Kay clipped her seatbelt into place while the barrier to the car park rose and Barnes edged the car into the traffic that crawled along Palace Avenue.
Pulling her notebook from her bag, she found the page with the details of Felicity’s client they were due to see and read it out to her colleague.
‘Best take the motorway, Ian – it’ll be quicker than battling the ring road this morning.’
‘Will do.’ He indicated left, and Kay looked at the multi-storey car park as they drove past.
The forensics team had packed away their tent and equipment in the early hours of Thursday morning, and there was nothing left to indicate that a young woman had fallen to her death. Pedestrians hurried along the pavement beside them while they waited at the traffic lights, none the wiser to what had happened.
‘How’s Adam?’ said Barnes, shifting into gear as the traffic pulled away and following the signs for the motorway.
‘Okay, thanks. He seems to be recovering well from the blow to his head. He’s got a check-up back at the hospital on Tuesday next week, and then he just needs to rest.’ Kay dropped her notebook back into her bag. ‘Although Scott came around last night and brought a patient with him.’
When she told him what Adam’s practice manager had said about Oscar, Barnes shook his head. ‘When he finds out…’
‘He won’t – and you’re not to tell him. For a long time.’ She sighed. ‘I do wish Scott hadn’t brought us something that farted so much though.’
Barnes let out a guffaw. ‘Smelly, is it?’
‘Oh my God, you have no idea. God knows what Scott’s friend’s been feeding him. I’m going to have to have a word with him when he comes back to collect him.’
‘And it’s too cold to open the windows…’
‘At least at this rate, I’m going to be spending more time running in the evenings than sitting in front of the TV.’
‘You see? There’s always a bright side.’
Kay rolled her eyes and settled in for the short ride to Leybourne. ‘Apparently this client of Felicity’s owns a holiday let near the castle and asked her to overhaul the conservatory.’
‘What’s wrong with a fresh coat of paint on the walls?’ Barnes grumbled, flicking the indicator stalk and slowing to negotiate the junction. ‘I was looking at her social media feed yesterday afternoon and I swear there were so many cushions on sofas, you’d never find anywhere to sit.’
‘Not a soft furnishings fan, then?’
‘If you buy a comfortable chair, you shouldn’t need cushions.’
Kay laughed. ‘Take the next right – and maybe don’t suggest that to Mrs Daniels when we speak to her. She paid a lot of money for those cushions.’
Barnes shook his head in disbelief and slowed to a standstill outside a large detached house with tall chimneys.
‘Blimey,’ he said, peering past Kay and out through the passenger window. ‘No wonder she could afford to pay Felicity.’
‘Let’s find out what she’s got to say about her, then.’
A woman in her forties opened the door within moments of Kay ringing the bell, a messy mop of blonde hair piled into a loose ponytail that draped over her shoulder.
‘Good, you’re here on time.’ She closed the door behind them and gave an apologetic smile. ‘Sorry – I’m waiting for an electrician so I wouldn’t mind if you could ask your questions before he turns up. People have a tendency to gossip around here. I’m Beverley Daniels, by the way.’
Kay provided the introductions before Beverley led them through to a large conservatory at the back of the property.
Several metres long, the room was divided up into two living areas with groups of sofas arranged around low wooden tables. Stylish bric-a-brac filled alcoves and tasteful abstract paintings had been hung on the walls, and Kay gave her head a slight shake as Barnes cocked an eyebrow at the array of cushions spread across the various seating arrangements.
A radiator ran along one of the low walls, but did little to offset the chill in the room.
The woman pointed to the ceiling where two infrared heaters hung from brackets in the framework. ‘Normally these would be on as well but they’ve stopped working. Hence the electrician. I thought you’d want to see what Felicity did for me here – all of this was her idea.’
‘How long ago did she complete the work?’ said Kay.
‘Last month.’ Beverley sank into an armchair next to the radiator and waved them to a sofa opposite as she pulled a chunky cardigan around her shoulders. ‘This room is always popular with guests in the warmer months but it was starting to look tired, and my husband and I wanted to make it comfortable for the colder months as well. The living room at the front of the property can get quite dark in winter – and crowded if we have a lot of people staying.’
‘Did you experience any problems with Felicity’s work or time-keeping?’
‘Actually, yes.’ Beverley sighed. ‘It’s going to sound awful, what with her dying like that, but we had to reschedule the decorators because she forgot to turn up to supervise them. They weren’t happy about it, and ended up charging extra to come back the next week. We were lucky they could – they’re one of the more popular local ones.’
‘Did she say why she forgot?’ said Barnes.
Beverley shrugged. ‘Oh, I got a lame excuse about juggling work commitments, but I know when someone’s lying. She couldn’t look me in the eye for starters, and then the following week I found her throwing up in the downstairs loo. She seemed disoriented. I wondered then if she had an alcohol problem or something.’
‘Did she say anything to you at the time?’ Kay looked up from her notes. ‘Anything to suggest that was the case?’
‘No, just that she hadn’t been feeling well and she wondered if she was coming down with something.’ Beverley gave a derisive snort. ‘An hour later, I overheard her making arrangements to go out to dinner with friends that night, so she couldn’t have been that sick. Like I said, I wondered if she was burning the candle at both ends.’
‘Did you have any other problems after that before she finished her work here?’
‘No. It was almost as if she knew she had to be careful after that morning with the sickness. I mean, she still expected me to give her a review after she finished the work and sent me an invoice.’
‘Once the project was complete, did you hear from her again?’ said Kay.
‘Only to chase up payment. I was a bit put out by that. It was only two days overdue, and given her attitude while she was here with the lateness and whatever, I thought that was a bit cheeky of her.’ Beverley sighed. ‘I just put it down to her starting out and needing the cashflow.’
Kay snapped her notebook shut. ‘Thanks for your time, Mrs Daniels.’