He closed the album and replaced it on top of the bureau, slipping the photographs back into their creased envelope. Jane made no mention of the fact that she still had the family tree.
‘Mr Hadley, had Helena made a will?’
He hesitated and then nodded.
‘Do you have a copy of it, that I could see?’
‘The will, Detective Tennison, is kept at my old firm. It required two witnesses and obviously, as her husband, I was unable to be one of the signatories.’
‘But even if you could not be a signatory, you must have been privy to the contents, surely?’ Jane said.
He shook his head. ‘Helena had insisted she should be alone with my partners in the firm.’
Jane had no further questions and thanked Mr Hadley for his time.
On her way out, she noticed an expensive-looking woman’s tweed coat hanging on the rack in the hall, with a pair of female walking shoes beneath it. Hadley saw her looking at them as he ushered her towards the front door.
‘They belonged to Helena. She wore them when we went for walks along the beach. I was going to take them to a charity shop ages ago, but they are a constant reminder of the happy times we had together when she was well.’
‘You must miss her terribly, Mr Hadley, but happy memories hopefully ease the pain.’
After closing the front door he took the tweed coat off its hook, placing it over one arm as he picked up the walking shoes. He remembered he used to love the way she rested against him as she slipped her feet into her brogues, and when he bent down to tie the laces and flip the fringed leather tongue over, she would gently pat his head.
But he had been so very lonely for so long, now it was perhaps time to move forward.
Back at the hotel, Jane found Eddie freshly showered, saying that he had done a terrific workout. There was an endearing boyishness to him as he excitedly read out the dishes on the room service menu, and Jane found herself more attracted to him than ever. She chose the steak with Béarnaise sauce, chips and a side salad, and Eddie opted for the same. As he called room service to place their order, he covered the mouthpiece and asked if they could make do with what was in the mini-bar, or whether they should order some wine. Jane quickly glanced at the wine list and pointed to a bottle of Merlot.
Whilst Eddie finished ordering their dinner, Jane undressed and wrapped herself in the large white fluffy towelling bathrobe provided by the hotel. On seeing her about to take a shower, Eddie quickly started stripping off.
‘Room for two in there?’ He grinned.
Jane sensed that this was going to be a positive break away, in more than one way.
At eight o’clock Jane and Eddie sat perched on the edge of their bed, both wrapped in the hotel towelling robes, patiently watching the waiter wheel in their dinner. He pulled open the leaves of the trolley to transform it into a table. Two large silver domes covered their plates and, after pouring their wine — which Eddie tasted and declared perfect — the waiter pulled off the covers with a flourish before departing.
Eddie frowned, asking Jane if he should have tipped him, but Jane dismissed it, saying that if they had the same waiter for breakfast, they could tip him then. She was now desperate to update Eddie on her visit to Arnold Hadley, and he listened attentively while he ate his steak and dipped his chips into the little bowl of tomato ketchup. Jane waved her knife in the air expressively, telling Eddie that as soon as she got back to the station, she was going to find out when Helena had made her will. She also wanted to look into her marriage to Arnold Hadley, as well as looking into Hadley’s finances. She told Eddie that if they took a walk later, she could show him the big house on the crescent.
Eddie poured himself another glass of wine, trying hard to show genuine interest. He was struggling to grasp all the facts as Jane went into more and more detail, explaining her suspicion that Hadley married Helena Lanark for her money. She was certain he’d been lying about being unaware of the extent of her wealth or the contents of her will.
‘I want to nail down all these dates because I have a gut feeling that Helena Lanark was being blackmailed over the death of the child. I also want to find out the exact dates when Jason Thorpe gained power of attorney, because surely it would have made more sense if Helena had given it to Hadley before they even married—’
Eddie interrupted. ‘Helena’s dead! She was probably being blackmailed because she committed a terrible crime. But you told me before she wouldn’t have stood trial for the child’s murder due to her dementia... so, what’s the point spending so much time finding out all these details? I thought your boss at the station told you it was “case closed” anyway?’
Irritated, Jane poured herself another glass of wine. ‘It’s my job, Eddie, and all I’m doing is trying to find the truth.’
‘But it’s not your business, is it?’ Eddie said.
‘Yes, of course it is!’ she snapped.
There was a moment of tense silence, then Eddie picked up the room service menu and asked if she would like to order a dessert, or they could take a walk on the pier and have an ice cream.
Jane begrudgingly agreed to the latter. It was beginning to feel as though she was repeating a relationship pattern and was incapable of finding a partner who was as interested in her work as she was. But at least Eddie hadn’t said that discussing her work was boring.
Any awkwardness had dispersed by the time they were walking hand in hand down the sea front, heading towards the pier. There was something very carefree about eating an ice cream under the stars at ten o’clock at night, Jane thought. They had just sat down on a bench to look at the lights when Eddie patted his pocket and turned to her.
‘I’ve got a spliff, just cannabis nothing else.’
‘What?’
‘I mean, I know how you feel about it and I have given my guy a good ticking off about smoking it in your house.’
‘So why have you got a spliff, as you call it?’
‘Well, I am being honest with you because I do, very occasionally, have one with him.’
‘But why bring it with you?’
‘Well, you know, sometimes I get a bit wound up when you start going on about this case of yours, and I don’t want to get on the wrong side of you.’
She looked incredulous. ‘You are joking?’
Jane shook her head, sighing as he removed from his pocket the small, thin, wrapped spliff, holding it between his thumb and forefinger.
‘Are you going to light it up now?’
‘I was thinking that you might like to try it with me,’ Eddie said.
‘Eddie, you must be crazy. I can’t believe you are even asking me to. For God’s sake, it’s illegal and I am a police officer. Someone could walk past, smell it and then the next minute we’d be arrested.’
‘Fine, if that’s how you feel, but we’re out in the open, fresh sea air and there’s hardly a soul around. I just thought if you’ve never done it...’
‘All right.’
‘What?’
‘I said, all right.’
Eddie lit up the joint, instructing Jane to take a big lungful, then slowly exhale.
‘Like this.’ He took a deep drag and handed it to Jane
She gave a cautious look around.
‘I can’t believe I’m doing this.’
Jane took a drag, then passed it back. Between them they finished the spliff and he carefully stubbed out the end with the toe of his boot.
‘Well, I can’t feel anything at all,’ she said. ‘It just tastes worse than a cigarette.’
‘Lots of people use this for pain relief, you know. I’ve been told in the US they get it on prescription.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous, it’s illegal,’ Jane said, then suddenly started to giggle.