A Deathly Silence by Isaac Jane;

Author:Isaac, Jane;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Legend Press

CHAPTER 29

Back in her office, Helen took her time updating her policy log, diarising the day’s events and recording the basis for her decisions, a mandatory requirement for all Senior Investigating Officers leading a murder investigation.

According to Bracken Hall, Natalia Kowalski had taken a week’s leave and finished work on Tuesday. When Pemberton contacted the retreat Sinead was booked into, they’d confirmed an N Kowalski had also booked a room for the same dates. She arrived on Wednesday morning, a few minutes after 11 a.m., they remembered it because the rooms weren’t normally available until after 2 p.m. and she’d requested an early check-in. He’d spoken with the manager, taken time to track her movements. Another member of staff served her in the restaurant at 1.10 p.m. when she billed her order to her room. At 3 p.m. she’d received a massage in the spa and paid by credit card. Derbyshire was a couple of hours’ drive north from Hampton. Which meant she was out of the way and accounted for on Wednesday, when Sinead was killed.

Natalia checked out of the hotel today at 9.35 a.m. and that’s where the trail dried up.

What was she doing booking into the same hotel as Sinead and, if she was innocent, why had she ignored their messages? Sinead’s death was reported nationwide. Even at the outside chance her phone wasn’t working, she’d likely have heard the news.

The secret phone they used to keep in touch continued to niggle Helen. She’d instigated a search, but Natalia’s phone was switched off, untraceable. Police ANPR cameras were looking out for her car on the motorways. She wasn’t due back at work until Tuesday and her colleagues had no idea where she was. Once again, they were playing the waiting game.

Sinead appeared to adore her family and loved her job. If she was involved in illicit dealings, she’d be risking everything dear to her. Often, people coping with such a dilemma became anxious, but none of her colleagues had mentioned this when interviewed. Moreover, Sinead was painted as a strong officer, who appeared to put aside her home life when she was at work.

Had she approached a loan shark and something gone wrong? And what role, if any, did Natalia Kowalski play in all of this?

Sinead’s phone records suggested she exchanged a lot of messages with her neighbour. Perhaps Yvette Edwards could shed light on Sinead’s connection with Natalia Kowalski.

The trill of her mobile broke her thought process. She checked the screen, surprised to see Matthew’s name flash up.

‘Matt, Hi! Is everything okay?’

‘Hi, Mum. Yeah, it’s fine. You?’

Confusion riddled her. Her eldest son never phoned. It was a job to get him to send a text message when he was at a mate’s house and going to be late home.

‘I’m fine, thanks, darling,’ she said, fighting to keep her voice even. ‘Are you having a good time?’

‘Yeah, I was… err…’

‘What is it?’

‘I connected to the Wi-Fi at the centre and a news bulletin came up on my phone.

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