60

‘WHAT’S GOING ON?’ EMMA DEMANDED AS I WALKED through the door. ‘I’ve got a bloody story to write, I can’t spend all day waiting for you lot to talk to me.’

The call Tom Barrett had taken upstairs had been to inform us that Emma Boston had returned home to get the message that we needed to see her urgently. Not wanting to miss out on anything interesting, she’d come straight down to the station. Her sunglasses were on the table in front of her and I was struck again by how lovely her eyes were. And how I might never now have the chance to ask her why she kept such beautiful eyes covered up.

‘Tell me where you were between eight o’clock and twelve noon on Monday morning, Emma,’ I said. The light on the monitor wasn’t switched on. I didn’t think anyone was watching us but I still couldn’t afford to be chummy. Certainly not with Joesbury back on my case.

She shrugged. ‘At home.’

‘Can anyone confirm that?’

‘I might have popped out for a coffee. Why, what’s happened?’

‘Let’s take turns to ask questions, Emma,’ I said. ‘Me first. Now, where did you go for coffee, what time was it, who served you and who did you see in the coffee bar?’

I made notes while she talked. Emma was a good journalist, she noticed things; she gave me plenty of detail of her morning and the trip to Nero’s. She shouldn’t have too much trouble proving she’d been nowhere near the Benn house when Charlotte was killed.

‘Why have you been trying to phone Charlotte Benn the last couple of days?’ I asked.

Her eyes narrowed. ‘You mean the woman who was murdered? I haven’t.’

‘Her daughter told us,’ I said. ‘Her mother had several phone calls from you, asking to interview her about the Jones and Weston murders. Apparently, you were talking to several of the mothers from the school, trying to find out how they felt about the killings.’

Emma’s creased face screwed up even further. ‘That’s bullshit,’ she said. ‘Someone was phoning Charlotte Benn? Pretending to be me?’

I knew Emma was telling the truth. Still had to go through the motions, though.

‘Are you telling me you haven’t tried to speak to Charlotte Benn?’ I asked.

She shook her head. ‘No way. I might have done, if I’d thought of it, but I didn’t. Tell me what happened.’

For a moment it was difficult to talk. ‘Still my turn,’ I said, when I’d pulled myself together. ‘I’m going to need your phone. And any you’ve got at home. I need to confirm they weren’t used to call the Benn house.’

Emma sat back in her chair. ‘Oh, you are kidding me. Again? How am I supposed to get anything done?’

‘If I were you,’ I said, ‘I’d concentrate on staying out of harm’s way. Can I have the phone, please?’

I put Emma’s phone into an evidence bag and got up. ‘Emma,’ I said, turning in the doorway. She looked up. ‘Please be careful,’ I added, as I left the room.