To Snatch a Thief by Hazel Cotton Page A

which resulted in a fatality. He was cleared of any misconduct. No wonder you were crabby back then, she said, thinking out loud. Corporal Blake died and you killed a man. You must have been going through hell.
    It was all so frustrating. Doggedly, she went back to the two bodies dragged out of the Thames. Willow had a black mark for possession. Did she know the junkie who’d killed Blake? And even if she did, how would that help anything?
    There were two addresses where she’d briefly worked. Corporal Blake had been thorough; a statement from each boss was pasted on the file, along with their chip information. The last, a Vincent Lesoto, had not been flattering.
    Skye chewed her lip, fighting an internal battle. Dawson would skin her alive if she contacted anyone directly, but… She wasn’t here was she, and this wasn’t her investigation.
    ‘Mr Lesoto?’
    ‘Yes?’ Sleepy-eyed, yawning, Vincent scrubbed a hand down his ebony face. ‘Who is this?’ His head was skewed sideways, like he was lying down. The background lighting was on low. His personal details, she noted, said he was forty-five, originally from California, USA but relocated to London after the 2084 quake, and owned two high-class nightclubs, one of which was listed as his home address. Financials said he was worth a cool twelve million.
    ‘I’m sorry to bother you. This is Private Forrester from LMCFHQ. I have some questions regarding Willow Frobisher.’ She decided giving herself a short-lived promotion would carry more weight than, cadet.
    ‘Who did you say you were?’ He yawned again, studied something off-screen with one eye screwed shut, then swore. ‘Nine o’clock, Jesus . Look, baby I work nights. I’ve only just gotten to bed.’
    ‘Private Skye Forrester from LMCFHQ. I’m sorry if I woke you. This won’t take long. I understand Willow Frobisher worked for you?’
    ‘Hang on.’ Propping on an elbow, he treated her to the sight of a buff naked body, barely made decent by a white duvet hovering at waist level in an interesting fashion. He ran a hand over his head. ‘I spoke to you people at the time. I don’t know what else I can add. I hardly knew her.’
    ‘She worked as a cleaner at your club, Dominoes?’
    ‘Not long. I explained to the other lady cop, Willow came to me asking for work. I felt sorry for the kid, said she’d run away from home. I took her on for a two week’s trial. She didn’t last one. Found her nosing around my office one morning – looking for loose cash or drugs. I don’t keep either on the premises so she was wasting her time. Gave her what I owed her and told her to take a hike. She said she had another job to go to anyway that paid better and I could stick it. The bitch had no class, you know.’
    ‘Do you know where the other job was?’
    ‘Doubt she had one. She was just riled because I’d fired her.’
    ‘So you never saw her again?’
    ‘Never gave her another thought except that one time.’ He paused. ‘Saw on the screen what happened to that officer, what was her name?’
    ‘Blake, Corporal Blake.’
    ‘Yeah, that was it, Blake. Gave me quite a shock seeing as I’d spoken to her and everything… you just never know.’
    ‘No, you don’t. Again, I’m sorry to have disturbed you…’ Just as she was about to disconnect, Skye stopped. ‘Hang on. Um, you said you didn’t give her another thought, except that one time. Did you mean when she worked for you, or did you see her somewhere else after she left?’
    His sleepy brown eyes filled with apology. ‘Yeah, I did. I know I should have gotten in touch, but I thought hell, it wouldn’t bring her back and I’m busy and, like I said I work nights and…’ He shrugged. ‘Not an excuse I know. I’m sorry.’
    ‘Mr Lesoto. Where did you see her?’
    ‘Seeing Corporal Blake on the news like that started me thinking about Willow and what happened to her and something came back to me. It was Saturday lunchtime. I was cruising on