Page 77 of Worse Than Murder

‘But Inspector Forsyth…’

‘Will never need to know,’ I finish his sentence for him.

Lynne looks up at her husband with pleading eyes. Eventually he relents. Lynne stands to one side and allows me to enter.

‘Thank you,’ I say, as the door is closed behind me.

I’m shown into the kitchen. Lynne apologises for the state of the living room. The carpet has been taken up and is now in a mushy pile in the back garden. The sofa has been pushed to one side and is waiting to be professionally cleaned.

I sit at the small table while Lynne goes to the kettle and flicks it on.

‘Did you buy any more teabags?’ she asks.

‘They’re in the bag in the hall. I didn’t get time to put them away.’

Lynne leaves the kitchen.

Iain leans over me. ‘Please don’t upset my wife,’ he says, quietly.

‘I’m not here to upset anyone.’

‘She’s been through a lot over the years.’

‘I’m aware. I’m doing this for Alison.’

He nods and returns to his position by the sink as Lynne comes back into the kitchen, breaking the seal on a box of Yorkshire Tea bags.

Drinks made, Lynne sits opposite me. She looks nervous, as if she’s worried about what I’m going to reveal.

‘What can you tell me about Travis Montgomery?’ I begin.

Lynne recoils. She looks to Iain. It’s clear neither of them expects me to begin with Travis.

‘He was a good man. He was very good to this family,’ Lynne says.

‘He worked with you and Jack on the farm, Alison was telling me.’ I turn to Iain.

Iain nods. ‘My father employed him as casual help. When he died, Travis stayed on. He helped us transform the whole site. We couldn’t have done it without him.’

‘What was he like?’

‘He was a good bloke. Not afraid of hard work, and itwashard work, believe me. We were out in all weathers.’

‘He wasn’t local, was he?’

‘No. He came up from…’ He screws his face up as he thinks. ‘I want to say Liverpool?’

‘It was Liverpool,’ Lynne confirms.

‘You knew him well?’ I ask Lynne.

Lynne glares at me. Tears fill her eyes. She remains deathly silent. It’s clear she’s struggling with something. ‘We all knew him,’ she says, her words loaded with emotion.

I glance between Lynne and Iain. I have a feeling I’m not going to get the full story with them both present. They’re hiding things from each other. Or maybe they have a shared secret they’re worried might accidently be revealed.

‘He left not long after Jack disappeared, didn’t he?’ I ask. ‘Why was that? I thought he’d have been needed then more than ever.’

Iain looks uncomfortable. He moves away from his wife and rests against the worktop. ‘He told me he needed to leave. The atmosphere was heavy. Understandable, considering, but Travis said he was struggling with it. He was sorry to leave us in the lurch, but he felt he had to go.’