Page 141 of Her Last Walk Home

‘That’s the morning of John Morgan’s death.’

‘So?’

‘So,’ Lottie piled in, ‘you never told us you were there that early.’

‘Well, this makes it obvious I was.’

‘What were you doing there?’

‘Probably making sure the house was presentable for viewers.’

‘Did you open the front door to anyone?’ Lottie kept her eyes glued to Charlie’s face. Would she spout ‘I don’t recall’ again, or was she clever enough to realise they knew exactly who she’d let into the house.

‘Oh God!’ She clamped a hand to her mouth. Too dramatically for Lottie’s liking. ‘I remember now. There was a socket loose in the kitchen. I rang the site office and this young lad came to fix it. It must have been John.’ Her face was contorted in confusion. ‘Does that mean I was the last person to see him alive? Other than his killer?’

‘Seems so.’

‘Gosh, I left him working there. If you have the footage of me entering the house, you will have it of me leaving the same way. Was the killer caught on camera too?’

Lottie wondered if McKeown had run the footage on both the rear and front of the house for the entire day. She hadn’t asked and he hadn’t said.

‘I’ll check your story with the site office. Who did you speak to there about the socket?’

‘Might have been John himself, but I can’t recall now.’

After a pause, Lottie decided to forge ahead.

‘Did Shannon Kenny ever view the show home?’

‘Who is she?’

‘She’s missing, presumed abducted.’

‘You think she also viewed Pine Grove? I’ll have to check the office diary. One of my colleagues might have dealt with her.’ Charlie looked from one detective to the other, confusion knitting her brows into anxious curves. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Her friend says you showed Shannon around sometime last year.’

‘I can’t remember everyone off the top of my head.’

‘You’ve that many prospective buyers, huh?’

‘Not everyone who views intends to buy.’ Charlie looked pointedly at Lottie. ‘Some people like to snoop. Time-wasters.’

Lottie bristled at the dig.

Boyd laid two more photos on the table, Shannon and Laura. ‘We’re trying to find a link between the victims. Pine Grove is our best bet so far.’

Lottie kicked him under the table. This was not the time to show their hand.

Charlie shook her head. ‘This is awful.’ She pulled Laura’s photo towards her. ‘I seem to remember her. She was moaning about how expensive it was. A definite time-waster. Never saw her again. That’s why the name didn’t ring any bells with me.’

‘And Shannon?’ Boyd pointed to the girl’s photo.

Pursing her lips, Charlie shook her head. ‘I’m not sure at all. I’ll let you know later, once I’m back at the office.’

Lottie took the folder from Boyd. She slid out Aneta’s photo. ‘What about this girl?’

Charlie hesitated, glancing at the photo. ‘You showed me this already, and I checked. As far as I know, she didn’t view the house.’

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