J. P. Carter - At Your Door

‘And what time was that?’ Anna asked.

‘About nine.’

‘Was she driving a car?’

‘She doesn’t – didn’t – own one. She had a Fiat but sold it a few months ago because it never got used. I assumed she either walked until she got a cab or headed for the tube station, which isn’t far from here.’

‘Do you know where she went?’

‘I thought she’d go straight home, but she didn’t.’

‘How can you be sure?’

‘Because after I tried to ring her and realised she’d turned her phone off, Theo offered to go to her flat in the hope he could persuade her to come back so that we could talk some more.’

Anna looked at Theo, who responded with a shake of his head. ‘I went by taxi because our car was at the garage having some repairs done. I got there about an hour after she left here. I rang the bell several times but there was no answer. And there were no lights on inside. I waited around for about fifteen minutes but she didn’t turn up.’

‘Couldn’t you have let yourself in?’

Another shake of the head. ‘Holly wouldn’t let us have a key. We asked a few times but she refused, and now we know why.’

‘So what did you do then, Mr Blake?’ Anna said.

‘I came straight home.’

Rebecca snapped her head towards him.

‘But not straight away,’ she said. ‘You rang to say you were going to the pub. You didn’t get in until after midnight. I was already in bed having taken a sleeping tablet. You woke me.’

He nodded. ‘Oh, that’s right. Sorry. I went for a drink. My head was all over the place by then.’

Anna was at once suspicious. She felt there was something unconvincing about what he’d said. Something not quite right. But she didn’t think that now was the time to put him on the spot so she made a mental note to follow it up when she had him on his own.

Instead she turned back to Rebecca. ‘Do you know Nathan Wolf personally, Mrs Blake?’

‘I do, but not very well,’ Rebecca said. ‘We’ve met a few times and I’m afraid it was me who introduced him to Holly when she accompanied me to a fundraising event that he attended. That’s something I’ll never forgive myself for.’

‘And did she tell you how and when exactly she started a relationship with him?’

‘All she told us was that it began over a year ago. At the time she was sharing a flat in Eltham with her then boyfriend, Ross. But she was intending to break up with him and that was probably why she let Nathan Wolf into her life. They saw each other for a little while before he took her to see the flat.’

‘We’ll need to contact this Ross,’ Anna said. ‘Do you know his surname and his contact details?’

‘His second name is Moore. I don’t know his number but the flat he shared with Holly was 12 Primrose Court, Manor Road, Eltham. I’ve no idea if he still lives there.’

‘Do you know if she and Ross stayed in touch after she broke up with him and moved out?’

‘I know that he pestered her to get back with him and as a result she changed her phone number,’ Rebecca said. ‘He kept ringing her and he even turned up at her flat a couple of times.’

‘Did she put in a formal complaint?’

‘Not to my knowledge. She regarded him as irritating but harmless.’

While Anna scribbled some notes on her pad, Walker picked up the questioning.

‘You told us you were angry with Holly because by selling her story she was going to make life intolerable for everyone else,’ he said. ‘What did you mean by that?’

‘Isn’t it obvious?’ she responded sharply. ‘She would have made herself look foolish and spiteful, and she would have involved us in a sordid scandal. It would have impacted on Theo’s career and ruined my chances of becoming this city’s Mayor. I told her all this and she accused me of being selfish.’

‘Did you try to contact her again after that night?’ Walker asked.

‘Of course. I kept trying to phone, but it was switched off. I sent her emails and messaged her on Facebook asking her to call me. I rang her friends and her modelling agency but nobody knew where she was. That was when I got my secretary to call round the hospitals to see if she had been involved in an accident. Then yesterday morning I phoned Nathan Wolf but he claimed that he hadn’t heard from her since Sunday. I let him know that Holly had told us everything and said he should be ashamed of himself.’

‘And what was his response?’

‘I didn’t give him a chance to respond. The sound of his voice made me see red and I slammed the phone down. I made one final call to the editor of the Sunday Mirror and after he told me that he too had been trying to contact Holly because she hadn’t turned up for the interview I went into a panic and called the police.’

‘So why didn’t you get in touch with us sooner?’ Walker asked.

‘Up until then I’d convinced myself that she was avoiding everyone because she was in a strop. She’s always been headstrong and volatile, and it wasn’t the first time she’d cut off contact with us following an argument.’

‘What about her biological father?’ Anna asked, looking up from her notes. ‘He’ll need to be informed.’

‘He died three years ago in Australia,’ Rebecca said. ‘That’s where he moved to after our divorce. Holly went there to attend the funeral.’

Anna had more questions, but she didn’t get to ask them because suddenly it all got too much for Rebecca. Her face folded in on itself and she started to cry out as though in pain.

‘I can’t believe this is happening,’ she wailed. ‘I should have been there for her. My baby should be here with me. Not …’

Rebecca leaped to her feet, covered her mouth with her hand, and rushed into the kitchen. A moment later Anna heard her retching into the sink.

‘I have to insist that you call a halt to this now,’ Theo said. ‘My wife is struggling. She needs time to take it in. We both do. Holly was everything to us.’

‘I appreciate that, Mr Blake,’ Anna said. ‘You’ve both had a tremendous shock and despite that you’ve been really helpful and we’re grateful.’

‘So what happens next?’ he asked, getting to his feet.

Anna stood up too. ‘You’ve given us information that we’ll follow up. But we will need to come back and ask you some more questions, especially about what Holly told you. In the meantime I’ll arrange for a Family Liaison Officer to get in touch. He or she will keep you informed of progress and answer your questions in relation to the investigation.’

Anna fished a business card from her pocket and passed it to him.

‘My mobile number is on the back,’ she said. ‘Don’t hesitate to call me at any time. And I must advise you both not to contact Mr Wolf however tempting that becomes. I’ll be interviewing him shortly.’

Rebecca re-entered the room at that point and sat back down on the sofa while attempting to stem her tears with a crumpled tissue. Anna’s heart went out to her and she repeated her condolences.

‘Your husband has my number,’ she added. ‘And I’ll be in touch as soon as I have more news.’

Rebecca looked at Anna through red, swollen eyes and gave a slow nod.

‘I know how it works, detective,’ she said. ‘Just sort it so that I can see my daughter as soon as possible. And don’t underestimate Nathan Wolf. He’s a ruthlessly ambitious bastard and he’ll do whatever it takes to save himself. That includes enlisting the help of friends in high places.’

‘I promise you that if he is the person responsible then he will be made to pay,’ Anna said as Theo ushered them out of the room.

At the front door he told them he would call Rebecca’s sister Freya and get her to come over.