‘I’ll take you back inside,’ he said.
‘Do you know where Paul Burlington might be? He was Jamie Robbins’ partner.’
‘Yes, I think I saw him outside with Melvin earlier.’
‘Melvin Stone?’
Lee nodded. ‘The old chap who lives across the lake?’
‘You know him?’
‘Kind of, he’s got dementia; he wanders around a lot.’
Great, thought Kelly,there goes another witness.
Chapter 26
Kelly watched Lee Lovett go back inside then went to the shore of the lake where two men sat chatting. The younger of the two looked very happy indeed, as if he’d just had a quickie behind the boat shed. A shadow across her path made her look up and she saw movement in an upstairs window. It was where the VIPs stayed in the swanky penthouse rooms, and she assumed the maids were cleaning up there.
She recognised Paul from a company photo and she guessed the older man sitting with him was Melvin Stone. She’d get to him in good time but after what Lee said she doubted she could use any of his testimony. She approached them and introduced herself.
‘I’ve been looking forward to meeting you,’ Melvin told her. He was alert and lucid and she’d heard that about dementia sufferers: their attacks came and went depending on severity and how long they’d had the illness.
She leant over and petted his dog.
‘This is Acorn. I brought her back with me today because everyone has fallen in love with her. But it’s so quiet now!’
Kelly smiled.
‘I have seen you on TV and in the paper. You’re the reason this area is getting cleaned up. Did you have something to do with closing down that hotel in Ambleside? They were racketeering everything out of that place, drugs, poor women, animals, you name it, they made money from it.’
‘No, that was drugs squad. They did a good job; those women were lucky to escape when they did.’
‘What will happen to them?’ Melvin asked.
‘They’ll be treated medically, then they’ll go through an interview process, then I guess they’ll be eligible to go home or seek asylum.’
Melvin shook his head. The other man got up to leave.
‘Can you stay? It’s Paul, isn’t it?’
The guy looked jumpy and his earlier bravado disappeared. Melvin laughed.
‘Don’t worry, mate, this is a good’un. Answer her questions and she’ll leave you alone, unless you have something to hide, then I’d run for it.’
Kelly watched Paul Burlington for his reaction and Melvin giggled to himself. He seemed happy with himself and came across as overfriendly.
‘Can I speak to you after?’ Kelly asked Melvin. ‘I know it’s been a very long couple of days for everyone; we’re almost done.’
‘Of course, I’ll be getting a cuppa inside.’
Melvin walked away and called Acorn, who trotted after him. Kelly sat down.
On closer inspection, Paul Burlington appeared flushed and sweaty. She didn’t want to shake his hand but she did so and introduced herself properly. He appeared to be the polar opposite of Jamie, who’d been described as suave, polished and charismatic. Paul was bulky, rough and shy.
She noticed his hands shaking as he reached down into a bag at his feet and brought out a sachet ofYouthBlast. As she looked down, she saw that he had very large feet.
‘I had a chat to Sandy Cooper about that stuff. It’s your star product, isn’t it?’
