Page 42 of Her Deadly Promise

‘You saw him on the day of Billie’s murder?’

Her shoulders dropped. ‘On the day Billie was murdered, I was scared. I decided to stay with my mother before returning home the following morning at the crack of dawn to get ready for school and work. That’s when you came to speak to me.’

‘Take us back to the evening of the murder. Why were you with Brock?’

‘While Dev was asleep, I went to the pub. My mother was driving me mad. She kept asking me questions about Billie that I didn’t know the answers to and then she started fussing. Being stuck in the house with her was making me claustrophobic. I needed some space, so I arranged to meet a friend at the pub. That’s when I saw Shaun.’

‘Was that friend Shaun Brock?’

‘No, my friend couldn’t make it. I don’t know Shaun Brock, that’s the first time I ever met the man. He came up to me and said he’d seen me with Billie by her house and at the school, and that he was Kayden’s father. He kept telling me that Billie stopped him from seeing his son, but I know the truth. I’ve even seen the messages to back up Billie’s side. She tried everything she could to get him interested in being a father but then she got fed up and said he’d blown his chances. I thought Shaun was a bit creepy as he must have been watching us to know where we lived.’

Gina watched as Jacob made a note. She almost shivered as she imagined Shaun hanging around Billie’s house and watching her. ‘Did he mention her murder?’

‘No, I told him and at first, he said he didn’t believe me, but I don’t know, he didn’t seem as shocked as I thought he might be. I was choked up, but he almost looked smug. I told him I was leaving, and he followed me out into the car park. He tried to grab me and started asking things about Kayden. He knew where Kayden went to school, the after-school clubs he attended. He…’ She shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I pulled his hands off me, got into my car and drove out of the car park. After that, I went back to my mother’s. I think I got home about midnight.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me about your encounter with Mr Brock when we spoke?’

She bit her bottom lip. ‘He said, if I mentioned seeing him to anyone, he knew where I lived, and he knew where my son went to school.’ She paused. ‘I live alone, sometimes I get scared. There’s no way I could put my son at risk. I should have told you, I’m sorry but I didn’t know what I should or shouldn’t say. I was scared.’

Brock was still missing, and Meera hadn’t called them to report seeing Kayden’s father. Gina had to question where she had been all night. Jacob leaned against the wall as he waited with his pen and pad. ‘Where were you last night?’

‘I don’t want to answer that.’

‘Meera, your friend has been murdered. The man we’re looking for threatened you and your son. All we want to do is get justice for her and for Kayden. It would really help us if you answered the question. You won’t be judged, I promise, but we do need you to be honest with us.’

She sighed and looked down. ‘I spent the night with Ed, Ed Anderson, but you can’t tell Nadia, his wife.’

The plot thickened. Meera spent the night with the man who was booked in to be interviewed next and he’d told them he was in Derby, working. The lies were getting them nowhere and causing her team more work.

‘Who were you meant to be meeting at the Angel Arms when you saw Shaun Brock?’

‘It was Ed, but he couldn’t get away. I wasn’t going to stay there, I just wanted somewhere to go while I waited to find out where we could meet. That’s until he cancelled on me.’

‘You and Mr Anderson, what is your relationship?’

She sniffed and turned away. ‘I love him. I know Nadia is my friend but since my husband died, I haven’t been myself. Recently Ed has been there for me, and I know that he and Nadia aren’t close any more. I shouldn’t have gone there and I’m not proud of myself. You can’t choose who you love. I don’t know what to do.’ She burst into tears.

‘Did Billie know about your affair? Did she threaten to tell Nadia?’

‘No, there’s no way she could know. She had no idea. No one knows. We’ve been discreet.’ Gina wondered if that was true. Meera had failed to tell them about meeting Shaun Brock and that was crucial to the investigation.

‘Were you with Edward Anderson on Tuesday the fourteenth?’

She nodded. ‘He came over that evening when Dev had gone to sleep. He wanted to see me.’

Gina wondered if he could have been the man in Billie’s back garden that night. ‘What time did he stay until?’

‘One or two in the morning. He parked in another street as he didn’t want Billie to see his car and he knocked when it was dark.’

‘Where did he park?’

‘He didn’t say.’

‘Did he come through the back or front door?’

‘Front.’

‘What time did he arrive?’

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