The Birdwatcher by William Shaw Read Free Book Online Page B

have any tissues, William?’ Cupidi asked.
    When he returned with some toilet paper from the downstairs bathroom, Cupidi had moved her chair next to Gill’s and was hugging her, enfolding her completely in her arms. Gill’s shoulders were shuddering as she cried. When he handed DS Cupidi the wad of tissue he’d torn from the roll she rolled her eyes, as if to say, Is that all you’ve got?
    ‘Any friends. Old teaching colleagues?’
    She shook her head.
    Cupidi frowned. ‘No one?’ Cupidi made a note on her pad, then said, ‘A girlfriend or lover? Divorced? Some big ex?’
    She shook her head, pulled her chin in a little. ‘No. Why would you think he would?’
    ‘It’s just a standard question, Gill. I mean, it’s not always usual for a man to live on his own, unless there’s some reason for it.’ Cupidi paused, looked at South. ‘Present company excepted.’
    ‘He was just a very private man.’
    Cupidi leaned forward. ‘What about anyone else? When you arrived there this morning, did you see anyone else around?’
    The woman frowned. ‘I don’t think so.’
    ‘Try. Please.’
    Gill Rayner snapped. ‘Look, I wasn’t expecting to find Bob dead. So, I’m sorry, but I really wasn’t paying any attention.’
    Cupidi recoiled, startled by sudden loudness of the other woman’s voice. ‘You live in London?’ Cupidi asked. ‘We have your address and contact details?’
    ‘I left all my details at the station.’
    Cupidi said, ‘We can drive you home if you like. You can pick up your car another time.’
    ‘No. I’ll be all right.’ She opened her handbag and stuffed the wet tissues into it.
    South said, ‘It’s not always a good idea to drive after you’ve had such a shock. I can drive you to a station.’
    She looked up, eyes pink. ‘I just want to go home now. I just want to be on my own.’
    South stood. ‘I’ll walk you to the car, then,’ he said.
    ‘Right,’ said Cupidi. ‘Good.’
    Gill Rayner’s car was parked just inside the police tape; the constable had to untie it to let her out.
    As she opened her handbag to look for the keys, he said, ‘I was wondering. What did you think they had stolen? If you looked in the box, you must have been looking everywhere.’
    Gill Rayner frowned, as if surprised by the question. ‘To be honest, I can’t even remember why I looked in it. It seems odd now, doesn’t it? I suppose something must have been wrong with it,’ she said. ‘Maybe the lid wasn’t down properly. I really can’t remember.’
    He nodded. ‘If you ever want to talk . . . not just as a policeman.’
    She looked down at her plain brown shoes.
    ‘I’m sorry. It’s probably not appropriate,’ he said. ‘But he was my friend. I’m going to miss him a lot.’
    Turning away, she said, ‘Maybe,’ but the word was mangled, as if she was trying not to cry again.
    He stood in the lane as she drove away in an old green Polo. A thin drizzle was starting, though this would just be the beginning. It would rain hard this evening.
    As she drove past him standing by Bob’s gate, she turned her head and gazed at him. He gave her a little wave, but she looked away.
    She knew more than she was saying, he thought to himself. Had Cupidi noticed it too? Was she the kind of woman who spotted things like that?
    He could see Gill Rayner looking in the rear-view mirror now, back at her brother’s house as she drove down the rutted road.
     
    When he got to the house Cupidi was pinning an Ordnance Survey map to his wall. She looked at him, guiltily. ‘I’ll fix it up later, don’t worry.’
    ‘You should have used tape,’ he said.
    ‘Sorry. I couldn’t find any. We’re going to have to do a fingertip search for the murder weapon.’ She stood back and looked at the map. ‘Christ. It’s huge, isn’t it?’
    Twelve square miles of shingle and scrub stretched to the north and west of them. It was called Denge Beach, though little of it was anywhere near the sea. ‘We’ll need