‘If you are.’
Apuldram was an ancient shrunken hamlet a ten-minute drive away, fringing the Fishbourne Channel immediately south of Chichester in an undeveloped area designated as of outstanding scenic interest. The A27 bypass had effectively cut it off from the city. Known for its rose garden and the Crown and Anchor Inn at Dell Quay, it was not a bad place to have a pad, as Gemma remarked.
Jo had always believed in being open with her friends and she wanted to clear the air with Gemma, so as soon as they drove off, she said, ‘I’d better tell you, Gem. I’ve thought about Rick’s story and I’ve got serious doubts.’
Gemma said in a subdued voice, ‘Go on.’
‘Well, I wonder if he said he’d killed Mr Cartwright just to impress you, almost as an extension of the joking we did about it. The thing is, Rick is serious-minded and when he says something it doesn’t come out as wacky. He doesn’t do wacky.’
‘That’s for sure,’ Gemma said.
‘So I can’t help thinking he got himself into a situation he couldn’t find a way out of. He made this claim in such a serious way that you believed him-and so did I when he repeated it to me-and he couldn’t go back and say it was all made up.’
‘You mean because I had sex with him?’
‘Well… yes.’
‘I told you how it happened, and it was true,’ Gemma said. ‘It blew my mind when he said he’d murdered Cartwright for real. All the talk about totalling him had been meant in fun, like you’re saying. I was really scared, and I felt responsible. He’d never have done it without me opening my big mouth. So when he said the next bit, about doing the perfect murder and making every trace disappear, I can’t describe the weight that was lifted from me. Okay, it was still a nightmare, but we’d got away with it. So we shagged like the only two bunnies who made it across the motorway, and that’s the truth of it.’
‘Do you see where I’m coming from?’ Jo said. ‘It was your first time with Rick, right? It was a big deal for him.’
‘Better be.’ Gemma laughed, and it cleared the air a little.
‘And then-being Rick-he can’t tell you it was all made up.’
‘Really?’ Gemma scraped her fingers through her hair and pulled some across her mouth.
‘In his eyes, he’s conned you. He didn’t mean to, but that’s how it worked out. So he can’t bring himself to tell you none of it was true because he’s afraid you’ll slap his face and tell him to get the hell out of your life.’
‘Which I might.’
‘The thing is, Cartwright vanished, and as long as he stays vanished, Rick can stick to his story. Mind he’s not exactly shouting it from the rooftops. He didn’t want me to know until you pushed him to tell me.’
‘So I did…’ She was shaking her head. ‘Poor guy. I never thought. Jo, you’re brilliant. A mind-reader. I’m sure you’re right. It never happened and I feel so much better.’
Inside herself Jo knew she shouldn’t really take the credit. Jake had unravelled Rick’s lie, but there were times in life when silence was the right option.
Gemma started singing ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,’ and Jo joined in until they ran out of lines they remembered.
‘There’s only one thing,’ Gemma said finally.
‘What’s that?’
‘Whatever happened to Mr Cartwright?’
NINETEEN
‘What’s your take on Dr Sentinel?’ Hen asked Gary when he got back to the police station.
‘Shifty as a shithouse rat, guv.’
She smiled. ‘You don’t have to hold back. Anything in particular?’
‘What stood out is the way he talked about his wife. The first time we met him he didn’t give a hint she was playing around. I mean, you asked him if the marriage was in difficulty and he practically took a swipe at you.’
‘Stay with the facts, Gary. He said my question was in appalling bad taste. We’ve got it on tape.’
‘Yes, and today he says she’d shag anything that moved. Sorry, that’s over the top again. I can’t stand the guy.’
‘That’s beginning to come through.’
‘He’s a bilge-artist, guv. If he was really any use in his job he’d be a professor by now, not a bloody lecturer. On the telly I’ve seen professors half his age.’
‘Concentrate on the case. Did anything in his statements strike a false note?’
‘He did his best to cover up the mistress in Helsinki.’
‘True.’ Hen took the card from her pocket and reminded herself of the name. ‘Or was that all a bluff?’
‘How do you mean?’
‘I wonder if he steered us down that line of questioning.’
Gary frowned. ‘Why would he do that?’
‘Maybe Outi doesn’t exist.’
His eyes gleamed like new coins. ‘If she doesn’t, he’s got about nineteen days to account for.’
‘Nineteen days when he could have been back in England murdering his wife and the other woman. We checked if he flew from St Petersburg to London and drew a blank. We’d better see if he went by way of Helsinki, or any other airport in the region. It’s feasible.’
‘Mightn’t it be quicker to check whether Outi is a real person?’
‘The Finn fatale? Yes, you can do that.’
‘Do I get a trip to Helsinki?’
‘On the budget we’re given? You’re an optimist. A phonecall, Gary. A phonecall to the Helsinki police. Now I must see how Stella’s been getting on with the tree-hugger. First I owe myself a smoke.’
She found Stella at her desk in the incident room and learned that Jake was not co-operating. ‘He’s still in a strop about the helicopter.’
‘At least he’s saying something.’
‘A silent strop.’
‘He’s right to be angry,’ Hen said in a rare tone of regret. ‘I wish I hadn’t used the thing. It was the dogs that found him, not the chopper.’
‘You weren’t to know that, guv.’
‘But, Stell, I’ve got a conscience, too. I care about the world we’re destroying and polluting. I hate to think of the rainforest being chainsawed by loggers. I’ve got my own orangutan I sponsor. And then at the first opportunity of a ride in a bloody helicopter I’m there, causing havoc and destruction in a nature reserve. I should be ashamed and I am.’
‘I don’t suppose you did too much damage.’
‘Where is he now-in the cells?’
‘Interview Room Two.’
‘Well, I’m choked about what happened, but let’s see if I can get one bird to sing again, eh?’
Jake had slumped in the chair and appeared to be asleep when the two detectives went in.
Hen leaned across the table and touched his arm.
His eyes opened, saw her and glowered.
‘If you think I’m going to apologise for this morning,’ she began, and then paused before adding, ‘you’re right. I should have thought about the damage a noisy whirlwind of a machine can do to habitats. My decision, my mistake. Without it we’d have taken longer to pull you in, but that’s the way I should have gone about it. I was out of order and I’m sorry.’
He remained silent, but the expression in his eyes changed from hostility to suspicion to surprise.
‘Like you, I have to work for a living,’ Hen carried on, ‘and I hope you can respect that, just as I respect you for standing up and telling me what a barbarian I am.’ She let that sink in before saying, ‘You know why we arrested you. More questions. But this is another chance for you to get a word in. Or two. Or three.’
He didn’t appreciate the attempt to humour him. She nodded to Stella to start the tape and speak the official preamble.
When it was done, Hen spread her hands and said, ‘We know who you are and by now I reckon you know us, but the stupid tape machine can’t remember squat.’
Still no reaction.
She sat back in her chair and studied his face for some time before saying, ‘It was plucky of your friend Jo to sit in the inflatable wearing your jacket and hood. Comical, too. I was in the helicopter and she fooled me. I felt sure it was you. At the time I was all for taking the chopper down to about thirty feet, churning up the water and tipping it over. Big guy like you wouldn’t be in trouble, I thought. It can’t be deep out there. Good thing the pilot didn’t approve. We don’t know if Jo can swim.’