If she ran, Annette would always be looking over her shoulder, waiting for someone to recognise her. That was no way to live. Neither of the options was particularly palatable, but she had to decide one way or the other.
50
Gareth sighed, knowing that Laura was right.
“You must go to the police,” she had told him when she had recovered from the shock of the news about Philip. “There is no other option.”
During the few minutes since she had said that, they had both sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
“That’s got to be Annette’s decision,” Gareth said. “It’s not for me to decide something like that.”
“She’s your sister,” Laura countered. “You’ll have to persuade her.” She gestured at the laptop on the desk between them. “They should be looking at that, not you and Dave. You could be completely messing up their investigation by digging around in there.”
“To be honest, Laura,” Gareth said, “I think Dave will find more than they will in there. I’d put my money on him rather than the Old Bill.”
“You could be right, but it doesn’t matter. You have to persuade her to speak to them.”
“I’ll try.” He looked at her. Laura’s forehead was creased into a sharp frown as she looked at the laptop. “Okay?” She glanced up at him, and her frown eased.
“Okay,” she replied with a wan smile.
“You might need to help me, though.”
“I don’t really know her, Gareth. I’ve only spoken to her a couple of times.”
“She likes you though. She trusts you.”
Laura got to her feet and crossed to where Gareth was sitting. She stood behind him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and nestled her face into his neck. Gareth leaned back into her, enjoying the closeness before turning and kissing her on the cheek. He could smell a faint trace of shampoo in her hair.
“What a bloody mess this all is,” he mumbled. “Why can’t life be simple, just for a little while?” Laura used her hand to turn his face toward her so she could kiss him properly. When they parted, she replied.
“Because then it would be boring, Gareth.”
“I could do boring for a bit.” He smiled at her. “Couldn’t you?”
“To be honest, Gareth,” Laura replied, “up until a few days ago, my life was pretty boring.”
“I don’t believe that for a minute,” he said, his smile broadening. Gareth got to his feet and pulled Laura toward him. He was just about to kiss her again when his phone started vibrating on the desk.
“Saved by the bell,” Laura said with a smirk as they both looked at the phone.
“I was just about to suggest that we christen my desk.”
“Not with those windows, we’re not,” she replied. “I’m not into exhibitionism. Are you going to answer that?”
Gareth picked up the phone and stabbed at the screen.
“Hi Annette,” he said. “What’s up?” He listened to his sister for a moment before ending the call.
“Everything okay?” Laura asked.
“The police are going back round to speak to her.”
“Again?”
“Yeah, she said that she didn’t want to speak to them.”
“What did they say?”
“They said she could either speak to them in her house or they could do it at the station.”
“Oh,” Laura replied. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“No, it doesn’t. She’s asked me to go round there when they speak to her.”
“They?”
“It’ll be Malcolm and Kate.”
“I would say I’ll come too, but…” Laura’s voice tailed off and when Gareth looked at her, she looked away.
“You could, but it might be a bit, er, awkward.” He saw a brief smile flash across her face, but it disappeared just as quickly. “Have you spoken to her since?”
“No, and I don’t really want to.”
“How did she know, do you think?”
“Know what?”
“That you’re, er, you know.” Gareth looked at Laura, trying to sense whether or not she wanted to have this conversation. He wasn’t being nosy, but was genuinely curious. “If you don’t mind me asking?”
“No, I don’t mind,” Laura replied. “But I wouldn’t have thought it was something that you’d want to talk about.”
“It’s part of who you are, Laura,” Gareth said. “That’s why I’m interested.” She stared at him for a few seconds, and he could see that she was considering what to say.
“We went for a drink in Costa one day after seeing Annette. Kate said that she wanted to apologise to me for being frosty.” Laura laughed briefly. “When we were there, she said that when she’d asked me for a drink, she was thinking somewhere else rather than Costa.”
“Right,” Gareth said, “like where?”
“Like Flaunt. I don’t suppose you’ve ever been there?”
Gareth grinned at her. He knew the club on the Prince of Wales Road, but hadn’t been inside. The enormous rainbow flag draped across the entrance told him he probably wasn’t its target market.
“No, I haven’t.”
“So, I told her I wasn’t gay, and she seemed really surprised. Started muttering about what a crap detective she was. Then we started talking about something else, like nothing had happened.” Laura sighed. “Until we met again in the club, by accident.”
Gareth slid his arms around her slim waist and pulled her toward him. He looked down at Laura and slid his fingers down her sides to the bottom of her ribcage, knowing that she was particularly sensitive there.
“Well, she might not be a very good detective,” Gareth said, enjoying the slight flush that his touch brought to her cheeks, “but she’s got excellent taste in women.”
“As have you, Gareth Dawson,” Laura replied, glancing over his shoulder. “I would say, sod it, let’s go for it on the desk like randy teenagers, but we can’t.”
“Why can’t we?” Gareth asked, pulling her slightly closer to him. “I’m the boss. I can do whatever I want in my own office.”
“Because Dave’s watching through the window.”
