Chapter 11 #2
These were successful people, and Jamie was one of the star players.
It went some way to explaining why the heavies were here but neither showed real emotion; perhaps they were incapable of it.
She glanced over at the largest of the bodyguards to find him staring at her again. Mercedes man looked away first.
A picture of Jamie as a highly driven and well-liked individual was presenting itself to her and she was inclined to agree with Ted that the case needed more investigation.
But it also indicated what was at stake here.
These people had travelled across an ocean, to a backwater in the middle of the Lake District, for what?
Only one thing brought so many hustlers together, and that was money.
‘He was running a health conference,’ Hank said.
‘What were you selling?’
It was crass and she knew it, but she must put witnesses under pressure to see into their realities. Hank smiled. It was wide, charming and very white.
‘Our product is chemicals.’
Hank reiterated what most other witnesses had said.
The conference had gone well, nobody noticed Jamie missing for a long period of time, nobody else was missing, there were no obvious squabbles, and it all happened so quickly.
She thought of the smashed glass and the purple scarf and suspected differently.
‘Chemicals at a health conference?’
‘I’m not a scientist,’ Hank said.
‘Are you?’ Kelly asked Tilda Dent, who snorted.
‘I think I heard him holler,’ Hank added.
‘Jamie?’
‘The atrium was busy; we were in between speeches and dinner. The noise was like a cry, a warning, an appeal.’
Hank used his hands to articulate himself. There was emotion in his eyes that took Kelly by surprise. It was a chink in the corporate armour.
‘What’s your role in the company, Hank?’ she asked. ‘You don’t mind me calling you Hank?’
‘No, sure, go ahead, ma’am,’ he said. ‘I’m based out of Dallas. I run the executive arm of Hampton-Dent, like a chief operating officer.’
‘You get things done?’ Kelly asked.
He smiled. ‘Sure, that’s what I do.’
‘And the company has your name.’
‘It’s in my family.’
His Texan drawl was infectious, and Kelly noticed his easy unpicking of complex issues. He was matter of fact but warm with it, the polar opposite of Tilda.
‘I’m Hank the third. The original founded Hampton-Whalley corporation, of Silicon Valley fame, and then merged with Dent-Whalley.’
‘And what happened to Whalley?’ She felt a little foolish for asking.
‘Bought out by my granddaddy.’
‘Where did Jamie fit into the hierarchy?’ she asked.
Hank looked uncomfortable for the first time. ‘Well, ma’am, that’s the thing. Jamie was a rising star. He was the future really. It’s wholly devastating, it sure is.’
Kelly noticed his discomfort. ‘I won’t keep you much longer.’
‘I know he had his issues.’
‘Issues?’ Kelly asked.
‘I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, ma’am, but I am led to believe he had a few drug-addiction matters that he was trying to sort out.
That just came to my attention this weekend gone.
Now, the company doesn’t tolerate such behaviour.
It’s a delicate but deliberate policy we have, and so I was aware that he might be moving on. ’
Kelly looked between the two VIPs but it was difficult to read them. A drug company taking issue with an addict wasn’t an irony one got to witness every day.
‘Your rising star? Did you ever witness any evidence that he might be a substance abuser?’
‘No, I did not.’
‘And who told you he was?’
‘Well, I don’t think I should…’
‘If it’s for an investigation under the UK legal system than I must insist, Mr Hampton.’
‘Right, well, it was Tilda here who told me.’
Kelly looked at Tilda Dent.
‘Paul, his partner at FairGro, told me,’ she said, rather too quickly. Kelly made a note.
‘And you represent the Dents?’ Kelly asked her. Her Google search had produced more than their annual turnover.
Tilda’s very manicured eyebrows raised a little.
‘Isn’t FairGro owned by Hampton-Dent?’ Kelly asked.
‘My great-grandfather was Waldo Dent,’ Tilda said.
Kelly nodded. She had no clue who Waldo Dent was, but she knew that the minute she left this place she’d look him up and get her team working out the hierarchy of the company.
