up. He was Patrick Kelly’s sidekick, Patrick Kelly’s mouthpiece. He was the son Patrick Kelly never had. If he was on the knocker then they really were in deep shit.
Diana Brown was in her late fifties. A small, heavily built woman, she was somewhat reluctant to let Kate and Annie inside her flat. As they followed her into the spacious kitchen Kate noted that the furnishings were very understated, and very expensive. That surprised her, the small neat woman she saw didn’t strike her as having that kind of sophistication. Her clothes were well made, probably Marks & Spencer, but not that well put together. Her hair needed a decent cut and colour, and her nails were bitten to the quick, with traces of chipped pink nail varnish still apparent. She looked as if she had not slept for a while, and Kate assumed this was because of the girl’s murder.
‘I told your officers everything I knew last night.’
Kate and Annie smiled as they sat down at her breakfast bar. The kitchen was state-of-the-art, all black granite and stainless steel. It was not a kitchen you would associate with this woman in a million years.
‘We know that, but often, after the shock has worn off, people remember things they forgot in the initial excitement. And also, Mrs Brown, things you don’t think are important can turn out to be very important to us and our investigation.’
Diana sighed. ‘It’s awful to think of that girl up there dying, and no one knowing about it. But it was on the cards. I don’t mean the murder by that, but there were so many men going in and out of there, something had to happen at some point.’
Annie got up and walked Diana gently over to a chair. She sat down heavily. Seeing a pack of Marlboro Lights on the worktop Annie took one out and put it into the woman’s hand. Diana accepted it gratefully and picked up her lighter.
‘I understand you had words with the girls on a few occasions over men coming and going twenty-four hours a day. That must have been difficult.’
Kate had chosen her words carefully, and she was rewarded by another deep sigh. ‘I had a few words with that poor girl last week. It’s so bloody inconvenient, cars pulling up at all hours, men up and down the bloody stairs, the music, the constant movement, you know. I wish I had never bought this place, and it’s impossible to sell. I mean, you can imagine what it was like if anyone came here. Cars and more cars. I have to park on the road sometimes, I paid a fortune for my garage and, nine times out of ten, someone is parked right in front of it. I feel awful because I am glad that this has happened because it means we can all have our lives back.’
Kate understood how Diana was feeling. ‘That’s human nature, Mrs Brown. It can’t have been easy living through all that. I understand you made a few complaints. Can I ask you, who did you deal with?’
The woman shrugged then, and looking directly into Kate’s concerned face, she said finally, ‘I was threatened. Not directly, of course, but I knew what was being said to me. I asked that man, Bates, if he could see how it looked to everyone. Told him how the place was ruining my home. I hated the whole bloody lot of them! Those girls would laugh at me, swear at me some of them. Bates said I was not someone he saw as significant, in fact, he assured me that I was not someone he would be seen dead talking to in a public place. Like I wasn’t good enough. He did say he would ask the girls to keep it down, but if they were popular, what could he do? I even called the police a few months a-ST-0 { font-size: 1rem; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 12px; } . It was ll bhe had go, there was a big row going on up there, the police arrived, went upstairs, and then left. I never heard another word. It went quiet after that though, and for a while life was bearable. But that man Bates is very intimidating, and I got the message. We all got the message.’
Kate felt
Diana Brown was in her late fifties. A small, heavily built woman, she was somewhat reluctant to let Kate and Annie inside her flat. As they followed her into the spacious kitchen Kate noted that the furnishings were very understated, and very expensive. That surprised her, the small neat woman she saw didn’t strike her as having that kind of sophistication. Her clothes were well made, probably Marks & Spencer, but not that well put together. Her hair needed a decent cut and colour, and her nails were bitten to the quick, with traces of chipped pink nail varnish still apparent. She looked as if she had not slept for a while, and Kate assumed this was because of the girl’s murder.
‘I told your officers everything I knew last night.’
Kate and Annie smiled as they sat down at her breakfast bar. The kitchen was state-of-the-art, all black granite and stainless steel. It was not a kitchen you would associate with this woman in a million years.
‘We know that, but often, after the shock has worn off, people remember things they forgot in the initial excitement. And also, Mrs Brown, things you don’t think are important can turn out to be very important to us and our investigation.’
Diana sighed. ‘It’s awful to think of that girl up there dying, and no one knowing about it. But it was on the cards. I don’t mean the murder by that, but there were so many men going in and out of there, something had to happen at some point.’
Annie got up and walked Diana gently over to a chair. She sat down heavily. Seeing a pack of Marlboro Lights on the worktop Annie took one out and put it into the woman’s hand. Diana accepted it gratefully and picked up her lighter.
‘I understand you had words with the girls on a few occasions over men coming and going twenty-four hours a day. That must have been difficult.’
Kate had chosen her words carefully, and she was rewarded by another deep sigh. ‘I had a few words with that poor girl last week. It’s so bloody inconvenient, cars pulling up at all hours, men up and down the bloody stairs, the music, the constant movement, you know. I wish I had never bought this place, and it’s impossible to sell. I mean, you can imagine what it was like if anyone came here. Cars and more cars. I have to park on the road sometimes, I paid a fortune for my garage and, nine times out of ten, someone is parked right in front of it. I feel awful because I am glad that this has happened because it means we can all have our lives back.’
Kate understood how Diana was feeling. ‘That’s human nature, Mrs Brown. It can’t have been easy living through all that. I understand you made a few complaints. Can I ask you, who did you deal with?’
The woman shrugged then, and looking directly into Kate’s concerned face, she said finally, ‘I was threatened. Not directly, of course, but I knew what was being said to me. I asked that man, Bates, if he could see how it looked to everyone. Told him how the place was ruining my home. I hated the whole bloody lot of them! Those girls would laugh at me, swear at me some of them. Bates said I was not someone he saw as significant, in fact, he assured me that I was not someone he would be seen dead talking to in a public place. Like I wasn’t good enough. He did say he would ask the girls to keep it down, but if they were popular, what could he do? I even called the police a few months a-ST-0 { font-size: 1rem; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 12px; } . It was ll bhe had go, there was a big row going on up there, the police arrived, went upstairs, and then left. I never heard another word. It went quiet after that though, and for a while life was bearable. But that man Bates is very intimidating, and I got the message. We all got the message.’
Kate felt
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