Dead Man's Footsteps

this is where it gets interesting. The entire amount of that payment ofone and a half million pounds was withdrawn in different-sized chunks, in cash, over the next three months.’
    ‘What did she do with it?’ Grace queried.
    Nick Nicholl raised his hands. ‘Her sister was totally and utterly gobsmacked when I told her. Just didn’t believe it. She said that Lorraine was relying on handouts from her and from friends.’
    ‘And what about the 9/11 compensation payout?’ Grace asked.
    ‘That went into her account in July 2002.’ Nicholl held up the relevant statement. ‘Then the same thing happened. The money was withdrawn in different chunks, in cash, between then and a few weeks before she left the suicide note.’
    The whole team was frowning. Glenn Branson tapped his teeth with a ballpoint pen. Lizzie Mantle, busy for a moment jotting down a note, looked up.
    ‘And we have no idea what this money was being used for?’ she asked. ‘Did she tell anyone at the bank what the cash was for? Presumably some questions would have been asked with that amount going to her in cash.’
    ‘The bank has a policy to check whether clients are under any kind of duress when withdrawing large sums in cash,’ DC Mackie said. ‘When she was asked about it, she said the bank had not supported her when her husband had died and she was damned if she was leaving the money with them.’
    ‘Sounds a feisty lady,’ Lizzie Mantle said.
    ‘Do we have a bit of a pattern forming here?’ Norman Potting asked. ‘Wilson’s first wife inherits, tells her friends she is off to America, and ends up in a storm drain. Then his second wife inherits and ends up in the Channel.’
    Nodding at him, Grace decided it was time to add hislatest information, courtesy of Cassian Pewe. ‘This may shed some light on things,’ he said. ‘Last month police in Geelong, near Melbourne, Australia, found the body of a woman in the boot of a car in a river,’ he said. ‘Forensic reports estimate she has been dead for a maximum of two years. The woman had breast implants, which were traced to a batch delivered to the Nuffield Hospital here in Woodingdean in June 1997. The recipient of the ones matching the serial number was Lorraine Wilson.’
    He paused to let this sink in.
    ‘So – she like swam from the English Channel to Australia and then up a river?’ Glenn Branson said. ‘With three million quid in folding in her bathing costume.’
    ‘And that’s not all,’ Roy Grace went on. ‘She was four months pregnant. The Australian police were not able to find any DNA match on their records for the mother, or a familial match for the father, and wondered if there might be anything on the National UK DNA Database. We’re waiting to hear now. Hopefully we’ll know tomorrow if there is any match on either.’
    ‘Seems like we have a problem, Houston,’ Norman Potting said.
    ‘Or perhaps a lead,’ Grace corrected him. ‘The postmortem in Melbourne indicated the probable cause of death was strangulation,’ he continued. ‘They arrived at this conclusion because Lorraine Wilson’s hyoid bone – the U-shaped bone at the base of the neck – was broken.’
    ‘Which was the same probable cause of death for Joanna Wilson,’ said Nick Nicholl.
    ‘Well remembered,’ Grace said. ‘You’re on peak form today, Nick. I’m glad your sleepless nights haven’t dulled your wits!’
    Nicholl blushed, looking pleased with himself.
    ‘Ronnie Wilson’s not done badly for a dead man,’ Norman Potting said. ‘Managing to strangle his wife.’
    ‘We don’t have enough evidence to make that assumption, Norman,’ Grace said, although privately he was wondering. He glanced at his agenda. ‘OK, so this is what’s going to happen. If she spent over three million quid in cash, in the space of a few months, someone will know about it. Glenn and Bella, I want you to prioritize that. Start with the Klingers again. Find out everything you can about the circles the Wilsons moved in. What did they spend money on? Did they gamble? Did they buy a place abroad? Or a boat? Three and a quarter million quid is a lot of money – and its value was even more five years ago.’
    Branson and Bella nodded.
    ‘Steve, can you use your banking fast-track to find out what happened to Joanna Wilson’s inheritance? I appreciate we’re talking ten years back and there may not be any records. Just do all you can.’
    Grace paused to check his notes, then went on.