‘Yeah, really dreadful business, that. We were all pretty shocked about it. None of us could believe it, myself especially.’
‘Why was that?’ I looked around his office at the ergonomic furniture, the gumball machine on his desk and the large, framed iconic movie stills on the walls – all very 90s retro hip, a bit like Jeremy himself. I found myself wondering if his friends might call him ‘Jez’.
‘Well, I was the one who gave her the job.’
‘And whydidyou give Erin the job, do you remember?’
He ran a hand foppishly through his thick hair.
‘I liked her, is the truth,’ he shrugged. ‘I liked Erin. She was sweet and friendly, had a nice warmth about her, even. She wasn’t here for long – a couple of months at best – but she was popular with the staff and clients and she was good at her job.’ He paused, seemed to drift off momentarily, somewhere in his thoughts. ‘You’d just never have believed it in a million light years, looking at her, that she’d be capable of anything like that. None of us saw any signs, no red flags –nothing. We told the police the same thing back then as well.’
‘So the policedidinterview you back in 2019?’ I’d been through all of the statements and I hadn’t seen any from Austin Marz in among them.
‘Not me personally, but I think they spoke with HR and maybe to some of the girls who worked on the front desk at the time.’
My eyes were drawn to the platter of pastries on his trendy, kidney-shaped desk, leftovers from that morning’s breakfast meeting, I imagined. It would be a travesty if they went to waste. ‘It was seven years ago now though,’ he said. ‘And I have trouble remembering what I ate for breakfast most days.’
‘If you’re lucky enough to have had breakfast at all,’ I quipped with a smile, glancing down at the pastries again, but the hint was lost on him. ‘Did you interview anyone by the name of Samantha Valentine for the same receptionist position, on the same day you interviewed Erin?’
‘Ah, well, we’re back to the whole breakfast thing again,’ he apologised. ‘I mean, we’re talking about a long time ago now, and I’ve probably interviewed a hundred plus people over those years…’
‘Do you ever remember a blonde woman with green eyes, a striking-looking woman, wearing strong perfume perhaps?’ It was a bit of a long shot, I realised, but smell is a powerful sense that can often trigger memories. Erin’s recollection ofSamantha’s signature perfume – Baccarat Rouge – was vivid. She’d referred to it as ‘exotic and intoxicating’. And that she was wearing it on the day they had met.
Perfume. When I thought of it, the redhead at the press conference was wearing a strong, exotic scent. It had lingered in my memory – perhaps I could even still smell it. Was it significant somehow?
The corners of Jeremy’s mouth turned outwards.
‘Can’t say I do, sorry. Best thing I can do is call HR, see if they may have kept any previous applicants’ résumés on file – and Zoe, Zoe Brookes, our head receptionist, has worked here for over ten years. She remembers Erin, maybe you should speak to her.’
There was nothing doing when we went upstairs to speak to the HR department though. They had neither Erin’s nor any résumé belonging to anyone named Samantha Valentine on file, and Erin’s employee records threw up nothing new of value. It was a dead end. I could only hope the head receptionist, Zoe, might have something for us.
‘Oh yes,’ she said with sage conviction as we stopped to speak to her on our way out. ‘I remember Erin well. Honestly, it was such a shock when it all came to light, because Erin was just so… I dunno, ordinary, maybe even a bit unremarkable, I suppose.’ She tucked a piece of her purple-highlighted hair behind a multiple-pierced ear. ‘Still, you never know what people are really like behind closed doors, do you?’ She looked at me, conspiratorially. ‘People wear masks. And hers was a pretty good one. Erin was the last person you’d think would stab someone to death in a psychotic rage. I’m pretty sure it said in the press that she was mentally ill. She kept it well hidden though, I have to say. Gave us all the willies for some time after, it did. We had no idea we were working so closely with a psychopath at the time. I mean, she could’ve targeted one of us!’
‘Was Erin good at her job, Zoe?’
She exhaled loudly. ‘To be fair, yeah, she was, and she was reliable, for the most part. I do remember I had to pull her up once or twice on occasion though, for leaving early without permission.’ This all fits with everything Erin has told me.
‘You mean she just upped and left work without explanation?’ Davis had her notebook out.
‘Yeah, well, sort of… I know that on one occasion she told me that there was an emergency with a friend or something, and she had to go to her immediately – and then she just shot off.’
I glanced at Davis and our eyes met.
‘Do you know when this was, Zoe? Did she ever tell you who this friend was that she had to “shoot off” and see?’
‘Ooh, well, now you’re asking. I can’t remember exact dates – it was years ago – but Erin worked here from the June or July of 2019 until the September, so it would’ve been during those months. And no, she never mentioned the friend’s name to me. But I do remember that it had sounded urgent and that she genuinely seemed worried. The next day she turned up on time and never mentioned it again.’ She began to blink rapidly at me, her purple eyeshadow – to match the hair, I assume – shimmering. ‘Can I ask why you’re asking about Erin now, all these years on?’
‘Back in 2019, following the incident, did police speak to you? Did you give a statement regarding Erin, about her employment here, anything you might’ve seen or witnessed?’
She shook her head. ‘I wasn’t here in the office the day they came to speak to everyone – it was a rare day off for me. I know they interviewed a couple of the other receptionists who worked here back then though, and they spoke to HR, but I didn’t get to talk to them in person and they never contacted me directly, or asked me to contact them. I didn’t think I had much to tell them anyway, other than how shocked and freaked out I was by itall.’ Suddenly, she appeared nervous. ‘Erin is still in prison, isn’t she?’
‘Erin Santos was released from Larksmere Psychiatric Hospital around seven weeks ago. We’re conducting a murder inquiry and we’d like to speak with her.’
‘Oh my God!’ Her hand shot up to her mouth. ‘She’s not on the run, is she? She’s not going to come here?’
‘No, no,’ Davis reassured her. ‘It’s really nothing to worry about, Zoe, we just need to speak to her.’
‘Thank God,’ she clutched her chest, exhaled.
