“Can you start by giving us your name, occupation, and how long you’ve worked for Mr Curtis, please?” Miller sat back, notepad in hand.
“My name’s Ilya Yashnikova, I’m Henry Curtis’ personal assistant, and I have worked here at Accord for two years.”
“And how long have you known Mr Curtis, Ilya?” Hayes hated formality.
“I would say a long time. Maybe ten years?”
“In what capacity?” Miller, straight to the point.
Yashnikova’s brow furrowed. “As a friend, I would say. Why don’t you ask me what you need to know, and if I know the answer, I’ll tell you. I want this animal caught like you do, detectives.”
Miller nodded. “Okay, Ilya, we’d like to know if there’s anyone you know of who might harbour a grudge against Mr Fisher, or your boss, Mr Curtis. Have they upset anyone recently? Have there been any arguments with anyone that you know of?”
“No! Nothing like that. As far as I know, they were both happy. I see Henry once a day, and I can say he is happy, for months. If I knew of anyone like you are describing, I would tell you. But there isn’t.”
It didn’t appear hopeful that they were going to get anywhere with Henry’s personal assistant. “Have you heard the name Melodi Demirci?” And she’d hit the motherlode if Ilya’s expression were anything to go by.
“Oh yes, I have, she’s Henry’s silent partner, a forty per cent stakeholder in the station,” Ilya replied, sitting back in her seat, a look of disgust on her face.
“Partner? I didn’t realise Mr Curtis had a business partner?” Miller waited expectantly for a reply from the Russian.
“Actually, Henry was in the process of buying her out.”
Hayes was fascinated. “Go on, there’s more, isn’t there?”
“Henry offered to buy her out a couple of weeks ago, but she refused. She said she would buy him out. You see, detectives, Henry started this radio station using his parents’ money. Years ago, it was a tiny concern, costing his parents thousands a month, but they doted on him, handed him the money no question. Until about three years ago, they told him to ditch it, to focus his efforts on other projects. Being Henry, being the stubborn man he is, he did not give up. He applied for loans from banks. In the end, he gave up trying, until an acquaintance told him that Melodi offered business loans. He went to her, offered her forty per cent, and the rest is, as you say, history.”
“And Demirci gave him the money? Just like that?” Her suspicions about the casino owner were well-founded, it seemed. Hayes doubted Inspector Gillan would object to them interviewing her now, not after this.
“She jumped at it. Henry went to her with a strong proposal, a decent business model, and an even stronger hook.”
“What was the hook?” Miller asked, pen poised.
“Simple. Melodi put in a million for forty per cent of the profits, which she received every month. Payments started off modest, and grew. Last month, she received three-quarters of a million. But the hook was this: if he ever wanted out, or if anything happened to him, he would let her buy him out. They both signed a legal contract to that effect.”
“So, Demirci stands to gain a lot from Henry’s passing, is what you’re saying? She will effectively have first dibs on his sixty per cent of Accord FM?” Miller glanced at her again, before scribbling something down.
“Well, yes, but you make it sound suspicious, detective. Henry committed suicide, didn’t he? At least that’s what Lottie told me.”
“We have no reason to suspect foul play at this time, but it does sound a bit suspect, though, doesn’t it? Why wouldn’t Henry give his shares to Colin, his husband? Why hand them over to a ‘supposed gangster’?”
Ilya leaned forward, elbows on the desk. “It was a sweetener to secure her investment. Henry wanted to go back on it as soon as he signed the contract, but he needed the cash injection. And besides, Colin was awful with money. He had a huge gambling problem, and Henry wouldn’t trust him with money.”
“While we’re on the subject, Ilya, is there a connection between Colin and Demirci? We’ve heard rumours that he owed her a significant amount of money.” Hayes was keen to establish if this was in fact the case.
“I know Henry and Colin were arguing a lot recently, because Colin got himself in debt with Melodi, even after Henry made her swear to cut Colin off from using her casino. When she did not, when she let Colin build up debts in the thousands, it caused ill will between Henry and Melodi.”
Melodi Demirci was all over this case. Hayes asked a few more questions. They had a lot to move on already. “Can I ask how well you knew Brandy Reid?”
“Well enough, being a regular on air here. Why? Do you think it might be something to do with her?”
“We have three murders, which gives us three sets of suspects to wade through. Do you know of anyone who might mean to harm her?”
“She’s had her fair share of stalkers, yes. Then there are her ex-boyfriends, scum most of them. Even the one she’s with now–”
“Dylan Oldham–”
“Yes, that’s him. He’s the worst. He uses her for her money to buy his drugs. I would not put it past him to offer her to his friends for money; he is that kind of man. Scum! He was always jealous of Brandy’s on-air relationship with Colin. Colin almost punched him one night.”
Hayes hadn’t even considered it a crime of passion. Could it be Dylan shooting Fisher, Reid, and Austin in a fit of jealousy? She doubted it but had to at least entertain the possibility. “If you’re here
