Tell me, how well did they get on as a couple, do you think?
They always seemed happy, whenever I saw them. Dead close. But then I suppose that you have to be, when both of you have been practically disowned by your parents. I suppose its romantic in a way bit like Romeo n Juliet.
So you were aware that Ms Evans parents didnt like Darren Blackheath?
The old woman cackled, her eyes suddenly dancing with amusement. Ill bloody say I did. A few weeks after they started living here, her dad turned up, didnt he? He was drunk and he started shouting at Darren to come out. It was late at night, so I got up to see what was going on. Anyway, he starts banging on the flat door. Well, the original doors in these flats are cheap and flimsy and it popped open. I had mine replaced after I was broken into but they havent yet.
I heard shouting and came back in here to call the police, but it stopped. A few seconds later, what do I see but Darren Blackheath, wearing nothing but a bath towel, climbing down the fire escape!
The old woman burst out laughing, before subsiding into a coughing fit. She leant forward and patted Karen Hardwicks knee and winked.
I cant say he was the finest specimen Ive ever seen boy needs a good feeding but when you get to my age you take what you can.
Warren couldnt help smiling; the old womans good cheer was infectious. Sutton was grinning from ear to ear.
Do you have any idea why her father disliked Darren so much?
The old lady paused, thinking. Obviously, I can only tell as what I hear down the club, but Mr Evans is a bit of a snob. He looks down on us working-class types. He forgets that a generation ago his parents worked in the factory. Then there was the whole Kim Bradshaw incident. He figured his little girl was better than all that.
She shook her head. But they were in love. And they were happy. Seems a shame he couldnt deal with that.
After a few more questions, it soon became obvious that Maeve Cunningham had little more to say. Besides which, she kept on glancing at her cigarettes. Finally, standing up, the three detectives took their leave of the elderly lady.
Thank you very much for your time, Mrs Cunningham. Can I leave you my card in case you remember anything else?
Of course. But its Miss Cunningham. Why did you think I was married?
Warren blinked, completely nonplussed. Sorry, I shouldnt have assumed. You mentioned how lonely you were after Stan died and, well, you know, I thought he was your husband.
Well, Id heard about how strange folks were in Birmingham, but I didnt realise they married their dogs.
The three officers could still hear her laughter as they turned the corner of the corridor.
Chapter 14
Back in the car, Hardwick and Sutton unsuccessfully tried to hide their smirks.
Warren sighed. OK, you two, be honest, do I really sound like a Brummie? Im from Coventry and I only worked in Birmingham for a few years.
The two more junior officers glanced at each other before Sutton took the lead, clearing his throat. Well, sometimes. You know, certain words and phrases.
Its more of a general West Midlands twang, supplied Karen Hardwick helpfully from the back seat. You know, a bit like Lenny Henry.
Lenny Henry! Hes from bloody Dudley! No way do I sound like that. Warren was amazed, how could they not hear the difference?
Its just a regional thing, guv, Sutton interjected quickly. You know the way most English folks cant tell the difference between Northern and Southern Irish, or different parts of the North East. You have to live somewhere ages to tell the difference.
I imagine the local accents down here are a bit difficult to distinguish for you as well, sir.
A fair point, Warren acknowledged grudgingly. He had lived here for six months and, although he was slowly starting to recognise the difference between Eastern accents and London, this whole corner of England sounded remarkably homogenous. He was sure that there must be a difference between an Essex and a Hertfordshire accent, but he had yet to figure it out. He admitted as much, even letting slip that he couldnt distinguish between the Cockney accents on Eastenders and Essex accents. His two colleagues shook their heads in disbelief.
Warren grunted and scowled. Truth be told, though, he was enjoying the banter. The atmosphere had been heavy the previous twenty-four hours, with only the darkest humour glimmering. He was confident that details of the conversation would circulate the office in record time. Hopefully a little good-natured teasing would improve morale and even make him seem a bit more human.
