‘Well now, you see, Reg, that’s not strictly speaking the truth. She hit my car, that’s what happened. Damn near wrote it off. I’d parked outside a mate’s house and she ran into the back of it. Buggered up both cars. She must have legged it and flagged you down.’
McKenzie nodded slowly. ‘That makes sense,’ he said. ‘She’d been drinking, that much I know.’
‘And no shoes, did you notice that?’
McKenzie laughed. ‘Yeah, that was funny. So she smashed your motor, did she?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Why not just call the cops? They’ll trace her.’
Richards pulled a face. ‘I’ve a bit of a problem with my insurance, Reg. I don’t have her details. You know how it is. The last thing I want is the cops sticking their nose in. I’ve got her car. If I can just talk to her, I’m sure she’ll understand that the best thing to do is for her just to make good the damage. Let’s face it, if she’d been drinking, then she’s not going to want the cops involved, is she?’
‘Bloody right,’ said McKenzie. ‘Not with her being famous and all.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Richards.
McKenzie lowered his voice. ‘Carolyn Castle, that’s who she is,’ he said. ‘She’s on that show, Rags To Riches. My wife loves it.’
‘You’re not serious?’ said Halpin.
‘God’s truth,’ said McKenzie. ‘She’s sending me a signed photo for the wife. Lovely lady.’ He frowned. ‘Not the sort to run away from an accident,’ he said.
‘Who is this Carolyn Castle?” asked Richards.
‘She’s a soap opera star,’ said Halpin. ‘Rags To Riches, the show about the fashion business.’
Richards shrugged. ‘Never seen it.’
‘It’s big,’ said Halpin.
‘Look, I don’t want to get her into trouble,’ said McKenzie. ‘She was lovely. A real lady.’
‘No one’s going to get into trouble, Reg,’ said Richards. ‘The insurance companies will handle it. I’m insured and I’m sure she is. We just need to exchange details. It’s not as if anyone got hurt. So where did you drop her, Reg, that night?’
‘Took her home, I did. Notting Hill Gate. Big house with one of those Japanese cherry blossom things in front of it. Must have cost her millions.’ He looked at his watch. ‘Look, I’ve got to go. Traffic’s a bitch on the M1 and I have to be in Brum by two.’
Richards patted him on the shoulder. ‘No problem, Reg, thanks for your time. And you drive carefully.’
As McKenzie walked to his truck, Richards took his cigar case from his jacket pocket. He bit off the end and spat it to the floor as Halpin fumbled in his pocket for a box of matches.
‘So you know this Carolyn Castle?’ asked Richards.
‘Sure, I watch the show all the time.’
‘You’re winding me up, right? Since when have you been a soap opera fan?’
Halpin struck a match and lit the cigar for Richards. ‘There’s some fit birds on it. Okay, not all the time but if I’m in and it’s on I’ll watch it.’
‘And it was her, right? Her that you chased?’
‘I only saw the back of her but, yeah, I’d say it was her.’
‘She’s famous, yeah?’
‘Yeah, she’s always on the cover of one magazine or another. She’s forty-odd, but I’d give her one.’
‘That’s good to know,’ said Richards. He headed back to his Bentley and Halpin followed.
‘One of the actors on the show is a regular at the club,’ said Halpin.
‘Is he now?’
‘Yeah, guy called Seb Lawton. He plays her husband on the show. He’s in our VIP room every week or so, usually with some rent boy in tow. Drops a lot of money. Perfect customer.’
‘But not her? Please don’t tell me she’s a regular?’
‘Never seen her. He doesn’t tend to hang out with women. Not at our club anyway. He likes us because we let him use the private entrance and we keep the paparazzi away.’
Richards opened the car door and they both climbed in. ‘I’m going to have to lose the Bentley,’ he said. ‘She must have seen it.’
‘What about Cohen’s car?’
‘Parked it at the airport,’ said Richards. He started the engine and drove off. ‘It’ll be months before anyone notices it hasn’t been collected and it’ll muddy the waters. Make them think he’s done a runner. Tell you what, I’ll drive us home and then you can find a lock-up for the Bentley. I’ll use the Porsche.’
‘And what about her?’ asked Halpin.
‘I don’t know,’ said Richards.
‘She must have seen us.’
‘She saw you shooting at her, that’s for sure.’
‘She was running before I fired. So she must have seen something.’
‘We don’t know that for sure,’ said Richards. ‘And even if she saw Cohen getting whacked, that doesn’t mean she saw our faces.’
‘Better safe than sorry, boss.’
Richards looked across at him. ‘What do you mean?’
Halpin made a gun with his hand and mimed firing it.
‘She’s a bloody soap opera star,’ said Richards. ‘The cops’ll go crazy. Remember the shitstorm when Jill Dando got shot?’
‘Yeah, and they never found out who did it, either,’ said Halpin.
‘If she saw something, why didn’t she go straight to the cops,’ said Richards. ‘I know there’s no mobile phone signal near Cohen’s place but when she was in the truck she could have called. And she obviously didn’t say anything to Reg.’
‘Yeah, I don’t get that either,’ said Halpin. ‘Why didn’t she tell him what had happened?’
