Past Reason Hated by Peter Robinson Read Free Book Online

Eastvale. Not too far from here. At least, she did the last I heard.’
    ‘Did Caroline ever see her after they split up?’
    ‘Only by accident once or twice in the street.’
    ‘So they parted on bad terms?’
    ‘Doesn’t everyone? Much as I admire Shakespeare, I’ve often wondered where the sweetness is in the sorrow.’
    ‘And before Nancy Wood?’
    ‘She spent some time in London. I don’t know how long or who with. A few years, at least.’
    ‘What about her family?’
    ‘Her mother’s dead. Her father lives in Harrogate. He’s an invalid – been one for years. Her brother Gary looks after him. I told one of your uniformed men last night. Will someone have called?’
    Banks nodded. ‘Don’t worry, the Harrogate police will have taken care of it. Is there anything else you can tell me about Caroline’s friends or enemies?’
    Veronica sighed and shook her head. She looked exhausted. ‘No,’ she said. ‘We didn’t have a lot of close friends. I suppose we tried to be too much to one another. At least that’s how it feels now she’s gone. You could try the people at the theatre. They were her acquaintances, at least. But we didn’t socialize very much together. I don’t think any of them even knew about her living with me.’
    ‘We’re still puzzled about the record,’ Banks said. ‘Are you sure it isn’t yours?’
    ‘I’ve told you, no.’
    ‘But you recognized the singer?’
    ‘Magda Kalmar, yes. Claude and I once saw her in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Budapest Opera. I was very impressed.’
    ‘Could the record have been intended as a Christmas present from your husband?’
    ‘Well, I suppose it could . . . but that means . . . no, I haven’t seen him in a month.’
    ‘He could have called last night, while you were out.’
    She shook her head. ‘No. I don’t believe it. Not Claude.
    Banks looked over at Richmond and nodded. Richmond closed his notebook. ‘That’s all for now,’ Banks said.
    ‘Can I go home?’ she asked him.
    ‘If you want.’ Banks hadn’t imagined she would want to return to the house so soon, but there was no official objection. Forensics had finished with the place.
    ‘Just one thing, though,’ he said. ‘We’ll need to have another good look through Caroline’s belongings. Perhaps Detective Sergeant Richmond can accompany you back and look over them now?’
    She looked apprehensive at first, then nodded. ‘All right.’
    They stood up to leave. Christine Cooper was nowhere in sight, so they walked out into the damp, overcast day and shut the door behind them without saying goodbye.
    Veronica opened her front door and went in. Banks lingered at the black iron gate with Richmond. ‘I’m going to the community centre,’ he said. ‘There should be someone from the theatre group there since they’ve been notified of the break-in. How about we meet up at the Queen’s Arms, say twelve or twelve-thirty?’ And he went on to ask Richmond to check Veronica Shildon’s purchases and look closely at the receipts for corroboration of her alibi. ‘And check on Charles Cooper’s movements yesterday,’ he added. ‘It might mean a trip to Barnard Castle, but see if you can come up with anything by phone first.’
    Richmond went into the house and Banks set off up the steep part of King Street with his collar turned up against the cold. The community centre wasn’t very far; the walk would be good exercise. As he trudged through the snow, he thought about Veronica Shildon. She presented an odd mixture of reserve and frankness, stoical acceptance and bitterness. He was sure she was holding something back, but he didn’t know what it was. There was something askew about her. Even her clothes didn’t seem to go with the rather repressed and inhibited essence that she projected. ‘Prim and proper’ was the term that sprang to mind. Yet she had left her husband, had gone and set up house with a woman.
    All in all, she was an enigma. If anything, Banks