Zak was fond of his father, and grateful for his generosity, but Piers liked to talk, and he only had one subject: himself. Darius asked about Zak and seemed genuinely interested in hearing all about his nephew.
‘I think what I’d really like to do, eventually, is direct,’ he heard himself say, emboldened by his uncle’s attention, and the wine that his uncle kept pouring.
‘Then I’m sure that’s what you’ll do,’ Darius said easily. ‘You’re clearly a very gifted young man. I can see that, and I’ve only just met you.’
Zak grinned. He was rather drunk, and his uncle’s faith in him made him feel light headed. He wondered what he might achieve, if only his father would show the same confidence in his talent, but his father was always wrapped up in his own affairs. Zak felt an instant rapport with his uncle. After they parted, he found himself wondering if his mother had been anything like her brother.
The next time they met, Darius took him to a Turkish restaurant near Oxford Circus. They sat in a dimly lit corner of the large room and ate mezze and mixed grilled meats with salad. Zak drank far too much. He felt as though he had known his uncle all his life. He didn’t mean to complain about his father, but Darius was so easy to talk to, he couldn’t stop himself.
‘It’s not that he doesn’t support me,’ he qualified his grousing. ‘I mean, he pays for me to be here, the rent and the fees and all that, so obviously he supports me. And he pays me a monthly allowance on top of all that.’
Darius nodded his approval. ‘And so he should. You’ve got to eat.’
‘But he makes me feel –’
He struggled to find the right word. Darius waited patiently.
‘He makes me feel inferior.’
‘Inferior?’
‘Do you know what he said to me once? He said that when he was my age he was working on professional shows, and he learned his trade in the real world. It wasn’t an accusation, or anything like that, but –’
‘How insensitive.’
‘He’s not mean, or anything. It’s just that he only ever thinks about himself.’
They ate in silence for a moment.
‘Didn’t you know my father? I mean, when they were married, when my mother was alive.’
‘I met him, yes. He works in theatre, doesn’t he?’
‘Yes, and sometimes TV. He’s a casting director.’
‘Is he? I remembered he was involved in the industry somehow.’
‘He’s Piers Trevelyan.’
‘Yes, I know his name. I just couldn’t remember what he did.’
Zak was surprised. He thought everyone had heard of his father.
‘He’s very well known.’
‘Oh, is he?’
Darius was offhand, clearly more interested in Zak than his father. Zak drained his glass of wine, feeling more and more relaxed and somehow optimistic. Darius was right. His father was insensitive. He wasn’t that famous either, he just told everyone he was, and Zak had believed him.
Zak talked happily about his own work, his successes and disappointments, and his vision for the production he was currently designing, which was far and away his most ambitious project to date. He became very animated talking about it, and his uncle seemed to share his enthusiasm.
‘That sounds brilliant. Someone’s going to snap you up, once you graduate. With your talent and training you’ll be in demand before long, I’m sure.’
As his uncle was paying the bill, Zak asked outright why Darius had waited so long before contacting him. A pained expression crossed his uncle’s face.
‘I should have been in touch sooner. I thought about you often, but I wasn’t sure where you were living. You know how it is. Then I read in the paper about Piers’ award – what was it?’
‘The lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the British film industry? That one?’
‘Yes, that’s it. That reminded me of you, and then I read about that poor girl who died.’
‘Anna Porter.’
‘Yes. When I read about that in the papers, and saw your father’s name again, I thought I really must get in touch and see that you were all right. I thought I owed it to Ella.’
‘What was she like?’
‘Oh, Ella was wonderful. An angel. A dark-haired angel. I don’t suppose your father ever recovered from her loss. He never remarried, I suppose?’
‘Well, yes, he did, actually. He’s been married three times in all, and had more girlfriends than you could possibly imagine.’ Zak gave an apologetic shrug. ‘I guess he just loves women.’
‘Or hates them,’ his uncle added softly.
Chapter 18
GERALDINE CHECKED THE NAME of Dirk’s girlfriend in her notebook before wandering over to a wall of the bar where a series of black and white head shots were displayed. She browsed through them. All of the photographs were of young adults, most of them exceptionally good looking. The majority were smiling but a few wore expressions that were probably intended to look intriguing. There was only one student called Megan. Looking at heavily made-up eyes staring out of a round face, at first Geraldine didn’t recognise the girl who had recalled Dirk to his rehearsal. Full cheeks and a snub nose gave her a childlike appearance, an impression highlighted by the anxious expression in her dark eyes. It was a pleasant face, nowhere near as pretty as most of the other girls, and lacking their confidence in front of the camera. Dirk Goodbody was on the wall too, grinning seductively. His expression was intimate and a trifle guilty, as though he had been caught out flirting with the photographer.
Geraldine returned to the foyer and asked the girl on reception about Dirk’s girl friend, Megan Barron.