A suspicious death was a fly in the ointment to any successful firm whose reputation was important.
They’d no doubt want the matter dealt with quickly.
Tilda Dent was the more tight-lipped of the two, giving the impression of coldness, which might be unfair. The woman was built for business, that much was obvious. Her voice was staccato and factual as she saw it, but that could be shock.
‘Did you know Jamie well?’ Kelly asked.
‘Yes. Jamie was an excellent colleague.’
‘So, you’re in a good position to note his recent mood? What was his behaviour like? Did you witness his substance abuse first hand?’
‘No. Jamie was a charmer. He was always fun and happy, a little too casual perhaps.’
‘And recently?’
‘No change.’
There was a slight hesitation and Kelly picked up on it.
‘Nothing at all? Stress? Bad news? Erratic behaviour, something out of character?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Apart from his alleged drug addiction?’ Kelly asked.
Neither answered directly.
‘Did he have enemies?’
‘I thought he jumped,’ Tilda said.
‘The coroner won’t rule that until after a thorough investigation.’
‘But we all saw him fall.’
‘Tell me, are you familiar with Clem Allins?’
‘The Clem Allins?’ Tilda looked excited, as if she’d just mentioned a girlhood celebrity crush. It showed Kelly a more vulnerable side to the woman. It was curious that this softer side hadn’t naturally emerged after the death of a colleague; Tilda kept her true self concealed well.
‘The podcaster?’ Kelly said, sounding like she knew their world.
‘Yes, of course I do! I’ve met him. He’s incredible.’
‘I’m new to the party but I guess it’s people who are looking to be the best version of themselves who listen to him?’
‘Of course, that’s our whole ethos. Clem has done work for us. He’s the ideal advocate for wellness.’
‘Profitable, hey?’ she said.
Tilda’s mask slipped again, and Kelly saw a scowl.
‘So, did you see Jamie at all, before he fell?’
‘He gave the most incredibly affirming speech, in here, about three hours before he…’
Kelly looked around. The stage was set up for a presentation and she imagined a keen audience of fifty people packing in here to listen to a man tell them how to live their best life when he was planning on taking his own. She looked back to Tilda, who was wiping her eye.
‘Here,’ Kelly said. She’d picked up some tissues before coming in. Tilda took one and wiped her eyes, but Kelly noticed the tissue wasn’t wet. Hank stared at her with a puzzled look on his face.
‘What was the speech about?’ Kelly asked, hoping the answer wouldn’t be a sales pitch.
‘How his innovation could help millions of people rediscover their health.’
‘Really?’ Kelly asked. ‘That’s quite a claim. Which product is that? I think I need some.’
Tilda got up and walked to a white flip chart, which faced the wall. She turned it around; there was a large orange and green poster clipped to it. Kelly read aloud from it.
‘Increased muscle mass, bone density, energy, performance, less brain fog.’ Kelly looked back to Tilda, who was beaming like a proud parent.
Kelly carried on. ‘Boosts youth… crikey… all-natural product, no dyes or chemicals, proven to invigorate mood to pre-depression levels and holy shit, weight loss too.’
Kelly examined the poster. The colours were formidable and clean but welcoming too.
The colours of sunshine and grass were warm and comforting, the scene natural and alluring, the wording placed just right, and the promises seductive.
Marketing on steroids. Bold claims. ‘Easy to administer… just stir into your favourite smoothie…’
Kelly kept a straight face.
It couldn’t be a coincidence. She didn’t believe in them. The sachet of YouthBlast she’d found by the body at the Faeryland café jumped into her head.
How had it got there? Was it a popular supplement that she simply didn’t know about? Was everyone drinking it? Had somebody left a packet at the café, and it blew on the wind under the same boat as a dead body and a squirrel?
The small hairs on her arms stood up and she felt as though she wanted to shiver. ‘Is YouthBlast trademarked by Hampton-Dent?’
‘Yes. Jamie was so proud of it.’
‘So why kill himself?’ Kelly asked.
