‘What? What’re you talking about?’
‘Angelica Whitaker.’
‘Who are you?’
Rachel reached into her bra and produced her warrant card.
The man inspected it, then looked at Tomek in disbelief.
‘This isn’t just a costume, mate,’ Tomek said, waving vigorously.
Then The Donkey Man became suddenly aware that he was naked and covered himself with his hands. Though it was already too late. The damage had been done, the image – along with many others – was etched into Tomek’s mind. ‘What’s this about? Can I… can I put some clothes on?’
‘No need,’ Rachel said. ‘I’m not interested in any of that, nor is he. What’s your name?’
Still protecting his dignity with his hands, the man perched himself on the edge of the bed. ‘Florian. Florian Meunier. I…’
‘What can you tell us about Angelica Whitaker, Florian?’
The man reached for the nearest pillow and placed it on his lap. ‘I don’t know who that is.’
‘Yes, you do, but you probably know her more by her outfit than her name. A woman who used to come here always dressed as an angel. Ring any bells?’
A look of recognition flashed across Florian’s face. ‘Yes, but I… I did not know her name was Angelica.’
‘Well, now you do. And we’ve also come to tell you that she’s dead.’
‘Dead?’
‘Her body was found the other day. She was pregnant. We understand that you have slept with her on multiple occasions. Is that correct?’
Florian’s gaze fell to the shagpile carpet on the floor as he became lost in deep thought. ‘Yes. Yes, we slept together.’
‘Can you tell us how many times?’
‘Four. Maybe five.’
‘And you used the condoms outside? Some pierced, some not.’
‘Yes… Yes, but I never thought this would happen.’
‘Which bit? Her being killed or her getting pregnant?’ Rachel asked.
‘Killed? You never said she was killed. You don’t think… you don’t think I had something to do with it, do you?’
Tomek took that as his cue to step in. ‘That remains to be seen,’ he said. ‘So Angelica never told you that she was pregnant, or that it could have been yours?’
The man looked shell-shocked. ‘No. Nothing.’
‘Did you ever spend the night with anyone else? Did you ever see her go into a room with someone else?’
Florian shook his head. ‘Only ever me. But…’ He hesitated. ‘We also had a threesome once, but that… that was with another woman.’
Tomek’s eyes fell to the strap-on dildo at the head of the bed.
‘Have you ever spoken to Angelica outside of this environment?’ he asked.
‘No.’
‘Never messaged her online or on social media?’
Another shake of the head.
‘Would you be willing to come down to the station so we can discuss this in more detail?’
‘Of… of course.’
‘Tomorrow?’
After a few seconds of processing, Florian finally answered yes, then proceeded to give Rachel his contact details. Just before they left him to his thoughts, alone in the room, she placed a hand on his shoulder, thanked him for his time, then followed Tomek out of the room. Together they headed towards the exit. Outside, Tomek found the valet, searched through the bowl for his car keys, then waited for the man to bring it round.
The valet arrived a moment later. Tomek thanked him, then climbed into the front seat. As he shut the door behind him, he turned to Rachel and said, ‘We must never speak a word of this to anyone. Agreed?’
‘Agreed.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Tomek wanted nothing more the following morning than to knock the smug little smile from Chey’s face. The twenty-five-year-old had looked as though he’d just won the lottery. And to make things worse, Tomek and Rachel had arrived at the same time, making it appear as though they’d spent the night together and were doing a police version of the walk of shame.
