Blood Line (11 page)

‘You want to talk to any of my staff, you ask me first.’

Anna opened the salon’s door. Felicity at reception looked terrified as Tina told her, ‘You hear me, Felicity? You don’t let anybody in here without my permission – and that includes the police.’

She slammed the door after them so hard, Paul was worried it would shatter the glass.

Anna whistled and then smiled. ‘Mmm, that was nice.’

‘You look as if you are starting to enjoy yourself,’ Paul said.

She laughed. ‘I wouldn’t exactly describe it as enjoyment, more like interesting.’ Paul didn’t say anything, but it was the first time he had heard her laugh properly. It perplexed him, because he had not found the interaction with Tina in any way amusing. On the contrary, it disturbed him.

‘Next port of call?’ Anna said as she started the engine. They were using her Mini rather than a patrol car.

‘City banking company over by Liverpool Street,’ Paul replied promptly.

‘What’s his name?’ Anna asked.

Paul pulled out his notebook and flipped over a page to a name he’d taken down; the occupant of flat one.

‘Michael Phillips.’

The journey took some time from Hounslow and Anna put the radio on. They sat listening to classical music on Radio 3. Paul’s hangover was still resting like a low dull thud so he closed his eyes, hoping it wouldn’t get any worse.

They parked and headed towards an impressive building close to the station. It had taken a while for Anna to get the doorman to allow them to park in the small private parking area. She showed her ID and said she was there on business and he gave her a sticker to place on the windscreen.

By this time Paul had asked a receptionist seated behind a large curved desk to contact Mr Phillips. She placed a call to the company of Aston & Clark Merchant Bankers and at the same time wrote down on two visitor’s cards his name and Anna’s. She slipped them into plastic covers with the phone hooked under her chin, repeating that she had DCI Travis and DS Paul Simms waiting.

‘Mr Phillips is in conference room three. If you go to the fourth floor, his secretary will meet you outside the lift.’

Together Anna and Paul pinned their visitor cards to their lapels and waited by a small gate for it to open and allow them to pass through to the lifts. The security of the company was very obviously a priority and it wasn’t until the receptionist had clicked open the automatic lock that they could pass through.

The glass lift had mirrored panels and thick carpet.

‘This all smells of money to me,’ Paul said, brushing a hand through his hair, looking at himself in the mirror.

‘Well, he must have some if he drives a Lotus, but compared to all this Newton Court is a bit downmarket – and he’s only renting.’

They reached the fourth floor and as the glass door opened to allow them to step out, a pretty blonde girl was waiting.

‘Good morning. I am Sarah, Mr Phillips’s secretary. He’s just finishing a meeting – it shouldn’t be more than a few minutes. Please follow me.’

They were led through a thickly carpeted corridor with numerous closed doors on either side. She reached the end and opened a door to conference room three. This was a corner room with long windows reaching from the floor to the ceiling. The table filled almost the entire space, with tubular steel and leather chairs surrounding it.

‘May I offer coffee or tea?’

‘Yes, thank you,’ Anna said, crossing to look out of the window.

‘Help yourself. There’s also herbal and decaf coffee.’

Sarah walked out, closing the door silently behind her. Paul was making himself a coffee and stuffing his mouth with a fresh croissant.

‘This is all very swish, isn’t it? Do you want herbal or what?’

Anna joined him, looking over the neatly arrayed rows of all the various teas and coffees.

‘I’ll have a Columbia, black.’ She picked up a chocolate digestive biscuit and took another look around the room. There was a stack of notebooks with sharpened pencils beside them with the logo of the company, A & C, entwined in navy blue. She carried her coffee to the table pondering which chair she should take, and decided to sit in the end one facing the door.

‘That’s probably the chairman’s seat,’ Paul said, wading through his second croissant.

Anna sipped the piping hot thick black coffee; it tasted good. Paul drew out a chair midway along the table with his back to the tall windows. After ten minutes and no show of Michael Phillips, Anna was getting impatient. They’d helped themselves to more coffee and biscuits and Paul had also helped himself to a couple of notepads and pencils. Then the door swung open and in strode the over-confident and very handsome Michael Phillips. He first crossed to Anna to shake her hand and then went to Paul.

