Chapter Twenty-Four
Eden and Carla made their way up the second set of stairs that were even narrower than the ones to the first floor. Oliver was waiting at the door to his room and beckoned them in.
“Hello, Mr Varney. I'm Detective Inspector Eden Gold and this is my colleague DS Carla Parsons.” Oliver looked at them closely as they both held up their warrant cards and then he nodded as if to say 'okay'.
“I’m sorry there isn’t a lot of room but it’s all I can afford.”
Eden looked round. He didn’t have to look far. The room was tiny. A small single bed, what appeared to be a canvas-sided wardrobe, a small desk with a laptop and two fold-up chairs. It all looked tidy and clean.
Oliver beckoned them towards the chairs and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Thank you for taking the time to see us. Before we start, I’ll need to caution you. It is purely routine in a case like this. Let me just assure you that you are not a suspect.”
After reading the caution, Eden continued. “I have to inform you that Peter Winston-Moore was found dead in his hotel room in Trentbridge yesterday morning.”
Oliver brought his hands up to cover his mouth and for a second it looked like he was going to fall backwards. “No! That’s terrible. I wish I’d never got involved with him now.”
“We hope you can tell us what happened so we can discover who is responsible for his death. If you could start from the beginning and include as much detail as you can. Even things you may consider as trivial. Can you start by telling us how you met Mr Winston-Moore and what happened up until the time you left the Albion Hotel?”
“I work in a restaurant in south London as a waiter and Peter came in a couple of times and we got chatting. He was a lot older than me but there was just something about him and he was really friendly and we got talking. I liked him from the start, before I knew he was rich.
“I agreed to meet him one day after work and he picked me up in his lovely car. Anyway, we went off and he took me to see a movie. We got close, if you know what I mean, and ended up at a hotel near Victoria Station. He told me he was an antiques dealer and was going to an antiques fair and would be staying at a hotel for a few days and it would be an ideal way to get to know each other a bit better. I had a few days’ holiday due from work so I agreed.
“He came and collected me on Tuesday morning and we drove to Trentbridge, we stopped on the way at a motorway service station and had a cup of coffee and a sandwich. Then we drove to the hotel and he booked us in. We went upstairs with our cases and it was a really nice room. He told me he had stayed at the hotel before, then he laughed and said last time he couldn’t have afforded this room. The view was stunning. It had windows at the front and side so we could see some of the buildings in the historic town centre.”
“Yes. That's good. Please go on and tell us in as much detail as you can all the events until you left. Just to assure you, we’re not easily shocked.”
“We got to the hotel just after 1.30 pm. and he asked if we could book into the room. The lady on reception checked and said our suite had already been cleaned and prepared so it was not a problem. After we had unpacked we spent an hour or so in bed.
“We went down to the bar and had a couple of drinks. Then we went for a walk around the town. We wandered the streets for some time until it grew a little cooler so then we headed back to the hotel. Peter made a few private phone calls. He walked off as he made them so I wasn't able to hear what he said or who he spoke to. We looked at the hotel restaurant menu and Peter said he didn't feel like driving anywhere and wanted a few drinks so we booked a table and had a pleasant meal with lots of wine and desserts and coffees. Then we went up to our room and had an early night and watched some TV.
“The next morning, that must have been Wednesday, I got up as usual at eight. I did some yoga and then took a shower while Peter stayed in bed until just after nine and then he got up and we went down for breakfast. Then we went back up to the room at around ten. Peter went into the bathroom to get ready. He told me he had some appointments from twelve until about four. He mentioned someone had sent him a letter and photograph of a painting and he hoped to buy it. He seemed very excited but didn't really say anything more at the time.
“I told him I'd go to the museum and then go shopping. I didn't see him again until late afternoon.”
I got back to the hotel at around 5 o’clock and he was already there. He had an easel set up in the corner of the room with a painting in a gold frame. He seemed very excited about it and when I asked he said he would tell me all about it later over a meal.
He couldn't stop smiling, even more than before and laughing to himself. He joked and said he was feeling randy so we went to bed until just after six. We looked at the hotel restaurant menu but Peter said
