Not Dead Yet

the right was a row of ten workstations, each with a computer terminal. Two were occupied, one by a ponytailed man in his twenties, the other by two teenage girls, one standing looking over the other’s shoulder, both of them giggling.
    Grace looked up at the ceiling and noticed a CCTV camera covering the row of terminals. They walked up to the bar. The woman finished making the coffee, gave them a cursory nod, acknowledging their presence, then took the coffee across to the ponytailed man.
    When she returned, Grace showed her his warrant card. ‘Detective Superintendent Grace from Sussex CID Major Crime Branch and Detective Inspector Tingley from Brighton CID.’
    She looked a tad bewildered. ‘Yes – er – how can I help you?’
    Grace held out a cellophane evidence bag containing Drayton Wheeler’s passport, which was open at the page showing his photograph. ‘Do you recognize this man?’
    She studied it carefully for some moments, then shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, no I don’t.’
    ‘He hasn’t been in here?’
    ‘Not while I’ve been here, I’m sure.’
    ‘We believe he was here yesterday evening and paid for one hour’s internet access.’
    ‘Ah, right, I wasn’t here last night.’
    ‘Who was here?’
    ‘The owner and his wife, but they’re off today.’
    ‘Can you contact them?’
    She looked at her watch. ‘They’ve gone to a George Michael concert in London. I shouldn’t think they’ll hear the phone. But they’ll be here all day tomorrow. I can try, if you like?’
    ‘We’ll come back tomorrow,’ Grace said.
    Jason Tingley pointed up at the CCTV camera. ‘Is that working?’
    ‘Yes, I think so.’
    ‘How long is the footage kept before it gets wiped?’
    ‘I’m not certain – I believe it’s a week.’
    ‘Do you know how to replay footage on it?’ Grace asked.
    ‘No, and I wouldn’t dare touch it!’
    ‘Okay, what time do you open tomorrow?’
    ‘Ten.’
    ‘Right, now this is really important,’ Grace said. ‘Can you please ask the owners, or leave a message for them, to make absolutely sure all footage from yesterday is retained?’
    ‘Yes, yes of course,’ she said.
    Grace gave her his card, then they left.
    As they climbed back into the car, Jason Tingley said, ‘We have a motive. The Café Conneckted receipt puts Drayton Wheeler in a place where he could have sent that email last night. In my view we could start making some assumptions.’
    ‘I hate that word, Jason,’ he said with a wry smile. ‘As I’ve often said, in my experience assumptions are the mother and father of all cock-ups. I prefer to stick with hypotheses .’
    The DI grinned. ‘Okay, hypotheses . Drayton Wheeler believes he has been screwed by Larry Brooker – or his company. So he decides to hit back by sabotaging the production? By killing the leading lady?’
    ‘Why didn’t he just sue?’ Grace replied. ‘Presumably it was money he was after?’
    Tingley tapped the side of his head. ‘Dealing with a crazy?’
    Grace was thinking about the vials of medication in the bathroom. Was this some kind of desperate act by a dying man? But with what aim? ‘Did you ever hear that expression, “The more I do this job, the less I know?”’ he asked.
    Tingley smiled. ‘No, but I understand it.’
    Grace nodded. ‘Please God it was Drayton Wheeler who sent that email last night, and that he’s the guy under the chandelier. That would be a rather tragic but very elegant solution.’
    ‘Beware of assumptions, didn’t you say, chief?’ the DI remarked with a cheeky grin.
    Roy Grace, deep in thought, did not respond. He was thinkinghard what he needed to do to step up the security for Gaia and her son, regardless of cost, until they could be sure that the threat to her was over.
    And he had a nagging doubt. Some of it stacked up, but not all of it. Not enough.

99
    It was late when he finally got home to Cleo. She was lying, half-asleep in bed, with an old Miss Marple episode playing on the television. Murder At The Vicarage , he recognized after a few moments.
    ‘How are you feeling?’ He kissed her forehead.
    ‘I’m okay. But Bump’s training for the Olympics!’ She guided his hand to her stomach, and he could feel their baby zapping around as if on a trampoline. He smiled, proudly and lovingly. It was such an amazing sensation. Their child. His and hers. Alive inside her.
    He lay beside her for some minutes, just holding her tightly and feeling the baby’s exertions.