I felt quite nervous when D. I. Marsden phoned me at the office, that morning. “Forensic tests have revealed quite a few fingerprints on the adhesive tape fastening the plastic bags. We could do with finding Mr. Ademovic’s wife to eliminate her from the enquiry. Do you have contact details for her?”
“No, I’m afraid not. I never even met her as the estate agent and solicitor handled the sale on her behalf.”
I gave him the phone number for the solicitor and wondered if he would be able to contact Selmira. He did promise to keep me informed if there were any new developments.
I had intended to phone the solicitor’s myself, but could hardly do this now that the policeman was doing the same. It came as a surprise when D. I. Marsden called me back later in the day to inform me that the contact details given by the solicitor had not been very fruitful. Apparently, Selmira had, over a period of several weeks, withdrawn almost the whole amount she had received from the sale of the house as ten cash payments of twenty thousand pounds, leaving just a few hundred pounds in her local Natwest account.
I assume that she had been staying at a hotel, probably paid for in cash, but she must be using a different name as we have checked all possible hotels, without success.
“Which part of the country had she been living, before she disappeared”, I asked, hoping that this may prove to be of assistance.
“Oh, it was a branch of Natwest in Birmingham where she withdrew her money as cash. We can only assume that she is now using a different name. We would very much like to interview her, since her actions would not seem to be those of an entirely innocent person.”
“Does sound a bit suspicious. I wish I had more to tell you, but you know I have told you everything.”
He sighed. “I know that you have helped us enormously, Mr. Buckingham, but if you do think of anything else, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please get in touch with me.”
I did realise that Selmira’s co-workers in the X-ray department at Wythenshawe Hospital, particularly David Allinson, could prove useful in describing her appearance and very nearly mentioned this to the policeman, before realising that I only knew of this link through Ivanko’s revelations, which I dare not mention to the experienced policeman. Any slip-up like that would lead the detective to have suspicions about our own motives and actions.
Sensing my hesitation, the policeman asked, “Have you thought of something, Mr. Buckingham?”
Thinking quickly, I said, “Our neighbours, Barry and Diane may be able to give you a description of Selmira Ademovic, which may help in finding her.”
“That’s a good suggestion if we are to stand any chance of finding her. Thanks, Again.”
“I’ll help in any way I can.”
I disconnected the call and, when I told Suzanne what the policeman had said about Selmira, she felt equally frustrated. “There must be something we can do.”
“I agree, but what? She’s probably changed her name and moved well away from Birmingham, by now.”
I had a sudden thought. “Ivanko told us that, before they moved to their house, they had lived in a houseboat on the Bridgewater Canal for several years.”
Suzanne sounded puzzled. “Yes, but how does that help?”
“I wonder if she has used the money from the sale of her house to buy a new house-boat? Perhaps, even in Birmingham?”
“Tonie, you’re brilliant! That could be the answer! The only problem is that we only know about the houseboat from the automatic writing, so we can’t tell the police about your idea.”
“That’s true”, I pondered. “I wonder if Selmira told Diane, next door, about the house-boat?”
“Let’s have a word with her, tonight and see if she knows enough to mention it to the police.”
Suzanne agreed and, after dinner, we called at number fourteen. It was Diane who answered the door. “Hello, Suzanne, Tonie. Would you like to come in?”
“Thanks, Diane. We are wondering if you may be able to help us.”
Intrigued, she opened the door, allowing us to enter her living room. Sounding puzzled, she asked, “How can I help?”
“The police feel that Selmira may have had something to do with her husband’s death and they are likely to ask further questions.”
“Really?” She sounded shocked. “That’s terrible. I’ll help in any way I can.” Pausing as if she was uncertain about something she wanted to say, she added, “I can’t say that I ever really liked the man, but he didn’t deserve to die. I wouldn’t have thought her capable of killing her own husband, but it does show how wrong one can be.”
“Yes, it is a horrible thought, Diane. The police have found that she has disappeared while in Birmingham, where she transferred the money from the sale of her house into cash. So, at the moment, she seems to have disappeared.”
“That’s awful. It just goes to show how wrong one can be from first impressions. How can I help?”
Pleased that she was willing to assist, I said, “We wondered if Selmira or Ivanko said anything about their life, before they moved to Eastcroft road?”
Diane, casting her mind back, said, “Hmm, let me think. I seem to remember her saying that they had lived on a houseboat on the canal system, around here.”
“Really?” Diane had taken the bait and I desperately hoped that she could reveal a great deal more to us.
“Yes, she said that the two of them really enjoyed living on a houseboat, as it was so peaceful and relaxing.”
“Did she say why they decided to buy a house instead of staying on the houseboat?” I waited with baited breath, anxious to hear her answer.
“Oh, I think it was Ivanko who felt that living in a house would be preferable. She told me that she had always loved living on the house-boat. Ivanko was having to travel quite a bit, as a car mechanic and a house would be better as he could park the car in the house drive. You can imagine how difficult it would be to park a car near to a house-boat.”
“Yes, I can understand that. What was Selmira’s occupation, Diane?”
She had to think before answering. “I know that she worked at Wythenshawe hospital, but I’m not certain in which department.”
“Thanks a lot, Diane. You’ve been really helpful. I’ll pass this information on to D. I. Marsden.” Suzanne and I stayed for a bit longer, just to be sociable, before returning to our home.
It was Suzanne who came up with a great suggestion. “If Selmira has been working at Wythenshawe Hospital, I’m pretty certain that there will be a photographic record for personnel administration.”
Following her suggestion, I phoned D. I. Marsden the next morning and told him about Selmira’s employment. He agreed that a personnel photographic I.D. would be preferable to an artist’s sketch.
“I’ll pay a visit to Wythenshawe Hospital today and try to find her personnel I.D. Is there anything else you have thought of?”
I wished I could tell him that she had been working in the X-ray department, but had to refrain from mentioning this, as it was Ivanko who had given me this fact. “The other bit of information my neighbour told me was that, before moving here, Selmira and Ivanko had lived on a houseboat on the local canal. Apparently, Selmira loved to live on the houseboat. Do you think it may be worth checking on purchases of houseboats in the Birmingham area?”
“It is certainly a line of enquiry I will be pursuing.” I was becoming used to the policeman’s deep, precise voice. I wished him luck with his enquiries and disconnected the call.