‘So where does she live?’ said Garibaldi.
‘Hoxton.’
Garibaldi sighed. Hoxton was a long way from home, a long way from the river. Unlike the hills of North London, it didn’t give him the sense he was about to have a nosebleed, but it did always give him a headache. At first it was the excesses of hipster colonisation that caused the pain, but now the discomfort came from his sense that the area was populated by people who had turned up late for a party, not realising that the cool guests had long ago left for somewhere more interesting. The place was like a tribute act – never as good as the original and coming close to parody.
‘I’ve Googled her,’ said Gardner, ‘and guess what?’
Garibaldi paused the way his sergeant did when asked to guess anything.
‘She’s got a famous dad.’
‘Bannister? Not …’
‘Yeah. Harry Bannister. Fancy that.’
Harry Bannister. Famous multimillionaire tycoon. High media profile. Star of TV shows. Quick to embrace any opportunity for self-promotion. First port of call for a right-wing, reactionary soundbite on any issue. 122
Garibaldi sighed. ‘Probably best not to mention it.’
‘OK.’
‘And let’s hope she’s dodged the gene.’
Gardner pulled up in Hoxton Square and they walked through several blocks to Harrow Cloisters.
Sam Bannister’s flat was large and light, its long window looking out onto the Cloisters’ courtyard. It had the kind of minimal style achieved only through colossal effort and huge amounts of money. Lots of bare floor, glass and exposed brick.
Garibaldi wriggled in his chair. It may have been fashionable, but it was far from comfortable. He took out his notebook and gave Gardner a let’s-get-going smile.
‘We’re here to ask some questions about Giles Gallen.’
In leather jacket, jeans and trainers, Sam Bannister had the kind of beauty that meant she didn’t have to try too hard when it came to clothes – she would look good in anything. There was something about her – an air of confidence that Garibaldi suspected had its roots in more than money.
She reached for a packet of cigarettes, took one out and offered the packet to Garibaldi and then Gardner. Both shook their heads. Garibaldi was surprised that she smoked (he knew few people who did and most of those were in the older generation) and that, even though this was her flat, she was going to do it in their presence. He thought of telling her he’d rather she abstained but decided against it.
‘Fuck, yeah, I just don’t believe it. I mean—’ She took a deep drag on her cigarette.
‘Do you mind if we open a window?’ said Garibaldi.
Sam Bannister looked at the cigarette in her hand as if she’d forgotten it was there. ‘Sure. Sorry. Do you mind? It’s just that I’m pretty stressed …’ 123
She got up and opened two windows.
‘What can I tell you?’ she said as she sat down.
‘We understand you knew Giles. You worked together for the Rivettis this summer.’
‘That’s right. We were in Italy and around the Med.’
Around the Med. She made it sound like popping round the corner to the shops.
‘As we understand it,’ said DS Gardner, ‘Giles was tutoring the boy and you were tutoring the girl.’
‘That’s pretty much it. But there was a lot of free time. It sounds glamorous and everything, the villa, the yacht, but it wasn’t always.’
Garibaldi raised his eyebrows. ‘Really? You didn’t enjoy your time cruising … around the Med?’
‘Don’t get me wrong. It was pretty luxurious. Accommodation. Food. Drink. No expense spared, but tutoring those kids wasn’t always easy.’
‘And why was that?’
‘They weren’t interested in studying anything. Who could blame them? It was their summer holidays and here they were expected to work every morning. We could tell they weren’t interested. It wouldn’t have been a problem but the Rivettis …’ She let out a big sigh. ‘Mr and Mrs Rivetti would let you get on with it. They’d almost ignore you and get on with their socialising and partying and having fun and you’d get the sense that they were really relaxed about it all and then suddenly they’d sort of panic and get really stressed about how the kids were doing, about whether Paolo would get into his school and how Anna was shaping up. And Mrs Rivetti, she had a real temper. She’d be OK one moment and then explode.’
‘Explode at who?’
‘Anyone in range. The kids mostly, but not always.’ 124
‘And when you say explode, what exactly do you mean?’
‘I don’t mean it literally, like, pow! I mean it as a metaphor.’
‘I didn’t for one moment think you could have meant anything else,’ said Garibaldi. ‘When we spoke to Mrs Rivetti earlier she seemed very much intact.’
‘OK.’ Sam Bannister looked taken aback, as if regretting her reference to metaphor. ‘She shouted a lot and there were a few times when she threw things. To be honest Giles and me were sometimes a bit frightened of her. I sometimes thought Mr Rivetti was as well.’
‘Did she ever get physically violent?’
Sam Bannister’s hesitation was brief, but Garibaldi noticed it.
