Carla shook her head, her face a picture of innocence. ‘There must be some mistake.’
‘There’s no mistake. I checked. And I double-checked. You had five conversations with Miriam in the last few weeks of her life, and God knows how many before that. Now, I want to know what those conversations were about, and why you wanted them kept hidden.’
‘Look, I don’t have to answer questions like this. I want my lawyer present if you’re going to carry on.’
‘Do you? Are you sure about that?’
‘Yes, I’m very sure. Here you are, near enough accusing me of murder in my home—’
‘I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m just trying to tie up any loose ends. At the moment, we’re simply two people having a conversation. None of what you say’s admissible in a court of law.’
‘So why the hell should I talk about it?’
‘Because if you don’t, I’m going to have to go back to my superior and tell him about the phone records. At the moment, I’m the only person who knows anything about them. If your explanation satisfies me that you know nothing about the murder, I’m prepared to keep it that way; if it doesn’t, I’m going to tell him anyway. At least this way you get your chance to tell me your side of the story without anyone else being involved.’
‘So you’re here unofficially? Like the last time we met?’
‘I’m here in a semi-official capacity. It could go either way. Now, what were those conversations with Miriam Fox about?’
She sighed, as if bowing to the inevitable. ‘I suppose I half thought this was what you were coming round about.’
She finished her cigarette and immediately lit another one, taking a deep drag. I sat watching her impassively, wondering what I was going to hear, and what I was going to do when I’d heard it.
‘Miriam Fox was blackmailing me.’
‘What about?’
‘About an area of my private life.’
‘Go on.’
‘She knew something about me that I would rather have kept secret and she was trying to exploit the situation to her advantage. She was like that.’
‘So I keep hearing. And this area of your private life … what is it exactly?’
She looked me firmly in the eye. ‘I’m what’s colloquially called a lady of the night, Detective Milne. I escort middle-aged, usually middle-class, men for money. Sometimes I fuck them.’ There was a defiant expression on her face as she spoke, as if she was daring me to criticize her.
I didn’t bother rising to the bait. I’ve heard plenty of worse revelations than that in my time, although I have to say it did catch me off guard. ‘Well, I suppose it stands to reason. You don’t get these sorts of furnishings on civil servant’s wages.’
‘You’re not shocked that a person in my position is involved in something like that?’
I smiled and took a decent-sized sip from my wine, thinking that this was something of a surreal moment. ‘People in positions a lot higher than yours are involved in that type of thing, though usually as customers rather than suppliers, so, no, I’m not shocked. Is this a regular thing, this escort work?’
She nodded. ‘Yes, I suppose it is. I tend to do a couple of nights a week, sometimes more.’
‘Is that what you were doing last night?’
‘None of your business.’
‘So how did some low-level street girl like Miriam Fox find out about your extra-curricular activities? I presume you weren’t … moving in the same circles.’
‘Let’s just say she found out.’
‘How did she know who you were?’
‘Two or three years ago, when she first ran away, she was arrested for soliciting and ended up at Coleman House. She didn’t stop long, a couple of weeks at most. She was a very difficult girl to handle and she seemed to have a hatred of authority. I think there might have been problems at home that had helped to shape her personality, but she never talked about them. In fact, about the only time she did talk was to throw abuse. There were quite a few confrontations with staff, including myself, and then one day she decided she’d had enough and walked out. Like a lot of the girls do.’
‘Wasn’t it a bit dangerous to suggest to us when we first interviewed you that you didn’t know her?’
She shifted in her seat and put one leg up on the sofa. It was a vaguely provocative pose, although she didn’t seem to notice it. ‘Not really. None of the current staff were there, when she was there, and originally she gave a false name when we took her in. It would have been difficult to check up on it, and why would you have bothered?’
Which was fair enough, I suppose. ‘And when was the next time you saw her?’
‘But you said she was blackmailing you.’
‘She was. Look, I’d really rather not go into details, Mr Milne.’
‘I’m sure you wouldn’t. But it’s important I know.’
‘So you can calculate whether I’m telling the truth or not?’
I nodded. ‘Basically, yes.’
She picked up her wine and took a large drink, as if fortifying herself. ‘Look, I’ll be honest with you. I don’t actually know how she found out. I can guess, but that’s about it.’ I waited in silence for her to continue. ‘Let me start with how it works. My clients tend to be businessmen, men with plenty of spare money. The usual procedure is for us to go somewhere for dinner, then back to a hotel, or their place, for the rest. That way, I keep control of the proceedings, and don’t get myself into any situation where I’m unnecessarily vulnerable.’
‘That stands to reason.’
‘A few weeks ago, though, one of my regular clients – a high-powered lawyer, and someone I’ve been seeing for several years – was caught kerbcrawling in King’s Cross. You might have heard about it.’
I nodded, remembering the case
