No sooner had Anna taken off her coat in her office than she was called to say that Mr Anthony Ardigo was waiting in reception.
‘It’s the bloke that put in the advert,’ Paul reminded her. Anna told him to take Ardigo into an interview room and she’d be there in a moment. She didn’t waste time. Passing through the incident room she gave Brian a brief outline of the meetings with both Tina and Mr Rawlins. They had not been productive.
‘Well, I’m getting into all these hotels and surfing beaches in Cornwall. I’ve run God knows how many checks, but so far there’s no connection with Rawlins. As we now know that he used his friends’ names, I’m trying those as well.’
‘Did you get anything from Joe Smedley regarding Rawlins’s holiday times?’
Helen looked over from her desk. ‘I’m on that, and we’ve got a list from two years back so we’re using the dates as we contact letting agencies . . .’
‘Good, good – keep at it. Also, check with Smedley how many surfboards Alan kept at his place of work, and call Liz at the forensic lab to see if she has a result on the buccal swab I took in earlier.’
Anna headed for the interview rooms down on the floor below. Reaching the first one she paused as she heard Paul laughing. Looking through the window in the door she could see Paul leaning on the table chatting to a dark-haired, handsome Italian-looking man. She walked in and Paul immediately straightened up and introduced her to Ardigo. The latter shook her hand as she thanked him for coming in to see them.
‘You look Italian,’ she remarked.
‘On my father’s side, my mother is English. I’ve been brought up here.’
She sat down. ‘Has Detective Simms told you the reason we wished to talk to you?’
‘Yes. It’s about the contact ad in a magazine, but I’ve told him it was a good while ago, at least ten months.’
‘You were contacted from the advert by—’
Ardigo interrupted her. He seemed very eager to talk. ‘He called himself Dan Matthews, but when he was described to me, I am sure it was this person called Alan Rawlins.’
‘You describe him to me,’ she asked, taking out her notebook.
‘He was tall, six feet or over, blonde, very blue penetrating eyes, and was physically in great shape. He was also suntanned, and I was asked by Detective Simms if he ever mentioned surfing to me, which he did.’
‘If I recall, the advert asked—’
Again she was interrupted. ‘I like athletic types because I’m a fanatical skier. I work for a dry-ski company as an instructor.’
‘Tell me about this person you think was Alan Rawlins.’
‘Well, he contacted me; I gave him my mobile number, not my home phone. We arranged to meet in a wine bar in Soho, and we had a few drinks.’
‘Was he a drinker?’
‘No, he just had a Coke, I think, but we chatted about this and that and he asked me what I did for a living, sort of sizing me up. After a while, because we really got along, I suggested he come back to my place. He agreed and we got a taxi.’
Anna glanced at Paul, asking if they had the address and contact numbers and he nodded.
‘Please go on, Mr Ardigo.’
‘I found him very attractive. He was quiet – shy, almost – and I think I had another couple of drinks, but he just asked for water. The next minute, he started to strip off. I said something like we should maybe get to know each other a bit more, but he said that we both knew what we met up for, or words to that effect, and . . .’
‘And?’
‘I said to him that I was really interested in forming a relationship with someone, and that I wasn’t into casual sex. I know I put the advert in, but it was the first time I’d done it and I wasn’t sure how it worked. But he said that wasn’t what he was interested in – he didn’t want a relationship. Then he asked if I wanted money.’
Ardigo reached for a bottle of water and unscrewed the cap.
‘I certainly wasn’t in it for money! It felt as though he thought I was some kind of rent boy. It really rattled me, and I told him again that I felt it was more important for me to get to know him. He then gripped my face in his hand and kissed me. It was a hard kiss and I tried to push him off, but he wouldn’t let go of me.’
He drank some water and sat staring down at the table-top.
‘I let him do what he wanted. I just went along with it because he scared me. He was like a different person from the one in the bar. To be honest, I think he would have really hurt me if I’d tried to stop him.’
Anna glanced at Paul and then looked back to Ardigo.
‘Did he rape you?’
‘No, it wasn’t exactly rape. When he’d finished, he walked back into the room where he’d taken his clothes off.’
‘Wait a moment . . . you had sex with him in your bedroom?’
‘Yes. Then like I said, he just walked out. I think he went into my bathroom, but I stayed in the bed, and then he left. I waited God knows how long before I got up and went into my sitting room. He’d left a fifty-pound note on my coffee table.’
‘We really appreciate you agreeing to see us, Mr Ardigo, and I am sure it must be very difficult for you,’ Anna reassured him.
‘As soon as I got the phone call, it made me angry all over again. You know, the way he had treated me – I just wanted it on record. It taught me a hard lesson, and as it turned out, it was actually a positive thing because I was pretty shaken up the next day. One of the guys I work with could see I was anxious and I blurted it all out to him, and he admitted that he was gay so we’re now together.’
‘That’s good. When you say you were anxious . . .’
‘Bit more than that. I had a lot of bruises and had to wear a scarf round my neck.’
‘Bruises around your
‘Yeah, from when he almost strangled me. That’s another reason why I wanted to come in; the next guy could get killed.’
After thanking Mr Ardigo for giving his statement, Anna asked Paul to show him down to the reception then come to see her in her office.
As Anna passed through the incident room she asked Brian to see if Sal, the owner of the car wash, would agree to an interview.
‘I’ve called a couple of times already – he’s not around,’ Brian said.
‘I want him to give us more details of the surfing beaches and locations.’
‘I’ll keep on trying.’
‘Thank you.’
Anna sat behind her desk mulling over the interview with Anthony Ardigo. Yet again they had another insight into Alan Rawlins and it wasn’t a pleasant one. Paul tapped on her door and walked in.
‘That was interesting,’ he said.
‘Yes. What were you two laughing about before I came into the room?’
‘He was telling me how hard it had been for him to come out . . . Italian father, very macho guy . . . and I said that I could understand.’
‘I see. So you told him that you were homosexual?’
‘Yeah. It was good because it opened him up – in the literal sense.’ Paul laughed.
‘Mind if I give you some advice?’ Anna said icily. ‘Your sexual preferences are your business. If you find it necessary to make sure it is out in the open, that again is your business, but you should retain a separation from your private life as a detective. I am not asking you to do anything other than maintain a professional distance. I don’t think it’s advisable to elaborate on your private predilections when interviewing a possible suspect.’
‘But he wasn’t a suspect, for chrissakes, and he was very nervous.’
‘Put him at his ease – that’s your job, to get a result. And let me tell you, Paul, everyone we interview could be a suspect until we clear them of suspicion.’
‘Okay, I’m sorry.’
‘What I don’t want is the “gay” detective slur against you because you are very competent and a good officer – that’s what should be relevant. That’s all. You can go.’
