The Body in the River (4 page)

‘
No, it
’
s a small company that specialises in holidays for the very rich. It
’
s called Luxury Homes Abroad; I
’
ve already told your detectives this.
’

‘
Yes I know you have, Miss Wilson, please bear with me. I just need to make sure that we have everything. She must have been doing very well; those Thames-side flats are expensive.
’

‘
She was; she had just been given a raise. But she had a small inheritance that paid the deposit on the place.
’

‘
Where do you live; nearby?
’

‘
Not far away, I have a studio flat in Bow.
’

‘
When did you last speak to her?
’

‘
Lunchtime Saturday, about two pm. She had to go back to work, they were very busy.
’

‘
I see. How did she seem, was there anything on her mind?
’

She shook her head.
‘
No, she seemed fine.
’

‘
Can you remember what she was wearing that day?
’

She frowned for a moment, then said,
‘
Oh yes, she was wearing her navy suit and a white blouse, she looked lovely.
’

‘
When you say a suit, can you be more specific?
’

‘
A jacket and skirt.
’

‘
It may seem a strange question, but I must ask: what about on her legs and feet?
’

‘
She always wore pantyhose and black high heels to work.
’

‘
Do you remember if she was wearing them on Saturday?
’

‘
No, why do you ask? Is it important?
’

‘
I
’
m afraid I can
’
t tell you that at the moment, Miss Wilson, but it might prove to be. Please try to remember if you can.
’

‘
I remember she had high heels on. But I didn
’
t exactly examine her from head to foot.
’

‘
Of course not. If she had been wearing tights, what would she normally do with them when she got home? Would she keep them on in the house until she went to bed?
’

She smiled despite the circumstances.
‘
Mr Brookes, you obviously don
’
t know much about women
’
s habits. Tights are expensive. When we shared a room at uni, she would always take them off when she got home and if they weren
’
t laddered, she
’
d wash them and hang them on the radiator to dry so she could wear them again the next day. Alison was meticulous about her appearance; I expect she still did that.
’

‘
Thank you, Miss Wilson, that
’
s helpful. Did you arrange to meet again?
’

‘
Not exactly. She said she was going to have an early night after work, I said I would ring her in the morning; we often spent Sundays together.
’

‘
And did you?
…
ring her I mean?
’

‘
Yes, but there was no reply.
’

‘
How many times did you try?

‘
Three or four times during the day.
’

‘
Did she often work on Saturday?
’

She shook her head.
‘
Only occasionally, when they were very busy. You know the winter is their high season, that
’
s when the rich take their trips to the tropics.
’

‘
What about her social life; did she have a boyfriend?
’

‘
No. She had one till about six weeks ago but she finished with him. He was very jealous and acted as if he owned her.
’

‘
How long were they together?
’

‘
A month or so.
’

‘
Was the break-up amicable?

‘
Not really, no. He kept phoning her. But that stopped two weeks ago, I think he found someone else.
’

‘
Was he a violent person?
’

‘
Oh no, nothing like that.
’

‘
Could he have gone to see her on Saturday evening?
’

‘
I don
’
t think so; she wouldn
’
t have let him in. Do you think it was him that killed her?
’

Brookes smiled and shook his head.
‘
I have an open mind at the moment, Miss Wilson, I
’
m looking at all the possibilities. When she didn
’
t answer your calls Sunday morning, what went through your mind?
’

‘
I didn
’
t know what to think. Then I thought she may have changed her mind about the early night and gone out for a drink after work. Maybe she met someone.
’

‘
Would she normally have done something like that, on the spur of the moment?
’

‘
No, she wasn
’
t like that at all. But I didn
’
t know what else to think.
’

‘
Was she seeing anyone else at all, casually?
’

‘
No, no one.
’
She smiled wanly.
‘
When we were having lunch on Saturday at the Greedy Grape, we were laughing at the men there; you know, the posers? She was saying that she would leave men alone for a while, they were more trouble than they were worth.
’

Brookes smiled.
‘
Yes, I know what you mean; you can
’
t live without us but we
’
re sometimes difficult to live with. What about you, do you have a boyfriend?
’

‘
Not steady. I
’
m seeing someone but I
’
m not that keen.
’