‘I’m not sure what this is about, but I apologise for keeping you waiting. Have you had coffee or—?’

Anna interrupted his flow, holding up her cup. ‘Yes, thank you.’

He spread his arms, smiling. ‘I sit down, do I?’

Anna was immediately on her guard, not liking his manner. ‘As you wish, Mr Phillips.’

She then introduced herself and Paul, even though it was obvious he knew who they were. He chose a seat almost opposite Paul, but he drew the chair out far enough to cross one leg over his knee.

‘How long have you lived at Newton Court?’ Anna asked.

‘Not that long, actually.’

‘How long?’

‘Eighteen months. It’s a rental property.’

‘Long way for you to come to work here, isn’t it?’

‘Not really. I have only been with this company four months and previously to that I worked in a Barclays Bank not far from Hounslow. I have no intention of staying there much longer, but I had renewed my one-year lease.’

He was very slender, wearing a good grey suit with a pristine white shirt and black tie. He was also, Anna reckoned, about six foot two. He had very piercing dark eyes in a chiselled face, with strong cheekbones. His mouth was thin-lipped, which slightly diminished his handsome appearance, but he had thick glossy black hair parted on one side and had a habit of running his slender fingers through it. As she hadn’t spoken for a while she watched him pat his hair, tossing his head back slightly.

‘What is this about?’

‘You are a tenant and live next door to a Tina Brooks and her partner Alan Rawlins?’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you aware that Mr Rawlins is missing?’

‘Sort of, yes.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Miss Brooks actually knocked on my door a while back asking if Mr Rawlins was with me, though why she would ask me didn’t really make any sense as I hardly knew him.’

‘But you did know him?’

‘I’d pass him going to work and sometimes when I returned. He once asked me about my car and we chatted a bit, but I wouldn’t say I knew him.’

‘What did you make of him?’

‘Make of him? I don’t understand. I’ve just said I hardly even spoke to him.’

‘When was the last time you did that?’

He lolled back in his chair. ‘Erm . . . a few months ago.’

‘What happened on that occasion?’

‘As far as I can recall, I was coming into the block and he was leaving. He said hi or something like that and that’s it.’

‘What about Tina Brooks?’

‘I know they lived together, but that’s all I knew about them.’

‘So you didn’t socialise with them?’

‘No. To be honest, I can’t wait to leave, but it was very useful for me when I was at my previous job in Hounslow. I was working not too far away, but with all the present banking fiasco I was one of the first they let go, so I applied for numerous positions and got lucky here.’

‘What exactly do you do?’

‘Investments.’

Anna tapped her notebook and then gave a smile. ‘You look fit, Mr Phillips. Do you work out?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you use the same gym as Tina and Alan?’

He nodded and then ran his hand through his hair.

‘I was a member at the local gym, but we have our own here in the basement so I didn’t renew my membership.’

‘So you must have met Tina there?’

‘Yes, she was there on a number of occasions, I think, but like I said I didn’t really know either of them and I used a personal trainer there so I didn’t really mix with anyone else.’

‘Did you ever hear any arguments between them?’

He sighed and shook his head. ‘No. I’m not wall to wall to them but opposite, so even if they had argued I doubt if I’d have heard them. They live in flat two and I am in flat one.’

‘Have you ever seen anything suspicious with regard to them?’

‘No. I leave early and I get back around seven. To be honest, the block is a bit of a dead zone apart from some tenants above; apparently their cooking smells drift upwards. I don’t think I’ve ever even met them. I know there’s a woman with a small yapping dog and a Mr and Mrs Maisell who I’ve bumped into a few times.’

‘But you didn’t know either Tina or Alan well?’

‘No. I’ve already said that I didn’t.’

‘Your flat is the same size as theirs?’

‘Yes.’

‘Quite large for a bachelor, isn’t it?’

‘Not at all. In fact, when I first looked over the place I was with a friend and it was sort of a maybe situation of us moving there together, but it didn’t work out.’

‘Girlfriend?’

‘Yes.’

‘So you’re not engaged?’

‘Been almost caught,’ he grinned, ‘but no, I’m single.’

‘Do you have an ongoing relationship now?’

‘No, actually I don’t. I’m playing the field, as they say.’

