And The Earth Moved: Romantic Comedy Cozy Mystery (Amber Reed CCIA Mystery Book 1) (19 page)

Chapter Twenty Nine

“What are we looking for again?” Ennis asked, peering over Charlie’s shoulder as he finds the bit on the CCTV footage we need to check.

“We’re looking to see if Joel’s car is visible turning out onto the lane or not,” Charlie explains.

“The camera doesn’t show that side of the driveway,” Ennis says. “When we set up the cameras we knew we would be using the gatehouse for the caretaker here so we angled the camera to just show the gate but not the gatehouse. For privacy.”

Charlie finds the right spot and we all stand and watch the brief bit of CCTV footage.

You can’t see Joel’s car once it’s gone through the gate more than twenty feet or so. The gates are recessed about fifty feet from the lane. 

“What does this prove?” Siobhan asks. “I don’t get it. We know Joel went out that night. We’ve seen this bit on the camera before.”

“We know he went through the gates, but we don’t know he went anywhere after that,” I explain.

“So he did what?” Siobhan frowns. “What else would he do? Sit at the end of the driveway? You’re not making sense.”

“No,” Charlie says, swivelling round on the desk chair. “We think he never reached as far as the lane that night.”

“The gatehouse?” says Ennis, suddenly realising what we’re getting at. “Joel went through the gates but stopped at the gatehouse.” His voice fades away and he pushes a hand through his hair before he adds, “He went to see Tina didn’t he?”

I nod. “We think so.”

“How did Tina seem to you, Ennis, the first time her dad introduced her to you and to Joel?”

Ennis lets out a sigh. “She was a bit star-struck when she met us. Asked me to sign her hand. Bert was a bit embarrassed. She didn’t want to leave the kitchen no matter how much Bert tried to persuade her it was time to go.”

Looking nervous Ennis asked, “How old is she? Please don’t tell me she’s under age? She looked pretty young but Bert has never said how old his daughter is.”

Charlie rests a hand on Ennis’s shoulder. “You don’t need to worry about her being underage if anything happened with her and Joel. She’s twenty.”

“Right,” Ennis let out a sigh of relief. “OK. So what next?”

“Amber and I are going to go down to the gatehouse and have a chat with Tina.”

We hop in Charlie’s car and speed down the driveway. “Bert was in the pub the night Joel died,” I say. “I remember seeing him.”

“So Tina, if she was home, would have been home alone,” Charlie adds.

“You don’t seriously think it was Tina do you?” I ask. “That maybe her and Joel were fooling around and things got out of hand and she pushed him in self-defence?”

Charlie shrugs. “Let’s go and see what she has to say shall we?”

“Hi, Bert,” I say as he answers the door. “Sorry to bother you but is Tina in? We’d like a quick chat with her.”

Bert steps back to let us into the hallway. “She’s in the lounge,” he says, pointing towards a door on the right.

“Hi, Tina,” I say as we enter the room. She’s curled up on the sofa, arms wrapped around her knees. There’s a flash of terror in her eyes as she sees Charlie and me.

She knows.

Charlie crouches down in front of her. “Tina, what happened that night?”

She looks panic-stricken. “What night?” she flusters. “I don’t know what you mean.”

I sit on the sofa next to her. “You were with Joel weren’t you? On the night he died, he called here didn’t he?”

“But… How?” she says.

“Tina!” Bert interrupts. “What’s going on?”

She breaks down in huge racking sobs. Charlie gets to his feet and walks to the opposite side of the room. He looks at Bert. “I’m sorry.”

“Tina?” Bert repeats. “What are they talking about?”

“You need to tell us, Tina,” I say. “It’s time. Tell us everything about that night. What happened with you and Joel?”

Chapter Thirty

“He called round. Said he wanted to see me,” she sniffles.

I spot a box of tissues on the bookshelf and offer them to her. She grabs a handful and covers her face with them, sobbing.

We wait for her to compose herself a little. Silence, other than Tina’s sobs, hangs heavy in the room. Bert looks horrified.

“Then what happened?” I prompt.

“It was getting late on and I thought Dad might be back soon. I didn’t want him to see me with Joel. It was me who suggested we went for a drive. He was up for it. I got my coat and we left.”

“You did what?” Bert thunders.

“Then what happened?” Charlie asks, his tone gentle, coaxing.

