‘How is she?’ said Laura.
Gavin tucked his mobile phone into his jacket pocket and sighed. ‘They didn’t find anything, and Trentithe denies all knowledge of anything to do with the two victims. Kay says she and Barnes have to go into a meeting with Sharp to update the Chief Superintendent. She wants to catch up with us before the afternoon briefing once we’ve spoken to Bonnie Hopkins. Has she arrived yet?’
‘Just got here.’
‘Anyone with her?’ He gathered up his notebook and the paperwork they needed and locked his computer screen.
‘I asked her if she wanted to call someone but she said there was no need.’
Gavin held the incident room door open for his colleague and then followed her towards the stairs.
He fell silent as they reached the ground floor and made their way through a security door from reception and into the corridor that led to the interview suites.
Arranging with Hughes on the front desk to put Bonnie Hopkins in one of the larger rooms, he noticed the sergeant had left the door to number four open.
Through the gap, he could see Bonnie cradling a cup of water between her hands while she peered at the wall above the recording equipment, her face turned away from him.
She was wearing a black top with spaghetti straps paired with a floral-patterned long skirt that brushed against the tiled floor, her toenails peeking out from leather sandals and painted a shocking tone of pink.
He knocked, then pushed the door open for Laura to enter the room ahead of him and waved Bonnie back to her seat as she rose.
‘Mrs Hopkins, thanks for coming in,’ he said, setting down his notebook and mobile phone on the table before taking the seat opposite hers. ‘We’re going to record this interview so we have to read out a formal statement to you before we make a start, is that all right?’
The woman nodded mutely, her gaze shifting to the recording machine as Laura set it up and recited the caution in a clear voice that rang off the walls.
By the time she’d finished, Gavin had unfolded the map shown to Bonnie at her home the previous week.
‘Mrs Hopkins, we wanted to clarify a few details with you about your route and where that takes you,’ he began. ‘Specifically, we’re interested in the catering company you deliver to at Sandling.’
Bonnie leaned forward as he spun around the map to face her. ‘Oh, that’s Alan’s place.’
‘Any problems there in the past, say, six months or so?’
‘No – nothing at all,’ she said, taking a sip of water. ‘It’s out of the way compared to some of the places we deliver to. I don’t know if I could work there. It’s ever so noisy when the kitchens are at full capacity.’
‘Do you know Alan Trentithe?’
‘He’s not often there, but if he is he’s always laughing and joking.’ Bonnie beamed. ‘One of the nicest people on my route, to be honest.’
‘Do you always deliver there?’
‘Most weeks, yes. Sometimes an extra delivery on a Friday if they think they’re going to have a busy weekend or there’s a public holiday coming up.’
Laura reached into the folder under her notebook and extracted an aerial photograph of the industrial units at Sandling. ‘Is this the place you deliver to?’
‘That’s right. There’s a sign next to the entrance for it so you can’t miss it.’
‘Do you deliver supplies to any other location for Alan Trentithe?’
‘No.’ Bonnie shook her head and pushed back the photograph. ‘If he does have another building somewhere, I don’t know about it. I’ve never delivered there. Only this place.’
Gavin sighed, gathered together the photographs and map, and pushed back his chair as Laura formally ended the interview and switched off the recording machine.
‘Thanks for your time, Mrs Hopkins. We appreciate it.’ He handed her one of his business cards and led her towards the reception door. ‘If you think of anything else that might help us, would you call me?’
‘Of course.’ Bonnie nodded, tucking the card into the side pocket of her handbag. ‘I hope you find whoever did that to Carl and Will, Detective Piper. They were lovely blokes – wouldn’t harm a soul.’
‘Thank you.’ He watched until the woman had pushed open the front door and then turned to Laura. ‘What do you think?’
Laura sighed. ‘She wasn’t any help at all, was she? If––’
A mobile phone interrupted her, and Gavin fished it from his pocket before answering.
‘Phillip? Yes – we’re downstairs. She just left. What’s that?’ Gavin held out his hand to stop Laura heading over to speak to Hughes at the front desk and shook his head. ‘We’ll be right there.’
‘What’s up?’
