Cold Revenge (Willis/Carter #6)(82)

‘Yes, yes and yes. I was on the Heather Phillips missing persons investigation, so everything I did concentrated on that,’ answered Tucker.

‘What did you think of Cathy Dwyer at the time?’ asked Carter. ‘Willis and I have made her acquaintance.’

‘How did it go with Cathy Dwyer?’ asked Tucker.

‘No comment,’ Willis quipped. ‘Same as the others, they’re all sticking to their original stories. We need to find more witnesses, it must be possible to get people to open up after all this time.’

‘What is she like now?’ asked Tucker.

‘She’s bright, very capable, confident in business. She doesn’t appear to be the least bit fazed by her past,’ answered Willis.

‘Then she’s naive,’ said Tucker.

‘Yep, we can agree on that,’ said Carter. ‘Perry and her seem to be very much part of one another’s lives, business and personal. What do you remember about her?’

‘What stands out in my mind about Cathy Dwyer from that time was that she was brimming over with arrogance and provocation. She was using sex like a weapon. She was smart but burning up inside with the desire to be someone else. She came from a pretty ordinary background, her parents were middle class, she just wanted to rebel and she did it in style. She was really fond of Douglas. They were very similar types.’

‘Was she with Stephen Perry at that time?’ asked Willis.

‘Yes, but she was pretty much obsessed with and closest to Douglas. I remember when I interviewed her again after Douglas was charged with Heather’s murder, she just kept talking about the sex she’d had with him and she said “no comment” to anything else. She just sat there smiling, they all did. They all had this idiotic arrogance that they could get away with anything, and they pretty much did. Perhaps she still does.’

‘Cathy Dwyer has become quite a high-flying company director. She and Stephen Perry have these dubious business ventures. But she’s much tougher than him.’

‘I heard he was in prison in Spain for a while.’

‘Yes, cocaine smuggling,’ said Carter.

‘Perry seems to have a harder job holding on to his money than Dwyer does,’ said Willis. ‘She has a few expensive properties around the place, Perry is struggling to re-mortgage his house at the moment.’

‘And Gavin Heathcote?’ asked Tucker.

‘He has his own roofing company,’ said Willis. ‘He’s a thug.’

‘No change there then,’ said Tucker. ‘The lifestyle at the bungalow really suited him, it was all sex and drugs. He was never going to admit to anything although I did get the feeling he wasn’t so much nasty as greedy and lacking in any feelings. I couldn’t get him to say a bad word against Douglas or anyone else. I think, if you asked him now, he’d probably say he had the best time of his life in the bungalow, all the drugs and the parties and the sex.’

‘One thing we did find out from Dwyer is that she is messing with some big underworld bosses,’ said Willis. ‘Hector’s been looking into them. She’s going into business with some crime bosses on a new venture which I’m sure Hector will find out all he can about.’

‘Will you see Douglas again, Eb?’ asked Tucker.

‘If we have reason to, then I will. If we don’t come up with any more evidence against him then I won’t. I get the feeling I’m giving away too much at the moment and getting nothing back. I feel worried about the way things have gone with him. I feel I’ve walked into his trap.’

‘No you haven’t. It’s not over yet,’ said Carter. ‘Tucker, you want to come up and meet Chris Maxwell? He’s going to appreciate meeting someone from the original team.’

‘Yes, I’ve got a few days hanging about, I’m at your disposal.’

‘Where are you going after that?’ asked Willis.

‘I’ve got a couple of weeks’ work in France, building a house. I’m looking forward to it. Should be fun.’

‘Excuse me,’ said Willis, a little abruptly, ‘I need to get back to work.’

‘Eb?’ interrupted Carter. ‘You coming for a quick bite to eat with me and Tucker? Cabrina will be there too, we finally got a babysitter.’

Willis looked at Tucker and then shook her head. ‘Not tonight, thanks though.’

‘Come and see her for ten minutes.’

‘Of course.’

Cabrina came tottering along the pavement towards them.

‘Eb? Oh my God, I have so missed you. Hug!’

Willis was laughing and shaking her head. It was a wonder to her how Cabrina managed not only to walk but jog towards her in heels that were basically stilts. Still, when they hugged, Cabrina, even in heels, came up only to Willis’s shoulder.

‘Please say you’re coming with us for dinner and I don’t have to try and look interested in what these blokes are saying?’

‘I won’t tonight, but I’ll come and stay soon, when you have room.’

‘You mean our lodger? He’s just temporary. You’re permanent.’ Cabrina drew back from the hug and looked at Ebony. Reading the look on her face she squeezed her arms as she nodded and said, ‘Understood, don’t wait too long though, hon, promise? Archie misses you too.’