“Oh, for God’s sake. Really?”
“He’s standing by my car, pretending not to.”
“He must have forgotten something. We could put on a show for him?”
“The poor boy would never be the same again. Now put me down and let the lad in.”
“He might learn something?”
“I doubt that very much indeed,” Laura laughed, placing her palms on his chest and pushing him away. “I was actually going to ask him to have a word with you. Give you a few pointers.”
Gareth chuckled, crossing to the door of the office and opening the door.
“Dave?” he called out. “Stop staring at your shoes and get over here.”
51
Malcolm rapped on the door three times with his knuckles before pressing the doorbell. He took a step back and turned to look at Kate who was standing next to him.
“All set?” he whispered. Kate didn’t reply, but just nodded her head.
They had spent about an hour earlier that day going over their game plan. After his conversation with Jon Brandon in the Green Dragon, Malcolm had rethought his strategy. If the interview today went how he thought it would, then this would be their last visit to Annette McGuire. But at the same time, he was quite prepared to adjust on the fly if between them, he and Kate thought there was any merit in pursuing it further.
“Mrs McGuire?” Malcolm said as the door opened. “Good afternoon.”
“Hello,” Annette replied in a small voice. Over her shoulder, hovering by the door to her lounge, was Gareth. He raised a hand in greeting, but neither Malcolm nor Kate responded. “Come on in.”
Malcolm quickly surveyed the lounge as he walked in. Kate had been right. There were no photographs at all in the room, which was unusual.
“Thank you for agreeing to se
e us today, Mrs McGuire,” Malcolm said a few moments later when they were all seated.
“I didn’t think I had much choice,” she replied with a frosty glare at him. “It was here or the station is what you said.”
“Listen, Mrs McGuire. Annette,” Malcolm said in a soft tone. “Is it okay if I call you Annette?” She nodded her head in reply. “I don’t want us to get off on the wrong foot here. I think perhaps that I was wrong to say that on the phone, and I owe you an apology.” He and Kate had discussed this in depth. In Kate’s opinion, they were far more likely to get something out of her if they went in gently, so even though he didn’t like it, Malcolm had agreed to dial things back.
“Thank you for apologising,” Annette replied. She looked nervous and had both hands clasped in her lap. “So, why are you here?”
“Annette, Philip’s name cropped up in the margins of an investigation that was being undertaken by the National Crime Agency shortly before he died,” Kate explained, taking over from Malcolm as they had agreed.
“What sort of investigation?”
“I’m afraid we can’t divulge the exact nature of the investigation as it’s still ongoing.” Malcolm watched Gareth carefully out of the corner of his eye and saw him cross his arms, a resigned expression on his face. He knew something. But the question was, what? “Operational security, you understand?”
“Not really,” Annette said. “Were you going to arrest him, then?”
“No,” Kate replied. “As I said, his name cropped up in the margins while the NCA were looking at something else.”
“But you would have looked at him closer if he wasn’t dead?” Gareth spoke before Annette could respond to the question.
“Yes, Gareth,” Malcolm said, looking at the other man. This had also been agreed prior to the interview; he would speak to Gareth, and Kate would speak to Annette.
“And now you’re wondering if his death had something to do with him cropping up on the NCA’s radar?” Gareth asked.
“Gareth, I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind,” Malcolm replied. “But I can confirm that the NCA has now closed down any further enquiries into Philip, and we’re not treating his death as suspicious. Unexplained, yes, but not suspicious.”
“So why are you here?” Annette asked.
“Part of the investigation looked at Philip’s financial records. He had a joint account that you were a co-signatory of, and there were some dubious transactions on it.”
“You’ve been looking at our bank accounts?” Annette said, her voice stronger than it had been. She turned to Gareth. “Are they allowed to do that?”
“Yep, they will be.” He glanced at Kate. “I’ll check with Laura the next time I see her, but I’m pretty sure they are.”
Malcolm glanced across at Kate. It could have been his imagination, but he thought Kate might have flinched at the mention of the lawyer’s name.
“But I never used that account,” Annette said, almost pleading with them. “He wouldn’t even let me have a card for it.”
“We know, Annette,” Kate said reassuringly. “We could see that in the records.”
“He made me pay my wages into it and then gave me a pitiful allowance.”
“Yes, we saw that too.”
“So what are these dubious transactions then?” Annette asked, wringing her hands in her lap.
Malcolm looked at Kate, whose eyes were fixed on his. She raised her eyebrows almost imperceptibly, asking for permission to proceed. He nodded his head at her.
“We think he was being blackmailed.”
Annette flinched as if she had just been struck, and exchanged a look with Gareth. When she turned back to face Malcolm and Kate, her mouth had formed an almost perfect O shape.
“Seriously?” she whispered, her eyes flitting between Malcolm’s and Kate’s. Malcolm sat back in his chair a couple of inches to signal to Kate that she should proceed. This was the crucial part of the interview. If Annette mentioned the possibility of Philip being a paedophile, then it would change on its axis. If she didn’t, then they would probably be walking out of her house and never coming back.
