It was eleven-thirty by the time Olga left the station. Anna and Mike were privy to information that had opened up their case. Dorota Pelagia had worked for the cleaning company, so they had three victims linked together. All three girls had worked for Olga over the past five years. None was full-time, and in all cases, they worked only short periods when they arrived in the UK. The work entailed housecleaning for not just private clients but hotels and offices. It would mean yet another extensive round of questioning and checking out all the names and addresses. So far, the police had uncovered no connection to Swell Blinds but hoped that they would discover a link.
The following morning, Barbara and Joan began cross-referencing all the data that they had from Swell Blinds to see if they had delivered to any of the new companies and private addresses Olga had listed. On the board were the details of the recruitment adverts placed in Poland. It appeared that the girls would answer, and Olga’s contacts in Poland would subsequently arrange for them to come to England. They were given fake identity documents owned by a female Polish immigrant who was legally registered to reside and work in the UK. The same documents were sent back and forth, and the photographs were not even changed, since the girls were all about the same age, with dark hair or hair dyed to match the photograph as closely as possible.
The new arrivals were charged for this helping hand and were then moved into the flat owned by Olga to start working. She took 50 percent of their earnings, plus rent. It was obvious that the girls ignored the contract to work for Olga for a minimum of two years, since as soon as they had managed to save enough, they left. Olga said resentfully that it was always difficult to keep tabs on her workers; often the girls proved to be work-shy, belligerent, and to her mind, ungrateful.
Margaret Potts was the only one with no link. The time gaps between the murders were also of concern. Had the killer been active during the years between? Dorota Pelagia was the first victim, her body found four years ago. Next was Margaret Potts, two years ago, and then Anika and Estelle, a year apart. It did, however, link more or less to the same time that John Smiley had left London to work in Manchester. Swell Blinds had moved five years ago.
Langton sat with Anna, drinking a cup of coffee, having been present for the morning briefing when the team learned of the latest developments. He was astonished that Olga had employed all three young girls and yet felt obliged to call the television company with regard only to Anika Waleska.
“I doubt she watches much TV.” Anna snorted. “She’s a horrible woman, and I’d really like to get her for tax evasion and her treatment of these girls. Just think how much she must be pocketing from all her scams. A lot of her so-called housecleaning is in cash payments; plus, she’s got contracts for cleaning schools and hotels. Her full name is Olga Pavlova, but I can promise you there is nothing balletic about her.”
“Eh?”
“It was sarcastic. There was a famous ballerina called... Oh, never mind.”
“Yeah, she must be stashing it away. We can deal with her later, but right now we have to keep her sweet, as we need all the help we can get from her.”
“She’s got a flat in the Boltons in Chelsea, she drives a Mercedes, and she owns a big flat in Earl’s Court that she rents out to her workers.”
“Have you checked with Estelle’s flatmate, Katia, and her boyfriend, Mikhail, to see if they were part of Olga’s dirty business?”
“Barolli’s on to that. I’ll be going to talk to the present occupants of the flat.”
Langton sighed and drained his coffee. “What about going to see Cameron Welsh again?” he asked.
“I’ve said I’ll do it.”
“That’s very big of you.” He gave her a quizzical look. “I didn’t think you wanted to go again.”
“I don’t, but I think as I have been privy to all his previous interviews, I might be able to cut through the dross,” Anna said, looking him in the eye.
“Fine, run the Polish connection by him.”
“I think I might get the train, save that long drive. Maybe stay overnight and come back the following morning.”
He stared at her for a moment and then shrugged. “Mrs. Hudson cooks up a good breakfast.”
She gave a small laugh, agreeing, as he moved off. The conversation prompted her to confirm her travel arrangements. She’d leave early Wednesday morning and return on Thursday. She decided to call Ken at once to tell him. She was so eager to meet him again that it overshadowed any distaste at having to talk to Cameron Welsh, but if the prisoner acted up, she would just walk away.
Ken was thrilled and said he would meet her at the train station, drive her to his flat so she could leave her overnight bag there, and then take her to the prison. She would not be having his mother’s cooked breakfast after all.
Anna stood on the wide steps of the house in Finborough Road, ringing the doorbell of flat three. Eventually, the big door with glass panels was buzzed open, and she entered a large hall with a mosaic tiled floor. These old houses around Earl’s Court were all huge, four stories and with high ceilings, and at one time had been the family residences of wealthy people. Now most of them were subdivided and rented out.
Anna walked up the wide staircase; a pretty, dark-haired girl was waiting for her on the third floor. The flat was made up of one huge sitting room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a communal bathroom. There were four single beds in the main room, and the bedrooms held three beds each. It looked like a dormitory from an old-fashioned boarding school, with bags and suitcases littering every available surface.
Anna met with four girls and sat on one of the beds as they drank coffee from chipped mugs. Two could not speak any English, one was virtually acting as interpreter for the others, and the fourth girl had a terrible cold and was constantly sniffling and sneezing. Anna explained that she was not there for any immigration purpose but to ask them about three other girls. When shown the photographs, however, no one there recognized any of the victims. They had all been in London for six to nine months only, and it was obvious that they hated working for Olga. They complained about how mean she was and how they were putting in a sixty-hour week. No one could wait to leave, as it was not pleasant having to share such a crowded flat.
It took some time for them to explain how they had paid in advance for their paperwork, jobs, and accommodation in London, and how they were met at Gatwick airport by Olga’s husband, who drove them to the flat. They said he was surly and rude to them and very much under Olga’s domination. He helped in her company and organized the painting and decorating of other properties she owned and rented out.
Anna was quickly on to Olga’s husband, asking them to describe him, as she wondered if he could be a suspect. He was Polish and, they said, much younger than she, but he had something wrong with him. He had asthma and was always coughing and wheezing so was more or less her full-time chauffeur.
“Does he drive a van for the painting and decorating?”
They were unsure, as he always drove them in Olga’s Mercedes. If they had work a long way out of London, he would take them and collect them.
It seemed more and more obvious that Olga was coining it in, and by the time Anna left, she had called the incident room to get them to check out the husband.
It was disappointing, but by late afternoon, after lengthy interviews, they had no new information. Neither Barbara nor Joan, after cross-referencing Swell Blinds contracts, had found any match with any of the clients for whom Olga’s cleaners worked. Depression was threatening once more.
Anna left early for an evening’s grooming and to pack for the trip to Leeds. Only Barolli had looked at her with some suspicion, as he knew how much she hated Cameron Welsh.