‘Well, the other week, she was all over a customer, telling him how fantastic his taste in jewellery was, and how it looked so amazing on him. It seemed like a great PR job to me, but Oliver didn’t see it that way. He called her into the back office and told her to stay there while he dealt with the customer. She wasn’t very happy about it.’
‘This friendliness,’ says Cody, ‘is that all it was? I mean, did you ever get the impression that she was flirting with other men?’
Leah giggles in a way that seems exaggerated to Webley. ‘Oh, no. I wouldn’t put it like that. She’s just very warm and open. A people person – do you know what I mean? A bit like yourself, Detective.’
Ha, Webley thinks. Cody? A people person? Do me a favour.
‘So you never thought there might be any tension in their marriage?’
‘Not that I’ve seen. Like I say, Oliver doesn’t seem to like it when she gets a bit too friendly with blokes. Then again, he doesn’t exactly practise what he preaches. I mean, it never stopped him employing good-looking female staff.’
With that, Leah slides her bottom onto the edge of the desk and then crosses her legs, causing her skirt to ride up. Webley finally gives into temptation and allows her eyes to roll back into her head.
She says, ‘Has Oliver ever complained to you about Alexa?’
‘Oh no. Oliver never talks about his personal life. He’s always very professional when he’s on the premises.’
‘What about when he’s not on the premises? Where would he go if he’s not at home?’
‘Gosh, I don’t know. He might go to a bar or a restaurant of an evening, but I’ve never known him to be away from the shop for this long during the day.’
Cody gestures towards the men in the workshop. ‘Would either of them know where we might find Mr Selby?’
Leah pulls a face and lowers her voice again. ‘Doubt it. He doesn’t tell them anything. He just wants them to do their job and go home again. I don’t think they like him very much.’
‘All right. We’ll have a chat with them before we go. Thank you, Leah.’ Cody hands her one of his cards. ‘If you hear from Mr Selby, could you give me a ring on this number?’
Leah studies the card, then glances briefly at Webley. It’s a glance that tells Webley she would prefer this next bit to be private.
‘This is your direct number?’
‘Yes. My mobile is on there too.’
‘Lovely. I’ll make sure I don’t lose this. Never know when I might need a policeman to help me out.’
Something she spies on the card – perhaps a reminder that Cody had told her he was from the Major Incident Team – suddenly causes her to adopt a much more business-like tone.
‘I’m sorry,’ she says, ‘but is this something really serious?’
‘Yes, it is,’ Webley says firmly, glad that the receptionist seems finally to have grown up. ‘Alexa Selby was found dead this morning.’
Shock widens Leah’s eyes and her mouth. ‘Dead? Alexa? Oh, no… And you think that Oliver—’
‘We don’t think anything yet. We just need to find him.’
5
Tainted Love
– Soft Cell
The leisure centre is a two-storey concrete-and-glass affair. Huge windows overlook the swimming pool, which is currently dotted with women in bright skull caps weaving up and down the lanes. Further expansive windows up on the first floor afford a view of a tai chi class, its participants flowing gently through their form in perfect synchrony. Well, all except one woman, whose moves remind Cody of the dance performed by Hugh Grant in Love Actually.
As the building’s automatic doors swish open and Cody and Webley enter, they pass two men walking jauntily in the opposite direction, each an ideal advertisement for healthy living.
‘You ever thought of joining a gym?’ Webley asks.
Cody flashes her an indignant look. ‘What makes you think I’m not already a member of one?’
‘Are you?’
‘Well, no. But then I’ve obviously already honed my body to peak physical perfection.’
‘Obviously.’
Webley looks around at the various posters displayed on the walls of the lobby, inviting her to embark on a journey to a fitter, happier life.
She says, ‘I quite fancy taking up karate or kung fu. Or maybe kick-boxing.’
‘Is this to fight off all the fellas coming after you?’
‘Chance’d be a fine thing.’
They reach the counter. On the other side of a glass partition, a middle-aged woman with hair crying out for conditioner raises her head and peers at them over the top of her spectacles.
‘Good afternoon. Can I help you?’
Cody opens up his wallet and presses it against the partition. ‘Police. Is there a manager or someone we can talk to?’
