“Are you still together with her?”
Pause. “No. But we stayed together for a few years after we had worked through the fallout of the affair. It was not that that led to the break in our relationship, at least not directly.”
“What then?”
Pause. “I changed my viewpoint on many things in life, including love. I believe she found that I no longer met her expectations of what I should be for her.”
“Had you stopped loving her?”
Pause. “If anything, I loved, and love, her all the more.”
Martina looked at Dakar, but said nothing. Stewart shifted uncomfortably at the feeling of pure rawness in the room.
“May we speak about the night Daniel died?” His voice was quiet, his head bowed ever so slightly.
Martina looked at him for a few seconds, then nodded.
Chapter 21
“You arrived at the house with Craig?”
“Yes. Most of the others were already there.”
Pause. “How was Daniel during dinner?”
“Daniel? Fine. He was at the other end of the table. He seemed to be having fun talking to Tom. Just laughing a lot, very loudly.”
Pause. “What happened after dinner?”
“We went to the living room, and had more wine and conversation. I don’t really remember much. The younger people went back to the dining room after a while to have some kind of drinking game, that I remember. Two of the boys had to be carried upstairs. Thankfully not Craig. He wasn’t drinking.”
Martina crossed herself, eyes going skyward for a second.
“Then we went outside to see the fireworks. And then we saw Daniel at the window, and we all ran upstairs.”
Pause. “The two boys being carried upstairs. Did you see them?”
“Yes.”
Pause, Dakar leaning in. “You are sure they were drunk?”
She shrugged. “They could not really walk. Or talk.”
Pause. He leaned back out again. “You spoke with Daniel after dinner?”
“Yes. After the children left. The girl Jane … She seemed quite interested in Daniel. Poor Sarah-Anne. She’d tried hard, with a nice dress, but she ended up wearing an apron for most of the night.” Martina shrugged again. “Once Jane was gone, I spoke to Daniel about getting the photographs. He said he would give them to me later, when the divorce process started properly.”
Pause. “How much did you pay Daniel for the photographs?”
“I didn’t.”
A slightly longer pause. Stewart’s pen flew across his notepad. “He did not charge you anything?”
“He said we would agree a price later.” She put a hand to her forehead again, but drew it away after a second, and took a deep breath. “But he told me he had them, ready. That he had two sets, very clear.”
Dakar nodded, eyes glinting. Long pause. “Is there any way Graham could have found out about the photographs?”
Martina shook her head firmly. “No. He had no contact with Daniel, and I didn’t tell him.”
Pause. “And this is all you spoke about?”
“Yes. But …” She bit her bottom lip. “There was something odd.”
Pause. “My sister?”
“At one point, Daniel saw I didn’t have any wine. He called Dennis over and told him to go and get me a glass of red wine. And Dennis did it! Without saying anything. Then when he came back, Daniel told him he wanted wine as well, so Dennis went and got another glass for Daniel. Like a camarero, or something. A waiter.”
Pause. “Do you know why Dennis did that?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. After Dennis came back with Daniel’s wine, I turned away. I do not need to see the humiliation.”
Long pause, Dakar’s eyes fixed on her. Eventually he nodded. “When you went out for the fireworks, was everyone there?”
“Yes. Except those boys.”
Pause, nod. “And when was the last time you saw Daniel before the window?”
“I saw him going back into the house, during the fireworks. But people were coming in and out, so I didn’t think much of it. Apart from the fact that he winked at me when he entered.”
Pause. “Did you see anyone go in after him?”
“Yes, Dennis. He went in a minute later. But he came back quite quickly.”
Pause. “What about Jane?”
She shook her head.
Pause. “And after Daniel went inside?”
“The fireworks went on. At some point, Jane let a couple of crackers off. No. Bangers, yes? Yes. Bangers. Tom began shouting at her, and she began shouting back, but then she began pointing at the window, and everyone looked there.”
