Hadley hesitated. ‘Um...’
‘Today, if possible, Mr Hadley.’
She heard him sigh. ‘Would four o’clock suit you, Detective Tennison?’
‘Yes, thank you, that would be fine. Could you give me your address?’
She could hear him coughing nervously, as if hesitant to give her his home address. After thanking him Jane hung up, tapping her notepad with her pen. Although she didn’t know Brighton well, she was aware that Royal Crescent was one of the most affluent areas.
DS Hunt knocked on her door and popped his head in. ‘There’s a briefing going on about that hit and run.’
Jane glanced at her watch. ‘Is it absolutely necessary for me to be there? I have a couple of pressing matters that I need to deal with on the Stockwell case.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘I thought that was all done and dusted after your trip to Australia?’
‘Not quite. Tell the duty sergeant that I’ll be out of the station. I’m due a couple of days’ leave, and I’m still suffering from jet lag from that terrible long-haul flight back... but I should be back at my desk on Friday morning. Can you make sure it’s put in the diary as well?’
‘Will do, ma’am. And talking of Australia, poor old Taylor is being called Rudolph on account of his sunburned nose!’
Jane did her best to smile. ‘Thank you, sarge.’
She fetched her coat and dialled her home number. It seemed to ring forever before one of Eddie’s team answered.
‘Hi, it’s Jane. Is Eddie there?’
‘Yeah... hang on a minute...’ Jane heard him bellowing for Eddie to come to the phone and tapped her foot impatiently. She wanted to escape from the station before she was caught by Carter.
‘Something wrong?’ Eddie asked.
‘No... on the contrary. I was wondering if you could get your MG out of storage sooner than the weekend?’
‘What d’you mean?’
‘It’s just that I struck lucky and they’ve given me a couple of days leave, starting from today. I thought we might go to Brighton — and, in case you’d forgotten, we’ve got dinner with my parents on Friday.’
Eddie told Jane to hang on, and she heard him having a conversation with one of his team before he came back on the line.
‘What time d’you want to leave?’
‘How about lunchtime?’ she answered. ‘That way we’ll miss the commuter traffic. I’ll book the hotel.’
‘OK. I’ll be back here around one. I just need to go home and pack a bag before I pick up the MG but leave it to me to organise the hotel.’
‘Fine, see you in a bit. I’m taking your advice, by the way,’ Jane said.
‘What advice?’
‘Never mind... I’ll tell you later.’
Jane was impressed when she saw Eddie’s highly polished racing green MG, which certainly made a change from his van. She started packing excitedly, and Eddie told her not to forget a swimsuit.
‘Are you crazy? The sea will be freezing!’
‘Who said anything about going into the sea? There’s a spa and pool at the hotel, with a jacuzzi and a hot tub. You can even have a massage if you want.’
Jane grinned, wondering where on earth he had booked for them to stay.
By the time they got to Brighton, it was almost half past two. They decided to stop on the seafront for fish and chips and Jane tentatively mentioned her visit to Hadley.
‘I should have guessed you had an ulterior motive,’ Eddie said, smiling.
‘You were the one who suggested it!’ Jane replied. ‘I’ll only be gone for an hour or so. I said I’d see him at four, then we’ll have the entire evening together and the whole of tomorrow.’
They got back in the car, and after a few minutes. Jane was taken aback when Eddie pulled up in front of The Grand hotel.
She laughed. ‘Eddie! Are we really staying here?’
He grinned. ‘We have an amazing suite with a dining room, bathroom and a canopy bed. I got a good price because it’s mid-week. We can order room service tonight and really make the most of it, if you like.’
When she saw their room, with its spectacular sea view, Jane was even more impressed. And Eddie’s obvious desire to make their visit special made it even nicer.
They unpacked a few things and Jane said she would take a taxi to meet with Mr Hadley, then come straight back to the hotel. Eddie pulled out his swimming trunks and said he would go for a swim and sauna in the spa.
‘We can have a walk on the beach and then a really nice dinner in the suite when you get back,’ he said.
When the taxi dropped her off at Hadley’s address, Jane was just as impressed at the size of the double-fronted terraced house, situated on the end of the famous crescent. It was facing the sea, with flowering tubs on the porch and neat, well-kept window boxes placed on the ledges. Iron railings led down the basement area which seemed to be part of the same house, unlike many of the houses in that area that had been converted into flats.
When Arnold Hadley opened the door, wearing a fair isle sweater with dark brown cords and a pair of leather slippers, he seemed quite different from the stooping, aged figure she remembered. He still had a greyish pallor to his face, but otherwise he seemed younger and more relaxed.
‘Detective Tennison,’ he said, affably, gesturing for her to come in as he closed the door behind her.
He gestured down the hallway towards an open double door.
‘Please, do make yourself comfortable.’
Jane went into a large, sun-lit room. It was extremely tastefully furnished, albeit rather old-fashioned. On a table was a tray of tea and biscuits, the teapot covered in a knitted tea cosy.
‘It’s Darjeeling,’ he said, gesturing to the teapot. ‘But if you prefer Tetley or something like that, I have that in the kitchen.’
Jane smiled. ‘No, this will be fine... thank you.’
She watched as he deftly poured tea into a gold-rimmed porcelain cup.
‘Do you take sugar?’ he asked.
‘No, thank you... just a splash of milk, please.’
‘He walked over to the large wing-back chair where Jane was sitting and put her tea down on a small side table. He then returned to pour one for himself, choosing to sit on a Chesterfield sofa opposite her.
Jane glanced at the numerous silver-framed photographs on the mantelpiece, as well as on the various shelves of a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. Jane had no idea if Hadley was married or had children and was about to ask when he got to his feet. Apologising for not offering her a biscuit he proffered the plate.
‘Digestive, bourbon or custard cream,’ he said. ‘Nothing very interesting, I’m afraid.’
She chose a digestive and Hadley returned to the sofa, taking a bourbon for himself.
‘Thank you so much for agreeing to see me, Mr Hadley. I just need to ask a few questions that I think might help me fill in some important gaps. When I spoke to you on the phone, I asked how well you had known Miss Lanark. I think you mentioned to me that she was a neighbour of your mother. Did you know her purely on a professional level, or as a personal friend?’
Hadley placed his cup and saucer down on the coffee table in front of him and leaned back into the Chesterfield.
‘As I told you, I met Helena many years ago, not in London but in Totnes, where I was brought up. I had left home to study law at Bristol, and had just qualified. I was hoping to find a practice in London, but I was concerned because my mother was becoming exceedingly frail. Helena, who worked in the local library, looked after her when she had a bad fall and they became friends.’
He closed his eyes.
‘Helena and I became friends. When I went home, sometimes I clipped Helena’s hedges or mowed her lawn. She lived very frugally, although she was always exceedingly well dressed. I found her shyness touching, but I was quite concerned about how cold her house was. It wasn’t my place to inquire, but I assumed she had no money apart from her meagre salary as a librarian. Anyway, to cut a long story short, my poor dear mother died. Helena was a great help, because by this time I had moved to London. I wrote a letter to her, thanking her for her kindness, and we began to write regularly to each other over a number of years. I then received a request from her asking for my help and she made an appointment to come in to see me at my London office. As I said, she was always beautifully dressed, and she had the most wonderful blue eyes... but I digress. Helena said she had a family situation which she needed my advice about. She was receiving demands for financial help from her sister in Australia.’