‘How can I help you?’ Chandler asked in a rich deep voice. He gestured them into the two antique leather library seats opposite.
Horton said, ‘We understand that Arthur Lisle and Victor Hazleton worked here.’
Chandler gave a gentle lift of an eyebrow as a demonstration of his surprise at the statement. Trueman hadn’t revealed that when he had called earlier to make the appointment.
‘They did. Why the interest, Inspector?’
Horton told him that Arthur Lisle was missing and that Hazleton’s body had been recovered from the sea in suspicious circumstances. Chandler made the obvious connection.
‘You can’t honestly suspect that Arthur has anything to do with Victor’s death!’ he declared, incredulous.
‘We’re concerned for Mr Lisle’s safety,’ Horton replied cagily.
Chandler continued to eye him with an air of astonishment. ‘You think Arthur could be mentally ill, that he’s had some kind of breakdown or brainstorm and killed Victor? No,’ he said firmly, shaking his head, ‘it’s impossible. He’s as sane as you and I. Surely there must be a mistake. How did Victor die?’
‘We’re waiting on the results of the autopsy.’
‘And just because Arthur is missing and they worked together you’ve assumed a connection and the wrong one, Inspector. Arthur could be on holiday.’
‘Not according to his daughter.’ Horton weighed up whether to tell Chandler that Hazleton’s body had been discovered in Lisle’s car. It would soon be public knowledge anyway and he wasn’t getting far with his enquiries here. He gave Chandler the details and watched his eyebrow go up and down in surprise and disbelief.
‘This is incredible, but I see why you said you were worried for Arthur’s safety. He too could be a victim. But of whom? Who could possibly want to kill either or both of them?’
Horton didn’t answer the question. Clearly Chandler wasn’t going to believe Lisle had killed Hazleton. He said, ‘When did Arthur Lisle retire?’
‘Three years ago. He took early retirement to care for Abigail, his wife. She had MS. Sadly she died eighteen months ago.’
That confirmed what the daughter had told them and what Trueman had unearthed.
‘Were they happily married?’
Chandler looked surprised at the question, then frowned. ‘Yes. Why do you want to know that?’
‘No hint of either of them having affairs?’
‘None. I can’t see where your questioning is leading, Inspector.’
Horton wasn’t going to elaborate. He said, ‘What was Mrs Lisle like?’
Again the eyebrow shot up but Chandler answered in a neutral tone. ‘A very pleasant, friendly woman. Quiet.’
‘Not the kind to cause her husband any problems then?’
‘No.’
‘Have you seen Arthur Lisle since he retired?’
‘No.’
‘And Mr Hazleton?’
‘No. Victor retired a year after I started working here as a junior lawyer in 1985.’ He swivelled around in his leather chair and gestured up at one of the photographs behind him. ‘Following in my father’s footsteps and my grandfather’s. He established the firm here in 1870.’ He turned back to face them. ‘And my son is carrying on the family tradition. He’s with a client at the moment; otherwise you could have met him. Maybe you’ll have time before you leave.’
Was that a hint for them to hurry up and go, wondered Horton. Perhaps Wallingford and Chandler wasn’t the type of legal practice to handle criminal law and having the police on the premises was rather demeaning.
Cantelli looked up from his notebook. ‘Did Arthur Lisle work here when you first joined the firm?
‘Yes. He’d been here for a few years. He’s older than me by about eight years. I don’t remember the exact date Victor retired but if it’s important I can ask my secretary, Linda, to look it up for you.’
‘Please,’ answered Horton.
Chandler lifted his phone, punched in an extension and gave instructions to his secretary. As he replaced the receiver, Cantelli said, ‘Could either man have visited the practice when you weren’t here?’
Horton knew what Cantelli was driving at; he was trying to establish a link between Hazleton and Lisle which was more recent than 1985.
‘They might have done. You’d have to ask the staff.’
‘If we can, with your permission, sir.’
Chandler looked a little nonplussed and then annoyed. Horton guessed it was because he’d allowed himself to play into their hands. ‘They are rather busy. And I wouldn’t want the clients disturbed.’
‘We’ll be as quick and discreet as we can.’ At a sign from Horton, Cantelli folded away his notebook and slipped out of the room. Horton knew the sergeant would also take the opportunity to ask the staff for their views on Arthur Lisle and probe for any hint or gossip of possible affairs.
Horton said, ‘What was Victor Hazleton like?’
‘I didn’t really know him but I remember him being a small, very smart, rather fussy man, very particular. He had very high standards about how the office should be kept and how people should dress and behave, which to me, then at the tender age of twenty-five, seemed a bit extreme, but I’ve come to see how right he was. He also had a very good eye for detail. My father, and his partner John Wallingford, both sadly no longer with us, were very fond of him.’
His evidence bore out what Horton and Uckfield had seen in Hazleton’s house yesterday. Horton said, ‘What was his position here?’
‘Office manager when I joined.’ Which confirmed what Vivien Walker had told Horton. He wondered if that was how Hazleton had met Vivien Walker. Perhaps this law firm had been appointed to represent Vivien Walker on her shoplifting charge. If so, Horton was surprised that Hazleton had admitted her into his house full of valuable antiques, although to be fair she’d never committed another offence, or had never been caught, added his sceptical mind. Perhaps Norman Walker had mended her wicked ways.
Chandler said, ‘Victor started as a clerk but my father recognized a valuable employee when he saw one.’
‘There was never anything against Hazleton?’
‘Good God, no! He was a scrupulously honest man and very hard-working.’
‘We’ve heard he liked to exaggerate, nothing harmful, just stretched the truth a little in telling a few tall stories.’
‘Well, I never heard him tell any or heard a word said against him,’ Chandler replied a little stiffly.
But on Chandler’s own admission he hadn’t seen Hazleton for years.
Horton could hear the traffic in the silence that followed this announcement. ‘Is there anyone here from when Victor Hazleton was employed?’ Horton knew Cantelli would establish that but it might be worth comparing notes afterwards.
Chandler shook his head. So, thought Horton, Arthur Lisle had been the last link here with Victor Hazleton, unless you counted the man sitting in front of him. Shame. Horton would have liked a few other opinions and a bit more background on the elderly man who had become an unexpected victim.
‘Do you manage the practice single-handedly, sir?’
‘At the moment, yes, until my son becomes a partner at the end of the year.’
‘So there are no Wallingfords left?’
‘No. We’ll be changing the name to Chandlers on the first of January next year.’ He smiled. ‘A new era begins.’
Horton returned Chandler’s smile. ‘Tell me about Arthur Lisle,’ he said.
Chandler didn’t speak for several seconds and Horton didn’t prompt or press him. The lawyer was obviously considering his response. There was no need to read anything sinister into that.