‘There’s clearly a pattern emerging, anyway,’ Zoe said, as they headed back towards the main road.
‘That everyone thinks Parkin was an unpleasant bastard? Certainly doesn’t seem to have much of a fan club.’
‘Though it sounds as if this guy Garfield was the brains behind whatever they got up to.’
‘Brains may be a bit strong, but he seems to have been the ringleader. Shall we try him next?’
‘We may as well see the sights.’
Zoe had managed to track down an address for a Garfield living in the street Meg Parkin had mentioned, so it appeared that Garfield’s family at least were still living there. The house was just a few hundred metres away, in a narrow street of terraces running parallel to the main road.
These were houses that had presumably been built originally as miners’ cottages during the heyday of the industry in the area. It wasn’t quite back-to-back housing, but from the layout of the streets they could have only tiny backyards running between the rows. Some had clearly been divided into flats, with multiple doorbells, but the house they were seeking seemed still to be a single residence.
Annie pressed the bell, and heard an answering barrage of dog-barking from within the house. After a moment, the door opened and a male face peered out at them. The barking of the dog grew louder behind him. ‘Yes?’
‘Police.’ Annie could barely make herself heard above the barking. ‘We’re looking for a Jonny Garfield.’
‘He don’t live here.’
‘Do you know where he is living, Mr…?’
‘I’m his dad. Pete Garfield. But if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you.’
‘Why’s that, Mr Garfield?’
‘If he’s in trouble, he can look after himself. But I’m not going to make it harder for him by doing your job for you.’
‘Why do you think he might be in trouble?’
The man turned away, and for a moment Annie thought he might be about to close the door. ‘Shut it, Rex! Bloody mutt. Why do I think Jonny might be in trouble? Because the fucking police have turned up on my doorstep. Why do you think?’
‘He’s not in any trouble, Mr Garfield. At least not as far as we’re aware. But we think he might be able to help us with an enquiry.’
‘Grass, you mean.’
‘That’s not what I mean.’ Annie took a breath and decided to try a different tack. She had the sense she might make more progress with Garfield by telling him the truth, or at least part of the truth. ‘We’re trying to gather some background about the victim of a crime, who we think might have been an acquaintance of your son.’
‘Who are we talking about?’
‘Darren Parkin.’
‘Darren?’ Garfield finally opened the door fully. ‘What’s happened to him?’
‘May we come in, Mr Garfield? It’ll be easier to talk inside than on the doorstep.’
‘Okay. But wait till I shut Rex up. He won’t do you any harm, but he’ll slobber all over you.’ He gestured to the large German Shepherd sitting behind him.
He disappeared briefly and they heard him muttering as he dragged the dog back into the kitchen. He returned, rubbing his hands together. ‘Bloody dog. Don’t know why I keep him. Come in. It’s a mess, but I don’t doubt you’ve seen worse.’
Annie wasn’t sure she had, at least not in a residence where the householder was still living. The living room was cluttered with all manner of debris, scattered randomly across the floor and sofa. There were copies of magazines, most apparently devoted to motorcycles, as well as numerous books, and what seemed to be piles of cardboard packaging. At the far side of the sofa, there was a pile of empty beer cans and a stack of used takeaway containers. The pervading smell in the room was a mix of ripe Indian food, dog and human body odour. Annie wrinkled her nose and tried her hardest not to gag.
Garfield was clearly oblivious to the smell, but he’d noted the reaction of the two women. ‘I’ll open a window,’ he said. ‘Sorry. I’m a bloke living on his own. We don’t tend to register these things.’ He crossed the room, making his way between the detritus with no obvious effort, and unbolted the patio doors into the rear yard. The damp spring air swept cleansingly into the room, while Garfield busied himself throwing magazines and books off the sofa on to the floor, gesturing for the two women to take a seat.
Annie did so, conscious she was sitting on the edge of the sofa in the manner of a prim maiden aunt. Zoe took a seat beside her. Garfield threw himself into an armchair opposite. Annie guessed he was in his mid-forties. He moved slightly awkwardly, and had the physique of someone who’d once worked out but was gaining weight. ‘So what’s happened to Darren?’
