In the taxi, William felt even worse. As he sat in the back, drinking water, something hit him. Hed made a mistake. That whiskey he drank last night. The drinks effect had continued to set in. When at home, William had wanted to find a cure against the nausea, but he ended up vomiting right into the sink. Following this, he brought an unfinished bottle into the living room and poured it, along with two others that were sat in the lower cupboard. Then, he went into the bedroom and had a lie down. Beginning to shiver, William wrapped himself in a blanket and soon fell asleep.
The doorbell rang for several minutes, but William heard nothing. It was only when someone shook his shoulder that he started to open his eyes. Memories returned, as did the vision of Thomas Wilson with them, who stood nearby. Tom looked at William sympathetically.
«You left the door open. Lets have a chat, he said. They went to the kitchen. «Sit down,» Tom gestured. «Ill make some coffee. Want some?»
«No, just water thanks. I felt sick when I got home. Any news?»
«You dont look too great now either! Are you trying to sober up? Okay, lets talk about Carol, but it needs some perspective. What happened between you? Ive known you forever, but I need to understand what happened.»
«She filed for divorce, said William, rubbing his forehead. Then, he went into more detail about Sofia and all the reasons Carol wanted a divorce. Tom picked up his coffee and they went to the living room.
«I have a lot of questions, to be honest,» Tom said, taking his first sip of coffee. He leaned over and picked something up. It was a button from Carols blouse. He held it close to his eyes, then looked at William.
«Yes, I see it, its her button. It came off yesterday when she left. Tom, I know you dont believe me, but its the truth.»
«The truth is irrelevant in our business, only evidence and the decision of judge and jury. The evidence doesnt stack up.» Tom looked at his friend, noticing him tense and lean forward, clearly expecting more details to emerge. Hed seen this expression a hundred times before, especially when solving difficult cases. He knew William too well and didnt believe Sergeant Hustons assumption. Huston saw a motive in Williams behaviour, but Tom was more careful not to jump to conclusions.
«So what?» Lindstone finally asked.
«First, the bad news. We havent found Dr Woodruff yet. Dont make that face at me, I know as much as you do. I dont 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, isnt it? Carols clothes dont 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. Theres 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 wouldnt 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 well solve it. Thirdly, theres no computer, nothing. Looks like he kept all his notes on a laptop theres a wireless connection and were 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? Whats 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 doesnt 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, its a possibility. Fourth, Carols car is in his driveway, yet she was supposed to be at her friend, Tina Laitons. Tina was waiting up for her. It seems Carol stopped by for a while, but we dont know why. To me, it doesnt appear to be an affair, but thats my opinion. I knew a little about her, but after my divorce from Tina, I dont want to make assumptions.»
«Dont worry about it. Your situation was completely different,» William didnt 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 Williams voice.
«No, I dont. Im making an assumption.»
«I also think that she could have said thanks to Dr Woodruff over the phone.»
«Lets dig a little deeper. Why would Carol have phoned 911? She dialled and said nothing. Twenty-two seconds passed before the operators question. Therefore, something mustve happened to her during this time. Okay, heres a suggestion. Carol felt bad, she dialled the number, and as the call reached the operator, she was already in a state, so she didnt feel fit to answer. Well 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 didnt want to be heard? Why didnt she ask Woodruff for help? Maybe he threatened her? Or maybe he wasnt there at all? Actually, maybe he was in, but didnt Carol didnt want him to see and hear the call?»