Chapter 13 – The Interviews Continue

Karen and Jenny looked at one another in astonishment once again as they sat down at the table in the staff room and Jack sat down opposite them. He began the interview with a surprise for them.

'Good morning Mrs Marsden and Mrs Gifford…or should I say Nina B St James!'

'What…how on earth…!' gasped Jenny in shock.

'How could you possibly know about that…and what has it got to do with this!' retorted Karen.

'Oh, quite a lot, actually' Jack insisted. 'A source informed us you were talking about this little scam of yours at your hotel the night you arrived'

'What source?' demanded Karen.

'I'm not at liberty to say, Mrs Marsden, but needless to say it puts you both under suspicion'

'But how?' asked Jenny. 'Just because this could be seen as a little bit…dishonest surely doesn't imply we could be murderers!'

'The scam in itself is not evidence of your capability of committing a serious crime, you are correct about that. But the fact that Gavin Harper worked for a newspaper that reviewed the book you published, Mrs Marsden, and carried out that review on the basis of the false information you presented, gives you both a motive. It would be pretty bad for you both if Mr Harper recognised you, Mrs Gifford, as the woman claiming to be the author in question and exposed your little charade, would it not? We could be talking about fraud charges against you both in addition to the end of your publishing business, Mrs Marsden'

'But we didn't even know what newspaper he worked for!' protested Karen. 'On that night at the hotel we were just joking about the fact he was a journalist and might have seen the book review. I can't see how he could recognise Jenny as the fake author when he wasn't the reviewer we spoke to!'

'He could have seen your photo in his paper so it is possible. Plus, our source seemed to be under the impression you were both worried he had recognised you'

'Well, whoever that was must have been mistaken' stated Jenny decisively. 'Besides, how could we have had time to commit a murder when we were waiting in a very long queue for hot drinks when it happened?'

'Did you speak to anyone in the queue who could confirm you were waiting with them the entire time you were away from your group?' asked Florence.

'Just a local, older Caribbean woman who spoke about the storms she experienced in her youth. We didn't get her name or anything' answered Karen, more calmly than she had been speaking to date.

'And we can each testify that the other was with us the entire time between when we arrived at the school and when the murder was committed' said Jenny. 'Is that not sufficient confirmation of our alibi?'

'If it could be confirmed that the murder was carried out by a single individual then yes' clarified Jack. 'But multiple fingerprints and DNA samples have been found on the murder weapon, plus it would be very difficult for either of you to lift a man's body alone and drop it from the mannequin stand, so my suspicion in this case would be that the two of you could have been working together'

'That's a very good theory indeed, Inspector' acknowledged Karen, 'But you are forgetting that I am in a relationship with Adam Williams and we are both very happy. Give me one good reason why I would drop the body to him and frame him for murder?'

'And as far as I am concerned Adam is a very good friend, my husband's best friend, so I have no reason to want to frame him either' stated Jenny.

'And didn't we give you DNA and fingerprint samples yesterday?' added Karen 'So surely we can be ruled out?'

'You make good points' acknowledged Nikki, 'but as far as your last one is concerned, Mrs Marsden, how do we know you didn't keep your fingerprints and DNA off the weapon by wearing gloves or using something such as, say…a towel?'

'And why would we have brought gloves to the Caribbean?' asked Jenny.

'Gloves were only an example. But there are surely plenty of towels and cloths in the canteen kitchen?' Nikki insisted.

'But then we would have had to sneak by the staff to get in there' said Karen.

'They are a newly formed group of volunteers who do not necessarily know each other so it might not have been difficult' argued Jack. 'But you are good at this, ladies. Perhaps you could be detectives!'

'And one more thing, Inspector' said Jenny. 'I've been ill, very ill this year. I've had breast cancer. Just finished chemo a few weeks ago' and with that she pulled off her wig to prove the point. Jack, Florence and Nikki did their best to avoid showing shock at seeing her almost bald head.

'I'm…sorry to hear that' said Florence, with genuine compassion.

'I am still quite weak and get tired easily' continued Jenny. 'Once you can access my health records, I am sure you will be able to get confirmation I do not have the energy to lift a man's body, even with help!'

'I do understand' Jack softened. 'My wife had cancer, so I know what the treatment does to you. But I didn't know about your illness, Mrs Gifford, and have to follow up every lead. Anyway, that will be all for now. Thank you for your time'. Jenny replaced her wig and she and Karen marched back to the Head Teacher's office.

