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‘So Paul Jennings is still a possible, but looking less likely as our killer,’ says Jennie. She turns back to the whiteboard. ‘Next is the janitor, Tom Blake?’
‘Blake has an alibi,’ says Martin, sitting up a little in his chair. ‘I spoke to him, and checked out what he told me. He was playing football, a local league thing, that night. There’s a write-up in the local paper that mentions the two goals he scored and has his picture as part of the winning team. Several of his teammates, and the owner of the local pub where the team celebrated after the game, have confirmed his whereabouts.’
‘Okay, so the janitor is in the clear,’ says Jennie, as Naomi puts a line through Tom Blake’s name. ‘The drainage guys are next. They’ve already alibied out and we have multiple people confirming they didn’t have a key to access the basement out of hours, so they’re also clear.’
Naomi crosses out their names.
‘Next, we have the photographer from the modelling gig Hannah had booked.’ says Jennie.
‘He alibied out,’ says Steve.
Naomi crosses the photographer’s name from the list.
‘Duncan Edwards?’ asks Jennie.
‘He had motive and access to the basement,’ says Naomi.
‘But also an alibi,’ says Steve.
‘He’s guilty of being a seedy, repugnant liar of a man,’ says Zuri, her dislike for Edwards obvious in her expression. ‘But there’s no concrete evidence suggesting he murdered Hannah.’
‘I’m with Naomi on this,’ says Jennie, putting a question mark beside Duncan Edwards. ‘Yes, Angela Totley gave him an alibi, but I don’t trust either of them. They both withheld information in the original investigation and Edwards clearly has a thing for teenage girls. I don’t want to drop him as a suspect just yet.’
At the back of the room, DCI Campbell nods. ‘Agreed. Keep Edwards and Totley in the frame for now, we can circle back to them if needs be.’
‘Will do, sir,’ says Jennie, deferentially, knowing she needs to keep the DCI onside. She looks at the next name on the list. Feels her stomach flip. ‘So, what do we think about Lottie Varney?’
Martin mutters something Jennie doesn’t quite catch. ‘What’s that Martin?’
He shakes his head. ‘Nothing, boss. She just seems high maintenance, that’s all.’
‘Yeah,’ says Jennie. Bloody Lottie telling Zuri she was the person who took the photo. ‘Any other thoughts?’
‘She seemed deeply insecure,’ says Zuri, thoughtfully. ‘And although she put a lot of effort into painting herself as the loyal best friend, it was clear she and Hannah were arguing a lot around the time that Hannah went missing. But there’s no evidence she was involved.’
Jennie wishes she could tell the team that she knows Lottie’s alibi is bullshit, but if she does, she’ll have to admit why she knows that for sure. ‘So she’s no longer a suspect, okay.’ Not officially, anyway. ‘Next up is Elliott Naylor.’
Naomi draws a line through Lottie’s name.
‘Like I said earlier, he’s hiding something,’ says Zuri, consulting her notebook. ‘If his sighting of Hannah in the basement is true then he’s one of the last people to see her alive.’
Steve raises his hand. ‘The hydrochloric acid found on the shirt puts Hannah in the darkroom that day.’
‘It puts her in the darkroom at some point, but not necessarily that day,’ says Zuri. ‘She could have worn the shirt in the darkroom before and spilt acid on it, but not washed it yet.’
‘Is that really likely?’ says Martin, raising his eyebrows. ‘I mean, if you get a load of acid on your shirt, you’re going wash it quickly, aren’t you?’
‘We can’t be sure either way,’ says Jennie. ‘But we know that when we interviewed Elliott Naylor, he changed his story from what he told the first investigation back in 1994.’
‘I think he should stay on the list,’ says Zuri. ‘He’s hiding something.’
Martin shakes his head.
Much as Jennie hates to think that Elliott could have had something to do with Hannah’s death, she’s inclined to agree with Zuri. She glances to the back of the room at the DCI. He nods. ‘Okay, let’s keep him on the list for now, and see if we can find out what he’s hiding. We also need to push him on the money he’s been paying Simon Ackhurst all these years. It seems weird to me. Speaking of Simon Ackhurst, we need to talk to him as a matter of urgency.’
‘We’ve got his address, boss,’ says Martin. ‘He lives in a houseboat on a permanent mooring on the canal.’
‘Great; we’ll visit him as our next priority.’ She looks at the last name on the list. ‘Rob Marwood?’
