Emma Page - Final Moments

‘I couldn’t do that,’ Colborn said on a note of dismay. ‘She’d be horrified. She doesn’t know anything about Venetia, she doesn’t even know she existed.’

‘She’ll know she existed by now all right,’ Kelsey said. ‘Everyone in the town will know about Mrs Franklin by now. Your wife’s bound to discover she was a customer at the bank. You’ll have to be prepared to talk about her. Your wife’s bound to be interested, to ask you questions, it’s only natural.’

‘I can cope with that,’ Colborn said. ‘But I couldn’t tell her the rest of it.’

‘It’s entirely up to you.’ Kelsey made a dismissive gesture. He glanced about. ‘We might as well sit down. Now–you told us earlier that you didn’t know Mrs Franklin before she was married.’

‘I did know her very slightly,’ Colborn said. ‘She was a good deal younger than me.’

‘Were you in love with her at that time?’

He shook his head. ‘She was just a pretty girl who worked in a shop near the bank. She used to come in for change. I talked to her sometimes.’

‘Did you want to marry her at that time?’

‘Good heavens, no! I was in no position to think about marrying anyone. My mother was alive then, I was living here with her. She’d been an invalid for years. I had enough to contend with without looking for new responsibilities.’

‘And recently, when you took up with Mrs Franklin again, did you want to marry her then?’

Colborn was beginning to look immensely fatigued again. ‘No, there was never any question of that, for either of us. It was never that serious.’

‘Perhaps you wanted to marry her but she was unwilling?’ Kelsey persisted.

Colborn shook his head.

‘Did she perhaps agree to marry you and then later change her mind?’

Colborn pressed the fingers of both hands against his temples. ‘No, that was never the situation.’

‘Is there anything else you want to change in what you told us earlier? When you last saw her, if you knew where she was going for the weekend, and so on?’

Again he shook his head.

‘She made no objection when you told her you wanted to end the association?’

‘She would have liked to go on with it. She always took it lightly–she wasn’t running any risks, it was just an amusement for her. But she understood when I pointed out that it could ruin everything for me, my marriage, my career. We didn’t part on bad terms. If I saw her in the bank or if she wanted my advice about some business matter, it was always perfectly friendly, no hard feelings on either side.’

‘There was never any awkwardness?’

‘Never. She was a very pleasant woman, she had a very nice nature.’ He suddenly dropped his head into his hands again. After a few moments he looked up and said with an attempt at composure, ‘I can’t deny I’m pretty shattered by her death.’ His eyes were full of pain. ‘It’s caught me at a low ebb. It’s the shock, coming on top of all the pressure I’ve been under lately.’

‘Do you know of any new men friends she may have had in the last month or two?’ Kelsey asked.

‘No. I wouldn’t expect to know.’

‘You made no attempt to find out?’

‘Certainly not.’

‘Perhaps she told you she’d met someone else, that she wanted to break it off with you? Perhaps that was how you came to part?’

‘No, that wasn’t the way it ended. I’ve told you how it was.’

‘Did you know she had joined a singles club?’

‘No, not exactly, but it doesn’t surprise me. She told me she intended going out more, making new friends.’

There was a brief silence, then Kelsey said, ‘Jealousy can be a terrible emotion.’

‘I was never jealous of her,’ Colborn protested. ‘It was never on that level, never that strong. The truth is, I was relieved when it was over. I didn’t enjoy telling lies to Ruth, it’s not in my nature.’

‘Were you in touch with Mrs Franklin last Thursday or Friday? In any way at all?’

He shook his head.

‘Where were you last Friday afternoon?’

‘I told you, I spent the weekend at the bank’s place in the country, Danehill Manor. I left the bank at three o’clock. I was given a lift by one of the other managers.’

‘We’ll have his name,’ Kelsey said. ‘You realize we have to check everything of this nature.’

There was an appreciable silence.

‘If we could have his name,’ Kelsey repeated. ‘It’s a matter of routine.’

There was another silence, then Colborn said, ‘I’m afraid this is rather awkward.’

‘In what way awkward?’

Colborn made no reply. His face wore a look of great unease.

‘You did leave the bank at three and drive to Danehill Manor with your colleague?’ Kelsey asked sharply.

‘Well, actually, no, it wasn’t quite like that,’ Colborn said at last. He stared at the wall. ‘My colleague rang me at the bank shortly after two to say something had cropped up and he wouldn’t be able to get away as early as he’d planned.’ He looked at Kelsey. ‘I’d prepared a paper to read at the seminar, we all had to do that. I was nervous about it, I hadn’t been able to give my mind to it properly. During the morning I kept thinking of other points I might have made but I had no time to do anything about it. I jumped at the chance to do some more work on the paper. I asked my colleague if he’d pick me up at home instead of at the bank. At three o’clock I left the bank and came over here. I worked on the paper till my colleague came to collect me.’

‘Did you say anything about this alteration in your plans to any member of your staff? Did you tell your assistant you were going home?’

‘No. When I left the bank they took it for granted I was being picked up outside by my colleague. I saw no reason to tell them otherwise.’

‘You saw no reason to tell us either.’

He moved his shoulders. ‘I didn’t actually tell you my colleague picked me up at three outside the bank.’

‘You knew that was what we believed. You allowed it to stand.’

‘It didn’t seem very important.’

‘If something similar should crop up in the course of this interview, or any other interview we might have,’ Kelsey said crisply, ‘perhaps you’d be good enough at the time to correct any misapprehension under which you see me labouring, however unimportant it might appear to you.’ Colborn gave a jerky nod.

‘Can your wife confirm that you arrived here soon after three and worked on your paper?’ Kelsey asked.

‘I’m afraid not. She wasn’t here at the time, she was at Polesworth all afternoon, for the presentation of purses.’ Kelsey knew about the ceremonies at Polesworth. ‘She went on afterwards to supper and a musical evening at the house of some friends.’

‘At precisely what time did your colleague call for you here?’

‘I can be very precise about that.’ Colborn’s tone began to show animation. ‘It was half past five. I looked at the clock when he rang the bell and he commented on the time himself when I opened the door. He was concerned about being late getting to the Manor, he was full of apologies.’

‘Right, then,’ Kelsey said briskly. ‘I hope we’ve got a proper tale at last. Now, if we might have your colleague’s name and where we can get hold of him, we’ll be able to confirm what you’ve told us.’

‘For God’s sake, don’t do that!’ Colborn said in alarm. ‘It’ll be all round head office, they’ll wonder what on earth’s going on, it’ll do my career no good at all.’

‘I see your point,’ Kelsey said in the tone of a reasonable man. ‘But you must see mine. We can’t simply take at face value everything anyone cares to tell us. It’s all got to be checked.’