‘Girlfriend?’
‘Yes.’
‘So you’re not engaged?’
‘Been almost caught,’ he grinned, ‘but no, I’m single.’
‘Do you have an ongoing relationship now?’
‘No, actually I don’t. I’m playing the field, as they say.’
‘Did you ever play with Tina Brooks?’
His face tightened. ‘No – and if there is nothing more you need to ask me, I should get back to work.’
Anna stood up and gathered her notebook and pen, which she had not used, and slipped them into her briefcase.
‘What do you think happened to him?’ Phillips asked.
‘Well, we are trying to find out. Thank you for your time. Do you have a card in case we need to contact you again?’
When he stood up he towered above Anna and she reckoned she’d been out by a couple of inches; he was at least six foot four. He handed Anna his business card as he led them back to the lifts and waited until they stepped inside before moving off.
‘What do you think?’ Anna asked Paul, who had not said one word.
‘I dunno. He seemed like an okay bloke, bit of the flash type, but he didn’t come over to me like he was lying.’
‘Did to me,’ she said as they walked out to her car.
‘How do you mean?’
‘Come on – think about it. He’s young and around the same age as Alan and Tina, lives on their doorstep, but never gets friendly, drives a Lotus, and we know Alan’s a mechanic, et cetera, et cetera.’
‘Are you sure you’re not wanting him to be involved, because it didn’t come across to me that he was lying. He was good-looking though, wasn’t he?’
‘Oh please.’
‘In a hetero-very-sexual way.’
‘We’ll go back to the gym and ask them about him.’
‘Then what?’
‘I want our heterosexual neighbour checked out. See if he has ever come to police notice.’
‘He’s obviously earning a packet.’
‘Did you look at his shoes?’ Anna asked.
‘His shoes?’
‘Yes. Case I was on with Langton, we all missed our suspect and let him walk out on us, but Langton suddenly went crazy. It was the guy’s shoes. He came in as a Drug Squad officer and we were all fooled.’
‘What about his shoes?’
‘Handmade by Lobb and probably cost more than my week’s wages. Langton was correct; the guy hoodwinked every one of us.’
‘So Mr Phillips has expensive shoes.’
‘No, that’s just it – they were rundown at the heels. And I didn’t buy his story about why he’s living out in Hounslow in a rented flat if he’s working for that posh firm.’
‘Maybe they’re just comfortable.’
‘I also want to check out his phones, landline and mobiles, see if he lied about not socialising with our Tina Brooks, check if there are any phone calls between them.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘We also get a search warrant for Tina Brooks’s flat.’
‘You won’t get it through without more evidence.’
‘Want to bet? The bleach, carpet cleaner then the new carpet she’s ordered – we’ll get it through. As Langton’s been so keen on us following this up, I’ll get him to back me.’
They drove out of the parking area onto Bishopsgate. Paul was surprised by her newfound energy, unless it was down to the several cups of strong coffee, but Anna was buzzing.
‘This is all getting very interesting, Paul. I know at first I was pissed off, but I’m changing my mind as it’s possible Alan Rawlins isn’t missing: I think he could have been murdered. Pity we don’t have a body, but charges have been brought without one before.’
She gave him a smile and then returned to weaving in and out of the traffic, constantly using the car horn and swearing as they hit a snarl up by Ladbroke Grove. Paul felt very uneasy, and not just because of her erratic driving, although it did make him cringe back in his seat a few times, but rather because of her attitude. Anna seemed pleased about Alan Rawlins possibly being a victim. He himself was not so certain. They still had no real evidence to warrant a full-scale investigation, but he didn’t feel like getting into any kind of disagreement, especially not with a hangover.
Chapter Five
It took considerable time to gain access to the phone records for both Tina and Michael Phillips, and it was not until 5 p.m. that the team acquired access to Phillips’s bank accounts. Anna had left messages for Langton to call and she was becoming very impatient waiting for him to respond. She constantly badgered Paul for a result, but when he eventually did come up with the information it was disappointing. There were no calls to Michael Phillips from Tina’s landline or mobile phone. Her listed calls were already noted as she had given details to Anna about where and who she had rung in an attempt to find out what had happened to Alan Rawlins. In response, Anna snapped, enquiring where the records of Phillips’s calls were. Paul informed Anna that Michael Phillips didn’t appear to have a landline but only a company mobile phone, so the records would take longer to compile and check. Added to that disappointment came the financial position of their ‘suspect’, as they were now referring to Phillips.
Paul was feeling really frazzled. Nothing had shifted his hangover headache, and spending so much time on the phone and then on the computer had made it feel worse.
‘Okay – quick rundown,’ he said to Anna. ‘This is as much as I’ve got. He did work for Barclays, but was one of the many made redundant. Previously he’d been with two other banks that went under. He’s not had what I’d call a successful career. He lost half a million with the Icelandic Bank, but he got a leg-up with his present employers as his sister is married to one of the chief executives. The Lotus is leased, by the way, he doesn’t even own that. So renting a place in Hounslow is about all he could afford.’
‘So I was right about his shoes,’ Anna said, folding her arms. ‘Does he have more than one mobile?’
‘I’ve not checked that yet. I’m still working on his business card number.’
She glanced at her watch. Paul could feel her irritation.
‘What has Langton got to say?’ he asked.
‘He’s not returned my calls, but you go off and come in first thing in the morning.’
‘Thanks.’
Anna glanced through Paul’s notes and was about to put in yet another call to Langton when the man himself walked into her office.
‘I’ve not got long,’ he said, sitting down. ‘I’m really busy.’
‘Well, excuse me, but I’ve been running around on this Alan Rawlins business and now I need your approval.’
‘For what?’
‘I want to get a search warrant issued to look over Tina Brooks’s flat.’
‘But you’ve been there, haven’t you?’
Anna filled him in on the carpet order and the bleach purchase, and said that although she had interviewed Tina, they had not had a thorough or even part-detailed search of the flat.
‘You didn’t really need my authority, but if you now think that we have a murder then it will have to go