“Now Annette,” Kate said softly, “if that is the case, then the obvious question is why.”
“Well, you’re the police, why don’t you bloody well find out?”
Gareth leaned forward and put a hand on Annette’s forearm.
“Annette,” he said, “hush for a second.” Gareth turned his attention to Malcolm, directing his next question at him. “Malcolm, you must be able to tell us more than that?”
“There’s not much more that I can tell you, Gareth,” Malcolm replied. If Kate was offended by being cut out of the conversation, she didn’t show it. “About the only thing I can tell you is that we think it’s someone in Indonesia. That’s where the account is that the suspect payments were being made to.”
“We went there on holiday earlier this year,” Annette said. “Philip had been there before, said the diving was fantastic.”
“But you didn’t go diving with him when you went?” Kate asked.
“No, I stayed by the pool while he went off.”
“So you don’t know for certain that he actually went diving?” Kate leaned forward, lowering her voice a fraction. “He could have been doing anything?” Malcolm stiffened in his chair. Kate was sailing quite close to the wind.
“It’s important to remember that in blackmail cases, around half of the claims are untrue,” Malcolm said, keen to get Kate back onto the track they had discussed. “So, he may not have been doing anything at all. But there are a series of payments to an account in Indonesia that are consistent with blackmail.”
“Have you got any ideas at all, Annette?” Kate asked.
Annette turned away from Malcolm to face Kate before replying.
“I have absolutely no idea.”
52
Annette’s heart was thumping so hard in her chest she was surprised that she couldn’t hear it. She looked at Kate and Malcolm in turn.
“Are you sure, Annette?” Kate asked. Annette didn’t trust herself to speak again, so she just nodded. The policewoman looked at her for a few seconds before making a note in the pad she had balanced on her knee. The four of them sat in silence, but Annette knew that this was a tactic the police used a lot. Say nothing and wait for whoever they were interviewing to fill the void. Gareth had told her. He had also told her not to fall for it.
“Well in that case,” Malcolm said with a resigned air a few moments later, “there’s probably nothing more that we can do.”
“You’re sure you can’t think of anything?” Kate asked. Annette stared at her, just wanting the woman out of her house.
“My husband taught scuba diving,” she said. “I doubt very much he got up to anything that would make someone want to blackmail him. He was too bloody lazy.”
“Where were these payments to, Malcolm?” Gareth asked. “Have you traced the account and who owns it?”
“No,” Malcolm replied. “I’ve spoken to the NCA, and they don’t think the Indonesia police will be that interested.”
“So they could be to, I don’t know, a cat sanctuary out there?” Despite the seriousness of the situation, Annette suppressed a smirk at Gareth’s suggestion. The idea of Philip giving money to a cat sanctuary was laughable. She looked over at the policewoman and could see she was angry. Whether it was with her or Gareth, she wasn’t sure.
Malcolm got to his feet, followed by Kate. Thank God, Annette thought. It’s finally over.
“Thank you for your time, Mrs McGuire. Gareth.” He took a few steps toward the door. “If you think of anything else, please get in touch. DC Hunter? I’ll meet you at the car.”
Annette saw a look of confusion cross the policewoman’s face, but she didn’t reply other than to say goodbye to Annette and Gareth. Malcolm waited until she had left the room before making his own way to the front door. As he did so, he whispered something to Gareth.
“What did he just say?” Annette asked the second he walked back into the house.
“He knows, Annette,” Gareth replied. “I just asked him if he knew what Philip was being blackmailed over. He said he did, and then he said that so did I.”
“Fuck,” Annette whispered.
“He also asked if you knew.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing,” Gareth replied. “Nothing at all.”
“Jesus, I need a glass of wine.”
Annette went into the kitchen and grabbed herself a glass, asking Gareth if he wanted a drink.
“I’ve got some beer if you’d prefer it?”
“No thanks, Annette,” he replied. “I’m driving. Let me just text Laura. She’s waiting in my truck around the corner.”
“Why didn’t you say?” Annette called through from the kitchen. “She could have come in. We’d have outnumbered them then.”
“Long story,” Gareth replied. Annette looked at him curiously as she walked back into the lounge. He was distracted on his phone, but flashed her a brief smile. She tucked away the question of what he meant by a long story for another time.
“Gareth, does Laura know?” Annette asked, knowing in advance what the answer would be.
“She knows about Philip, yes, but not about the blackmail attempt,” he replied. “Of all people, she’s not going to say a word. Don’t worry.”
Annette thought that she should be annoyed. That was something that Gareth should at least have asked her about, but at the same time she was relieved that someone else knew. Particularly Laura. A few moments later, she heard a light tap on the front door before it opened.
“Hey,” Annette said as Laura breezed into the room. “Just in time for a glass of vino.”
“I’m good, thanks,” Laura replied. She looked at Gareth, and Annette caught the way they looked at each other. About bloody time, she thought as she turned away so they wouldn’t see her smile. “How did the interview go?”
Single Handed (Gareth Dawson Series Book 3) Page 19
