‘Yeah, I had the same problem,’ Jack acknowledged. ‘I think the people who have the answers are Joyce Miller and her husband.’
‘If I manage to get everything done here, would you mind if I paid them a call, just to see if I can get anything more from them?’ she suggested.
He gave Laura one of his warmest smiles.
‘If anyone can get them to talk, Laura, you can. Go for it and just let me know the outcome.’
‘There is something else,’ Laura said. ‘Anik is due in this afternoon, and his nose is pretty out of joint, so could we maybe do the interview together? I think he would appreciate it if you suggested it.’
‘Yeah, why not. I’ll leave a memo on his desk, asking if he could give us a hand.’
She was about to walk off when he caught her hand.
‘Thank you, Laura, I really appreciate yours and the team’s efforts. I need it, and I’m grateful.’
She flushed, and he could see how much it had meant to her. Her support meant a great deal to him as he felt confident he could leave the station in her hands. He needed space to make himself completely ready for the ensuing combat with Rodney Middleton.
He also couldn’t wait to get back into the Tesla and to give Maggie a spin in it when he got home.
Laura and Anik had to exit the station through a throng of flashing cameras, before arriving at the Millers’ council estate just before 7 p.m. Laura pressed the bell and after a few minutes Harold Miller eased open the front door.
‘Sorry for the intrusion,’ Laura said pleasantly, showing her ID, ‘but we just have a few questions, if you wouldn’t mind.’ Anik held up his own ID as he also reintroduced himself.
Harold was not eager to let them in. ‘At this time? On a Sunday? I’ve just given Joyce her supper, you know. It’s not a very convenient time.’
Laura kept her pleasant smile in place. ‘It won’t take long, I assure you. And it is important.’
‘You have already been here and have taken personal items, as well as my mobile,’ Harold grumbled. ‘I just don’t understand why you have to come unannounced on a Sunday. My wife isn’t going to be happy about this at all.’
Anik decided to take the reins. ‘You could always come back to the station with us, if that would be more convenient,’ he suggested.
Harold stepped back, and Anik and Laura stepped further into the hallway. He then closed the front door behind them.
‘I’ve been under a lot of pressure, and I don’t want any trouble. My wife won’t want you in her room. She’s having her supper and doesn’t like anyone with her; this is very distressing for her.’
Laura smiled. ‘If you’d prefer, my colleague can sit with you in the kitchen while I talk to your wife.’ They had actually already discussed this between them before they arrived and felt it would be more beneficial for them to ask their questions separately.
Harold knocked on his wife’s door and opened it a fraction. They could hear him saying that a lady detective wanted a few words, then Joyce angrily saying she was not going to talk to anyone.
Laura moved forward, pushing the bedroom door open wider.
‘It is imperative that you do give me a few moments of your time, Mrs Miller. Step away from the door please, Mr Miller. The sooner I talk with your wife, the sooner we’ll leave.’
He slunk away, and Laura closed the bedroom door behind her. Anik then accompanied Harold to the kitchen.
Despite having seen Joyce Miller on a previous occasion Laura was still taken aback by her extraordinary bulk. The trolley beside her was stacked with cartons of Kentucky Fried Chicken, bowls of macaroni cheese and plates of chocolate cake, as well as ham rolls. A gardening show was playing on the huge plasma TV screen and Joyce picked up the remote and turned it off.
Laura moved closer to the bed, pulling up a small hard-backed chair. Joyce was using a plastic fork and spoon, as well as her fingers to split apart the fried chicken sections. She ate remarkably daintily, with her tiny hands and painted fingernails, popping sections of the chicken into her mouth. Her lipstick spread over her chin as she dabbed her lips with paper napkins.
‘I want to ask you about your nephew’s mother,’ Laura began.
Joyce appeared not to be listening as she started eating forkfuls of macaroni cheese. Laura waited a few moments before she repeated the question.
‘I’ve been asked about her before, but I can’t tell you anything,’ Joyce said eventually.
‘Do you recall her name?’ Laura persisted.
‘No, why would I? But she was no good, let me tell you. My brother was a very handsome man, with a good job and earning good money.’
‘She was never married to him?’
‘No, thank goodness. But she got him because she was pregnant and he, like a fool, let her move into the house. The whole family was against her because it was obvious she was using him.’
‘What if I was to tell you that her name was Abena Mensah?’
‘Well, if you know her name, why did you ask me?’ She took another forkful of macaroni cheese.
‘I just want you to confirm it,’ Laura said.
‘It could have been,’ Joyce said non-committally. ‘Her nickname was Beanie, that was what Anthony called her. She was out for what she could get.’
‘She was very young, wasn’t she?’
‘Old enough to know an easy target. It broke me and my brother up because he was such a fool about her. Then when the baby came, she couldn’t look after him, not to mention cooking or doing any housework. She was a right slut.’
‘How often did you see her?’
‘As little as possible. But I worried about the baby, and sometimes I’d take him and give him a bath and cut his nails. She never changed his nappies and he’d be stinking.’
‘So Abena was with your brother for quite some time?’
Joyce plucked off a bit of the chicken wing and sucked at the bone.
‘I don’t remember. Like I said, I never went round there much. A few years, maybe five or six... Until he met Karen, anyway. Then it was clear to him what a big mistake he’d made. Karen was a lovely girl. Why are you asking me about that wretched Abena? He threw her out.’
‘When was that?’
‘I don’t know, but I had Rodney here for a while. Harold wasn’t comfortable with having a youngster around, and he was a bit of a handful.’
‘We’ve not been able to find out when Abena left the UK, so if you could try and recall the dates when you say your brother threw her out.’
‘Went back to Ghana, that’s where she went.’
‘You say it was after five or six years of living with your brother?’
Joyce had begun to sweat profusely and was using the paper tissues to wipe her face and neck, leaving grease marks from the fried chicken.
‘So, it would be around 2006, is that correct?’ Laura asked.
Joyce shrugged, so Laura continued.
‘Your nephew is now twenty-four, isn’t he? And we have been told he was seven years old when she left.’
Laura was beginning to lose her cool, as Joyce had now started enthusiastically on the chocolate cake.
She took a deep breath. ‘It must have been difficult for you to take care of him, considering your situation; you’re not very mobile, are you?’
‘Listen, I was never like this in those days. I was always a size twelve, dear. What happened to me is not your business. I had a band fitted and it was the worst thing I could have done. I had a terrible time, and it got infected, so I had to have it removed. I was bedridden and depressed about being so poorly.’