Page 39 of Dying Truth

Briggs hadn’t really made it sound like a choice, but Kim acknowledged the words.

‘Please, come in,’ she said, standing aside.

The hallway was blindingly white, from the floor to the walls and the doors leading from the space. A round marble table stood at the centre beneath a circular opening to the upper level.

They followed Hannah Winters to the right of the staircase and into a room furnished in pastel colours. The cream, plush carpet instantly made Kim wonder if there was anything on the bottom of her shoes.

‘Please, sit,’ she said, fingering a heart-shaped diamond necklace that nestled at the base of her throat.

Kim noted that her nails were painted a soft pink colour to match the cashmere sweater she was wearing over cream slacks. With her straw-coloured hair down and sitting on her shoulders Kim could see the definite resemblance to her eldest daughter, Saffie.

‘My husband will be through, shortly, he’s just on a call,’ she said, offering a polite smile.

Kim detected a recent dose of Botox was responsible for the lack of movement to her features and the absence of lines around her eyes or on her forehead.

‘Mrs Winters, may I ask what it is that you—?’

‘A letter,’ she said. ‘It’s a letter we found in Sadie’s things.’

‘From the school?’ Kim clarified, recalling Dawson’s words.

Hannah hesitated before nodding.

‘You took her possessions before we had chance to take a look?’ Kim asked, working hard to keep the edge from her voice.

‘We did, Inspector,’ said Mr Winters as he entered the room with a clear plastic tub. ‘And this is everything that was in there,’ he said, handing it to her as though they’d done nothing wrong and it was the most natural thing imaginable that he should have access to her belongings first.

She took it from him and placed it on the floor. There was no way she could be sure it was everything or if it was only the items the family were prepared to let her have.

‘Mr Winters, it would have been better to have left Sadie’s belongings in place so that we could assess the importance of the evidence before—’

‘What evidence?’ he asked, frowning. ‘She took her own life. Why would you need to see her things?’

She had avoided the word ‘tampering’ only because they were grieving parents.

‘Mr Winters, did you see the press conference an hour ago?’ she asked.

‘Of course and I think that reporter should be taken to task for her behaviour. How dare she try and insinuate that anyone could have any reason to murder our child.’ He shook his head with disgust. ‘As hard as it is for us to accept that Sadie took her own life, we do not need hacks trying to make a headline out of our misery. The sooner we put this investigation behind us the better. Feel free to take a look,’ he said, nodding towards the box.

She removed the lid and took a quick peek inside. She saw hair brushes, a couple of pairs of shoes, a phone, iPad and a few books. She moved a couple of items around until she could see the bottom of the box.

‘No diary?’ she queried.

‘She didn’t keep one as far as I know,’ Laurence offered, sitting down.

Kim found that unusual even though she’d never kept one herself. But Sadie appeared to love words and exploring her feelings. Definite reasons for keeping a diary.

She knew Sadie had kept something.

‘No exercise books?’

The couple looked at each other and shook their heads. ‘No, Inspector,’ they said together.

‘May I ask who collected Sadie’s belongings from her room?’

‘Saffie,’ Hannah answered.

‘Sadie liked to write,’ Kim explained. ‘Her English teacher said she spent many hours recording her feelings. Had quite a talent, apparently,’ she offered kindly.