Bloody Valentine - James Patterson [26]
‘Nothing.’
‘If you have suspicions about Jodie Barnes’s death I could call the pathologist. Old Howell wrote the report. He’s retired. In fact, they brought him out to look at poor Jodie because Evans, the regular pathologist was on holiday—’
‘I have no suspicions,’ Ben interrupted. ‘Just wanted to confirm that Jack Barnes’s first wife’s death was an accident.’
‘Had to be. No one else was around. Lonely spot, Castle Owens.’
‘Thank you for your help, Constable Edwards.’
‘If you need any more information …’
‘I’ll contact you. Goodbye.’ Ben replaced the receiver.
‘Problem?’ Amy asked.
‘I’m not sure.’
‘Jodie Barnes’s death?’
‘What we’d been told. She died alone in a fire in a castle that Jack was renovating. Faulty wiring. The electrician was blamed and fined. There wasn’t enough left of her to carry out a full post mortem.’
‘Cause of death?’
‘To quote Constable Edwards, “Fire”, but the pathologist who examined her remains was old and retired.’
‘Why was he trusted to examine the remains?’
‘The regular pathologist was on holiday.’
Amy looked up at a knock on the door. ‘Enter.’
‘Michael Barnes is here, ma’am.’
‘Show him in, Constable.’
‘Hold him a moment, Constable,’ David Reece contradicted. He walked in and closed the door behind him. ‘We found a bloodstained shirt in Ted Levett’s linen bin. We’ve sent it to the lab, but a technician said the stains matched those on the knives found in the chefs’ apartment.’
‘The knives were cleaned on the shirt?’ Amy asked.
‘Wiped more than cleaned, according to him, and after the shirt had been worn. Dirt stains confirm it. Do you want me to arrest Ted Levett?’
Chapter Twenty-two
Amy thought for a moment. ‘Yes, arrest him, but hold Ted here. I’ll interview him as soon as I can, and don’t allow Damian Clark to leave the building.’
‘No, ma’am.’
‘Very neat. Ted kills Zee with Bruno’s knives, cleans the blood on his shirt and drops it into his linen bin for us to find. Then returns the knives to Bruno’s apartment, unexpectedly finds him at home and kills him because Bruno’s a witness.’ David looked at Amy. ‘Someone is trying to implicate Ted as the murderer.’
‘Someone a touch heavy-handed and obvious. Show Michael in.’
‘After seeing Jack, I’ll do whatever I can to help bring the bastard who killed Zee to justice,’ Michael said vehemently.
‘I’d appreciate your co-operation after your attitude earlier,’ Amy said.
Michael moved uneasily. ‘I didn’t know then that Zee had been murdered, or that Jack had been sent her heart.’
‘You didn’t like Zee.’ Amy had stated a fact, not asked a question.
‘At first I thought she’d caught Jack on the rebound after Jodie’s death,’ Michael agreed. ‘But after seeing how happy she made Jack, I made an effort to get to know her.’
‘Did Zee improve on acquaintance?’ Ben watched Michael’s face.
‘She wasn’t the obvious choice for Jack,’ Michael was cautious. ‘Jodie was a college lecturer; Zee was a waitress. She was kind, though, and helped Jack relax. He’s always worked too hard.’
Amy recalled Leila’s insistence that Zee was mercenary. ‘You weren’t worried about the money Jack was spending on her?’
Michael shrugged. ‘It’s Jack’s money.’
‘You live rent-free?’ Amy checked.
‘Only because Jack refuses to take rent from us. He owns the building and converted it to give the family a London base. He’s protective towards Mamie and thought she’d feel more secure with her brothers as well as her sister around.’
‘It doesn’t bother you, accepting your brother’s charity?’ Ben persevered.
‘Jack’s rich, but money’s never been as important to him as running a successful business. We live rent-free, but Jack doesn’t pay us an allowance, as he does Mamie and Leila.’
‘How much does he pay them?’ Ben’s pen was poised over his notebook.
‘You’d have to ask them or Jack.’
‘You live on what you make from your art?’ Amy queried.
‘Last year I made less