The Next Girl(Detective Gina Harte #1)(45)

Jacob stared at his notes as he rubbed his throbbing head. Gina noticed how glassy his eyes looked. ‘Why are you such a martyr?’ he said. ‘You come into work on death’s door, and because you do that, it means I have to as well.’

‘Stop whining, Driscoll. You’re standing, aren’t you?’ Gina replied with a grin. Jacob coughed and smiled as he followed her back into the pub.

Jeff Wall had picked up the cleaning where Charlene had left off. Samuel entered through the front door with an empty bucket. ‘The threshold is all back to full freshness, ready for your departure.’

‘Looking forward to us leaving already, Mr Avery?’ Gina asked.

‘I never said that. I’m always happy for lovely young ladies to stay, including yourself, Detective. Not so much your sidekick though. He’ll scare my customers off with his germy image. Jeff, pour me a brandy.’ The man obediently grabbed a bottle off the mirrored shelf and poured a large measure into the glass. Samuel took a seat at the table beside the fireplace and they joined him.

Gina looked at Jacob. Jacob shook his head and rolled his eyes. ‘Mr Avery. On the last night that Deborah Jenkins attended this pub, the night of the pool match against the Spinster, which you lost, you were seen to be having some sort of disagreement with Mrs Jenkins. In your statement, you said that you asked her if she wanted another drink on the house, and she accused you of trying to get her drunk and got a little upset.’

‘That’s exactly how it happened. I’ll make no bones about it. I thought she was something special. She was the quiet one, silent but alluring. I’m an old man who was trying my luck. She turned me down and took offence, what more can I say?’

Gina thought back to the file. On the night of Debbie’s disappearance, Avery had been in the airport, waiting to board a flight. She’d checked the validity of this information and he had indeed checked in. Had he been involved though? Did he get someone else to assist with his dirty work? If so, who?

‘Do you know if she was having problems with anyone here?’

‘She got on with everyone – except me, after I propositioned her. She came in once a week, had a couple of drinks while playing pool. Laughed with her friends. There were no dramas that I can think of. I really do wish I knew something. She was a nice person. I’d like nothing more than for her to be found and come here every Wednesday and play pool with her friends.’

‘Where were you at approximately 7 p.m. on the night of Friday the first of December? Last Friday.’

‘I was staying with my sister in the big smoke.’ He grabbed a small pen from his top pocket and wrote a number on a beer mat. ‘Here’s her number. You ain’t pinning anything on me.’ A grin spread across his face.

‘And this morning at 3 a.m?’

‘I was in bed.’

‘Alone?’

‘Yes. What’s all this about?’

Gina watched as Jacob made a couple of notes, summarising what Mr Avery had said.

‘Thank you, Mr Avery,’ Jacob said as he pulled out a tissue and sneezed. Avery stood and walked to the bar.

‘Follow up on this when you get back,’ said Gina. ‘I want his alibi checked out.’ Jacob took the beer mat from her and slotted it into his notebook.

Looking up, Gina saw Jeff Wall leaving the pub’s cellar.

‘We need a word, Mr Wall?’ Jacob called.

The man nodded and joined them at the table. Charlene appeared with a bag overflowing with empty beer bottles and then began emptying the internal bins into another bag.

‘We have in your notes that you were here, working on that last Wednesday before Deborah’s disappearance. You were also here working on the night of her disappearance. Is it right that you were managing the place in Samuel’s absence?’

‘Yes. It’s hard to remember. How long ago was it now?’

‘Four years. In your statement you mentioned reordering stock.’

‘Yes, I can just about remember now. I had to do the ordering that night. I was in the office from late afternoon until about eight thirty—’

‘On the night she disappeared or the Wednesday before?’ Jacob asked.

The man looked up at Jacob and paused. ‘It was a long time ago. It was the night she disappeared. Samuel had already left for the airport. When I finished the paperwork, I came down and worked the bar as I always do when he’s away.’

Gina remembered them examining the car park CCTV of the night Deborah had disappeared. Jeff’s old Rover had been parked up until eleven that night.

‘Do you remember what happened the night of the pool match against the Spinster? You told us at the time that Deborah had seemed a little offish with Mr Avery.’

The man tapped his knees with his hands. ‘That’s right. I don’t remember much more. She was sitting with the other five. Lottie, Juliet, Zoe, Barbara and Steph. They still make up the core of the team. We have others come and go, but they stay in the team. I’m sure I said this at the time, when you asked me before.’

‘I know, we’re just going over things. You’ve been very helpful,’ Gina said as she stood.

Jeff nodded. ‘She was a lovely young lady, I hope you find her.’ He walked over to the fire with a bag of kindling sticks, a newspaper and a lighter.

‘And where were you last Friday evening, around seven?’ Gina asked.