‘You lost it, didn’t you?’
Cody is beginning to think he’s forgotten a big chunk of conversation.
‘I lost the list?’
‘Yeah. Isn’t that why you asked for another copy? Because you misplaced the first one?’
And now Cody definitely thinks he’s got early onset dementia. He doesn’t remember any of this.
‘I didn’t ask for a second copy.’
‘Well, not you personally. But that other detective you sent over.’
The hairs come to attention on Cody’s neck. He exchanges glances with Webley. Then he decides to play along.
‘Oh, yeah. There was a bit of confusion back at the station. Which one of my colleagues did they send over in the end?’
‘I think he said his name was Brown.’
‘Hmm. Are you sure he said Brown? Is that what it said on his ID?’
‘I didn’t really look closely at it. He just kind of flashed it at me.’
‘Okay. It doesn’t really matter. Did he explain why he was here?’
‘Yeah. At first, I thought he didn’t know that you two had already been. He said he was on the team investigating Alexa’s murder and that he wanted a list of the people in her exercise class. When I asked him what had happened to the first list, he just laughed and said it must have got lost.’
‘Yeah. Like I said, there was a bit of a mix-up. To be honest, it feels like we’re chasing our tails at the minute.’
‘I can imagine. Crazy situation, huh?’
‘Absolutely. Not sure the name could have been Brown, though. What did he look like?’
‘Big guy. Beer belly. Curly red hair and beard. Glasses. I’d never have guessed he was a cop. But then, you don’t exactly look like—’
‘Thanks, Liam. You’ve been a massive help again.’
‘Yeah? Nice one.’ He pauses. ‘What did I do?’
But Cody and Webley have already left.
36
Love the Way You Lie
– Eminem, featuring Rihanna
When the detectives visit Claire Somerville’s house on this occasion, they come armed with a search warrant. As they pull up in the car, they see that old Mrs Irlam is once again on her knees in the neighbouring garden. Cody wonders if she ever goes indoors.
‘Do you make any sense of this?’ Webley asks. ‘Why would Claire’s brother impersonate a police officer to find out where Sam lived?’
Good question, thinks Cody. One he’s been struggling with himself.
‘Maybe his sister asked him to do it as a favour, so she could pass the info on to Oliver. Or maybe Oliver asked him directly. It could be that Bobby didn’t have the foggiest idea that Oliver intended to kill Sam. I mean, it’s not the usual thing that jumps to mind when someone asks you to find something out for them.’
‘Not usually, no, but Bobby carried out this so-called favour after Alexa had been murdered. I can’t believe he didn’t already know about that. He’s up to his neck in this.’
‘I suppose the only way to find out is to ask him.’
They leave the car and go to Claire’s front door. They ring the bell and knock several times but get no answer.
‘Hellooo!’
This from Mrs Irlam, now standing on the other side of the fence and watching them.
When the detectives turn towards her, she says, ‘My, you two are persistent. Are you going to tell me that joke now?’
Cody smiles at her. ‘Actually, we’re not Jehovah’s Witnesses.’ He displays his badge. ‘We’re from Merseyside Police. We were hoping to speak to Bobby again.’
‘Oh, I’m afraid you’ve missed him. I saw him putting his bags in his car earlier, so I had a quick chat with him. He said he was going back to his own house. Has he told you about Claire?’
‘Only that he’s been looking after the house for her.’
‘That’s right. Well, he told me that Claire has decided to come back home tonight, so there was no reason for him to hang around any longer.’
‘I don’t suppose he left an address or phone number?’
‘No, sorry. He hasn’t done anything wrong, has he?’
