Stewart eyed Dakar nervously. The guy was pretty preoccupied with something. Stewart pulled out his notes and checked his watch. Just before half twelve. “So, we’ll talk to Sandra first and then maybe try and find Jane and Russell?”
But Dakar was standing up, looking over at the door. “It looks like we can kill three birds with one stone. I’d guess that’s her. And she’s brought company.”
Stewart looked over at the entrance, recognising Sandra as the girl who had walked in. She had long blonde hair, which fell to her shoulder blades, and a pale face. She seemed quite tall, maybe as tall as Stewart, but combined with her thinness, it made her look gangly. She was wearing a big coat, a headband that looked like it was straight out of the Sixties and sparkly jeans.
Two more people came in behind her. The first was Russell, who looked neat. He was clean-shaved, his blond hair combed over in a way that made you think of cricket and private schools. He was wearing dark blue jeans, the sensible kind that your mother would buy for you. On top he had a zip-up jacket, the thin but warm kind used for hiking.
Jane was the shortest of the three, slim with a pixie-like face. Her features were accentuated by shoulder-length dark hair that fell down and framed her face, and some powerful red lipstick. She had a black coat on, that came down to the top of her legs. Below that, she was wearing a tight pair of jeans, also dark. This was finished off with a pair of black slip-on shoes.
This group all headed towards them as soon as they saw them. Stewart stood up as well.
“Good afternoon. My name is Sebastian Dakar, and this is my colleague, Stewart Scott.” Dakar had got back his neutral tone, even if he couldn’t quite mask the weariness. He even managed his hand-on-the-heart thing, although it was mechanical rather than flowing.
Stewart stuck out a hand, and got a shake from each of them. Jane really went for it, trying to crush his fingers, the shock of it hitting him as much as the pain. He kept his expression neutral, as if he hadn’t felt anything at all.
“I’m Sandra Mannings. This is Russell, my boyfriend. And this is Jane, my flatmate.”
“Good to meet you all. Thanks for coming to speak to us. Please.” Dakar indicated the seats at the table. Stewart nodded at them in general, shaking off the pain in his fingers as surreptitiously as he could.
They sat down, taking off their coats. Sandra had on a green jumper, while Jane was wearing a Franz Ferdinand t-shirt underneath, a woman in black and white shouting out the band’s name in colourful words.
“Mum told me Tom had hired you. If we can help find out who killed my father …” Sandra spoke earnestly, staring at them with large eyes.
“We all wanted to come, to support Sandra.” Russell broke in. He had his hand protectively around Sandra’s waist.
Dakar paused. It might even have been a Zen pause, although Stewart knew that was probably wishful thinking. “I am sorry about what happened.”
Sandra nodded, slowly. “It’s been a hard couple of weeks. But why did Tom ask you to look into this?”
“He doesn’t think the police will find the person who murdered your stepfather.”
“My father, Mr Dakar. Even if we weren’t related biologically.” Sandra spoke fiercely. “And Tom thinks you two will?” Stewart pulled himself more erect at her disbelieving tone.
“So it seems.”
The food arrived, and the three others ordered their drinks. Stewart began to tuck in, his stomach dancing in anticipation of the sustenance arriving.
“You’ve been together for a long time then?” Dakar looked between Russell and Sandra.
Sandra nodded. “About two years, now.”
“How did you all meet?”
“We all went to school together.”
Dakar turned to Jane. “I heard you spent quite a bit of time with Sarah-Anne when you were growing up.”
Jane sat back in her chair. “Yeah. My mum died when I was two. Sarah-Anne sort of looked after me.”
“And you got on well?”
“She was like more of a daughter than I was.” Sandra threw a look over at Jane as she interrupted, but it was full of old humour. For a second, Stewart saw a flash of Sarah-Anne in her. The look got the glimpse of a smile from Jane, although it quickly disappeared behind her bored expression.
