Gavin thrust his mobile phone back into his pocket and straightened the cuffs of his jacket as Laura opened the passenger seat door to the pool car, a grin on her face as she slung her handbag into the footwell.
‘What’re you smiling about?’ he said, releasing the handbrake and edging the car in behind a four-by-four belonging to the traffic division heading towards the security barrier.
‘You had a grin like the Cheshire cat on your face when I walked out the back door,’ she said, dimples in her cheeks. ‘Hot date, or what?’
Heat rose to his face, and he concentrated on manoeuvring through the traffic instead of answering.
‘Come on, spill the beans. Don’t be coy.’ Laura shifted in her seat, her face eager. ‘You’ve never said whether you have a girlfriend or whatever, so what gives?’
‘I don’t know,’ he said, relenting with a sigh. ‘Been too busy, I suppose. You know what it’s like working all different shifts and then getting a phone call in the middle of the night if you’re on roster.’
‘So who is she?’
‘There’s no stopping you, is there?’
‘No.’ She reached out and prodded his arm. ‘And if you don’t tell me, I’ll tell Barnes. He’ll get it out of you, one way or another.’
Gavin rolled his eyes. ‘You’re not wrong there. She’s someone I met online, that’s all. You know – one of those dating apps.’
‘Does she know what you do for a living?’
‘Yes.’ He couldn’t prevent the smile that twitched at the corner of his mouth. ‘And, surprisingly, it hasn’t put her off.’
‘Been on a date yet?’
‘First one was meant to be this weekend.’ His smile faded. ‘I’ve just called her to let her know we might have to postpone, depending on what happens with this case.’
Laura stopped grinning, and when he glanced over she was wearing a look of concern.
‘How did she take it?’
‘Surprisingly well, actually. She said it didn’t matter, and that we could make up for it once I could find the time.’
‘She’s a keeper, then.’
He laughed. ‘Christ, Hanway – we haven’t even been on a date yet. Anyway, keep it to yourself for the time being, all right? I don’t want to jinx it.’
‘Fair enough.’ She turned away and pointed through the windscreen. ‘Take the right-hand turn up here by the lights – Bonnie lives in Downswood.’
Moments later, Gavin braked at the kerb outside a modest detached house with a pale stone-clad finish.
A tidy garden led to a UPVC front door, and he raised his gaze to the alarm box set above one of the upper floor windows.
Ringing the bell, he turned his back to the house and lowered his voice.
‘How’d she afford this on a delivery driver’s wage?’
‘Her husband’s a software engineer,’ whispered Laura, then jerked her chin at the door at the sound of a latch being released.
A suntanned woman stood on the doorstep, her frown disappearing when Gavin held up his warrant card and made the introductions.
‘Come in,’ she said, ushering them over the threshold and closing the door behind them.
Gavin heard a male voice emanating from behind a door off to one side of the hallway, the discussion growing in volume.
‘Sorry,’ said Bonnie. She gestured towards the back of the property. ‘Go on through to the garden – Mark, my husband, works from home and he’s in the middle of a video call about a software project with a client in Australia at the moment.’
Laura led the way through an open-plan kitchen and dining area, then out into a rectangular garden that sloped down towards a stream.
Gavin spotted a swing set beside an apple tree, then the wire fencing between the garden and watercourse. A small wooden shed had been painted in bright colours, and a sign on the door warned away intruders.
‘My youngest daughter’s cubby-house,’ said Bonnie. She smiled and gestured to a set of six chairs around a metal patio table. ‘Woe betide you if you go anywhere near it.’
‘Noted,’ said Gavin. He waited until they had all settled, then turned his attention back to the woman. ‘When we spoke to Adele Marchant yesterday, she said that your daughter had been off sick from school recently and that Carl covered your shift for a couple of days.’
‘Yes, Emily – that’s my youngest – caught a cold and couldn’t shake it off,’ said Bonnie, plumping up a blue canvas cushion and leaning back in her chair. ‘It was about three weeks ago now. I made the decision on the Monday morning not to let her go to school as she was developing a temperature, and luckily Carl was able to do both days for me.’
‘Does he always cover your route if you’re not able to work?’ Laura asked, glancing up from her notebook.
Bonnie shook her head. ‘Not always, and Emily doesn’t get sick that often but he’s – sorry, was – an absolute saint at volunteering if someone needed help.’
She sniffed, and turned her gaze to the stream, using her fingertips to wipe away sudden tears.
‘Mrs Hopkins, could you tell us the area that your route covers?’ said Gavin. He waited while Laura unfolded a map from her bag and flattened it on the table. ‘Aylesford, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’ Bonnie sniffed, then leaned forward and pulled the map closer. ‘Most of my deliveries are out as far west as there, east to West Malling and then north of Snodland on the way back to Maidstone. That includes all the villages in between such as Burham.’
Laura used a pencil to trace the area as Bonnie spoke. ‘And Carl would’ve covered this area while he was working your shift three weeks ago?’
‘Yes, that’s right. I mean, he’d only go into the village stores if there was anything to deliver that day, of course.’
‘Thanks.’
Laura passed the map across to Gavin and he ran his eyes over the boundary she’d drawn before lifting his gaze to Bonnie.
‘When you came back to work on, what – Wednesday…’
‘Wednesday, yes.’
‘Did Carl mention anything to you that seemed out of place on that route? Perhaps something that jarred with him?’
‘In what way?’ Bonnie’s voice held a note of defensiveness as she looked from Laura to Gavin. ‘Has someone made a complaint?’
‘Nothing like that,’ said Gavin, his tone smooth. ‘We’re trying to work out if perhaps Carl’s death might be connected to his work, or something he might’ve seen or overheard while out on his route.’
‘When we heard that he’d covered your shift a few weeks ago, we wondered if he might’ve said something to you on your return to work,’ Laura added.
‘He didn’t, no.’ Bonnie’s shoulders relaxed a little, although a frown creased her brow. ‘Although, come to think of it, he was quieter than normal when I got back to work on the Wednesday morning. I thought at the time that perhaps he was coming down with something, like Emily had.’
‘Did you notice anything else?’ said Gavin.
Bonnie rested her chin in her hand, her gaze dropping to the floor. ‘Like I said, he was quiet around the depot that week. We’d have a laugh while we were working, cleaning out the trucks at the end of the shift and that sort of thing. There are a few of us in there at any one time, and there’s the usual banter. He seemed… preoccupied. A couple of times, Adele had to repeat herself because he wasn’t listening.’
‘She didn’t mention that to us,’ said Laura, her pen poised above her notebook.
Bonnie straightened and managed a smile. ‘She’s probably forgotten – she has a lot on in that role, and we’re understaffed as it is.’
‘You said that was the week you were off, three weeks ago,’ said Gavin. ‘What about the last couple of weeks? How did Carl seem then?’
‘If anything, he was even quieter last week. Nervous about something, too.’ Bonnie bit her lip.
‘Did you ask him what was wrong?’
‘I didn’t want to pry – I wondered if maybe there was trouble at home, something like that. I thought I’d leave it another week and if he still seemed under the weather then I’d ask him this week.’
Bonnie’s face fell. ‘And now, of course, I’ll never get the chance.’