Behind Closed Doors Read online

  ‘Who saw sod all when it comes to it.’

  ‘I’d dispute that. He witnessed the immediate aftermath—’

  ‘Did he witness anything last night?’

  Harry sighed. ‘No. I did question him after I left Mrs Hamilton’s house, but he was apparently out at the time of the incident and only got home after the police arrived.’

  ‘So he’s no use to anyone then, is he? I know you want to do right by this case, Harry, and so do I... but believe me, when you’ve been around as long as I have you’ll realise that these domestics are a minefield. Start getting involved, and I’m telling you, when they get all lovey-dovey again and make up—we’ll be the ones with bloody egg on our faces.’

  ‘I really don’t think that’s going to happen in this case—’

  Harry broke off as there was a sharp tap on the glass door and WPC Sarah Davidson entered, waving what looked like a canvas shopping bag at them.

  ‘Wait ‘til you see what Ed Hamilton was trying to sneak out of the house. I just caught his girlfriend trying to remove these. I wonder why?’

  She handed the bag to Sergeant Cowper and both men peered in as he opened it wider.

  For a moment neither of them said anything, then their eyes locked.

  ‘What did I just say about needing a witness?’ Cowper said. ‘Get these to the tech team and let’s see what’s on them, then we can decide what we’re going to do next.’

  ‘Holy shit!’ Harry muttered in a flabbergasted tone, peering over the technician’s shoulders as they ran the film. He shook his head, his eyes meeting Sarah’s. ‘Can you believe what we’ve just seen?’

  She too was looking dumbfounded. ‘No, I can’t. Bloody hell, who’d have thought that? But where did he get hold of these cameras? I’ve not seen anything like them before.’

  ‘Oh, they’re around now for those in the know, and becoming more popular than you realise,’ Harry said. ‘I’ve got a mate who’s really into this sort of stuff. He reckons a few more years and it won’t just be us spying on the nation—this sort of thing will be common place in people’s homes as added security protection.’

  ‘Well, no wonder he wanted to get hold of them.’

  Harry straightened up. ‘Right,’ he said in a firm voice. ‘I’ll fill Cowper in, but I’m sure he’ll want to bring them both in now. Do we know where the wife works?’

  ‘She doesn’t. She’s a stay-at-home mother apparently.’ There was a hint of derision in Sarah’s tone and Harry looked at her in surprise.

  ‘Nothing wrong with that in my eyes... I’d have loved to have had my mum at home with me.’ He broke off abruptly, realising that he’d said more than he ever usually did on the subject.

  ‘Yeah, well some of us can’t afford the luxury of that.’

  Harry remembered, too late, that although she was only twenty-two, Sarah was a single mum with a three-year-old son. She’d commented often enough on the difficulties of juggling motherhood, childcare and work, and without the help of her own mother would have struggled against enormous odds, he knew.

  ‘Okay, let’s go and clear this with Cowper, then I’ll pick up Edward Hamilton and you get the wife. You okay with that?’

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘Don’t let onto either of them what this is about,’ Cowper instructed as they prepared to head off. ‘We’ve got Kimberley Simpson in Interview Room 2 and she’s been barred from any contact with Hamilton until we give her permission, so the chances are he won’t know for sure why we’re calling him in again. I’ll question her while you’re bringing the Hamiltons in.’

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ED HAMILTON LOOKED pretty hacked off as Harry led him once again to the interview room, but after he’d sat through the videos they put in front of him, his face was as white as a sheet.

  ‘So, Mr Hamilton, obviously these videos throw a whole new angle on this matter.’

  Harry was sitting across the table from him, looking far more composed than he felt. Cowper had insisted that Harry conduct the interview as he’d been handling the investigation, but he’d also said he would sit in on this one, and Harry felt highly conscious of his boss occupying the chair next to him—assessing his performance as he saw it. ‘Can you say, for the record, when these cameras were installed?’ he asked.

