to be honest,» Tom said, taking his first sip of coffee. He leaned over and picked something up. It was a button from Carol’s blouse. He held it close to his eyes, then looked at William.
«Yes, I see it, it’s her button. It came off yesterday when she left. Tom, I know you don’t believe me, but it’s the truth.»
«The truth is irrelevant in our business, only evidence and the decision of judge and jury. The evidence doesn’t stack up.» Tom looked at his friend, noticing him tense and lean forward, clearly expecting more details to emerge. He’d seen this expression a hundred times before, especially when solving difficult cases. He knew William too well and didn’t believe Sergeant Huston’s assumption. Huston saw a motive in William’s behaviour, but Tom was more careful not to jump to conclusions.
«So what?» Lindstone finally asked.
«First, the bad news. We haven’t found Dr Woodruff yet. Don’t make that face at me, I know as much as you do. I don’t think he was alone in the house. Why? There were no sheets on the bed. They just disappeared – no sheets, no pillow cases, no duvet covers. Strange, isn’t it? Carol’s clothes don’t have a single thread from the bedroom. Secondly, only one camera spotted his registration plate on the exit to the highway at the end of the street. There’s no further video evidence yet. The pictures were enlarged, but no one else was visible in the car. Why would the doctor leave the house with Carol left inside? Was he aware that she was already dead?»
«Maybe he was taking a second corpse in the trunk or someone was hiding?» William suggested, frantically making sense of what he heard. He was immersed in the investigation and wouldn’t rest until he had answers.
«Totally agree,» Tom nodded. «I also believe someone else was in the house. Officers are already looking for patient records, despite having no warrant, but we’ll solve it. Thirdly, there’s no computer, nothing. Looks like he kept all his notes on a laptop – there’s a wireless connection and we’re checking logs by his IP address. Maybe he accidentally recorded a video at home, but we have no evidence. Did he take it with him? If so, what for? What’s hidden on it? Were there notes about you and Carol?»
«What notes? Are you joking? A list of drugs and confessions of helplessness? There must be evidence about other people on there too – it doesn’t matter if they were in the house or not, but maybe they ordered Woodruff to take the laptop for them?»
«If that person existed, then yes, it’s a possibility. Fourth, Carol’s car is in his driveway, yet she was supposed to be at her friend, Tina Laiton’s. Tina was waiting up for her. It seems Carol stopped by for a while, but we don’t know why. To me, it doesn’t appear to be an affair, but that’s my opinion. I knew a little about her, but after my divorce from Tina, I don’t want to make assumptions.»
«Don’t worry about it. Your situation was completely different,» William didn’t agree.
«Was it? You were always in the office, too, I saw it myself. Where was Carol though?»
«Do you think she could cheat on me?» – There was doubt in William’s voice.
«No, I don’t. I’m making an assumption.»
«I also think that she could have said thanks to Dr Woodruff over the phone.»
«Let’s dig a little deeper. Why would Carol have phoned 911? She dialled and said nothing. Twenty-two seconds passed before the operator’s question. Therefore, something must’ve happened to her during this time. Okay, here’s a suggestion. Carol felt bad, she dialled the number, and as the call reached the operator, she was already in a state, so she didn’t feel fit to answer. We’ll get more answers later. The pathologist will help with the time of death a bit later on. However, the question regarding the emergency call remains unanswered.»
William replied with several questions:
«Did Carol feel threatened? Maybe she didn’t want to be heard? Why didn’t she ask Woodruff for help? Maybe he threatened her? Or maybe he wasn’t there at all? Actually, maybe he was in, but didn’t Carol didn’t want him to see and hear the call?»
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