‘No.’ Her voice was firm, perhaps too firm. ‘Or if she did, we never saw it.’
‘So she never, for example, smacked the kids?’
‘Look, all I said was that she had a temper. I wasn’t saying anything else.’
‘I’m well aware of that, Sam, but we’re investigating the murder of her tutor and we have to pursue all possible lines of enquiry.’
‘Are you suggesting she—?’
‘I’m suggesting nothing.’
‘This is ridiculous. Just because you’ve got a temper doesn’t mean—’
Garibaldi held up his hand. ‘Let’s get back to Giles, shall we? You must have spent a lot of time with him?’
‘A fair bit, yeah.’
‘So you got to know each other pretty well.’
Sam Bannister looked taken aback. ‘Look, nothing happened between us, OK? No relationship, no holiday fling. OK, so there was one night …’ 125
She trailed off. Garibaldi sensed she was weighing up whether or not to finish the sentence.
‘One night?’ he prompted.
Sam Bannister shook her head. ‘No, it was nothing. We had a thing one night after too much wine.’
‘A thing?’
‘It was nothing. We didn’t have sex.’
Garibaldi smiled at her frankness. He never could have spoken about sex like that when he was her age. He wasn’t sure he could now.
‘Some of Giles’s tutoring friends think he might have split with his girlfriend because of you.’
‘’Fraid not. It really was nothing and it was very silly. It’s what happens when you’re on holiday and you’ve had too much wine.’
‘So how long have you been working for the Rivettis?’
‘I started the same time as Giles. About this time last year. We both went away with the Rivettis at Easter. That’s when I got to know him.’
‘And how often do you see Anna?’
‘I used to see her once a week after school.’
‘Used to?’
Sam Bannister’s face tightened. ‘Yeah. I don’t tutor her anymore. I’ve stopped.’
‘Really? Mrs Rivetti didn’t mention it.’
‘Yeah, I gave my notice in last week. I’ve stopped tutoring altogether.’
‘So you no longer work for the Rivettis or for Forum?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Why have you stopped?’
Sam Bannister looked at Gardner and then turned back to Garibaldi. She again seemed to be deciding whether or not to say more. 126
‘I got a job. A proper job.’
‘Where’s that?’ said Garibaldi.
A slight pause. ‘It’s digital publishing.’
‘Digital publishing?’ There was something about the very word ‘digital’ that made Garibaldi uneasy. ‘But you’re not at work today?’
‘Not in the office, no.’
‘What is it? A digital day off?’
‘I’m working from home.’
‘I see. And this digital publishing firm, what are they called?’
‘It’s a very small outfit. Compass Publishing. As I said, very small, but I’m lucky to get a foot in.’
‘Absolutely,’ said Garibaldi. ‘Must be good to be able to stop tutoring.’
‘Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t dislike it. It’s just that I know it’s not what I want to do long-term. Like most tutors, I suppose.’
‘Tell me, Sam,’ said Garibaldi. ‘Did you ever notice anything about Giles, his behaviour, what he said, that made you think he might be in trouble of any sort?’
‘You mean anything that might suggest someone would want to kill him?’ Sam Bannister shook her head. ‘But there is one thing—’
That look again. That sense of consideration, of whether or not to tell.
‘I’ve no idea whether it’s at all relevant but I got a text from Giles on Saturday evening.’
‘What time?’
Sam reached for her phone and scrolled through. ‘It was at 5.32 in the afternoon.’
She handed the phone to Garibaldi. He held it between himself and Gardner as they both read the screen. 127
just been to Rivettis’. They tell me you’ve resigned. What’s happened? They’ve also made me an offer. Give me a call.
‘I never got the chance to call him. I rang him next day but no answer. His phone was dead and so, it turns out, was he.’
‘Do you have any idea what they offered Giles?’
Sam shook her head. ‘I never got to talk to him, did I? Could be anything.’
‘Could be anything?’ said Garibaldi. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, it’s obviously about his tutoring. That’s why he’s there in the first place, but I don’t know what it was.’ Sam gave a thoughtful look, as if searching for a possibility. ‘It could have been to do with getting a replacement for me, I suppose. Yeah, maybe that’s what it was.’
‘Well, look, Sam, thanks for your time.’ Garibaldi wriggled in the uncomfortable chair and reached out to her. ‘Here’s my card. If you think of anything else that might be significant, please do get in touch. And we’ve got your number so if we’ve got any more questions …’
Garibaldi looked at Sam as she left. Underneath the poise he sensed that all was not well with her. He was convinced she had been lying, or if not lying then not revealing the full truth. But he’d thought the same about everyone he’d spoken to so far about Giles Gallen.
Was he right, or was he simply losing his touch?