  ‘You can tell that from the set-up details, but for the record, it was a few days ago, when my wife accused me of physical violence. I went straight out and bought them after my interview here and installed them before she took the Restriction Order out on me.’

  ‘Was she aware they’d been installed?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘And why did you install them?’

  ‘Because I knew there must be more to her accusations than met the eye.’

  He looked bemused, and Harry could see that some of the horror of that video was still reeling in his mind.

  What must it feel like to see your wife punching herself hard in the stomach, and then moving over to the wall and physically slamming her head against it, not once, but twice, he wondered? It threw the whole original accusation on its head, he realised. Had she done the same thing that day? Punched herself in the face to make her nose bleed? His mind reeled, guilt creeping in that he’d been so quick to jump to conclusions. He felt a new respect for his boss, who hadn’t been quite so hasty in forming his opinions.

  ‘Has your wife ever done anything like this before?’ Harry asked.

  Ed shook his head, his voice drained. ‘I don’t know. She cut herself a couple of times when we were at university but I never got to the bottom of it. She always made out that it wasn’t that big a deal—a stress release, she called it—and although I knew it wasn’t exactly healthy, I didn’t understand enough about it myself back then to fully realise the implications. But the kids—the way she shook Sam after she’d snatched the phone off him—’

  He broke off, his expression haunted.

  ‘She was certainly very angry. You said you were worried about the children. Has she ever given you serious cause for concern in the past?’

  ‘No. I don’t know what’s got into her at the moment. Well, maybe I do now after seeing those films. God, what a mess. When I put the cameras in I’d planned to go round there one night and have things out with her—hopefully record her saying something that would show up the lies she’d been telling at the same time. But when she made the second set of accusations last night, I knew I needed to get the cameras out of there quickly to show that I hadn’t done what she’s accusing me of.’

  ‘Why didn’t you just tell us about them instead of sending Ms Simpson in?’

  ‘Because it all blew up so quickly and I’d put them in without her knowledge. I wasn’t sure you’d accept them and I needed to see what was on there.’

  Harry didn’t say anything for a moment, concentrating instead on how he was going to phrase his next question diplomatically. But there was no easy way.

  ‘Obviously, in view of what else showed up on the webcam, we’ll be speaking to your wife and your next door neighbour, Carl Mason.’ He hesitated. ‘I’m sorry if that came as a shock to you, but were you aware they were so close?’

  That was a definite understatement for the passionate scenes the camera had picked up in the hall and lounge, but thankfully, Ed Hamilton hadn’t gone as far as placing one in his wife’s bedroom.

  ‘I had no idea... although I had begun to wonder recently if there might be someone —’

  He broke off as the realisation obviously hit him. ‘They planned the whole thing, didn’t they? The argument—him turning up at the front door to conveniently witness what I’d supposedly done to her?’

  ‘It does look that way. Obviously we’ll be questioning them both about that. Someone’s already gone to bring your wife in. You could probably press charges.’

  Ed shook his head, his lips buttoned tight. ‘What would that achieve, except to upset the kids even more? She needs help, surely? Counselling, or something. I’ll try to use
this as leverage to make sure she gets it. She hasn’t seen the footage yet then?’

  ‘No. Obviously we’ll be having serious words with her about what she’s done.’

  Ed looked overwhelmed, his usual air of confidence totally depleted. ‘I need to think things through.’

  Harry paused. ‘Do you have any other questions?’

  Ed shook his head.

  ‘In that case—’

  ‘Actually, there is one thing. Where’s Kim... Miss Simpson? I want to make it quite clear that she was entering the house at my direct request and with my permission. I asked her to go in and remove the cameras. She didn’t want to. I hope that’s not going to be a problem for her?’

  ‘Well, we talked to her about the inappropriateness of what she did, and certainly can’t condone it, but in the circumstances, we’ve let her go. I don’t think there’ll be any further action.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Ed rose to go. ‘There are no winners in this, are there?’ he said wearily. ‘Case solved for you, but for us it’s just starting. Am I alright to go now?’