“We parked down the lane on the edge of the moor. Nobody ever goes down there. We started to…” she fidgets and chews nervously on her bottom lip.

Clearly she doesn’t want to reveal exactly what she and Joel were doing in his car with her dad standing right next to her.

“Go on,” Charlie says.

No matter how awkward or how painful this is she has to tell us everything that happened that night.

She sniffs, blows her nose and clears her voice. “We were fooling around,” she says, not looking at any of us. “Joel said it would be more fun outdoors so we got out of the car and walked up to the standing stones. We were on the ground behind one of the big stones when...”

Bert turns and slams out of the room.

“When,” she continues, “we heard a noise. We thought it might be someone, you know, who had followed us and might be watching. I told Joel to go and check. Next thing I know there was shouting. I peered around the stone and I saw this man.” She fidgets in her chair and sniffs at her handful of tissues again.

All this time I thought Tina’s obvious anxiety and worry was related to her father getting beaten up. Now it seems it was also because she was keeping secrets and was terrified about not only what happened that night up on the moor, but also because she feared eventually we would discover her involvement in Joel’s death.

“Who was the man?” I ask.

“I don’t know. I didn’t recognise him.”

“Could you hear anything they were saying? Any names? Any words at all?” Charlie says.

“I thought I caught something but it didn’t make any sense so I must have got it wrong. I was scared and confused and kept out of sight so I couldn’t hear that well.”

“What was the word, Tina?” Charlie asks. “You never know what could end up helping us out here. It may sound crazy but you need to tell us every little thing you can remember.”

“They were talking about sweets,” she says.

“Sweets?” I frown.

“See! I told you it was stupid!”

I glance at Charlie and there’s a flicker of something on his face. He’s mentally putting the pieces together I can see it in his eyes.

“Tell me what else they said. Their exact words,” Charlie demands.

“Candy,” Tina says. “They were talking about Candy.”

Charlie and I exchange a look.

Not Candy.

Candi.

Charlie crouches in front of Tina, a concerned look on his face, his voice now soft again. “I know this is difficult, Tina but I need to ask you to do something. I need…” He pauses and looks at me then continues. “We need you to come up to Ennis’ place with us and watch some CCTV footage from the gate camera. Can you do that for us, Tina?”

She nods.

Charlie stands up. “Great, good girl, that’s going to be a real help for us.”

We find Bert waiting in the kitchen and explain what we’re doing, asking him to accompany us too, saying we may need him to confirm something for us as well.

Tina edges herself gingerly into the seat in Ennis’ office in front of the computer. The primed CCTV footage with the key section we need her to watch is all ready to go when we hit the play button.

We see a car pull up at the gate and Candi climbs out, tottering round the car to press the buzzer on the gate intercom. A few moments later the driver gets out of the car. Young. Smartly-dressed.  There’s something about him that looks vaguely familiar. His stance. His hair.

“Can you zoom in with this camera?” Charlie asks Ennis.

“I think so. I’ve never done it before though. I might need to get the instruction book.”

He ferrets around in some cupboards as the rest of us wait impatiently. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, he finds the book and then the right page, handing it to Charlie.

Seconds later we can just about make out the face of the man.

Tina jabs at the screen with a finger. “That’s him!” she squeals. “That’s the guy who pushed Joel off the edge of the quarry.”

“Daniel Parry,” Charlie says. “I recognise him from the police ID shots they sent me after they’d questioned him that night we’d spotted him in the garage with Candi.”

“You’re sure?” I ask. “It was dark up on the moor.”

“I’m one hundred per cent positive,” she says. “That’s him for definite!”

“We’ll need you to make an official statement confirming all of this,” Charlie says. “Sorry, but that’s the law.”

Tina nods, looking solemn.

Poor kid.

“Tina, we’re going to take you down to the police station in a few minutes. Your dad can come with you,” Charlie says. “We’ll need to take your statement and we’ll need to run a few tests as well. Hair sample for DNA and take your fingerprints. Forensics has evidence we think will confirm you were with Joel that night. We’ll need this to prove you were involved. That you were an eye witness to his death. Do you understand?”

Tina nods and sits up straight in her chair.

I usher her out of the room and Siobhan offers to make her a cup of strong tea with loads of sugar as I beckon to Bert to follow me back into the room.

“Take a seat, Bert,” Charlie says, gesturing to the one in front of the computer.

The footage has now been rewound to when the car pulls up at the gate.

