Part 15 (1/2)

'Come in, come in,' said the woman. 'Don't stand outside. Our neighbours are like the CIA a they'll have the binoculars and microphones trained on you already.'

Cooper thought she was joking, but she took hold of his sleeve and almost dragged him into the hall.

Betty Wheatcroft had wild grey hair, and her eyes showed a faintly manic gleam. If there had been any weapons in the room, a kitchen knife lying on the table maybe, he wouldn't have felt entirely safe. As it was, he found himself checking his route to the door, in case he needed to make a hasty retreat. Strange, how that fixed stare could be so unsettling. He supposed it was an instinctive fear of insanity, a primal distrust of the unpredictable.

'It's very distressing,' she said. 'I haven't been able to eat since I heard. I haven't been out of the house.'

'There's no need to be afraid, Mrs Wheatcroft,' said Cooper.

'Are you sure?'

She looked towards the window, as if fearing a murderer stalking her street. But what threat could there be to her from the golf club or the MOT test centre?

'Aidan,' she said. 'Yes, I knew poor Aidan. Shocking business. Shocking. But that's the sort of thing that happens these days, isn't it? It goes on all over the place. None of us is safe. We're not safe even in this street. That's why the so-called Neighbourhood Watch knock on my door all the time.'

'Aidan Merritt,' said Cooper, realising straight away that his main task would be to keep Mrs Wheatcroft on track. He was very accustomed to these visits to old people living on their own. They were often lonely, and didn't get many visitors. The result was that they seized eagerly on any human company and the chance of a bit of conversation. It was one of the things that made them so vulnerable to distraction thefts, and attractive as prey for the smooth-talking conmen who pretended to be from the electricity company. Many elderly people had lost hundreds of pounds just because they wanted someone to talk to.

But this was his last job of the day, and he hoped the visit wouldn't stretch out too long. Liz had plans for the evening. She'd lined up a viewing of her preferred wedding venue, and his presence there was essential.

'I felt sorry for him, trying to teach children these days,' said Mrs Wheatcroft. 'It must be a thankless task. Schools are all about targets and test results. You don't really get a chance to teach them anything. Well, that's what I told him. And he seemed to agree with me.'

Cooper smiled as he looked round the interior of the cottage. Plenty of books and papers in haphazard piles, framed photographs of a younger Mrs Wheatcroft with groups of small children, a home-made farewell card covered in scrawled signatures.

'Were you a teacher yourself, Mrs Wheatcroft?' he asked.

'Yes, how did you know?'

'It was just a guess.'

'I worked in local schools for thirty-five years,' she said. 'I've seen some changes, I can tell you.'

'Aidan Merritt,' said Cooper. 'Who else did he talk to at the Light House?'

'Oh, well ... I suppose there was that Ian Gullick. Horrible man.'

'Gullick?'

'He's a van driver, delivers motor parts to garages or something.' She chuckled. 'At least he does when he's got his driving licence.'

'Meaning?'

'He got banned from driving.'

Mrs Wheatcroft's look of satisfaction was unsettling. The smile was a little too smug a the contentment of a trick or spell that had worked successfully.

'What happened?' asked Cooper.

'He had too much to drink at the Light House one night. Not that that was unusual. But he'd made himself particularly obnoxious that evening. Someone called the police and reported him for drink-driving. But he'd never actually tried to drive away. He was arrested while he was sleeping in his van in the pub car park. The police found the keys in his pocket, and charged him with being drunk in charge of a vehicle. Banned for twelve months.'

'So who reported him? Who made the call?'

'How should I know?'

Cooper was starting to get a bit irritated by the way people answered his questions with another question. Especially that one. How should I know? It was always employed to sound like a denial, but it was actually just another evasion.

'There were a few others,' said Mrs Wheatcroft. 'Vince Naylor. Mmm ... not many, though. Aidan was a bit of a loner, actually. You might say he was quite odd, in a way.'

Interesting. Those names had already been mentioned earlier, in the office. Ian Gullick, yes. And Vince Naylor. Cooper made a discreet note.

'The night before the Pearsons disappeared,' he said, 'there was another group of visitors in the pub. They were seen talking to the Pearsons.'

'Not local?'

'No. Visitors.'

She ran a hand through her hair, disarranging it even more.

'I think I remember. They were from down south somewhere.'

'They were staying in a holiday cottage nearby too, were they?'

'Rented, yes. Most visitors are only around for a week or two.'

Cooper gazed out of the window, and saw that the edge of the moor was just visible beyond the green at the ninth hole of the golf club.

'If you can remember the name of those people, or where they came from in the south, that would be a big help,' he said.

Mrs Wheatcroft looked at him with a sudden flash of inspiration. 'Watford,' she said. 'They came from Watford. I can see them now, sitting in that corner near the window. I can see their matching cagoules and woollen sweaters. And I can hear him talking about the football club. They came from Watford.'

'You went to the Light House often, didn't you?'

'Not that often,' she said cautiously. 'Not on my pension. Besides, I don't have a car. I needed a lift to get up there. Either that or a taxi, which is too expensive for a pensioner like me.'

'And that night?'

'I went with my daughter. She's divorced.'

'And was Aidan Merritt there?'

'Yes, of course.' She leaned closer, with a conspiratorial half-wink. 'But there was one night the previous week when his wife was there on her own.'

'Mrs Merritt?' said Cooper in surprise.

'Samantha, that's her name. Plain-looking girl. She ought to put in a bit more effort. But I had a bit of a joke with her.'

'Did you, Mrs Wheatcroft?'