Free Stalked By Shadows by Chris Collett

darling, I’ve got a visitor, I’ll speak to you soon,” and rang off. And it was fine because I just thought, yes, I’d speak to her later, or the next day, and now . . .’ She wiped her nose again.
    If that timing was right, Mariner realised, then that visitor could also be Nina Silvero’s killer. ‘And you’re certain she didn’t give any indication about who this person might be?’
    ‘Absolutely, she gave no hint, though I didn’t get the impression she was expecting anyone.’
    ‘Did your stepmother have any close male friends?’ Mariner asked.
    ‘You mean boyfriends?’ Rachel was taken aback. ‘No, she didn’t go in for that kind of thing.’
    ‘Do you think she would have told you if she did?’
    ‘Of course.’ She was affronted. ‘We used to talk about everything. In fact, from time to time after Dad died I used to tell her she should find someone, but she always said no, she was quite content as she was. Maybe if there had been a man around -’ She broke off as the door opened and Harry came running in, flinging himself at her, Adam and Knox following. It was a good enough time to end the interview.
    ‘Where will you be staying?’ Mariner asked, as he and Knox prepared to leave.
    ‘I’ve booked us into the Norfolk Hotel, on the Hagley Road,’ Adam said.
    Mariner took out a card and passed it to him. ‘If you have any questions, those are my numbers,’ he said. ‘And we will need to talk to you again.’
    ‘What about the funeral?’ Rachel asked. ‘When can we . . .?’
    ‘We’ll release her body as soon as possible; probably in the next couple of days.’
    ‘And the house?’
    ‘Is still a crime scene,’ Mariner pointed out. ‘I’m afraid we can’t let you in there for the moment. But if there’s anything specific you need, as long as we don’t consider it relevant to the inquiry, one of my officers will retrieve it for you.’
    Rachel shook her head vaguely. ‘No, there’s nothing special.’
     
    ‘So it’s looking pretty definitely like murder, boss,’ Knox remarked as they picked their way through the afternoon traffic.
    Mariner was in agreement. ‘Croghan seemed sure. And, if that timing’s right, it ties neatly in with our mystery caller. We need to find out who that was. We’ll put out an appeal as part of the next press release. How did Adam Hordern seem?’
    Out of the corner of his eye, Mariner saw Knox shrug. ‘He seemed pretty fond of his mother-in-law. He particularly appreciated her generosity; she’d pretty much paid for their wedding, he said.’
    ‘What does he do for a living?’
    ‘He’s an entrepreneur.’
     
    On Tuesday evening, Lucy was leaving the office on time, her stomach churning with conflicting feelings; she was eager to get home to Will, who was due home tonight, but at the same time she felt sick with trepidation, anticipating the journey home. However, she had decided to stop being such a wimp; she was going to confront her tormentor. In her handbag, in preparation, she had her phone, a panic alarm and a notebook, determined that, if she was followed home tonight, she would make sure to get the vehicle registration at least. Climbing into her car, the adrenalin began coursing through her, making her mouth dry and her heart thump. Tonight she would take control of this and end it once and for all.
    Last night, despite the build-up, nothing had happened. Maybe this was all in her imagination. Tonight she would take her normal, quicker route home and all would be well. As always she had a choice; she could take the route that followed the main road until she was almost home, or she could take the little-used short cut that threaded through the back roads, ending with a quarter-mile stretch through the Holloway, little more than a deep tree-lined lane, designated one way only. Since developing the suspicion that she was being followed, she had avoided it completely. It was time to try it again.
    The first part of the journey went