Free Dangerous Promises by Roberta Kray Page B

a receipt for a knife in her purse?’
    ‘Oh, I’m not disputing that she actually killed the man, I just can’t figure out why. I mean, Peter Royston I get – he was sniffing round, threatening to expose her – but Eddie? What did she have against him ?’
    ‘Did she need to have anything against him? I thought she had a history of psychiatric illness.’
    ‘Yes, but nothing like this. And he wasn’t just some random victim. According to Sadie Wise, she and Mona bumped into each other on the train, had a brief chat, a bit of a catch-up and then went their separate ways. That was on the Friday evening. By Sunday afternoon, Eddie Wise was lying dead on the kitchen floor with a knife through his chest.’
    Nina took a sip of cocoa while she pondered on this. ‘Maybe, in some kind of twisted way, Mona thought she was doing Sadie a favour. There were problems, weren’t there, over the divorce? Hadn’t Eddie been avoiding the issue for quite a while?’
    ‘Years, apparently.’
    ‘Well, there you go.’
    ‘But how did Mona even know where he lived? London’s a big place. And fine, Sadie might have told her that she was starting the search in Kellston, but at the time – or so she claims – she didn’t even know where he was living herself.’
    ‘You think she’s lying about that?’
    Gerald gave a snort. ‘I think the truth and Sadie Wise parted company a long time ago. None of it adds up. According to Joel, Sadie was trying to avoid Mona Farrell, refusing to take her calls, and yet she still went to meet her at the fair. Then there was all that business at the funeral. And why did she suddenly take off for London as soon as her boyfriend’s back was turned? No, it stinks; it’s rotten to the core.’
    ‘What’s Ian McCloud’s take on it all?’
    Gerald’s old colleague at Cowan Road had kept him in the loop as the London side of the investigation had progressed. ‘His theory is that Mona had some kind of obsession with Sadie. There were press clippings found in a shoebox in her bedroom, pictures of the happy couple on their wedding day, except Eddie had been cut out of them all. And there were other items that had been taken from the Haverlea flat – not valuables, just personal stuff, an empty perfume bottle, a lipstick, strands of fair hair pulled out of a comb.’
    Nina inclined her head, gazing at her husband. ‘But if Mona was fixated on her, it’s hardly Sadie’s fault.’
    ‘Unless she used that obsession to her advantage.’
    ‘Which was what, exactly? Even if she did somehow manipulate Mona into murdering Eddie, then why turn up at his flat? Why go and talk to him about the divorce? She was putting herself in the frame when she didn’t need to.’
    ‘Maybe it was too late by then.’ Gerald pressed on his temples with his fingertips, feeling the start of a dull, throbbing headache. ‘She was already in London and people knew she was looking for him. By getting Eddie to sign the papers, it would look like she didn’t have a motive. And maybe… maybe the timing was off. Perhaps Mona made her move earlier than she was supposed to. Another few hours and Sadie Wise would have been completely in the clear.’
    ‘But if she had his signature, she had her divorce – so why have him killed at all?’
    ‘Bitterness, revenge? Your guess is as good as mine. The guy walked out on her, don’t forget, and fleeced her in the process.’
    ‘Years ago,’ Nina said. ‘Do you really think she’d risk everything she’s got now, a home, a fiancé, a future, just to get her own back? It seems pretty extreme.’
    Gerald’s gaze floated back towards the TV for a moment. He stared at the screen, but all he was really seeing was Sadie Wise sitting in the interview room. Her face might have been battered and bruised, but her eyes were full of grim determination. ‘So perhaps there was another motive, something we don’t know about.’
    ‘Like what?’
    But Gerald was at a loss. All his instincts