‘In which McAlister had failed. Did you see the other man, this Ivor Putreski?’
‘I would have seen him, not that I would have taken too much notice; after all, it was Tricia that the viewers were interested in. We thought it would look better if we got a few paying customers up there on the bridge with her, make out it was a regular jump.’
‘Wasn’t it?’
‘It was, but if it were her on her own, then the public would have thought she was getting privileged treatment.’
‘Not in the overalls she was wearing,’ Wendy said.
‘Even so, she still looked glamourous. The two other women who were to jump later didn’t look as good as her, but that we had agreed. We couldn’t have Tricia overshadowed by one of the paying customers.’
‘Coming back to Putreski, and allowing for the fact that he wasn’t the primary focus, you must have spoken to him, asked him to sign a video consent form.’
‘I wouldn’t have, but one of the production crew would. Nothing untoward in that, just ask the man’s permission, get him to sign a form: name, address, phone number, email address. No need for a person to prove their identity. No one ever refuses.’
‘If we look at the video you took, we can’t see when Putreski cut the cord,’ Larry said.
‘Focus was on Tricia and McAlister, nobody else. Most of the time, those in the background wouldn’t have been in focus, so it’s not surprising if nothing was seen. How he did it, I’ve no idea, and McAlister checked everything twice, made a nuisance of himself.’
‘You didn’t approve?’
‘I did, but we were running to a tight schedule, and the cutovers to us were scheduled down to the second, no room for error, no possibility of telling them to hang on for a few minutes while we get sorted out.’
‘McAlister jumped to the second?’
‘He did. After that, he’s pulled up and a cutaway to a commercial break. Long enough for McAlister to adjust the cord length for her weight, and then there’s Tricia in place, one of the bungee team instructing her, tying the cord to her legs, telling her to splay her arms and to scream on the way down.’
‘The radio mic?’
‘She had one; it was working, but we removed her earpiece, didn’t want it falling out, or getting jammed in her ear.’
‘Was that likely?’
‘The jamming? Not really, but we didn’t need it, and besides, once she’s completed the jump and she’s dangling there, she could speak, tell the viewers about her excitement, what was coming up in the new programme.’
‘Even if her voice was shaky, her nerves were on edge?’
‘All the better. We weren’t worried about Tricia, and, as I’ve already said, McAlister was thorough.’
‘Could Putreski, or someone else, in your opinion, cut that cord without anyone seeing?’
‘I’m not sure. We had more than one camera. One focussed on Tricia, another on McAlister, and another off to one side of the bridge,’ Breslaw said. ‘We should have picked up anything out of the ordinary, and as you’ve seen the footage and not found anything, there’s no more I can say or do.’
‘The first death?’ Wendy said.
‘I wasn’t there.’
‘But you approved the climb?’
‘I did, so did Jerome, not that he’ll admit to it now.’
‘Does that annoy you?’
‘I never expected any more. Nor did I expect Angus to fall. After all, it’s not as difficult as it looks, and if you check the building close up, there are plenty of places to hold on to. Easy for a man of Angus’s abilities.’
‘Even so, Jerome Jaden knew that the station’s revenue is going down and that there was a cost-cutting exercise in place.’
‘He would have had a contingency plan. I’m glad I got out when I did, not my choice at the time, but those remaining better hope they get a full payout.’
‘He’ll cheat them?’
‘He won’t see it that way.’
‘You appear to have given up,’ Wendy said.
‘I’ve embraced retirement. I am no longer chasing after work or pandering to Jerome Jaden. It used to be fun, but now, too many deaths, others thrown on the scrapheap. I’ve no intention of becoming one of them. The house is paid for, my needs are few, and here, I don’t need to worry unduly. I’ll slowly wither on the vine, as it should be.’
Outside in the street, Larry lit up a cigarette and blew the smoke up into the air.
‘Any wiser?’ Larry said to Wendy.
‘He’s right about Tricia Warburton’s death. Someone must have seen something.’
‘Hampton’s confession?’
‘He could have killed the woman by accident.’
‘But not Angus Simmons.’
‘Are we certain McAlister was the intended target?’
‘We have to be. Who would have wanted Tricia dead? And if they did, where does she fit into the saga?’
Chapter 26
Isaac and Wendy made the trip down to Deb Hampton’s farm in Dorset. ‘You’ve arrested Mike?’ she said after opening the door at the farmhouse.
‘You’ve not visited him?’ Wendy asked.
‘No reason to, and besides, I’ve got a wedding to organise, and Mike will never see the inside of a prison.’
‘He’s in a cell,’ Isaac said.
‘You know he’ll spend his days in an institution for the criminally insane.’
‘It seems as if you’re pleased,’ Wendy said.
‘Our mother was unstable, not that she ever killed anyone. Madness runs in the family. What do you want me to say or do?’
‘Compassion wouldn’t be a bad place to start,’ Isaac said. ‘We need to talk.’
‘Five minutes while I find Jock, tell him what needs doing.’
Inside the farmhouse, after Deb Hampton had removed her overalls, washed her hands, rubbed a flannel over her face, the three sat down close to an open fire, the dog
