All the Colors of Darkness

“But could somebody have slipped away?”

“I suppose so. I just don’t believe it, that’s all.”

“Don’t believe what?”

“That Vernon would hurt Mark. I mean, it’s one thing to be a bit uncomfortable around gays, but quite another to go and kill one.”

Annie wasn’t thinking of Mark, but she didn’t need to tell Maria that. “I’m not suggesting he did,” she said. “We have no evidence so far that Mark did anything other than take his own life. I’m just trying to get everything clear, that’s all. What about the morning? Were you all at work then?”

“We didn’t start until noon.”

So Vernon Ross could have killed Laurence Silbert, Annie thought.

Maybe it was an unlikely scenario, but it was worth keeping in mind.

“What about Derek Wyman?” she asked. “He and Mark went to London together last week.”

“The way I understand it, they really didn’t go together,” said Maria. “Derek told me they were meeting up down there to see some films. He sounded quite excited about it.”

“What did Mark say?”

“I didn’t get to talk to him about it. He was too busy.”

“Did you ever get the feeling that there was anything between Derek Wyman and Mark?”

“Good Lord, no. Derek’s not gay. I can tell you that for sure.”

“How do you know?” Annie asked.

“I can’t really explain it. Gay-dar. No vibe.”

Annie realized that Maria was right. Often a woman could tell. “But they’d never done anything like this before?”

“No. To be honest, it came as quite a surprise to me. I mean, it wasn’t as if they were best of friends or anything.”

“You mean they didn’t get along?”

“No, I’m not saying that. I think Mark just got frustrated with Derek sometimes, that’s all.”

“Why?”

“Because Derek kept trying to do his job, tell him how the produc-A L L T H E C O L O R S O F D A R K N E S S

9 7

tion should look and all that. I mean, he is the director, but Mark was a professional. He’d done courses and everything. We were lucky to have him here.”

“I thought they were agreed on the German expressionist set?”

“Well, they were. But it was Derek’s idea, and he wasn’t always receptive when Mark brought fresh perspectives to it. It was as if he expected Mark just to do what he was told, to follow the plans, get the sets built and the costumes made and shut up. But that wasn’t Mark’s way. He was really creative, and he saw a production as more of a col-laboration. Between all of us, really. He was always asking our opin-ions on things. The actors, too. Derek just gave orders. I don’t mean to give the impression that they didn’t like each other or anything. I mean, I know they met socially occasionally, too.”

“Artistic differences, then?”

“Yes. And they’re both from working-class backgrounds, you know, only Mark tried to play down his roots—he even talked a bit posh—while Derek, well, he’s one of those blokes who wears his workingman’s club membership card on his sleeve, even though he’s never been to a workingman’s club in his life, if you know what I mean.”

“I think I do,” said Annie. “Did Mark talk about himself much?”

“Sometimes. Not a lot. He was a great listener, though, was Mark.

You could talk to him about anything. When I split up with my boyfriend in February, I must have talked his ear off, but he didn’t complain. And it helped me.”

“You said he’d been a bit strange the past couple of weeks. Do you have any idea why?”

“No. We didn’t really have a chance to get together for a chat or anything during that period, what with one thing and another. Not that he would have told me, anyway.”

“Did he ever tell you if something was bothering him?”

“There were a couple of occasions when he let his guard down.”

She put her hand to her mouth to stif le a giggle. “Usually when we’d had a bit too much to drink.”

“And what did he talk about on these occasions?”

“Oh, you know. Life. His feelings. His ambitions.”

9 8 P E T E R

R O B I N S O N

“Can you tell me more?”

“Well, you know about his background, don’t you? Barnsley and all that?”