‘There’s a room upstairs. I would appreciate the company.’
Wendy had prepared for such an eventuality; she had brought a change of clothes and a washbag just in case. Isaac told her to stay, do what was necessary, and to keep asking questions, no matter how gentle, how innocuous.
***
Isaac realised that Montague Grenfell, even though he was in his seventies, was mentally and physically stronger. He had scheduled the appointment for two o’clock in the afternoon at the lawyer’s office. As he walked briskly up the three floors to the office, he realised that an early morning jog before coming to work was doing him good.
It had been a couple of weeks since Jess had moved out, and in that time there had been no one else in his flat. He had to admit he missed her, and the only time she had contacted him was to let him know that she had paid the electricity, as they had agreed when she had moved in. An independent woman, she had intended to contribute to the upkeep of their shared accommodation.
She also let him know that she still loved him, and if…
Isaac felt sadness talking to her, but realised that the if… was not going to happen. And besides, he felt better, if sadder, being a free man. He wanted to settle down, realised he probably never would. He was not sure how it would impact on his career with the Metropolitan Police, but realised it probably would not. After all, he, the son of Jamaican immigrants, had made detective chief inspector in record time, in a society that stated equality for all, but rarely was equal. He was still after the top job at the Met, and if he was single and black and the son of immigrants, so be it. And besides, he would achieve it in record time.
‘How’s Gertrude?’ Grenfell asked.
‘You’ve not spoken to her?’
‘I phoned. She said she was all right.’
‘But you’re not sure?’
‘Not totally, but she was always harder to read than her sister. Mavis is an open book, what you see is what you get. With Gertrude, you could never be sure what she was thinking.’
‘Constable Gladstone said she took the news as well as could be expected.’
‘Ambiguous statement, don’t you think?’
‘My constable thought the woman looked sad. That’s why she offered to stay the night with her.’
‘In that awful house?’
‘There’s a room upstairs that’s in reasonable condition.’
‘Your constable can keep asking questions.’
‘Her reason to stay is compassionate, no more.’
‘True, true,’ Grenfell said.
‘Coming back to the reality,’ Isaac said, ‘what don’t I know that I should?’
‘I’m not sure where to start.’
‘Let’s start with the women’s childhood.’
‘I’ll make some tea first,’ the lawyer said. Five minutes later he returned. Isaac noticed that his hands were not trembling.
‘They came up to our home, you would call it a stately home, every summer for two weeks. I am ten years younger than Mavis, twelve years younger than Gertrude. They treated me well, made sure I was fed and bathed as a baby. They were like sisters to me, and we were all fond of each other.’
‘Gertrude and Mavis, good friends?’
‘They were inseparable until their late teens.’
‘What happened?’
‘The inevitable. Gertrude was the more promiscuous of the two, although Mavis was far from perfect.’
‘Were there many opportunities in those days for promiscuity?’
‘Amongst the aristocratic and the idle rich? A different set of values for the upper classes to the proletariat. I was as much a part of it as anyone back then. I was ignored by them after they reached the age of seventeen. My chance to play up came later.’
‘Did you see them much after they reached adolescence?
‘Just family occasions: weddings, deaths, the occasional baptism.’
‘And then what?’
‘I never saw them for many years, heard about them in the gossip columns. Both of them were regarded as beauties, and they were always popping up at Ascot for the races or at some club or another. Invariably squired by the son of a lord or a duke, sometimes in the company of a minor royal.’
‘So why did Gertrude marry Michael Solomon?’
‘Beauty fades, and a royal wants a virgin, and the son of a lord wants someone reasonably chaste. Gertrude did not qualify on either count. Rumours of an abortion at one stage, but I don’t know if that is true or not, never asked either.’
‘Was Michael Solomon wealthy?’
‘Successful in trade. I suppose he was. Remember, their father was still alive then, so they only had an allowance. From what I know, Gertrude fell heavily in love with Michael, and they married within a couple of months. Her father disapproved until he met him, and then he was quickly charmed. Finally gave them his blessing and a house in Twickenham.’
‘Mavis?’
‘She travelled in Europe for a few years after the war.’
‘And her husband?’
‘I never liked him.’
‘Any reason?’
‘Irish.’
‘Is that sufficient?’
‘She met him in Italy. He wooed her, bedded her, and eventually married her once he realised that her father was on his deathbed, and she was about to get a half-share in a substantial fortune.’
‘Did she?’
‘It was substantial. I handled the legal paperwork, assigned each sister their proportion.’
‘And the husband?’
‘He lasted for a few years, until he realised that Mavis was no fool, and that his good life came with limitations, but no claim to the fortune.’
‘Back then, the husband would be entitled, wouldn’t he?’
‘Not according to their father’s last will and testament. He knew that Gertrude was susceptible to unscrupulous men, and that Mavis had made an unfortunate choice in a husband. As I said, I dealt with the legal aspect to protect the women.’
‘But it didn’t protect Gertrude?’
‘Legally and financially, it did, but there were other problems.’
‘Michael
