“Or you’d have to kill me?”
“Hmm.”
“Well, I don’t want to die, thanks very much.”
“Did you tell the police about him?”
“No. Nothing to tell. I never thought twice about it until you showed me the photo just now. And they didn’t ask.”
“Is that the only time you’ve seen him?”
“Yes. Just the once. He’s not from around here. Or if he is, he’s not much of a pub-goer.”
“Was he by himself or with a woman?”
“By himself.”
“How long did they spend together?”
“Not long. Twenty minutes or so.”
“Who got here first?”
“Mr. Hawkins was already here when the other man came in and joined him.”
“Did it seem as if they’d arranged to meet?”
“Now you mention it, yes. It did. At least, when the man came in, he stood for a moment and scanned the room, like you do when you’re looking for someone. Then he went over and sat down with Mr. Hawkins.”
“How did they seem?”
“What do you mean?”
“Were they arguing or anything?”
“No. Just talking. Like normal.”
“Did they leave together?”
“No. The other bloke left first.”
“How did Mr. Hawkins seem then? Was he agitated or anything?”
“No. Just normal. He went back to working on his crossword.” A group of four people came in, chatting and laughing. “Oops. Got to go,” the barman said. “Customers to serve. It’s been nice talking to you, Miss . . . ?”
“Cathy,” said Zelda. “You can call me Cathy.”
“Cathy, then. Maybe you’ll come back and see us again?”
Zelda smiled. “Maybe I will.”
When he left she picked at her sole and salad. The fish was cold, but she didn’t mind. It had been worth it. She took out her notebook and tried to jot down what she had learned:
- The police are investigating Hawkins’s death further, which could mean that they don’t believe it was an accident.
- Hawkins met with Keane openly in his local two weeks before his death. Perhaps this indicated they felt they had nothing to hide in being seen together? Whatever it meant, they had needed to meet face-to-face for some reason.
- Keane drugged Alan Banks and set his house on fire. Hawkins died in a house fire. Is there a connection?
- Keane is most likely still living in London somewhere.
But how to find him? That was what Zelda didn’t know. She didn’t even know whether he was using his real name. Didn’t even know whether Keane was his real name. Perhaps it would be easier to find Petar Tadić first, rather than using Keane to get to him. And after all, it was Tadić she wanted. And his brother. Keane for her was only a means to an end, perhaps one she didn’t need.
With Hawkins dead and the department’s work suspended, though, the resources of her job were out of reach. On the other hand, she had a freer hand now she didn’t have to worry about Hawkins finding out she was asking questions. She wouldn’t have been able to come here today, for example, and discover that he had met with Keane again, if she had had to worry about him somehow finding out about it. True, Danvers and Deborah were nosing around, but Zelda didn’t think they reported to the enemy. It was one thing to be questioned by the NCA and quite another to be chopped up into little pieces and fed to the fish.