But life decided she couldn’t be allowed to get off as lightly as all that.
She knows she has only herself to blame. Her first mistake was in being too good a listener. She let Cody open up to her about his horrific experiences, and about how it had affected him mentally. She found herself offering sympathy and guidance. She found herself caring for him again.
Fatal.
I should have walked away, she thinks. I should have pointed him towards counselling services and left him to it. But I didn’t, and now it’s too late. And so much has happened since then. Our lives have become so mingled, I don’t know how we will ever be able to free ourselves. If it hadn’t been for Cody, I might still be engaged to Parker.
But let’s not go there. Let’s not turn this into a period of self-pity. The woman lying in front of me has it a lot worse than I do. What’s done is done.
Except that it isn’t. Something has been going on in Cody’s life recently. He’s been acting in a way that’s weird even for him. She has tried asking him about it, but so far he hasn’t acquiesced. In a way, she’s glad about that. She’s not sure she wants to know what shady dealings he might be involved in. But at the same time, it stings a little that he no longer feels able to confide in her.
Oh, what the hell. Screw Cody, and screw his eccentric behaviour. Keep your mind on the job, Megan. There’s a murder to be solved here.
She retraces her steps out of the room and joins her colleagues gathered on the landing, which is bigger than her own living room.
‘Solved it?’ Blunt asks. Shrouded in her protective gear she appears even larger and more formidable than usual, but Webley knows there’s a gentle, caring side to her. Knows, too, that she has her own personal issues.
She looks at her boss in puzzlement.
‘You seemed deep in thought,’ Blunt explains. ‘Like you were weighing up all the clues, Columbo style.’
‘Oh. No. I was just thinking about how there’s no difference between us, really. A rich person is just a poor person with money. We all end up in the ground, or going up in smoke.’
Blunt raises her eyebrows. ‘Right. Well, I don’t think this is quite the right time for a philosophical debate, Megan, but now that you’ve got that off your chest, perhaps we can get to business.’ She turns to Cody. ‘Mrs Hernandez fit to talk?’
Cody nods. ‘I think so. She’s calmed down a bit now.’
‘Okay. The two of you, get what you can from her. I’ll see you back at the station.’
Blunt’s air of brisk efficiency is the shot in the arm that Webley needs. She heads downstairs, Cody trailing after her. Halfway down, she turns to him. ‘Who’s Mrs Hernandez?’
‘The cleaner. She found the body.’
Webley snorts. ‘Wish I could afford a cleaner. I can hardly afford cleaning products.’
‘That explains a lot.’
‘Cheeky sod. When’s the last time you had your hand down your U-bend?’
‘That’s a very personal question, isn’t it?’
‘Shut up, Cody.’
They find Mrs Hernandez in the conservatory, being consoled by a uniformed officer. A glass of water and a box of tissues sit on the coffee table in front of her. She is small and slight, her black hair pulled into a tight bun. She blinks constantly, as though she has a nervous tic.
Cody nods the uniformed officer away, then occupies the vacated seat.
‘Hello again, Mrs Hernandez. How are you feeling now?’
‘Better, a little.’ She has a strong Spanish accent.
‘This is my colleague,’ Cody says. ‘Detective Constable Webley.’
Webley gives her a broad smile. ‘This is a terrible situation. You must be devastated.’
Mrs Hernandez’s face betrays her lack of comprehension.
‘Upset,’ Webley says. ‘You must be upset.’
‘Yes. I am very sad. I like Mrs Selby very much.’
‘Do you come here every day?’
‘No. Not every day. Tuesdays and Fridays. Today is Friday.’
Webley taps her wristwatch. ‘What time did you get here?’
‘At about eleven o’clock. Normally, I come at nine o’clock, but today I have to take my son to the doctor. He has bad cough.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that. So, you arrived at eleven. What did you do then?’
‘I clean. I start downstairs, in the kitchen. Then I do other rooms. Later, I go upstairs.’
‘Did you go straight into the bedroom?’
‘No. I clean bathroom first.’
Cody interjects a question. ‘Did you notice anything unusual about the house? Anything different?’
