“I avoided both him and Dave Francis like the plague as soon as I reached the safety of my parent’s home,” said Serena. “I doubt I’ve laid eyes on either of them more than a handful of times in over twenty-five years. I certainly never spoke to them, nor did Marion to the best of my knowledge. She would have told me if one of them got in touch,”
“I might be asking another dumb question, Ms Campbell,” said Gus, “but once the two of you were free of your ex-husbands, why didn’t you report the abuse you suffered to the police? Sex with someone under the age of consent is rape. Criminal charges would have followed for how Street and Francis used coercion to get you to perform various sexual acts with men and women at those weekend parties.”
“My association with Marion and the swingers group got swept under the carpet seven years ago,” said Serena. “The man responsible was at that first party in the country house. I’ll never forget the look on his face when he realised Marion was his for the night. He attended most of the parties for the first three or four years. I hated every second I had to spend with him on future occasions. Then his wife died of cancer. Graham and Dave didn’t invite anyone who didn’t have a wife or partner willing to participate. Marion and I were fearful that even though he wasn’t on the scene any longer, that man would still have the power to squash any investigation. What happened after Marion’s murder proved how right we were.”
“Why not give us his name this afternoon?” asked Gus. “We can check officers serving in the city when you and Marion attended those parties. If that man’s wife died from cancer in the mid-eighties, we’re detectives. We’ll soon find him, anyway.”
“I warned you this goes deeper and higher than you can imagine,” said Serena. “I can’t prove they murdered Marion because they feared she was about to name and shame someone, but they are more than capable. You’ll have to find that man without my help. Why didn’t we act sooner? Marion was too scared of how Graham would react if she spoke out. He threatened to get rid of her and the baby she refused to abort. She had other reasons too.”
“Such as,” asked Luke.
“Remember what I told you Dave said when I first complained,” said Serena. “He was mine during the week, and being with someone at the weekend meant nothing; it was just a bit of fun. I soon found out that he saw other women who had nothing to do with the parties. That convinced me I’d been a fool and should do what I could to get away from him. With Marion, it was different. She had lovers during the week, but they were men she’d slept with at parties. I only found that out after we were both single again. I called her to ask if she wanted to meet for a coffee. There was another man with her at the flat.”
“The flat she had before she married Graham?” asked Luke.
“I moved in with Dave when we got married,” said Serena, “Dave rented the flat out to another girl; no doubt she was another of his conquests. Marion moved in with Graham in ’84 when they married, and he did the same thing, rented the flat out after she left him. When they finalised the details of their divorce, Graham gave Marion the flat, plus a cash sum he described as being for Martyn. Marion said Graham wanted to make sure she didn’t reveal anything of what happened during their relationship. She lived in that flat until she married Theo Reeves.”
“Did Marion hang onto it?” asked Gus.
“You’ve seen their home in Oakley Road,” said Serena. “Marion sold the flat when she and Theo married. The money gave them a brilliant start to married life. The mortgage they took out was a fraction of what most couples who moved into those new builds needed.”
“Theo didn’t mention that,” said Gus. “Did he know where the money came from?”
“Marion told him her grandfather had left her the money. How could Theo check? Marion’s life before they met in the Haunch of Venison was a closed book.”
“Can you give us the names of Marion’s lovers?” asked Gus.
“Did she continue to see them after she met Theo Reeves?” asked Luke.
Serena shook her head.
“No, Marion wanted to put her past life behind her for good. Marion severed all links with anyone she met between arriving in Salisbury and the night she met Theo. A clean break and a fresh start. That was how she described it the first time we met for a chat after they met.”
“What did you talk about on the Sunday afternoon before she died?” asked Gus.
“We sat over there by the window,” said Serena. “I could tell straight away something was troubling her.”
“Was it to do with Theo or the children?” asked Gus. “Or was it something from her past she was desperate to keep hidden?”
“An ex-lover was blackmailing Marion,” said Serena. “She received an envelope in the mail on Thursday morning at the print firm where she worked. The envelope contained photos of Marion taken at several of the parties.”
“Intimate photos?” asked Gus.
“Marion’s face was in every photo, but the faces of the men and women had been pixilated to hide their identities.”
“Where is that envelope now?” asked Gus. “What did Marion do with the photos? Was there a note inside demanding money?”
“The only thing Marion had received before we met on Sunday afternoon was the envelope and those pictures.”
“Had you already arranged to meet here that day?” asked Luke.
“No, Marion called me on her mobile on Thursday afternoon. We met as often as we could
