Anna stood up and stiffened as he reached for her hand and drew close.
‘You sleeping?’
‘Yes.’
‘I miss not having you around on a case.’
‘Well, you could have me if you wanted.’
He laughed. ‘In the literal term, I gather.’
She released her hand from his, saying, ‘I’ll be in touch. I’ll still use Paul.’
‘You make it very difficult, Anna.’
She looked up into his face.
‘I keep wanting to put my arms around you, comfort you; you think I can’t feel your troubled soul.’
‘It’s not troubled. I am just tired tonight. It’s been a long day.’
‘Have it your way, but like I keep on saying to you, if you need me I’m here for you.’
‘Thank you. Goodnight then.’
He gave her a smile, nodding his goodnight as she walked out. She held it together until she was sitting in her car and then she started to cry. It was like a fast release, and no sooner had she broken down than she was able to pull herself together and drive home.
Chapter Four
Anna took a double dose of her sleeping tablets and slept until early morning. The alarm woke her and she again had that feeling of lethargy, not wanting to get out of bed, get dressed or do anything. She felt that this time her mood swing was down to the dead-end case she had been told to investigate by Langton, and remembered her conversation with him the evening before and how he had said to give it one more day. As she turned to look at the time on the alarm clock she saw the picture of her father on the bedside cabinet and her mind rushed back to her childhood. She could see him standing at the foot of her bed and jokingly threatening that she was running late for school and had better be out of bed by the count of three or it was cold bath time. One, she threw the duvet back, two, she jumped out of bed, and by three, she was in the bathroom turning on the shower. As Anna looked at her glass-enclosed power-jet shower she recalled the dreadful avocado green fibreglass bath and matching tiles in the family bathroom. She jumped into the shower and straight back out again. She laughed out loud realising that in her rush she had turned it onto cold and could hear her father’s voice saying, ‘Got you this time, Anna.’
Refreshed she rang Paul to say she would pick him up at the station at eight. Paul was waiting outside the station and when he was in the car Anna told him what Langton had asked her to do.
‘Is that why the early-bird call?’ he yawned. ‘I was out until four a.m.’ Paul was unshaven with dark circles beneath his eyes.
‘Good date, was it?’
‘No, but I went to Fire and danced my socks off and had a few too many vodka shots and slingers – that’s when you knock it back neat.’
‘Hung over?’
‘Yeah, a bit. What was Langton’s reaction?’
Anna told him and he listened without his usual interruption. Anna didn’t add that she felt Langton was simply side-stepping the issue of her heading up a murder enquiry. It felt to her as if he was stringing her along, thinking he was giving her time to get over the death of her fiance, Ken.
‘Langton’s up to his neck,’ Paul said. ‘You heard about the case he’s on – ex-detective finds his wife and son shredded.’
‘Yes, I know about it. I heard him giving a briefing.’
They arrived at Newton Court in Hounslow where Tina Brooks lived and parked up close to her garage so as not to create any problems for the other tenants. As before, the reception area was open and there was a caretaker polishing the floor. He continued working the machine as they headed for flat two.
‘Nobody at home,’ he said, looking towards them.
Anna showed him her ID and asked if he knew the couple living there.
‘By sight, yeah. I wouldn’t say I
‘What’s your name?’
‘Jonas Jones, ma’am.’
‘You work here regularly, Jonas?’
‘Two days a week. I clean the reception, stairs, and if the tenant is away I collect their mail for them.’
‘How long have you been working here?’
‘Three years. I do all the owner’s places. He’s got three blocks of flats and I check them all out. The bins sometimes are overflowing and the council don’t collect as regular as they used to.’
‘Have you ever found anything suspicious?’
He wrinkled his nose and said he didn’t know what she meant.
‘Well, anything unusual?’
‘Oh no. Just some tenants tie up their rubbish in black bin liners and if they don’t put them in the bins, dogs or cats or whatever can scavenge and rip them open. You’d be surprised, we got foxes around here. Dunno where they come from, but I’ve seen big bushy-tailed ones.’
‘Are you aware that Mr Alan Rawlins has disappeared?’
‘Who?’
‘The tenant of flat two. He lives with his girlfriend, Tina Brooks.’
‘Oh yeah, I know who you mean. I didn’t know he was missing. Where’s he gone?’
Anna smiled and said they were trying to find out. She then asked for details of the other tenants. The caretaker walked over to a small desk and took out a list of names, saying that as he didn’t do cleaning in individual flats he only saw them on odd occasions. There was an elderly Jewish couple in flat three, flats four and five were Iranians and flat six was a single woman.
‘Could you tell me who owns the building?’
‘You mean the landlord?’
‘Yes, the person that owns this building.’
‘Doesn’t live here.’
‘His name and contact number will do.’
‘He’s Iranian. Owns two or three blocks like this one and only ever comes over a couple of times a year. Prefers to live in his beach-front condo in Morocco.’
‘And his name is . . .?’
‘Mr Desai.’
‘What about flat one?’
‘Mr Phillips, youngish bloke, drives a nice Lotus and works in the City.’
‘Is he at home?’
‘I don’t know. I’ve been polishing the floor. I’ll be here for a while as I’m waitin’ on a delivery for Miss Brooks.’
‘What is it?’
‘She ordered new carpet.’
‘But isn’t the flat rented?’
‘Yes, but they are semi-furnished flats, rented with just the necessary. Tenants can bring in whatever else they need.’
They thanked Jonas and went towards flat one as he turned on his polishing machine again.
‘That’s odd, isn’t it?’ Paul said as he rang the doorbell.
When there was no answer, Anna suggested that Phillips was probably at work, and said they should go from flat to flat to see if there was anyone at home. She too thought it was suspicious about the new carpet, but said nothing.
