‘Nah. It was years ago. I mostly tuned out, anyway. He just seemed to ramble on. Probably tall tales, too, toking up with Jerry and the lads backstage.’
‘Drugs?’ said Winsome.
‘That was back in the early eighties,’ said Cooper. ‘There must be a statute of limitations. Besides, he’s dead.’
‘Did he ever take, or mention drugs when the two of you were together?’ Annie asked. ‘I mean other than old escapades. Anything more current?’
‘No, not really. He got a bit nostalgic about the old scene once in a while, said he wouldn’t mind travelling back in time. But nothing serious, no.’
‘So as far as you know, Gavin Miller wasn’t involved with drugs, either as a user or a seller?’
‘That’s right. Not when I knew him, anyway. I dare say we all committed a few indiscretions in our youth. It’s what youth’s about isn’t it?’
‘Let’s get a bit more up to date, Jim,’ Annie went on. ‘Sunday evening, around ten o’clock. Where were you?’
‘Me? At home marking papers, most likely.’
‘Most likely?’
‘Well, I went down to the George and Dragon for a couple of pints at some point in the evening. I don’t remember exactly when.’
‘People saw you?’
‘Sure. I’m a regular there.’
‘Do you know of anyone who harboured a grudge against Gavin?’
‘Not that I can think of.’
‘What about Kayleigh and Beth?’
‘Nah. They got what they wanted. They won, didn’t they?’
‘Parents? Big brothers? Boyfriends?’
‘For crying out loud, it was over four years ago.’
‘Some say revenge is a dish best served cold,’ said Winsome.
Cooper stared at her. ‘Out of the mouths of babes.’
‘Enough of that,’ Annie snapped. ‘What about Dayle Snider? Might she have harboured a grudge?’
‘I suppose she could have done. You know, taken it as a personal insult to her sexual allure if Gav couldn’t come up with the goods. And she’s certainly got the muscles for it, especially in the last while. Gav had been losing weight terribly. Poor sod hardly got a square meal every day. He was just flesh and bone.’
‘When did you last talk to him?’
‘Middle of last week.’
‘And how was he?’
‘Remarkably cheerful, actually.’
‘Did he say why?’
‘No. He just said the lean times might be coming to an end.’ Cooper snorted. ‘Well, they certainly did, didn’t they, but not in the way he meant.’
‘He didn’t elaborate?’
‘No. Just that. Like, watch this space. He’d been going on about opening a record shop in the village for some time, vinyl only. A collectors’ paradise. He said it would bring in punters from all over the country. The Chamber of Commerce would be on their knees thanking him.’
‘And he was in a position to do this?’
‘You must be joking. It was a dream. Gav was nothing if not a dreamer. But I must say he seemed remarkably optimistic about it the last time we talked. I told him he must be crazy, in this day and age. Everyone buys online now. The market for collectors must be a pretty small one.’
‘Was he worried about anything?’
‘No. I just told you, he was quite cheerful.’
‘Before that?’
‘He was always worried about money, and he sometimes got a bit depressed and angry when he talked about his ex-wife. She left him for a plumber, apparently. I don’t think he ever got over her. And sometimes his resentment over what happened at the college would burst up to the surface, and he’d relive it all over again.’
‘Might he have wanted revenge on Kayleigh and Beth?’
‘I would if I’d been him, but I think he just saw it as the system being against him. Mostly when he got angry it was the board and the committee he insulted. The ones that actually fired him. The ones he thought were supposed to support him.’
‘So he felt betrayed by the college authorities?’
‘Very much so.’
‘What about Trevor Lomax? How did Gavin feel about him?’
‘OK. They got on all right. He didn’t place Trevor in the enemy camp. Trevor didn’t sit on the committee. He called it a kangaroo court and tried to defend Gav. He got into trouble over that himself. Gav respected him. He’s just a bit wishy-washy, that’s all. No balls. I think it’s the wife who wears the trousers in that house, as they used to say.’
‘Sally Lomax?’
‘Right. And she’s a good friend of that Dayle Snider woman. Makes sense to me.’
‘Did Gavin have any other close friends?’
‘I wouldn’t say anyone was close to him, really, except me. He didn’t seem to have any old friends from school or university days. Still, I can’t say I have, myself. You lose touch, don’t you?’
‘Might Gavin have arranged to meet one of the girls on Sunday for some reason? Kayleigh or Beth?’
‘I can’t think why. Unless she’d promised to give him a blow job or something, which I very much doubt. Besides, they’re not around here any more.’
‘Where are they?’
‘I told you, I neither know nor care. I’m sure the college authorities will be able to tell you. Due to some fault in the stars, no doubt, they both graduated.’
Annie realised that the sooner they tracked down the girls and talked to them, the better. She didn’t think they’d get much from Kayleigh or Beth, especially if they were liars and expert manipulators, but it had to be done. At least Annie would get the chance to decide for herself whether she thought they were lying or whether Gavin Miller really was guilty as charged. A police interview can be a bit more challenging than a committee already weighing in your favour. She could ask a few more awkward questions than an academic panel. Her back was hurting like hell from the chair she was sitting in, and she didn’t think there was much more to be gained from continuing their conversation with the obnoxious Mr Cooper, so she gave Winsome the nod and stood up to leave.
‘Is that all?’ Cooper said, remaining seated.
‘For the moment,’ Annie said.
He grinned in what he probably thought was a charming, lopsided way. ‘But don’t leave town, right?’
‘As a matter of fact, you can go where the hell you like, Jimmy,’ said Annie, and walked out with a shocked Winsome following in her wake.
‘This is police harassment, this is,’ complained Lisa Gray when Winsome approached her as she left the converted Victorian terraced house near the college, where she rented a flat.
Winsome opened the passenger door. ‘You saved me from having to climb the stairs. Thanks. Get in. And that’s enough of the attitude.’
It was pouring down again, naturally, and the street, with its tall dark brick houses and dripping trees, seemed very bleak. The trees weren’t quite bare yet, and soggy leaves lined the gutters and stuck to the potholed tarmac surface of the road.
Head hidden inside her hoodie, Lisa slid onto the front seat and hunched down. ‘I’m clean, you know. I don’t know what your drugs squad buddies told you, but you won’t find anything on me.’ The rain was hammering on the roof of the car and streaming down the windows.
‘Fasten your seat belt,’ Winsome said, turning on the ignition and setting off.
Lisa did so. ‘Where we going?’
‘That’s up to you. We can go for a nice cup of coffee in the Swainsdale Centre, or to a cold, smelly interview room at the nick. Your choice.’
Lisa looked at her with clear, bright eyes, the hood slipping back just a little to reveal a fringe of damp hair and a pale complexion. ‘What’s the catch?’
‘No catch. If you’re willing to talk to me, it’s the coffee shop, just you and me, nice and easy. If it’s going to be like pulling teeth, it’s the nick.’