Imposition (DI Gardener 5)

“Oh, he was in, but on his hands and knees and I never saw him until I went through the hatch.” Cragg also confirmed that no one else was with him, either inside or out.

“What did he say to you?”

“Not a lot. He were breathing heavy. I think his only words were ‘Oh God.’”

“Did he offer any information about what had happened or did you have to force it out of him?”

“I had to drag it out of him: his name, hers, then he said she was dead, or dying. He didn’t seem to know which.”

“Do you know him?” Gardener suspected it might be a stupid question because Maurice Cragg knew everyone.

“No. I’ve seen him around the town a time or two; mostly during the day. I never thought anything of it. His clothes were usually good quality and I wondered if he was on benefits but then one night I left the station and popped in the local down the road for a drink and there he was.”

“You sound surprised, Maurice,” said Reilly. “Why’s that, it’s a pub after all.”

“I was surprised by what he were doing: singing. There’s a small stage in the corner and he was on it. Not karaoke, like, he was the main turn. Got talking to one or two people who knew him a bit better than me and they said that’s what he did for a living. Done it all his life as far as they knew. I stayed for a couple more. He was quite good.”

That would explain the music gear, thought Gardener. “Any idea how he got here?”

“No, but there’s a white van in the car park that I haven’t seen before. I reckon that’ll be his but I can run a check anyway.”

Gardener nodded. “What were the circumstances of him finding her? Did he say?”

“No, not in so many words. He’d been out all night, came home and found her on the floor – the bedroom floor.”

“Did he tell you where he’d been?”

“No. Couldn’t get much more out of him. I called for an ambulance straight away.”

“That’s something that didn’t stack up with us. He didn’t call an ambulance.”

“Maybe he were in shock.”

“Not too shocked to set the alarm before he came here,” offered Reilly.

“Alarm?” questioned Cragg.

“Yes,” replied Gardener. “The house alarm.”

“He set the alarm,” repeated Cragg. “I don’t understand. Why would you set the alarm before you left the house if your wife was still in the place? A wife who was dying, at that?”

“That’s what we’d like to know. But at the moment we’re still in the dark as to whether she was dying or dead when he left.”

“Either way,” said Cragg. “It seems a bit strange to me.”

“Could you smell any alcohol, Maurice?”

“No.”

“Did he look like he was under the influence of any other substances?”

“Not that I could tell.”

“Any marks on him?” asked Reilly. “Scratches, bruises.”

“No. Do you think he’s responsible?”

“We don’t know,” replied Gardener. He felt they had three possible options as he explained what they had found at the house, and the mess on the bathroom floor.