Elaine’s testimony left a strained silence in the room and Samson was sure he wasn’t the only one relieved to see Ida walk in, a laden tray in her hands.
‘Tea,’ she announced, placing mugs on the desk along with a plate of biscuits. Then, to DS Benson’s visible amazement, she took a seat on the vacant chair the other side of Delilah.
‘So,’ she said, glaring at the detective, ‘has tha figured out this lass isn’t capable of murder yet? Or is tha going to handcuff her and take her in anyroads, like tha did with Samson?’
Benson blushed. Reached for his tea to cover his embarrassment, took a swig and started coughing.
‘Aye, lad,’ continued Ida, ‘tha’s in the Dales now. Happen we like our tea strong and our motives for arrest even stronger.’
Elaine gave Ida a grateful glance, the geologist noticeably shaken after telling her version of events.
‘I appreciate your concern Mrs . . .?’ Benson raised an enquiring eyebrow as he placed the mug back on the desk.
‘Ida,’ came the sharp reply.
‘Ida,’ he continued, ‘but we have to follow up leads in every case. Elaine was possibly the last person to see Ross Irwin alive and, as such, she’s an important witness.’
‘Well, make sure that’s what she stays,’ muttered Ida, her words aimed at the sergeant this time. ‘Tha’s known her all her life, Gavin Clayton. Don’t let fancy theories twist what tha knows in tha gut!’
Sergeant Clayton scratched his head and leaned back in his chair, so unsettled by Elaine’s revelations, he hadn’t even reached for a biscuit. ‘I’m not doubting the lass when she says what Irwin tried to do,’ he said. ‘But facts don’t lie. And we’ve got a dead body up at the kiln that wasn’t killed there. So we’re looking for someone who had motive and opportunity to commit murder and then transport the deceased from one dale to another. Unfortunately, Elaine’s timings fit the scenario we’re envisaging.’
The sergeant didn’t say it out loud, but Samson knew he was also thinking that, as Elaine had predicted, she’d dug her own grave with her testimony. She’d now shown she’d had opportunity and motive in abundance.
But Samson was inclined to side with Ida when it came to Elaine Bullock. He didn’t see her as capable of murder. And there was something niggling him about the scene she’d painted for them. Something that didn’t tie in with what they already knew.
‘What about Irwin’s car?’ Delilah was asking. ‘If Elaine did use it to transport the body, surely there’d be evidence of that in the boot. Bloodstains or the like?’
Elaine shuddered while Benson just nodded.
‘We’re onto it. And believe me, if there’s anything there, the forensic team will find it.’ He turned to Elaine. ‘Have you got anyone who can corroborate the time you returned home?’
‘An alibi?’ she asked with a wry smile. ‘No. Everyone was still at Harry’s wedding getting drunk. I walked home alone. I sat on my couch drinking brandy alone. And I spent the remainder of the evening cursing Irwin and every predatory man like him, all without a single witness.’
Delilah’s arm went around her friend. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she murmured. ‘I should have been there. I hate the thought of you having to deal with that on your own.’
‘Instead, from what I hear, you were dancing on tables,’ said Elaine with an attempt at a smile.
‘Aye, and young Nathan has video footage to prove it,’ added Ida. She said it to help lighten the atmosphere, which it did. But it also sent a jolt through Samson.
‘Nathan!’ he exclaimed, pushing himself off the windowsill where he’d been leaning throughout, and advancing towards the desk. ‘What time did he say he was up at the kiln?’
Sergeant Clayton studied his notes. ‘Nina Hussain was there until around nine and then Nathan lingered on. He thinks it was about ten when he left.’
‘That’s it!’ Samson looked at Benson. ‘The tobacco tin. That’s Elaine’s alibi!’
‘Want to fill the rest of us in?’ asked Delilah, her gaze switching between Samson and the detective.
‘Nathan went back up to the kiln this morning to find his dad’s tobacco tin, which he lost last night,’ said Samson, Delilah nodding. ‘The forensics team found it under Irwin’s body.’
‘Under it?’ Her eyes lit up.
Sergeant Clayton wasn’t so quick to follow. ‘And what does that have to do with anything?’
‘Elaine says she got home around nine. Nathan didn’t leave the kiln for at least another hour. Which would suggest,’ Samson explained, ‘that whoever dumped Irwin up there, they did it after Nathan left. How else would his tobacco tin have ended up under the body?’
‘So I’m in the clear?’ asked Elaine, focus on Benson.
But the detective was shaking his head. ‘I accept what you’re saying, O’Brien, and it’s definitely worth considering. That tobacco tin certainly narrows down our timeline somewhat, meaning that the perpetrator didn’t visit the kiln until after nine o’clock, but in terms of being in the clear, Elaine, it would really help if you could provide concrete verification of the time you arrived home. And that you stayed there for the rest of the night.’
