***
Wendy Gladstone had not been satisfied with Ben Aberman’s widow’s reason for being at the house in Bray. She decided to visit her at her home in Chelsea. She found the woman in a good mood.
‘I’ve secured the house in Bray,’ Christine Aberman said.
‘It’s a good job his body was found,’ Wendy said. She had had a restless night with arthritis and was not in the mood for polite conversation.
‘This house has been good to us, but my husband, he wants the quiet life, the same as I do, and with its sale, we’ll be able to retire. I may even join in some of the village activities.’
‘How long have you known that your husband was dead?’
‘Ever since you found his body.’
‘How long have you suspected?’
‘For a few years. Our marriage ended, but it wasn’t acrimonious. He used to keep in touch on an occasional basis, birthday card, that sort of thing, and then nothing.’
‘You didn’t approach the police with your concerns?’
‘What did I have? The former owner of a strip joint has disappeared. What would you have done?’
‘His disappearance would have been registered as a missing person.’
‘Exactly, and then, even if the police were interested, there’d be the dumb questions. Why did a strip club owner disappear? What makes you think he’s dead? Was he involved in drug dealing, prostitution, illegal sex-trafficking? My husband would not appreciate questions being asked about his wife’s first husband.’
‘You did nothing.’
‘There was nothing I could do. I still regarded Ben as a friend, but he had become an absent friend. In time, I forgot about him and moved on with my life.’
‘All the time knowing there was a house in Bray for you.’
‘It wasn’t that important. This house is paid off, we’re not short of money, and what if I had tried to declare him dead?’
‘The questions you were worried about,’ Wendy said.
‘If he hadn’t been found, we would have stayed living here. It’s a bit like winning the lottery. Before you win it, you survive. Afterwards, you wonder how you managed to live before.’
‘Slater, what can you tell me about him?’
‘We knew him, used him to purchase the house. Apart from that, not a lot. He’d sometimes come to the house in Bray, came to one or two of the parties, enjoyed himself.’
‘Did Slater take advantage of the women?’
‘He did.’
‘And it didn’t concern you?’
‘I was younger then, less critical.’
‘Was Daisy one of the women?’
‘She was there a few times, never Helen, if that’s what you’re going to ask.’
‘We know that Slater was present when your husband was murdered. Did you have any suspicions the man was crooked?’
‘No.’
‘You’re a smart woman. You’re at a party with drunken men, whores. You must have formed an opinion.’
‘I knew the sort of men Ben associated with. He was not a dishonest man, but he was involved in a dishonourable profession. Slater, he was involved in shady deals, I know that.’
‘How?’
‘Ben told me.’
‘Anything more?’
‘No more than that. I didn’t want the details.’
Wendy could see the woman was not comfortable with discussing her past life. If she had been an innocent bystander, then why be nervous? If she was involved, then why deny it? Associating with criminals, ensuring there were women available, may not have been everyone’s idea of a party in the countryside, but it wasn’t necessarily illegal.
‘You’re holding back,’ Wendy said. ‘You couldn’t be married to a man for so many years and not be aware of what he was up to, who he was associating with.’
‘I can’t say any more.’
‘Can’t? Are you being threatened?’
‘It’s hard to explain.’
‘I’ve got all day,’ Wendy said.
‘Ben was associating with the wrong kind of people, I could see that. At first, the men at the parties were the same as Ben. Purely interested in having a good time, running clubs. At the last party I attended, this was three years before he disappeared, there had been an argument between Ben and another man. He had turned up at the door, and he wasn’t there for a good time.’
‘Who do you think it was?’
‘I had no idea at the time. He was well-dressed in a suit, in his late fifties. Apart from that, there’s not a lot I can tell you. The two men went into another room, Slater joined them, not that he was happy as he had been occupied in another room with one of the women. Thirty minutes later, all three men emerged, and they’re cheerful.’
‘Then what?’
‘Slater goes back to the woman, and the mysterious man leaves.’
‘What did Ben say?’
‘A minor dispute, that’s all.’
‘But you didn’t believe him.’
‘That’s when I knew he was in too deep. That’s when I decided not to attend any more parties.’
‘Did you ever meet Helen?’
‘Never. I knew he was playing the field, but I never knew who, and that’s the truth.’
‘This man you saw with your husband and Slater, does he frighten you?’
‘I remember his eyes. They were cold. He was an attractive man, not like some of the others. He was a man used to people doing what he wanted. He could have killed Ben.’
‘How do we find him?’
‘He’s dead.’
‘How do you know
