‘Aye, aye, look what we’ve got here,’ Longlegs Liberty said, sotto voce. ‘Mr Crowley in the flesh. Slimy bastard.’
Four hours sleep followed by a busy morning so far had left Dan bleary-eyed and in a foul humor. ‘Bugger,’ he muttered. He stayed behind his battered desk in Folly’s parish hall and flicked a biro back and forth between his fingers. ‘Good morning, Mr Crowley. Nice of you to join us again.’
Longlegs got up and wandered toward Dan, murmuring, ‘Do I cuff him?’ as he passed.
‘Wish you could. Can’t – no reason to yet,’ Dan said, equally nonchalantly, while Vince Crowley watched him from the doorway. ‘Come and join us,’ Dan called.
‘Thought I’d stop in on my way by,’ Crowley said, shoving away from the door jamb with a shoulder. ‘I’ve got business to attend to in Winchcombe.’
‘That so?’ Dan said. He pulled a lined yellow pad toward him and made a couple of notes. ‘I didn’t think it went well the last time you were there. Scared you so badly you started jumping out of bathroom windows. Would you like to explain that one?’
‘Didn’t know where I stood then, did I? I’d had a run-in with the silly moo in Darla’s place and I expect I was a bit shook up.’
Dan bit back a comment about the ease of burning female adversaries with cigarettes. ‘I expect that was it.’
‘You thought you could pin Darla’s murder on me, didn’t you?’
Looking into the man’s dark eyes, Dan decided this wasn’t a fool who came out with comments that might lead him into trouble, but a sly manipulator with a plan designed to benefit himself. ‘Did you hear that, Liberty?’ Dan said loudly and laughed. ‘A man who hasn’t been accused of anything suggesting he might be linked to a potential murder charge.’
‘Is that supposed to make me nervous?’ Crowley said. ‘I haven’t done anything so I don’t have to be nervous. Darla and me were still married, see. We used to have our little spats, mostly because she couldn’t keep her legs together. Sure, that upset me but I still loved her and she loved me. One of the reasons I stuck with working the cruise lines was because the long trips agreed with me. When we got back together, it was a honeymoon and by the time she started getting bored and looking around, I was off again. It wouldn’t have suited a lot of men but it suited me. And the money’s really good.’
‘Why are you telling me all this?’ Dan genuinely wanted to know but doubted he’d ever get a straight answer.
‘I don’t know why. Just getting it off my chest, I suppose.’
They’d left the front door open to flood the place with fresh air. It got stuffy from being closed off most of the time. Coming out of the light and into the hall – Mary with her cane rather than the walker – were the Burke sisters. They entered the hall without saying a word and sat on two of the seats by the front wall.
For an instant that quickly passed, Dan thought of taking Vince Crowley into the storage room at the other end of the parish hall where interviews were occasionally conducted. There was nothing going on that had to be private.
‘I’m glad you and your wife had such an agreeable marriage,’ he told Vince.
‘Yeah, well we did. Now, what I want to know is, what happened to all of Darla’s papers and her other things? I expect they’re evidence till you catch her murderer but I need to look through the papers.’
Longlegs coughed and said, ‘Sorry about that. I’m getting the winter crud.’
Dan thought Crowley’s request had caught Longlegs as much off-guard as it had him. ‘What papers would those be?’ he said.
‘All of them,’ Crowley said, managing to sound innocent. ‘I want to make sure all her bills are paid and her affairs are taken care of. She didn’t have anyone but me. Darla was particular about not having any outstanding debts. And then there’s the house payments. They can’t be allowed to fall behind.’
Well, well, if he wasn’t the slow one today, Dan thought. Finally, the reason for this chummy little visit began to make sense. He was aware of Harriet and Mary but avoided looking at them. ‘You’re an honorable man, Mr Crowley,’ he said, trying for sincerity. ‘I’m afraid case evidence isn’t something I can discuss. You can be sure you’ll be hearing from the appropriate department in due course.’
‘Not good enough.’ Vince Crowley planted his hands on the desk and glowered into Dan’s face. ‘Don’t give me that crap. I wasn’t born yesterday and when I say I want to see my wife’s papers now, I want to see them now. There are things that need to be taken care of. And while you’re at it, you can tell me who she was seeing when she died. I haven’t seen anything about you taking someone into custody. About time you did and it seems to me her latest fancy man would be number one on the list of suspects. Who is he, tell me that!’
The man really didn’t know. Pullinger’s name hadn’t been officially linked with Darla’s but leaks were getting ever more commonplace in all cases.
‘This is an officially open investigation. There’s nothing I can do to help you. And surely you know her family. Have you contacted them?’
‘I don’t know if she had any family and if she did they didn’t do anything for her.’ Crowley made a fist with his right hand and his face reddened. ‘Who was her solicitor then? Tell me that. You can’t say I don’t have a right to know who dealt with her affairs.’
‘But you were married to the victim, Mr Crowley. Did you go to the solicitor you had before you left to get your last ship? He might well be able to help you.’
‘I’m Darla’s next of kin. I need the deeds to that house. And her will if she made one and I doubt she did that.’
Dan pushed his chair back a bit. ‘Surely you bought the house together? Didn’t you make sure you knew all the details? Did you keep a copy of the deed in the house, perhaps, and you’ve forgotten?’
‘I’ve never been in the place … The, er, sale was still being seen to after I left.’
‘You, sir, are a disgrace. A disgrace.’ Harriet Burke marched her sensible lace-ups, encased in sturdy plastic drizzle boots, across the dusty floorboards. ‘How dare you heckle a fine man like Detective Chief Inspector Dan O’Reilly. And you’re a liar, my man. You are here about the possessions of that poor young woman, Darla Crowley. And if she was your wife, I’m sorry for her – even more sorry than I was before I set eyes on you.’
Dan cleared his throat. He smiled, very slightly, at Harriet and held up a hand to calm her.
The effect she had on Vince was startling. He had straightened away from the desk, stepped back, and regarded the woman with his mouth open.
Mary Burke, thumping the rubber tip on her cane onto the floor, approached more slowly to join her sister. ‘Every word Harriet says is true, you reprobate. It’s because of so-called men like you that we’re watching a generation of sloppy, pot-smoking, thieving, bottom-crack displaying hoodlums grow up. With their hands held out for what they’re not prepared to work for, may I add.’
‘Bravo, Mary,’ Harriet said and put the gloved fingers of one hand over her mouth.
‘This one wants his dead wife’s possessions,’ Mary said. ‘And look at him. A strapping fellow who shouldn’t need anything from anyone. And, he was a wife-beater, mind you. Worse than that – he burned his wife with cigarettes!’
Dan shot from his chair. ‘Ladies, we need a private chat. Detective Constable Liberty, kindly take the Misses Burke to our interview room and get them a cup of tea.’
‘I don’t think you murdered your wife, Mr Crowley,’ Mary said, undaunted. ‘You’d probably be too afraid to do something to her that couldn’t be kept hidden.’
Crowley seemed to shrink inside his pea coat. He pulled up his collar and went to the door. ‘I’ll be back, mind you,’ he said before walking out. ‘I’ve got a right to get information about my wife.’
‘Oh, dear,’ Mary said. ‘I didn’t know I had it in me but I’m glad I did. That man is a toad. We’d love that cup of tea, please, but we don’t need an interview. We only came to find out where Winifred’s Lillie Belle is and if we can have her to take care of. It’s the least we can do for dear Winifred.’