‘What did she say about me?’
Jenny laughed. ‘I was teasing you,’ she said. ‘Your name was in her Filofax, that’s all. But I saw you’d seen her for lunch last Friday and that she was seeing you yesterday on your boat so I put two and two together.’ She nodded at the kitchen door. ‘Come on, let’s use the sofas while we play catch up.’
Richards picked up his glass and followed her back into the sitting room. There were two overstuffed blue and white striped sofas either side of the fireplace and Jenny dropped down onto one. She was an identical twin but Richards knew he would have no problem telling them apart. It wasn’t just the Australian accent, Jenny spoke faster than her sister and her body language was somehow bigger and more expressive. He sat down on the sofa opposite her and crossed his legs. ‘I’m surprised your sister didn’t mention you,’ he said, ‘not even to say you were the black sheep.’
‘I wasn’t that much of a black sheep, really,’ said Jenny. ‘And you don’t know where she is?’
Richards shook his head.
‘You saw her yesterday, right? On your boat?’
‘She told you that?’
‘It’s in her Filofax. I got in this morning and she was supposed to be meeting me at the airport.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s not the first time my darling sister has let me down, so I got a black cab.’
‘Have you called the police?’
Jenny frowned. ‘Why would I do that?’
‘Well, she’s missing, isn’t she?’
‘I don’t know she’s missing. She comes and goes, does Carolyn. She’d hardly thank me for calling the police if she’s staying in the country with friends.’ She sipped her wine. ‘So how long have you known my sister?’
‘Not long,’ said Richards.
‘She was on your boat, right? Yesterday?’
‘Yeah we had drinks.’
‘You didn’t take her out to sea and drop her over the side did you?’
Richards frowned. ‘Why would you say something like that?’
‘Joke,’ she said. ‘But I know what my sister can be like. There have been plenty of times when I’ve wanted to throw her out of a moving car.’
‘Well, she was fine yesterday. We had a few drinks and then she left. I called her a few times today but there was no answer so I thought I’d pop around and check if she was okay.’
‘Have you slept with her?’
Richards felt his jaw drop and he closed his mouth and shook his head in amazement. ‘How can you ask something like that?’
‘She’s family,’ said Jenny. ‘God, you’re such a prude. It’s not as if I was going to ask you what positions you used or whether or not you used a condom.’
‘I suppose this is what passes for polite conversation in Australia, does it?’
She laughed. ‘We do tend to call a spade a spade,’ she said. ‘But seriously, are you her boyfriend?’
‘I went out with her a few times,’ said Richards.
‘And you like her?’
‘Yes, Jenny, I like her.’ He sipped his wine.
‘Well that’s good to know,’ she said. She sat back in the sofa. ‘Do you think I should call the police?’
‘I don’t know, you probably know her better than me,’ said Richards. The last thing he wanted was for her to call the cops but he could hardly tell her that. ‘Her mobile’s off, but I suppose that doesn’t mean anything.’
‘How was her drinking?’
‘Her what?’
‘Her drinking. She’s got a bit of a drink problem. You didn’t know?’
‘She seemed fine with me,’ said Richards.
Jenny drew her legs up underneath herself. ‘She’s good at hiding it. But she’s been in rehab a couple of times. She signs herself in for a week or two and that works, for a while at least.’
Richards nodded slowly. Carolyn had been a fairly heavy drinker when she was with him, that was certainly true. But she hadn’t seemed like an alcoholic and had certainly never been drunk in his company. ‘Like I said, she always seemed fine with me.’
‘Maybe you were a good influence,’ said Jenny. She held up her wine glass. ‘Hell, I’m not one to talk. I love my wine.’
‘Carolyn preferred red,’ said Richards.
Jenny frowned. ‘Preferred?’
‘Yeah, she always asked for red.’
‘You said preferred. Past tense.’
Richards stiffened as he realised his mistake. He forced himself to smile. ‘When we were out, that’s what she asked for. That’s what I meant.’
Jenny looked relieved. ‘Whew. I thought you were thinking that something had happened to her.’
‘Like an accident, you mean? That’s her car outside, isn’t it? The Audi?’ Jenny nodded. ‘I’m sure she’s okay. She’s well known. If she’d been involved in an accident it would be all over the TV, wouldn’t it?’
‘That’s what I thought,’ said Jenny.
‘If she was going to check herself into rehab, wouldn’t she have called you?’
‘Could have been short notice, and I was in the air for nigh on twenty four hours.’ She sipped her wine. ‘I plan to go around to the studio tomorrow and see if they know where she is.’
‘Sounds like a plan,’ said Richards. His mobile phone rang and he fished it out of his pocket. It was Halpin. ‘Sorry, I’ve got to take this,’ he said and put the phone to his ear.
‘Boss, are you okay?’
‘Yeah, I’m fine. Hang on outside, I’ll be out in a while.’
‘You’re okay? You’ve been in there for ages.’
‘Everything’s okay, Just sit tight.’ Richards ended the call. ‘My driver, wanting to know how long I’m going to be.’
‘And how long are you going to be?’ asked Jenny, smiling over the top of her glass.
‘I’ll finish this and then I’ll be off,’ he said.
‘Well it’s been nice meeting you, anyway,’ said Jenny. ‘When Carolyn turns up we should have a night out, the three of us.’
‘I’d like that,’ said Richards. ‘I’d like that a lot.’
CHAPTER 68
Richards climbed into the Lexus and took out a cigar. ‘You are not going to believe this,’ he said. He opened the window, bit the end off the cigar and spat it onto the pavement. ‘I’m not sure I believe it myself.’ He lit the cigar.
‘Believe what, boss?’ asked Halpin.
Richards blew smoke out through the window. ‘It’s her sister.’
‘Her sister?’ repeated Halpin incredulously.
‘Her name’s Jenny.’
‘I didn’t know she had a sister.’
‘Neither did I,’ said Richards thoughtfully.
‘She didn’t mention it?’
‘It didn’t come up.’ He blew more smoke through the window. ‘She’s a twin.’
‘A twin?’
‘Like two peas in a pod,’ said Richards. ‘Jenny’s a bit blonder and a lot more Australian, but other than that they’re pretty much identical.’
‘Australian?’
‘She flew in this morning. Carolyn was supposed to be at the airport to meet her.’ He saw the curtains twitch at the front window. ‘We should move on, she’s watching us.’
Halpin indicated and pulled away from the kerb. ‘Is she a problem, this Jenny?’
Richards turned to look at Halpin, frowning. ‘In what way?’
‘She’s realised her sister’s gone missing. And you turn up at her house at midnight. If she tells the cops, they might put two and two together.’
‘No reason for them to,’ said Richards. ‘I said I knew her sister and was just passing by.’
‘At midnight?’
‘She seemed to buy it, I don’t know why the cops shouldn’t.’
‘I’m just saying. We don’t want to be on their radar, that’s all.’
‘What are you saying? You want to go back and do her as well?’
‘I’m not saying that at all, boss. If anything, I suppose you going around there makes you less of a suspect. I mean, why would you do that if you knew she was dead?’