Elaine’s shoulders drooped. ‘Right,’ she muttered.
‘Nine o’clock?’ queried Delilah, staring at Benson. ‘Why did you say the perpetrator must have arrived at the kiln after nine? Surely it would have been after ten, when Nathan left?’
Benson didn’t answer. Just left the gap for Delilah to fill in, which she did with a gasp.
‘You’re joking?’ she exclaimed. ‘You can’t seriously be thinking that Nathan’s involved?’
Ida swivelled round in her chair, mouth open. ‘Tha’s taken leave of tha senses, lad!’ she declared as Benson held up his hands at their protests.
‘Nathan Metcalfe is a person of interest,’ he said. ‘He was up at the kiln on his own at a time when the body could have been placed there. We have to consider all the scenarios in which his tobacco tin ended up where it did.’
‘But why?’ demanded Delilah. ‘What earthly reason would Nathan have for getting involved in the murder of Ross Irwin?’
‘To help his uncle, Will,’ said Benson, calmly. ‘A man who was overheard threatening Ross Irwin on the very day he was killed.’
Delilah’s jaw dropped and Samson knew she was feeling the same as him. No matter how they looked at it, this case was going to end up hurting someone they cared about.
They let Elaine go, although DS Benson left no one under the impression that she was out of the woods. Refusing Delilah’s offer to walk her home, the geologist, while visibly upset after recounting what had transpired the day before, insisted on going back to work at Peaks Patisserie. The door had only just closed behind her when Sergeant Clayton let out a long sigh.
‘If only the lass had reported what happened, she could have avoided all this.’
‘Not necessarily,’ said Samson. ‘After all, Elaine now has a motive for manslaughter, if not murder.’
Benson was staring at the feather in the evidence bag. He looked up at the concerned faces opposite him. ‘Is she telling the truth?’
Samson nodded. ‘I’d stake my life on it. Elaine’s not one for lying. And what she described is exactly what I’d expect from her in that situation. As for why she didn’t report it, she probably thought there was no point.’ He turned to Sergeant Clayton. ‘I mean, honestly, what would you have done if she had?’
‘Had a stern word with the bugger,’ grunted the sergeant.
Delilah gave a derisive snort. ‘And Elaine would have been dragged into it. A classic he-said-she-said scenario, between a young woman just starting out in her university career and an established and respected expert in his field. I’m sure that would have gone through her mind. Not to mention her upcoming field trip to Monument Valley. After saving for years to be able to go, she wouldn’t have wanted anything to put that in jeopardy.’
Benson dropped his gaze back down to the feather, not looking convinced. And, to Delilah’s mind, beginning to look a bit out of his depth. His first murder enquiry as DS was already proving to be far from straightforward. When his mobile rang, he picked it up like a drowning man thrown a rope.
‘Tell me you’ve got news,’ he muttered into the phone. Then he nodded, frowned. Nodded again. ‘Notify the search teams over in Malham and send everything from Irwin’s car off to the lab anyway. And keep looking.’
He hung up and found himself surrounded by expectant expressions.
‘That was my DC,’ he said slowly. ‘According to initial observations at the scene, the pathologist thinks the weapon used to inflict one of the blows to Irwin is cylindrical in shape. Like a rolling pin.’ He grimaced. ‘Not exactly a lot to go on but it’s all we have for now. And as for Irwin’s car, my team have found no traces of blood in the boot nor on the rear seats.’
Delilah let out a relieved sigh. ‘So that takes Elaine out of the picture!’
‘Not necessarily,’ said the detective. ‘But she’s definitely getting there. We really need a corroboration of her movements before we can rule her out for sure.’
‘So if Irwin’s car wasn’t used, how was his body taken up to the kiln?’ asked Ida.
‘A different vehicle,’ said Sergeant Clayton.
‘Which means,’ said Samson, ‘that the timeline we’ve devised so far might be wrong.’
Benson nodded. ‘My thoughts exactly. We’ve been presuming that whoever killed Irwin brought him down from Malham in the Toyota, left the body at the kiln and then abandoned the car. But with Elaine’s testimony that she was the driver, and the absence of blood in the vehicle, we could be looking at a completely different schedule of events.’
‘So if we start with when Elaine claims she left Irwin alive, then we’re looking at the murder taking place sometime after ten past eight. And the body being moved up to the kiln after ten—’
‘Nine,’ corrected Benson, glancing at Delilah as she emitted a noise of protest. ‘We have to keep our options open when it comes to Nathan.’
‘However we look at it,’ grumbled Sergeant Clayton, ‘it’s a mighty big blank space we have to fill. What we really need to find is the vehicle used to transport Irwin on his final journey.’
