South Yorkshire alone. It’s also sold on Amazon. You know when you buy something from Amazon you can ask other buyers a question about the product?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, quite a few people asked if it’s a good enough rope to hang yourself with.’
‘Blimey. And what were the replies?’
‘They all said it was. What’s more surprising is that not one person tried to talk the buyer out of hanging themselves. They just told them it was fine for the job, and that’s it.’
‘Nothing surprises me anymore,’ Matilda said, looking out of the window.
Sian sipped at her drink, all the while not taking her eyes from her boss. ‘Can I ask you a question?’
‘Of course.’
‘Are you scared?’
Matilda looked at her. ‘Of what?’
‘Whoever the killer is has obviously got you in their sights for whatever reason. He could be watching you right now. Doesn’t that frighten you?’
Matilda took a while to answer. It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to answer, she didn’t want to admit it to herself. She took a deep breath. ‘I’m petrified, Sian.’