Mummy's Favourite (12 page)

The surroundings were not lost on Justin Latchmere whose scowl deepened even further as he surveyed the tiny room.

‘We won't keep you too long,' Charlie reassured, inwardly revelling in the man's discomfiture. ‘Take a seat.'

They all sat down and she began.

‘The reason we've asked you to come in is because it's been brought to our attention that there have been a number of calls made from your home phone to the home of Keith Hubbard and he has complained about them.'

‘Yes you've already told me this.'

‘Well, as you insist that we do this as a formal interview, I'll caution you that you don't have to say anything unless you wish to do so and anything you say will be written down and may be given in evidence. As I'm sure you know, you're not under arrest, you don't have to stay if you don't wish to, and you're entitled to legal advice, which I can see you have.'

‘Yes, I know all this. Can we just get on with it?'

She shuffled her papers slowly and noted down the time before pausing awhile. She'd learnt well from Hunter.

‘Have you made these calls, Mr Latchmere?'

‘No I haven't.'

‘Keith Hubbard seemed to think it was a male making the calls.'

‘Well it wasn't me.'

‘Are there any other males in your house who could have made the calls?'

‘No. Unless Dana lets the gardener in.' He smirked. ‘But I don't think so. If you saw the guy…' He left the sentence unfinished. She ignored the insinuation.

‘Are there any other people who have access to your home phone?'

‘No. Just Dana and I, and the gardener and housekeeper who work for us, but the housekeeper is definitely female.'

‘So, really, you are saying that you are the only male in the household who is likely to use the phone.'

‘Yes. And it's not me, so it's a bit of a mystery, isn't it?'

‘Do you know Keith Hubbard?'

‘No, never met the man; though I have read about his wife and son going missing in the local paper recently.'

‘And you've never spoken to him?'

‘No.'

‘Or tried to speak to him?'

‘No.'

‘What about his wife? Do you know her?'

‘Never met her either.'

‘Or their son, Richard.'

‘No.'

‘Doesn't your son go to the same school as Richard?'

‘How would I know? Dana does all the school stuff.'

‘They both go to Clapham Boy's Academy.'

‘I hardly think they would be best friends. Aiden is in the top set, doing very well for himself. Judging by the sound of this Keith Hubbard, I would hazard a guess that his son is not likely to be quite on the same level, shall we say.' His tone was pompous. He raised his eyebrows at his solicitor. Charlie pressed on.

‘But they're at the same school.'

‘There are over a thousand boys at that same school. Are you speaking to all their parents too?' He stared directly at her and gave her a small impatient smile.

‘No. Only the ones who have been making calls to the Hubbard family home address.'

She smiled back at him, wiping the smug expression from his face immediately.

‘So you're saying that you have not made any calls to Keith Hubbard's house, you're probably the only male with access to your home phone, except for possibly the gardener, and you do not know and have never met any of the Hubbard family, either Keith, Julie, Ryan or Richard?'

‘Yes that's exactly what I'm saying. Anyway what time are these calls supposed to have been made?'

She read through the list.

'There were fifteen calls in all, over eight days, after Julie and Richard went missing. Some days there was only one call, or no calls at all, on other days there were two or three, spaced out about an hour apart. All the calls were made during the daytime.'

‘There you go then,' he sounded triumphant. ‘I couldn't have made any of the calls. I would have been at work.'

‘And you never pop home?'

‘Sometimes I pop in when I'm on my way back from court or meeting clients, but I haven't popped home recently. Certainly not on all those days. You can check my diary.'

‘Thank you! I will.'

‘Is there anything else because I now wish to leave?' He stood up as if to go.

‘No that'll be fine for now. We'll make some further enquiries and speak to Dana about who else has access to your phone.'

‘You'll do no such thing without me being there.'

‘And why's that?'

‘She is my wife. If she really needs to be spoken to, I think I am best placed, as her husband and lawyer, to accompany her, don't you think?'