“Tell me if you recognise anybody on the tape,” Charlie adds.

We see the car and Candi and then the guy gets out of the car too. Charlie zooms the tape in. First on Candi and then on Daniel.

“Him!” Bert says, pointing at the screen. “It’s him!”

“You recognise him from where?” I prompt.

“That night at the Wheatsheaf pub. The man who was with Ryan and Mitch. That’s him!”

“I think,” Charlie says with a note of satisfaction in his voice. “We’ve got our man.”

Chapter Thirty One

At some unearthly hour of the morning the police have taken the statements from Bert and Tina. Daniel Parry has been brought in for questioning and is currently in the other interview room. 

The senior officer is waiting to start the interview once Charlie is ready to join him. I wait in the room next door from which I can hear and see what’s going on.

“We have evidence which places you as being with Joel McKarthy up on the moor on the edge of the quarry a few nights ago,” Charlie begins. “Care to tell us what happened up there?”

Daniel shrugs. He’s dressed in a suit this time and looks as though he’s about to go out to dinner somewhere posh. Maybe that’s exactly what he was going to do when the police hauled him in for questioning.

“We have witnesses as well as evidence,” Charlie says, his voice even, looking calm and relaxed as he sits in the chair opposite Daniel.

“He got what he deserved.”

Charlie leans forward, placing both elbows on the table positioned between the two men. “And what was that then?”

“I’m surprised he’d lived as long as he had. The number of people he screwed over. World’s a better place with him dead.”

I shiver. Nobody knows Joel is dead other than those involved in this investigation. The case is still top secret until the police make their formal statement and then Ennis’ manager will release an official statement from him expressing his great sadness and asking for privacy for the family in their time of grief. If Daniel has just said he knows Joel is dead then that means he did kill him.

“Thank you for your confession,” Charlie says, leaning back in his chair with a smile on his face.

For a moment Daniel looks confused.

“You must have realised the news of Joel’s death hasn’t been released yet,” Charlie explains to him. “So if you knew he was dead…” he lets the sentence hang, unfinished.

Daniel slams a hand on the table. “I don’t regret it,” he shouts. “I hated his guts. Full of himself he was. Just because his brother is famous he thought he could do and say what he wanted. Get who and what he wanted.  He took Candi away from me. We were happy but then she met him and next thing she dumps me, saying she’s with Joel now. He got what he wanted from her. Used her. After he ditched her she didn’t want anything to do with me anymore. Wouldn’t come back to me no matter what I said or did. She still wanted him.”

“How did you track him down in Palstone?” Charlie asks.

“Candi was high. She came to see me and said she was desperate to talk to Joel. She said she’d called him, flirted with him and he’d invited her to see him at his brother’s place. He’d wanted nothing to do with her before when she’d tried to contact him but this time he’d said yes. I guess he was as high as she was on this occasion. I agreed to drive her there so I could find out where he was for future reference.”

“Did you give Candi drugs, Mr Parry? We know you’ve been done for possession before. We also have evidence you’re involved in a recently set up drugs ring.”

He shakes his head in disgust. “I knew that Ryan couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Idiot wasn’t up to the job but he needed the money and we needed a place out of the way for storage for a few weeks.”

“How did you know Joel was up on the moors that night?”

Daniel laughs. “Pure good luck. I was driving to the house to try to get in and pick a fight with him. I’d had enough of Candi whinging on about Joel this and Joel that, all the bloody time. She just couldn’t get him out of her system. It was doing my head in. As I neared the gates I saw him pulling off from the gatehouse in his car with some girl. I turned the car round and followed them. I didn’t plan to kill him but when I got up there I heard stuff, sounds. It was obvious he was getting off with this girl he’d taken up there. I lost it and shouted at him to leave her alone. He appeared from behind some stones and started yelling at me to get away. We argued and I pushed him, he stumbled and fell over the edge.” He shrugs. “Simple as that.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Charlie says, coming out of the interview room twenty minutes later, a signed confession from Daniel Parry now safely filed away. He slips an arm around my shoulder. “It’s been a long night.”

At my request Charlie drives straight to Ennis’ place and parks outside the guest house.  I get out and head for the back door of the main house, Charlie catches up with me, slipping a hand into mine. “Are you sure?”

I nod. “Yes. I want to be the one who tells Ennis what happened and lets him know the man who killed Joel has been arrested.”

