Unlike the rest of her team, she’d been excited at the thought of a night away, bonding around a campfire. Especially when it fell on Devon’s night shifts. They were long nights when her wife was working hard as an immigration officer.
Okay, so they hadn’t exactly had the bonding moment she’d been expecting. Outside of the station, Bryant had appeared even snappier with Penn, but it had been refreshing to see her colleagues outside of their normal constraints and yet still acting completely within their normal personalities. Solving puzzles and working together without a dead body relying on them had been liberating. She’d found herself enjoying the company of her colleagues. Even the boss had been a little more relaxed, except for when they were in competition with the other teams. Then she’d been in full-on DI mode.
She’d lasted longer behind that gag than Stacey had expected. She smiled at the memory, but the smile faded when she remembered they’d returned to a horrific incident and an escaped psychopath who wanted to kill their boss.
In all honesty, she had mixed feelings about the boss remaining in place. Part of her wanted Woody to insist that she be removed from sight and guarded by all three armed forces until Symes was safely back behind bars. On the other hand, she didn’t want the boss so far away that they couldn’t check on her themselves.
She wasn’t too fussed about having to change her own routine. There was already enough variety in her journeys to and from work. Sometimes she caught the bus, other times a taxi and there were times Devon dropped her off too. Devon had finished her night shifts on Sunday morning, so she wasn’t going to be alone when she got home from work. Knowing how the boss felt about Leanne, Stacey felt a bit like teacher’s pet for following all her rules, but she did seem to know what she was talking about. If the force had entrusted her to keep the boss safe from Symes then she had to respect the woman’s direction.
She shuddered at the thought of Symes, instantly feeling the need to shower. He was truly one of the most sadistic and terrifying killers they had ever dealt with. Stacey hated to think what he would have done to Charlie and Amy. How much would he have tortured their nine-year-old bodies if the boss hadn’t caught him in time?
‘Just get him quick,’ she said to no one as she typed the last email to the doctor’s surgery.
All four members of the Daynes family were covered by the same practitioner, but she had to make separate applications for each record. She’d sent the request for Helen Daynes first and marked it high priority.
Stacey couldn’t even imagine what might drive a woman to kill all her family before taking her own life. Had she suffered some kind of sudden breakdown? Had she had some kind of delusion? Had she felt her family needed protecting from something? No matter how much she thought about it, her brain couldn’t compute an answer where this solution was the best resolution to the problem.
‘Aah, maybe this’ll help,’ she said to herself as the financial records lit up her inbox. The family appeared to keep everything with one bank, which made life easier for her.
Attached were the most recent statements for the business account, joint personal account, savings account and pension.
She opened the business account first and frowned immediately. She could see there was no financial issue there. The business was showing a healthy six-figure balance with good cash flow. The outgoings appeared to be mainly equipment and salaries, and the deposits ranged from a few hundred pounds to tens of thousands.
She closed the document and opened the latest joint account statement. A quick perusal told her there was no issue here either. Although they didn’t appear to spend frivolously, there was a buffer of twenty thousand pounds that when touched sparked a cash injection from the business.
The savings account was just as healthy and would have kept her in chocolate muffins for the rest of her life.
There were no monthly payments on a mortgage, so the home was owned free and clear. They paid their taxes on time, made payments to various charities, and didn’t spend unnecessarily.
Stacey sat back in her chair. The family had more wealth than she was ever going to see in her lifetime, but they weren’t out spending like there was no tomorrow. There were no payments for flash new cars or expensive holidays. It was as if the couple had never expected to make this kind of money. Either that or they had a very cautious accountant.
So financial problems could most certainly be ruled out. There was no irregular spending or large bills that needed to be explained.
As she closed the last of the documents from the bank, a reply to the priority request for Helen’s medical records pinged her inbox.
She opened the electronic record and started at the top with current medication. The neighbours were right. She was on quite the cocktail for anxiety and depression.
Stacey scrolled down the record.
Her cursor chewed up the years as it headed south on her screen.
Helen Daynes not only suffered with depression and was heavily medicated, but that had been the case for a very long time.
FOURTEEN
‘No offence but what you’ve told my brother is bollocks, Inspector,’ Rachel Hewitt said as she opened the door, giving Kim no chance even to introduce herself.
‘I assume Zach has spoken to you,’ Kim said, showing her ID anyway. Rachel barely glanced at it.
‘Of course – he’s my twin.’
Kim was unsure of the need to add the obvious statement of fact.
‘May we come in and discuss it?’ Kim asked when Rachel made no move to step aside.
Kim nodded to Leanne in the car before stepping inside a house that was much closer to what she’d expected of the Daynes children. The cul-de-sac was a hidden collection of eight houses just off the main Stourbridge to Wollescote road. All detached with double driveways, she guessed they were looking at roughly half a million in value, and Rachel Hewitt matched the house in which she stood.
Her raven-black hair was sleek and shiny and stretched all the way down her back. Her face was fully made up with red lipstick that stayed on the right side of tasteful. Either she had help or she was an expert in how to make the most of her face.