  ‘PC Davidson will show you out. We’ll hang onto these films for the time being, but you’ll get them back.’

  Ed nodded. He still looked shell-shocked. ‘Thanks. There’s no hurry. I shan’t be using them again, that’s for sure.’

  ‘Well done, Harry,’ Cowper said when Ed had left. ‘You handled that well.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Harry said, relieved that his boss was pleased.

  But privately he acknowledged that a lesson had been well and truly learned that day—the importance of keeping an open mind. Life wasn’t always what it seemed.

  CHAPTER NINE

  KIM LEAPT UP FROM HER chair the minute Ed walked into her office.

  ‘How did it go?’ she asked. ‘What did they say?’

  ‘First off, I want to give you a big hug,’ he said, walking into the room and closing the glass door behind him. ‘And I don’t give a damn who sees it. If you hadn’t done what you did for me today—and if you knew how bad I felt, having to ask you...’

  He kissed her soundly.

  ‘What did they show?’ she asked when he released her. ‘Was there anything useful on there?’

  ‘Useful? It was a minefield...’

  When he’d finished telling her, the horror on her face said it all. ‘Oh, Ed, I can’t believe it.’

  ‘Neither could I,’ he said grimly. ‘If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes—her actually smashing her head against that wall... it was horrific. But how she must hate me, to go to those lengths to try and cause trouble for me.’

  His gaze met and held hers. ‘I know I haven’t been shown at my best over all this, Kim, and I wouldn’t blame you if you washed your hands of me, but the reality of losing my kids over a pack of lies just got to me. It’s not the ideal situation for you to inherit.’

  The questioning light in his eyes was unmistakable and Kim’s face softened. ‘I’ve seen you in action when you’re fighting for something you believe in and I’d have you fighting my corner any day. But there’ll be a lot to sort out over the next few months and I understand your main priority will be your kids. Let’s just take it slowly, shall we, and see how it goes? Once that’s sorted we can start to think about us. There’s no rush.’

  And there isn’t, she thought. He’d been right yesterday when he’d said it was all getting to her. Of course it had got to her and she hated to think that even for the briefest of moments she’d doubted him. The shift in their relationship had got off to an ugly start and the foundations needed to be cemented again. She had no doubt that they would be, but it might take some time. If they came through this, she reckoned they’d survive anything.

  And if they didn’t—she’d handle that when the time came.

  Harry switched off his computer and stuck his head round Cowper’s door. His boss had been up in London most of the day and was flicking through the post that had been left in his tray.

  ‘I’m heading off, if there’s nothing else you want me to deal with?’ Harry said.

  Cowper looked up. ‘Alright for some, working part-time. How did it go with the wife after I left?’

  ‘Yeah, okay. She crumbled when we presented her with the evidence. Started off trying to bluff it out, saying they were fake films, but she knew she didn’t have a leg to stand on. Turns out she and the neighbour have been involved for the last year and he’s been putting pressure on her for them to move in together. But he’s only renting his house and he’s unemployed at the moment. I think they hatched up the plan so that they could blackmail the husband into agreeing to pay her a good whack of maintenance and make sure she got custody of the kids. She knew with his job it would be the kiss-of-death if he got done for wife battering.’

  ‘Dangerous tactic. Particularly against someone with his level of determination. It was never going to work.’

  ‘Agreed, although the alternative could have seen him struck off. He might have given in, I suppose.’

  ‘Well, let that be a lesson to you, Harry. It’s all too easy to form opinions in our job but cases aren’t solved on opinions.’

  ‘I’ve already realised that, believe me.’

  ‘You handled yourself well though. I was impressed. They’re lucky to be getting you in CID.’

  ‘Thanks. I hope so—it’s been my ambition since I was about ten.’

  ‘Well, no accounting for some people’s tastes. Wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole myself. Now, bugger off home and be sure to be in early in the morning. I’ve got a great job for you tomorrow—them upstairs want to know how many drivers we stopped in the last year for minor traffic offences. Think you can handle it?’

