"Now, now, Julia—calm down."That was Fagan.
"Calm down? This stupid girl! After I have gone to so much trouble, this idiot could have jeopardized everything. She has no idea what lengths I have gone to, to protect us!"
"Why don't you tell me why you are so upset?" Fagan continued, asking in a low quiet voice if there was anything he should know.
"I just want these police out of here. I have to bury Frank. You said you were going to arrange it, and now this! I have to have his death certificate, Simon."
"If it's the life insurance you are worried about, that will automatically be paid to you," Fagan said.
"You don't understand!"
"I am trying, Julia, but sometimes I really start to believe that you have not told me everything. I mean, who is this man that's making you get so hysterical?""You don't understand,"Julia repeated.By this time, Anna was directly outside the door. It was not the argumentative Julia, but the fear in her voice that alerted Anna. It felt like a good opportunity to walk in."Mrs. Brandon," she said, "could I please speak with you in private?""I have nothing to say. I just want to be left alone.""If you wish for Mr. Fagan to be with you, that is your choice, but I do need to speak to you."Julia was twisting a tissue around and around in her hands. She suddenly seemed to deflate, slumping forward in her chair, as if exhausted. Her two children were becoming upset, and went to her side; she clasped the girls to her.Anna suggested that Mai Ling take the children into the kitchen. Julia remained in the chair, ripping at the tissue, her hands shaking."Do you recognize this man?" Anna asked, showing the photograph.Julia nodded, and then sniffed, tossing her head back. "Yes.""Could you please give me his name?""His name is Anthony Collingwood. He was my partner. You've asked me about him, and I have told you all I know.""We have been unable to trace him," Anna said, sitting down opposite."Well, that's not my problem, is it?"Julia said churlishly."What is your problem, Mrs. Brandon?""I don't understand what you mean.""Well, you seem very upset and angry that we have obtained this photograph. Can you tell me why?"Julia closed her eyes. Simon Fagan leaned forward. "Julia, do you want to talk to me in private?" he asked."No. Just go away and leave me alone! You haven't been any help to me at all."Fagan was nonplussed; he looked to Anna and back to Julia. "Should I stay? Julia, do you want me to stay?""I don't fucking care anymore!" She started to sob uncontrollably,hunching forward in her seat, her arms wrapped around herself. Fagan hesitated, and then walked out.Anna closed the door behind him. She went to the woman's side and sat on the arm of her chair. "What is it, Julia?""I'm so scared. I think he will kill me, kill the children because I won't let him have it, and now it's such a mess.""Who will kill you?""Anthony.""Why would he want to hurt you and the children?""Money," she wept.Bit by bit, between long pauses and bouts of crying, Julia started to explain the complicated transactions she had done to protect her wealth.Anna took notes as the jigsaw began to take shape. The more Julia talked, the more relieved she appeared to become, as if, by at last admitting the truth, she would be safe. She was scared that Collingwood would threaten her or take the children; she had already handed him the four million, but he was not satisfied. At no point did she admit that Collingwood and Fitzpatrick were one and the same; she continued to deny ever knowing anyone called Alexander Fitzpatrick.Phil and his team were still searching the farmhouse and outbuildings, but were coming up empty-handed. They would not know for some time if the computer they had taken would give them any evidence or connection to Fitzpatrick. Honour had sat in the kitchen for hours, but Damien had insisted he go to college for his lecture. Phil had let him leave.Every time Phil had passed Honour, she had asked the same thing: "What are you looking for?" He said only that they were searching for evidence connected to a murder inquiry. She had proffered tea and coffee to the officers, and then asked if she could do some baking.Phil was seriously doubting that Fitzpatrick had ever hidden out at the farm. If he had, there was not as yet any incriminating evidence. They had evidence that the Mitsubishi had been driven into the farm's courtyard, but were still merely surmising that Julius D'Anton had inadvertently come across Fitzpatrick at the farm, drove the Mitsubishi back to London, and then was murdered.Phil headed up the stairs to join the three officers who were searching over the couple's bedroom and small box room. They gave Phil the thumbs-down. He checked his watch; they had been there nine hours, and all he had to show for it was two scraps of paper.He turned to walk out, then paused, looking up. "You done the loft?" There was a pull rope attached to an old brass hook, very high up. He stood on tiptoe to release it and jerked it hard. The trapdoor to the loft opened and a ladder unfolded, but then got stuck; he had to reach up and pull it down the last few feet. It didn't look as if anyone had used it for years, but he nevertheless climbed up slowly, step-by-step. He crawled into the loft on his hands and knees, stopped, and asked for assistance.The far side of the loft had a camp bed, blankets, and pillows. There was an overpowering musty smell, the dust was thick, with cobwebs trailing from every corner. But the area where the camp bed was situated was clean. There were fingerprints in the dust and, beside the camp bed, a jug with a glass, shaving equipment, and a wash bag. When he gingerly eased back the sheet, there were some bloodstains. "I think we might have just got lucky," Phil said quietly.The incident room was buzzing. The search of Julia Brandon's home was over; the search at Honey Farm was still active, and would be continued the following day. Cunningham gathered everyone together for an update. By now, it was half-six in the evening.Anna was first up, to disclose her findings from the Wimbledon property. There was a murmur of disappointment when she said that, after an extensive search, they had found no evidence that proved Alexander Fitzpatrick was ever there—but she was certain that, using the name Anthony Collingwood, Fitzpatrick had been a very big feature in Julia Brandon's life.She then opened her notebook and gave a look around at the expectant faces. "This is quite complicated but, I think, a major step in sorting out the Frank Brandon connection."She went to the board and began writing up the details."A young and impressionable Julia Kendal, living in Oxford, meets up with the charismatic Alexander Fitzpatrick, using the alias Anthony Collingwood. This was fifteen years ago. He was in the UK, sorting out business transactions and money laundering; he had a lot of cash. He and Julia began a relationship and moved to London, where he bought a large property in St. John's Wood. He then spent considerable time abroad—sometimes taking her, sometimes not—and began to shift his cash around, using Julia as the innocent; laundering it via bank accounts in her name."Anna stopped and smiled. "Just how innocent, I couldn't say, but she ends up with accounts worth twenty-odd million, according to her. This he uses when he requires it, and she maintains the front: nice wife, nice house. He even arranges for her to have IVF treatment to produce two kids, since he has fertility problems, and shifts more money into accounts for them. He acquires many offshore accounts and various businesses. By this time Fitzpatrick was wanted by the FBI and the U.S. DEA, so it became more difficult to move around. He lost millions when the BCCI bank crashed, and this is where it all starts to get unpleasant."Anna continued to explain how Fitzpatrick had poured his liquid assets into a German bank that went big with the remortgage of properties in the U.S., but started to go belly-up two years ago. At the same time, the FBI and the U.S. DEA were closing in on Fitzpatrick, and he lost properties in Florida, the Bahamas, and Los Angeles. He also sold his yacht at the same time."Julia saw the high life going downhill fast. Fitzpatrick made visits to the UK as Anthony Collingwood. Each time, he wanted more and more money, and Julia started to freak out that she would end up with nothing. Even more so, when he became abusive toward her. At some point, she found out he had another woman. He said that if she didn't do what he wanted, he would take the children. She felt betrayed and very angry; she repeated over and over that she had really loved him."Around this time, Julia used, as a chauffeur, Donny Petrozzo. He introduced her to Frank Brandon. Julia put into motion the salvaging of what she thought of as
her fortune. She sold the house in St. John's Wood and bought the Wimbledon property outright. At the same time, with the assistance of her financial adviser, she began moving the money around so that Fitzpatrick could not get his hands on it.