cordoned off as a crime scene. Brandon and I had taken each otherâs measure on a previous case, and though I canât say the rapport between us was strong, he didnât seem to be automatically assuming I was in the frame for this murder. He is serious, with a one-track mind, the automaton type. Keeping oneâs nose to the trail you are on is a good attribute for a copper, but he can carry it too far, until you wonder what makes him tick when heâs at home with his wife and kids. He listened with only one or two interruptions to my story.
âThis car theft,â he said at last. âYou think that was part of this dirty tricks campaign?â
âFrom what Iâve been told, I do. Angie Wade was as fond of that car as Bill was, and she was identified with it by everyone here.â
âAnd she wasnât popular on the set.â
âAn understatement.â
âAny line on that missing car yet?â
âNo, but itâs early days. I have a feeling that itâs not that far away.â
âA pricey job, from what Dave tells me.â
âHeâs right,â I agreed. âToo rare to be an easy mark.â
âSo the theft could have been a warning to Angie Wade. But why bother to warn her? Seems odd.â
âI agree. She told her husband there was something weird going on over the cars.â
A pause while the automaton gobbled up this information. Then: âYouâre going on looking for that car?â
âUnless called off by Dave or Bill Wade.â
âGood. Keep in touch over anything I need to know, will you?â
Good
? Was this really Brandon letting me on the ground floor? I decided to put this to the test. âWhat time was she killed?â I asked.
âShe arrived with her husband in their BMW more or less on the dot of six. He seems to be a stickler for punctuality. Estimate is that sheâd been dead between two to three hours when you found her. Some leeway necessary.â
That meant sheâd been killed between six and eight, and so that open gate figured even higher in importance. Anyone could have used it.
I tried another question. âWho opened the patio doors in Roger Fordâs office? It could have been Angie herself. The rear door was locked until eight thirty.â
âNot yet known, but it could have been. Roger Ford denies opening them. Says he was only in there first thing this morning about six fifteen and they were shut then. After that, he was dividing his time between the studios and production building. Question is, why should Angie Wade have decided to spend a bit of time in the garden that early?â
Iâd no answer to that. âNo chance it was suicide?â I asked.
âWould you like it to be?â Brandon asked surprisingly.
âYes.â If it was murder, I could see a very messy road ahead.
Brandon turned into a human being. âDonât get too involved, Jack. Youâre no use to us that way. Answer: we need the lab report, but suicide doesnât look likely.â
âNot from where Iâm sitting either.â I rose to go.
âBy the way, Jack,â he added, âthe gunâs a Smith and Wesson thirty-eight pistol, with silencer. Bill Wade says he owns one.â
When I returned to the green room, it was empty, but Louise had left a note that she and Jane were going down to the canteen to âjoin the othersâ, so I made my way there. When I reached it, I could see that âthe othersâ meant everyone at the studios. It was, to my surprise, already lunchtime, and the canteen, despite the circumstances, was doing brisk business. I stood in the doorway for a moment or two, thinking about what Brandon had said: âDonât get too involved.â Perhaps it was too late. I spotted Louise at a table with Joan Burton and â yes â Tom Hopkins. Sacked or not, here he was. At another table Eleanor Richey was deep in conversation
Jane Lark
Sean Cullen
A.J. Betts
Erica S. Perl
Colin Cotterill
Emma Daniels, Ethan Somerville
Bilinda Sheehan
Emma Rose
Tracy Cooper-Posey
Jessica Coulter Smith