‘I thought you went to see him the other day.’
‘He left the production lot before I had a chance to talk to him.’
‘You’re playing with fire,’ Farhan said.
‘I’m keeping my distance,’ Isaac replied, a little indignant.
‘No one is free of suspicion, you know that.’ Farhan realised he had not been as diplomatic as he should have been, but Isaac was not only a colleague, he was a friend. As a friend, he was advising him to keep his distance from Jess O’Neill. He was sure Isaac would take his advice in the manner it was given.
***
Marion Robertson was not in a good mood when Farhan phoned the next day. ‘My girls value their secrecy. I still regard this is an intrusion.’
‘Marion.’ Farhan knew that a degree of familiarity usually defused the tension. ‘I understand your concerns, but I’m doing my job, and until told otherwise, your two women were the last persons to see Sutherland alive.’
‘I understand, but they’re blaming me for fixing them up with him.’
‘From what you said, he paid his money, and they came to no harm.’
‘That’s correct, but the magazine is refusing to pay; probably afraid their reputation will be tarnished if it becomes known that they paid for prostitutes.’
‘You’ve had non-payers before?’
‘Of course, but I can hardly take them to court, can I? That will let all the cats out of the bag. Besides, I’ll still pay the women.’
‘Regardless of payment, I need to meet with these women. I’m trying to help you, but you will have to trust me.’ Farhan said.
‘I’ve already set up a meeting with one of the women for you. I’ll send a photo. She uses the professional name of Samantha.’
‘What’s her non-professional name?’
‘I’ll let her give it to you if she wants.’
‘Where will I meet her?’
‘Hyde Park, close to Marble Arch. You’ll find her at the entrance to the park. She’ll be wearing a blue jacket. I’ll send you a phone number so you can call her when you are there.’
‘Time?’
‘Midday, she works nearby. You can pretend to strike up a conversation with her, admire the flowers, whatever.’
‘And the other woman?’ Farhan asked.
‘Tomorrow, but she is married and would prefer to stay that way. Her husband would probably not understand. He thinks she pays the mortgage on the money she earns working in an office somewhere.’
‘You have to trust me on this. If they’re not involved, then we will refer to them as X and Y,’ Farhan said.
Chapter 15
The first thing Isaac noticed when he entered Richard Williams’ office was that the lovely ‒ available if you drove a Ferrari ‒ Sally Jenkins was absent. In her seat sat another equally vivacious woman. She introduced herself as Linda. Another rent-a-lay, Isaac thought.
‘Sally Jenkins, what happened to her?’ Isaac asked as the new woman showed him into Williams’ office. She hadn’t been employed when Marjorie Frobisher had disappeared, and she was clearly another prick-teaser.
‘I had to let her go,’ Williams replied in an offhand manner. It wasn’t a good enough explanation.
‘It’s important. Where has she gone?’
‘I had to sack her.’ A curt reply. Still not good enough.
‘I need details. She may well be a material witness. I may need to talk to her again.’
‘No doubt she will tell you the story. She started talking marriage and settling down, having a few children.’
‘And you don’t want that?’
‘I’m still paying one silly bitch who managed to get me down the aisle. She made sure she was pregnant before we got that far. Still bleeding me for all she can. It takes my lawyers all their time to keep the situation under control. You’re a tall, good-looking man, you must have similar issues?’
‘True enough, but I only have a policeman’s salary.’
‘You’re young, plenty of stamina. I need a good dose of Viagra to get going. They’re with me for the money and the good life. Why can’t they leave it like that?’
Isaac thought it was an honest answer. He had never regarded the women he bedded in such a manner, and he would never have spoken about them to other men. ‘I need to talk to you about Charles Sutherland,’ he said.
‘How did he die?’
‘Suspected poisoning.’
‘Fine, it’s a murder investigation now. I can’t really avoid you anymore, or you’d have me in the back of a police car and down to the station for an all-night grilling.’
‘A little melodramatic, wouldn’t you say?’ Isaac replied.
‘A great storyline. The masses would love it, but as you say, a little melodramatic. But when has our programme been factual? Maybe once this is all over, we’ll incorporate it into a storyline.’
‘I would advise against it for now,’ Isaac said. ‘This is an official visit.’
‘I know that. What happened to Marjorie? Any updates?’
‘I’m not at liberty to discuss it. We are following up on various leads.’ Isaac thought it a somewhat dumb response.
‘You don’t know where she is, correct?’
Isaac chose to ignore Williams’ evaluation, unfortunately accurate. He returned to Charles Sutherland.
‘Did anyone have a grudge against Charles Sutherland, a reason to want him dead?’
‘A few, but murder? That’s a whole different issue.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘A person’s death may make certain people more comfortable, but killing that person…’
‘Why do you say that?’ Isaac realised Williams knew something.
‘Murder and it’s twenty-five years, hard labour, breaking rocks.’
‘There are no rocks these days.’
‘Yes, of course.’ Williams picked up the phone to the outer office and asked the new PA to bring in some freshly brewed coffee. It gave him some time to think about what to tell the persistent policeman, and how much.
Five minutes later, and the latest plaything, who managed to give a good impression
