Frozen Grave (Willis/Carter #3)(49)

‘He remortgaged it three years ago.’

‘The car, the house, it all belongs to the time he had money – it shows he’s living off past glories.’

‘And investments in Spanish renovations.’

‘Let’s call his bluff.’ They got out of the car and walked across the road and opened the gates to the house.

Carter looked up to see Ellerman at the window. He was on the phone. He was smiling when Carter first looked but his face soured when he saw them. Carter waved. Ellerman’s face disappeared and he had answered the door before they reached it.

‘Sorry to bother you, Mr Ellerman, we just need to ask you some further questions and wanted to save you a trip to the station,’ Carter said as they stepped inside.

‘Very considerate.’ Ellerman led the way into the kitchen.

Willis looked around. It was immaculate. It looked so spartan and clean it was as if they were waiting to move in.

‘Hope we’re not disturbing you and Mrs Ellerman? I can imagine you don’t get much time to spend together,’ Carter said.

‘She’s not here.’ Ellerman held Carter’s gaze. Carter nodded thoughtfully.

‘Maybe that’s best. We don’t want to upset her unnecessarily. But then you said she know about your affairs, Mr Ellerman?’

‘That’s none of your business.’

‘It could be looked on as very much our business when one of them is murdered and it turns out she lent you money.’

Ellerman was looking flustered. His face was reddening.

‘We wondered if you could show us any more details about the company you own called Hacienda Renovations?’

‘Of course. Like what?’

‘Like a brochure. We’d love to see the kind of houses you find to renovate – before and after. That kind of thing. I’m really interested, might even be looking to invest, you never know.’

‘Okay. I can probably find something to show you. Wait here a minute.’

He left them in the kitchen and walked across the hall and into a room that Carter could see was super neat and tidy. Nothing was left out.

Ellerman reappeared with a few pages of house details from an estate agent and some architect plans.

‘I am working on this one at the moment.’

‘Very nice.’ Carter took the plans and spread them out on the pristine worktop. ‘Mind if I take a detailed look at the floor plan? It’s always interested me – renovating, building my own place. So these are the plans for this house here in the picture, is that right?’ Ellerman nodded. Carter looked at the original specifications on the estate agent’s blurb. It was written in Spanish. Carter was half-Italian. He could just about read the Spanish.

‘It says that you have a well, a bore-hole, that, by the look of it, you’re planning to cover with your dining room.’ Carter looked up. Ellerman was irritated. He gave a dismissive shrug with his shoulders and changed his mind about looking over Carter’s shoulder at the floor plan on the worktop.

‘This may not actually be the exact floor plan for this exact house. But I don’t keep the current plans here.’

‘Do you have an office outside here?’

‘No, I tend to work on my laptop anywhere I am.’

‘And that is all around the UK?’

Ellerman looked instantly caught out.

‘Yes, I travel to see clients. I wouldn’t say it’s all around the UK.’

‘South? North? This is when you’re selling your yachts, is it? Or is it when you’re asking for donations for your Hacienda fund?’

‘Okay, I’ve had enough of your questioning. I find that extremely rude.’

‘No problem. We’ll send a squad car round to pick you up and take you up to Archway for an interview.’

‘What is it you want to know? I don’t understand what you’re accusing me of.’

‘We believe you took money from Olivia Grantham to invest in a company that, as far as we can see, and judging from what you’ve shown us, doesn’t really do a lot. You can’t show me one completed project.’

‘I certainly can.’

‘Do it then.’

Ellerman gave a one-shouldered shrug and started packing up the floor plan from the worktop. ‘I don’t have the photos here.’

‘Show me what you showed Olivia Grantham to make her invest ten thousand pounds in your business. You – a man that she supposedly meets just for sex. You must have charmed her to make her do that. She wasn’t a stupid woman. She was a partner in a legal firm. Did she draw up an agreement for the loan?’

‘I’m not sure.’ Ellerman looked like a drowning man.

‘Did she say when she wanted you to pay it back?’

‘We hadn’t discussed that.’

‘I find that hard to believe. Every lawyer I’ve ever met wanted everything written down and signed for and they want to charge you an arm and a leg. Was she charging you interest?’

‘She may have wanted interest.’ Ellerman had become quite still. He stood motionless, hardly daring to breathe. ‘You obviously haven’t found any written contract between us otherwise you’d have the answers to these questions.’

‘We are going through her paperwork and her PC. I don’t doubt that we’ll find it. So now you don’t have to pay it back. Olivia is dead and you get to keep the money.’