The Hallmarked Man полностью

It might be true, Robin thought. Somebody at the Met might have gone back to St George’s Avenue and asked Daz and Mandy for more details about the people who’d entered Wright’s room and left carrying suitcases.

‘But our client doesn’t think they’re taking it seriously enough, because the stolen objects weren’t very valuable,’ Robin went on.

This, too, could be true: all Robin knew for certain had been in William Wright’s room were his weights and the suit and glasses he’d worn to work at Ramsay Silver.

‘So vy do you vant to know about Sofia?’ asked Max, whose accent was far stronger than his girlfriend’s.

‘A girl was seen entering and leaving the burgled room on Friday the seventeenth of June. She had long black hair and was wearing a very similar outfit to the one Sofia was wearing when she was found. Then a man with dark, curly hair entered the room, in the early hours of the following morning. We think the pair of them then drove off together in a silver car.’

At the mention of the curly haired man, Max’s face lost expression, and Gretchen reached suddenly for her beer bottle and took a clumsy gulp.

‘But obviously,’ Robin said, masking the thrill of excitement that had just passed through her, ‘lots of women have long black hair and wear pink tops. It’s just that the sighting of a girl matching Sofia’s description in those unusual circumstances, just twenty-four hours before Sofia was found dead, made us wonder whether there was a connection.’

The pause that followed ought, Robin thought, to have been full of protestations – ‘Sofia would never have committed burglary’, ‘it can’t have been her’, ‘you’ve got the wrong person’ – but the two students sat frozen, without looking at each other. Even so, Robin could almost see the invisible communications flying between them. Now what? Just say something. Anything.

‘But as you say,’ said Max at last, ‘der are lots of vimmin who look like det, vid long hair and zo on. And I don’t tink she’d be involved in somezing like det,’ he added, turning in rather artificial fashion to look at his girlfriend. ‘Vould she?’

‘No,’ said Gretchen. ‘I don’t think so.’

‘Did you know Sofia well, Gretchen?’ asked Robin.

‘Yes,’ said Gretchen, but she added quickly, ‘only because we shared a flat. I advertised on the college noticeboard and she applied. We had different friends.’

‘Did you like her?’ asked Robin.

‘Vy does it matter if Gretchen liked her?’ said Max superciliously.

Ignoring him, Robin addressed Gretchen again.

‘Did any of her male friends have dark, curly—?’

‘No,’ said Gretchen, too quickly.

Yes, thought Robin, it was definitely the dark, curly haired man who had the couple worried.

‘But you weren’t in the same friendship group,’ said Robin, ‘so you might not have known, if she was involved with someone like that?’

‘No,’ said Gretchen, clearly striving for a casual tone. ‘Maybe not.’

‘I read in the papers about Sofia’s OnlyFans account. You were concerned she was making it too easy for men to find out where she was—’

‘That wasn’t me,’ said Gretchen quickly. ‘Somebody else said that, to the papers. It wasn’t me.’

‘Vot hass det got to do vid der robbery, an OnlyFans account?’ demanded Max. ‘Dere’s nothing illegal, posting your own nudes. Det’s not a crime.’

‘No, of course it isn’t,’ said Robin, and, addressing Gretchen again, she asked,

‘Did you ever hear Sofia mention a man called William? William Wright?’

‘No, I never heard her talk about a William,’ said Gretchen.

‘Villiam, no, I never heard her talk about, eider,’ said Max.

‘What did you think of Sofia, Max?’ Robin asked. If he wanted to talk, let him talk.

‘I only knew her because of dem sharing a flat,’ he said, but he couldn’t resist adding, ‘she vos a party girl.’

‘Sag das nicht,’ muttered Gretchen.

‘Der’s nothing wrong vid being a party girl,’ Max told his girlfriend. ‘She vos det type, det’s all. She showed me her – vot is it? Requisiten,’ he said to Gretchen. ‘Der first time I came to der flat. Der vigs and dat.’

When Robin looked politely enquiring, Gretchen muttered,

‘He means, her props.’

‘Props?’ said Robin blankly, and then she realised what was meant, and said, ‘Oh, for pictures to post online?’

‘Ja,’ said Max. ‘Sex toys and vigs and so on.’

‘Right,’ said Robin. She turned to Gretchen. ‘I suppose the police asked you about all of this?’

‘Yes,’ said Gretchen.

‘And about Sofia’s love life?’

‘Yes,’ said Gretchen reluctantly. ‘She was popular.’

‘She vos always viz men,’ said Max. ‘Everybody knows det.’

‘Did she have a particular boyfriend?’

‘Not – no,’ said Gretchen. ‘I don’t think so.’

Had Gretchen been this shifty with the police, or had her halting speech been put down to shock, or faulty English?

‘Did Sofia ever tell either of you she felt threatened, or worried, by any of the men who visited her OnlyFans site?’ Robin asked.

‘She voss enjoying the attention. She vossn’t vurried,’ said Max.