“Hygiene mad, she was. Used to walk around in nothing but an overall, no undies in case she spread germs, swabbing everything with disinfectant.” He chuckled suddenly.
“Remember once she scrubbed the dining table with neat Domestos to sterilise it. Hah! Ted was hopping mad. He’d just paid for the thing to be french polished after Dorothy’s last effort with boiling water.
And now she’s completely senile, you say. Not surprised. Not surprised at all.”
Roz sat with her pencil poised above her notepad.
“And can you say,” she asked after a moment, ‘if Ted and Bob were lovers?”
“No. It weren’t none of my business.”
“OK.” She gathered her things together.
“Thank you, Mr.
Hayes. I don’t know if there’s anything Mr. Hawksley wants to ask you.” She looked at Hal.
He stood up.
“Only the name of your son’s security firm, Mr. Hayes.”
The old man eyed him suspiciously.
“What you want that for?”
“Just so I can put a quiet word in the right ear about the leak of privileged information.” He smiled coldly.
“Otherwise I shall have to report it and then there’ll be an official complaint.” He shrugged.
“Don’t worry. You have my word I won’t make an issue out of it, not unless I have to.”
“The word of a policeman, eh? That’s not something I’d want to rely on. Certainly not.”
Hal buttoned his jacket.
“It’ll have to go through official channels then, and it’ll be an inspector coming to see you next time.”
“What shall I say? Blooming blackmail, that’s all this is. STC Security, Bell Street, Southampton.
There now. Let’s see if your word’s worth something.”
Hal looked past him towards the photograph of his son.
“Thank you, Mr. Hayes,” he said pleasantly.
“You’ve been very helpful.”
EIGHTEEN
Roz walked back to the car deep in thought.
“What’s up?” Hal asked her.
“Just something he said.” She put her bag on the roof and stared into the middle distance, trying to pick up an elusive thread.
“It’s no good. I’ll have to go back through my notes.” She unlocked the door.
“So what do we do now? Go to the police?”
She released Hal’s door and he climbed in beside her.
“No. We’d be there all day answering questions and there’s no guarantee they’d act at the end of it.” He thought for a moment.
“And it’s no good tackling Crew either. If we’re going to nail him we’ll have to do it through Stewart Hayes and his security firm.”
Roz winced.
“We? Listen, Hawksley, I’ve already had my hair pulled out once by that gorilla. I’m not sure I fancy it a second time.” She meant it, too.
Hal put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
“If it’s any consolation, I don’t think I fancy it much either.” He could smell the scent of soap on her face and with a sigh he moved away.
“But we’ve got to get it settled one way or another,” he said coolly.
“I can’t stand much more of this.”
Her insecurities resurfaced.
“Much more of what?”
“Sitting around in confined spaces with you,” he growled.
“It requires too much blasted self-control. Come on. Let’s grasp the nettle. I’ll phone Geof Wyatt and see if I can persuade him to hold my hand while I offer the Poacher for sale.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier just to have Hayes arrested?”
“What for?”
