would have to stay late.â
âWas he coming straight home, do you know? Had you asked him to pick up anything for you on the way here? Something to do with the dinner party, for example?â
âOh no. Hilary sees to all that. He never went shopping.â
Patrick ignored her snooty implication that the MP had been far too grand to pop into an off-licence, saying, âI understand sheâs your housekeeper.â
âYes, but she doesnât clean â someone else does that. And thereâs other help in the garden.â
âTheyâve all been interviewed. Do you have any theories as to why your husband was in the park?â
âEveryoneâs asked me that!â the woman snapped. âNo, I donât, not one.â
âA taxi driver has come forward who picked him up at the station and dropped him at the Green Man at around five forty-five. Did he make a habit of going there for a drink on the way home?â
I made a note to check whether enquiries had been made there.
âIâve no idea. I suppose he could have done.â
âSurely you must know if that was his habit.â
She was beginning to lose patience. âWell, I donât. Wives shouldnât expect to know absolutely every last detail of their husbandsâ routines.â Gazing on his wedding ring she added, âIâm sure your wife doesnât grill you about all your movements.â
âNo, I tell her what Iâve been up to,â was the swift response. âItâs too far to walk home from the pub, though, isnât it? Heâd have had to get another cab.â
An irrritable shrug was all that was forthcoming on this.
âYour son reckons he went there to pick up men.â
A real fan of bombshells; I drew a five-pointed star on my notepad and a load of sparks.
âI canât remember how many times Iâve told you people that my husband wasnât gay!â Honor Giddings raged. âBesides which, Theo has absolutely nothing to do with this.â
âNo, he just threatened to get even with his stepfather for having his allowance stopped. Is he so prone to making drunken threats that you get used to them and theyâre safely ignored?â
âNo, of course not.â She rose wearily to her feet and went over to stand by the window. âIâm sorry but Iâve had enough of your questions. When can I have Jasonâs body so I can arrange his funeral?â
âThatâs not in my jurisdiction, but I donât think it will be just yet.â
There was a short, tense silence and then she turned abruptly to face us. âNo, Theo isnât in the habit of making threats. Heâd just had a little too much to drink that evening. But Jason and he had never really got on. I suppose some sons find it difficult when their mother remarries and Theo did â very much so. Heâs rather a possessive person.â
Patrick leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs, scrutinizing her closely. âIt suggests thereâs a huge difficulty â hatred, something much more than just about money â when people make those kind of accusations. The park where your husband was found has a very bad reputation after dark. If he wasnât there for nefarious purposes â and arguably it wasnât yet quite dark then although a very overcast evening when he arrived at the pub â then he must have been killed somewhere else and taken there, where his body was mutilated. Again, that speaks of the deepest hatred.â
There was another silence broken by Patrick asking, âIs your son capable of that?â
âNo,â Honor Giddings replied in a low voice. âNot at all. But I have to tell you that he is reputed to have some very unpleasant friends.â
âCriminals?â
âI wouldnât go as far as to say that. All we had to go on was something a colleague of Jasonâs said about seeing Theo
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