'Wow!' said Nikki.

'That poor woman. She is obviously genuine regarding her illness' remarked Florence.

'It would appear so' agreed Jack. 'I remember when Kathleen, my wife, finished her first round of chemo. One minute she would think she had the energy to do anything and we would, say, go to a social event we had been invited to, but after an hour or two she would be feeling exhausted and need to be taken home. This went on for months and we were told that even for people who survive the disease the fatigue can continue for as long as a year or even two'

'I'm so sorry about your wife' said Nikki.

'Well, it's been three years now, but I still miss her. Anyway…' he diverted the conversation away from the subject as he often did and got back on point with the case '…I doubt Jenny could be our killer unless she had a lot of help, and not just from one other woman. Both of them gave very good defences against all the points we threw at them, though, so we do have to consider that they could have been rehearsed'

'True' said Nikki. 'Karen seems intelligent and strong minded and a no-nonesense woman. The sort of person who would know what to say in an interview and could have helped Jenny and her other friends prepare for the possibility of having to speak to us. Perhaps that's not necessarily suspicious in itself?'

'I suppose you are right' agreed Jack. 'Well, I'll go and get our next suspect, shall I?' and he left the room.

'Just to think' Florence turned to Nikki. 'We are so vain about our hair and yet some women would be grateful just to have any!'

'I know, it almost makes me feel guilty about the money I spend on hair products and the time I put into getting mine to look nice!' Nikki agreed. 'I wouldn't be in Jenny's shoes for all the money in the world, although at this point in time I certainly wouldn't miss having unwashed hair clinging to my face and neck!'

'You don't say!' said Florence, tucking a few stray strands into the band that was tying her own hair up.

'Manticore' Pete fired at Adam.

'Is it some kind of cloak, like a mantle?' Adam guessed.

'No'

'I know, it's a cover for a computer core!'

'No. Surely you would know If it was that? Think monsters'

'Monsters? A type of dragon?'

'No, but not a bad guess'

At that point the door burst open and Karen and Jenny entered looking thoroughly harassed. The two women sat down and took deep breaths.

'You two look like you've just run the London Marathon!' joked Pete.

'I feel as if I have' Jenny shut her eyes.

'I'll go and get you some water' said Karen and left the room.

'Are you OK love? Shall we be quiet and let you have a rest?' Pete went over and addressed his wife.

'I'm fine, I'll just rest me eyes for a bit. Carry on with whatever you were doing'

'See them police? I hope they didn't harass you'

'I coped' Jenny opened her eyes for a minute and smiled at him.

'Good stuff'

The door then opened and Jack entered.

'Mr Gifford, could you come with me now, please?'

'Yes, Sir' Pete pretended to be obedient.

'What was the answer before you go?' Adam asked.

'Oh, it's a mythical Persian creature, a bit like an Egyptian sphinx'

'I wouldn't like to meet one of those!' exclaimed Adam.

'Me neither' Pete continued to engage with his friend.

'Mr Gifford, if you please' Jack was becoming impatient, so Pete reluctantly followed him out of the room, just as Karen returned with Jenny's water.

Adam turned to Karen and Jenny. 'You two seem like you've had an ordeal'

'That's putting it mildly!' Jenny finally spoke.

'Someone's been talking about us to the police' said Karen. 'They knew all about Jenny pretending to be Nina B St James'

'Eh? How on earth would anyone here know about that!'

'Someone overheard us talking at the hotel when we arrived, apparently' Jenny filled him in.

'Who would that have been?' Adam was puzzled.

'So we can rule you out then?' Jenny looked at him fully.

'Of course. Why would I be telling the police about that? I'd hate for either of you to get into trouble and go through what I have. And what has it got to do with Gavin's murder anyway?'

'Apparently he worked for the Northern Gazette and they reviewed Nina's book' Karen told him.

'That detective was convinced we must have killed Gavin together to avoid fraud charges and Karen losing her business! Can you believe that!' Jenny vented her anger.

'But that's ridiculous!' agreed Adam.

'We gave as good as we got, though, didn't we Jenny?' Karen tried to be positive.

'Yep. Tore apart every argument he made against us, we did!'

'Good on you, girls!' Adam smiled.

'Where's David?' Karen suddenly noticed he was missing.

'I don't know. He hasn't been back here since his interview' Adam informed her.

