I wasn’t even going to be able to look after my daughters if I got arrested. My girls would lose both parents.
Everything was closing in on me at a hundred miles an hour.
39. Constance
I SAT STIFFLY IN THE CHAIR the detective offered.
“Mrs Lundquist,” said the London detective, “we’ve been busy trying to put together a picture of Lydia’s last hour. I—”
“Who?” I asked.
Detective Chief Inspector, Michael Hurst—a blonde, long-faced man in his mid-forties—seemed momentarily confused before nodding. “The victim’s name is Lydia Garner. You knew her by her working name.”
“Oh. Can we call her Rosemary?”
“Yes,” he said gently. “We can call her that. Okay, we’ve been able to gain access to the security footage of floor twenty-four. The footage shows a maintenance person heading in and out of Rosemary’s room about twenty minutes before you arrived.”
“Could you identify him?” I breathed, sitting forward.
The DCI sighed. “I’m afraid he wore a cap down low over his face—and no, they couldn’t identify him. We know that he’s Caucasian, about six foot two and a large build. He entered a bathroom on the next floor down, washed off a knife and changed into everyday clothing. We can be pretty certain that this is our guy. We’re running searches on sexual-assault offenders that are a match.”
“You think it was a sexual assault?”
He looked at me strangely. “We won’t have the lab report back for a while yet, but it seems apparent that something of a sexual nature occurred. Her underwear had been removed. Do you have reason to think it’s something other than that?”
I opened my mouth to argue, but then I heard Rosemary’s voice distinctly in my mind. Don’t tell the police more than you need to.
“Of course,” I said. “I just keep seeing all the blood and the terrible gash in her throat, and I—”
“Very understandable.”
“I hope you can catch him quickly. Poor Rosemary. She didn’t deserve this to happen to her. She was doing so much good. Finding missing people. We need more people like her in this world.”
“Can you tell us more about that? You said you contracted her to search for your daughter?”
“Yes, Kara. She vanished while studying in Australia. Sydney police told me that she’d caught a plane for London.”
“And Rosemary was attempting to locate her?”
“Yes.”
“Hmmm, can you tell us anything that might help? Is there a possibility your daughter was mixed up in anything such as prostitution or drug running?”
“I don’t think so. No.”
“Well, there’s a possibility that Rosemary was investigating something that triggered the murder. Or the man could have been a thief looking for cash or jewellery. The sexual assault—if it did occur—might have been just an afterthought. Of course, it’s all speculation at this point.”
He studied me thoughtfully. “We discovered two phones belonging to Rosemary. One of them was completely destroyed. We believe that Rosemary destroyed it herself, possibly at the time the intruder accessed her hotel room. Would you happen to know what she was using it for? It could help greatly in our investigation.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know anything about that.”
“Well, do let us know if you remember anything during your conversations with Rosemary that was unusual in any way.”
“I will.”
“And Constance, there’s a concern that this person might come after you, too.”
“Do you think so?”
“There’s a possibility. But what we can do is offer you a secure place to stay.”
“I’ll be all right. Maybe I’ll even return to America,” I lied.
“We might need to interview you further. You were the last person to have contact with Rosemary before she died. We really do need you to stick around.” The DCI levelled his gaze. “Okay?”
“Yes, I’ll do that. I’ll pick a hotel that’s a bit away from where I was staying before. I doubt anyone would be able to find me.”
“Well, the offer of a police guard is there. Call us if you get worried. We’ll do what we can to find your daughter.” He smiled briefly, and I knew it was his turn to lie. He had a murder investigation on his hands. A teenager who was tripping around the world was not his concern.
“I’d appreciate that.”