“I understand that Mr. Silbert was in Amsterdam while you were in London?”
“Yes. Mark did mention that.”
“Did he say why?”
“No. Business, I assumed.”
“What was his business?”
“Retired civil servant. He’d worked for the foreign office, traveled all over the place. Maybe it was some sort of reunion or something?
Embassy staff. Or is it consulate? I never did know the difference between them. All I know is that Laurence was in Amsterdam and Mark was a bit worried about the nightlife there, you know, the Red Light district and all that. Amsterdam does have a bit of a reputation. Anything goes, and all that.”
7 6 P E T E R
R O B I N S O N
“Indeed,” said Banks. “So Mark
“I didn’t mean it like that. It was just part of his nature to worry. He even joked about it. I told him he could always go to Soho or Hampstead Heath if he wanted a bit of fun himself.”
“How did he react to that?” Annie asked.
“He just smiled and said those days were over.”
“So nothing out of the ordinary happened on this trip you and Mark Hardcastle made to London?” Banks said.
“No. Everything happened exactly as I said it did.”
“Had you noticed anything unusual about Mark’s behavior over the past while?”
“Nothing at all.”
“Mrs. Wyman?”
“No,” she said. “Not that I noticed. I mean, I haven’t seen him for a few weeks.”
“Had you and Mark done anything like this before?” Annie asked Wyman.
“Like what?”
“You know. A few days away together.”
Wyman leaned forward. “Look, I don’t know what you’re insinuating, but it wasn’t like that. There was nothing untoward between me and Mark Hardcastle. And we didn’t go away for ‘a few days together.’
We traveled separately to London and back, and as far as I know he was only there for one night. Christ, all we did was share a meal and go to the pictures.”
“I was only wondering if you’d done it before,” Annie said.
“Well, no. I told you. This was the fist time.”
“And absolutely nothing occurred that night that could have set in motion the events of the next two days?” Banks asked.
“No. Not that I know of. Not while I was around. Who knows what he got up to after he left me.”
“Got up to?” said Banks.
“It’s just a figure of speech. Bloomsbury isn’t far from Soho, is it, and there are plenty of gay clubs there, if you like that sort of thing.
Maybe he met a friend? Maybe he and Laurence had an arrangement and did their own thing when they were apart? I don’t know. All I’m A L L T H E C O L O R S O F D A R K N E S S
7 7
saying is that I’ve no idea where he went after he left me, straight to the f lat or somewhere else.”
“I thought you said he told you those days were behind him?”
Annie said. “Was Mark in the habit of being unfaithful to Laurence Silbert?”
“I’ve no idea. Like I said, he didn’t confide in me about his love life.
But remember, Laurence was in Amsterdam. If you want my honest opinion, no, I don’t think Mark was the type for a bit of hanky-panky on Hampstead Heath, cottaging, or whatever they call it. Or in the back room of a Soho club, for that matter. That’s why I could joke about it easily. But what do I know? It’s not a world I belong to.”
“I don’t suppose it’s much different from anyone else’s,” said Banks,
“when you get right down to it.”
“I suppose not,” Wyman agreed. “But the point remains that I don’t know what he did, what he liked to do, or with whom.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Banks asked.
“Not that I can think of,” said Wyman.
His wife shook her head. Banks had been watching Carol Wyman’s face from time to time throughout the
