Necessary as Blood

thought something dreadful had happened to her... except...‘
    ‘Except what, Dr Cavendish? 1 All Weller‘s weariness seemed to vanish in an instant. Gemma found herself tempted to caution Tim, but she couldn‘t — it was not her interview, she couldn‘t interfere. And she wanted to know what he had been about to say as much as Weller did.
    ‘I — it was nothing. A rumour. I‘d never repeat it if Naz were... here.‘
    ‘Go on. What sort of rumour?‘ asked Weller.
    Tim, fidgeting, with obvious reluctance, glanced at Hazel, then back at Weller. ‘It isn‘t anything...‘ He shook his head. ‘Some of the last commissions Sandra did were for a club in Spitalfields. A private club. The owner‘s name is Lucas Ritchie. Naz heard—‘
    ‘Naz heard what, Dr Cavendish?‘ prompted Weller. ‘There was... talk... that Sandra was having an affair with Ritchie.‘

Chapter Nine

From hence I only infer that an Englishman, of all men, ought not to despise foreigners as such, and I think the inference is just, since what they are today, we were yesterday, and to-morrow they will he like us.

Daniel Defoe, The True Born Englishman

    ‘Why didn‘t you tell us this?‘ demanded Weller.
    ‘It didn‘t occur to me — Naz only told me the last time we talked.‘ Tim glared back at him.
    ‘And Mr Malik didn‘t think this was germane to our investigation of his wife‘s disappearance?‘ DI Weller shot back. His large hands twitched, and Gemma felt sure his annoyance was not feigned.
    ‘He only heard it a couple of weeks ago,‘ said Tim. ‘And he didn‘t take it seriously. Sandra didn‘t run off with Lucas Ritchie — Ritchie‘s never left London. Naz went to see him.‘
    ‘Oh, he did, did he? And this Ritchie assured him he had nothing to do with his wife‘s disappearance, and that was that? Was your friend really that naive, Dr Cavendish? That‘s not the only scenario. If Sandra Gilles was having an affair with this man, maybe she wanted more. Maybe she threatened to expose him and he shut her up—‘
    ‘No! It wasn‘t like that — at least not from what Naz told me. Look, according to Naz, Lucas Ritchie is single and well off, with no shortage of available women in his life. Who would Sandra have threatened to expose him to? She would have been the one with something to lose.‘
    ‘So maybe Ritchie wanted her to leave Malik. Maybe she refused and they fought.‘
    ‘No. Naz didn‘t believe she was having an affair, and I don‘t believe it, either. She wasn‘t — she wasn‘t that kind of person.‘
    ‘And what kind of person is that?‘ Hazel said, her voice shrill with fury. She‘d been standing at the edge of the patio, listening, half-forgotten by the others. ‘Did she come with some sort of guarantee? A no-fault wife?‘
    Tim looked horrified as he realized the import of what he‘d said, but he defended himself. ‘Hazel, will you just not take everything so bloody personally? All I meant was that Sandra Gilles had no use for Lucas Ritchie‘s lifestyle. She told Naz it was all gloss and window dressing, hype, and she valued real things, like her husband and her child and her work.‘ He faced his wife, not backing down. ‘You were not so different, once.‘

    By the time Gemma got away from Islington, she couldn‘t face another visit to hospital. A phone call had reassured her that her mother was resting comfortably. She drove across London, feeling barely able to breathe in the car. The late-afternoon heat was stifling, and she was still tense from the atmosphere at the Cavendishes‘.
    Weller had left after telling Tim he‘d want to speak to him again. ‘I‘m not about to skip the country,‘ Tim had muttered, earning another dirty look from Hazel.
    Hazel had followed close on Weller‘s heels, refusing to speak to either Tim or Gemma. ‘I don‘t understand,‘ Tim said to Gemma as they watched her drive away. ‘Everything she‘s done has been her choice. Why is she so angry with me?‘
    ‘I‘m sorry, Tim.‘ Gemma gave him a quick hug, not wanting to confess that Hazel‘s behaviour had shocked her as well. Tim had suffered the loss of a friend, and now he had to face the task of telling Alia, Naz Malik‘s nanny, that Naz was dead. Gemma couldn‘t imagine the Hazel she had known failing to express sympathy or being unable to put aside her own concerns in a crisis.
    When she reached Notting Hill, the square brown brick house with its cherry-red door seemed comfortingly,