‘We both made the decision, Dad. You know that. And Diana wasn’t that bad. She was just lonely and a bit sad and thought the world of him.’ She went over to Ashleigh and brushed the hair out of her eyes. Then she continued: ‘I did what he told me. He sent me the ticket …’
‘Premium economy. He wouldn’t even pay business class.’
‘ … and I moved in with him. His agents managed to get us a visa. I don’t know how they did that but as things turned out Ashleigh was born in America and she even has American citizenship. Damian was already shooting Star Trek when I arrived, so I didn’t see a lot of him, but I didn’t mind. I helped him find the house that he bought. It only had two bedrooms but it was a lovely little place high up in the hills with wonderful views and a tiny pool. I loved it. He let me decorate it the way I wanted. I had a baby room decorated for Ashleigh and I went shopping in West Hollywood and Rodeo Drive. Damian came home late sometimes but we had weekends together and he introduced me to all his friends and I thought everything was going to be all right.’
She looked down and just for a moment I saw the sadness in her eyes.
‘Only it wasn’t. It was my fault, really. I didn’t much like Los Angeles even though I tried to. The trouble is, it’s not really a city at all. You have to get in the car to go anywhere but actually there isn’t anywhere to go. I mean, it’s shops and it’s restaurants and it’s the beach but somehow it all just feels a bit pointless. It was always too hot, particularly when I was pregnant. I found myself spending more and more time on my own in the house. I said that Damian introduced me to his friends, but he didn’t actually have that many of them and they were always gossiping about the work they were doing so inevitably I felt left out. They were mainly Brits, mainly actors. It’s funny out there. People seem to have their own little circles and they’re not unfriendly but they don’t want to let you in. And I was homesick! I missed Mum and Dad. I missed London. I missed my career.
‘Damian and me didn’t have fights but we weren’t completely happy together. It seemed to me that he was quite different from the Damian I’d known at RADA. Maybe it was because he was getting so famous. He’d come home and he’d be glad to see me and sometimes we’d be close but I often thought it was all just an act. He was always telling me about the famous people he’d met – Chris Pine and Leonard Nimoy and J. J. Abrams – and of course I was just sitting at home and that made me resentful. I wanted to be a mother but I wanted to be more than that too. Ashleigh was born and that was magical and Damian had a big party and he was the proud dad. But after that I found that he was away more and more. He’d been cast in season four of Mad Men and his whole life seemed to be about parties, premieres, fast cars and models, while I was stuck at home with feeding bottles, prams and nappies … or diapers, I should call them. He was getting through the money like nobody’s business. There was never enough for the gardeners and the grocery bills. It was like some cheap paperback version of Hollywood. All the clichés.’
‘Tell them about the drugs,’ her father said.
‘He took cocaine and other stuff – but that wasn’t anything special. All the Brits out there did the same. You couldn’t go to a party without someone getting on their mobile and minutes later a motorbike dispatch rider would arrive with the little plastic bags. In the end, I stopped going to the parties. I’ve never taken drugs and I didn’t feel comfortable.’
Ashleigh stirred on the sofa and Martin scooped her up again. The child lolled happily in his arms.
‘I make it all sound awful,’ Grace continued. ‘But that’s only because I’m telling it now that it’s all over. You can’t be completely unhappy in Los Angeles. Not when the sun is shining and the garden is full of bougainvillea. Damian never hurt me. He wasn’t a bad man. He was just …’
‘ … selfish.’ Martin Lovell finished the sentence.
‘Successful,’ Grace contradicted him. ‘He was eaten up by success.’
‘And now he’s dead,’ Hawthorne said. He glanced bleakly in her direction. ‘You might say that it couldn’t have happened at a better time.’
‘I don’t know what you mean!’ Grace was angry. ‘I would never say that. He was Ashleigh’s father. She’s going to grow up without ever knowing him.’
‘I understand he left a will.’
Grace faltered. ‘Yes.’
‘Do you know what’s in it?’
‘Yes. His lawyer, Charles Kenworthy, was at the funeral and I asked him then. I had to know we’re going to be secure, if only for Ashleigh’s sake. I don’t have to worry. He left everything to us.’
‘He had life insurance.’
‘I don’t know about that.’
‘I do, Grace.’ Sitting there in his suit with his legs crossed and his arms folded, Hawthorne was both at his most relaxed and at his most ruthless. His dark eyes were fixed on her, pinning her down. ‘He took out a policy six months ago. From what I understand, you’ll get almost a million quid. Not to mention the flat in Brick Lane, the house in Hollywood Hills, the Alfa Romeo Spider—’
‘What are you saying, Mr Hawthorne?’ her father demanded. ‘Do you think my daughter killed Damian?’
‘Why not? From the sound of it, you wouldn’t have been too sorry and frankly, if I’d been stuck with him, I wouldn’t have thought twice.’ He turned back to Grace. ‘I notice you arrived in England the day before Damian’s mum died …’
I hadn’t had a chance to tell Hawthorne what I had found, looking through my notes. I was disappointed to hear he had got there without me.
‘Did you see her?’ he asked.
‘I was going to visit Diana. But Ashleigh was exhausted after the flight.’
‘I suppose you were flying premium economy again! So you didn’t go round?’
‘No!’
‘Grace was here with me,’ her father said. ‘And I’ll swear to that in a court of law if I have to. And when Damian was killed, she was still at the funeral.’
‘And where were you during the funeral, Mr Lovell?’
‘I was in Richmond Park with Ashleigh. I took her to see the deer.’
Hawthorne swung back to Grace. ‘When you were telling us about RADA, you said there was something more that you wanted to tell us about the girl who called herself Amanda Leigh. What was that?’
‘She was Damian’s first girlfriend, but right at the end they split up. As a matter of fact, I think she left him for Dan Roberts. I saw them kissing just before we started rehearsing Hamlet. And I mean kissing! They were completely into each other.
‘She played Osric in the production. I told you that. Afterwards, she did quite well. She did a couple of big musicals; that was her speciality. The Lion King and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But then she disappeared.’
‘You mean she stopped working?’ I asked.
‘No. She disappeared. She went out for a walk one day and she didn’t come back. It was in all the newspapers. Nobody ever found out what happened to her.’
A quick Google search on my iPhone outside Martin Lovell’s home produced the following newspaper report from eight years before:
SOUTH LONDON PRESS – 18 OCTOBER 2003
PARENTS APPEAL AS ACTRESS GOES MISSING
A woman, 26, has gone missing from her home in Streatham, sparking a police search operation.
Police officers are searching for Amanda Leigh, an actress who has appeared in several major West End musicals, including The Lion King and Chicago. She is described as slim, with long fair hair, hazel eyes and freckles.
Miss Leigh left her flat early Sunday evening. She was smartly dressed in a grey silk trouser suit and carrying a dark blue, Hermès Kelly handbag. Police were informed when she failed to appear for the Monday evening performance at the Lyceum Theatre. It has now been six days since she was last seen.