Page 42 of Secrets of the Forgotten Heir

‘That doesn’t make sense,’ I protested.

‘Doesn’t it?’ Yanni raised an eyebrow. ‘You also said she’d been for a walk when you arrived at the house. Am I remembering that correctly?’

She was right. ‘Yes.’

‘And would you agree it’s within walking distance from Amara’s place to Warren’s?’

‘Yes, but—’

‘It’s not about the "but", Beatrix. We don’t deal with “buts” in this job, we place the evidence where it stands – and right now it stands against her.’ She sighed wearily. ‘Look, I need to go question Mrs D.’

‘I want to be there,’ I said firmly.

‘Not a chance.’ She shook her head. ‘You can sit in the other room and watch through the one-way mirror,’ she conceded.

I wanted to object; after all, shouldn’t Mrs D have a lawyer present? But I suspected she’d already refused that right and there was no point in making more fuss. Pushing Yanni any further could result in her kicking me off the case and I couldn’t let that happen. Especially as I wasn’t officially on it.

‘Okay,’ I said begrudgingly. ‘Thanks. I’ll sit in the other room and watch.’

‘Good. And bring the phone with you in case it rings. That’s your actualjob, remember?’

I grabbed the phone off the desk and turned towards the hall, then I paused. ‘You know, in all the years I spent imagining myself in an interrogation room, I always pictured myself on the other side of the glass.’

Yanni snorted. ‘Yeah? In handcuffs or as the detective?’

‘You’ll never know,’ I said airily, and walked towards the viewing room.

It was time to find out what Mrs D had to say for herself and, more importantly, whether I had accidentally vouched for a murderer.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Yanni and Dove sat at the table opposite Mrs D while I was banished with Eva to the room behind the mirror. In another situation, I’d probably have been excited to be in the type of room that featured so heavily in the crime shows I loved to watch, but at that moment I couldn’t see any positives at all.

In all the years I’d known her, I couldn’t remember seeing Mrs D look so fragile. Yes, she had always been old, but she’d never been frail. As I sat down I found myself absently rubbing Eva’s fur. I needed something to occupy my hands and distract my thoughts.

Yanni cleared her throat slightly, making Mrs D jump as though a gun had been fired next to her. ‘Amara,’ she said gently. ‘I assume you know why we’re here.’

‘It’s true, then? He’s actually dead?’

Yanni nodded. ‘I’m afraid heis.’

‘Oh God. I’m so sorry. It wasn’t … it wasn’t the chili peppers, was it?’ Mrs D looked close to tears.

Yanni smiled. ‘No, it wasn’t the chili peppers.’

‘Oh, thank goodness.’ Relief flooded Mrs D and she sagged into the chair, clutching at the pearls around her neck. The gesture was so classic, I half-expected her to start fanning herself and calling for smelling salts. That anyone in their right mind could think Mrs D was guilty was beyond belief.

‘But you understand the predicament we’re in, don’t you?’ Dove said, taking over the questioning. ‘You can see how this looks? And why we have to ask you a few questions – questions that might not be comfortable? We’ll try and make it as quick and painless as possible.’

The only professional environment I’d seen Dove in was at the crime scene on the boat. Now I was impressed by how well she handled herself, how she’d mastered that voice of firm, caring command like Yanni’s.

Mrs D wrung her hands. ‘Of course I understand. But you have to know I wouldn’t do something like this. I didn’t want to hurt him – that wasn’t my intention. I needed to raise the money so the children could go on the trip to London. That’s the only holiday some of them get every year.’

‘We understand,’ Yannisaid. ‘Do you know why Warren stopped giving you the money?’

Mrs D shook her head. ‘I don’t have a clue. The news came out of nowhere – he sent me an email saying he would no longer be supporting any of my charities or clubs. He didn’t even sign it in the way he normally does, with a little smiley face and a “W”. There was just his name at the bottom. It was so impersonal! I tried emailing back, but I guess he’d blocked my email or something. I wanted to speak to him at the fayre. I’d decided I would only use the chilies if I couldn’t get him to see sense, but he was so busy and he seemed to be ignoring me. I didn’t feel like I had any choice.’

I watched Yanni and Dove exchange a look. Surely they could see something suspicious was going on here? If Warren hadn’t signed his email in his usual way, maybe he hadn’t sent it.

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