‘You can dispense with the niceties, Miss Miller,’ said the woman. ‘You are only here because Mr Denver’s wife specifically requested that I co-operate with you.’
‘I am only trying to find out the truth about Julian, Ms Carr,’ said Rachel as pleasantly as she could.
‘I imagine that’s what you said to yourself the last time too. You’ve got a nerve, you know that? Do you know how much damage you did to that family?’
Rachel nodded slowly. ‘It’s why I’m here. To try and make amends.’
The secretary’s expression clearly communicated that she was sceptical about whether that was possible.
‘Can we go into Julian’s office?’ asked Rachel. She wanted to see his personal space.
‘Very well,’ replied Anne-Marie disapprovingly.
She led Rachel to a corner office that was as big as her entire flat in Ko Tao. It had floor-to-ceiling windows through which the City glittered with dots of light and shadow.
‘I’ve started packing,’ she said more softly. Rachel noticed the pile of boxes along one side of the room. The contents of the desk remained untouched. She could see a photo of Diana in a silver frame; one of Julian, Diana and Charlie in another. There was a copy of the Economist, a stack of Post-it notes, and a bottle of water by the phone. A desk waiting for its owner to return.
Anne-Marie blinked hard, as if shutting out emotion.
‘So,’ she asked more briskly, ‘what do you want to know?’
‘You sat outside his office twelve hours of every day. How did he seem in the weeks leading up to his death?’
‘You mean did he seem suicidal?’
Rachel nodded.
‘If he had done, I would have alerted somebody to that, of course. But he didn’t seem any different. A little stressed and short-tempered sometimes, but that goes with the territory with this job. Sadly I was not privy to his inner thoughts. Who knows what made him do such a thing.’
‘So he didn’t seem down or upset by anything?’
‘The day of the . . . incident, he came into the office as normal. There was nothing particularly out of the ordinary. He was a little distracted, perhaps. Then again, he had his wife on the phone a lot about the party. Julian never really enjoyed socialising in the way that his siblings do.’
‘So he wasn’t looking forward to the party?’
‘I never said that.’
Rachel tried a different approach.
‘Julian and his team were doing a great job at Denver, weren’t they?’
Anne-Marie couldn’t hide a small smile at that.
‘Julian was always too modest to blow his own trumpet, but he was doing a good job considering . . .’
‘Considering what?’
She looked thoughtful. ‘Well, like many companies you see around the City, the group had been affected by the recession.’
‘I was under the impression it was doing well.’
‘It is, considering the climate. I’m not an accountant or an analyst, but the mood around here has been buoyant. I put that down to Julian. He was a good leader.’
Another small smile.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were a little bit in love with my brother-in-law, thought Rachel. Anne-Marie, you dark horse.
‘Why do you think he did it?’ she asked.