Pause. “Aside the two drunk men, was anyone still inside when you saw Daniel appear at the window?”
Martina shook her head again, more firmly this time. “No. Everyone was outside.”
Pause. “Including Dennis?”
“Yes. He had gone back over to his wife Eleanor, I remember.” Martina shrugged. “I don’t really like fireworks, so I was watching people instead.”
Pause. “How long passed between Daniel going in and him appearing at the window?”
“A few minutes, perhaps? I’m not sure exactly. Not long though.”
Pause. “Did you see Daniel’s face at the window?”
Martina shook her head. “No. He was looking away when I saw him, at whoever was in the room with him.”
Pause. “How did you know it was him?”
“I could still recognise him. And he was wearing that horrible jacket.”
Pause. “And you rushed straight for Daniel’s bedroom?”
Martina hesitated, and her tone became wary. “Yes. Well, everyone began to run towards the house, so I also ran. Jane and I were the first there.”
Pause. “And you knew where the bedroom was?”
“Yes, I’ve been there before.” Martina reddened as Stewart looked up. “I mean, I’d had a tour of the house previously. By Daniel. And Sarah-Anne. Together.”
Pause. “What did you find when you got there?”
“The door was closed, so I opened it. Well, I tried. Someone had put a doorstop behind it, so it took a little while for us both to push through it. Then Jane squeezed through, and I went after her. She was screaming as soon as she got in. There was a little blood on the carpet. And there was a knife, covered in blood, lying among other things on the ground.”
Pause. “But Jane took away the doorstop?”
“No, I did. She ran over to the window where the blood was. Well, the blood we could see. There was some at the en suite door as well, but I couldn’t see that at first because the bed was in the way.”
Pause. “Was the window open or closed?”
She bit her lip, eyes cast to the ceiling. They came back down to Dakar after a few moments. “Closed, I think. But you should ask Jane. She went there first.”
Pause. “What did you do?”
“I remember I stood in the bedroom for a while. In a … daze? Yes, that is the word. Jane ran over to the en suite, screaming about blood, but the door was locked. The rest came in behind me. Sandra, the poor girl, she looked like she was going to be sick. Jane called Craig, and he went over and broke the door down. And there was a lot more blood in there.”
Pause. “And what next?”
“I remember Jane began shouting about the two men, Russell and Charles. She and Sandra rushed off there, and Craig went after them, so I followed. It was all surreal. Jane was hysterical, shouting they were dead, as if some mass murderer had been there. But they were just drunk. Then we all came back into the bedroom.”
Pause. “Who was there when you managed to get into the room?”
“I’m not sure. It was all quite shocking. Jane and Sandra, yes. And Craig, he broke down the en suite door. Eleanor I remember too, standing over the knife. ”
Pause. “Do you remember if Dennis was there?”
She hesitated, then spoke slowly. “I think so. Well, I r
emember him in the guest bedroom when I was checking Russell and Charles.”
Pause. “And Daniel’s bedroom? When you first arrived?”
She shook her head. “I don’t remember. I don’t know.”
“And Tom and Sarah-Anne? Did you see them?”
“Tom arrived. He looked half-dead from the stairs, but he began searching the room. Under the bed. Sarah-Anne was there when I came back from the guest bedroom, standing by the window.”
Pause. “What happened next?”
“Sarah-Anne organised a search. Poor woman. She looked so … tired. Like she had no energy left. I remember she looked so … so noble, yes, this is the word, amongst all the mess. Even holding the apron in one hand. So tired, but still so noble.”
Pause, nod. “And Dennis was there at that point?”
“Yes. Everyone was in the master bedroom, I remember.”
Pause. “In the guest bedroom, were the two men sleeping?”
“Yes. Sandra had tried to wake Russell, but said she couldn’t. I tried too, but it was impossible. They were both … You couldn’t wake them. I even tried some tests I learned. With the nails and the eyes.”
Pause. “The nails and the eyes?”
