‘There’s not much I can tell you. We went there a couple of times, put on a show for him, gave him the threesome he wanted and left.’
‘Your husband, wasn’t he concerned that you were out at night?’
‘Nightshift at the factory.’
‘And he accepted it?’
‘He’s a trusting man, even thought I was a virgin when we first met.’
‘Thank you, there’s not much more I need for now. Hopefully, we will not need to meet again.’
‘I hope we never do,’ she said.
***
The Murder Investigation Team was now in full operation: collating, investigating, researching in the hunt for whoever had killed Charles Sutherland. The forensics report had come through: death due to a combination of alcohol, cocaine, and arsenic poisoning.
Coupled with the dead man’s obesity and a heart condition, death was recorded as manslaughter, possibly murder. It was ambiguous. Isaac phoned Gordon Windsor. His statement: the arsenic may not have been of sufficient quantity to kill an average healthy male, but Charles Sutherland was obese with a heart condition. This raised the question of whether his death was the objective. Regardless of the reason, it was imperative to find the person responsible.
Before the murder, Isaac’s and Farhan’s activities had been kept relatively low-key, due to the sensitivity of Marjorie Frobisher’s disappearance. With Isaac now juggling two jobs, one as the senior investigating officer of the MIT, the other as part of the team with Farhan looking for the missing woman, it became apparent that another person was required.
Both of them knew Constable Wendy Gladstone: Farhan in passing with a cursory ‘Hello’, ‘How are you?’, Isaac better as they had worked on a couple of cases together in the past. If you needed to find someone, then she was the best person for the job.
She came into the office early. When Farhan arrived just after seven and Isaac fifteen minutes later, she had already found herself a desk and put it close to Farhan’s.
‘If anyone is missing, they won’t stay missing for long,’ Richard Goddard had said when told that she would be joining the team.
She had given Farhan a firm handshake when he had walked into the office. Isaac received a bear hug and a kiss on both cheeks.
‘Who do you want to find?’ she asked. She was a smoker and the smell of stale tobacco was anathema to them. If it became a problem, Isaac resolved to talk to her about it, but not today.
‘Marjorie Frobisher,’ Farhan said.
‘My favourite actress, my favourite programme.’
‘You like the programme?’ Isaac asked.
‘Why not? After a day in here dealing with misery and violence, a bit of nonsense does no harm. You don’t like it?’
‘Neither of us likes it much,’ Farhan said. He liked the woman, although he was more sensitive to the smell of tobacco than Isaac.
‘Each to their own,’ she said. She had brought her own coffee mug and was seated comfortably at her desk.
‘Where was she last seen?’ Wendy asked.
‘A hotel in Malvern, Worcestershire,’ Isaac replied.
‘Positive identification?’
‘The receptionist said it was her, and she was picked up on a street camera.’
‘How long ago?’
‘Three weeks, in Malvern.’
‘That’s seven weeks missing. Where has she been?’
‘No idea’ Isaac replied.
‘Probably she rented a remote cottage in a nondescript village and kept a low profile,’ Wendy said.
‘Why would she do that?’ Farhan asked.
‘I don’t know. Where she is now is what’s important.’
‘Wendy, we’ll bring you up to speed,’ Isaac said.
‘Fine, let me get another mug of coffee. You want some?’ Both Isaac and Farhan declined. Isaac knew that they would need to buy more sugar for the office.
Once she was sitting down again, Isaac commenced. ‘Marjorie Frobisher’s disappearance has caused some concern.’
‘I know. Her fans are distraught,’ Wendy said.
‘It is not her fans that concern us. Marjorie Frobisher led a colourful life. In her earlier years, before she became a major star, she was involved with people who are now very influential. Those people need to know if she is dead or alive.’
‘Don’t worry about me. I can keep a secret.’
‘We know that.’
‘What’s the tie-in between Sutherland and Marjorie Frobisher, then?’
‘We believe he had some knowledge relating to her.’
‘Enough knowledge to get him murdered?’
‘It seems likely.’
‘I’d better get to Malvern. Is this dangerous, by the way?’
‘How are you fixed for security?’
‘Pepper spray and a kick in the groin.’
Later that day, with a cash advance, a police-issue credit card, and a car, Constable Wendy Gladstone was heading to Malvern. Isaac and Farhan felt confident that she would find Marjorie Frobisher, dead or alive. Until then they had to carry on probing, asking, and hoping for a breakthrough.
Chapter 19
With Wendy in Malvern dealing with the disappearance of Marjorie Frobisher, both Isaac and Farhan were at a loose end. It had been so quiet the previous night after she had left that Isaac had left early to meet Sophie. Farhan had gone home to an empty house, although his wife was talking about coming back. He was pleased for the children, not for himself, as what she considered to be love was not how he saw it. It was a dilemma for which he had no solution.
He was a proud Muslim, and what he was contemplating was contrary to all he had been brought up to believe. His family would not understand, his children would probably not as they grew older, but he had become a contradiction, a contradiction to his faith. He knew what he must do. He was not sure how it would turn out. He needed to sow his wild oats and then maybe… Maybe then he would go back to the all-encompassing traditional family.
Isaac arrived refreshed the following morning; Farhan, the opposite, as he had not been sleeping well since his wife
