Steve and Sarah arrived at the Firth residence and walked up the stairs to the landing. After ringing the bell they waited a few minutes until an immaculately groomed Jane Firth answered.
‘Hello detectives, how may I help you?’ she asked peering through the half open door.
‘Well actually we are here to talk with Anna if she is in?’ Sarah informed her. Mrs Firth looked confused at first. Then she stood back from the door and opened it up for them to enter. She showed them through to the lounge room where they took a seat in the luxurious lounge suite.
‘I’m not actually sure she is here. Let me check upstairs for you.’. Mrs Firth wondered out of the room and was gone for a few minutes. Muffled voices could be heard coming from upstairs. A few minute later Mrs Firth re-entered the lounge. ‘I’m sorry detectives but Anna is not here just now. Can I take a message for you?’ she explained.
‘Yes I am Mum’ a rather indignant Anna Firth said as she walked into the lounge room and took a seat opposite the detectives. Mrs Firth followed and sat along side Anna.
‘Anna darling, this is Detective Rickets and Detective Branson. They wanted to talk with you.’
‘About Dad’s murder?’ Anna said looking straight at Steve.
‘Yes that is correct’ Steve said and was about to explain before he was cut off by Mrs Firth.
‘I assume you have made some progress then about the murder of my husband?’ she demanded to know.
‘We are currently following up all leads’ Sarah replied.
‘Right now though we have a few questions for you Anna if you don’t mind?’ Steve said taking back control of the conversation.
‘Sure, its okay with me’ Anna blurted out.
‘Anna, what was your relationship like with your father?’ Sarah asked lowering her tone of voice to one that conveyed more empathy.
‘It was okay, I guess like any father daughter relationship we had our ups and downs. Why do you ask?’ Anna responded somewhat taken a back by the question.
‘We are just trying to establish a profile on the victim’ Sarah said.
‘You were planning a trip overseas weren’t you?’ Steve said and motioned towards the Thailand travel brochures on the coffee table.
‘Yes with my boyfriend’ Anna agreed.
‘Mrs Firth would you mind passing me one of those brochures there?’ Steve said leaning forward. Mrs Firth leaned in and picked up a selection of the brochures and passed them to Steve. Steve noticed that she no longer had her wedding rings on her left hand that was extended towards him. Strange he thought to himself as the body was barely cold.
‘Thailand looks nice, when were you planning on going?’ Steve said glancing at the brochures.
‘Well in a few weeks time. But we are not going now’ Anna said with a sulking look on her face.
‘Oh? Why is that?’
‘Money! My father wouldn’t give me the money I needed for the trip so now I can’t go!’ Anna said sounding pissed off.
‘Anna!’ Mrs Firth interjected.
‘Well its true! He wouldn’t give me the money because he didn’t want me to be happy!’ Anna said becoming more animated and raising her voice.
‘That’s not true Anna’ Mrs Firth disagreed.
‘Do you mind if I ask why you think he wouldn’t give you the money Anna?’ Steve asked.
‘He wouldn’t give me the money because he didn’t approve of my boyfriend!’ Anna cried out. She was starting to become frustrated and upset as she recalled the events. ‘He didn’t want me going overseas with him, even though he had never even met him!’
‘Why is that?’ Sarah asked.
‘Anna’s boyfriend is a musician he has no job, smokes and takes drugs and plays in night clubs all night long drinking with his musician friends’ Mrs Firth explained trying to sound reasonable. ‘My husband and I had explained to Anna many times that we didn’t think he was suitable for Anna’.
‘But I love him!’ Anna cried out.
‘Yes dear I know’ Mrs Firth said patting Anna on the leg.
‘Anna, where were you on Saturday night between nine pm and midnight?’ Steve asked.
‘Excuse me!’ Mrs Firth said sounding mortified he would dare ask.
‘It’s a routine question Mrs Firth’ Sarah said trying to calm her down.
‘I was home in my room alone’ Anna said. She had curled herself up into a ball on the lounge next to her Mum.
‘I see. So you were not with your boyfriend then?’ Steve asked.
‘No he had a gig. I was studying for exams so I decided not to have a late night. So I stayed in and studied for a bit and watched some TV.’ Anna explained.
‘Detectives is this really necessary? The poor girl has just lost her father?’ Mrs Firth said.
‘I’m afraid so Mrs Firth. We need to follow every avenue we can’ Sarah explained.
‘Mrs Firth the murder weapon was found earlier today. We have been able to confirm that it was the weapon used to kill your husband’ Steve added.
‘Good heavens. What is this murder weapon?’
‘Well it appears to be a small gardening tool, a three pronged pitch fork’ Steve replied. Mrs Firth reeled back in shock her mind imagining someone stabbing her husband from behind with a gardening tool. Her face went white at the thought of it.
‘And so because it was a gardening tool you think Anna had something to do with it?’ she said in a frail voice still dealing with the thought of her husband being stabbed to death in a dark corner of Gold Street.
‘Well there is more ...’ Steve said. ‘The actual gardening tool appears to belong to Anna. It is from a set with Anna’s initials, AF, on the carry case’. Steve took out his phone and scrolled through until he found the photos of he carry case and the embroidered initials.
‘Recognize this?’ Steve asked Anna.
‘Yes they are mine. They had been missing for a few weeks and I couldn’t remember where I had left them.’ Agreed Anna. ‘But I had nothing to do with my fathers death even though I was angry with him.’
‘I understand’ said Steve.
‘Anyone could have come by and stolen those tools’ Mrs Firth said defending Anna. She was certain Anna was not involved in this. She knew Anna really hated her father but she would never do anything like this. She had after all never harmed a soul.
‘That is true. I am sure there is a reasonable explanation for all of this and we can quickly clear Anna’s name from our list of suspects’ Sarah said.
‘Well how do we do that?’ Mrs Firth said keen to clear things up.
‘There was a set of prints on the fork. We will need to have Anna come down to the station and provide a set of finger prints for us. If Anna had nothing to do with this then the prints won’t match and we can then clear her of any involvement.’ Sarah explained.
‘Sure no problems’ Anna agreed. ‘When ever I used the gardening tools I always had on gardening gloves so you won’t find my prints on them’
Mrs Firth face was still white and she was shaking her head slightly from side to side in disbelief at everything that was happening. She used to lead such a simple quiet life and now everything had been turned on its head.
‘Okay we will organize to have some uniform officers to arrive shortly. They will take you down to the station and run you through the process’ Sarah explained.
‘So detectives just to be clear, my daughter is not a suspect I take it?’ Mrs Firth asked seeming confused by the events unfolding before her.
‘At this stage she is one of several lines of investigation we are considering’ Steve said trying to be diplomatic. ‘If the finger print check comes back clear then she will be crossed of the suspect list’.
‘I see’
‘Here ...’ said Steve and held out the travel brochures in front of Mrs Firth to return them to her. She held out her left hand and took the brochures from him and dropped them on the coffee table.
‘Thanks for your time again Mrs Firth, and Anna’ Steve said as he and Sarah headed towards the front door.