She nodded. “If you press a pencil or a pen on the nail … bottom? Bed? The part at the bottom of the nail. It is very sore. If you are awake, you cannot stay still. And the same with the eye. There is a thing, a hole, or not a hole, but a … Impression? Just above the eye. If you press on it, it is also very painful.” Stewart frowned as he kept writing.
Pause. “And you did these both to Charles and Russell?”
“Yes. They did not respond, neither one.”
Pause, nod. “Did you search downstairs?”
She shook her head. “Nobody looked there. No-one even suggested it, because we all knew that no-one could have … done it. We were there so fast.”
Pause. “No-one could have done what?”
“Carried a body down the stairs.”
Pause. “After the search did not find anything, what happened then?”
“People calmed down. Once we saw Daniel’s body wasn’t there, they began to talk of other things that could have happened. The young girl, Jane, she said that Daniel told her he was planning a surprise for later.”
Pause. “How did Sarah-Anne react?”
Martina raised her eyebrows. “She stayed calm, but it was a cold calm, if you know what I want to say? She took Jane into the en suite and asked everyone else to go downstairs. They came down a few minutes later. They both looked very angry.”
Pause. “The dentist and her husband left shortly after that, is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s right. They didn’t want to stay. The children left too. Sandra volunteered to go and see if Daniel was in a nearby bar. And they all went, the children.”
Pause. “Why did you not leave as well?”
Martina looked down at the table, her fingers playing with stray pieces of orange peel. “Well, I don’t know exactly. There was a bit of wine in my glass, and I wanted to speak with Sarah-Anne. To explain. About why I’d been back in contact with Daniel, why I was there that night … I thought she might have the wrong idea.”
She fell silent, ripping apart a piece of orange peel before she looked up suddenly. “A ver, I’m in the middle of divorce proceedings, and Daniel will be a main witness for me. Was. Would have been. It is good that you found these photographs. Without them, it is more difficult. But I didn’t know whether Daniel had told Sarah-Anne any of this. I just wanted to explain to Sarah-Anne that there was nothing … that had happened between Daniel and me.”
In the long pause that followed, Stewart shook out his hand. He scribbled three words in the margin: ‘Learn’. ‘Bloody’. ‘Shorthand’.
“Tom found the body?”
“Yes, poor man. We’d run out of wine. Sarah-Anne went outside to get some more, but there wasn’t any. I was going to go to the cellar and get another bottle but Tom offered to go instead. Then we heard a shout, and Tom staggering back towards the kitchen. He collapsed when he reached the counter.”
Pause. “What did you do?”
“I phoned an ambulance. Sarah-Anne got Tom into a seat, and then went to look in the cellar. She had to sit down as well afterwards.”
Pause. “Tom did not say what was there?”
“Tom could hardly speak. I think he could hardly breathe. His face was purple, a horrible purple. It was awful. I thought he was going to die.”
She paused, and took a deep breath.
“Sarah-Anne told me what was down there, that she thought it was Daniel. I went and saw. It was dark, but there was clearly a body down there, lying all … how can I say? Wrong. All wrong. The arms out. I could see his face as well, looking at the ceiling. It was horrible.”
Pause. “Did you see any blood?”
“Yes. There was blood on the steps. All the way down.”
Pause. “Was the body still bleeding?”
Martina’s eyebrows furrowed and she looked down at the tabletop. She looked up after a moment’s thought. “I didn’t look at it so closely.”
Nod. “And then?”
“I went back to sit down as well, but then we weren’t sure about Tom. So we tried to make sure he was doing okay. Sarah-Anne called the police from her mobile at some point as well. The ambulance came after a few minutes. They’re really quite amazing in this country. I had to go with Tom to the hospital, so that Sarah-Anne could stay and deal with the police. He was in some kind of shock though, and didn’t wake up at all. And after an hour or two, I left.”
Pause. “How did you get home?”
“I got a taxi.”
