First thing in the morning, Anna set the wheels in motion at the station to trace Eric Potts, before she headed out to visit Emerald Turk again. It was a gray day; dark clouds were gathering, and heavy rain had been forecast. As she parked a short distance from the high-rise block, she saw Emerald herself carrying two carrier bags filled with groceries, heading straight toward her.
“Morning.”
Emerald stopped and stared at her, then continued walking toward the entrance. Anna followed, making her way up the filthy stairs and along the corridor to Emerald’s front door.
“What you doin’ here?” the woman said aggressively. “Hoping to see you.”
“Well, now you have.” Emerald opened her front door and tried to shut it again at once.
“Please don’t,” Anna said. “I just want to talk to you. I can do it here or down at the station — it’s up to you.”
“What do you want now, for chrissakes! This is fuckin’ harassment.”
“Let me in, please.”
In total contrast to the previous visit, the kitchen was a mess. Dirty crockery was stacked in the sink, and there were numerous empty wine bottles lined up on the floor, with more dirty glasses on the draining board. Emerald took off her raincoat and chucked it aside. Beneath it, she was wearing jeans and a T-shirt with flip-flops.
“Have a party last night, did you?” Anna asked.
“What’s it to you? It was me bloke’s birthday, if you must know. And I’ve got a fucking terrible hangover.”
“Do you know Eric Potts?”
“Who?” Emerald massaged her brow.
“Eric Potts. He’s Margaret’s brother-in-law.”
“No. Never heard of him, but if he’s anything like that fat slob of a husband of hers, I wouldn’t go near him with a bargepole.”
“So you knew Stanley?” Anna asked, recognizing the description.
“No, I never knew him, but he used to beat the shit out of Maggie. She told me what he’d done to her for years, and she got the hell out because she reckoned that one day he would kill her. She said he used to take all her money, spend it down the bookies, and she had to hide her handbag, as he’d nick her purse and take every penny so she couldn’t feed her kids.”
“She never mentioned Eric?”
“No.”
“He was a good friend — paid her fine once.”
“Well, maybe that was before I knew her.”
“Did you know her children were taken into care?”
“Yeah, I knew that. She used to cry about them but reckoned that they were better off without bein’ around her husband. When he was drunk, he’d knock them about as well as her.”
Emerald walked out of the kitchen. She snapped that if it wasn’t a problem, she was going to the toilet. Anna cleared a space around the breakfast bar, moving a stack of dirty children’s clothes and dropping them onto the overflowing laundry basket. She waited, heard the toilet flushing, and then Emerald returned.
“This suitcase—” Anna began.
“For chrissakes, your mob came looking for it yesterday! I told you I’ve not got it, is that why you’re back here? Didn’t you believe me? I’ve not got Maggie’s fucking suitcase.”
“Her husband reckons that it might have had some jewelry in it, specifically a diamond ring.”
“There was nuffink in it but shit, I told you. I never found no diamond rings, and if he’s saying they was in the suitcase, he’s a lying bastard. Christ, she didn’t even have a room of her own; she had fuck-all, and if it wasn’t for me, she’d have been sleeping rough on the street.”
“Who else used to put her up besides you?”
“I dunno. She used to just turn up and ask to doss down wiv me. I’ve told you all this, I told you last time you was here.”
“The last time I was here, you brought up the fact that Margaret used to keep a record of the men she’d picked up,” Anna reminded her.
“Yeah, I told you that she’d get the numbers off their vehicles.”
“You said that she had friends, ex-coppers who could trace the addresses of those who ripped her off or hurt her.”
“Yeah, but who they were, I dunno. I got no interest in hirin’ heavies to look after me, ’cause I got a bloke, and I don’t do service stations, all right?”
“You never heard her talk of her brother-in-law, Eric Potts?”
“No, and I never met her prick of a husband, either. All I know is what she told me about him.”
“This notebook — are you sure you didn’t find it?” Anna pressed her.
“Fuck me, I told you I’ve not seen it! For chrissakes, why would I lie about somefink like that? It don’t make sense.”
“You didn’t find any jewelry in Margaret’s suitcase?”
“No, I fucking didn’t!”
Emerald was getting so angry her face was red, and she kept waving her hands around. Anna decided not to push it any further. Emerald hurled items out of the laundry basket until she found the tracksuit jacket, snatching it up and almost shoving it into Anna’s face.
“I got this, this T-shirt I’m wearin’, and some other gear, and that was all. And I don’t like you accusin’ me of lying, so why don’t you get the fuck out of here. Go on — GET OUT!”
Anna apologized as she headed down the hallway. “Thank you for seeing me. I wasn’t implying that you had done anything illegal.”
The front door was slammed after her, and she heard the chain link being put into place.
Alone, Emerald felt as if she was having a panic attack. She couldn’t get her breath. As she went into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water, she had to sit on one of her stools to calm down. She was still holding on to the track-suit top and was about to toss it aside when she felt for the book. It had been left inside the pocket since Anna had last been there, and she took it out, swearing to herself. It could have easily dropped to the floor during the interview, but then if it had, she’d have made up some excuse that she hadn’t even known it was there. Yet she did know, and she was scared that she’d lied. But it still didn’t make her want to do the honorable thing. Instead, she threw it into the bin.
“Fucking coppers. Bastards.”
Anna had just reached her car when she got a call from Barbara in the incident room. They had traced an Eric Potts. He worked for a bailiff’s company with offices in Hendon. Whether or not it was Margaret’s brother-in-law, they were unable to confirm, as he was out on a job and wouldn’t be back in the office until lunchtime. Anna had been pondering whether to return to the station but now decided she’d have an early lunch and make her way over to meet with Eric.
Back at the station, the team continued slogging through the list of ex-prisoners, placing to one side possible suspects who might have had information for Cameron Welsh. The officers questioning everyone at the service stations were having no luck, with no one able to recall their redheaded victim. Barbara received yet another call from Cameron Welsh. He said he wished to speak to DI Travis, but when told she was not in the station, he said he would speak with Paul.
“Paul, your friend Cameron’s on the line!”