‘I believe that could well be a conflict of interest. Dana is a grown woman and quite capable of making that choice herself, don't
you
think?' she threw the question back at him.

‘Well of course.'

‘Plus, we still haven't got to the bottom of who is making the calls and you don't seem to be able to help any further.'

He pulled himself up to his full height. ‘Well I would suggest that you let me know if and when you choose to speak to my wife.'

‘And I would suggest that if that's what you want, you tell her first, because if she's happy to speak to us without you, then that's what we'll be doing.'

*

‘Why's he so insistent on being there when we speak to Dana?' Charlie said as she and Hunter walked across the gravelled driveway of the Latchmeres' house. They had decided to get to the bottom of who was making the calls straight away and they certainly weren't going to wait for Justin's permission.

‘That's twice he's been touchy about us speaking to her without him being present.'

‘That's because he's lying,' Hunter was to the point. ‘I was watching him during the interview. You did well by the way. He was trying to intimidate you but you wouldn't let him. He was sweating and fidgety.'

‘I saw that too. Continually wiping his hands on his trousers. He knows she's the one making the phone calls.
And
he knows why. The calls were silent. It's only Hubbard's presumption that it was a male making the calls. Latchmere knows it's Dana and that's why he's so nervous about letting us speak to her. We've just got to persuade her to tell us why.'

She stopped and looked up at the windows, checking for any sign of life. ‘By the way, guv, thanks for letting me conduct the interview. I'm getting to really enjoy them. I love making guilty people sweat.'

‘It's good practice for you and it was a good chance for me to sit back and watch Latchmere properly. He likes to come across as such a professional, when he's in court. You almost forget that he's just a man with normal reactions like any other person. He sweats like you and I, and he shits like you and I. And his shit, definitely does not smell like roses.'

‘Speak for yourself, guv. You seem to forget I'm a lady and I neither sweat nor shit.'

Hunter chuckled. ‘Then why does what you say regularly have a distinct “air de bullshit”? And anyway, the day you become a lady is the day I retire; should see me going for at least a dozen more years.'

Dana's car was in the driveway as they headed towards the house, a sporty Mercedes convertible with a personalized registration plate. There were several upstairs windows open and the sound of music could be faintly heard. Charlie knocked on the door but there was no immediate response.

‘She's definitely in.' She banged on the door again. ‘I can hear the radio.'

Charlie wandered off to look through a couple of downstairs windows, before returning to the front door and knocking it hard and continuously.

‘Dana, answer the door please. We know you're in there.'

The music had gone off but there was still no answer.

‘Dana, we're not going away, so you're better off speaking to us now. We'll be sitting in our car outside waiting. I promise you we'll be here all day if necessary.'

They crunched across the driveway.

‘What's the betting Justin will have been summonsed back? Give it fifteen minutes,' Hunter said, checking his watch. ‘I'm sure he'll be ecstatic to see us again.'

She had just reached the gate when she heard a voice calling out to them.

Turning, she saw Dana standing in the porch beckoning them over. She appeared anxious, scanning the driveway and bushes as they walked back.

‘Come in, quickly,' she said, closing the door hurriedly behind them as they stepped into the hallway.

‘Are you OK?' Charlie noted the instant relief as the door was shut.

Dana shook her head. ‘No, not really. I wanted to speak to you last time, but Justin told me not to get you lot involved.'

‘But we are involved.'

‘I know and that's what I want to talk to you about.'

They were shown through to the kitchen this time. It was huge, with perfectly ordered units housing built-in white goods, and spacious granite work surfaces, uncluttered and sparklingly clean. A tray had already been laid out with three cups and saucers, a large china teapot and a plate of assorted biscuits.

‘You look like you've been expecting us.' Hunter indicated the tray.

‘I have. I knew you'd be round as soon as Justin phoned to tell me not to speak to you without him being here. He's got things to do, but I'm sure he'll be back as quickly as he can.'

‘So why didn't you answer the door straight away?' Charlie asked, puzzled.