The time for levity soon passed though, as the car pulled into the customer parking bay of the tyre fitters that Darren Blackheath worked for. The three officers made their way into the small, glass-walled customer waiting area. At one end of the room was a small desk with a computer. A middle-aged man with greying hair was busy pecking away, two fingers at a time, on a battered keyboard, as he grunted and uh-huhed into the mouthpiece of the phone clamped between his shoulder and ear. A small name badge identified him as Jack Bradley Manager.
As they waited they gazed through the window into the garage beyond. Blue-overalled mechanics worked away on four different vehicles, Along the far side of the space were literally hundreds of different tyres, forming an almost seamless wall of black, shiny rubber, broken only by brightly coloured advertising posters urging customers to ready their car for winter. Warren counted four mechanics, but no Darren Blackheath.
Finally, the man on the phone finished. Looking up, his eyes narrowed. It was clear that the three visitors werent customers. Nevertheless, Warren showed his warrant card and asked if Blackheath was working.
The man nodded his head, wearily. Yeah, out the back in the stockroom for all the good hes doing, poor sod. He turned up yesterday morning unexpectedly. He gestured towards the garage. Id already covered his shift and promised the overtime to somebody else, but I couldnt turn him away. He clearly needs the company. Of course, hes not said two words to anyone since he turned up, but what can you do?
Warren nodded sympathetically and asked if they could speak to him.
Sure, you can use the kitchen. Ill tell the lads to give you some privacy. Rounding the desk, the man led them through a door marked Staff Only. Hes a liability at the moment, the man whispered quietly. I dont trust him to do MOTs or change tyres hes too distracted. I dont want to think about what would happen if he accidentally forgot to tighten something Fortunately, weve just received a big parts delivery that needs putting away and Ken our store man is off with a bad back. Worst thatll happen is we spend a bit longer than usual trying to find things.
He glanced over at Warren, unable to contain his curiosity.
Have you any idea who did it? She was a lovely girl, and Darren was well loved-up. Hed be out the door six on the dot every day to collect her. Had to get permission to come out for a pint, you know. Some of the boys used to take the piss a bit, like. Said he was under the thumb. He just smiled and said she had lovely thumbs.
Warren smiled politely.
Were actively pursuing a number of lines of enquiry, but as you can appreciate we arent in a position to elaborate. So Sally Evans wore the trousers in that relationship, then. Was that significant? He wouldnt be the first man to snap under the pressure of a domineering woman or was he truly as smitten as everyone, her father aside, seemed to think? A brief image of his own in-laws leapt to mind and he quickly suppressed it.
The short corridor that they stood in had four doors, not including the one that they had just walked through. Two doors on the left had signs bearing Toilet and Kitchen respectively. The single door on the right said Parts and the door at the end labelled Garage was covered in brightly coloured warning signs, including that for a fire exit.
Pushing open the door marked Parts, Bradley called out Blackheaths name and stepped aside to let Jones enter the room. The room smelled of rubber, oil and lubricants and transported Warren back to childhood Saturdays waiting for his dad in Halfords as he picked up a replacement for whatever component had failed that week on his mothers ageing Mini.
Blackheath was sitting on the floor, surrounded by small cardboard boxes, some empty, others still sealed. A plastic drawer marked 5 Watt bulbs clear was half filled by individually packaged small bulbs. Warren winced; hed once spent over two hours trying to change just such a bulb on his old Citroën. Finally admitting defeat, hed eventually paid a small fortune for his local dealer to replace it for him. He still had the scars on his knuckles.
Looking at Blackheath, Warren could see that the man was not doing well. He looked gaunt, his skin a pale, sallow colour. His eyes were bloodshot and Warren was sure that he could smell the faintest whiff of alcohol over his strong aftershave.
Darren? DCI Jones, we spoke yesterday.
The young tyre fitter looked up and nodded slowly. I remember. Have you any news?
Were pursuing a number of different leads, but we need to clarify a few things with you. Would you be willing to accompany us to the police station?
The young mans eyes widened slightly. Am I under arrest? He looked nervous. Warren filed away the mans reaction for future consideration; however, in his experience, most people were uncomfortable when asked to go to the police station. Furthermore, unless he was completely naïve and never watched TV, Blackheath had to know that the police routinely suspected the boyfriend in cases such as these. On the other hand, perhaps Blackheath had something to be afraid of?
