‘Helen Langdon?’
‘My father had in the last few years become passionate in his desire to modernise the penal system in this country, more in line with the Scandinavian countries, where a prisoner is treated with respect, where conjugal visits are allowed, and for the more trusted, weekend leave. He saw the current system in England as regressive, whereby the felon is punished, not redeemed.’
‘Helen Langdon?’
‘She is not the only one that my father helped. He met her three years ago in prison. He spent time with her, as he did with the other prisoners, but her case seemed unique. The press had lambasted her when she married Gerald Adamant, criticised her when she gave the impression of loving her husband when she had given them no cause to doubt her sincerity.’
‘Did you like Helen?’ Wendy asked.
‘Yes, I did, so did everyone in this office. Not forsaking her beauty, and the fact that most men swooned in her presence, she was a capable and devoted member of the team.’
‘Is that for us, or is that a genuine answer?’
‘It’s genuine. Even the Adamant family spoke for her at her retrial. It’s unlikely they would have done so if they had any doubts.’
‘At the first trial?’ Isaac asked
‘They still spoke on her behalf, but the public interest was too intense. An acquittal then would have received too much negative comment. Helen served her time and then came here.’
‘Her relationship with your father?’
‘She was devoted to him.’
‘Intimate?’
‘Not that any of us knew. Their relationship seemed to transcend the physical. What they have done has shocked us all.’
‘Was your mother shocked?’
‘Inspector Cook, my father was not a saint, nor was he a martyr. He was a man, the same as you. No doubt he had the same desires and lusts that we all do, yet he kept them in check most of the time.’
‘It was not the first indiscretion?’
‘It was to me, although my mother may say otherwise. Whatever the outcome of his and Helen’s murders, I will hold my father in the highest esteem.’
‘And Helen?’
‘If she had erred, the same as my father, then we will forgive her.’
***
Larry questioned the concierge at the hotel in Bayswater, although the title of concierge pinned to the lapel of the man’s collar seemed inappropriate. A third-rate hotel in Bayswater was not the Savoy, and the so-called deluxe suite where the two bodies had been discovered was neither luxurious nor well-maintained.
‘I found them there, lying on the bed,’ the concierge said. ‘I saw them come in. I thought she was on the game, and he was one of her marks. How was I to know it was high and mighty James Holden.’
‘You’ve heard of the man?’
‘Who hasn’t, always preaching to the converted. For me, I do what I want, when I want, and watch what I want. It’s alright for him, rich and powerful. If he wants a woman, he can get one anytime.’
‘And the woman he was with?’
‘She oozed a good time. No doubt that’s what he got until someone put a bullet through his head. Shame about her, though.’
‘Why?’
‘Good looker. Would have fancied her myself. Mind you, if she were selling herself, it would have taken more than a week’s salary for a night with her.’
‘She wasn’t selling herself. She was a colleague.’
‘He may have been an old fool, but I’ll give him his due, he knew how to pick his colleagues. In this hotel, there are only the cleaners, the day manager, and a lady who does the accounts. I wouldn’t give any of them one, but Holden’s woman, anytime.’
Larry studied the man: overweight, the top button of his shirt undone. His hair was long and greased back. Altogether, a poor specimen of a hotel employee, and someone who wouldn’t be averse to looking through a crack in a door to watch the action.
‘Who did they sign in as?’
‘Mr and Mrs Smith, what else?’
‘Do they still do that? Larry asked.
‘Of course not. Bob Cleveland and Mary Gold.’
‘This is a murder, not the time for you to make cheap attempts at humour.’
‘It’s not the first body in this hotel. The occasional guest dies here; first murder, though. Will it be on the news tonight?’
‘It probably will. If you’re interviewed for the television, I should remind you that we’ll be watching. If you attempt to gain financially or if you’re withholding vital information, then you will be charged with perverting the course of justice, do you understand?’
‘I understand, I’ve been through the rigmarole before.’
‘You’ve been in prison?’
‘Two years for stealing. This hotel is the only place that would give me a job.’
‘If you want to keep it, what’s the truth?’
‘Okay, he’s been here before.’
‘With the woman?’
‘No, another one.’
‘Her name?’
‘She’s a regular around here. No one signed in. He just paid his money, the same as he always does, and I gave him the key. It’s not recorded in the books.’
‘Which means you’ve made yourself some money on the side.’
‘A few of the local women use this place. It’s not much, but it’s discreet. No wonder Holden brought the classy woman here. Mind you, she looked better than this place. Who was she, by the way?’
‘You’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, I need a statement and a proof of address from you. Any peepholes in the doors or the walls upstairs?’
‘I’m not into that. I’ve done my time, been punished. That’s the problem with all of you. Once a criminal, always a criminal.’
‘They’re both dead, upstairs in your hotel. Where were you? What did you hear?’
‘Nothing. They were up on the third floor, and this is an old building, not like the type they build these days.’
‘Are there any
