to eat?’ Chris asked, mild as milk.
‘We had a load of tapas between us. We kind of left it to the waiter and he brought us a right old mix of stuff. Most of it was lovely, but I couldn’t be doing with some of the seafood.’ He pulled a face. ‘I mean, who wants to eat a baby squid? Yech.’
‘Did you both eat the same things?’ Kevin said.
Phil thought for a moment, his eyes turning up and to the left. ‘Pretty much,’ he said slowly. ‘Robbie didn’t have the garlic mushrooms, he doesn’t like mushrooms. But apart from that, yeah, we both gave everything a whirl.’
‘And drink?’
‘We was on the rioja. We got as far as the second bottle, but we didn’t finish it.’
‘And afterwards?’
‘We went on to Amatis. D’you know it? Dance club the far side of Temple Fields?’
Kevin nodded. ‘We’re police officers, Phil. We know Amatis.’
‘It’s a nice place,’ Phil said defensively. ‘Nice people. And great music.’
‘You into music, then? You and Robbie?’
Phil blew out a big breath, making his lips flap. ‘Me, I’m not bothered as long as it’s got a decent beat. But Robbie, he’s well into it, yeah. He used to be engaged to Bindie Blyth.’ Seeing their looks of incomprehension, he gave them more. ‘The Radio One late-night DJ. It was music what brought themtogether.’ He shifted in his seat, sticking his legs out in front of him and crossing them at the ankles. ‘Wasn’t enough to keep them together, though. They split up a couple of months back.’
Chris could feel Kevin come alert beside her. She tried for nonchalant. ‘How come?’ she said.
‘Why d’you wanna know about Bindie?’
Chris spread her hands. ‘Me, I’m just interested in everything. Why did they split?’
Phil looked away. ‘Just wasn’t going anywhere.’
‘Was he messing around behind her back?’ Chris asked.
Phil gave her a cagey glance. This doesn’t go no further, right?’
‘Right. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,’ Chris said.
‘It’s the world we live in,’ Phil said. For an insane moment, Chris thought he was going to make some philosophical point about the human condition. ‘Every time we go out the house, we’re surrounded by people who want to make an impression. Women who want to shag us, blokes who either want to buy us a drink or fight us. And if your girlfriend’s a couple of hundred miles away most of the time, you’d have to be a saint. And Robbie ain’t no saint.’
‘So Bindie got the hump and gave him the elbow?’
‘Pretty much. But they didn’t want the tabloids all over them, so they both agreed they’d just say it was a mutual thing, too hard to keep it going with them both having high-pressure careers. No hard feelings, that sort of thing.’
‘And were there any hard feelings?’ Kevin butted in. Chris wanted to slap him for breaking her flow.
Phil cocked his head. ‘No.’ It came out firm and defensive. Then a frown slowly furrowed his forehead. ‘Wait a minute. You’re not thinking Bindie had anything to do with this?’ He gave a roar of laughter. ‘Fucking hell, it’s obvious you’ve never listened to her show. Bindie’s got balls. If she was that pissed off, she’d have sent Robbie home with his nuts in a paper bag. Bindie’s the kind of woman who lets you have it to your face. No way she’d be sneaking around with poison.’ He shook his head. ‘Mental.’
‘Nobody’s suggesting Bindie had anything to do with this, Phil. We’re just trying to get a picture of Robbie’s life. So, Thursday. Tell us about Amatis.’
Phil shifted in his chair, a man preparing to be less than candid. ‘Not much to tell. We was in the VIP area mostly, drinking champagne. There was a couple of the lads from Yorkshire Cricket Club there, that geezer that presents the TV show about making a mint from what’s in your attic, some twat that was on Big Brother a couple of series back. I didn’t recognize any other blokes. And the usual sort of
‘We had a load of tapas between us. We kind of left it to the waiter and he brought us a right old mix of stuff. Most of it was lovely, but I couldn’t be doing with some of the seafood.’ He pulled a face. ‘I mean, who wants to eat a baby squid? Yech.’
‘Did you both eat the same things?’ Kevin said.
Phil thought for a moment, his eyes turning up and to the left. ‘Pretty much,’ he said slowly. ‘Robbie didn’t have the garlic mushrooms, he doesn’t like mushrooms. But apart from that, yeah, we both gave everything a whirl.’
‘And drink?’
‘We was on the rioja. We got as far as the second bottle, but we didn’t finish it.’
‘And afterwards?’
‘We went on to Amatis. D’you know it? Dance club the far side of Temple Fields?’
Kevin nodded. ‘We’re police officers, Phil. We know Amatis.’
‘It’s a nice place,’ Phil said defensively. ‘Nice people. And great music.’
‘You into music, then? You and Robbie?’
Phil blew out a big breath, making his lips flap. ‘Me, I’m not bothered as long as it’s got a decent beat. But Robbie, he’s well into it, yeah. He used to be engaged to Bindie Blyth.’ Seeing their looks of incomprehension, he gave them more. ‘The Radio One late-night DJ. It was music what brought themtogether.’ He shifted in his seat, sticking his legs out in front of him and crossing them at the ankles. ‘Wasn’t enough to keep them together, though. They split up a couple of months back.’
Chris could feel Kevin come alert beside her. She tried for nonchalant. ‘How come?’ she said.
‘Why d’you wanna know about Bindie?’
Chris spread her hands. ‘Me, I’m just interested in everything. Why did they split?’
Phil looked away. ‘Just wasn’t going anywhere.’
‘Was he messing around behind her back?’ Chris asked.
Phil gave her a cagey glance. This doesn’t go no further, right?’
‘Right. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,’ Chris said.
‘It’s the world we live in,’ Phil said. For an insane moment, Chris thought he was going to make some philosophical point about the human condition. ‘Every time we go out the house, we’re surrounded by people who want to make an impression. Women who want to shag us, blokes who either want to buy us a drink or fight us. And if your girlfriend’s a couple of hundred miles away most of the time, you’d have to be a saint. And Robbie ain’t no saint.’
‘So Bindie got the hump and gave him the elbow?’
‘Pretty much. But they didn’t want the tabloids all over them, so they both agreed they’d just say it was a mutual thing, too hard to keep it going with them both having high-pressure careers. No hard feelings, that sort of thing.’
‘And were there any hard feelings?’ Kevin butted in. Chris wanted to slap him for breaking her flow.
Phil cocked his head. ‘No.’ It came out firm and defensive. Then a frown slowly furrowed his forehead. ‘Wait a minute. You’re not thinking Bindie had anything to do with this?’ He gave a roar of laughter. ‘Fucking hell, it’s obvious you’ve never listened to her show. Bindie’s got balls. If she was that pissed off, she’d have sent Robbie home with his nuts in a paper bag. Bindie’s the kind of woman who lets you have it to your face. No way she’d be sneaking around with poison.’ He shook his head. ‘Mental.’
‘Nobody’s suggesting Bindie had anything to do with this, Phil. We’re just trying to get a picture of Robbie’s life. So, Thursday. Tell us about Amatis.’
Phil shifted in his chair, a man preparing to be less than candid. ‘Not much to tell. We was in the VIP area mostly, drinking champagne. There was a couple of the lads from Yorkshire Cricket Club there, that geezer that presents the TV show about making a mint from what’s in your attic, some twat that was on Big Brother a couple of series back. I didn’t recognize any other blokes. And the usual sort of
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