The Woman In Blue by Elly Griffiths

Author:Elly Griffiths
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Quercus
Published: 2016-02-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Giles Moncrieff, Paula’s husband, arrives at the station at midday. Nelson has just finished giving a statement to the press (‘No, we haven’t found the murderer yet’) and he finds Tanya sitting with Giles in his office. There’s a box of tissues on the desk which reminds Nelson of the Sanctuary. It’s times like this when Nelson misses Judy the most. She’s very good with the bereaved, empathetic and caring, but also professional enough to stop the situation collapsing into tears and breakdown. Tanya is saying all the right things, but she is staring at Giles as if he’s an exhibit in the zoo. Giles, a tall man in his thirties who looks like he’d be more at home in cycling shorts, has the shell-shocked look of someone who is hoping that the last few hours have been a particularly nasty dream.

Nelson greets him. ‘I’m so sorry for your loss. Can I get you anything?’

Giles shakes his head. ‘No. Sergeant . . . er . . . the sergeant has been very kind.’

‘Sergeant Fuller,’ says Tanya unnecessarily.

‘You’ll want to see your wife’s body,’ says Nelson. ‘Sergeant Fuller will take you there in a minute. You can take as long as you want.’

Giles stares at him blankly. ‘I just can’t believe it. Paula. I mean, she was just here for a conference. I encouraged her to go. “It’ll be a break for you,” I said. It’s hard work with the parish and a young child. Christ, I wish she hadn’t come.’

Nelson pulls round his chair so that the desk isn’t between them. ‘This must be very difficult for you,’ he says, ‘but you’ll appreciate that we have to find the person that did this to Paula. I promise you that we won’t rest until we do. So, anything that you can tell us about Paula now will be invaluable. Anything that might be relevant.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, for example, had anyone been threatening her? Sending her abusive letters, for example.’

Giles looks more nonplussed than ever. ‘No. Everyone loved Paula. Her parishioners adored her. When Jack was born they threw a surprise party for her. On her birthday we had so many cakes we had to give them to a shelter for the homeless. Oh God . . .’ He looks helplessly at Nelson and Tanya. ‘How am I going to tell Jack?’

‘How old is Jack?’ asks Nelson.

‘He’s four. He’ll be starting school in September. He was so happy. Paula had already bought his uniform.’ He rubs his eyes but can’t stop the tears. Tanya hands him the box of tissues. ‘Who’s looking after Jack now?’ she asks.

‘My parents. They’re devastated too. They loved Paula.’

‘What about Paula’s parents?’ asks Nelson.

‘They’re dead,’ says Giles. ‘They died when she was a child. Paula had a terrible childhood really, she was in children’s homes, with various foster parents, in and out of care. But it never made her bitter. She was extraordinary.’

‘How long had she been a priest?’ asks Nelson.

‘Only two years. She was still a curate when Jack was born.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.