Mike.
âWhat utterââ
âCrap,â he said. âShe was just a nosy old bag.â
âBut sheâs alive all right â alive and prying. Like mother like daughter?â
âPerhaps weâll find out more tomorrow.â
She toyed with her pen before mentioning yet another point which had been bothering her. âAnd what about the dog, Mike? I donât believe anyone could have got past Ben.â
âMaybe if sheâd let someone in,â Mike said slowly, âthe dog would have been calmed.â
âMaybe.â She was not convinced. âBut would it have let someone out without Marilynâs presence?â
She looked at him. âA lover? But no intercourse.â
âLesbian?â he queried, then gave a lopsided grin. âThere wouldnât be any need for contraception then.â
âYes,â she said. âTrue.â
She cupped her chin in her hand, elbows on the desk, and gazed at Mike. âWhat do we go on?â she said. âThe absence of a cause of death or the absence of signs of foul play?â
Mike was silent for a minute and then said carefully, âThe only reason we believe it was foul play is her clothes. We know she liked attention. What if she wore them to gain it?â
She sighed. âI donât know ...â
She doodled for a while on the pad. âAny more thoughts, Mike?â Before he had a chance to answer she gave a wry smile. âSodâs law,â she said. âI could really have done with a nice, clean murder for my first serious investigation. Whatâs this going to amount to? A missed diagnosis? At best a sordid little sex crime.â
He stood up and tapped her on the shoulder. âI think we should ask a few questions,â he said. âThe doctor she worked for ...â
He grinned. âNever did trust the medical profession,â he said.
âThe trouble is,â she said, âwe havenât really found anything suspicious, have we? We just canât find a cause of death. Thatâs all.â
He picked up her notebook. âAnd what about the missing Mr Shiers?â
âWeâll get a couple of the blokes to ask around,â she said. âMaybe he did run off with another woman.â
âMaybe he didnât,â he said. âMaybe the two things are connected.â He pulled the pad towards him and drew a picture of two houses â crude pictures, like a childâs.
âI know this sounds a bit farfetched,â he said. âBut what if... Look. House one â man disappears. House two. We know Marilyn had a nasty streak in her â wasnât above manipulation â dirty tricks. What if she knew something?â
She was tempted to laugh. It sounded melodramatic â detective novel stuff. But Mikeâs dark eyes were deadly serious and he was staring at her.
âHow?â
He shrugged his shoulders. âPoison,â he said. âIt was poison.â
âSo why hasnât Matthew found it?â
Again Mikeâs eyes were fixed on her. âDo a bit of digging,â he said. âDigging. I reckon Dr Levin knows a bit more about our friend than heâs letting on.â
She let out the breath she had been holding and knew this was what had lain at the back of her mind all day.
There were questions she knew she should ask but was frightened to. She didnât really want the answers. But she had gained the distinct impression that Matthew had wanted her to drop the case. Why?
âMatthewâs ringing me later on,â she said. She stood up. âIâm going to call in at the surgery,â she said. âI want to speak to Dr Wilson again.â
He was sitting in his room, staring out of the window, his face lined and grey, when the receptionist showed her in. He stood up courteously.
âWhen will this nightmare end?â
âIâm sorry.â She sat down. âSudden death
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