uncomprehending. ‘Why should he care? Oh – I see. You couldn’t have known. They’re divorced. They split when I was eight. Both of them married again, then both of them got divorced again. Dad’s on wife number three but Mum never bothered with meeting anyone else. She said two failed marriages was enough.’
‘Are you an only child?’ I asked.
‘Sort of. I have four half-siblings from Dad’s other marriages, but I was Mum’s only child.’
‘The two of you must be close.’
‘We are. Very.’ Her face softened. ‘It’s wonderful for me and the boys, having her so close. They adore her.’
‘What did your husband think of the arrangement? It’s not every man who’d be pleased to find his mother-in-law had moved in to his house while his back was turned.’ Derwent again, characteristically direct.
‘He didn’t complain.’ That didn’t mean he’d liked it, and Claudia didn’t go so far as to pretend he had. ‘The flat is self-contained. She doesn’t impose on us. Ivan had enough sense to know that it was a good thing, having her there. She minds the boys when I can’t, so it took the pressure off him.’
There was no way to ask it delicately, so Derwent didn’t even try. ‘Did your mother think he was guilty?’
She stiffened. ‘We never discussed it.’
‘Strange, isn’t it? Not to talk about it? Was that because you didn’t want to hear what she thought?’
Instead of taking offence, Claudia tilted her head to one side, considering it. Another benefit of counselling, I presumed. She analysed the idea he had presented to her rather than responding emotionally. ‘It might have been because I didn’t want to argue with her. Or it might have been because she didn’t think he was to blame, and she knew I didn’t think he was guilty, so there was no point in talking about it when we both felt the same way.’
‘First option’s more likely, isn’t it? If you were determined to keep him as your husband, the best she could do was make sure he wasn’t left alone with the children.’
Tears filled the blue eyes but they didn’t waver from Derwent’s face. ‘You could put that interpretation on it, I suppose. But that’s not how I saw it.’
‘Didn’t you ever think he might be guilty? Even for a minute?’
Once again, she was startlingly honest in her response. ‘I didn’t allow myself to think he might be guilty. I didn’t want him to be and he said he wasn’t, so I never considered the alternative. I loved my husband very much. I mean, he gave me three beautiful sons, and they’re the most important things in my life. I didn’t want our marriage to end because I didn’t want them to have to struggle as I had when I was a child. The best thing I could offer them was the stability of having Mummy and Daddy there, for as much of the time as we could manage. We never argued. We never even raised our voices to one another. Everything was so civilised.’ She bit her lip. ‘Maybe too civilised. Maybe we should have been more confrontational with one another. Then I could tell you that we’d argued, that I’d wanted him to leave, but he’d convinced me he was innocent, and you’d believe me.’
‘It doesn’t really matter what we believe,’ I said gently. I’d never been in that situation. I couldn’t judge her for what she’d done, but I was glad beyond words that her mother had taken on the role of unofficial bodyguard for their sons. ‘What matters is that it looks to us as if someone else thought he was guilty and punished him for it. We obviously need to find out who killed him and why, and we’re working on the theory that it was someone who’d identified him as having a conviction for child sex crimes.’
‘Was there any other reason that you can think why someone would have wanted to harm your husband?’ Derwent asked.
‘No.’
‘Did he keep secrets from you, do you think?’
‘I don’t think he had any. He worked, or he was at home. He
‘Are you an only child?’ I asked.
‘Sort of. I have four half-siblings from Dad’s other marriages, but I was Mum’s only child.’
‘The two of you must be close.’
‘We are. Very.’ Her face softened. ‘It’s wonderful for me and the boys, having her so close. They adore her.’
‘What did your husband think of the arrangement? It’s not every man who’d be pleased to find his mother-in-law had moved in to his house while his back was turned.’ Derwent again, characteristically direct.
‘He didn’t complain.’ That didn’t mean he’d liked it, and Claudia didn’t go so far as to pretend he had. ‘The flat is self-contained. She doesn’t impose on us. Ivan had enough sense to know that it was a good thing, having her there. She minds the boys when I can’t, so it took the pressure off him.’
There was no way to ask it delicately, so Derwent didn’t even try. ‘Did your mother think he was guilty?’
She stiffened. ‘We never discussed it.’
‘Strange, isn’t it? Not to talk about it? Was that because you didn’t want to hear what she thought?’
Instead of taking offence, Claudia tilted her head to one side, considering it. Another benefit of counselling, I presumed. She analysed the idea he had presented to her rather than responding emotionally. ‘It might have been because I didn’t want to argue with her. Or it might have been because she didn’t think he was to blame, and she knew I didn’t think he was guilty, so there was no point in talking about it when we both felt the same way.’
‘First option’s more likely, isn’t it? If you were determined to keep him as your husband, the best she could do was make sure he wasn’t left alone with the children.’
Tears filled the blue eyes but they didn’t waver from Derwent’s face. ‘You could put that interpretation on it, I suppose. But that’s not how I saw it.’
‘Didn’t you ever think he might be guilty? Even for a minute?’
Once again, she was startlingly honest in her response. ‘I didn’t allow myself to think he might be guilty. I didn’t want him to be and he said he wasn’t, so I never considered the alternative. I loved my husband very much. I mean, he gave me three beautiful sons, and they’re the most important things in my life. I didn’t want our marriage to end because I didn’t want them to have to struggle as I had when I was a child. The best thing I could offer them was the stability of having Mummy and Daddy there, for as much of the time as we could manage. We never argued. We never even raised our voices to one another. Everything was so civilised.’ She bit her lip. ‘Maybe too civilised. Maybe we should have been more confrontational with one another. Then I could tell you that we’d argued, that I’d wanted him to leave, but he’d convinced me he was innocent, and you’d believe me.’
‘It doesn’t really matter what we believe,’ I said gently. I’d never been in that situation. I couldn’t judge her for what she’d done, but I was glad beyond words that her mother had taken on the role of unofficial bodyguard for their sons. ‘What matters is that it looks to us as if someone else thought he was guilty and punished him for it. We obviously need to find out who killed him and why, and we’re working on the theory that it was someone who’d identified him as having a conviction for child sex crimes.’
‘Was there any other reason that you can think why someone would have wanted to harm your husband?’ Derwent asked.
‘No.’
‘Did he keep secrets from you, do you think?’
‘I don’t think he had any. He worked, or he was at home. He
Similar Books