‘Megan? You just missed her. She was here a minute ago but she’s gone back to rehearsal. Can’t it wait? Only they’ve already been disrupted once, and Wendel’s in a real temper. Believe me, you wouldn’t want to be around him when he’s in a bad mood. He’s a tyrant at the best of times, but a brilliant director. The students sweat blood in his productions. He gets the best out of them –’
‘Can you tell me where Megan lives?’
The receptionist stiffened. Her tone became frosty.
‘I’m not allowed to give out that kind of information.’
‘That’s OK, I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that.’
The girl smiled warily.
‘It’s not important, and you’ve been really helpful,’ Geraldine added untruthfully.
The girl relaxed a little.
‘If there’s anything else you need to know –’
‘No, that’s fine.’ Geraldine glanced around. ‘It’s a lovely place here. You wouldn’t think it was so smart from the outside.’
They fell into chatting about the expensively kitted out site and the girl recommended that Geraldine take a walk around to the back of the building and see the entrance to the theatre.
‘It’s beautiful,’ she said. ‘All glass and white paintwork. Most other drama schools are run on a shoe string, and it shows. But some of our alumni are huge in the business.’
She reeled off a list of names, from serious Shakespearian actors to popular stars of film and television.
After a few minutes’ chatting, Geraldine turned to leave.
‘There is just one other thing,’ she said, returning to the desk.
The girl grinned. ‘I knew it, you’re doing a Columbo on me.’
‘A Columbo?’
‘Yes. You know, that detective on the telly. My gran used to love him. First he lulled people into a sense of false security and then, when their guard was down, he’d slip in the real question, the one he’d been planning to ask all along.’
Geraldine laughed. ‘I’m not that calculating,’ she lied.
‘Go on, then, try me.’
‘I was only going to ask if it’s true that Megan is living with Dirk Goodbody.’
‘Oh yes.’
Clearly the girl wasn’t averse to a little gossip. Geraldine leaned forward and listened
intently, using all her skill at drawing information out of people without them realising. To begin with she didn’t learn anything that she hadn’t already known, but it was always useful to have her suspicions confirmed.
Dirk had moved into Megan’s flat at the beginning of the year, when Megan’s flatmate had gone to live with her boyfriend.
‘The students tend to move around. Sometimes couples fall out or get together, and that can cause a bit of tension, but by and large everyone gets on and it all works out fine. It’s important for them not to get too stressed about their personal lives, because it’s a very demanding course.’
Geraldine grunted.
‘No one realised straight away that Dirk and Megan were actually living together, not just flat sharing,’ the girl added, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ‘She’s besotted with him – can you blame her? But the relationship surprised us all.’
‘Because – ?’
‘No one thought she was his type. But –’ she hesitated, ‘what I’m going to tell you now is absolutely in confidence.’
Geraldine leaned further forward and nodded. What she heard came as no surprise. According to the receptionist, Dirk had continued seeing Anna, right up until her death.
‘In a relationship with her, you mean? Not just friends?’
‘Not just friends.’
‘But what about Megan, and Piers Trevelyan?’
‘What about them? Anna was living with Piers, but –’ She shrugged. ‘None of the students will tell you this to your face, but some of us thought Anna was playing a dangerous game. I mean, an actress messing a casting director around, and someone as powerful as Piers. She was asking for trouble.’
‘Did Megan or Piers find out?’
The girl shrugged.
‘Who knows? In any case, it’s all water under the bridge now.’
The situation might have given Piers a motive for wanting to kill Anna, if the gossip was true. It might have driven Dirk to kill Anna, if she had decided to stop seeing him. As she walked away, Geraldine wondered whether Dirk had really been in a funk about his rehearsal, or if he had wanted to speak to Megan before Geraldine had a chance to question her about Friday night. He would probably have no trouble persuading Megan to lie to protect him. No doubt she was convinced of his innocence. Maybe she didn’t even care. Infatuated women were hard to crack. But in covering for Dirk, she would also be providing herself with an alibi for Friday night. She was crazy about Dirk. He was still seeing Anna. Megan also had a powerful motive for wanting to be rid of Anna.
‘That’s two more possibilities, Dirk and Megan,’ she told Reg.
‘You’re forgetting one thing,’ Reg pointed out. ‘It was Piers’ van that killed her. If he found out Dirk was still seeing Anna, there’s motive, opportunity and means handed to us on a plate. Why are we looking any further?’
Chapter 19
MEGAN SCURRIED BACK UPSTAIRS without waiting for Dirk. He had told her to let the director know he was on his way, and she hurried to comply. It wasn’t her fault Dirk hadn’t returned straight away, but Wendel still growled at her until Dirk appeared.
‘Have you forgotten what you’re doing here?’ the director bellowed as soon as Dirk stepped into the room. ‘If you were out there in a real production in the real world,’ he gestured towards the window, ‘you’d be relegated to understudy by now. What the hell are you playing at? This is a rehearsal, not a fucking drop in session!’
‘Sorry, Wendel, I had to talk to that detective.’
‘I don’t care if she was the Queen herself, this is a rehearsal. If you’re not committed, then you can bugger off.’
