‘Who did she leave the keys with?’ asked Biddulph.
‘She left them under a rock,’ said Jenny.
‘A rock?’
Jenny smiled. ‘In the back garden. A plastic rock. She always leaves a set there, has done for as long as she’s had the house. I can show you if you want.’
‘No, that’s okay,’ said Biddulph. ‘I have to say, Miss Hall, you seem very relaxed about your sister’s disappearance.’
‘I was a lot less relaxed when I first got here, but no one else seems to be worried so I thought I’d wait a few days and see if she turns up. Can I ask you why you want to talk to her?’
‘It’s part of an on-going investigation. When she does turn up could you ask her to call me?’ Biddulph took a business card from his wallet and gave it to her.
Jenny studied the card and nodded. ‘Absolutely,’ she said.
CHAPTER 88
The entry phone buzzed and Richards jumped. Every time it sounded he expected to see Carolyn on the screen, soaking wet and back to haunt him. He walked over to the unit, his heart pounding, but it was only Halpin. ‘Can I come up, boss?’ he asked.
Richards buzzed him in and fetched a bottle of brandy from his drinks cabinet. He poured himself a slug and another for Halpin. He tossed in ice cubes and had Halpin’s drink ready for him when the lift doors opened.
‘Cheers, boss,’ said Halpin, taking the glass.
‘How did it go?’
‘All good,’ said Halpin. ‘Bit messy but then guns always are. Took his wallet and his watch. The cops’ll think it was a robbery.’ He took a gulp of brandy.
‘And your alibi’s rock solid?’
‘Played poker, lost a monkey, serves me right. You?’
‘I was in the club all night. Terry, that black guy who’s pally with Carolyn, was there and Jenny was with him.’
Halpin’s eyes hardened as he looked at Richards over the top of his glass.
‘Don’t give me that look,’ said Richards.
‘What look?’
‘You know what look. We just had a few drinks.’
Halpin shrugged. ‘None of my business, boss,’ he said.
‘Actually it worked out well. We went back to her place afterwards. Well, Carolyn’s place. And I managed to get a look at her passport and driving licence.’
‘You’re serious?’
‘Damn right.’ He reached into his pocket and took out a piece of paper. He’d copied Jenny’s date of birth and address from his phone. ‘And don’t worry, Anita from the club was there as chaperone.’
Halpin took the piece of paper and looked at it. ‘Both the passport and the driving licence were Australian?’
Richards nodded. ‘Yeah, and both in the name of Jenny Hall.’
‘I don’t get the Aussie passport,’ said Halpin. ‘She was born in Britain, right?’
‘Yeah, but she married an Australian so she got citizenship.’
‘Date of birth was the same?’
‘Yeah.’
Halpin put the piece of paper into his wallet. ‘I’ll get my guy to look for a birth certificate for her and Carolyn. I’ll feel happier knowing who she really is.’
‘She’s Jenny Hall. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that,’ said Richards.
Halpin shrugged. ‘I don’t know. She seems to have come from nowhere. And she appeared the day after we killed her sister.’
‘So?’
Halpin sighed. ‘I don’t know, boss. I can’t work it out, but something doesn’t feel right.’
‘Check away then,’ said Richards, putting down his glass. ‘But she seems just fine to me.’
‘I know I’m talking out of order, boss, but can I say something?’
‘Can I stop you?’
‘Sure. Just tell me to shut my mouth and I’ll do it. But this girl, I think she’s trouble. I think you should keep away from her. As things stand, we’re in the clear. I want it to stay that way.’
‘You think I want to go to prison?’
‘Of course not. But I can see you like her, and that spells trouble.’
‘By her you mean Jenny?’
‘Jenny, Carolyn, they’re the bloody same, boss. That’s what you don’t seem to get. We killed Carolyn and you cozying up to her twin sister doesn’t change that.’
Richards nodded. ‘Okay,’ he said.
‘Okay?’ repeated Halpin.
‘Okay, now you can shut your mouth,’ said Richards. ‘You’ve said your piece but what I do or don’t do with Jenny Hall is nobody’s business but mine.’ His mobile phone rang and he continued to glare at Halpin as he took the call. ‘Yeah?’
‘Warwick? It’s Jenny.’
Richards turned his back on Halpin. ‘Hey, good to hear from you. Everything okay?’
‘Everything is fine and dandy. I’m calling to ask a favour.’
‘Anything.’
‘I’ve been asked to open a supermarket tomorrow and I could do with some moral support. And a ride.’
Richards laughed. ‘Sure. What time do you need picking up?’
CHAPTER 89
Richards arrived at Carolyn’s house just before mid-day. Jenny let him in and made coffee for him in the kitchen. ‘You’ll never guess what I found last night,’ said Jenny as she slotted a pod into the coffee maker.
‘Amaze me,’ said Richards.
‘An old photo album,’ she said. ‘It’s in the sitting room. Bring it in, will you?’
Richards went through to the sitting room. There was a large leather-bound photo album on the coffee table. He picked it up and took it back to the kitchen. Jenny put two cups of cappuccino on the table and sat down. Richards joined her and opened the album.
‘I had no idea Carolyn had this,’ said Jenny.
The first photograph was of a pretty brunette in a hospital bed holding two babies swathed in white cotton.
‘I think our father must have taken that.’
There were dozens of snapshots of the babies with the mother but only a couple with the father, a tall man with a piercing stare. In one picture had had the two babies clutched to his chest and there was a look of confusion on his face as if he was unsure how he should be holding them.
‘Carolyn never talked about your father,’ said Richards.
‘He wasn’t a good dad,’ said Jenny. ‘Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t abusive, he never hurt us or anything, but he was cold.’ She shrugged. ‘If it had been more of a family, I probably wouldn’t have run away to Australia.’
‘Is that what you were doing? Running away?’
‘Pretty much.’
Richards turned the page. There was a photograph of the two girls in school uniform, black skirts and grey blazers and matching satchels. ‘You were good-looking kids,’ he said.
‘We got that from our mum.’
‘She’s still around?’
Jenny shook her head. ‘She died a few years after that picture was taken.’ She looked at her watch. ‘We ought to be going,’ she said.
She let them out of the house, setting the burglar alarm before they left.
‘How did you know the code?’ asked Richards, as they walked towards the Porsche.
Jenny frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
‘The burglar alarm code. When you went into the house the first time, why didn’t the alarm go off?’
Jenny laughed. ‘She uses her date of birth. So it’s not a number I can ever forget.’
‘When is your birthday?’
‘She uses the year,’ said Jenny. She wagged a finger at him. ‘And no, I’m not telling you the year I was born. We girls have to keep something to ourselves.’
Richards unlocked the doors to the Porsche and they climbed in.
The supermarket was in South London, about a forty-five minute drive from Carolyn’s house. Richards still thought of it as Carolyn’s house, even though she was dead and it was Jenny who now lived there. When they arrived, there were several hundred people – mainly women and children – standing at the entrance. ‘Oh my God,’ said Jenny. ‘They’re not all here to see me, are they?’