‘Incident room – now. Phillip’s got something.’
He jogged along the corridor and headed for the stairs, hearing the door swing shut as Laura tried to keep up with his long strides but unwilling to slow down for her.
Entering the incident room, he made a beeline for Phillip Parker’s desk as the constable lowered his phone, a surprised expression crossing his features.
‘That was quick,’ he said. ‘What––’
‘Show me those tachographs,’ Gavin said, pulling a chair towards Parker’s desk and dropping into it before aiming an apologetic glance at Laura.
She gave an imperceptible shake of her head and fetched her own chair before joining them while Gavin explained what Bonnie Hopkins had told them.
‘These were emailed through ten minutes ago,’ said Parker. ‘I asked Carl’s manager to provide the records for the day Carl drove Bonnie’s route as it wasn’t one he usually took – it’s the only anomaly in his schedule over the past month.’
Gavin took the printed pages from him and angled them so Laura could read the lines of data at the same time. ‘What does all of this mean?’
‘The tachograph in each truck contains retrospective data about each journey, including a GPS coordinate along with the time, speed and other mechanical readings.’ Phillip leaned over and ran his finger down the text as he spoke. ‘Because these are refrigerated trucks, they’re also keeping a constant record on the temperature. If anything goes wrong and the food gets spoiled because a refrigeration unit goes on the blink, the depot needs to have proof for their insurance company.’
‘So…’ Gavin looked up, unable to keep the confusion from his voice. ‘How does this help us exactly?’
Parker grinned, and tapped his finger on a GPS coordinate a third of the way down the second page.
‘Carl didn’t go straight to the next customer in Aylesford after visiting Alan Trentithe’s place. Look – the coordinates show him driving north beyond the M20, stopping at the industrial unit for five minutes and then after that he continued on along that road for a mile or so. He stopped there for half an hour, and then returned to the scheduled route. The half-hour stop wasn’t listed on the deliveries for that day.’
‘Do you know where he went?’ said Laura.
Phillip jerked his thumb over his shoulder. ‘I was on the phone to the depot when you got here. They’re going to send us a summary of the delivery dockets.’
‘Got them.’ Debbie hurried over and handed them each a one-page document. ‘They just came through on the email so I’ll log it all into HOLMES2 as well.’
Her words washed over Gavin as he ran his eyes down the text. ‘What time did Carl’s GPS show him at that location beyond the industrial unit, Phillip?’
‘Three-thirty.’
Gavin slapped the signature line with the back of his hand. ‘Six boxes of frozen food delivered to Sandling on the Tuesday afternoon at three fifty-five. The address for Trentithe’s industrial unit has been crossed out. It just says Whites Lane. And look – it was signed for by B Clements.’
Laura’s eyes widened. ‘Do you think that could be the Barry person that Ann O’Connor mentioned? The one who was in the CCTV images we got from the antiques shop?’
‘I don’t know, but given the tachograph information, it’s got to be worth checking out, hasn’t it?’ Opening a map app, Gavin typed in Sandling before switching it over to satellite view and shrinking the industrial estate, peering at the surrounding area. ‘Alan Trentithe’s business is the only link to all of this so far, isn’t it?’
‘Not necessarily,’ said Laura. ‘You heard Kay – they didn’t find anything.’
‘That could be on purpose,’ said Parker.
‘Exactly. Maybe the industrial unit is a front. All of that side of the business is legit, hence why they didn’t find anything,’ said Gavin.
‘What about Bonnie Hopkins though? She told us she’s only delivered to Trentithe’s industrial unit, not anywhere else.’
‘Maybe something changed the day Carl covered her shift.’
‘Or she’s lying.’ Laura turned her back to the whiteboard. ‘Should we take a look at the place before Kay gets back? I mean, we could be right but…’
‘… It wouldn’t look good turning up empty-handed twice in one day, would it?’ Gavin paused as he took one last look at the paperwork strewn across their desks. ‘Okay, let’s head over there.’
‘I’ll get my car keys.’
‘Debbie? Do me a favour, and log it in the system so they know where we’ve gone.’ He shivered. ‘I don’t fancy ending up like Carl and Will, no matter what we find.’