Free Windchill by Ed James Page A

anything."
    "Scratching a police officer's face isn't nothing."
    "It was under duress. We've been over this with the officers who were in here for over an hour." Nelson tapped his fingers on the desktop. "Need I remind you, her husband has just died."
    "Ex-husband, but I'm sure that'll be taken into account." Cullen leaned back in his seat. More pissed than he should've been on two pints. "We're just playing by the rules here. I'm sure you can understand that?"
    Nelson twitched his nostrils before tapping his watch. "Well, you've got another eighty minutes with her."
    "We'll see." Cullen turned his gaze to Evelyn, shifting uneasily on the seat, her make-up now smudged or worn off. "We understand you own ten per cent of JG Investments."
    Evelyn's eyes bulged. She blinked a few times. "Excuse me?"
    "I just got off the phone to Companies House. They reckon you're a shareholder of the company."
    Evelyn looked over at Nelson, who shrugged. "It's part of the divorce settlement. Steven couldn't afford to buy me out of the house completely. The deal we came to was he gave me ten per cent of the business."
    "Nice of you to mention this earlier."
    Evelyn squirmed in her seat. "I'm sorry."
    "Mrs McCoull, do you know who will inherit your husband's estate?"
    "I don't. We've been divorced for three years remember?"
    "It wouldn't be you, would it?"
    "I'd be very surprised."
    Cullen scribbled on his notebook. "What were your whereabouts last night, Mrs McCoull?"
    "I was at home."
    "Falcon Road, correct?"
    "It is."
    "Were you alone?"
    "I was."
    Nelson leaned over to Evelyn and whispered in her ear.
    She shook her head. "No."
    Cullen arched his eyebrows. "What was that?"
    "Nothing." Evelyn sucked in breath. "I was watching a DVD. I got it from that Lovefilm thing."
    "What was the DVD?"
    " Before Midnight ."
    Cullen wrote it down. Sat through it with Sharon at the Filmhouse. "Do you still have the disc?"
    "I sent it back this morning, I think. Before Eric called me." Evelyn raised a finger. "It'll be on my account. You can check."
    "That will show us you've received it, maybe. It won't show us you've watched it."
    "I swear, it's the truth." Evelyn nibbled at her bottom lip. "Look, I was on the phone to my sister, if that would help?"
    Would it? Cullen tried to think through the lager - if she was on the phone, it might pin her location down. He glanced over at Buxton. "We'll look into that."
    Buxton made a note, a scowl on his face.
    "Is that all from you?" Nelson took off his glasses and blew on the lenses, misting them up. He rubbed them on his shirt before replacing them. "She would like to spend Christmas in her own home."
    Cullen leaned forward. "Interview terminated at eight twenty-one." He smiled at Nelson. "Mrs McCoull's release is not up to us, I'm afraid. We're just mere constables."
    "I see."
    Cullen nodded at the PCSO before leaving the room. He checked his phone for messages. Nothing from Methven. "Reckon Crystal's in his den?"
    "Fucking hope so, mate. I'm starting to get a hangover here."
    Cullen trotted up the stairs, losing breath with each step. "The sooner we find him the quicker we get back over the road." He led down the corridor to the meeting room. "Don't want our pints getting warm now."
    Methven and Detective Superintendent Jim Turnbull were scowling at the whiteboard. Methven pointed at them. "Here they are now, sir."
    "My rising stars." Turnbull shook their hands, his meaty fists hairier by the day. "Have you solved this case then, lads?"
    "Not quite, sir." Cullen glanced at the whiteboard, barely any of the background free of Methven's scribbles. "We're getting there."
    "Well, I'll let you gentlemen round-table this." Turnbull patted Methven on the shoulder. "See you around, Colin."
    Methven waited for the door to shut. "Well?"
    "We've just been in wi-"
    "I know that, Constable. I've listened to all five voicemails. A text will suffice in future." Methven tugged the collar of his coat. "I want to know what you've got