'You don't think it could have been him that spoke to the police about us, do you?' Jenny voiced the though she had just had. 'It would explain why he is avoiding us?'

'No, there' no way he'd do that!' Karen objected.

'Who else could it have been, though?' asked Adam.

'There's no way it was Pete. You know how irked he's been with the police since we got here – and he wouldn't do that to me or his friends!' Jenny insisted before anyone went there.

'No, my best friend wouldn't stitch up his wife and her friend' agreed Adam.

'The only other logical conclusion in my mind is that it must have been Tiffany' suggested Karen. 'She was the only other person actually sitting with us that evening, except for poor Gavin of course. She might have heard us joking about Gavin recognising Jenny when she was walking back from the ladies. We forget young people have better hearing than us'

'I think you have a point there' agreed Jenny. 'She was a bit off with me this morning and has been avoiding us'

'So…do you think then that…she might have done it?' Adam voiced his next thought.

'Well yes, we think there is a good chance she grassed on us!' retorted Jenny.

'No, I mean, do you think she killed Gavin? It would explain why she is trying to make us look guilty!' They were all thoughtful for a moment or two.

'Goodness, I really wouldn't have thought so the night it happened' said Jenny. 'She seemed genuinely distraught'

'But psychopaths can be good at putting on an act' Karen pointed out. 'Besides, is it not the partner some high percentage of the time?'

'Hmm…you could be right I suppose' agreed Jenny.

'Scary' said Adam.

Pete had just repeated his alibi about being in the queue for hall places right up until the time of the murder.

'OK, so our officers will be speaking to Mr and Mrs Ormsby today to confirm your story' Florence concluded that part of the interview.

'There is just one thing we need to address with you, Mr Gifford' Jack went on. 'I understand from a source who overheard a conversation you had with your friends the night you arrived on the island, that you work, or did work, for a taxi company called MCR Cabs. Is that correct?'

Pete was stunned. 'Y-yes I did a few years ago, but how did you know that? Who was listening to our conversation? Is the whole island bugged or something?!'

'No, I assure you that is not the case' said Jack 'But a source we cannot name told us you worked for this company'

'A source you cannot name?! What nonsense! Is it not illegal here to record someone's conversation without their consent?!'

'Mr Gifford, I assure you nobody recorded or filmed your conversation to our knowledge. They just quoted what they could not help overhearing'

'I suppose you have people listening to visitors' conversation all over this God-forsaken place, do you? I knew we should have stuck to holidays in Europe!'

'No, we respect the privacy of our residents and guests here, as much as in the UK anyway. I would just advise you to be careful not to talk out loud about anything you might not want others to hear in future. People often cannot help hearing'

'Oh, I see, so it's my fault, I should have known!'

'Look, I am sorry we don't seem to have hit it off, but I really need to ask you a couple of questions about your time as a taxi driver. if you could please just co-operate it shouldn't take long'

'And what has that got to do with this murder case?' Pete asked legitimately.

'We'll get to that shortly' Jack was not to be deterred from his strategy. 'Now, I've known quite a few taxi drivers in my time. My uncle Gerry was a taxi driver in Cork at one point. It's not an easy business to be in, is it?'

'Well, no. I don't know about Ireland in your Uncle Gerry's time, but it's very difficult in this day and age in Manchester. Too many people in the job, havin' to pick up drunks that can't get out of the car again, bloody foreigners comin' in that don't know the area and gettin' us a bad name for takin' too long to get folk home'

'I see. So, it must be tempting to make a bit more money for yourself by, say, fiddling your taxes, or charging customers a bit more than you should?'

'You won't find a driver in Manchester that doesn't fiddle their takings. They charge us an arm an' a leg in taxes while those big companies in London put all their profits in tax havens and pay nought! You can't blame us for trying to redress the balance!'

'I'm not here to judge you for that, but what about overcharging? Surely that's just as unfair to your customers as the tax system seems to you?'

'Many drivers admit to that as well. Just with the business customers from big firms, mind. Their employers pay their taxis after all and it's not as if they can't afford it!'

'So, what about staff from newspapers, say. Would you overcharge them?'

'Newspaper staff? Wait…did someone accuse me of overcharging Gavin or one of his colleagues? I suppose you think I killed him to avoid getting caught?! I know I said some taxi drivers overcharge but I never did so I had nothing to fear from Gavin!'