Pause, nod. A long pause. “Graham was found outside in a car.”
She sighed. “Yes. Poor Graham. He also took it hard when I said it was over. He’s been following me since then. Not like a stalker. Just offering to drive me home, this kind of thing. But he didn’t do it, Mr Dakar. That’s clear.”
Pause. “What makes you say that?”
“There was no way he could have got into the house in the first place. The front door was bolted. Sarah-Anne had to open it for the ambulance crew. And then he’d have had to murder Daniel and get him downstairs without any of us seeing him. And then he’d have had to get back out of the house again.”
Pause, nod. “Have you spoken to him since then?”
“Of course! He’s the father of my child. I went to see him in the police station the next day. He had to stay there for the night. I told him he was an idiot for following me. Normally he argues with me, but that day, he agreed.” She smiled, tinged with weariness.
Pause. “He was let go?”
“Yes. They asked if I wanted a stalking charge. I said of course not. The last thing he needs is more police in his life.”
Pause. Dakar turned to Stewart, but Stewart was ready this time. He was getting better at distinguishing between pauses where Dakar was going to talk, pauses where Dakar had finished and pauses where Dakar was waiting for something else to happen. This was one of the latter.
“Nothing from me.” He tried to keep the self-satisfaction out of his voice at this, the second time he’d called it right.
“Do you mind if we speak to Craig as well?”
Stewart’s smug smile evaporated instantaneously, eyebrows shooting up and eyes widening as he looked incredulously over at Dakar. Talking to young Mr McNutjob, on his own turf, was clearly cruising for a bruising. At the very least.
Martina laughed, then stopped when Dakar’s expression didn’t change. “Seriously?”
Dakar nodded once.
Eventually she shrugged. “It’s your life, Mr Dakar. Perhaps your young friend here can drag you out.”
Dakar just kept smiling, maybe even a little more. “If need be.”
“His room is at the top of the stairs, to the right.”
Dakar got up to leave, Stewart following his example, slowly, eyes petrified with images of wha
t was to come. Dakar stood for a second longer.
“Ah, my sister, two more things. Did you, or Craig or Graham, know Charles before that evening?”
She looked doubtful, and shook her head. “I didn’t. The others, not so far as I know.”
Pause, nod. “And Graham’s business. Is it financially healthy?”
Martina’s looked at him, eyes narrow. “It most certainly is, Mr Dakar. My husband works very hard.”
Pause. “Thank you for everything, my sister. I hope there will be no blood that requires cleaning up after we speak with your son.”
“Suerte.”
Chapter 22
Both of them went to the bathroom before they went to Craig’s lair. Somehow, Stewart didn’t think it was coincidence.
They reached the landing, and turned to the door. Stewart gulped, and got out his notepad again. He held it like a shield in front of him, albeit a small, paper, useless shield. His eyes moved between Dakar’s face and the door, back and forward, waiting for the moment of no return.
Dakar knocked on Craig’s door, two gentle raps.
“What?” The response came immediately from inside, the words direct, smashing through the thickness of the door and into Stewart’s brain.
Dakar pushed the door open, and Stewart followed him in. The walls were painted white, but covered untidily with dark posters of bands and films, painting them black again. The windows were covered by posters as well, the light outside only getting in through chinks. A dark blue carpet contributed to the feeling of claustrophobia, turning the room into a small place.
Stewart could smell sweat and staleness, mingled with old food and bad-smelling clothes. Craig was lying out on the bed, unchanged. A laptop was open in front of him, blaring out music. Stewart recognised the tune, deep drums pounding behind words that were half chant, half song.
For one second, Craig’s eyes blanked as they encountered Dakar and Stewart. Then they narrowed, a scowl coming onto his face.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” His teeth were bared after he spoke.
Dakar paused. Craig scrambled up into a sitting position.
“We would like to ask you some questions.” Dakar spoke calmly into the urgency of the music.
The Price to Pay Page 11
