Approaching the greenhouse, they could see someone with their back to them, dressed in hooded green overalls, moving in and about the array of plants and flowers. A Doberman bitch suddenly sprang to her feet and stood her ground. At first, she snarled, revealing her sharp teeth, then began barking and growling ferociously as they approached. Anna, Dewar and Katrina stopped in their tracks. Dewar took a step backwards behind Anna.
‘I forget say, dog no like be disturb also.’
‘Great, now you tell us,’ Anna replied, trying to make light of the situation.
‘Don’t give it direct eye contact. That makes it worse,’ Dewar said nervously.
The door of the greenhouse opened abruptly, revealing the person in the green hooded overalls wearing a respirator mask that covered their nose and mouth.
‘Somebody get this dog under control!’ Dewar exclaimed.
The figure swiftly pulled the mask away and a female voice commanded, ‘Atropa, heel,’ and the Doberman instantly sat down and gave an obedient whimper.
‘I’ve told you, Katrina, not to disturb me when I’m in the greenhouse!’
‘It wasn’t her fault. We asked her to bring us out here,’ Anna said, and then introduced herself and Dewar.
‘As you can see, the sign I have on the door clearly says in large letters, “Beware Poisons”. When I’m spraying pesticides it’s highly dangerous to enter. That’s why I wear protective clothing.’
‘We’ll go back and wait in the house,’ Dewar said, not wanting to be near the dog.
‘I’ve finished spraying now. I just need to change and then I’ll join you,’ the person said. So this was Gloria Lynne – but it was hard to make out her looks as she still had the overall hood up.
Anna and Dewar returned to the library and sat waiting for the woman to reappear.
‘She was very rude to her Australian maid Katrina,’ Dewar remarked.
‘She’s Polish, from Poland, and it was you who insisted she take us out to the greenhouse. I think she was mad because of the safety implications.’
‘It’s only a bit of insect spray – no big deal if it gets on you, just wash it off,’ Dewar said dismissively.
‘How do you clean your lungs if you breathe it in then?’ Anna asked sarcastically.
Dewar just raised her eyebrows and sighed. Unscrewing the top of the still water, she poured herself and Anna a glass and added some ice and lemon.
The door to the library burst open and Gloria Lynne entered. It was an astonishing transformation from the woman they had met in the garden. She looked to be in her mid-forties and very elegant in a tight-fitting black sleeveless dress and patent black high-heeled shoes. Her ash-blonde hair had a centre parting and was swept into a stylish French pleat, revealing mother-of-pearl earrings. Her light blue eyes with large pupils were piercing yet sensuous thanks to very thick mascara, deep eye shadow, and kohl around their inside rim. She had a matt foundation, with blusher and rouge, and her lip gloss was lined in dark crimson. Anna noticed she was wearing a large diamond ring and gold band on her wedding finger.
‘We’ll start again, shall we?’ Gloria said, beaming, her teeth flashing like white light bulbs. She looked towards Anna and held out her hand, palm slightly curved to the ground as if she were royalty. A heavy gold chain bracelet with dangling charms swayed at her wrist and jingled as Anna did the polite thing, shaking the tips of Gloria’s fingers. She felt as if Gloria expected her to curtsey.
‘I’m Gloria Lynne.’
Anna introduced herself and then Special Agent Dewar, explaining that she was on attachment to the Met. Gloria proffered her hand to Dewar while Anna, unnoticed, switched on the Dictaphone that was in her jacket pocket. Although she felt it was a little underhand as she sensed the woman wouldn’t approve of the interview being recorded, she didn’t want to annoy Mrs Lynne by writing notes as they spoke.
‘I do apologize for keeping you waiting. I’m an avid horticulturalist and quite religious about keeping to a schedule. I have to feed, water and spray my plants at the same time daily and we agreed to meet at six o’clock, as I recall.’
‘We were a bit early and your housekeeper kindly let us in,’ Anna remarked.
‘I see she brought you some water. Would you like coffee as well? Goodness me. Why can’t she put the water into a cut-glass jug – we have enough of them!’
She frowned with distaste at the plastic bottles, and sighing, crossed to a tall antique corner cabinet. She moved like a dancer, her slim legs and delicate ankles enhanced by the sheer black stockings and high-heeled shoes. She took a crystal glass and poured a gin and tonic for herself, returning to the coffee table for ice and lemon.
‘It’s a lovely room, beautifully decorated. I was just remarking to Detective Travis on the wonderful oil paintings,’ Dewar said, much to Anna’s surprise.
‘You like art?’ Gloria asked Dewar as she turned towards the paintings.
‘Yes. But I have to confess I don’t know much about it.’
‘They’re both original oil paintings of the three Moirai. Greek mythologists say they were the daughters of Zeus and often described them as ugly, lame old women who were severe, inflexible and stern. The picture on the left depicts them in this manner. It’s by Francesco Salviati, a sixteenth-century Italian painter. The picture on the right is seventeenth century, by Sebastiano Mazzoni, also an Italian.’
‘They’re very contrasting,’ Dewar said.
‘Yes. That’s what attracted me to them. However, I prefer Mazzoni’s Baroque style, much more appealing to the eye,’ Gloria said, settling herself in the centre of the leather sofa. Anna had the opportunity to really take in the very glamorous woman in front of her. She exuded confidence and sophistication, and was very charming as she carefully placed her drink down on the small side table. Her speech and manner were both elegant and refined.
‘Anyway, I am sure you didn’t come here for an art lesson. Donna should be home soon but before she is, I would like to know why detectives from a murder squad need to speak to her?’
Anna was taken aback that Gloria knew they were not from the vice squad and had to think quickly for an appropriate answer.
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you before, Mrs Lynne. We were worried that revealing who we were in a phone call to your daughter could cause her undue distress over information that may turn out to be totally malicious.’
‘As much as I’d like to say I appreciate your concern, you have been very underhand. However, I am willing to listen to what you have to say, but please don’t feed me a load of flannel again, DCI Travis.’
Anna apologized again and said that they were reinvestigating her son-in-law’s death due to an allegation made by an ex-employee of the Trojan. She took care to explain that he was not a reliable informant and was currently awaiting trial for armed robbery.
‘I think it’s best to wait for Donna,’ Dewar said.
‘You sound like my husband. He always thought he knew what was best for me!’ Gloria said sharply, giving Dewar a stern look before continuing: ‘What’s the name of this ex-employee?’
‘Delon Taylor,’ Anna said.
‘Never heard of him, and I doubt there is anything Donna can add to what she told the officers at the time.’
‘We have read over her statement. However, the original inquiry covered very little about Josh’s role at the Trojan club or his partner Marcus Williams,’ Anna replied.
‘Donna hadn’t worked in that disgusting place for some time before Josh committed suicide,’ Gloria said, tight-lipped.
‘I appreciate that, but Delon Taylor has said that Mr Williams was running a prostitution racket in the club. It’s possible Josh may have found out.’
‘Good God, how despicable. I told her that working there would end in tears,’ Gloria exclaimed.