did you talk about?’
‘The horses, I suppose. And racing. It’s hard to remember, now. So much has happened.’
‘What were her good points? Was she clever? Funny? Silly? Tidy?’ He had gone out with her for three months; there must be something useful buried in his unconscious. If nothing else, she needed to understand Jane McNeil better.
This brought a weak smile. ‘She was very tidy, I’ll give her that. Liked things just so and neat as a little pin, never a hair out of place. But she gave herself airs and graces, like she was something special. Lady Muck, I called her sometimes. Miss La-di-da. She liked her breakfast in bed. Liked me to bring it to her, like a bloody servant. And she was sharp. A lot sharper than me, at any rate. She knew what she was up to, if you know what I mean.’
‘No, I don’t. Can you explain?’
He rubbed his chin for a moment. ‘She was full of ideas of what she wanted to do and she knew her own mind. She told me she had a plan. To be honest, I wasn’t sure where I fitted in.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Well, her parents had money, or so she said. She didn’t like being seen in my van, I can tell you. If I was taking her out, it had to be the car and it had to be clean before she’d get in it. She told me she wanted to be a journalist, and write about racing and stuff to do with horses. She said she wanted to be on TV. That’s why she was working in a racing yard, to get background experience.’
‘Anything else about her?’
He frowned again, as though he didn’t see the point of it.
‘Anything at all?’ Even the clearest memories faded with time and she didn’t want to push him and make him feel that he had to come up with something. But she wasn’t learning anything much from him.
‘She was real nosy,’ he said, after a moment.
‘In what way?’
‘You know, always asking questions.’
‘What sort of questions?’
‘She wanted to know about the other yards where I worked, for starters.’
‘Why would that be?’
He shrugged. ‘Search me. People used to tell her things.’
‘Her friends?’
‘The people she worked with, mostly. She used to tell me some of the stuff she’d heard around the office and I was gobsmacked. But that’s women for you, I guess.’
‘Can you remember anything in particular?’
‘It was right silly stuff, but she found it funny. You know, stupid gossip, like who’s shagging who, who had too much to drink, who’s got money problems. That sort of thing. She was quiet and kept her head down and people just talked in front of her. One of the girls in the office split up from her husband and Jane knew before anyone else. I told her more than once to keep her trap shut. Telling tales gets you into trouble. But she said she didn’t gossip, she just listened and she couldn’t help it if people said things they shouldn’t.’
‘Was she particularly friends with anyone?’
‘Not really. She didn’t like the girls she shared with.’
‘Why was that?’
‘She said they weren’t very nice. I’d say she preferred male company to women.’
Blackmail was as good a motive for murder as jealousy and she made another mental note to check with Dan Cooper if this aspect had been checked out. ‘Did the police ask you about any of this?’
A look of anger crossed his face and he folded his arms tightly across his chest. ‘They weren’t interested in what I thought of her character, or anything else much. Apart from my being jealous, and stalking her, and all that shit.’
‘Well, I am. You went out together, what, was it three months?’
‘More or less.’
‘It’s enough time to get to know someone. What did you think of her?’
Again a blank, taciturn look. ‘What do you mean?’
‘What was she like, as a woman, I mean? Was she nice? Was she kind? Was she a warm and friendly type? Or was she selfish, just thinking of herself?’
His face hardened. ‘You mean like most women?’
She sighed. ‘OK. So from a man’s point of view, was she a flirt? Was she a tease? Or was she the sort of girl to sleep around? Was that the message that came across?’
He stared at her sullenly. ‘She wasn’t a tart, if that’s what you’re getting at.’
‘Look, I’m sorry if you don’t like this, but it’s important.’ She decided she had to spell it out for him. ‘Traces of seminal fluid were found on her thigh. We know it didn’t come from you, so there had to be somebody else. Even though her body was in a pretty bad state when it was found the pathologist’s report said there were no signs of her having been raped, so we must assume the sex was consensual. What I’m really getting at is, was she choosy who she slept with, or was she an easy lay?’
He looked down at the floor for a moment, rocking back and forth slowly in his chair, then he met her gaze. ‘She wasn’t easy. Took me several weeks to get her to go out with me, and more than that to get her into bed. I had to get her drunk. Tell you the truth, I’d almost given up on her.’
She smiled, wanting to encourage him. ‘Thanks. That’s very helpful. So what did the two of you used to do together?’
‘We’d go to the gym, or to the Horse and Groom near where I live. Sometimes we’d go out for a meal, but during the week we mostly stayed in and watched TV. I used to have to cook for her, she couldn’t even boil an egg.’
‘Did she like going out?’
He nodded.
‘Did she like expensive things and presents, or did she save her money?’
‘All women like that stuff, far as I know, and she weren’t no different. I took her to Bicester Village once, as a treat. I was going to buy her something nice, but before I had a chance, she’d blown eight hundred quid on a handbag and another couple of hundred on a pair of shoes. I kept my money in my wallet after that.’
‘Where did she get the money? Her salary at the racing yard couldn’t have been that much.’
‘Search me.’
‘I know it’s a long time ago, but do you recall how she paid for them?’
He looked blank for a moment, then said, ‘Cash. I remember now. I thought she was stupid carrying so much in her bag.’
‘You weren’t curious where she got it from?’
‘I
