Peter Lovesey - The House Sitter

“You don’t even know who contacted her?”

“No.”

“And you let her go off for God knows how long?”

“Emma was trustworthy. If she said it was necessary to take time off, I took her word for it. She promised to let me know as soon as she was able to return to her normal duties. That was the last I heard.”

He seemed to be speaking truthfully, but the story sounded wrong. Either Emma Tysoe had been tricked, or she’d put one across the professor. If some senior detective wanted the help of a profiler, surely he wouldn’t need to insist on secrecy?

“Are you certain she was honest?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Is it possible she wasn’t working on a case at all, and simply took time off for a few days by the sea?”

Chromik shook his head so forcefully that the black curls quivered. “Emma wouldn’t do that. She valued her profiling work too much to put it at risk with a stupid deception.”

It was said in a way that made Diamond sound stupid for asking. Well, he didn’t have a degree in psychology, but he wasn’t intimidated by this academic.

“I’m trying to throw you a lifeline, professor. Your handling of this tragic episode is going to be questioned, not just by me, but by your superiors, I wouldn’t wonder, and certainly by the press. It sounds as if you let this member of your staff run rings around you.”

“I resent that.”

“It’s not my own opinion,” Diamond said, dredging deep for a word that would make an impact on this egghead. “It’s the perception. Do you know anything about her life outside the university?”

“In what way?”

“Relationships?”

“No idea.”

“Did you appoint her to the job?”

“I was on the appointments committee, yes. We were fortunate to get her. A first class brain, without question one of the most brilliant psychologists of her generation.”

“So where did she come from?”

“She did her first degree in the north. Then she was at one of the London colleges for her Ph.D.”

“I meant her home town, not her college career.”

“I can’t recall.”

“Any family?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“You don’t even know where she was brought up?”

“I said I can’t remember. We’ll have details of her secondary education on file somewhere.”

“Is there anyone on the staff who knew her? Anyone she might have confided in?”

“You could speak to one of the women. Before you do I’d better break the news to them all.”

“I think they’ve heard by now.”

“That may be so, but something needs to be said. I’ll make a brief announcement in there.”

“And I’ll add my piece.”

Both men knew the object of this exercise was not really to break the news. By now, the entire room had heard it. Some formula had to be found to allow everyone to remain at the party without feeling guilty.

Back in the room, Chromik called his staff to order and said he had just been given some distressing news. One or two gasps of horror were provided as he imparted it. Without much subtlety, he went straight on to say he believed Emma would have wished the party to continue. There were general murmurs of assent.

Diamond stepped forward and introduced himself, admitting Dr Tysoe’s death was a mystery and inviting anyone with information to speak to him. He said he wasn’t only interested in the circumstances leading up to her murder, but wanted to find out more about her as a person.

As soon as he’d finished, a woman lecturer touched his arm. He was pleased. If one person comes forward, others generally follow.

“I can help with the background stuff. I’m Helen Sparks, and we shared an office.” She spoke with a South London accent. She was black, slim and tall and probably about the same age as Emma had been. Her eyes were lined in green.

He took her to a large leather sofa at the far end. “Thanks. I appreciate this.”

“Like you said, I can talk about Emma as a person. I liked her a lot. She had style.”

“Are we talking fashion here?”

“Absolutely. For an academic, she was a neat dresser. She knew what was out there and made sure she wore it.”

“The latest, you mean?”

“No. The best. The top designer labels.”

“That must have used up most of her salary.”

“Emma wasn’t short of money. I think her parents died a few years ago and left her comfortably off.”

“Did she have a lifestyle to go with it?”

“Depends what you mean. She was living at a good address in Great Pulteney Street. Drove a dream of a sports car that must have cost a bomb. But she wasn’t one for partying or clubbing. I think she just loved the feeling that she was class. Shoes, hair, make-up, the works. Not showy. Elegant.”

“To attract?”

“I don’t think attraction was in her scheme of things. Obviously men were interested, but she didn’t encourage them. Certainly not in the workplace, anyway.”

“She preferred women?”

A shake of the head. “If she did, I never got a hint of it. No, she had her own agenda to look a million dollars and that was it.” Helen Sparks laughed heartily. “You’ve seen the rest of this lot. She was in a minority of one.”

“Two, I would think.”

She accepted the compliment with a shrug and a wry smile.

“Where was she from?”

“Liverpool, originally, but I don’t think she had anyone left up there. Most of her travelling was to help the police.”

“So she talked about the work she did, the profiling?”

“Once or twice when she got back from a case she mentioned what it was about. There were some rapes in a Welsh town, and she put together a profile of the man that definitely helped them to make an arrest. She also helped with a horrid case in Yorkshire, of someone maiming farm animals. She said it became fairly obvious which village the man came from. They caught him in the act.”

“What about the case she was involved in this time? Did she say anything at all?”

Dr Sparks leaned back, frowning, trying to remember. “One Thursday, she said she wouldn’t be in for a few days, and if I had to cover for her, would I arrange to show the final year students a film we have of juvenile offenders talking about their attitude to crime. I think I asked her where she was going this time and she said she wasn’t allowed to speak about it. I said, ‘Big time, then?’ and she said, ‘Huge, if it’s true.’ ”

“‘ Huge .’ She said that?”

“I’m sure of it.”

“‘ If it’s true .’ I wonder what she meant by that.”

“I’ve no idea.”

“And that was all?”

“Yes, apart from some messages for students about assignments.”

“How was she when she told you this? Calm?”

“Yes, and kind of thoughtful, as if her mind was already on the job she had to do.”

“Is there anyone else she might have spoken to?”

“Professor Chromik, I suppose.”

“He says she didn’t tell him anything,” Diamond said. He hesitated before asking, “Is it just me, or does he treat everyone as if they crawled out from under a stone?”

She smiled faintly. “It isn’t just you.”

“Did Emma have enemies?”

“In the department? Not really. You couldn’t dislike her.”

“Students?”

She drew back, surprised by the suggestion.

He said, “She graded them, presumably. Her marking might affect the class of degree they got, right?”

“It’s not so simple as that. They’re being assessed all the time by different people.”

“But one of them could hold a grudge against a member of staff if he felt he was being consistently undervalued?”

“Theoretically, but I don’t think they’d resort to murder.”