‘Not as far as I know.’
‘Did Rachel go out with other people?’
‘Sometimes, in the early days. We both did. We weren’t exclusive.’
‘But you got more serious?’
‘I’d like to think so.’
‘You never got engaged, though?’
‘No. It never got that far.’
‘Sex?’ Annie asked.
‘None of your business.’
‘Fair enough. Milk and two sugars for me, please.’
Tony brought some mugs down from the cupboard, asked Winsome how she wanted hers and poured them both some tea. Then he put what seemed like half a pint of milk and three tablespoons of sugar into one mug and took it through to Melanie. Annie heard their voices, but not what they said. He came back and poured himself a mug of black tea, builder’s strength. ‘I get the impression that you’d rather continue the discussion in here,’ he said, sitting down opposite Annie. Winsome joined them at the table. ‘Not that I have any secrets from Melanie.’
‘All we want from you,’ said Winsome, ‘is some insight into Rachel, what she was like. It might help us understand what happened to her.’
‘But I went over all this years ago with the other detective. Why drag it all back up now?’
‘It never went away,’ Winsome said. ‘Rachel was never found. Now her name’s come up again in connection with another case we’re working on, and we have to pursue the line of inquiry.’
‘What line of inquiry?’
‘The “other detective” you mentioned was murdered a week ago. You might have heard.’
‘DI Quinn?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Bloody hell. I’m sorry. I hadn’t heard, actually. He was the one who talked to me back when it happened.’
‘That’s right.’
‘He was a decent enough bloke.’
‘So they say. What happened to Rachel might have some bearing on what happened to Bill Quinn. That’s why we’re going through all this. I can’t really tell you any more than that.’
‘That’s all right. I understand.’
‘Only you can tell us certain things. Her parents have one view — it was their darling daughter — but you might be able to provide a different perspective.’
‘I don’t know about that,’ said Tony. He glanced at Annie. ‘I’m sorry. You asked about sex. It was fine. No problems there.’
‘She enjoyed it?’
‘As far as I could tell. Rachel wasn’t promiscuous or kinky or anything. I’d say she was pretty normal in that department.’
‘Did you argue much?’ Winsome asked.
‘Every couple argues, don’t they?’
‘What sort of things did you argue about?’
‘I don’t remember, really. Nothing important. Holidays. She liked beaches, and I preferred cities. Money. We never seemed to have enough to go to all the fancy clubs and shops she liked. That sort of thing.’
Annie gestured around the kitchen and garden. ‘You seem to be doing all right now financially.’
‘All this came later. I’ve got nothing to complain about. Melanie and Freddie are happy here. It’s even big enough to accommodate Chloe, when she comes along.’
‘So you already know the gender?’
Tony beamed. ‘Yes. Ultrasound. We couldn’t resist.’
‘A girl,’ said Winsome. ‘One of each. That’s nice.’
‘So you’re doing all right?’ Annie pushed on. ‘Can afford a decent house and two kids to bring up. That’s pretty good in these tough times.’
‘Well, I wouldn’t mind a raise and a promotion, but yes, I think I’m damn lucky to have a job I like, and I’m good at. The thing is, this would hardly have made it as “all right” for Rachel.’
‘What do you mean?’ Annie asked.
‘It was probably the one thing we argued about most. She liked money and the things it bought. Maybe a bit too much for my liking.’
‘She was greedy?’
‘Not greedy or grasping or anything like that. It was just... like the magazines she read, with pictures of fancy cars and houses and yachts and stuff.’
‘But that’s just fantasy, surely?’
‘Not to her it wasn’t. It was her dream. She was serious about it. The worst thing I could do was criticise her dream.’
Annie remembered the photograph of the BMW outside the art deco mansion on Rachel’s bedroom wall. ‘MINE ONE DAY!!’
‘How did it manifest itself?’ Annie asked.
‘She had a lot of rows with her parents. They wanted her to go to university and get a good education — she was certainly bright enough, and they were willing to pay — but she wanted to get right out there and start making money. She said she could learn any job she wanted and make her way up the ladder quickly, as she went along. She could, too. She got a job in a bank. Not as a teller, but at head office, in the investments department. She was doing pretty well. She was smart, quick, ambitious. I know she would have gone far.’
‘And by then she would have left you behind?’
‘That was always a fear. Yes. Or she would have found someone richer.’
‘It sounds a bit mercenary. Was that why you split up?’
‘Mostly. I just wasn’t doing well enough for her, not progressing fast enough. And it didn’t exactly sound glamorous — a car salesman. At best you could say I wasn’t a used car salesman, I suppose. It’s true I’m not very ambitious, but is that such a terrible thing? Does everyone have to be pushy and grabbing? I’m happy as I am. She saw me stuck in a dead end job — I was in a showroom in Drighlington then — and never getting any further, wasting away her life in some dull suburb. It wasn’t what she wanted. I told her surely family came first. We could get a mortgage, buy a home, make it our own. But it wasn’t a home she wanted. It was one of those bloody mansions she goggled at in the celebrity lifestyle magazines and that other rubbish she read.’
‘Surely a girl can dream,’ said Annie. ‘Was there someone else on the scene? Someone who promised her all this?’
‘Not that I know of,’ said Tony. ‘No, we didn’t split up over someone else. After Rachel, I’ll admit I went wild for a bit. I don’t know. I just didn’t care. Love them and leave them. Not very nice, but there it was. Then I met Melanie, and she turned everything around. It was like I’d finally found what I wanted in life.’
‘And Rachel, after you split up?’
‘Her ambition made her restless. I don’t think she’d found anyone else. She wasn’t going to settle for a loser like me next time, that’s for sure, and as it turned out, she didn’t have to, did she?’
‘But as far as you know, there was no one else in the offing, no one she might have invited to meet her in Tallinn, for example?’
‘No. Besides, that was a hen weekend. Strictly no boyfriends.’
They all paused and sipped tea, then Annie said, ‘This might be a rather indelicate question, but we think it’s important. You say that Rachel was ambitious, liked money and its trappings, that she rowed with her parents about getting a job instead of going to university, right?’
‘Right.’
‘Do you think that might have led her to do anything illegal?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Drugs, for example.’
‘Not that I know of.’
‘I mean selling, smuggling. Not necessarily taking them.’
‘Dealing? Rachel?’ He started shaking his head. ‘No way. Rachel wouldn’t get involved in anything like that. Rachel really did want to do good and help people, you know. If she’d realised her dreams and got hold of oodles of money, she’d probably have ended up like Warren Buffett or Bill Gates or someone, as long as she could have her Disney mansion and her magic carpet. No, you’re on the wrong track entirely.’
‘Believe it or not,’ said Winsome. ‘We’re perfectly happy to know that. It would have made our job a lot more complicated if it were true. But we have to check on these things.’