The grey-haired director switched off his anger abruptly and the rehearsal resumed. Although they all knew his rage was only an act, there was a subdued sigh of relief around the room when he stopped yelling.
‘You coming for a drink, Dirk?’ another member of the cast asked when the rehearsal finally ended.
They were all relieved to have the evening off as Wendel was busy elsewhere.
‘How about some chips?’ someone suggested.
There was a general buzz of agreement in the group. Megan was hungry, but she had something more pressing on her mind. She grabbed Dirk’s arm before he could answer.
‘We might see you later,’ she said, answering for him as well. ‘Dirk and I are going over lines this evening.’
It was a convincing enough reason to forego socialising. Playing the lead, Dirk hadn’t mastered his lines yet and they were opening in a couple of weeks.
Dirk began to laugh off her interruption.
‘Later –’
She glared at him. Still clutching onto his arm, she dragged him towards the door.
‘Come on, we can get something to eat on the way.’
‘All right, I’m coming. Although I can’t see what’s so urgent.’
‘You need to go through your lines.’
She was determined to get him home before tackling the subject of his wandering eye. All the way back on the train she hid her feelings but as soon as they were back in their flat she turned on him.
‘Well?’ she demanded, scowling, her hands on her hips.
‘Well what?’
‘What’s going on?’
She stood with her arms folded, angry. For a second, Dirk was baffled. Realising what she was talking about, he wasn’t sure whether to be angry or amused.
‘Oh for fuck’s sake, what is wrong with you? The woman was a police officer, Meg. She’s investigating Anna’s murder.’
Megan looked sceptical.
‘What? Don’t you believe me?’
‘Of course I believe you,’ she snapped, ‘but why did she want to talk to you?’
‘Look, you can go to the police station and ask her all about it, if you’re so interested. I’ve had enough for one day. Are you going to fix something to eat or shall I go out? I’m starving.’
Megan wasn’t sure if she was being unreasonable, but she couldn’t back down now.
‘So what did she want with you, then?’
Impatiently, Dirk explained that the detective was investigating the car crash where Anna had been killed.
‘What do you mean, they’re investigating it? I thought it was an accident. And what’s it got to do with you?’
She glared at him suspiciously, while Dirk told her that the police wanted to trace the driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash.
‘If you don’t believe me, go to the police station and ask them yourself. For Christ’s sake, Megan, what the hell’s the matter with you? Do you really think I was having it off with Anna right under Piers’ nose? I’m sick of your crazy suspicions. If I wanted to be with someone else, why the hell would I be here now?’
Megan wondered fleetingly if she was being insensitive. One of his ex-girlfriends had just been killed in a car crash. Instead of comforting him, she was pestering him with questions.
‘I’m the one who should be upset,’ he went on, with growing anger, ‘not you. I’ve just lost a good friend, a friend who was going to help me get started. It could have been my lucky break. Chances like that don’t come along every day. Without Anna to influence Piers, I’m back to square one, scrabbling around with everyone else, trying to get noticed. But you clearly don’t give a stuff about my prospects. All you care about is yourself. It says a lot for our relationship. Maybe it’s time we called it a day and moved on.’
Megan stared at him, aghast. Ending their relationship was the last thing she wanted. She burst into tears and he stopped his tirade against her.
‘Don’t cry,’ he said quietly. ‘Let’s not argue. You must know how I feel about you.’
She wished she could trust him, but it was hard to believe he was really interested in her. Although she wasn’t bad looking, of all the girls in her year at college she was easily the least attractive, constantly struggling with her weight, while Dirk was one of the best looking guys she had ever met. Like most of
the girls in her year, she had developed a crush on him right from the first week of classes. No one had been surprised when he and Anna had started seeing one another. They had made a really good-looking couple.
After he and Anna split he had been out with a few of the other girls before moving in with Megan when her flat share had fallen through. They weren’t officially a couple yet, but they were kind of together and she was biding her time. Once they graduated, she was determined to stay with him, whatever it took.
‘I’m sorry,’ she hiccupped. ‘I’ve been a complete bitch. It’s just that you always seemed to be so close to Anna. I know it’s stupid to be jealous, but now –’
‘Look, she’s dead, so you can stop worrying. It was over between us a long time ago.’
Dirk bent down and kissed her, and she felt her legs go weak. After they made up, she was chuffed when he suggested they go out for a pizza and a bottle of wine that evening, just the two of them.
‘What about your lines? Are you sure you don’t want to run through them again?’
He still hadn’t learned the whole part.
‘They’ll keep. Tonight I want to take my girl out.’
‘I’ll just change my top.’
‘There’s no need, you look great.’
Gazing into his beautiful blue eyes, she felt her face go red at the compliment.
Later, when they were lying in bed, chatting quietly, he raised himself up on one elbow and reached across to stroke her hair gently with his other hand. The tenderness of his gesture made her want to cry. She was disappointed when he began talking about Anna’s accident.
‘You know I told you the police are looking for the other driver?’
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