Swilley shook the comment away. ‘It’s not for me to say. I just have to ask questions and write down the answers. Why didn’t you tell me all this the first time?’
‘I was shocked. Bewildered. I didn’t know what to think. I wasn’t sure – what I ought to say. What Ed would have wanted me to say. I didn’t know where it might lead, you see, if I told you all this.’
‘And you’re not worried now?’
She almost shrugged. ‘They’ve killed him. How can it get any worse?’ she said quietly.
There was a silence while Swilley made up her notes. Then she looked up and asked, ‘How does Mr Bell come into all this?’
Candida blushed. ‘It isn’t what you may think.’
‘What do I think?’ Swilley invited.
‘People misunderstand Freddie. He is a very kind, gentle man underneath.’
Yeah, underneath the brutal uncaring exterior, Swilley thought. ‘How did you meet him?’
‘At a fundraiser. He’s very generous in giving to charity, and he’s particularly interested in green issues.’
The only green issue Swilley would have expected him to be interested in was dollar bills but she let it pass. ‘How did you start going out with him?’
She blushed deeper. ‘It was after Ed – when he said I should distance myself from him. Freddie had been pursuing me for years. I’d made it clear I wasn’t interested in him but he persisted, and he was very kind and thoughtful in so many ways. So – after – Ed’s trouble – when he asked again – I said yes.’ Her eyes filled with tears of justification. ‘He’s been so kind and thoughtful – and he’s very good company.’
‘I’ve seen pictures of you together at functions,’ Swilley said. She had looked them up after Shawna’s hint. ‘It’s good publicity for him.’
‘And for me. For the Trust, I mean. I don’t see that there’s any harm in serving the greater good at the same time as . . .’
She tailed off, looking down at her dogs. She stroked their heads with a slow, almost sad movement, and Swilley suddenly guessed that Bell had given her the diamond collars for them, and that, yes, they were real diamonds. It made sense, she thought, for Freddie Bell to want to hitch himself to the respectability of Candida Scott-Chatton, the daughter of a marquess and ex-wife of an earl; and for her . . . well, he probably made generous donations to her charities.
‘Did he know you were still seeing Mr Stonax?’
She looked up, startled. ‘I – I don’t think so. He’s never said anything about it. Ed and I were very discreet. No, I’m sure he didn’t know.’
‘Are you sleeping with him? Mr Bell, I mean,’ Swilley asked brutally.
Scott-Chatton mottled and her eyes flashed as she was shaken equally by anger and embarrassment. ‘I don’t think that’s any of your business.’
‘I’m afraid everything becomes our business in a case of murder.’
She stared. ‘You surely aren’t thinking that Freddie had anything to do with it?’
‘We have to consider all possibilities.’
‘Well, I can tell you at once,’ she said with determination, ‘that your suggestion is as wrong as it is offensive. Freddie is much misunderstood and the media are unkind to him, but I know him well enough to be able to tell you categorically that he would never dream of such a thing. And now I think I must ask you to leave.’
She stood up, and Swilley did likewise. ‘One last thing,’ she said. ‘When you spoke about Mr Stonax being forced to resign, and the photographs being faked, you kept saying “they”. ‘As in “they had to make him leave”, and so on. Can you tell me who “they” are?’
She looked faintly puzzled for an instant, and then her face grew both hard and expressionless. ‘I really cannot tell you. Ed told me as little about the business as possible, for my own safety. I have no idea who was behind it all.’
Swilley went away, thinking what a bleedin’ liar she is, Mrs Fancypants Scottwotsit.
Swilley was reporting back to Slider when his telephone rang, and he signalled to her to wait while he answered it.
It was Bates.
‘Did you find the mobile I left for you?’ he asked.
‘Yes, I did,’ Slider said, and he made the signal to Norma that means ‘get a trace on this call’ and mouthed ‘Bates’ to her. Her eyes widened and she dashed from the room.
‘I knew you’d follow it up as soon as it was used,’ Bates said. ‘Where was it?’
‘A schoolboy found it and was using it to chat to a friend,’ Slider said. He had to keep Bates talking. ‘Where did you hope it would be?’
‘I thought it would be fun to let you chase your tail for a while. I didn’t mind where it went, as long as it was found and used. I left it near a school. I was sure no kid could resist a free phone call or two, and it seems I was right. Again. Sometimes perfection is almost wearying.’
‘I’m sure it must be,’ said Slider. ‘Every time you brush shoulders with the law, the law comes off worse. Wouldn’t you like to try getting caught, just for variety?’
Bates laughed. ‘Are you trying to make friends with me, Mr Plod? I don’t recommend it. Remember that I have a large grudge against you, and I intend to pay it back. I’m in the process of setting up a few little surprises for you. Do you like surprises?’
‘Not especially,’ Slider said, watching the door for Norma. She was using the telephone at her own desk which was just out of sight round the corner. ‘But tell me, why in particular do you have a grudge against me? I wasn’t the only person involved in your capture – temporary capture, I should say. In fact, I was quite a minor player. Why are you singling me out?’
‘How do you know I’m singling you out?’
‘I can’t imagine even you have the resources to mount a campaign against the whole squad. What makes me special?’
‘I think you will find that out sooner or later, so I don’t mind telling you that you have enemies in high places – quite a distinction for such a lowly bungler, wouldn’t you say? Yes, you’ve made enemies along the way, and those enemies have resources that make even mine look puny. They are encouraging me to put you at the top of the list. Are you pleased? Don’t you think that’s an honour?’
‘Not really. I rather like being obscure. So, who are these mighty enemies – or are they figments of your imagination? I expect being on the run is rather stressful, and stress can bring on delusions.’
Bates laughed again, but there was an edge to it that had not been there before. ‘You’ll find out how delusional all this is. I shall make sure of that. And now, since you have had ample time to trace this call, I shall say goodbye and let you get on with amusing yourself. Say hello to Mick Hutton for me, by the way. I won’t say I taught him all I know, but we’ve had some interesting conversations in our time.’
And he was gone.
Slider slammed down the receiver and went through to the CID room. Swilley was talking on the phone. She looked at him and said, ‘Wait, he’s here. D’you want to tell him yourself?’
Slider took the phone from her. ‘Any luck?’
‘No, sir,’ Hutton said. ‘It was a landline, but it’s been routed via several satellites round the globe. We were on the third when he hung up, but even if you’d kept him talking I doubt we’d have been able to pin him down. He’ll have gone in through a computer, radioed another remote computer and that will have initiated the call. Then the satellites bounce it back and forth across the world. If we could find the remote computer, we could probably trace the home computer, but it could be anywhere – New York, Tokyo, anywhere.’