‘Very well. I might have inferred I was having an affair with Angus, although in my defence, Mike was being a bastard, accusing me of this and that. He’s a possessive man, insanely jealous.’
‘Did you know this when you married him?’
‘To some extent, but then after the honeymoon, after the period where you can’t keep your hands off each other, he changed. Wanted to know where I was going, who I was seeing, whether it was serious.’
‘Was it?’
‘No. A night out with some friends, female, by the way, and there he would be on my return, checking on how many drinks I’d had, who I’d met, what we’d spoken about, ad infinitum. After he had vented his spleen, he’d come on all amorous, expecting me to reciprocate.’
‘Did you?’
‘Stifling, more like a prison. No, I didn’t. It’s better now, our relationship, sad to say. There’s not much he can do, and he’s in a permanent state of self-pity, blaming everyone else for his woes.’
‘No physical contact, you and your husband?’ Isaac asked.
‘Not for a long time. Even before he left, we were sleeping in separate beds, him believing it was because I had a lover somewhere.’
‘Did you?’
‘Not out of choice, out of necessity. I was in my early thirties, and I didn’t sign up for celibacy.’
‘If there was no love at home, you looked elsewhere?’
‘Not look. I still believed in marriage, and I had loved Mike, but he had killed it in me. You can’t understand how I was suffocating, not that I’m making excuses for my behaviour.’
‘Angus, your lover?’
‘It was the day before Mike was to leave for Patagonia. We’d had a blazing row, him obsessing about this and that, driving me to despair. I was ready to move out of the house, but he was off for six weeks, a chance for both of us to cool down.’
‘I would have thought the mental preparation would have rendered your husband more tranquil, less demanding, less suspicious,’ Isaac said, willing to concede that the woman’s story was plausible.
‘Six weeks away, time to condition the mind, to go through the climb step by step, double-checking, triple-checking the equipment. That’s when the mental discipline came in, not in England, and not with me. He was looking for a farewell roll in the hay, but I wasn’t having any of it. Not that I can blame him, but he was being a prick. Apologies for my language, but there you are.’
‘You came up with this lame story about Angus?’
‘I was angry. I was wrong. I knew that as soon as I said it.’
‘Why did you?’
‘I knew how much Mike and Angus loved each other. They were brothers in spirit, inseparable as climbers, the perfect team. It was spiteful, but what could I do? I was at my wits’ end.’
‘Justin Skinner?’
‘If I had mentioned Justin’s name, Mike wouldn’t have believed me. But Angus, that had the impact. He was mortally wounded, the ultimate betrayal. And that’s what he took to Patagonia.’
‘We believe that your husband attempted to kill Angus Simmons in South America,’ Isaac said. ‘Is this possible?’
‘You’d need to ask a psychoanalyst, but he might have. Betrayal by a loved one, or in this case two, is a stronger emotion than hate, or I would have thought it was.’
‘How do you feel about yourself now?’ Wendy asked.
‘The same as I did when I first heard about the accident, sick to the stomach.’
Justin Skinner?’ Isaac asked one more time.
‘I disliked Justin from the first time I met him, an arrogant man who cared for no one, using people, discarding them when it suited. He’s the worst kind of human being.’
‘Your husband knew of your dislike?’
‘He didn’t see Justin in quite the same way. There’s a bond amongst elite climbers, a trust that exists, but Mike knew of Justin’s foibles.’
‘Were you having an affair with him?’
‘An affair infers emotion, and I wasn’t bringing that to the relationship. We had got together at an awards ceremony. Mike didn’t go, not sure why. Anyway, Justin’s there; I’m there. We’re both staying the night in the hotel on the same floor, two rooms apart. One thing led to another, and we ended up in bed together.’
‘You’ve slept with him since?’ Wendy asked.
‘I felt dirty the next morning, spent forever in the shower trying to scrub Justin from me, to rid myself of his smell, of what I’d done. Justin said it was foolish, just harmless fun, two lonely people, a night of passion. I told you what a bastard he was, and he was that morning.’
‘Yet, you continued the relationship.’
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have, but then Mike comes home from Patagonia, and after a couple of months, I meet with Justin. The disgust lessens with time, and no one ever knew.’
‘You’re meeting him today, the reason you’re anxious to get out of here.’
‘Yes, every few weeks. It’s sex, not love, nothing more.’
‘Mike’s sister?’
‘A terrible woman, fond of Mike, hated me.’
‘Any reason, the hate?’
‘I married her brother.’
‘Does she know about Justin Skinner, what happened in Patagonia, on that mountain?’
‘I doubt it. Deb’s not the brightest, slow on the uptake. She believes what she believes.’
‘Is Mike fond of her?’
‘It’s a complex relationship. We never spoke about it. Talk to her, but don’t expect much, and I doubt if it’ll help your investigation,’ Kate said.
‘The truth always does, and you, Mrs Hampton, have lied,’ Isaac said. ‘I hope you’ve told us the truth today. I don’t want us to meet again at this police station.’
‘I slept with Angus once. It was before I met Mike. My husband knew about it, and, as I said, a long time ago.’
‘Are you
