Jane looked thoughtful. ‘I wonder if Arnold Hadley knew what Jason was up to and also got a backhander?’
‘The planning department said the legal documents were all correct. But obviously Hadley would have been paid by Thorpe for the legal advice.’
‘Proving that any fraud took place could be difficult,’ Jane said. ‘For now I’m more interested in meeting Beatrice and interviewing her about the baby’s death. We’ll have about two hours after check-in before we have to go through Departures, so if you want to do any duty-free shopping, that’s the time.’
He frowned. ‘Well, if I go duty-free shopping now, I’ll have to carry it with me, right? Wouldn’t it be better to do it at the other end when we come back?’
‘Whatever works for you, Tim. I’m going to get a bottle of vodka as I’ll probably need a few drinks to get over the jet lag. And I suspect they will have a better perfume selection here than in Sydney.’
‘I’ve got no one to buy anything like that for. My mum likes nice soap, but she gets allergies from perfumes and makeup — brings her out in a shocking rash.’
Jane sighed. She reckoned it was going to be a really long flight.
Chapter Seventeen
Tim had the window seat and at first had been almost childishly excited, but as he was over six feet tall, he soon began to complain about the lack of leg room.
He perked up when their meal came, though, and when Jane offered him her fruit and jelly dessert, he scoffed it down. After enjoying a couple of glasses of wine, Jane was tempted to settle down with one of the books she’d bought at WH Smith before boarding, but decided she ought to take the opportunity to get to know Tim a little better.
‘Do you live with your parents?’
‘No just my mother. She’s a stenographer — her fingers move like lightning.’
‘So she’s in court a lot?’
‘Oh yes.’
‘How did she react when you told her you were going to Australia?’
‘She was a bit freaked at first because she thought I was going to emigrate, but then when I told her it was just a few days and part of an investigation she was... sort of impressed.’
‘Did you mention anything about the reasons we are flying out?’
‘You mean the investigation?’
‘Yes.’
‘No, well... not really, just that it was connected to the house in Stockwell. She knew about it because of all the stuff in the papers.’
‘So, what did you tell her?’
‘Nothing much — just that it was connected to a member of the family. She was more concerned about me not being home to let the cat out.’
Jane was finding it hard work trying to maintain a conversation with him. ‘Don’t you have a cat flap?’
‘No, we live in a flat. He only goes out at night because he has cat litter, which my mum doesn’t think is very hygienic. It was my girlfriend’s cat — well, it was actually a stray, but she went back to Sheffield, so I was sort of left with it.’
Jane eased her seat back and closed her eyes as Tim began to cross and uncross his legs. Eventually, hunched into the corner of his seat, he fell asleep. Jane, on the contrary, was wide awake. She sat back with her eyes closed and went over her last conversation with Hadley. Something didn’t feel right.
Hadley had initially been adamant that Helena Lanark would never have given her nephew her pearls. But during their last conversation he seemed to have changed his mind.
Jane recalled the last thing Hadley said, about Jason learning how ‘wrong he would be’. It made her wonder if Hadley knew Jason had used his power of attorney for Helena improperly, and if Hadley had also benefitted from the sale of the Stockwell property.
It all went round and round in her head until she couldn’t concentrate anymore and she went to sleep.
The announcement came across the intercom system that the plane was scheduled to land in Bangkok in forty minutes. DC Taylor woke with a start as Jane gently nudged him. They had two hours to wait for refuelling and were told they couldn’t leave the airport but would be allowed into the duty-free area. They were to return to the plane again half an hour prior to take-off.
The airport was stiflingly hot, and most of the shops seemed to be selling cheap tourist gadgets. Jane did find one stall which sold beautiful silk scarves and saris and selected one for her mother and one for her sister. She then went to a small coffee area.
The heat was almost overpowering but after downing an iced coffee Jane continued to stretch her legs as much as possible before returning to the plane. There was no sign of Tim and she waited along with the other passengers at the Departure gate. Eventually their departure was announced, and Jane boarded, returning to her seat. Tim still hadn’t appeared and most of the passengers had been re-seated when he hurried on board with numerous packages and carrier bags. Jane stood up from her seat as he opened the overhead luggage compartment and stowed his goods.
‘I bought a sari each for both of my sisters,’ he said, climbing back into his window seat.
‘You never mentioned you had any sisters?’
‘Well, stepsisters — they’re a lot older, from my father’s first marriage. One’s an accountant and the other is an estate agent.’
With his purchases safely in the overhead locker, he sat back in his seat, staring excitedly from the window as the plane prepared to take off.
‘My dad was a lot older than my mother. He was in the air force — always wanted me to go into the RAF — but he passed when I was only eight, so it’s all been down to my mother and she wouldn’t hear of it. She’s not that keen on me being in the Met, to be honest.’
Jane could tell from the sharp smell of body odour that he had not removed his jacket for some time, and sighed at the prospect of another twelve hours sitting next to him. Tim continued to enthuse about his shopping spree, explaining that he had also bought some candle holders and incense burners for his mother. Jane tried not to get impatient with him; he was just an innocent and rather naïve young man. Instead, she pointedly opened her novel to make it obvious that she didn’t want to chat.
When another tray of food was placed in front of her, Jane had lost count of how many meals they had been served. Tim had to make her get up from her seat on numerous occasions to visit the toilet and on his last sojourn she noticed he must have given himself a wash, as his smell was less pungent.
He nudged her arm. ‘I’m sure you’ve checked, but do we know if Jason Thorpe is actually at home?’
Jane pursed her lips. ‘It’s really Beatrice Thorpe I need to speak to. But Jason told me he was returning to Australia, and I know he lives with his mother, so I certainly hope he’ll be there.’
Jane closed her eyes. It was risky for her not to have confirmed that Beatrice was at home, but she hadn’t wanted Jason to be forewarned about their arrival. She just hoped she hadn’t made a huge mistake by not making the necessary arrangements with the Australian police to confirm if Beatrice was in residence and prepared to be interviewed.
They spent considerable time going through Customs before they were at last able to get out and into a taxi. The Palm Tree Court Hotel was described by the travel agent as ‘a small, exclusive establishment serving breakfasts, with a bar facility in the main reception. Easily accessible to sightseeing and shopping.’
Tim was agog at all the sights as they drove to the hotel. He had taken his thick tweed jacket off but was still sweating profusely. Both had slept for the latter part of the flight so neither felt too exhausted or disorientated by the time difference. Jane had never been to Australia, so she was equally interested in the views. But she started to feel uneasy when they left the affluent suburbs and entered an area which felt quite similar to London’s Soho.