since been discovered that he was with the father by arrangement. His turn to have the boy for a week.’
‘Has Cartwright shown up yet?’
‘Not yet. Another mystery.’
‘Another victim, maybe?’ Stella said.
‘Or another suspect,’ Gary said.
‘What do we know about him?’ Stella asked.
‘Only what I’ve learned from the Emsworth police. He’s manager of the printing firm in Fishbourne where Fiona worked in accounts. The staff there had the impression he fancied Fiona. Last seen leaving the building with her mid-afternoon on the Friday. She was found six days later.’
‘We have to find this guy-and fast,’ Stella said. ‘Is he married?’
‘Divorced. Lives alone in Apuldram.’
‘Does he have form?’
‘Nothing known. But you’re right, and we’re putting out a description. We’ll need a warrant to search his house. That’s another job for you, Stell.’
‘Now, guv-at the weekend?’
‘You weren’t thinking of putting your feet up?’
‘It’s finding a magistrate to issue a warrant. Not easy on a Saturday night.’
‘Nonsense. They’ll be propping up the bar at the golf club. Droves of them. You need to be in Cartwright’s house tomorrow morning.’
‘I’ll get onto it.’
Hen knew she would. She could depend on Stella.
‘And we visit the print works and question the people there. That can’t be done till Monday, I guess. Right now I’m off to Emsworth to look at the scene and inside Fiona’s house. Gary.’
‘Guv?’ He looked as if the whistle had blown for a penalty against Pompey.
‘You can come with me.’
The Slug and Lettuce, in South Street, gets crowded on a Saturday night. The noise level is pretty high. But there was no problem hearing Gemma from the far side. ‘Over here, amigo.’
Jo went over. Rick and Gemma were sitting close together on the banquette opposite Jake, upright on a chair as if he was asking the bank manager for an overdraft. Something about Rick and Gem had changed. They gave the strong impression they had just shared a secret.
‘Check that outfit,’ Gemma said. ‘Doesn’t she look fabulous, Jake?’
A quick change after the phonecall, shimmery silver top over white leather skirt and ankle boots. Yes, it was dressy, but Jo could have done without the fanfare from Gemma.
Jake gave his customary nod.
‘Well, I know you’re a man of few words,’ Gemma said to him, ‘but you could show your appreciation by drumming on the table. She didn’t dress like that to please me or Rick.’
Jo said, ‘Gem, I’m sure you mean well, but do us all a favour and put the stopper in it. Who wants another drink? Don’t get up, anyone. My round.’ A tip she’d got from her canny father: always get your round in early. Then you can leave when you want with a clear conscience.
When Jo came back with the drinks Gemma was holding forth about some weird website she’d discovered. ‘It’s a bit like those African water holes where they have a camera rigged up permanently and anything coming to drink gets on the screen. If you’re patient and you get lucky you might see a lion. Well, this is outside a nightclub in Bristol, and you get to clock all the glam and glitz as people arrive. Of course you also get the bouncers turning away the troublemakers and the drunks coming out and the druggies dealing and the fights. Nonstop action.’
‘Who’d want to look at that?’ Rick said.
‘Maybe,’ Jake started to say, and everyone waited, ‘… a lion.’
Bemused looks all round.
‘Nice one. Hey, I go for that,’ Rick said, and earned Jo’s approval. He’d remembered her appeal to be civil to Jake. ‘A lion with a computer.’
‘Surreal,’ Gemma said. ‘Comical, though, I must admit. I hope there isn’t a camera outside Jongleurs. I couldn’t get my hair right tonight. I wouldn’t want it on the world wide web.’
‘It looks fine to me,’ Jo said.
‘Liar. It’s like a cornfield a flock of sheep have been through. I can’t get anything right at the moment.’
‘Maybe you’re working too hard.’
‘Tell me about it!’
‘Any news of your boss coming back?’
‘Old Cartwright? He won’t be back.’
‘You sound very definite.’
‘I am. He’s history now.’
‘Wrong,’ Rick said. ‘He could be tomorrow’s news.’
‘I hope not,’ Gemma said. ‘That’s the last thing I want to hear. Ah!’ She started to giggle. ‘I get you. Tomorrow’s news. Wicked.’ She shook with laughter.
This was some kind of private joke between Gemma and Rick. Jake looked as mystified as Jo was.
‘Are you going to let us in on this?’ Jo said.
‘No chance,’ Rick said, so quickly that he almost cut her off.
‘Why not?’ Gemma said. ‘They were here when we first talked about it.’
‘They don’t need to know.’
‘Be like that. I think it was genius. Deserves to be appreciated.’
Rick didn’t want appreciation. He gave Gemma a look that could have drilled through concrete. ‘Let’s change the subject. Did you hear about the woman you found on the beach, Jo? She was American, married to some university lecturer.’
‘Yes, I heard on the radio.’
‘They’re London people. God knows what she was doing half-naked in Selsey.’
‘Being murdered,’ Gemma said.
‘Apart from that.’
‘Obviously she had a lover.’
‘How do you work that out?’
‘Get with it, Rick. The husband was away at some conference, wasn’t he? We all know what conferences are for-tax-deductible sex. She thought she’d get a bit for herself.’
‘Who with-one of the locals?’ Jo said.
As always, Gemma had a whole storyline worked out. ‘I doubt if he was a Selsey guy. Some old flame of hers who lived in one of the grander places inland, like Arundel or Petworth. They meet up-the first time in years-and have a couple of drinks and at her suggestion he drives her down to the coast to look at the sea by moonlight, all Mills and Boon, she thinks, but he’s humouring her for old time’s sake. What she doesn’t realise is that she’s lost all the sex appeal she had and he’s lost the desire. When they get to the beach she starts coming onto him, flinging off her clothes. Jo, you and I know what blokes are like about their libido. They go in the sea for a midnight dip and she makes a grab for his popsicle. He panics, gets in a strop and pushes her under, simple as that.’
Looks were exchanged around the table. Gemma’s ‘simple as that’ hadn’t convinced everyone.
‘Even if it happened like you say, she’d fight for her life, struggle like hell,’ Rick said. ‘You don’t drown straight away.’
‘And we know she must have fought because it said in the paper there were marks on her neck and shoulders where he held her down. All the time he’s thinking how am I going to deal with this if I let go? He’s attacked her, tried to murder her. If he stops now he’s going to get done for attempted murder and God knows what. Better to let her drown. Then at least he has a fighting chance of getting away scot free. And he has. He pulled it off.’
‘So far,’ Jake said.
‘You think they’ll find him? They don’t have any clues. It happened in the water, so the traces are minimal.’
‘Now you’re talking sense,’ Rick said to Gemma. ‘The fuzz have two ways of catching criminals. One is