‘
Did she have other friends, anyone close?
’

‘
Not really; we
’
ve got lots of casual friends but no-one close.
’

‘
What about her colleagues at work, did she socialise with them?
’

‘
She used to have the occasional drink after work with the girls there, the usual thing. But nothing outside work. She and I spent most of our spare time together.
’

‘
Do you know anyone who would want to hurt Alison?
’

‘
No. Everyone liked her. She didn
’
t have an enemy in the world.
’

‘
And her family, were they close?
’

‘
Not really. Her parents live in Aberdeen; she didn
’
t see much of them and she was an only child.
’

‘
How did she get on with her parents?
’

‘
Not that well. Her mother was OK but she didn
’
t get on with her dad.
’

‘
Why is that?
’

‘
Oh, I don
’
t know, they seemed to disagree all the time; they were very much alike, strong-minded.
’

‘
Did he abuse her?
’

‘
No, nothing like that, they just didn
’
t see eye to eye.
’

‘
As I
’
m sure you realise, Miss Wilson, I
’
m looking for a reason someone might have killed Alison. Was she rich? Did she have any valuable possessions: jewellery, anything like that?
’

‘
No, she wasn
’
t rich. The only thing of any value she had was her laptop; that was an expensive one. Oh, and a digital camera.
’

‘
What about TV or music player?
’

‘
Yes, she had those, but not expensive ones.
’

‘
So it
’
s unlikely that theft was the motive?
’

‘
Yes, most unlikely.
’

Brookes sighed.
‘
Is there anything at all you can think of that might help us with our enquiries, anything out of the ordinary that happened recently, anything discordant?
’

‘
No, nothing. We were good friends, I would have known. She was having a busy time at work but she was enjoying that. She seemed happy.
’

‘
Thank you, Miss Wilson, you
’
ve been very helpful. If anything does come to mind, please contact us. DC Gerrard here will see that you get home safely.
’

Leaving the room, Brookes slowly climbed the stairs up to the room set aside for the investigation of major incidents, known by the station staff as
‘
the murder room
’
, deep in thought. There was every indication that this case would not be easy to solve.

*

‘
The mirror reflects all objects without being sullied.
’

Confucius

Back in the murder room, a young woman stood patiently, waiting to be introduced to her new boss. Just promoted Detective Sergeant Jacqueline Rose, graduate from Oxford University in European Languages, had joined the job three years ago, having been accepted into the force on the graduate entry scheme; a scheme that guaranteed her fast promotion through the lower ranks. She was the flier Short had mentioned earlier.

As Brookes walked in, she was deep in conversation with DI Short and he had time to take a good look at her. She was tall for a woman; five seven or eight and with a good figure. In her mid-twenties, he reckoned. Her hair was cut in an attractive page-boy style with a curl on each cheek. She was dressed in a smart navy blue trouser suit and white blouse. The overall impression was of an intelligent, attractive young woman.

Short introduced them and they shook hands; her grip was firm but not assertive. For the first time he noticed her eyes. They were a deep shade of grey, bright and enquiring. He
’
d barely had time to glance at her file before interviewing Joan Wilson but knew she was a graduate entrant destined for the top. Like most career police officers, Brookes was sceptical about the accelerated promotion scheme, especially when he was given one of the fliers to groom; they were no sooner with you than they were moved on. But he didn
’
t let these thoughts show as he faced her.

He said,
‘
Sorry I wasn
’
t here to meet you, Sergeant, I
’
m sure DI Short has told you what
’
s happening.
’

‘
Yes, sir, he briefed me.
’
She spoke with no discernible accent, and Brookes inwardly sighed with relief. Those few words were proof of a good education untainted by the affected speech of those who tried to impress others with their so-called breeding. Busy police officers had no time for such affectations. Brookes took an immediate liking to her despite his scepticism.

‘
Good,
’
he said. Then, turning to DI Short, he asked,
‘
Have we got a pool car available, Derek?
’

‘
Yes, boss.
’
He handed him a key.

Turning to Rose, Brookes said,
‘
I hope you can drive?
’

She nodded.
‘
Yes, sir, I
’
ve had the conversion course.
’