No, nothing like that. Id just rather we got the facts down on tape. At this stage you are simply accompanying us voluntarily to help us with our enquiries.
The young man nodded his agreement, clearly not registering the caveat that Warren had slipped into the start of the third sentence. As he got to his feet Warren reminded him who Karen Hardwick was and introduced Tony Sutton. As agreed, Hardwick was sympathetic and asked how he was coping; Sutton said nothing, remaining a dark, brooding presence.
* * *
Jack Bradley had been visibly relieved when Blackheath had asked to take a break and the three police officers and the grieving youth arrived back at the station barely twenty minutes later. After being reminded that he wasnt under arrest and advised of his rights, Blackheath was given a cup of coffee and led into Interview Suite One.
The team of detectives knocking doors on Blackheath and Evans estate had yet to find a witness who could positively place Blackheath or his car outside his flat at the time he claimed and so Warren started the interview by confirming the timings claimed by Blackheath the previous day, looking for any discrepancies that might indicate the man was lying. He repeated everything precisely for the tape.
Now for the hard part.
Darren, how would you describe your relationship with Sallys father?
Blackheath sighed. Me and Bill never got on well. He doesnt think Im good enough for his little girl. He shook his head bitterly. Sally iswas a really bright girl. And ambitious. She went to university and dreamed of becoming a senior manager in one of the major travel companies one day. Whereas me Well, youve seen where I work. I dont even have a college certificate.
So that was it? He just thought you were a bit beneath her?
It was more than that. He thinks Im lazy and lack ambition and he thinks Ive made Sally the same way. Blackheaths eyes flashed; he was clearly angry about Evans perception of him.
Why would he think that? From what weve heard, Sally was a strong, independently minded young woman, with lots of plans for the future.
Exactly. The thing is, her old man never really understood what she did at Far and Away. He thought she was just sitting at the desk, checking the computers for cut-price deals. He thought she was stuck in a rut and needed to move on. But she did much more than that. She was unofficially deputy store manager. Kelli, her boss, took her under her wing and was letting her sit in on meetings and try her hand at running the business. Her dad wanted her to leave Far and Away and join one of the big companies as a trainee manager. But Sally reckoned she was getting more experience with Kelli than shed have got in any of the bigger companies. Besides which, her job at Far and Away was secure the company was bucking the trend and holding its own against the online companies. If she started fresh at one of the big travel agents, theres no guarantee they wouldnt sack her the moment they hit a tough patch. He smiled sadly, clearly remembering a conversation. She always said that she should be grateful to have a job in the current climate and shed be mad to risk it. She planned to stay put until the economy picks up.
You were going to propose to Sally at Christmas. What do you think her fathers reaction would be? Were you going to ask his permission?
Blackheath snorted, his face darkening.
No way. Hed have turned me down flat. Me and Sally are grown adults. Ive been putting away a little money and Sally had some savings. We were going to pay for the wedding ourselves, do it our own way.
You seem pretty confident, considering that you hadnt yet proposed and she hadnt accepted. How did you know she would say yes?
Blackheath shrugged and his eyes turned moist. Ive known ever since we moved in together. Weve talked about having kids but were both a little old-fashioned and wanted to get married first. We had plans for the future. He sniffed loudly, wiping his eyes with the cuff of his overall. It was never a question of if wed get married, but when wed get married.
There was a few moments silence, whilst Blackheath composed himself.
What about your parents? How did they feel about Sally? What did they think about you moving in with her?
Blackheaths face darkened. Id rather not talk about that. I havent spoken to my parents since before I met Sally.
Warren raised an eyebrow as if surprised. How is that so? I thought that you were living with your parents until you moved in with Sally? That was less than a year ago and youd been dating for, what, two years before then? How can you live with your parents and not discuss Sally with them?
My parents house is very large and I had the use of the granny flat. It was quite possible to live day to day and not speak to them.