‘It’s not been easy,’ Linda Holden said. Isaac and Larry were in her office. Another lady had brought them a coffee each from the machine in the office kitchen. To Isaac, it was not up to the standard of the coffee he usually purchased at a café near Challis Street. However, he thanked the lady for her kindness.
‘What do you mean?’ Isaac said, looking at Linda. He could see she was struggling to manage, her desk cluttered with papers.
‘My father was regarded by some as a saviour. A man who stood up for the common man, the decent man, but now…’
‘Social pariah?’
‘No one’s listening. That’s the problem: put yourself on a pedestal, and you’re soon knocked off.’
‘It was your father’s doing,’ Isaac said.
‘And Helen’s. We trusted her, even welcomed her into our home, and then she goes and sleeps with our father. Do you know why?’
‘What did you know of Helen’s past life?’
‘I read the transcript of her first trial.’
‘Then you know about the club.’
‘Our parents taught us not to be judgemental, to take people as you find them.’
‘With Helen, was that possible?’
‘Yes. My opinion of her has been shaken, but I still regard her as a friend.’
‘Then you must have some ideas as to why she was in that hotel with your father.’
‘Was it the first time?’
‘In that hotel with Helen, but he had been there before.’
‘Who with?’
‘A woman who had known Helen before she went to prison; before she married Gerald Adamant.’
‘After my father met Helen, he had her checked out. She was in prison for killing her husband. My father had to be sure she was worthy of his help.’
‘And what did he find out?’
‘The report’s here. I read it two days ago for the first time.’
‘Damning?’
‘I’ve made you a copy.’
‘We’ll read it back at Challis Street. Tell us, what did you gain from the report?’
Linda Holden sat back, reflected on what to say. ‘Everyone she came into contact with had only good things to say about her. She had been an accountant before, competent according to her boss.’
‘She had trouble with him.’
‘She had that effect on men, even my brother.’
‘What about him?’
‘He was in love with her, but she rejected him.’
‘How did he take it?’
‘Badly.’
‘Your brother, he doesn’t seem as agreeable as you.’
‘John’s got a temper, and he was upset over Helen. He blows hot and cold sometimes, but he was always polite with her, distant with my father.’
‘No love lost?’
‘My brother respected our father, although he didn’t always follow his advice. There were a few instances when John was younger, drunkenness, occasionally sneaking a girl into his bedroom.’
‘Normal for a young man,’ Isaac said.
‘Normal for me,’ Larry said.
‘My father wasn’t upset over what he had done. My father was a pragmatist, but he had a reputation to uphold, a reputation that depended on his family, as well.’
‘And a teen has hormones driving him in another direction.’
‘Would your brother be capable of murder?’ Isaac said.
‘Not John. Don’t think because I told you about him and my father that he’d be capable of that. He admired my father, loved Helen. He’d not do anything to either of them.’
‘How about the people in this office? Some must have been suspicious of the special relationship between Helen and your father.’
‘We all knew, even our mother, but we trusted Helen.’
Isaac was always suspicious when everyone told him that the person was a saint, would never harm a fly. Experience had taught him that everyone was flawed, even the righteous.
‘What about you?’ Isaac said. ‘What’s your secret?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘No one’s perfect. Your father’s been murdered. Nobody has the luxury of privacy. We’ll dig deep if you don’t tell us.’
‘Apart from an inappropriate love affair in my twenties, there’s nothing. I’m married now, have been for twelve years, two children.’
‘Inappropriate?’
‘He was married. It ended badly.’
‘How?’
‘His wife found out. There was a scene where she confronted us in the hotel room.’
‘How did she find out?’
‘I never knew. I was heartbroken, but time heals.’
‘And the man?’
‘He went back to her. I see them from time to time.’
‘Socially?’
‘Not socially, but we move in the same circles.’
‘Anything said?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Does your husband know?’
‘No.’
‘Your father, your mother?’
‘I can’t be sure. And besides, it was a long time ago.’
***
James Holden’s body was released from Pathology and handed over to the family. They had asked for respect and to be able to grieve in peace – it was not to happen.
At the church James and Violet Holden attended every Sunday, the vultures were waiting, cameras at the ready. Isaac had seen them on his arrival and had asked the uniforms to make sure they didn’t get too close.
John and Violet Holden were the first to arrive. Soon after, Linda Holden, accompanied by her husband and two children. Isaac noticed a few politicians, everyone from James Holden’s office.
‘Not much of a showing,’ Wendy said. She sat at the back of the church with Isaac. They hadn’t been invited, but it was an excellent chance to watch the reactions of the people, to see if there were any unknown faces.
‘Under the circumstances, it’s the most that could be expected. The family’s been ostracised since his murder. Why was he in that hotel?’
‘With that woman.’
‘It’ll become clearer in time, but if Helen Langdon is so important, then why