‘I’m afraid he’s dead, Mr Garfield.’
‘Dead? How?’
‘We believe he was murdered.’
‘Jesus. I wasn’t expecting that.’ He was shaking his head, his eyes staring blankly into space.
‘I’m sorry.’
‘I mean, I knew Darren as a mate of Jonny’s but that’s all, really. It’s always a shock when something happens to someone that young, isn’t it? Only just out of his teens.’
She had the sense, as she had with all the afternoon’s interviews, that there was something being left unsaid. ‘Was he still in contact with your son, Mr Garfield?’
‘With Jonny?’ She could see he was hesitating now, as if unsure how much to say. ‘You’d have to ask Jonny. I think they were in contact fairly recently. Just from things Jonny said. But I don’t know how recently.’
‘Do you have contact details for Jonny?’ Zoe said. ‘It’s probably best if we speak to him directly.’
‘Hang on.’ Garfield fumbled a mobile phone out of his pocket and thumbed through the contacts. ‘He’s in Derby.’ He read out the address and number, and Zoe scribbled it down in her notebook.
‘When did you last see Darren?’ Annie said.
The question seemed to take Garfield by surprise. ‘Me? Jesus, I don’t know. I think I saw him with Jonny a while back. A few months ago, maybe.’
‘So they were in contact as recently as that?’
‘I suppose so. It might be longer ago than I think. You know how it is.’
‘Of course. What does your son do? Work-wise, I mean.’
‘Jonny? Various things. Can turn his hand to anything. He seems to get by well enough.’
‘Not easy for young people, these days,’ Annie said.
‘Tell me about it. Lost my own job a couple of years back. Company had been there for forty or fifty years, then got into difficulties and was bought up by some bunch of bloody asset strippers. They weren’t interested in the workforce. They weren’t interested in anything but making a quick buck.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘It’s not like I’m the only one, is it? There’s still plenty of poor buggers round here lost their jobs when the pits closed. Some of them went to their graves without ever working again. And nothing’s really replaced them. Zero-hours fucking contracts. Temporary jobs. All the usual crap.’
‘What are you doing now?’
‘Me? I drive a minicab. Enough to make ends meet, just about.’
Annie felt that any response she could offer would simply sound patronising. ‘Thanks for your help, anyway, Mr Garfield. We’re very grateful.’ She pushed herself to her feet. ‘We’ve taken up enough of your time.’
‘You’ll be talking to Jonny, then?’
‘We’d like to have a word with him. We’re just trying to gather more background information on Darren.’
‘I don’t imagine his grandparents were able to tell you much.’
‘You know his grandparents?’ Zoe asked.
‘Never met them. But I got the impression Darren didn’t exactly get on with them.’
‘What about Darren’s mother? Did you ever meet her?’ Annie said.
She had the impression of another hesitation. ‘His mother? She left years ago.’
‘So I understand. Did your son know Darren then?’
‘I suppose so. They were at primary school together. But they didn’t really become friends till they were teenagers at the comp. You know how it is.’
Annie nodded. ‘Well, we won’t take up any more of your time, Mr Garfield. Many thanks for your assistance.’
Outside the weather was slowly improving, the clouds scudding across a gradually clearing sky. Garfield said, ‘I can’t say I’m the greatest fan of you lot, for one reason or another, but I wish you well with this one. I hope you catch whoever’s responsible.’
‘We’ll do our best, Mr Garfield. The more help we get from people like yourself, the easier it’ll be.’
‘I hope Jonny can tell you more than I’ve been able to.’ Garfield closed the door. From inside the house, they heard the sound of Rex’s barking resume as the dog was released from the kitchen.
‘Christ,’ Zoe said, as they made their way back to the car. ‘What a dump. I’m not sure I could have stayed in there if he hadn’t opened the window.’
‘Amazing how people live, isn’t it?’
‘And another one who wasn’t telling us everything.’
‘You thought that, too, did you? There seem to be plenty of people harbouring secrets round here.’ Annie smiled. It was good to know that Zoe’s instincts were as sound as ever, whatever else might be troubling her. ‘I wonder if they’re all sharing the same secrets or if they all have secrets of their own. And whether any of them are relevant to what we want to know.’