Read Online Poisoned Ground: A Hakim and Arnold Mystery (Hakim & Arnold Mystery 3) by Barbara Nadel - Free Book Online
Authors: Barbara Nadel
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especially not when Brian started to get hard men in to protect his business.’
‘Like your husband.’
She shook her head. She had a lot of beautiful thick brown hair. ‘Phil wasn’t really a tough guy,’ she said. ‘He just did a lot of bodybuilding and looked as if he could handle himself. Brian took him on as a favour to Phil’s Uncle Bob who’d been inside with Brian back in the eighties.’
‘And was it love at first sight?’
‘I thought so.’ Her smile disappeared immediately. The lack of it made her look her age and Lee noticed that her hands began to fidget. ‘I know what you’re thinking about the age difference, Mr Arnold.’
‘Lee.’
‘Lee.’ She smiled again briefly then she said, ‘But Phil was in love with me. I was married and divorced before Phil and so I know when a man is or isn’t in love. Phil was.’
‘And so why did he ask you for a divorce at the beginning of last year?’
She thought, shook her head and then she said, ‘I can’t tell you and that’s the truth. We were happy in the house in Wanstead. Phil was doing lots of gym work, which was what he liked to do. Driving about – he had a Jag. He loved to bomb down the A127 to Southend to see his mum and dad.’
‘You didn’t go with him?’
‘No.’
‘What did you do once you’d sold your business, Sandra?’
Her hands began to work nervously again. ‘Not a lot,’ she said. She shook her head. ‘Oh, what am I doing? I can’t keep things from you if you’re going to find Phil for me, can I? The truth is that when I gave up the business I had a breakdown. When you’ve worked all your life and suddenly there’s nothing to do, however much money you have just doesn’t make up for that.’
‘How did this breakdown …’
‘Look, I’ve never been exactly thin in me life, but I’m now a size twenty-four, know what I mean? Eating and crying and eating … I couldn’t sleep half the time and whenever Phil was out I had panic attacks. Eventually I got help.’
‘Treatment.’
‘I didn’t go to hospital,’ she said. ‘But, you know, pills andtherapy and that. Luckily I could pay for the best. Slowly I started to feel better. When Phil said he wanted a divorce the worst of it was over.’
‘He supported you through it.’
‘Yeah. Then he said he wanted to be on his own.’
‘Derek Salmon told me your divorce was based on irreconcilable differences.’
‘That was what Phil wanted, not me,’ she said. ‘I asked him if there was anybody else and he said no. I had no evidence to make me believe there was another woman … we had a normal sex life right up until he asked for the divorce.’
Lee finally got round to his coffee, which was fresh and very good. ‘Why did you let Phil stay in the Wanstead house after your divorce?’ he asked.
She shrugged. ‘He wanted to,’ she said. ‘And I’d already bought this. As soon as Phil said we were over I looked for another place. I couldn’t’ve stayed in the Wanstead house after that, not with all those memories in there.’
‘So you moved out?’
‘Yes. I went to my place in St Tropez for a couple of weeks first then I came back and found this. I expect Del’s told you that the arrangement that we came to, all legal, was that Phil could live in the house rent-free for as long as he wanted. But if he moved out, it had to be sold and we would split the profits between us. I never thought for a second he’d scam me. If he scammed me …’ She looked for a moment as if she might cry. Then she said, ‘Imagine what a fool I felt when I realized that he’d advertised our house online! Me, an Internet retailer! Talk about being slapped in the face.’
And it had been a huge slap.
‘Has he used his credit or debit cards since he disappeared?’ Lee asked.
Tracking the use of credit or debit cards would have been the first thing that the police would have done.
‘No,’ she said.
So either he had transferred the money into another
‘Like your husband.’
She shook her head. She had a lot of beautiful thick brown hair. ‘Phil wasn’t really a tough guy,’ she said. ‘He just did a lot of bodybuilding and looked as if he could handle himself. Brian took him on as a favour to Phil’s Uncle Bob who’d been inside with Brian back in the eighties.’
‘And was it love at first sight?’
‘I thought so.’ Her smile disappeared immediately. The lack of it made her look her age and Lee noticed that her hands began to fidget. ‘I know what you’re thinking about the age difference, Mr Arnold.’
‘Lee.’
‘Lee.’ She smiled again briefly then she said, ‘But Phil was in love with me. I was married and divorced before Phil and so I know when a man is or isn’t in love. Phil was.’
‘And so why did he ask you for a divorce at the beginning of last year?’
She thought, shook her head and then she said, ‘I can’t tell you and that’s the truth. We were happy in the house in Wanstead. Phil was doing lots of gym work, which was what he liked to do. Driving about – he had a Jag. He loved to bomb down the A127 to Southend to see his mum and dad.’
‘You didn’t go with him?’
‘No.’
‘What did you do once you’d sold your business, Sandra?’
Her hands began to work nervously again. ‘Not a lot,’ she said. She shook her head. ‘Oh, what am I doing? I can’t keep things from you if you’re going to find Phil for me, can I? The truth is that when I gave up the business I had a breakdown. When you’ve worked all your life and suddenly there’s nothing to do, however much money you have just doesn’t make up for that.’
‘How did this breakdown …’
‘Look, I’ve never been exactly thin in me life, but I’m now a size twenty-four, know what I mean? Eating and crying and eating … I couldn’t sleep half the time and whenever Phil was out I had panic attacks. Eventually I got help.’
‘Treatment.’
‘I didn’t go to hospital,’ she said. ‘But, you know, pills andtherapy and that. Luckily I could pay for the best. Slowly I started to feel better. When Phil said he wanted a divorce the worst of it was over.’
‘He supported you through it.’
‘Yeah. Then he said he wanted to be on his own.’
‘Derek Salmon told me your divorce was based on irreconcilable differences.’
‘That was what Phil wanted, not me,’ she said. ‘I asked him if there was anybody else and he said no. I had no evidence to make me believe there was another woman … we had a normal sex life right up until he asked for the divorce.’
Lee finally got round to his coffee, which was fresh and very good. ‘Why did you let Phil stay in the Wanstead house after your divorce?’ he asked.
She shrugged. ‘He wanted to,’ she said. ‘And I’d already bought this. As soon as Phil said we were over I looked for another place. I couldn’t’ve stayed in the Wanstead house after that, not with all those memories in there.’
‘So you moved out?’
‘Yes. I went to my place in St Tropez for a couple of weeks first then I came back and found this. I expect Del’s told you that the arrangement that we came to, all legal, was that Phil could live in the house rent-free for as long as he wanted. But if he moved out, it had to be sold and we would split the profits between us. I never thought for a second he’d scam me. If he scammed me …’ She looked for a moment as if she might cry. Then she said, ‘Imagine what a fool I felt when I realized that he’d advertised our house online! Me, an Internet retailer! Talk about being slapped in the face.’
And it had been a huge slap.
‘Has he used his credit or debit cards since he disappeared?’ Lee asked.
Tracking the use of credit or debit cards would have been the first thing that the police would have done.
‘No,’ she said.
So either he had transferred the money into another
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