‘Maybe, maybe not.’
Larry looked over at the barman. ‘No more drinks for him,’ pointing at Hislop.
‘Who are you to tell me who to serve or not? His money’s as good as anyone else, and he’s not drunk.’
Larry withdrew his warrant card from his inside jacket pocket and flashed it in the direction of the barman. ‘As I said, no more drinks.’
‘It’s hard enough to make a living without you telling me what to do.’
‘Don’t give me any more of your lip. Once I’ve finished having a chat with this man, then he’s yours to fleece.’
‘As you say.’
Larry ignored the barman, not even asking if he was the licensee of the pub, although he probably was. It was an unattractive building with a dated interior, white tiles halfway up the walls, tiles on the floor as well. The pubs that were doing good business had diversified, gone upmarket.
‘Now here’s the deal, Hislop,’ Larry said. ‘We can have a nice little chat here, or you can be hauled down to Challis Street Police Station. What’s it to be?’
‘Can’t a man have a quiet drink?’
‘Not if they go around to their ex-wife’s house and threaten her and her sister.’
‘I didn’t threaten. Maybe I had had a few drinks and said a few words I shouldn’t have, but that’s all. Gwen and me, we go back a long way. She was keen on me in the early days. She’s still keen, I could tell.’
‘Do you seriously believe that, or is it the beer talking?’
‘I know my women.’
‘Gwen Hislop is an educated woman, so is her sister. When you were all younger, and you carried less weight, then they may have seen something in you, but now? I don’t think so. I’m told you’re going around with a slapper up in Liverpool.’
‘How dare you talk about Cynthia like that. I’ll grant you that she doesn’t look the best, but she doesn’t complain about my drinking, and she doesn’t accuse me of murder.’
Larry knew that character assassination and belittling the man’s current girlfriend were wrong, but he needed a reaction, and once Hislop was sober, he would start to think before he spoke.
None of the Homicide team believed that he was the murderer, but he had made statements that indicated that he knew the story. Even that wasn’t conclusive, as anyone with access to the internet, or a newspaper, could have learnt as much as he had; but most people nowadays neither had the time nor the interest to follow what was an increasingly stale crime.
‘We’ve not accused you of murder, yet. Either you tell me why you were at Gwen’s and why you cast certain aspersions, or I’ll haul you in. Now, what’s it to be?’
Larry looked over at the barman. ‘Two pints of your best.’
‘About time too. We’re not a social club.’
Larry couldn’t blame the man for his attitude. He would be barely covering costs, and possibly even making a loss each week; once, the pub’s licence would have been worth a lot of money, now it was probably worth a lot less than when the man had paid for it. He was cursed financially whatever decisions he made.
Hislop downed half the contents of his glass before Larry had had a chance to take his first sip. If this is the pub’s best, Larry thought, then he was glad he hadn’t ordered the worst.
‘You visited Gwen on two occasions.’
‘Twice, that’s it. She was really friendly the first time,’ Hislop replied.
‘Don’t give me any nonsense about how your boyish charm won her over, and that she was yours. Hislop, you’re a pathetic man who keeps getting himself into trouble. How about this business of yours? Strictly legal, no dodgy resprays, filing off the engine numbers?’
‘What are you talking about? You know that doesn’t happen anymore, too many rules and regulations. Nowadays, I change body parts, that’s all. I was a craftsman when I first started out, made a good living. Gwen knows that.’
‘And Cynthia?’
‘My business, as with my women, has gone downhill. Gwen and her sister are classy women, and once both of them were putty in my hands. Christine’s putting it about from what I’ve heard, and maybe I should give her a call, no harm in that.’
‘If you don’t want to spend a night in the cells, then I suggest you keep well clear.’
‘A threat?’
‘A fact. You visited Gwen the first time, nothing happened. I’ll accept that.’
‘Nothing happened the second time, either. If Gwen’s told you differently, then she’s lying.’
‘I’m not saying she has. What’s your story?’
Hislop had an issue with alcohol, a love-hate relationship, as did Larry. And Hislop had intellectual limitations. It was not as though the man was stupid, the same as for Larry: an inspector who wanted to be more, but he had come to realise that even if he devoted the time necessary, he just couldn’t summon the intellectual stamina required to push his career on.
‘Okay, I went around to her house. I wasn’t planning to, but I’d had a few, and you know how it is?’
‘Not really, but carry on. Why are you in London? A special trip to meet up with the sisters?’
‘I’ll admit to that. With you and your sergeant reopening old wounds, asking questions, it got me to thinking. Gwen’s still on her own, and I am, more or less.’
‘Cynthia?’
‘It’s casual. No doubt she’d like to take it to the next level, move in with me, but she won’t.’
‘Why not?’
‘Where do you think I live?’
‘Over the business.’
‘It’s not a home, is it? I had a place, but I couldn’t keep up the payments. It wasn’t much better, but at least it had a bathroom. All I’ve got now is a hose downstairs and a toilet in