Tilda stared at her for a second, and then looked back to the poster. Hank was the one who answered.
‘We’ll wait for the inquiry, ma’am. I wouldn’t have said Jamie was the type to do that, but I’ve lived a long time and seen people do surprising things.’
‘Does it work?’ Kelly asked.
‘What?’
‘The smoothie powder, does it work?’
‘I have no idea; that’s not the point. He had the perfect product to sell.’
‘But you have no idea if it works?’
‘We sell hope, Detective. That’s what people want, and Jamie understood that. He’s a huge loss to us. It wasn’t yet on the market; there were a few tweaks required, licensing, marketing, final ticks in boxes, that sort of thing.’
‘Ah, so this conference was about promoting a new product? Attendees were given samples, then?’
Tilda nodded.
Kelly’s gut turned over. If YouthBlast wasn’t on the market that meant that somebody at the conference was also at Faeryland café, and it couldn’t be a coincidence.
‘Can I ask you to look at this for me – do you recognise her?’
She showed them the sketch of the girl under the boat.
They shook their heads.
‘Why?’ Tilda asked.
‘Unconnected,’ Kelly said. She nodded to the marketing poster for YouthBlast. ‘And this is what people want? A magical smoothie?’
‘Exactly. Magic. People need to feel as though they’re doing the right thing and the easier we can make that for them the better,’ Hank said. It was as if Tilda had lost her tongue.
Kelly felt queasy suddenly. Being brought up on fresh air, cold water and real food, Kelly didn’t trust chemicals to do the work for you. These people were aliens to her.
‘It’s the job of the scientists to pass these products for efficacy and safety, our job is to market them and make people think they can’t live without them,’ Tilda said proudly.
Kelly stared at her. Tilda Dent had just been brutally honest with her about the history of marketing on human beings, but it left her uncomfortable. Weren’t salespeople just a bunch of professional liars?
‘Was the conference going well?’
Tilda looked back at the flip chart. ‘Jamie secured important backing for us. It’ll be difficult calming the market after this.’
Tilda spoke wistfully, as though talking about Apollo 13 almost being lost forever, and not the contents of a smoothie.
‘You’ll go ahead with the product, then?’ Kelly asked.
‘Yes, ma’am,’ Hank said. ‘A legacy, if you will.’
Kelly didn’t know what to say. The perversion struck her across the face.
‘Did you know if Jamie had any personal problems, aside from the recreational drug taking? It’s clear his working life was excellent.’ She thought about the porn in his room.
‘It wouldn’t surprise me, Detective. Jamie had restless feet. He had everything he wanted, fast cars, women, holidays, foreign properties, celebrity friends. It wasn’t ever good enough. He sought something he could never have.’
‘And what was that?’
‘Peace.’
‘And you can’t make that into a smoothie?’
Tilda looked at her acidly, but Kelly smiled pleasantly.
‘Are you planning to head off in the next couple of days?’
‘We actually have a few more meetings here in the area. We’ll be staying at Dow Bank; where is it, Hank?’ Tilda asked her colleague. ‘I can drop you a pin, Detective.’
Kelly knew where Dow Bank was.
‘Excellent. Here’s my number.’ She handed Hank a card. ‘You’re free to go.’
She eyed the bodyguards.
‘One more thing, did Jamie have close protection?’ She nodded to the guards.
Hank looked at Tilda.
‘No, he didn’t. Our paid security is for CEOs only,’ she said.
‘Shame. If one of them was watching, we might not be here.’ Kelly paused. ‘Right, all being well, I’ll see you both again tomorrow. I won’t say have a restful night, that would be crass, but if you can think of anything that might be helpful to us, I’d appreciate your input.’
Tilda nodded and dabbed her eyes again. Kelly saw that the tissue was still bone dry.
She reckoned what Tilda Dent meant to say was that Jamie Robbins’ untimely death was a huge loss to their profits. Somehow, she didn’t believe that Jamie’s life was worth as much as his innovation.