Imposition (DI Gardener 5)

“Don’t be,” said Gardener. “You’ve just lost your friend.”

Carrie Fletcher reached for a tissue, wiped her eyes and her nose and tried to compose herself.

“You were very close, weren’t you?”

“Like sisters,” she said eventually.

“We know about the will, Carrie,” said Reilly.

“What do you mean?”

“We know you were a witness to the new will she made about six months ago.”

“Yes, yes, but there was nothing in it for me. It was what she wanted.”

“We realise that, Carrie,” said Gardener. “We’re just trying to build up a picture. Can you remember how she was on that day?”

“Pretty much the same as always. She wanted to make the new will and then go out for a spot of lunch afterwards.”

“Did she tell you about her old will and the changes she was making?”

“A little, over lunch. Jane was a very private individual. She was always chatty but she very rarely told people about her business. I felt quite honoured to have had a friend like her. For the most, she kept to herself. That’s two failed marriages for you. Learning who you can trust comes at a price. People often let you down, and they certainly did

with her, so most of the time she relied only on herself.”

“Let’s come back to the will. Did she say why she was changing it? Why she was excluding her husband?”

“Marriage to Robbie was not good. It hadn’t always been that way. At the start it was pretty much like any relationship in the honeymoon period.”

“Do you know how they met?” Reilly asked.

Carrie Fletcher managed a smile. “That was down to me. She’d been on her own for about five years when I persuaded her to join a dating website – that was after one too many drinks over here one night.”

“Which one?”

“Findadate.com. I’m on it, you see.”

“And she met Robbie on the site?”

Carrie Fletcher took another drink of coffee and was deep in thought before she answered. “Not strictly speaking, no. She was there to meet someone else who had actually stood her up. Robbie was there for the same reason and somehow they connected.”

“The person she was there to meet. Was that a date made through the website?”

“Yes. This guy had been messaging her, showed all the signs and the right signals. You know, winked at her, made her a favourite. Finally, they made a date. Maybe he got cold feet. Happens a lot.”

“Did he offer any explanation?” asked Reilly. “For standing her up?”

“Not that I can remember.”

“Did he contact her again on the site?”

“To be honest, I think his profile disappeared after that night.”

“Can you remember his name?”

“No. Too long ago.”

“Interesting,” said Gardener. “So, what was Robbie Carter like?”