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Naturally, he was contrite and embarrassed. “Please accept my apologies,” he said. “I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never laid a finger on a woman before.” Robin patted his knee.
“It’s all right,” said A
“Of course, if there are any medical expenses…”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“How’s Mr. Wells?”
A
“He’ll be fine,” A
“I can’t imagine what more we can tell you,” said Robin. “But please go ahead.”
“First of all, do either you or your husband have a prescription for Valium or any other form of diazepam?”
Robin frowned. “Martin doesn’t, but I do. Nerves.”
“Have you noticed any missing lately?”
“No.”
“Would you?”
“Of course.” Robin reached for her handbag on the sofa beside her and took out a small plastic container. “Here they are,” she said. “Look. Almost full. Why do you ask?”
A
“Luke? Valium? Certainly not from us.”
“And I assume he didn’t have a prescription of his own?”
Martin and Robin looked at each other, frowning. “Of course not,” said Robin. “Someone else must have given him it.”
“Is that what killed him?” Martin Armitage asked.
“No,” said A
“I’m sorry we can’t help you,” said Robin.
A
“Neil? Well, yes, I suppose… But, I mean, Luke never knew him.”
“Surely you knew he must have wondered what happened, why his father didn’t want him?”
“It wasn’t like that. Neil just couldn’t cope. He was a child himself in so many ways.”
“And a drug addict.”
“Neil wasn’t an addict. He used drugs, but they were just a sort of tool for him, a means to an end.”
A
“I never asked him to. I don’t listen to it myself anymore.”
“Well, he couldn’t,” A
“Not to me, no,” said Robin. “Martin?”
Martin Armitage shook his head.
“He was in a band with them. Didn’t you know?”
“No,” said Robin. “He didn’t tell us.”
“Why would he keep it from you?”
Robin paused and looked at her husband, who shifted in his seat and spoke, “Probably because we’d already had arguments about that sort of thing.”
“What sort of thing?”
“I thought Luke was devoting far too much of his time to poetry and music, and that he ought to get more involved in team sports, get more exercise. He was starting to look pasty-faced from spending all his time indoors.”
“How did he react to this?”
Martin looked at Robin, then back at A
“Why didn’t you tell me any of this earlier?”
“Because it didn’t seem relevant. It still doesn’t.” Martin sat forward and stared at her with that intense, disconcerting look of his. “Someone kidnapped Luke and murdered him, and all you can do is ask questions about Neil Byrd and my relationship with Luke.”
“I think I’m the best judge of what questions I should be asking, Mr. Armitage,” said A
“Sort of. But I didn’t want to stand in the way of Luke’s creative development. If I’d known about the band, I would have been concerned. I wouldn’t have wanted him getting into that kind of life. Believe me, I’ve seen it at first hand. I’ve been there.”
“So you wouldn’t have been thrilled, either, if you’d known that Luke was playing in a group?”
“No.”
“Was drug use a concern?”
“We warned him about drugs, of course, and he swore he didn’t take them.”
“He didn’t,” A
Robin’s eyes widened. “What are you saying? You know how he died?”
“No. No, we don’t know that yet. All we know is that he was with two friends, that he took some drugs and they played him his father’s music. Luke got upset and left. We still don’t know where he went after that.”
Robin put her coffee cup down in the saucer. Some of the coffee spilled. She didn’t notice. “I can’t believe it,” she said.
“Who are these people?” Martin butted in.
“And what will you do if I tell you, Mr. Armitage?” A
Armitage’s chin jutted out as he spoke. “It’s no less than they deserve if what you say is true. Giving my son drugs.”
“Mr. Armitage,” A
“I told you. I just drove around looking for him.”
“Drove where?”
“Eastvale.”
“Any particular areas or streets?”
“I don’t remember. I just drove around. Why is it important?”
A
“Of course I didn’t. What are you talking about? If I’d found him, he’d be here safe and sound right now, wouldn’t he?”
“I’ve seen a demonstration of your temper, Mr. Armitage.” There, it was out. “I also know from talking to several people that you and your stepson didn’t get along very well.”
“What are you suggesting?”
Armitage’s tone chilled A
“Accident? Let me get this straight. Are you asking me if I found Luke, picked him up in my car, then lost my temper and killed him?”
“I’m asking you if you did see him that night, yes, and if anything happened between you that I should know about.”
Armitage shook his head. “You really are a piece of work, DI Cabbot. First you act rashly and probably cause my son’s death, then you accuse me of killing him. For your information, I did exactly what I told you. I drove around Eastvale looking for Luke. It was probably pointless, I know, but I had to do something. I needed to act. I couldn’t just sit around and wait. I didn’t find him. All right?”
“Fine,” said A
“And I resent your accusation.”
“I haven’t accused you of anything.”
Martin Armitage stood up. “It shows how little progress you’ve made, scraping the bottom of the barrel like this. Will that be all? I’m going back to my study now.”