‘I…I…can just tell these things.’
‘So why were you under her bed?’ Penn asked, taking another look at the aerial view of the property.
‘It was stupid of me, I know. I heard the voices and I just dived under there. I knew I shouldn’t be there, and I thought I could just sneak out.’
‘Have you repeated anything you heard?’ Penn asked.
He shook his head vehemently. ‘No chance. Your boss is fucking scary, mate. I reckon she’d have my guts for garters.’
He wasn’t wrong, Penn thought as he pulled the piece of paper closer. A question was forming in his mind. ‘You raised the alarm early on Sunday morning?’
‘Yeah, yeah, I did,’ he said, as though eager to be on to something else.
Penn said nothing. Nervous people filled silences.
‘I always run the same route. Three or four times a week.’ He tapped his wrist. ‘I time myself. I’m always trying to knock a few seconds off my personal best. The Dayneses know I run that way. They don’t…didn’t mind.’
‘Always the same time?’
‘Roughly, maybe five or ten minutes either way.’
‘Still darkish around 7a.m. at the minute, isn’t it?’
‘Oh yeah. You have to watch out for the occasional dog shit on the public footpath. Folks don’t clean up after themselves and there ain’t no street lights.’
‘Just the hint of the sun coming up?’
‘That’s right. Some mornings it’s just a last little bit of moonlight.’
‘But not Sunday?’
‘No, Sunday was pretty dark. I remember thinking it was likely to be a grey sort of day.’
‘Hmm…that does cause me a bit of a problem,’ Penn said, frowning.
‘Why’s that?’
‘Well, you jogged the track, as normal, there was very little light and the kitchen is on the other side of the house, at the furthest point away. The fire itself was small and hardly a bonfire, so how did you see the smoke from such a distance in the dark?’
‘I…err…It was…umm…’
His words trailed away.
Penn waited.
And waited.
‘I think I’ve had enough,’ he finally said, unable to meet Penn’s gaze. ‘I think it’s time for me to leave.’
THIRTY-TWO
‘Okay, Penn, thanks for the update,’ Kim said as Bryant pulled into the car park for Dudley Social Work and Safeguarding Services on Corbyn Road.
She had spent the entire journey from Rachel’s house being updated on the explanation and behaviour from Reece Porter.
‘Does Penn think he’s good for it?’ Bryant asked.
‘Depends if he thinks he’s in the same American cop show as you. If you’re asking if he thinks he’s capable of the murder, the answer is no, but he is sure that the guy is hiding something.’