Wrongful Death by Lynda La Plante Page A

appointment at Michaeljohn.’
    Anna had heard of Michaeljohn and knew that it was a very expensive Mayfair salon frequented by royalty, Hollywood actresses and other A-list celebrities.
    ‘I can come tomorrow,’ Anna offered.
    ‘Don’t, please. I was merely wondering if it would be possible for you to come to my house a bit later. Say about six. Donna will be home by then.’
    Anna said that would be fine and ended the conversation, unsure of what to make of the caller. She wondered how Gloria would react when she found out that Anna was actually reinvestigating her son-in-law’s death as a possible murder. She wondered if it might have been better to tell her the truth from the outset, but at least she could now fall back on the excuse that she hadn’t wanted Donna to become overstressed at the thought of speaking to a murder-squad detective.
    Dewar returned with a chicken sandwich and coffee for Anna, apologizing for the delay and saying that she got stuck in the canteen talking to Barbara. Anna remarked that once Barbara got going she was a bit hard to get away from.
    ‘She rambled on about being single and needing to lose weight if she wanted to “pull a fit bloke”,’ Dewar went on, ‘although I have absolutely no idea what that means.’
    Anna told Dewar about the phone call from Gloria Lynne and the rearranged interview time with Donna.
    ‘It’s going to be a late finish, so to save us both returning to the station, I’ll take my car to Gloria’s house and you can follow me,’ Anna suggested.
    ‘That’s fine, but I’m wondering, now we’ve got time to kill before seeing Donna, if it might be worth paying a quick visit to the Trojan first?’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘To get the feel for the place, like the Reynolds scene. We’d be discreet.’
    ‘Basically, you want to see how Marcus Williams reacts when we say were reinvestigating his partner Josh’s death. I believe you Americans say “put the squeeze on him”.’
    ‘You see, Anna, you’re thinking like me already.’ Dewar laughed.
    ‘No. I know what you’re thinking and I’m not so sure it’s a good idea quite yet.’
    ‘We don’t mention the interview with Donna. Then we can check Williams’ mobile, see if he calls or texts her after we leave.’
    ‘I’m becoming a soft touch,’ Anna said.
    Dewar wagged her finger. ‘No. You like the thrill of the chase.’
    Anna put her notebook in her bag. ‘I’m still not convinced Reynolds was murdered.’
    ‘You will be. Trust me.’
    ‘As long as you promise to hold back on Donna Reynolds, treat her as a witness, not a suspect, until we have hard evidence to prove otherwise,’ Anna replied, although she knew that this was unlikely to happen.

Chapter Eight
    By the time Anna got to her car, Dewar was already in hers, slamming her door shut. As she started up the engine she lowered the window and told Anna she’d meet her outside the front of the Trojan club in Rupert Street. Anna watched, impressed by her enthusiasm, as she drove out of the underground car park too fast and on the wrong side of the arrows.
    On her way to the club, Anna took the opportunity to put in a quick call to Pete Jenkins at the forensics lab, but his assistant said he was out at a scene. Anna left a message that she would be at the lab between eight-thirty and nine a.m. and needed to discuss the Joshua Reynolds suicide with him.
    As usual there were no parking spaces to be had along Wardour Street, and so Anna resorted to the multi-storey car park in Poland Street. Walking through the neon alleyway of Walkers Court, once home of the infamous Raymond Revuebar strip club, Anna realized how little the area had changed over the years. It was still the heart of London’s adult entertainment industry with its sex shops and clip joints fleecing tourists who were looking for a ‘good time’. It struck Anna a lap-dancing club like the Trojan would fit in perfectly in the area and no doubt be a very profitable