Stop Dead (DI Geraldine Steel)

thinking about Corless’s gambling debts. His creditors might well be the kind of people who wouldn’t hesitate to resort to threats. There was a strong possibility he was being pressurised to settle up, and didn’t have the money. Sole ownership of a lucrative business would have been an attractive prospect to someone in his financial straits.
    ‘George might have gone to Patrick asking for help and been refused – or – well, there could be any number of other reasons why George might have resented Patrick. It’s hardly unheard of for business partners to fall out. The affair with Desiree might have been the last straw, and it would explain the injuries we saw on Patrick’s body as well. This was a personal attack motivated by cupidity and sexual jealousy.’

     
    Sam paused expectantly. Geraldine still made no comment.
    ‘Then, when Desiree found out George had bumped Patrick off, she killed George.’
    Sam leaned back in her chair with an expectant grin, as though she was waiting for Geraldine to congratulate her for cracking the case.
    ‘Because?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Why would Desiree want to kill George?’ Geraldine asked.
    Sam scowled.
    ‘I thought that was obvious. She killed him in revenge, because she found out he’d killed Patrick. Perhaps George told her. She might have been infatuated with Patrick –’
    She broke off, frowning, as though suddenly sceptical of her own idea.
    ‘After all,’ she resumed in a more reticent tone of voice, ‘Desiree was living with George. And she must have known how much she stood to gain from George’s will. Even if she didn’t know, she must’ve suspected it. Well, it’s possible, isn’t it?’

     
    Geraldine considered. The theory could have hung together except for two considerations: not only was she convinced that Desiree had genuinely cared for Corless, but there was the puzzling question of the DNA found on Henshaw; the DNA of a woman in prison. The records had been carefully checked and it appeared Linda Harrison had never given birth, yet the most likely explanation for the DNA match was that it had been left on Henshaw’s body by a daughter of Linda Harrison. And there was still the third victim.

     
    Geraldine called the forensic team who dealt with the DNA profiles but they were only able to confirm what they had already told her.
    ‘But it’s reasonable that this DNA belonged to a daughter?’ Geraldine persisted. ‘Theoretically, I mean, if there was a daughter.’
    ‘Yes, it’s certainly a possibility,’ the scientist agreed amiably, as though the conversation was purely conjectural, and there was no murder investigation to consider.
    Geraldine paused, phone in hand.
    ‘Don’t forget we’re checking against a DNA sample that was taken twenty years ago,’ the scientist said.
    ‘Yes, that’s true, but we could easily get another sample if a current one would help clinch it.’
    ‘Well, there have been a lot of changes in the way DNA is –’ the scientist began before Geraldine interrupted him impatiently.
    ‘Yes, thank you very much. What you’ve told me has been very helpful. Thank you.’
    She didn’t want another lecture about the progress with DNA, impressive though the recent advances were.

     
    ‘What if she did have a child and the child was adopted?’ Sam enquired with an anxious glance at Geraldine.
    ‘The child – it could have been a daughter – would have a different name so wouldn’t be immediately traceable.’
    ‘Good thinking, but we’ve checked Linda’s medical records and there’s nothing to indicate she ever had a child. That’s not an easy thing to keep quiet about.’
    ‘But twenty years ago… It’s possible, that’s all I’m saying.’

     
    Geraldine had to agree it was possible. Twenty years ago Linda could indeed have given birth in secret and offered the child up for adoption without leaving any official record of the birth. It was the simplest explanation of the DNA discovered on Patrick’s body, and the truth was often simple.
    ‘The only problem now is, without any record of a birth how are we ever going to find out if she had a child?’
    Geraldine stood up.
    ‘That’s not a problem.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘Leave it to me. I’ll keep you posted.’

     
    Geraldine didn’t tell Sam she intended to confront Linda to ask her outright if she had ever given birth to a daughter. Sam was usually the one to come up with fantastical notions, but Geraldine was