“Yeah. Well, up until a couple of weeks back. We had a bit of a blow-up then. Daniel had come round to the flat, and I think she got the wrong idea. She thought there was something between us.”
“Was there?”
Jane’s nose wrinkled as if she had smelled something terrible. “Who the hell do you think you are, asking something like that?”
“I’m the man investigating the murder of a man you’re alleged to have slept with. That’s who I am.”
“You’re also a man I don’t have to talk to if I don’t want.” Jane put her hands palm down on the table, leaning forward over them.
“Jane, come on. He’s trying to help. And if he can work out what happened to dad, I mean … Just, let’s talk to him.” Sandra held out her hands, palm down, towards Jane, who was still glowering over at Dakar.
There was a pause for a few seconds, then Jane nodded once, curtly. Sandra smiled, then turned back to Dakar.
“But Mr Dakar, that really is a ridiculous question. My dad was like a dad to Jane too. He treated her just like he treated me.”
“So of course there was nothing between us. It was insane, actually, how she changed. Sarah-Anne, I mean. One minute we were fine, the next thing she’s accusing me of being a … succubus. I mean, Jesus Christ. Who even knows that word? Although it doesn’t help she was already nuts.”
Sandra threw her a harsh look, but Jane just shrugged in the face of it. Stewart got the impression this was a conversation they’d had before.
“And before that, you and Sarah-Anne were close?” Dakar aimed his question at Jane.
“Pretty much. Well, you know. Mothers and daughters do argue. But yeah, it was all fine. Before she went totally off the deep end.”
Dakar turned back to Sandra. “Daniel owned the flat you lived in, is that right?”
“Yes. I moved in because he gave me a discount. Family. He gave it to Jane as well.”
“And Daniel came to the flat?”
“Only a few times since we moved in, about six weeks ago. The first was just to help us move stuff upstairs. A couple more times after that.”
Stewart finished his food, but before he could begin to appreciate the satisfied feeling, part of his brain that his stomach had been holding hostage finally managed to get free and scream at him that he should be taking notes. He grabbed up his pen and flipped the notepad open.
“Why?”
“Just to chat with us. We even had a few drinks together the first time. It was quite cool, actually.”
“And that’s the only thing that happened a couple of weeks back as well.” Jane broke in, her voice heavy with anger. “Daniel came over. He was looking for all of us, just to have a drink and a laugh. But Sandra and Russell were out. And Sarah-Anne heard that Daniel had been over and I was the only one there, and went off the deep end. Absolutely mental.”
“Ah.” Dakar let the noise escape, accompanied by a deep nod.
“We came back just as dad was leaving.” Sandra chimed in. “We didn’t actually get to talk to him, he was just getting in the car. But it wasn’t late or anything, and he couldn’t have been drunk as he was driving. Jane was on the phone when we got back. Everything was perfectly normal, I mean. Just like all the other times. I don’t think it was fair of mum to lose the plot at Jane just because she was the only one home when Daniel came around one time.”
“She still invited you to Daniel’s party though?” Dakar looked at Jane.
“I told her I was coming anyway. It wouldn’t have been right for Sandra and Russell to go and not me.”
“Did either of you notice any change in Daniel in the months before he died?”
“No, not really. Well, I mea
n, we began having some drinks together. But we’ve both recently turned eighteen, and we’re going to university. I mean, isn’t that what fathers do? Dad began to treat us more as women rather than girls. But I think that’s normal.”
Jane, who had shaken her head to Dakar’s question, nodded in assent to what Sandra said. “Yup. That’s definitely true.”
“You knew Daniel as well?” Dakar aimed at Russell.
“Yes. I met him properly when we began going out. And then I helped out at his surgery every now and again.”
“Right, yes. All three of you worked at the surgery?”
“I worked there for a couple of years, and Sandra or Russell would cover for me whenever I couldn’t make it, or didn’t fancy working.” Jane spoke.
“And you stopped working there when you moved to Glasgow?”
