Ira laughed and pointed one of his thick fingers. ‘Listen, that’s old wives’ crap. In the old days maybe, cos of the illegal fights, bare knuckle ones with no holds barred, you got hurt bad in those days, but we got strict rules and regulations, you get knocked out and they got you down the hospital for a brain scan. I know I was no Lennox Lewis, but I had a chance and had a couple of professional bouts, though the reality was I couldn’t keep up the training, it costs, and without a lot of money backing you there’s no way. In those days I was working the doors every night and you can get injured tossing out drunks. They can come at you with iron bars, not worth the aggravation. Besides, I started my own business.’
‘Are you married?’
He nodded and held up two fingers.
‘Was twice. Got a couple of kids that live with their mother.’
‘Do you live alone?’
He gave her a cold look.
‘Why you asking me about my private life?’
‘Just out of interest.’
‘Well for your interest, ma’am, I live with someone, a model, Swedish, been together three years. What about you, are you married?’
‘No.’
‘Live alone?’
‘Mr Zacks, I am sorry if you think I am being too personal, but we are investigating the disappearance of two young girls and strongly suspect that Henry Oates was involved in their abduction. He has recently been charged with the murder of a woman and he said in interview that he had committed two others-’
‘What?’ he interrupted.
‘One was Rebekka Jordan, the other Fidelis Julia Flynn.’
Anna passed over the girls’ photographs, which Ira studied for some while. Finally he asked, ‘Jesus Christ, how old is she, the little one?’
‘Thirteen.’
‘Is it recent?’
‘No, Rebekka disappeared five years ago. She was last seen leaving the riding stables in Shepherd’s Bush. Fidelis went missing a year and a half ago in Kilburn.’
‘Don’t make sense to me, why are you asking about them now?’
‘Because we have never found either of them and Mr Oates is now a suspect. Can I take you back to when you said you last saw him? You said he told you he was looking for work in the Shepherd’s Bush area?’
Ira rubbed his head.
‘He implied that he was – I mean, I had just left the pub and was walking to where I’d parked my car. I was unlocking it when he come up to me, I think I sort of said something like I didn’t have much time, you know, I wasn’t that eager to rap with him.’
‘So he didn’t have a vehicle?’
‘No, just looked like shit. I felt sorry for him.’
‘Did he mention anything about stables, or what kind of work he was looking for?’
‘No, I think we talked about the old days and if he’d ever gone back to the boxing club or York Hall to see any fights. Listen, I told you all I can about the last time I saw him, and I wish I could give you more, but I’ve not seen him since.’
Anna closed her notebook and took back the photographs to replace in her briefcase. She stood up and Ira fetched her coat.
‘You know, I’ll ask my guys about him; if I get anythin’ can I contact you?’
She took out her card, and wrote down her direct line.
‘I’d be most grateful, and thank you for your time, Mr Zacks.’
As she passed a cabinet she noticed some photographs in silver frames.
‘That’s my mum, my dad was Jamaican – he’d gone off by the time I was six, never heard of him since. These are my kids, and this is my woman.’
The ‘woman’ was a stunning blonde, and Anna noticed his gentle tone of voice as he indicated her picture.
‘She’s a good ’un, love her to pieces – maybe third time lucky!’
Ira ushered Anna into the corridor and pressed the button for the lift, standing beside her like a perfect gentleman.
‘It’s been nice meeting you,’ she said and meant it. She just wished he had been able to give her more. The only thing she had gleaned was that three or four years ago Oates had been in Hammersmith and then in Shepherds Bush, possibly looking for work.
Back at the incident room, Anna had plenty to tell Mike.
‘When I heard about the doll thing I was surprised you didn’t get your skates on straight away and visit the Jordans – it’s a big breakthrough,’ Mike commented.
‘Well I’d arranged this meeting with Ira Zacks at his place in Hammersmith and he recalled bumping into Oates three or more years ago. Oates said he had a chance of work in the area, but Zacks has no idea what he was actually doing. It could all be a coincidence, but you are looking at a chance he worked on the building of the multi-storey car park.’
‘Yeah, we’ve had meetings with the contractors, talk about shelling out work this way and that, but Paul’s tracking down as many as possible of the men that worked on the rebuild to see if they remember Oates. The company have admitted to using a lot of cash labour, mostly Polish, so they’re even harder to track down as they move around and share properties…’
‘Paul said you had a forensic archaeologist ready to go with a radar of some sort.’
‘Ground-penetrating radar, it’s costly and time-consuming. I’d feel better if I had some evidence that he actually worked there, so the archaeologist is on standby at the moment.’
‘Did you see Langton?’ Anna asked with a sigh.
‘No, he was being taken to hospital for a check-up, maybe catch up with him tonight.’
She smiled and he caught it, giving her a grin back. ‘Yeah, lucky you.’
‘See you in the morning,’ she said as she headed for the door.
Mike paused. ‘This Ira Zacks, you reckon he was telling you the truth?’
‘Yes I do. Very expensive, tasteful flat, worth a packet.’
‘By Hammersmith Bridge, right?’
‘Yes, but he didn’t know or recall anything about Rebekka Jordan. He did say he’d ask around his friends to see if they knew anything.’
‘Is he dealing?’
She hesitated.
‘Come on. He worked doors and now lives in a place you say was worth what, how many thousands?’
‘He has his own security business. I didn’t think he was lying. He also works as a film and TV extra.’
‘All the same, run a check on him. I’d say he was dealing drugs… only way you get out of the world of doing heavy muscle on club doors is supplying gear to the kids.’
‘Okay, I’ll look into it. Goodnight.’
Barbara was just about to leave when Anna asked if there had been a CRO check on Ira Zacks for any previous criminal record. It felt as if Mike had been having a small dig at her, but he was right… she knew she should have run a check on Zacks and Bradford before visiting them. It had totally slipped her mind. She didn’t think that Ira Zacks was a drug dealer, but then she had also believed Eileen Oates.
‘Joan was dealing with the boxers,’ Barbara had told her. ‘She’s in the Ladies, but I’m off. Mike said it was okay, I’ve got a dinner party.’
‘Goodnight, have a nice evening.’
Barbara was already heading out of the door and Anna overheard her say to Joan, ‘She’s still here so I wouldn’t bother putting your coat on yet!’
‘You want me?’ Joan said, coming over. ‘Did you run a check on any criminal record for Ira Zacks?’
‘No, did you want me to?’
‘Yes, and run one for Timmy Bradford as well.’
‘Anything else?’ Joan sat at her desk, taking a squirt of moisturizer from a container she kept by her computer. She rubbed her hands together and patted them with a tissue from the box she always had on her desk.
‘No, just get them as soon as possible,’ Anna said, more abruptly than she’d intended, but she was already trying to compose herself for the difficult call to the Jordans.
Stephen Jordan answered and Anna quickly explained her reason for wanting to see him as soon as it was convenient, so they agreed she would drive over that evening. Anna decided she’d fortify herself with a quick bite to eat first. She knew she should have chosen something light like a salad, the canteen’s steak and kidney with chips made her feel ill just looking at it. She took a few mouthfuls and then pushed her plate aside. She just about managed to finish her strawberry trifle, but knew deep down she was intensely agitated. She absolutely dreaded the thought of facing the Jordans and explaining how they had discovered the tiny broken figures, which would further reduce any hope they had of Rebekka still being alive.