‘Because I had to be sure it was you and I couldn't see you when you were in the porch. It was only when you were looking around that I knew I'd be safe.'

‘Safe? From what?'

Dana's expression froze. She looked frightened all of a sudden.

‘I think you'd better tell us what's been going on.'

Dana nodded. She looked close to tears.

‘I'll start at the beginning,' she busied herself, concentrating on pouring the tea. ‘I don't know how much you know or have heard about Justin and me?' She didn't allow them to answer. ‘But we have a somewhat open relationship. For years now, in fact most of the time we have been married, he has conducted affairs, “dalliances” as he likes to call them. To start with I hated it, but he always insisted they meant nothing and he loved me. He did try to stop, but he can't help himself. He's a flirtatious man and can be very charming, as I'm sure you've seen?' She looked up and caught Charlie's eye. She nodded.

‘Go on.'

‘I have learned to accept it. His affairs rarely affect our day-to-day relationship or our family. He is a good husband and father in all other ways. He cares for us, looks after us and provides us with everything we need.'

Charlie bit back the temptation to say ‘so I can see', instead smiling her encouragement for Dana to continue.

‘Just occasionally these affairs have become more serious. Maybe two or three other women have got too close; I can't have that. This is my life, our life, and I am not going to let some tart that he's picked up come between him and our children.'

She was surprised at the sudden hardness in Dana's voice; Justin's wife obviously had hidden strength.

‘I have warned Justin to stop and, where necessary I have warned these women to back down. And so far they always have. And Justin and I have always gone back to our normal life after a short time.'

She stopped to take a sip of tea and pass the biscuits around, as if she was talking about the most ordinary occurrence. They both took one, Hunter nibbling at the edges of his, while Charlie dunked hers into the steaming liquid. Dana pursed her lips slightly with distaste and continued.

‘Anyway, this time it's different. Justin seems to have fallen in love, or certainly in lust.'

‘With Julie Hubbard?' Charlie was incredulous, but she had to admit the pieces began to fit.

Dana nodded. ‘Yes. They met at a school function. Justin is on the board of governors at our son, Aiden's school, and Julie's sons also go there. I don't think the boys really know each other and I'm not really sure exactly
why
Justin and Julie were introduced but they certainly did meet and got to know each other very well, intimately even.'

‘I wouldn't have put the pair of them together. You're not exactly in the same social league!'

Dana laughed bitterly. ‘Oh Justin likes his bits of rough. I think they amuse him and he can dominate them without too much trouble.'

‘Has his
dalliance
with Julie been going on for long?'

‘Too long. Several months, if not more. Justin doesn't discuss things, but after seeing the way his behaviour changes over the years when he has his affairs, I recognized the signs: staying out late or overnight, spending money on presents et cetera, et cetera. I told him it had to stop, but so far he hasn't been able to end it. He's hooked. I actually think she's better educated than the others. Maybe she's more of a challenge to him. Justin always likes a challenge, as everyone who comes up against him at court knows.' Dana bit her bottom lip.

‘Anyway, I decided to warn Julie off too, hence all the phone calls from here to her home address. It was always her husband who answered the phone though, so I didn't say anything. I wanted to speak to Julie. I didn't realize she and Richard had gone missing until I heard it on the news. It's awful. I wanted to tell you when you were here, but I couldn't admit to what Justin had been doing and the state of our marriage. It's not exactly conventional, is it? And I didn't want to hurt him professionally, you see?'

She looked towards them both. Charlie nodded back at her.

‘Then he came home and the rest is history really, isn't it?'

‘He told us he had never met Keith or Julie Hubbard when he spoke to us earlier.'

‘I know, he told me he'd said that. I don't know why he didn't tell you. It's stupid! As if you're not going to find out. Loads of parents at the school know. As soon as Julie went missing, the game was always going to be up. For every day since she was reported, you lot would be digging deeper. I'm surprised it took this long really.'