‘I’ve requested CCTV footage from businesses in the town centre but it seems there’s not much call for surveillance cameras in Bruncliffe,’ Benson said with a dry smile. ‘So I’m not holding out much hope. But perhaps we can go door-to-door along the route from Malham Cove to the kiln? See if anyone noticed or heard anything untoward yesterday evening?’
‘Damn!’ Samson slapped his forehead. ‘I can’t believe I forgot about this. Last night a 4x4 went haring past me as I was walking down Hillside Lane!’
‘What time?’ Benson’s question carried the sharpness of excitement.
‘Must have been almost midnight? It nearly hit me. I had to dive into the side as it sped past.’
‘Plates?’
Samson shook his head. ‘Not a chance. I’m not even sure of the make. All I saw was a glare of headlights and then my life flashing before my eyes. Sorry.’
‘And this Hillside Lane?’ asked Benson. ‘It leads to Malham Cove?’
‘Aye,’ said Sergeant Clayton with a grim look. ‘And up to Ellershaw Farm too.’
Benson’s head whipped round to the policeman. ‘The Metcalfe place?’
The sergeant nodded. And Benson got to his feet.
‘Come on. Time we had a talk with Will Metcalfe.’
‘But that’s ridiculous,’ protested Delilah as the two police officers made for the door. ‘You’ve just said yourself that’s the way you’d have to come into town from Malham.’
‘I’m sorry, Delilah,’ said Sergeant Clayton, ‘but you know we have to follow up every lead. And Will was front and centre of a dispute with Irwin yesterday. Throw in the fact that Nathan was at the kiln where the body ended up and then Samson’s testimony just now . . .’ He shrugged, part apology part resignation.
‘Well, I’m coming with you,’ she said, making to stand.
But Benson shook his head, his tone brooking no argument. ‘No. Not you and not Samson either. This is too close to home for the pair of you.’
He pulled open the office door and Nina Hussain stepped back swiftly in the hallway, the teenager plainly having been eavesdropping rather than mopping the kitchen floor as Ida had left her doing. She watched helplessly as the two policemen left the building. As soon as the door closed, she turned to the others, disquiet on her young face.
‘They can’t seriously think Nathan was involved?’ she said.
‘Aye, tha’d think Gavin Clayton would know better,’ muttered Ida. ‘There’s not a chance that lad had owt to do with this.’
Delilah noted with a sense of dread that Ida wasn’t so quick to defend Will. She glanced at Samson, who was looking as perturbed as she felt.
‘Christ,’ he said, running a hand through his hair. ‘What a mess. I thought mentioning the 4x4 was a breakthrough that might take the focus away from Will. Instead I’ve given them even more reason to suspect him.’
‘Nowt was ever gained from the wringing of hands, lad!’ Ida’s voice was sharp. ‘It’s time we got investigating. And I’d suggest this Irwin fella might be a good place to start.’
Samson took the blunt counsel with a smile. ‘Valid points all round, Ida. If we can find out more about Ross Irwin, we might hit on a reason someone wanted him out of the way. So, what do we know about him?’
Delilah shrugged. ‘Not a lot. Like I said, I only met him yesterday. He seemed nice enough at the time but after what Elaine said . . .’
‘Same here,’ said Nina. ‘He was in Rice N Spice Friday night and he came across as a genuine bloke. Left a generous tip, at any rate. Now though, I’m not so sure.’
‘Happen it might be worth talking to the Dinsdales,’ said Ida. ‘It was them as brought him over here. They’re likely to know more about him than anyone.’
‘And Sarah Mitchell,’ added Delilah, remembering a conversation with Herriot at the rugby club bar. ‘Apparently she knew him from university, so we should talk to her too.’
‘How about we break into his hotel room?’ Nina’s question brought the gaze of all three adults onto her. She grinned. ‘I don’t mean with a crowbar. My friend works at the Coach and Horses at weekends. She’d be able to get us the key.’
‘Would she be willing to risk her job to do it?’ Delilah asked gently.
‘If she knew it would help exonerate Nathan, then yes, like a shot.’
Delilah turned to Samson and he nodded. ‘Worth a try,’ he said. ‘When they found the falcon feather up at the kiln, Benson mentioned a possible link to wildlife crime. He seems to have conveniently forgotten that line of enquiry, but we might strike lucky and find something to support it – which would take Elaine and Will out of the equation in one fell swoop. And, either way,’ he concluded with a look that was pure rogue, ‘searching a hotel room is a lot better than sitting here fretting.’
‘Right then,’ said Ida, getting to her feet. ‘While tha’s breaking and entering, Nina and I will head over to Peaks Patisserie. Lucy’s wanting a couple of spy cameras put in. That dratted thief was in there again last night.’
‘What about the deep clean?’ asked Nina with a grin.
Ida almost smiled. ‘Sometimes there’s more important things in life than cleaning, lass.’