Dead Of Winter (Willis/Carter #1)(63)

Justin smiled. ‘You did your homework. Life happened, I suppose. You get channelled into one direction when you’re young and I accepted it but it never really suited me. When I was given the chance to try something new I jumped at it.’

‘You don’t look old enough to have done so much. I have your age down as forty-five?’ Carter said. ‘Surely that can’t be true? You and your wife seem to have eternal youth.’

Justin de Lange smiled. Nicola’s smile was a little thinner. Her eyes flicked towards Ebony. Ebony could tell that she wasn’t so easily convinced by Carter’s attempts to appear na?ve.

‘We are lucky,’ de Lange answered.

Yes, thought Ebony . . . lucky to work for a cosmetic surgeon.

‘I was wondering about the headlines in the papers yesterday about a group of what they’re calling Bloodrunners?’ Nikki de Lange asked Ebony.

‘We are still looking into leads at the moment,’ answered Ebony. ‘But it’s part of an ongoing investigation into the murders in Totteridge and the link with Rose Cottage.’

‘I was just talking to Dad about it this morning. He’s very upset by it. If there’s anything we can do to help, we will.’

Carter shook his head. ‘Sorry? Dad?’

‘I’m Mr Martingale’s daughter. There’s four years between me and Chrissie, or there was. She was my half-sister. I’m the result of his first marriage. That didn’t last long either. He’s not into long marriages.’ She smiled, looked at them both. ‘I can see you didn’t know much about me. I’m happy to fill in any gaps.’

‘Can I ask . . .’ said Ebony. ‘Is your mother around?’

Nikki shook her head.

‘Who knows where she is? I don’t remember her. She left me with my father to bring up. She was from Zimbabwe. I think she’s probably there now, if she’s still alive.’

‘You never tried to find her? You’re not curious at all?’

‘No . . . my father said she was a wild child, arty, mysterious, and she disappeared.’

Carter smiled. ‘He had a type . . . your father?’

‘Type?’ As Nikki looked at Carter she was turning colder by the second. She didn’t mind Ebony being blunt but she didn’t like it from Carter.

‘Arty? Creative?’ Carter smiled, trying to backpedal.

‘Seems so, doesn’t it?’ Nikki smiled with her mouth, not her eyes. ‘Glutton for punishment.’

‘Did you grow up with your father?’ asked Ebony.

‘Yes.’

‘Did you know your sister at all?’ Ebony was firing questions at Nikki de Lange, who seemed not to mind, although Carter could see Justin getting fidgety at the desk.

‘No. I don’t remember her,’ answered Nikki, still smiling.

‘You must have been here at some time while she was alive?’

‘No. I wasn’t always with my father when he came over.’

‘You never met her?’

‘I did; but I don’t remember.’

‘What about your nephew Adam? Have you ever met him?’

‘No. I’ve never met him.’

‘I think that’s enough questions, Constable,’ Justin interrupted.

‘I don’t mind.’ Nikki turned to him and spoke the words succinctly.

‘Did you attend your sister’s funeral?’

‘No, I was poorly at the time.’

‘Right,’ said Justin. ‘You have the information I promised. If you don’t mind, my wife and I need to get on with things now. We have lots to attend to.’

‘Of course,’ answered Carter. ‘We’ll leave you to it. Thanks.’ Nikki de Lange went to escort them to the door. ‘Don’t worry, we know the way,’ Carter smiled.

They walked back to the car.

‘What do you think, Ebb?

‘Lots to think about, Sarge. For a start, I don’t think his laptop was playing up. He just didn’t want me to look at it. Or he didn’t want us to see the hospital in Krakow for some reason. For another thing . . . I can’t believe she never tried to find her sister. Her only sister.’

‘Did she seem a little false and strained to you?’

‘Yes . . . they both did. There’s something not relaxed about them as a couple. What a weird world she lives in. She’s brought up by a man who thinks he’s God and she’s married his junior. What kind of a life has she had?’

‘Frigging weird one if she didn’t even want to meet her family.’

‘Unless she doesn’t want to tell us about it.’

‘Out of loyalty to who?’

‘To her dad maybe. She says he strives for perfection all the time. He must have done the work on her face . . . who does that? Takes a knife to his daughter’s face to make her prettier? Surely your kids are supposed to be perfect as they are?’

‘We don’t know he did the work.’

‘He’s bound to have done it.’

‘Do you think Martingale was secretive about her? I had no idea.’

‘Hard to tell, Sarge. We didn’t ask. Maybe he presumed we knew. It was no secret there was another child. Carmichael mentioned he knew there was a sister but he knew nothing else about her. We just never saw any info on her, I suppose.’