Stop Dead (DI Geraldine Steel)

Henshaw. I never saw him again after we did his conservatory, and I never did – that – to him. So can I go now? None of this has got anything to do with me. You can’t just keep me here and I’ve got nothing more to say to you.’
    Sitting back in his chair, arms folded across his chest, he pressed his lips firmly together as though to illustrate his decision to remain silent.

CHAPTER 32
     
    A lthough she wasn’t convinced Guy had murdered Henshaw, Geraldine still shared Sam’s disappointment that he hadn’t caved in and confessed his guilt. She returned to her desk to tidy up. A wave of exhaustion swept through her as she sat down and slumped back in her chair, too tired to continue. She must have dozed off because she came to with a start, her head lolling uncomfortably to one side, her mind spinning with all the possibilities. She wondered if they had been right to dismiss Corless so readily. He might have killed Henshaw and then been bumped off in his turn, as an act of revenge. That depended on the second killer having known exactly how the first murder had been carried out, and copied it, which was unlikely. In any case, she had believed Corless’ claim that he couldn’t make a success of the restaurant without Henshaw. That gave him a vested interest in Henshaw remaining alive and healthy.

     
    She stood up and stretched, stiff from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position. They were eight days into the investigation and not only were they no closer to finding out who had killed Henshaw, they now had a second victim on their hands. She knew she should be rereading early statements in the light of this new development, going over and over the same ground, but she felt an uncharacteristic sense of lethargy. Finally she went out to grab some lunch in a local cafe.

     
    Stuffed with pasta, Geraldine drained her one small glass of wine and decided against drinking any more. Instead, she ordered coffee and took a few deep breaths, determined to clear her mind of the investigation so she could return to work with a fresh eye. Life wasn’t so bad. She was happy with her neat little flat, her own private territory where she was free to do whatever she wanted, and she was fortunate to be pursuing a challenging career. Despite its frustrations she enjoyed her work, and didn’t understand why she was feeling so dejected. She wondered if it was the investigation that was dampening her spirits, but she was accustomed to the problems of working on a murder investigation, and anyway it wasn’t going too badly. They had several leads and if forensics could come up with a match for the DNA found on Henshaw’s body, it was even possible they might get a confession for both murders and wrap up the case within a day.

     
    Gazing around as she waited for her bill, she couldn’t help noticing that she was by no means the only person eating alone. On a nearby table a young woman was intent on a kindle while she waited for her food to arrive; a little further off a middle-aged man sat contentedly tucking in to a large plate of noodles. It struck her that life in London was very different to Kent, where she would probably have been the only person sitting by herself. Even so, everyone she knew seemed to be settled in a relationship. Reg Milton and Nick Williams were both happily married, Sam had been rushing off on Saturday to see her new girlfriend while Geraldine had spent the evening sitting at home on her own watching rubbish on the television to take her mind off the case.

     
    The morning had been a waste of time and she was feeling increasingly despondent. She was sitting at her desk when her phone rang. It was the pathologist.
    ‘OK,’ he said, ‘there’s good news and bad news. First of all we’ve got the results back from the lab concerning the female DNA we found on Henshaw’s body.’
    Geraldine’s breath caught in her throat and she was suddenly aware of her heart pumping rapidly. There was a pause. She waited, picturing the pathologist’s boyish features twisted in thought as he searched for the words he wanted.

     
    ‘Yes?’ she prompted him impatiently.
    ‘The tests confirm DNA found on Patrick Henshaw’s body came from a woman, but the bad news is that it doesn’t appear to be a match with either Amy Henshaw or Stella Hallett. In other words, he had intercourse with another woman some time shortly before he was killed, but the sample of DNA found at the scene isn’t a match with