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“What else is there?”
“Recently Roy’s become interested in private health care. I remember him talking about it. Look.” She activated a PowerPoint presentation that extolled the virtues, and profits, of investing in a string of cosmetic-surgery clinics. “He’s on the board of a chain of health centers, a pharmaceutical company, a fitness club.”
“It all sounds very dull,” said Banks.
“I told you so. But guess who’s the one with the Porsche.”
“No need to rub it in. Is there more?”
“A few market-research reports on health and hi-tech, the kind of reports you buy, the expensive kind.”
“I was hoping for a few names.”
“They’re here,” said Cori
“I’ve heard that name.”
“You might well have done. He’s quite big in the private health-care field these days. Directs the chain of clinics Roy’s involved with. Anything from cancer to breast enlargement. Actually, Roy and Julian have been mates for years.”
“Harwood’s not a doctor, though?”
“No, a businessman.”
“Have you met him?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You don’t sound impressed.”
“Maybe because that’s exactly what he sets out to do. Impress people. Frankly, I always found him a bit boorish, but it takes all sorts. It still doesn’t make him a crook, though.”
“So you don’t think there’s anything in there to suggest that Roy was involved in any sort of illegal or dangerous business ventures?”
“You can see for yourself it all looks quite kosher. I don’t know about dangerous, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, just because it looks clean, that doesn’t mean the hi-tech companies he worked with weren’t selling illegal weapons guidance systems to terrorists, or that the clinics weren’t involved in genetic manipulation. Maybe the cosmetic-surgery clinics gave gangsters new faces.”
Banks laughed. “Like Seconds, you mean?”
Cori
“It’s a film. Rock Hudson. A man gets a new face, new identity.”
“Oh, I see. Well, I suppose my point is that they’re not exactly going to a
Banks did know that, and it didn’t make him feel a great deal easier about Roy.
Cori
Banks picked up the folder, put it in his briefcase and stood up. “Thanks a lot,” he said. “You’ve been very generous with your time.”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Cori
“I will.”
“When you do, will you let me know?”
“Of course. In the meantime, you take good care of yourself. If you think of anything else, or there’s anything you need, well… you can ring me on Roy’s mobile. He left it on the kitchen table. That’s how I got your number.”
Cori
“No,” said Banks, and left.
A
Remembering her first aid, A
“I’m so sorry,” Kate said. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“That’s all right. I’m just sorry I couldn’t find an easier way to break it to you.”
“But shot? Je
A
“What was it?” Kate went on. “Robbery? Not… like that other poor girl?”
“Claire Potter?”
“Yes. It was on the news for weeks. They still haven’t found the man. You don’t think…?”
“We don’t know yet. Je
“Thank God for that, at least.”
“Her things are missing,” A
“No, never. She always said she could buy everything she wanted with her credit card or debit card.”
That was true enough these days, A
“Maybe it was,” said Kate. “I mean, those things do happen, don’t they? People killing people for no real reason.”
“Yes, but not as often as you think. Most victims know their killers. That’s why I want you to think deep and tell me anything you know.”
Kate sipped some water. “I don’t know,” she said. “I mean, we weren’t that close.”
“Did she have any close friends?”
“There was this girl she used to go to school with, up in Shrewsbury, where she grew up. She came around once or twice.”
“Can you remember her name?”
“Melanie. Melanie Scott.”
A
“They went on holiday together last year. It was before Je
“Do you have an address for Melanie?”
“I think so. She lives in Hounslow, I remember. Out Heathrow way. I’ll be able to dig it out before you go.”
“Fine. What was Je
“Quiet, hardworking. And she really cared about people, you know. Maybe she should have been a social worker.”
In A
“That’s just me being silly, really. I like to know where people are and when they’ll be back. Je
“It’s all right,” said A