Silent Scream (20 page)

Langton pulled up a chair and sat down, then counted on his fingers.

‘One, who else was she screwing? Somebody new, not the guys you’ve already questioned and eliminated. Two, drug dealers. Get onto who she scored from and find out if she owed a dealer or was about to—’

Simon interrupted him. ‘She usually scored from her flatmate, ex-heroin addict Dan Hutchins, and it was never that much.’

‘Pull him in and scare the pants off him.’

Langton ticked another finger.

‘Money. Turns out she’s got quite a nice stash of cash. Who benefits? Check them out, the beneficiaries . . .’

Anna hesitated, waiting for the right moment to speak up as Langton continued, his manner becoming more and more aggressive.

‘I don’t like the parents. Dig more on them. I know you’d been enjoying yourselves visiting the movie set, hobnobbing with the extras and the actors, but look into the finances. What happens with the movie backers, now she is dead? She was a little golden goose for a lot of people. That could maybe be a motive, or . . .’

Langton took a deep breath. ‘We’ve got a random killer, a crazy fan maybe, but as you’ve not unearthed anything about a maniac stalker, I’m not sure that is the route to go down. Last but not least, we have two items of interest.

‘The stuffed toy! Why is it missing? Could be a simple explanation or we might get something from the TV interviews. Maybe she did leave the mews that morning, maybe she did go to see someone, and maybe that person returned home with her and killed her. Also interesting is the crucifix and chain we found. Was it torn from her neck or from the killer’s . . . and where is the rest of the chain?’

He stood up and put his hands on his hips. ‘So come on, anyone have any ideas?’

Anna stood up and he gave a lopsided smile.

‘Detective Travis.’

She coughed and her cheeks were flushed.

‘I haven’t checked it all out, and most of it I came by today, so it does need confirmation.’

‘Well, spill it out, for chrissakes.’

‘It’s possible that Amanda was about to change agents. I’m unsure what this actually gives us and it’s not that much of a motive. Either way now she’s dead, it’s maybe not going to benefit her present agent or whoever else she might have been going to be represented by, but it does muddy the waters.’

‘Is that it?’

‘We took her laptop from the house.’

The team were swivelling around in their chairs to look at her as Anna nervously explained that after having read the contents from a file, she thought it was possible that Amanda Delany was writing her memoirs.

Langton pointed at her. ‘That’s a motive. Little crack-head about to spill the beans. Get it verified, and another thing . . .’ He paused and rubbed his head. ‘Money. We need to get access to her accounts and her accountant, so bring him in. Do we know who it is?’

They had not even gone down that route yet.

‘Right, now we move on two possible motives. If Amanda was leaving her agent it might throw up a little bit of skulduggery on her finances, and if, as Detective Travis thinks is possible, she was writing a memoir, this could also be a motive if someone didn’t want her spilling out something that would be damaging. But,’ he shook his finger, ‘constantly keep in your minds: people could get angry and afraid, if this little screwball was about to publish something derogatory about them, but to plan a murder and knife her is a long way off from either of the emotions I just mentioned. Hatred kills, and fear can only be measured by how important a person they are. If we were to discover she had been screwing the Prime Minister or one of his cronies, for example . . .’ Langton laughed humourlessly.

‘You hire someone to kill, and this could be a contract murder. An even stronger possibility is that the murder could have been staged to make it appear different from the real reason she was killed.’

It was another half-hour before Langton wound up the meeting. He had gone through all the evidence to date in detail but also underlined that, to him, the most important items were information brought to them by Anna Travis.

They finished off the refreshments as Langton made a point of talking to each and every one of them. Anna had returned to her office to patch up her report quickly on the publishing possibility. She looked up to see him laughing with Barbara and Joan; the latter was obviously very enamoured. She saw him enter Simon’s office and have a lengthy conversation with him. Then he headed in her direction. She was typing furiously, sensing he was about to walk in, and when he did so she looked up, acting surprised.

‘OK, this is what I have suggested to Mathews. I want Dunn out and I am bringing in Barolli and Lewis.’

Anna was taken aback.

‘I need him on something else,’ Langton said by way of explanation. He drew up the only extra chair and leaned his elbows on her desk. ‘If they come on board, don’t keep any information you get. Pass it out, understand me?’

‘Yes, of course.’

‘It’s imperative, Anna, that you learn this. I mean, how long have you known about this book?’

‘I don’t know. It was just reading some of the material from Amanda’s laptop last night.’

‘And the agent thing?’

‘I’d only just got back from a meeting with Andrea Lesser when you arrived.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes.’

‘I know you too well, Anna,’ he said softly.

‘Maybe you do, but I didn’t think it was ready for the team to take on board until I was sure.’

He stared hard at her and she refused to look away. He suddenly stood up.

‘OK, you should really move on it now.’

‘Yes. I was going to ask DCI Mathews if we could get onto this
Spotlight
website to check out theatrical agents. Reason I haven’t done it already is because it costs.’

Langton paused at her door, cocking his head to one side.

‘Do it. You should be running rings around this crowd. I know how hard you worked on that trial with Lord Whatsit.’

‘Lord Halesbury.’

‘Yeah, you had a good result, proving me right. You’ve got quite a career ahead of you, and I know you get along with Lewis and Barolli. They’re both good detectives; I miss working alongside them.’ He paused and smiled. ‘And you.’

‘Thank you.’

‘I mean it.’

‘Thanks again.’

‘How’s life treating you?’

‘Fine. You look well.’

‘Yeah, I took a long break, feel rested. I needed it.’

She hesitated. ‘How’s the family?’