'Well, it's a possibility we have to consider when you were heard saying you thought Gavin had recognised you as a driver from MCR, a company known to have overcharged staff from the Northern Gazette. So, did you?'

'No! Is it not obvious that I had no opportunity or means, and that my apparent motive is not solid? My friends and I had been joking about Gavin being a journalist and the things he might have reported on us doing if he really knew us. We were not seriously threatened by him! Plus, did you not analyse my DNA and discover it was not at the crime scene?'

'We have not found your DNA or fingerprints on the murder weapon' confirmed Nikki. 'But that does not confirm you did not handle the weapon using gloves or some other means of keeping any means of us identifying you off it'

'So, I just had an innocent laugh with my friends one evening , and happened to meet someone that later got killed, and suddenly I'm automatically a murderer?'

'Nobody is accusing you of being a murderer!' asserted Jack. 'We are just following up on every lead. We will call you back if any further questions come to light but for now, thank you for your time Mr Gifford'

'Well, thank you for wasting mine!' Pete almost stormed out of the room.

Jack, Florence and Nikki breathed a sigh of relief and looked at each other.

'Well, he clearly doesn't like us!' said Florence.

'That's putting it mildly!' agreed Jack. 'He is clearly opinionated, sarcastic and impatient and also confident of his alibi'

'It is rock solid, assuming this couple he met in the hall queue back it up' Nikki pointed out.

'True' said Florence. 'But he is convinced we have it in for him'

'Indeed. I don't think he was telling us the truth when he said he didn't overcharge himself though' said Jack. 'He was more or less about to admit it before he realised the significance of the query'

'If his alibi is so solid why would he need to lie?' wondered Nikki.

'Exactly' said Jack. 'That's what we need to consider'

Adam, Karen and Jenny were still discussing their suspicions when Pete burst back in.

'Bloody useless police!' he ranted. 'Clutching at straws they were! Apparently someone told them I had worked for MCR Cabs and was worried Gavin had recognised me as a driver that may have overcharged him when he travelled with us on newspaper business! Hence I had a reason to want him dead!'

'You too, eh?' Jenny got up and took Pete's hand, encouraging him to sit down and calm down.

'What do you mean?' he looked around at the others.

'The police knew things about Jenny and I as well' Karen told him. 'Things we spoke about in the hotel bar the evening we arrived, remember when Gavin was at the bar and Tiffany at the ladies?'

'Oh great, so they know about your little deception? You'll have a motive too then!'

'Yes, that detective virtually tried to accuse us!' confirmed Jenny.

'And they will know a lot about David as well, no doubt. I wonder if he is being held somewhere?'

'We were just discussing who might have been doing the talking' said Adam.

'Unless…not David?!' Pete gasped.

'We think it was more likely to have been Tiffany' said Karen. 'It has even occurred to us that she might have murdered her fiance and is trying to frame us'

'I guess that's a possibility' Pete agreed. 'Or could it have been that horrible man, Phillips I think they said his name was. He was at our hotel too, wasn't he?'

'Yes, but I don't remember him being in the bar' said Adam.

'Unless he was sitting in that booth with his back to us' Jenny thought.

'I suppose, it was hard to see over the high chairs' agreed Karen.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. 'What now!' sighed Adam as Karen went to open it.

'David!' she gasped. 'Where have you been?!'

'I needed to clear my head after my…interrogation. It was rather unpleasant' he informed them. 'Adam, you didn't tell the police about my brush with the law, did you?'

'No! For Christ's sake, I know we've had our differences lately but having been locked up in here for two nights and virtually accused of murder I wouldn't wish the same thing on anyone…not even you!'

'Plus, David, you are not the only one someone has been talking about. The police knew things about Jenny, Pete and me as well' Karen informed him.

'Oh. Well, in that case…I'm sorry Adam'

'Apology accepted' Adam did not pursue the matter any further.

'So, where did you go?' asked Jenny.

'I had a walk around the school and went to get some lunch. I brought rations for everyone' David carried in what was literally five wrapped field rations containing essential nutrients and handed them out to his friends. He then produced a very small bottle of water from his pocket along with five plastic cups.

'So, no soup today even?' commented Pete.

'No, I think they were hoping we'd be out by now' David advised. 'Just basic essentials from now on, I'm afraid'

'I guess we'd better tuck in then!' said Karen and they all did so before David filled them in on his interview and the others told him what they had been discussing in his absence.