photographs had shown; the white umbrellas on the patio were tied straight, but the wind was tugging at them and the double garage doors were closed. Anna rang the doorbell and waited, while Williams stepped back to look up at the windows, catching the movement of a curtain inched aside.
‘Somebody’s home so ring again.’
Anna tried twice, keeping her hand on the bell until eventually she heard footsteps. The door was inched open and a blonde girl of about eighteen peered out.
‘Yes?’
Anna showed her ID and asked to be let in as it was an urgent police matter. The girl stepped back and opened the door wider. She was wearing a short nightdress, was barefoot and her hair was tangled. She looked half-asleep. Anna did the introductions standing in the wide hallway with its stripped pine flooring, then asked if there was anyone else at home.
‘They’re in bed.’
Williams gestured to the girl to get them up and jerked his thumb towards an archway that led into a lounge.
‘We’ll wait in here, and Paul, you go on up with her. What’s your name, sweetheart?’
‘Kelly.’
‘Okay, Kelly, get a move on, love. Who else is staying here?’
‘My mum and my boyfriend. My dad’s not here.’
Kelly hurried up the stairs followed by Paul as Williams walked through the archway into the lounge and sat on one of the very comfortable low sofas. The furnishing was stylish, but there were empty wine bottles left around and he picked up an ashtray to indicate to Anna that there were a number of roaches amongst the cigarette butts. Old newspapers were strewn about on the floor by the grate, where there were the remains of a fire.
‘What do you want?’ A woman was dragging on a dressing-gown. She still had pins in her hair. ‘Is it to do with my husband? Has something happened?’
‘You are . . .?’
‘I’m Kelly’s mother, Norma Chapman.’
Anna introduced herself and Williams again as Norma pulled out the hairgrips.
‘We just need to ask you a few questions about this property, Mrs Chapman.’
Before she could answer Kelly returned with a young boy who looked so groggy he could have fallen over.
‘Sit down. Who are you?’
‘It’s Kelly’s boyfriend, Adrian Knowles; he’s staying with us.’ Mrs Chapman was now running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to make herself look presentable.
The three of them sat on a sofa. Anna drew up a wicker chair to sit opposite them. Williams remained seated. Paul stood behind Anna.
‘Tell me how you came to be living here?’ Anna asked.
‘We’ve rented it for the next three years – my husband arranged it. He’s away on business in Scotland at the moment.’
It didn’t take long for Mrs Chapman to explain that her husband was working for a shipyard as a luxury yacht designer and he had arranged the rental through an estate agent. She was unsure about how the rent was paid, but believed it was by a banker’s draft to the owner’s account. She had never met the owner and she didn’t think that her husband had either. She gave them her husband’s mobile number and work number. She also mentioned that she had rented a car, and it was used by herself and her daughter. An MG.
Anna was disappointed, but proceeded to get out photographs of Alan Rawlins, asking the woman if she had ever met him. Mrs Chapman shook her head and passed them to her daughter, who also said she had never seen him.
‘What about you, Adrian? Will you look at the photographs, please?’
Adrian was barely awake. He blinked and rubbed the sleep from his eyes and then shook his head.
Next they were shown a photograph of Sammy Marsh. Both women said they had not met him, but then Mrs Chapman hesitated. She looked to her daughter.
‘Wasn’t he the one that came round here?’
Kelly shrugged and passed the photo to Adrian.
‘What about you, Adrian? Have you met him? He’s a drug-dealer. I noticed a few roaches in the ashtray. Did you meet up with him at all?’ asked Anna.
Mrs Chapman became very nervous. ‘Just wait a minute, what’s this about? I admit we’ve had a few joints, but that was because I have asthma and it helps me to sleep, but if you are here about—’
Anna interrupted her. ‘I’m not interested in whether or not you use cannabis.’
‘I use it to help me sleep!’ The woman’s voice was shrill.
‘Did you score it from this man in the photograph?’
‘No, but I think he might have been the man who called here. Adrian, didn’t you see him?’
‘No.’
Mrs Chapman grew even more agitated, taking back the photograph for another look.
‘It was just after we moved in. We sold our place in St Ives and we’re eventually going to buy somewhere, but my husband reckons we should wait for the prices to get lower so that’s why we rented this house.’
‘Tell me why you think you saw this man?’
‘Well, I could be wrong. The reason I remember is because it was late at night. He asked about someone and I said we’d just moved in.’
‘Do you recall the person he asked to see?’
‘No, I’m sorry. Like I said, it was very late at night and I didn’t even like opening the door. I also kept the chain on because there was something about him.’
‘Was it this man?’ Anna showed her another photograph of Sammy.
‘I think so. He was very jumpy, I remember that, and it was only for a couple of minutes. Oh yes, something else – we’ve got the gates at the bottom of the drive and he had to have known the code to open them. That’s what I remember now.’
‘But they were open when we drove up.’
‘They are now because something’s gone wrong with the mechanism and we’ve asked for it to be fixed. I think Kelly clipped them one time coming home.’
‘I didn’t.’
‘Well, they’ve not worked since. But that was what sort of unnerved me about him; you know, that he knew the code to open them.’
Anna glanced towards Williams. He gave her a small shrug.
‘If you scored from him, Adrian, admit it. We are trying to trace him in connection with a murder enquiry,’ he told the youth.
‘I never, I never.’
‘Did you find any papers or documents left by the owner when you moved in?’ Anna asked, looking to Mrs Chapman.
‘No. It was spotless as the property had just been renovated. Most of the furniture was new and we had to agree to have the cleaner that the agents suggested, but we pay her. We need someone to look at the barbeque as it doesn’t light up properly – the gas doesn’t go through.’
‘Can you just repeat to me exactly the method of paying the rent?’
‘My husband deals with all that. I’ve never even seen the agreements.’
Anna stood up ready to leave, but Williams remained seated.
‘Can you show us some identification, Mrs Chapman?’ he asked. ‘Passports, driving licence?’
Anna turned and looked at Paul as Mrs Chapman got up and left the lounge. Williams now addressed Adrian.
‘Listen, son, I’m not coming after you, but if you scored your dope from Sammy Marsh I want to know about it.’
‘Who?’
‘This man.’ He shoved the photograph under the boy’s nose.
