Necessary as Blood

was loose. I don‘t think she had on any make-up. There was only — there was only that bit of hesitation, like she almost changed her mind about what she was going to do. Or maybe I‘m just making that up.‘ He shook his head. ‘But it wasn‘t like Sandra to hesitate. Once she made up her mind to do something, God forbid if you got in her way.‘
    ‘She worked for you a long time?‘ Gemma asked.
    ‘All through high school and art college. Even after she and Naz married she liked to do her bit. But I‘d known Sandra since she was a tot. Truth is, I‘d known Gail since I was a kid. Grew up on the same council estate.‘
    ‘So why didn‘t Sandra and Gail get on?‘
    Roy shrugged. ‘The wife always said Sandra must have been one of those babies substituted at birth — a changeling.‘
    ‘Your wife?‘
    ‘Billie. She‘s on holiday in Spain. A girls‘ jaunt — hen party for our niece.‘
    Gemma shied away from the mention of hen parties. ‘You have kids?‘ she asked.
    ‘No. I suppose that‘s one reason we were always so fond of Sandra, not that she wasn‘t a mouthy little thing sometimes. Took after her mother there, but in a good way.‘
    ‘You haven‘t told me why Naz and Sandra didn‘t want Charlotte to have anything to do with Gail.‘
    Blakely was silent for a moment, then he said, ‘You know that Sandra never knew her dad, and that her sister, Donna, and the boys are her half-siblings? And Donna and the boys have different fathers as well.‘
    ‘But the boys have the same father?‘
    ‘Yeah, he stayed around for a bit, that one, although I think he was gone by the time Terry was born. It was Donna‘s dad stayed the longest, but he was a right tosser. Lived off Gail‘s benefits.‘
    ‘Gail never married any of them?‘
    ‘No. Gail‘s mum helped out with the kids, but she‘s gone now. That was the old Bethnal Green — extended families, everyone helping each other out. Not that it did much for Gail, but at least it kept Sandra from going the same way as her mum. She‘s got no judgement, Gail. She could never keep her knickers on, from the time she were twelve. Blokes have been taking advantage of her ever since, including those useless sons of hers. And she never cared a fig for either of the girls.‘
    ‘But Sandra managed to make something of herself, in spite of her family,‘ said Gemma.
    And they didn‘t thank her for it, believe me. Called her "hoity-toity" and “jumped-up cow”.‘
    ‘Her brothers, too? I heard they didn‘t get on. And that Naz thought they might have had something to do with her disappearance.‘
    Roy‘s face wrinkled in disgust. ‘Kev and Terry are a couple of shiftless louts who‘ve been nothing but trouble for Sandra since she was a kid. And yeah, Naz came to see me, wanted me to say I‘d seen them that day, but I hadn‘t. And why would they hurt her? She was the one person they could count on to bail them out of trouble, worst case. Not to mention that if they had done something to her, at least a hint of it would have leaked out. Those two couldn‘t keep their mouths shut if their lives depended on it, and word still travels in these parts.‘
    ‘Was there anyone else that Sandra didn‘t get on with, besides her family?‘
    Blakely reached for Gemma‘s empty tumbler and rubbed his thumb round the rim. ‘Sandra was... connected. Interested in people. And she crossed the border into the Bangladeshi community, something not very many old East End families are willing to do. Only person I can think of that she had a falling-out with was Pippa, and then she didn‘t talk about it.‘
    ‘Pippa?‘ asked Gemma, her interest piqued by the unfamiliar name.
    ‘Pippa Nightingale. Owns a gallery on Rivington Street. She‘d been Sandra‘s mentor since art college, and she represented Sandra‘s work for years.‘
    ‘She doesn‘t any more?‘
    ‘I don‘t think so. Like I said, Sandra didn‘t really talk about it. You could ask Pippa yourself. Her place is called the Nightingale Gallery.‘
    ‘Mr Blakely — Roy.‘ Gemma hesitated, not wanting to break the rapport she felt she‘d established with Sandra‘s friend, but she knew she had to ask. ‘There were rumours when Sandra disappeared that she might have been — that there was another man—‘
    ‘Bollocks!‘ He stood. ‘I don‘t know who started it, but I heard those whispers when Sandra disappeared. It was crap then, and it‘s crap now. No one who really knew Sandra would