‘Research.’
‘Into the death of Jamie Robbins and his sister?’
He smiled and she noticed dimples in his cheeks. Joe Folly was more good-looking in the flesh. He wore casual denim shorts and a T-shirt, over which he’d spread a knitted top. The dark hoodie completed the disguise. He looked like a regular tourist.
‘What was your relationship with Angelina?’
‘I can’t talk about her in the past tense,’ he said. His voice cracked and Kelly saw the love he had for her.
‘Should we talk about Jamie instead?’ Kelly looked around and lightened the tone. ‘Behind a cowshed is not really the interview I had planned for you but there we go.’
‘What do you want from me? I’m not related to your investigations into anything.’
‘But you are. You knew both victims well.’
He backed away.
‘I know Jamie shared information with you. Was he worried about his safety?’
‘Let me see that ID again.’
‘You really are worried, aren’t you? Who do you think I am?’
‘You have no idea who you’re dealing with, do you?’
It sounded like a threat to Kelly, and she didn’t like his tone. It was dark and menacing. She recalled teenagers like Joe Folly at school. They were obsessed with inverted reality and drama. She smiled.
‘Would you like to tell me?’
He peered across the road to Angelina’s house. ‘Are you in charge of Jamie’s murder investigation?’
‘Why do you think it was murder?’
‘You don’t?’ He laughed cynically.
Kelly waited.
‘He wasn’t toeing the line. They wanted to own him. He wasn’t playing along.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘He believed in his product, but they wanted to use it as a vehicle for something else.’
‘Who’s “they”?’
That smile again. ‘Hampton-Dent. They’re not a wellness company; they’re a chemical company. It’s very different. Pharmaceuticals shouldn’t go anywhere near food.’
‘I notice that’s the theme of a lot of your material.’
‘You listen to my podcast?’
‘I became interested in it because of Jamie.’
‘And what’s your theory? He jumped? He had everything to live for.’ He parodied a sycophantic voice.
‘OK, let’s rewind a little. You think Jamie was pushed because he was about to reveal some high-up corruption inside Hampton-Dent, linked to medical approval?’
Joe smiled again. Kelly felt like an amateur every time he did so.