“It’s highly unorthodox,” he says, frowning. “I’m the one leading the investigation. Normally it would be me who does that.”

Fixing my best flirty smile on my face I squeeze Charlie’s hand. “You can do unorthodox, Charlie Huxton, I know you can. I know you like to break a few rules now and again.”

He returns the gesture, gently and briefly squeezing my hand and then nods. “OK go and do it. You promise me you’ll come over to the guest house when you’re done? I think we have some unfinished business to sort out.”

“I promise.”

Before I reach the steps to the door of the main house I can see it’s already open and I spot the outline of Ennis, waiting for me, he must have heard Charlie’s car arrive back. He steps aside to let me in and we walk down the hall to the kitchen.

“It’s over,” I say, hugging him. “It’s all over.”

I hold him tight as his tears finally fall. My heart breaks for him and I hope and pray one day he’ll find peace from all of this. I wish he was happy. I miss the boy who used to make me laugh, who was my best friend and my first serious boyfriend. In a way I suppose I still love him.

“Want a drink?” he eventually asks. “I could use a whisky.”

I nod. “Please.”

“So come on then,” he says putting a bottle and two glasses on the table and sitting opposite me. “Tell me everything. What happened to Joel?”

Between sips of blissfully warming whisky I fill him in on everything. He listens, not interrupting. After I finish, the silence hangs heavy in the room for a few minutes.

“Thank you,” he says, not looking at me. “Thank you for agreeing to do all this for me. I owe you big time.”

I reach across and place a hand on top of his. “You’re one of my best friends, Ennis of course I’d do anything I could to help.”

“You and Charlie even managed to get the answers before the police deadline,” he says. “Tomorrow the whole world will know Joel is dead and all hell will break loose.”

“What are you going to do?” The last thing he needs right now is to be harassed by journalists and TV news crews.

“We’re leaving,” a voice says and I turn to see Siobhan standing in the doorway.

Ennis looks up, surprise on his face. “What?”

She walks over until she is behind Ennis’ chair then she rests her hands on his shoulders and he leans back against her. “I have a friend, she’s an air hostess and away on a long trip at the moment. We’re going to stay at her place until the funeral. The media hounds will never find us there. We need to get away for a while. This whole thing has been a huge strain on us, on our relationship.”

Ennis pulls one of Siobhan’s hands to his mouth and gently kisses her fingers. “My head has been all over the place. I was so wound up about what happened to Joel I didn’t think to plan for when the police make their official statement.”

“You didn’t need to plan, I did it for us.” She lifts her gaze to me. “Thank you for helping out. I know it meant the world to Ennis and I’m grateful.”

I nod, momentarily speechless.

“Come on,” she says, helping Ennis to his feet. “We’ve got packing to do. We need to be out of here as soon as possible.”

I stand up. “I’d better go.”

Ennis kisses me on the cheek and, leaving me totally flummoxed, Siobhan hugs me.

“Yes. Don’t keep Charlie waiting,” Ennis says with a grin.

“Oh.” I blush. “I’m not. I mean, we’re not…”

“I don’t want to know what you two are getting up to,” Ennis says, holding up a hand to silence me. “None of my business. I have however decided I like and trust Charlie now. He’s good enough for you. Siobhan and I will be leaving soon so you and Charlie have total privacy in the guest house tonight. My advice would be to make the most of it.”

He heads for the staircase but Siobhan hangs back. Turning to me, her voice quiet, she says, “I’m sorry for always being off with you before. I thought…” She pauses, chewing on her bottom lip. “Well I’m sure you know what I thought.”

“So why the sudden change of heart?” I ask.

She looks towards the stairs and Ennis’ rapidly retreating back. “Ennis and I had a long overdue chat. I was insecure and I took it out on you. Sometimes I struggle to believe a guy like Ennis is happy with a girl like me. I’m nothing special. I’m not famous.”

I smile. “You’re special to Ennis, I know you are. He loves you, he’s told me so many a time. You never had any reason to worry about anything going on between Ennis and me.”

“I know that now.” Her face breaks into a smile. “Anyway, I’ve seen the way you look at Charlie, like all your Christmases are about to come at once.”

My cheeks blush bright red again. “I do not!” I protest. Then add, “Do I?”

“Oh yes,” she giggles. “Don’t worry though, I’ve seen Charlie looking at you in exactly the same way!”