  ‘I’ll try,’ Harry said, putting on his jacket. He grinned. ‘And you question why I want to move to CID?’

  ‘Fancy a quick drink, Harry?’ Sarah Davidson asked as he threaded his way through the desks to the lift. He knew she felt as bad as he did about being so ready to condemn Ed Hamilton and knew that at some point they’d have the discussion. But not tonight.

  ‘I would, but I’ve got a date tonight... with my grandparents, before you get too excited,’ he added.

  ‘And life doesn’t get much more exciting than that,’ she quipped. ‘We’ll take a rain check then. See ya.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  He stepped into the lift and pressed G. He was still high from the buzz of it all and, pathetic though it probably sounded, he knew that sense of elation would be with him for a while. He wanted to share it with the people closest to him and wasn’t embarrassed to admit that it was his grandparents who occupied that slot. They knew how much this career meant to him—how doggedly he’d pursued this path, despite his parents’ active discouragement. But if he’d had any doubts at all about his chosen career, this week had crushed them forever.

  Bring on the change—he couldn’t wait!

  THE END

  YOU’VE FINISHED ... Before You Go! This novella is a Prequel to my first book in the series, Cry From The Grave. For a little teaser, just flip to the next page after my message.

  DEAR READER,

  Thank you so much for taking the time to read my novella – a prequel to the Harry Briscombe series. I do hope you enjoyed it and that it’s given you a flavour of what my follow up books will be like. When I wrote the first book in the series, Cry From The Grave, it was never intended to be a series but I had so many lovely comments from readers who had really liked the police team, and Harry in particular, that I decided to give into the requests to feature them in another book. And so The Jagged Line was born! That was followed by a stand-alone romantic suspense book (Shadow Watcher), that just needed to be written, and I am now working on my fourth Harry Briscombe novel, which I hope will be published towards the end of this year. I must admit, the more I get to know Harry, the more I love him ... he’s an ordinary sort of guy doing his job ... but with hidden depths that give him great appeal. My books aren’t heavily police procedural – as well as the inve
stigation there is always a personal tragedy going on, to draw us into a life that could so easily be happening to someone we know.

  The thing I love most about being an author (apart from the actual writing!) is the lovely emails and FB posts, not to mention reviews that I get from you, the reader. I’ve been genuinely amazed at the feedback I’ve received and can’t thank you all enough. I try to answer every message I receive and keep in touch with many of you on my FB page. I also have a closed group on Facebook for anyone who might be interested in being an advance beta reader for my ‘work in progress’, and if you feel that’s something you might enjoy, then do please come along and join us here: http://bit.ly/2INYpZw. I post fairly infrequently, although things hot up as launch time approaches – and every bit of feedback I receive is much appreciated.

  Of course I’d love to know if you enjoyed this little novella. Do feel free to contact me via Twitter, FB or even dare I say, leave a review – every author loves getting reviews – they’re immensely helpful in giving readers a flavour of what’s to come.

  Thanks again for taking the time to read Behind Closed Doors and I do hope you go on to enjoy the other books I’ve written. In the meantime, please enjoy the extract of Cry From The Grave that follows.

  With best wishes,

  Carolyn

  If you would like to be notified of any new books by Carolyn Mahony in the future, you can sign up to her website at www.carolynmahony.com.

  CRY FROM THE GRAVE

  PROLOGUE

  THE BRIGHT SUNLIGHT glistening through the leafy avenue gave promise of a beautiful day, but even though the warmth brushed her skin, Hannah Walker shivered as she walked up the path to her front door. She remembered the first time she’d walked up this path with Ben, full of excitement at the prospect of moving in with him. Was it really only seven months ago?

  She opened the front door and pushed the pram over the threshold, her eyes skimming the pristine, luxuriously furnished flat conversion. It did nothing for her now; but then, why should it? She’d had no input into the décor. Ben had chosen it all. Her glance fell on the telephone sitting on the hall table. One phone call – that was all it would take...