The three looked at each other, before Jane turned back to Dakar.
“You haven’t talked to Eleanor yet?”
Dakar’s face became guarded, his eyes going between the three of them. He shook his head.
“We stopped working there because we were accused of theft.”
Chapter 29
“Theft of what?”
“Eleanor said that some prescription sheets were being stolen. And she blamed us. She said one of us was doing it.”
“They thought it was me, though.” Russell broke in. “Apparently it only happened when I had been working.” He made quotation marks in the air when he said the word ‘apparently’.
“Did she ever accuse you?”
“Not directly. She called Sandra, Jane and I into a room, and said that the day before she’d put a prescription sheet down, and today it was gone. We didn’t say anything, and then she ordered us all out. Said she would speak to Sandra’s dad.”
“And were any of you stealing prescriptions sheets?”
“Of course not!” Sandra shot back. “They weren’t being stolen at all.”
Dakar frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She was losing them and then blaming others for it. It was ridiculous.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Well, it wasn’t any of us, was it?”
“It never went any further?”
“No. We were all going to stop working there anyway, because we were coming through to Glasgow. And so we left them to Dennis and his incompetence.”
Dakar leaned back in his seat. “Yes. I’ve heard Dennis wasn’t the best secretary?”
“That’s the understatement of the century. He had no idea about spreadsheets, or schedules, or …” Russell threw his hands up in frustration.
“About computers.” Jane took up the narrative. “Electrical devices. He could barely switch on a computer. When I first arrived, I sorted it all out in a couple of weeks. We could do things in one hour that took him a whole day.” She snorted. “I’ve heard they’re going to take a new secretary on, actually. Because Dennis can’t cope on his own, now we’ve left.”
Dakar leaned in closer now, and brought his hands forward onto the table. He clasped them one in a fist and put the other one over the top, resting his chin on both. “That night. The three of you came to the party together?”
“Yeah.” Sandra answered.
“Did any of you help Sarah-Anne put out a new place for Charles when he came?”
They all looked blankly back at him. “What?”
“When Charles arrived, did any of you help Sarah-Anne put out a place for him?”
“That was all set up already.” Sandra answered.
“But you got there before Charles?”
Sandra shrugged. “Yeah. Why?”
Dakar nodded. “How was dinner?”
Sandra looked at the other two, then back to Dakar. “Nice. Daniel seemed a bit flat when we first arrived, but he picked up later.”
“When did he pick up?”
“Towards the end of the dinner. Once the wine began to flow, he began talking more, getting a bit louder.”
“Did any of you speak with Daniel in the lounge after dinner?”
“I did. Just went to say hello.” Jane spoke, a lazy smile on her face. She didn’t look like she’d been paying too much attention up until then, head down, intent on tracing her finger over the logo on a beermat. She didn’t look up when she spoke.
“Was that when he told you about his big surprise?”
Jane laughed lightly. She kept her head down, still tracing the beer mat. “Yes. He told me he had guessed he was getting a surprise birthday party, but was sure it’d be boring. So he’d planned a big surprise for later.”
“Did he give you any details about what it might be?”
Jane shook her head, eyes still on the beer mat.
Dakar frowned ever so slightly towards Jane in the silence that followed, but then turned back to the other two. “Tell me about the drinking game.”
“A stupid thing.” Russell spoke, running one hand through his hair, his hand rubbing his neck as it came down.
Pause. “Was it your idea?”
“It wasn’t anyone’s idea really. Charles and I were arguing about politics, and as he was losing like all conservatives do, he began bragging about how much he could put away. Well, I was a bit far gone by that point, and next thing I knew, we were sitting opposite each other back in the dining room, drinking beer and shots.”
“What were you drinking?”
“Vodka. Straight. And the imported beer that Charles had brought with him. I told him not to.” Jane now, looking mockingly over at Russell for a second.
“Yes. You and Sandra both thought it was a stupid idea.” He smiled ruefully. “I think I remember up to shot five. After that …” Russell’s face twisted, and he made a kind of shrug with his head. “Curtains.”
