Connie nodded. “She was fine,” she said to me.
“And you told the coroner that as well?”
“Yes.”
What were they saying? If Miriam Johnstone hadn’t jumped then what? She’d been pushed? My stomach tightened and I asked her outright.
“You think her death was suspicious? That someone else was involved?”
She drew in her cheeks, nodded.
“Or maybe an accident,” Patrick added, catching my frown.
“Is there anything, anything at all, to suggest that someone else was there?”
No one spoke for a moment.
“That’s what we want you to find out,” Connie said.
A tall order. I sighed. “Were there any witnesses?”
“No,” she said quietly.
“Any forensic evidence, anything at the inquest to suggest she was with someone?”
“No.”
“Any evidence of a struggle or an attack?”
“No.”
“Do you suspect somebody?”
“No,” even quieter.
I could sense the mist of despair seep into the atmosphere.
“Couldn’t you just make some enquiries though? The police hardly talked to anybody,” Connie said urgently.
Because there was no need to, I thought. I carried on trying to establish whether there were any grounds for an enquiry. I could do with the work but I need to believe that there’s something I can usefully do for my clients.
“Did Miriam have any enemies?”
“No,” Connie said.
“Feuds?” A shake of the head. “Was she involved in any business dealings?”
“No.”
“Did she have any money or property that someone outside the family stood to inherit?”
“No.” A sullen burn in her eyes. She knew my game.
“Any insurance policies payable on her death?”
“No.”
“Was she seeing anyone, romantically?”
Roland wriggled with resentment.
“No.”
I sighed. No reason for anyone to harm her. I didn’t need to say it aloud.
“I told you it would be a waste of time,” Martina burst out. “She’s just like the rest of them.”
Connie looked down at her hands resting on the folder on her knees. Her head bowing. Patrick put out his hand and clasped her arm.
Martina sighed theatrically and glared at me sidelong, Roland studied his shoes.
“We read about you in the paper,” Patrick told me. “About the racial harassment case. We thought you’d… have an open mind.”
“What’s the point?” Martina repeated.
“You think there could be some racial element?”
“She was a black woman,” Connie said.
“Had anyone been causing her any trouble?”
She shook her head again.
“Nothing? Threats, damage to property, hate mail?”
“No. What I mean is the police, that’s why they didn’t do much, didn’t listen to us. Because she was black.”
