She tapped the poster. ‘The bald guy on the left is the first violinist, Ivan Bogdanov, a Ukrainian and one of the founder members. Lived in the west since he was a young man. Learned his music in the old Soviet Union and played with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra until he decided to defect.’
‘And the others?’
‘The second violin is Anthony Metcalf, from South Africa originally. There isn’t a lot on the internet about him, except he joined about seven years ago and fitted seamlessly into the quartet. A very gifted violinist apparently. Their website suggests he’s the quiet one. The guy to the right of him is Harry Cornell, the one they replaced, so we can forget him.’
‘When did he quit?’ Halliwell asked.
‘About four years ago, I gather,’ Ingeborg said. ‘He was their viola player. They tried a number of replacements, but none of them cut the mustard until Mel Farran came along this summer.’
‘The large woman with the cello?’
‘Cat Kinsella, said to be among the best in the world and with several recordings of cello concertos to her credit, but prefers ensemble playing to the life of a soloist. She’s the other original member of the quartet along with Bogdanov.’
‘Those are the players, then,’ Diamond summed up, wanting to move on. ‘A mix of talented people who make very good music. They’ve got a strong fan base, which is where Mari Hitomi comes in.’
‘You said they give concerts,’ Halliwell said. ‘Are we assuming Mari came to Bath to attend one of them?’
‘Good question,’ Ingeborg said. ‘These soirées, as they call them, are supposed to be for the university community. They’re held in big houses like Dyrham and Corsham Court, and the tickets are distributed among the staff, with some music students included as well. They’re not open to the public.’
‘So if Mari wanted to hear the quartet...?’
‘She’d need to be smart.’
‘How?’
‘Depends,’ Ingeborg said. ‘A groupie — if that’s what she really was — would find a way. If you were nuts on one of them you’d break any rules to get up close. Slipping through another entrance and posing as one of the music students. Nothing would stop you.’
‘Ever go through a phase like that?’ Leaman asked Ingeborg.
She gave him a glare that could have pinned him to the display board. ‘That’s got sod all to do with it.’
‘Just trying to understand the female psyche. You sounded as if you were speaking from experience.’
‘My only ambition at her age was to get into CID. Shows how misguided I was.’
‘And who was your idol? The guv’nor?’
‘John, get back in the knife box,’ Diamond said. ‘We’re doing a job here. We know Mari left London on September twentieth. We believe she took the train to Bath instead of Exeter. There may have been sightings of her. With her picture in the paper we ought to find out soon if she was here long, if she stayed anywhere. But we also need to know what the Staccati people were doing, where they lodge, how they spend their time off, the company they keep and so on.’
‘Whether one of their concerts coincided with Mari’s time here,’ Ingeborg said.
‘You think she gatecrashed a concert?’
‘Tricky. They’re not listed on the website, being private. But if she found out they were performing she could have gone to the venue and waited outside.’
Keith Halliwell said, ‘A random killing. Someone sees this young woman hanging around on a dark night.’
‘A sex attack?’ Gilbert said.
‘Who can say?’ Ingeborg said. ‘The pathologist couldn’t tell us. She ended up strangled and dumped in the river, that’s all we know for certain.’
‘All options are open,’ Diamond said. ‘Meanwhile, we work with what we know. She was a fan of the Staccati, but was it one of them in particular that she idolised?’
‘Not the old Ukrainian guy,’ Halliwell said.
‘Why not?’ Diamond said with a touch of injured pride. ‘There’s such a thing as a father figure.’
‘Sorry I spoke.’
‘And if any of you are thinking not the big cello lady, let’s remember girl on girl is not out of the question. Okay, to be realistic, the second violinist looks the part.’
‘Eye candy,’ Ingeborg said.
‘Ike who?’ Leaman said.
She ignored that. ‘And you’re right, guv. My mind was wandering. Anthony Metcalf is the good-looking one. Isn’t that what you’re saying?’
‘The pin-up boy.’
‘Don’t forget the guy who isn’t on the poster,’ Leaman said. ‘The viola player, Mel Farran.’
‘He’s new,’ Halliwell said. ‘Mari wouldn’t have known about him.’
Ingeborg was quick to correct him. ‘Not all that new. These things get written up in music magazines and on the internet. She may well have heard of him and seen his picture. He’s nice looking too.’
‘Before anyone makes anything of that, here’s the game plan,’ Diamond said. ‘What we’ve heard from Ingeborg is useful, but basic. Most of it comes from the Staccati website. It’s their publicity material. By the end of the day I want the inside story from the people themselves.’
‘As soon as that?’ Leaman said.
‘This afternoon.’
‘There’s more to discover, that’s for sure,’ Ingeborg said.
‘You’re all in on this. Get them talking about themselves. They’ll be used to that, so make sure it’s not just the standard spiel. Interrupt, question, challenge, get to the truth of how this quartet functions.’
‘I thought we were focusing on Mari,’ Leaman said.
‘You won’t get many answers out of her,’ Halliwell said, and got a few smiles.
‘John’s got a point,’ Diamond said. ‘We’ll ask if they had any dealings with Mari before she arrived here and if she approached them in the hours leading up to her death. But that could be a short interview. This is our chance to get to know these people. Be alert to everything they tell you, suspicious incidents, strange goings-on. What they’ve experienced could be the key to this investigation.’
‘So how do we handle this?’ Ingeborg asked.
‘It’s our team taking on their team,’ Diamond said. ‘Keith, you can tackle Ivan Bogdanov. John, yours is Anthony Metcalf. Ingeborg has already met Farran, so she can deal with him.’
‘Does that leave me with the cellist woman?’ Paul Gilbert asked.
Diamond was kind enough not to say so, but you only had to look at the poster to see that the youngest member of the squad would be eaten alive by Cat Kinsella. ‘I’ll take her on myself. You can do some research on the mysterious violist who quit.’
‘There’s also a manager,’ Ingeborg said. ‘He seems to work from an office in London.’
‘We’ll catch up with him later. What’s his name?’
‘Douglas Christmas.’
Diamond couldn’t let that pass. ‘I may have sat on his knee. A hoodie with a big white beard? Forget it. You lot are way behind me.’
Ingeborg had checked with the university music department and found that the Staccati would be in rehearsal at the Michael Tippett Centre the same afternoon.
‘Perfect,’ Diamond said.
‘They may not welcome it,’ she said. ‘They’ve got one of their soirées tomorrow night. This could be their last rehearsal.’
‘They can do overtime. We have to.’
‘Musicians can be temperamental,’
‘So can I. Haven’t you noticed?’ He gave the matter more thought. ‘Let them know we’re coming and it shouldn’t take long. A concert tomorrow night, you said? Where are they playing?’
‘Corsham Court.’
‘I’m thinking I should hear this lot.’
Ingeborg didn’t comment. She had an inkling of what he would say next.
As if he’d just thought of it, he said, ‘Care to come with me?’