something else too, right?’
‘Well, sure. Probably.’
Ella lookedinto the box and saw trophies. She lifted the first two out. ‘Suzanne Sheppard, Best and Fairest 2001. B-grade Finalists 2002.’ The little plastic girls held hockey sticks. ‘How is your friend?’
Dennis hesitated. ‘She died a year later.’
Ella pulled the rest of the trophies out and piled them on the floor. Nine in all, dated from 1999 to 2004.
‘I’m sure your dad’s fine,’ Dennis said.
‘Mumwould tell me if it was serious.’ Wouldn’t she?
‘Absolutely.’
Ella lifted the layer of newspaper on which the trophies had rested but there was nothing underneath. She tried to concentrate. ‘If Suzanne was a bit of a collector, we should find memorabilia from the wedding.’
Dennis tipped up an envelope and sorted through the contents. ‘Like this?’ He held up a photo of Suzanne in a tiara andpink dress, Connor in a suit, holding each other and smiling against a background of palm trees and a sunset. He looked at the back. ‘Key West, May fifth, 2007. Catt was right.’
Ella packed the trophies back in while Dennis delved deeper.
‘Check it out,’ he said. ‘Hotel stationery complete with love notes.’
Ella made herself focus on the hearts and hugs and kisses scrawled across it.
He dugfurther. ‘Jackpot.’ He handed her fight itineraries for the trip. ‘He travelled as Connor,’ Ella read. ‘So his passport has to be in that name.’
Dennis took out his mobile and called Sylvie Catt to pass on the information. Ella was reaching for the next envelope in his box when her phone rang. She grabbed it up.
‘It’s me,’ Detective Steve Mitchell said. ‘Is that your car outside the address?’
‘Yep,’ she said. ‘We’re upstairs.’
‘Come next door. You guys need to hear this.’
The Crawfords’ neighbour was a pale woman in her early forties, dark circles under her eyes, her brown hair in a loose ponytail.
Steve introduced Ella and Dennis. ‘This is Tanya Pigeon.’
Tanya shook their hands. ‘Sorry I wasn’t here when you came past last night. I feel bad I wasn’t here when it happened, too,because maybe I could’ve done something.’
‘Tanya works in Emergency at St Vincent’s,’ Steve said.
‘That’s where you were last night?’ Ella asked.
Tanya nodded. ‘I finished at seven this morning.’
‘Tanya called triple 0 when the Crawfords were having that domestic, night before last,’ Steve said.
‘I heard screams,’ Tanya said. ‘You work in my job, you know the difference between mucking aboutand serious, and these were serious.’
‘Had you ever heard screams from their place before?’
Tanya shook her head. ‘That was another reason I rang. It was so out of the blue.’
‘How well do you know the Crawfords?’
‘Not all that well, considering we’ve been neighbours for almost a year,’ she said. ‘They were friendly enough when I moved in, but since then nothing more than a smile or a wave;you know, one or the other will be going out and I’ll be coming home and we’ll see each other for a moment. I don’t think we’ve spoken directly for months.’
Ella nodded.
‘Anyway, this morning when I got home I was talking to Margo across the street, and she told me about the brown car that was parked there for ages last night – she thought it was the guy’s who found Suzanne?’ Tanya said. ‘I’veseen that car here a lot. I saw it again about an hour ago.’
Stewart Bridges’ car. ‘An hour ago,’ Ella said. Well after he’d been dropped back.
‘Yep. He drove past really slowly, staring at the house. I saw him because I was pulling the blinds down before going to bed.’
‘You said you’ve seen the car a lot?’
‘At least once a week.’
‘What time of day?’
‘All different times,’ she said. ‘Evening,mornings, late at night. The man parks and heads straight in.’
‘Have you seen him on the street with the Crawfords?’ Dennis asked.
‘Well, sure. Probably.’
Ella lookedinto the box and saw trophies. She lifted the first two out. ‘Suzanne Sheppard, Best and Fairest 2001. B-grade Finalists 2002.’ The little plastic girls held hockey sticks. ‘How is your friend?’
Dennis hesitated. ‘She died a year later.’
Ella pulled the rest of the trophies out and piled them on the floor. Nine in all, dated from 1999 to 2004.
‘I’m sure your dad’s fine,’ Dennis said.
‘Mumwould tell me if it was serious.’ Wouldn’t she?
‘Absolutely.’
Ella lifted the layer of newspaper on which the trophies had rested but there was nothing underneath. She tried to concentrate. ‘If Suzanne was a bit of a collector, we should find memorabilia from the wedding.’
Dennis tipped up an envelope and sorted through the contents. ‘Like this?’ He held up a photo of Suzanne in a tiara andpink dress, Connor in a suit, holding each other and smiling against a background of palm trees and a sunset. He looked at the back. ‘Key West, May fifth, 2007. Catt was right.’
Ella packed the trophies back in while Dennis delved deeper.
‘Check it out,’ he said. ‘Hotel stationery complete with love notes.’
Ella made herself focus on the hearts and hugs and kisses scrawled across it.
He dugfurther. ‘Jackpot.’ He handed her fight itineraries for the trip. ‘He travelled as Connor,’ Ella read. ‘So his passport has to be in that name.’
Dennis took out his mobile and called Sylvie Catt to pass on the information. Ella was reaching for the next envelope in his box when her phone rang. She grabbed it up.
‘It’s me,’ Detective Steve Mitchell said. ‘Is that your car outside the address?’
‘Yep,’ she said. ‘We’re upstairs.’
‘Come next door. You guys need to hear this.’
The Crawfords’ neighbour was a pale woman in her early forties, dark circles under her eyes, her brown hair in a loose ponytail.
Steve introduced Ella and Dennis. ‘This is Tanya Pigeon.’
Tanya shook their hands. ‘Sorry I wasn’t here when you came past last night. I feel bad I wasn’t here when it happened, too,because maybe I could’ve done something.’
‘Tanya works in Emergency at St Vincent’s,’ Steve said.
‘That’s where you were last night?’ Ella asked.
Tanya nodded. ‘I finished at seven this morning.’
‘Tanya called triple 0 when the Crawfords were having that domestic, night before last,’ Steve said.
‘I heard screams,’ Tanya said. ‘You work in my job, you know the difference between mucking aboutand serious, and these were serious.’
‘Had you ever heard screams from their place before?’
Tanya shook her head. ‘That was another reason I rang. It was so out of the blue.’
‘How well do you know the Crawfords?’
‘Not all that well, considering we’ve been neighbours for almost a year,’ she said. ‘They were friendly enough when I moved in, but since then nothing more than a smile or a wave;you know, one or the other will be going out and I’ll be coming home and we’ll see each other for a moment. I don’t think we’ve spoken directly for months.’
Ella nodded.
‘Anyway, this morning when I got home I was talking to Margo across the street, and she told me about the brown car that was parked there for ages last night – she thought it was the guy’s who found Suzanne?’ Tanya said. ‘I’veseen that car here a lot. I saw it again about an hour ago.’
Stewart Bridges’ car. ‘An hour ago,’ Ella said. Well after he’d been dropped back.
‘Yep. He drove past really slowly, staring at the house. I saw him because I was pulling the blinds down before going to bed.’
‘You said you’ve seen the car a lot?’
‘At least once a week.’
‘What time of day?’
‘All different times,’ she said. ‘Evening,mornings, late at night. The man parks and heads straight in.’
‘Have you seen him on the street with the Crawfords?’ Dennis asked.
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