‘Did you ever play with Tina Brooks?’

His face tightened. ‘No – and if there is nothing more you need to ask me, I should get back to work.’

Anna stood up and gathered her notebook and pen, which she had not used, and slipped them into her briefcase.

‘What do you think happened to him?’ Phillips asked.

‘Well, we are trying to find out. Thank you for your time. Do you have a card in case we need to contact you again?’

When he stood up he towered above Anna and she reckoned she’d been out by a couple of inches; he was at least six foot four. He handed Anna his business card as he led them back to the lifts and waited until they stepped inside before moving off.

‘What do you think?’ Anna asked Paul, who had not said one word.

‘I dunno. He seemed like an okay bloke, bit of the flash type, but he didn’t come over to me like he was lying.’

‘Did to me,’ she said as they walked out to her car.

‘How do you mean?’

‘Come on – think about it. He’s young and around the same age as Alan and Tina, lives on their doorstep, but never gets friendly, drives a Lotus, and we know Alan’s a mechanic, et cetera, et cetera.’

‘Are you sure you’re not wanting him to be involved, because it didn’t come across to me that he was lying. He was good-looking though, wasn’t he?’

‘Oh please.’

‘In a hetero-very-sexual way.’

‘We’ll go back to the gym and ask them about him.’

‘Then what?’

‘I want our heterosexual neighbour checked out. See if he has ever come to police notice.’

‘He’s obviously earning a packet.’

‘Did you look at his shoes?’ Anna asked.

‘His shoes?’

‘Yes. Case I was on with Langton, we all missed our suspect and let him walk out on us, but Langton suddenly went crazy. It was the guy’s shoes. He came in as a Drug Squad officer and we were all fooled.’

‘What about his shoes?’

‘Handmade by Lobb and probably cost more than my week’s wages. Langton was correct; the guy hoodwinked every one of us.’

‘So Mr Phillips has expensive shoes.’

‘No, that’s just it – they were rundown at the heels. And I didn’t buy his story about why he’s living out in Hounslow in a rented flat if he’s working for that posh firm.’

‘Maybe they’re just comfortable.’

‘I also want to check out his phones, landline and mobiles, see if he lied about not socialising with our Tina Brooks, check if there are any phone calls between them.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

‘We also get a search warrant for Tina Brooks’s flat.’

‘You won’t get it through without more evidence.’

‘Want to bet? The bleach, carpet cleaner then the new carpet she’s ordered – we’ll get it through. As Langton’s been so keen on us following this up, I’ll get him to back me.’

They drove out of the parking area onto Bishopsgate. Paul was surprised by her newfound energy, unless it was down to the several cups of strong coffee, but Anna was buzzing.

‘This is all getting very interesting, Paul. I know at first I was pissed off, but I’m changing my mind as it’s possible Alan Rawlins isn’t missing: I think he could have been murdered. Pity we don’t have a body, but charges have been brought without one before.’

She gave him a smile and then returned to weaving in and out of the traffic, constantly using the car horn and swearing as they hit a snarl up by Ladbroke Grove. Paul felt very uneasy, and not just because of her erratic driving, although it did make him cringe back in his seat a few times, but rather because of her attitude. Anna seemed pleased about Alan Rawlins possibly being a victim. He himself was not so certain. They still had no real evidence to warrant a full-scale investigation, but he didn’t feel like getting into any kind of disagreement, especially not with a hangover.

I
t took considerable time to gain access to the phone records for both Tina and Michael Phillips, and it was not until 5 p.m. that the team acquired access to Phillips’s bank accounts. Anna had left messages for Langton to call and she was becoming very impatient waiting for him to respond. She constantly badgered Paul for a result, but when he eventually did come up with the information it was disappointing. There were no calls to Michael Phillips from Tina’s landline or mobile phone. Her listed calls were already noted as she had given details to Anna about where and who she had rung in an attempt to find out what had happened to Alan Rawlins. In response, Anna snapped, enquiring where the records of Phillips’s calls were. Paul informed Anna that Michael Phillips didn’t appear to have a landline but only a company mobile phone, so the records would take longer to compile and check. Added to that disappointment came the financial position of their ‘suspect’, as they were now referring to Phillips.