‘I’ll let you go but you need to calm down,’ said Peterson, having to raise his voice against Maria’s screams. He released his grip, and then she broke down, turning into his chest, and leaning on him.
‘She was good! I don’t know why she threw herself away to these men! I promise you she was good!’ she said through heaving sobs.
Peterson helped Maria to sit back down on the sofa. Erika was still reeling from where she’d been struck. There was a knock at the front door. Erika went to open it. The chain was on and it only opened a crack. Henrietta Boulderstone’s face peered through the gap.
‘What’s going on in there?’ she said sharply. Erika closed the door, unhooked the chained, and opened it again.
‘We’re asking Maria some questions,’ she said.
‘It sounded to me like you were harassing her!’ said Henrietta. She pushed her way past Erika into the flat, and noticed Peterson, who was now sitting with Maria. ‘Maria dear, are you alright? Do you want these police officers here?’ Maria looked up at Henrietta and shook her head. ‘Okay. Now, seeing as you don’t have a warrant, I suggest you hotfoot it out of here!’
Erika wasn’t in the mood for armchair law and order. She heard the beep of the front door, and saw through Maria’s open front door into the hallway where Tess was coming into the building.
‘Maria, we’ll be in touch about releasing Sophia’s body,’ said Erika. They left her with Henrietta and moved outside to talk to Tess.
49
‘Tess, can we have a word?’ said Erika. Tess looked drawn, with huge bags under her eyes. Carrying a large backpack, she came through the glass front doors and stopped in front of Erika and Peterson.
‘Officers. I’ve answered all of your questions.’
‘I’m afraid you haven’t,’ said Erika. ‘Can we talk inside the flat?’
Tess gave them both a look.
‘What happened to your face?’ she asked. Erika caught sight of her face in the small mirror in the hallway. There was an angry red hand print on the right side of her cheek.
‘Nothing, can we please come in?’
Tess went to the door and put the key in the lock.
‘Don’t let them hassle you, dear,’ said a voice from behind Erika. They turned and saw Henrietta Boulderstone emerging from Maria’s flat. She closed the door behind her and came over to Tess, taking her hand. ‘I am so sorry to hear about Vicky.’
‘Thank you,’ said Tess.
‘It’s just awful…’ She looked back at Erika and Peterson. ‘You police. When I was a young girl, the police were to be respected. Now, all I read about is how you harass people for posting nonsense on social media, and now under your noses, two, two young women have been killed, from this building. You should be ashamed!’ She turned back to Tess. ‘Can I do anything?’
‘I just have to go in and clean up,’ said Tess, indicating the flat.
‘Oh, yes. I know Charles is well stocked up with cleaning products. If you need anything at all, he can help,’ said Henrietta, tucking her walking stick under her arm and patting Tess’s hand.
‘Thank you.’
‘Do you know when the funeral is?’ Henrietta went on, lowering her voice out of respect. Tess shook her head. ‘I suspect it’s too early to know. Please, as soon as you have a date, let us know. We will all attend. This was Victoria’s home and it is a devastating loss for all of us.’
Erika thought she was laying it on a bit thick, talking to Tess as if she were the Queen on a visit to Honeycomb Court.
‘Tess. Could we please just talk to you in private?’ asked Peterson. He indicated they should go inside the flat.
‘You don’t have to let them in, you know. They don’t have a warrant!’ parroted Henrietta.
For God’s sake, fuck off, you old bag, Erika wanted to say, but she just kept her face neutral. Luckily Tess seemed to warm to Peterson a little more and she nodded.
Tess, Erika and Peterson went into Vicky’s flat and Erika closed the door on Henrietta’s withering stare.
Tess stopped in the middle of the room and put the backpack down on the floor. The flat was still a crime scene, with dried blood spatter on the carpet under the sofa-bed frame. Tess crouched down and unhooked the backpack, taking out a roll of industrial-sized black plastic bags and various cleaning products and cloths.
‘Can we please just talk to you before you start doing that?’ said Erika.
‘What? What can you possibly want to tell me? That my husband has a criminal record for rape? That he’s lied to me all these years? That he was planning to leave me on the morning my sister was murdered?’ she said, standing up and moving closer to Erika. ‘Jasper has given his solicitor a CCTV tape which shows that he went to Goose shortly after Vicky arrived at our house, and he stayed inside the building until ten past nine the next morning. The CCTV covers both entrances.’ Peterson looked at Erika. If the CCTV images checked out, then that was one less potential suspect.