Shot of Silence (Justice Again Book 3) by M Comley (best contemporary novels txt) 📗

they had any problems or were in trouble of any kind. Oh God…” She glanced at the door and shook her head. “I can’t believe he’s never going to walk through that door again, ever. How will I cope without him? We had become inseparable since we announced our wedding a few months ago. Everyone was so happy for us.” She motioned at the cards decorating the pieces of furniture as well as the two windowsills.

“It would help if you could give me some background information on your fiancé, sorry, what was his name? I should have asked.”

“Rufus Wright.”

“And yours is?”

“Camilla Boyd.”

“May I call you Camilla?”

“Of course. I can’t give you anything else, my mind is in turmoil at the moment. I can’t think beyond seeing him lying there out on the pavement. Am I ever going to be able to rid myself of the images? If so, when? Every time I close my eyes, I see him. His eyes wide open, staring at me but unable to see me. He’ll never know how much I loved him. How much I will grieve for him. I will never meet someone as caring as he was, ever.”

“What about past girlfriends, did he have many of those?”

She swallowed and nodded. “Back in the day he had an eye for the ladies, but when we met, everything changed. That night we fell in love and…”

“I understand. Over the last few months, do you recall Rufus having any dealings with any of his exes?”

“No, nothing. He would have told me. We had no secrets.”

“What about you? Have you had many previous boyfriends?”

“Years ago, before I met my fiancé.”

“Ah, you’ve been married before.”

Her cheeks flared up. “I was married when I met Rufus. I went home that night and told my husband our marriage was over.”

“After one dance with Rufus you were prepared to go to such lengths?”

“That’s how deeply we fell in love.”

“I can’t imagine your husband being too impressed when he heard the news.”

She shrugged. “There was nothing he could do to change my mind. I moved out within a few days and came here to live with Rufus. My husband accepted it, sort of.”

“I need to tell you that I’m already running an investigation into two other murders in the area. We believe there is a possible link.”

She gasped. “No. Really?”

Katy nodded. “Did your fiancé know either a Grace Hunt or Colin Markham?”

Her eyes widened. “I’m not sure if he knew them but I’ve heard their names.” Her brow knitted together.

“May I ask how you know them?”

“Through my ex.”

Katy withdrew her notebook and pen. “And his name would be?”

“James Boyd.”

“And how would your ex have known Grace and Colin?”

“Through his job at Zedex.”

Katy raised her head swiftly, cricking her neck in the process. “Sorry? He works at Zedex?”

“Yes, at least I think he still does. Maybe I’m wrong about that. I haven’t been in touch with him in a while.”

“How long has it been since you last saw him?”

“A few weeks ago. Rufus and I went round there to see him. He’s been stubborn about signing the divorce papers. We implored him to get on with it as our wedding has been booked and was due to take place in a few months. Yet another job that we wanted to tick off our huge list.”

“I see, and what was his response?”

“He was angry. I’ve never seen him flare up like that before. I urged Rufus to get back in the car. He refused to leave me alone with James as he felt my ex was unstable.”

“Interesting. Can I have James’s address?”

“It’s sixty-seven Todmarsh Road. Please don’t tell me he’s the one responsible for this?”

“I can’t answer that right now. He’s definitely a person of interest as there is a possible link to all three crimes.”

“Oh God. I hope you’re wrong. If you’re not, then I’m going to carry a burden of guilt with me for the rest of my days. How dreadful. When you think you know someone and they turn out to be a killer.”

Katy raised a hand. “Let’s not get carried away with that theory just yet. I’ll need to have a word with him to determine what he knows about the events which have taken place over the past twenty-four hours. One thing, did your ex own a gun?”

“I don’t think so. Not while I was with him anyway.”

“May I ask how long you two were together?”

“Over ten years.”

“And up until you met Rufus on a night out you were happy together?”

Camilla stared off at the wall to her left. “I suppose the warning signs were there at the beginning, but I was in love and pushed them aside, chose to ignore them.”

“Warning signs? How did they manifest themselves?”

“He liked to control me. Told me who I could see and what I should wear. I suppose I rebelled and that’s why I was out with my friends that night.”

“How did you manage to get away from him for the evening?”

“I had to make out I was going on a course relating to work. He fell for it, I stayed at a friend’s house. A few of my other girlfriends joined us. They worked on me, you know, dressed me up, had a go at me for being dowdy and getting old before my time, and the rest was history. The next thing I knew, they were dragging me out for a night on the town. I got tipsy early on and sat alone for a while until they forced me to get up on the dance floor. One of the girls pointed out Rufus to me. She told me he’d had his eye on me for over an hour. I turned all giggly; it had been a while since any man had shown me any kind of attention. He was such a sweetheart. I became aware of his reputation; he didn’t hold back but he told me I was the one he’d been waiting to spend the rest of