‘You’ve got to ride the man, you’ve got to prove he’s not doing his job. His team, what about them?’
‘They’re loyal to him. I tried to get rid of Sergeant Gladstone. She’s getting close to retirement, and she’s not in the best of health.’
‘And?’
‘Cook said she was fine.’
‘Is she?’
‘She’s Cook’s person.’
‘What have you done about it?’
‘Nothing more at present.’
‘Then do something. Get her checked out, make sure her health is up to scratch. What about her policing skills, reporting?’
‘She’s not computer literate.’
‘Then subject her to the full treatment. Make sure she’s on the list for early retirement, but whatever you do, you’ve got to undermine Cook, get him out. His replacement is a good man. He can do Cook’s job, you can’t.’
‘But…’
‘Don’t but me, Seth. I’m under pressure, and if I go, you’ll not be far behind. I put you in Goddard’s position to support me, and so far, you’ve been a liability. At some stage, when they’re ratcheting up the pressure on me, they’ll be looking at my appointees and those I’ve sidelined, and you’ll be subjected to a full audit of your policing skills, your ability to perform as a superintendent. And you know what they’ll find?’
‘No, sir.’
‘They’ll find someone who has been promoted without the necessary checks, and it’ll reflect on me. I’m giving you two months with this, and then…’
‘Goddard?’
‘If it gives me a few months, I’ll put him back at Challis Street.’
‘But they’ll see it as a weakness on your part.’
‘What do I care, as long as I’m still in a job.’
‘And me?’ Caddick asked.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll find you somewhere else.’
***
With Larry following up on the other woman who had been at the hotel in Bayswater with James Holden, Isaac and Wendy took the opportunity to make contact with the Adamant family.
Gerald Adamant, the dead patriarch, had inherited a mansion and its expansive grounds from his father on his death. His father had made a fortune in business; his son, Gerald, had every intention of enjoying the wealth.
He had been in his late twenties when he had married his first wife, the daughter of an investment adviser. Soon, in rapid succession, two children, Archie then Abigail.
‘We’re here because of the death of Helen, your father’s third wife,’ Isaac said. A maid brought in tea for those in the visitor’s room of the Adamants’ Victorian mansion. Also present were Archie, Abigail, now forty-one, and Howard, the son of Adamant’s second wife. He was twenty-nine, and as Isaac had observed, not as impressive a figure as his step-siblings.
Archie was forty-three. He was erect, well-spoken. His sister, Abigail, was attractive. Not as beautiful on the eye as Helen Langdon had been, but still agreeable. Wendy thought she looked like someone who was into horses. The youngest, Howard, sat casually on a sofa. He was wearing a tee-shirt and jeans. Wendy’s summation was that he spent the father’s money, did little to earn any for himself.
‘We had great respect and love for Helen,’ Archie said. ‘Her death has come as a shock to us.’
‘She killed your father. How could you feel anything but loathing for the woman?’
‘She made him happy.’
‘And you loved your father that much, you agreed to him marrying a woman younger than any of you?’
‘Not at first. We were suspicious of her motives, and her first impression in this house was not favourable. She was all over our father, and exceedingly pleasant to us.’
‘Sickening,’ Abigail said.
‘And what about you, Howard?’ Wendy asked.
‘I didn’t like it, especially when she tried to mother me.’
‘Let me explain on behalf of Howard,’ Archie said. ‘Howard had found Helen on the internet. He’s good with technology, that’s why he makes more money than either my sister or myself.’
Wendy realised she had judged the cover, not the book, in the case of Howard Adamant.
‘I write programs for computers. People buy them, I make a bundle,’ Howard said, slightly more interested than before.
‘She was more Howard’s age,’ Archie said. ‘He didn’t like it because he fancied her.’
‘And what’s wrong with that. She was a good-looking woman,’ Howard said. ‘You couldn’t keep your eyes off her.’
‘I’m not saying I could.’
‘We are aware of Helen’s attributes. We’ve been told about her by the Holden family.’
‘How are they taking it?’
‘Stoically. How about you three?’
’In time, Helen proved to us that she cared for our father,’ Abigail said. ‘To him, she was his wife, to us, she was a sister. We all grew very fond of her. Our mother, Archie’s and mine, had died young, and then Howard’s mother passed away a few years ago. Both wives had loved him, as he had them.’
‘Is there any more that we should know about your mothers?’ Isaac asked.
‘Howard’s mother was a few years younger than our father. Our mother was the same age as him,’ Abigail said. ‘Our father was a well-respected member of society, who we thought at first had gone slightly mad when he arrived at the house with Helen.’
‘Trying to regain lost youth with a younger woman,’ Archie said.
‘Much younger,’ Howard said, ‘and yes, I did fancy Helen. I wanted her, even made a pass at her, but she wasn’t like that. She looked it, but she was a decent person.’
‘Your relationship with her, eventually?’
‘I still fancied her, and she knew it. It became a joke between us, nothing more. I’ll not say a bad word about her.’
‘Yet the woman killed your father?’ Isaac said.
‘Helen had seen a change in his behaviour for a few months. She had confided in us, asked our advice,’ Abigail said.
‘And what did you say?’
‘We pleaded with our father to see a specialist, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Our