“Who was supplying the drinks?”
Sandra raised a finger. “We brought the bottles through with us. One vodka, and Charles’s beer bottle. Elephant beer, in a great big champagne bottle. Silly boys.”
“We just kept pouring and pouring. The glasses were never empty.” Russell said. His eyes were downcast, his voice miserable.
“Have you had that reaction before? A blackout?”
“Yes, sometimes. My memory is the first thing to go when I drink, I’m afraid. It was one hell of a hangover as well.”
“Do you remember the fireworks show?”
Russell shook his head. “Next thing I remember is being woken up by a policeman wanting to ask me some questions. Difficult to handle with a raging hangover. Even took some blood from me. Probably more booze in there than blood.”
Dakar turned back to Jane. “I understand you also brought some fireworks to the show?”
Jane laughed, shortly, looking up now from her beermat. “Oh yes. Last time I try and bring a gift to that house. I let off two bangers, nice sparkly things, just trying to join in, and Tom almost took my head off. Apparently I was spoiling his show. I didn’t really get a chance to respond. That’s when …”
Jane turned to Sandra. The other girl nodded at her, and looked down. Jane reached over and squeezed her arm, although her eyes were on Dakar. “When Daniel began banging on the window.”
“Did either of you see Daniel going into the house?”
Jane shook her head, but Sandra nodded. “I saw dad go in. He was looking pretty happy. Quite excited, really.”
“Did either of you see anyone else going into the house?”
Jane shook her head again, made a tsk sound and looked back down at the beer mat. But Sandra nodded again. “I saw Dennis going in as well.”
“Did you see Dennis coming out?”
Sandra shook her head. “But he must have. I remember I was just in front of him when we ran into the house.”
“What about Martina? Or Craig?”
“The Donaldsons?” Sandra looked doubtful, then shook her head. Jane shook her head as well. “Craig was standing next to me most of the time. Martina, I don’t know, but she always seemed to be outside whene
ver I looked over at the door.”
“And was anyone still inside when Daniel appeared at the window?”
Sandra shook her head. “I’m pretty sure everyone was there. Once we got upstairs and saw the blood, everyone began thinking about who could have been in the room with dad. But we were all pretty sure everyone had been outside.”
“Except Russell and Charles,” Dakar noted. Stewart looked up from his scribbling at Russell. The guy shifted uncomfortably.
Sandra spoke, her tone flat. “I couldn’t wake either of them, Mr Dakar. Martina tried too. And neither could the police, and they were there pretty soon afterwards.”
Dakar nodded. He leaned forward a little, addressing Sandra. “What did you actually see at the window?”
“Dad. Banging. A couple of times. Then a crash after he disappeared.”
“Did either of you see Daniel’s face?”
Both Jane and Sandra shook their heads. “No.”
Dakar seemed to be turning something over in his mind, but he eventually nodded. “And what did you do then?”
“We all rushed upstairs.” Sandra took up the narrative again. “But there was no body. Just … blood, the knife and mess.” Sandra began whispering, leaning in close, her tone still one of confusion, like what had happened couldn’t be real.
Dakar turned to Jane. “You were one of the first ones there, with Martina?”
“Yeah. We got there at pretty much the same time.”
“What did you do once you got upstairs?”
“Ran into the room, looking for Daniel. The door was jammed by some kind of doorstop. I managed to get it open enough to squeeze through. And once I was in, I saw the blood at the window so I ran over there. But I couldn’t see anything outside, or down on the patio. And then I turned around, and saw the blood at the en suite door. Leading to the en suite door, like a trail. So I ran over there, but the door was locked.”
“And you shouted at Craig?”
“I couldn’t break it down, could I? I tried, plenty.” She looked irritated. “And the guy was just standing there, being useless.”
“And why did you run through to Charles and Russell?”
The Price to Pay Page 16
