Guns in the Gallery

‘Good. Because I’m afraid someone in my position does have to be a bit careful. You know, you meet people who seem to be all upfront and then you discover that they’re trying to get something out of you. Of course, I don’t feel that with you, Jude . . .’ But the caution still lurked in Sam Torino’s voice.

‘The only thing I want to get out of you is an admission that you set up our therapy at Ned Whittaker’s request.’

A long silence ensued while the supermodel considered her response. Then slowly she said, ‘Well, OK, it was a bit of each. I was talking to Ned at the launch and—’

‘Ned wasn’t at the launch.’

‘No. OK, he wasn’t on the Walden site, I agree. I talked to him before the launch up at the house.’

‘And he then asked you to set up the healing session with me?’

‘It wasn’t as overt and calculating as that. Ned was kind of marking my card for the afternoon, telling me who I might expect to meet there . . .’

‘I thought Walden was Chervil’s project.’

‘I guess, but Ned seemed to know all about it. Anyway, he mentioned you and he said you were a healer and I said, “Maybe I should get her to take a look at this bastard back of mine.” And he said, “Not a bad idea. Well, if you do talk to Jude, ask her if she thinks there’s anything odd about Fennel’s death.” And I ask him how he means “odd” and he says there’s rumours going round she might have been murdered. And so I do as he asks. But it was really just that I wanted to get my back looked at. And I’m sure as hell glad I got you to sort that out.’

There was almost a note of pleading in Sam’s voice by the end, so Jude granted her forgiveness. ‘Thank you. That’s all I wanted to know.’

‘Well, you can’t just leave it there,’ said Sam Torino.

‘How do you mean?’

‘I’ve answered your question, but you haven’t told me why you needed to ask it. Do you have some reason to believe that Fennel was murdered?’

‘More of an instinct than a reason. But what you’ve told me about Ned does open up other possibilities.’

‘How so?’

‘If he does think someone killed his daughter, then why hasn’t he shared his suspicions with the police? There’s only one reason I can think of for him doing that.’

‘Which is . . .?’

‘That he knows who the killer is, and he wants to protect that person from prosecution.’

‘I see what you mean. So we’re talking someone very close to him here, are we?’

‘We could be. Actually, I’ve just remembered, Sam . . . there was another thing I wanted to ask you.’

‘Ask away.’

‘We’ve established that Ned set you up to question me. Did he also instruct you that, if I did seem to be thinking along the lines of a murder, then you should encourage me to cast Denzil Willoughby in the role of murderer?’

The guilty silence had already answered Jude’s question before Sam Torino admitted, ‘Yes, he did. Look, I didn’t know what the stakes were – I still don’t, come to that. Ned was just a friend going through a bad patch – a really bad patch – he’d kind of lost the love of his life when Fennel died. And he asked me to do something for him and I thought, hell, if it’s going to make the poor bastard feel better, there can’t be much harm in it.’

‘Maybe not,’ said Jude ruminatively. ‘You and Ned . . . you were never more than friends?’

‘Hell, no.’ She seemed affronted by the idea. ‘I never mix friendships and love affairs. Friends are kind of private people you get along with privately. Love affairs are big public commitments.’

‘To be splashed all over the tabloids?’

‘If I’m one of the people involved, then I’m afraid the answer’s yes. It’s not something I’ve particularly sought out, but that’s the way it is. My love affairs have become part of my career. So I wouldn’t spoil my friendship with someone like Ned by going to bed with him. Apart from which, I’ve never begun to fancy him. And then again he’s absolutely locked into that marriage with Sheena.’

‘You think the marriage is secure?’

‘God, yes.’

‘But there seem to be things about which they disagree.’

‘Look, it’s a marriage – what the hell do you expect?’

‘But like the way they’ve reacted differently to Fennel’s death . . .’

‘The reason for that is that Ned always tries to keep the bad stuff away from Sheena. You talk about him trying to protect someone . . . well, the person he’s protected right through their marriage is his wife.’

This was a new perspective on the lives of the Whittakers. It stimulated a niggling suspicion about Sheena that Jude had been nursing for some time.

‘I mean,’ Sam Torino went on, ‘look what happened over Fennel’s first suicide attempt.’

‘Sorry? I don’t really know much about what happened then.’

‘Chervil found her sister in the Pimlico flat. She immediately rang Ned who went straight up to London, without even telling his wife what had happened.’

‘I didn’t know that.’

‘He got Fennel safely back home and had her checked out by a doctor, and it was only then that he told Sheena. He didn’t want to worry her until the situation was as stable as it could be.’

‘Right.’ Jude nodded thoughtfully.