The Red Dahlia

Anna scrambled off the bed, delved in her bag for her mobile and at the same time tried to reach for the phone on the bedside table. She did a perfect pratfall as her mobile cut out and the room phone fell silent. She swore, picking herself up, and checked caller ID on her mobile. She tried to call back, but it would not connect. She was about to call down to the front desk when the phone rang again.

'Travis?'

'Yes.'

'It's Mike Lewis. I've been trying to contact the Gov, his mobile must be turned off and he's not in his room.'

'He may have gone out.'

'Well that's bloody obvious! Can you contact him?'

'I don't know where he's gone; is it important?'

'It might be. I know you are meeting up with Wickenham's ex-wife in the morning, so I wanted to run this by him.'

'You want to run whatever it is by me and I'll pass it on?'

'It was a call from Justine Wickenham to her sister.'

'Let me get my notebook.' She put the receiver on the bedside table and went to her briefcase.

'Ready when you are,' she said, pencil poised.

Lewis coughed and asked if he should play the call or just give her the nitty-gritty.

'Mike, just tell me what you've got.'

'Okay. They first talked about whether or not they had contacted their mother to tell her they had been interviewed; neither had. Justine kept on asking if Emily was okay, and then asked if she had told them anything; by them, I reckon she means us. Then Justine asked if they knew about what had happened. Emily said she didn't say anything and got quite upset and Justine tried to calm her down; she said, and I quote, no charges ever happened, so they wouldn't be likely to know, but if they were to ask her anything about it she should refuse to tell them because it would all blow up again!

Anna jotted down the conversation in shorthand in her notebook.

'You still listening?'

'Yes yes, go on.'

'So this is what made me want to tell the Gov: Emily became very distressed and Justine kept on trying to calm her down, but she got really uptight. She said that she wished she had gone through with it and made him pay for what he had done to her, but it was family pressure that had persuaded her.'

'Just slow down a second. Okay, then what?'

'The next part was inaudible as she was crying: she said that it was all right for Justine, because it hadn't happened to her. Justine then said that she had tried to protect her because it had: he had constantly tried to do it to her.'

'Do it?' Anna asked.

'Yes, that's what she said. Emily, in a real state, then said that even if he had done it with you, it was her that had to have the abortion, not Justine; she then went on to say how much she hated him!

'Him meant who?' Anna injected.

'Well, we take it to be her father that molested her, or performed an abortion on his own daughter. It could have been her brother that had sex with her, but as the father is a surgeon, I'd say he would have done the abortion.'

Anna wrote it all down; Lewis said they had cut the call short as Justine said someone had arrived at her flat.

'Okay I'll relay this to the Gov; thanks for calling.'

Anna put the phone down and studied her notes, then put in a call to Langton's room but was rerouted to the hotel's answer service. She tried his mobile, but it was dead. She then called Professor Marshe at the Four Seasons and left a message for Langton to call her urgently. It was by now eleven-thirty; she presumed, correctly, that he was still at dinner.

Anna pottered around her suite for another three-quarters of an hour and then went to bed. She almost hurtled off the bed in shock when her door was rapped. She hurried to open it.

'What's so urgent?' he asked, leaning against the door frame. She could tell by looking at him he had had quite a bit to drink.

'Lewis was trying to contact you, but your mobile was turned off.'

Langton swore and fished in his pocket, muttering that he'd turned it off when he went to dinner. He sat on her bed as he checked his text messages, frowning.

'What did he want?'

'They recorded a phone call between Justine and Emily Wickenham that they thought you should know about before we interview his ex-wife.'

'What's so important?'

Langton flopped back on her bed as Anna repeated what Lewis had told her. 'The girls might have put two and two together and come up with a lot more. I mean, they did not at any time mention that it was her father or who had done the abortion.'

Langton yawned, staring at the ceiling, then leaned up on one elbow. 'Tomorrow, before we leave, get back to them; if charges were started, even if they were withdrawn, someone somewhere has to have a record of them.'

'My God.'

He looked at Anna. 'My God what?'

'In the Black Dahlia case, there was a court case involving their suspect: his own daughter accused him of molestation and attempted rape.'

Langton sat up. 'Yeah, if I remember rightly, when they questioned his wife, she stood by him. How old was the daughter?'

'Twelve when the accusations of rape and sexual harassment happened, but the trial didn't begin until she was fifteen.'

Langton rubbed his hair. 'What was the outcome? I've forgotten.'

'The allegations were proved unfounded; they claimed his daughter was suffering from delusions and the case was dropped.'

Langton gave her a sidelong glance and yawned again. 'What a mine of information you are, Travis.'

'Do you want a coffee or tea or something?'

'Nope. Get off to my bed. Did you eat?'

'Yes, thank you.'

'Did I wake you?'

'You did, actually.'

'Sorry.'

'I thought you might want to call the Incident Room; they were concerned that they couldn't contact you.'

'You tell them who I was with?'

'I just said you might have gone out for dinner.'

'Very thoughtful. Thank you, Travis.'

She hesitated. 'Do you mind if I say something?'

'I haven't before, what is it?'

'I think you are drinking too much.'

'What?'

'I said, I think you are drinking too much.'

'I've just been out for dinner, for God's sake!'

'I don't mean tonight; sometimes I can smell it on your breath in the mornings. If you need help, you should get some.'

'Drinking too much,' he said thickly.

'Maybe it is not my place to say anything, but I am working with you and I can tell when you have been on the sauce and when you have not.'

'It's none of your business.'

'Listen, I know you must really be irritated by me even bringing this up but I'm only doing so because I really care about you and I am concerned.'

'I really appreciate your concern, Travis!' he snapped sarcastically as he walked towards the door.

'Do you want to talk about the taped call?'

'No, I'm tired. Goodnight.' He closed the door behind him, unusually for him, very quietly.

Anna sighed and went back to bed. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything to him, but they had been quite close; obviously not close enough.

DAY TWENTY-SIX

The following morning, Anna ordered room service again. She wondered if she should give Langton a wakeup call, but it turned out not to be necessary, as he called her himself to say he would be in the lobby at nine o'clock. Though he made no reference to what she had said the previous night, he sounded very cold and aloof. She dressed in one of her good suits and a cream silk shirt, and went downstairs to find he was already waiting for her.

'I've already called her and she is expecting us; said it would only take a ten-minute drive.'