He gave a soft laugh. ‘We’re doing fine. My son has grown a lot, and my step-daughter …’

‘Kitty?’

‘Yeah, only now she likes to be called Catherine. She’s grown into a lovely girl.’

‘Good.’

He looked at Anna before giving her that smile of his that always touched a chord inside her.

‘I’ll be around until I think we’ve got this case under wraps, so I’ll no doubt see you again.’

She smiled and could think of nothing else to say to him as he walked out. She watched him sitting with Simon and then she saw him go into Mathews’s office. It was another fifteen minutes before he came out and looked over to her window, giving her a small salute as he left the station.

Anna sighed. As always he’d taken everyone by storm, his energy and drive stronger than ever. She decided to leave for the night. She didn’t bother saying goodnight to anyone in her eagerness to get home.

In the car park, Barbara was walking out with Joan. She looked over to Anna.

‘I miss him, don’t you?’

Anna nodded. She missed him more than anyone would ever realise. Seeing him again, watching him at work had, as always, made her admire him. Yet at the same time she felt that he was calmer now, less angry. She had known him before, known and loved him, was still in love with him and try as she could, it was harder than ever to disassociate herself from those feelings.

She sat for a while in her Mini, thinking, remembering, and not until she started the engine did she really force herself to concentrate on driving, refusing to allow any more thoughts of Langton to invade her mind. It
was
like an invasion; his dominance over her that she had really felt was a thing of the past. He was still very much a part of her, only now it was so distant it was easier. If he was going to be on the Delany case, she knew it was vital that she keep any latent feelings well below the surface.

It was not until she was getting ready for bed that Anna remembered the photograph she had taken of Andrea Lesser and the man she had met outside Liberty. She clicked onto the picture; it was a good clear shot of him and she made a mental note to mention it first thing in the morning. With Langton watching her, she knew that from now on she had better inform the team of every piece of information she came by.

‘I
suppose you know.’

Anna acted surprised when Simon appeared at her office door at 8.15 the next morning, Saturday.

‘I’m off the case, going onto another investigation in Hampstead. At least it’s not looking as if I’ve got shafted, unlike poor old Mathews.’

‘What?’

‘Oh come on, don’t tell me you don’t know about him either. He’s been given a research and policy desk job until his retirement, poor sod. He got well pissed last night. Langton really rode roughshod over him.’

‘I had no idea.’

Simon gave a mirthless laugh. ‘No? How did Langton know I was knocking off that little actress from the movie set, if it didn’t come from you?’

‘I beg your pardon!’

‘“I didn’t know”,’ he mimicked.

‘Simon, I didn’t.’

‘Well, he bloody knew about it, so somebody ratted on me, and I guessed it could only be you. Anyway, I suppose you’re so well in with him you might have let it slip.’

‘What do you mean by that?’ Anna said angrily.

‘What do you take us all for? Everyone knows that you and he were shacked up for a time together, so it’s unlikely he’s gonna kick
you
off this investigation.’

‘Whatever my past relationship with DCS Langton, that is not only none of your business or anyone else’s, but it was over a long time ago. I resent you suggesting that there’s any favouritism being shown towards me.’

‘Yeah, I hear you. Well, good luck. Truth be known is, I wouldn’t want that control freak looking over my shoulder, so I’m gone and good riddance.’

‘Who’s taking over from Mathews?’ Anna asked Joan, who nodded over to Mathews’s office. The door was closed and blinds were down.

‘It’s Mike Lewis. He’s a DCI now.’

‘I didn’t know he’d been promoted.’

‘Well, he has. Also Barolli’s on board, so it’s gonna be like old times.’

Anna gave a brittle smile and returned to her office. Langton always moved fast and fifteen minutes later, she knew just how fast he had moved this time when Mike Lewis came into her office.

‘Congratulations,’ she said, meaning it. She had always liked Mike.

‘Yeah, well, let’s say I needed the break. I’ve got three kids now.’

‘Three?’

‘Yeah, we had twins the last time and they’re a handful. Never mind financially, it’s the sleep deprivation. That was a joke! They’re great kids. What about you? Married yet?’

‘No, no, still single.’

He checked the time. He was waiting on Tony Barolli to arrive before he started the briefing.

‘We had a pretty strong one last night from Langton,’ Anna told him.

‘Yeah, I know. Between you and me and the gatepost, he’s had me sort of sniffing around on this for a while. Anyway, good to see you again. Let’s hope we can crack this one together.’

‘I’m sure we will.’

‘See you in a bit then. Oh, I’ve been told you’re up for promotion. A word of advice: do your homework. It’s like going back to school exams, only with a lot more at stake.’

‘Did Mathews tell you?’

Mike shrugged and grinned. ‘He must have.’

Anna had copies of the photo of Andrea Lesser and her companion that she had taken on her mobile ready to hand out. She was using the time before the briefing to connect with the
Spotlight
website. She sought Joan’s advice.

‘Joan, would you know who’s famous or maybe up-and-coming in showbiz? I need to know the names of the major theatrical agencies – you know, the ones that already have famous people on their books.’

Joan was helpful. ‘Scott Myers is with the same agent as Amanda Delany was, and O’Dell and Mitchell are with Independent and William Morris. They’ve also got counterpart agents in the US, so I’d say if you wanted the main ones, they must be up at the top.’

‘Call both of them, will you, and arrange for me to see someone there. It’s not urgent, but make it soon, and also check out a few others – specifically ones that are up-and-coming and after new talent.’

Mike Lewis eventually called the team together and introduced himself. Anna noticed he was quite nervous and wondered when he had been promoted. She doubted if it had been that long ago.