As he balanced on two legs of the stool, she felt her fists urging her to clench them. She’d really enjoy pushing him over the edge into the fireplace. ‘I’m sure you’ll remember this one. There was an altercation in your beer garden. It involved a group of people attending a reunion at your establishment and one of the group being punched.’
He shrugged his shoulders. ‘You know what people are like when they’ve had a drink.’ He reached back and grabbed a small glass half-filled with an amber-coloured liquid over a couple of lumps of ice and swirled it around before taking a sip.
‘Okay. Maybe a photo will jog your memory. This woman here,’ she pulled out the photo of Susan Wheeler and placed it on the table, ‘she was with friends. Do you recognise her?’
He smiled. ‘Just about. I thought it was her when I saw her on the news this week. I’ve seen her around and about but I couldn’t have even told you her name before this week. I remember some man coming here and punching another man, that’s why I remember her. These things can happen a lot when people have a drink.’
‘Do you remember anything about the incident, anything said, who was involved?’ Gina knew it was Ryan who had hit Dale but she needed to know if any more was said.
‘It was just some jealous husband, coming here and dragging his cheating wife away. I didn’t think much of her choice in men. She could have had me instead. I’m a far better catch.’ He grinned. ‘A man has to try. They can only say no, can’t they, Inspector?’
He hadn’t changed at all. Samuel Avery was the same as he’d always been.
‘I’m just glad he didn’t come and whack me one. He looked a bit of a meathead.’ He shrugged and took a sip of his drink.
Gina felt her stomach turn a little as she inhaled his whisky breath. She shouldn’t have drunk all those beers last night. ‘Do you remember anything being said?’
‘Nah.’
‘Did you see who else was with Susan Wheeler? There was a man, you say.’
He scratched his stubbly chin. ‘There was the man and a woman. Others turned up but the three of them kept to their little group and left swiftly after the incident.’
‘Can you describe the man and the woman?’
‘The man was average height, quite a large man, rotund. I only remember because I kept thinking if he was a contender for her affections then there was definitely hope for me, at least I stay in shape.’
The fire’s heat was beginning to warm the one side of Gina’s face. She leaned back slightly. ‘The woman?’
‘I don’t remember. I didn’t really take much notice, it was busy.’
Gina pulled the photo of the three teenagers out and offered it to the landlord. ‘As you can see, Susan is in the photo. Do you recognise the boy or the girl?’
‘He might be the man who was with Susan, back in June. He has more hair in this photo and he looks like a kid.’ He stared at the photo, the skin around his eyes creasing as he took the detail in. ‘Oh flipping hell. I knew I’d seen her before. Little firecracker.’
‘Who is it, Mr Avery?’ Jacob said as he leaned in a little closer.
Gina felt her heart rate pick up. They needed a break and maybe, just maybe, the landlord she hated the most could be the one to offer them some useful information.
‘She was the one and she’s barely changed since that old photo. She covered me in lemonade last night. Her eyes and hair. It’s long and black, you can’t miss her. I think she may have been here back in June but I can’t swear to that. I knew I recognised her. The boy in the photo, is he the one who turned up by the river?’
‘I’m afraid so.’ Gina listened as Jacob scribbled away in his notebook. ‘Do you know her name?’
‘I found her on Facebook, look.’ He held his phone up and showed Gina the page. Stephanie Baxter, her profile was private but the photo matched that of the teenage version of herself. They now had a definite name.
‘How did she seem?’
He glanced up. The young man who’d been emptying the guttering outside hurried in, shaking the rain from his coat, splashing them all with cold water as he passed. Avery continued, ‘She was just sitting there by the window looking a bit lost so I thought I’d join her. She was quite a frosty bird, then she just barged past me, covering me in her drink. She seemed a bit edgy. That’s all I know. I sent her a Facebook friend request but as you see, she hasn’t accepted. Maybe I’m not her type of friend. You can’t win ’em all but if you don’t ask you don’t get.’
‘Did you see where she went?’
He let out a snorty laugh from his nose. ‘Left out of the car park. Seemed to be on a mission too, glancing back like she was paranoid. She was probably on something.’
Gina visualised the route she could have taken. The phone box used to call the police was certainly in that direction. ‘Did anyone leave soon after her?’
He shook his head. ‘Not that I can remember.’
‘Did you stay here?’
