“That’s what everybody thinks,” said Annie, “but you’d be surprised. First of all, how long had you known Jennifer?”
“About two years. I was here when she started.”
“What was she like?”
“In what way?”
“Whatever comes to mind.”
“She was good at her job. It was important to her, that’s why I mention it. She was considerate, cared about people. Maybe a bit too much.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, as a counselor you come into touch with a lot of grief, a lot of people with problems. You learn to sort of separate it out of your normal life; distance yourself a little bit. I don’t think Jenn could have done that so easily. That’s probably why she was in administration.”
“Did she get friendly with the clients here?”
“I wouldn’t say ‘friendly,’ but she did take an interest. We run a very open office. Everybody pitches in. You know, one day some poor girl would bust into tears and Jenn would be the first one over to comfort her with a clean hankie and a few kind words. That sort of thing.”
“But she didn’t socialize with clients?”
“Not that I know of. Oh, I suppose there was that girl she shared the flat with, Kate. But that was different. Kate wasn’t pregnant. She just had a pregnancy test and that was that.”
“What about Roy Banks?” said Annie. “She met him here, didn’t she, when he was bringing his daughter in.”
“I wouldn’t know about that.”
“She never mentioned how they met?”
“No. Jenn didn’t like to discuss her private life, not in any detail.”
“Didn’t you counsel Corinne?”
“Is that her name? No, it must have been Andrea. I’m afraid she’s on holiday at the moment.”
“Never mind,” said Annie, making a note to ask Banks about how things had been between Roy and Corinne. “How had Jennifer been behaving during the past week or so? Did she seem worried, upset, depressed?”
“She certainly had something on her mind last week.”
“But she didn’t tell you what it was?”
“No. I didn’t see much of her. I was worked off my feet, so we didn’t get to have our little chats.”
“She didn’t confide in you about anything that was bothering her?”
“No.”
“What about Victor Parsons?”
“That waste of space. What about him?”
“I heard he caused a bit of trouble here at the center.”
“Yes, but he’s all bluster. I mean, he’s obnoxious enough, but I can’t imagine him doing… you know.”
“What happened between them?”
“Search me. I think Jenn wanted to settle down, have a family, but he wasn’t interested. To be quite honest, from what I could gather he’s a bit of a layabout, a sponger. She was well shut of him.”
“Do you know if he ever hit her?”
“I don’t think so. At least she never said, and I never saw any evidence of it. The breakup hit her hard, though. She didn’t say a lot, but you could tell she was under a lot of stress, poor thing. She lost weight, let herself go, as you do.”
“But this was before Roy Banks?”
“Oh, yes. She’d bounced back by then. Even tried one or two dates. They didn’t lead anywhere.”
“But Victor Parsons turned up again, as recently as two weeks ago, I understand?”
“Yes, made a terrible scene. I was down in reception at the time.”
“What did he say?”
“He begged her to go back with him. Said he couldn’t live without her.” Georgina’s lip curled in distaste. “Pathetic little shit.”
“Did he and Roy Banks ever bump into one another?”
“Not that I know of.”
“But you think that’s what might have been upsetting Jennifer this last week? Victor? Or Roy?”
“Maybe they’d had a row or something. Bear in mind, though, I’m only guessing. It could have been something else entirely.”
“You said she had a tendency for getting involved, trying to help people.”
“Yes.”
“Did she have any particular causes lately?”
“I don’t think so. None that she mentioned to me, anyway.”
“Did she ever mention someone called Carmen Petri?”
“No, not to my knowledge.”
“What about the ‘late girls’? Do you know what that means?”
“I’m afraid I don’t. What was the context?”
“It was just something Jennifer said to a friend, to describe this Carmen person. ‘One of the late girls.’ It still doesn’t ring a bell?”
“No, not at all. I mean, it could be someone late with her period, or late in her pregnancy. As you know, the law only allows abortions up to the twenty-fourth week.”
“Yes,” said Annie, “I’d thought of that. Apart from Roy Banks and this Victor, did Jennifer have any other visitors here, or any other friends you know about?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Do you know anyone who drives a dark Mondeo, either black or navy blue?”
“My father does, but I doubt it’s him you’re interested in.”
Annie smiled. “I doubt it. No one else?”
“No. Sorry.”
“Do you think Jennifer would have confided in you if there was anything seriously wrong?”
“Wrong?”
“Say at the center. Something going on.”
“I can’t imagine what you mean, but she might have done. The things is, though, if there was anything untoward going on here, Jenn would have been in the best position to know about it as she practically ran the place single-handed. Her and Alex Lukas, at any rate.”
“Dr. Lukas?”
“Alex doesn’t stand on ceremony.”
“Is he in today?”
“She. It’s Alexandra. You might have noticed that the center prefers to employ women. It’s not some sort of positive discrimination thing. It’s just that we’ve noticed that the kind of clients we get here respond better to dealing with another woman.”
Annie understood. She had felt the same when she went for her abortion. She certainly wouldn’t have wanted a man asking her questions or poking about inside her.
“Look,” Georgina went on, leaning forward so her ample bosom rested on the desk. “I can’t imagine who would want to kill Jennifer, or why, but I think you’re barking up the wrong tree if you think it was anything to do with this place. She had no enemies here.”
“I’m just trying to cover all the angles. That’s all a lot of police work is, Ms. Roberts, covering the angles so you don’t look stupid for missing something obvious.”
“A bit like counseling.”
“How?”
“Well, it seems a bit of a cliche asking people how they get on with their parents, how they feel about their father, but if it turned out there was an incestuous relationship you’d look pretty damn silly for not even probing the area, wouldn’t you?”
