Cold Heart by Lynda La Plante Page A

he did make any money and then we’d get paid. He promised us we would. He owed everybody he ever met,’ Jose said flatly. ‘Now we just hope that we’ll get something if his estate is sold.’
    ‘Does Cindy know about this?’
    Juana shook her head. ‘That silly child knows nothing, and he’d made her so crazy anyway. We think he was going to leave her, find a woman with money, probably.’
    ‘Do you think she killed him?’
    There was another exchange of looks, and then Juana sighed. ‘Yes, we do. She threatened it more than once.’
    ‘You were here in the house, though, weren’t you, the morning Mr Nathan was shot?’
    ‘Yes, but I was working in the laundry, and Jose was out back near the garages. We didn’t hear anything at all, not until Mrs Nathan started screaming.’
    Jose went on to describe how he and Juana had tried to get Nathan’s body out of the pool, but it was so heavy they couldn’t lift it.
    ‘What was Cindy doing then?’
    Jose thought for a moment. ‘She was sitting by the pool, and I shouted at her to help us. She just kept saying over and over that she didn’t do it – no, what she said was she didn’t think that she had done it. That’s a strange thing to say, isn’t it?’
    ‘But you think that she did?’
    ‘Yes, I do,’ said Juana.
    ‘She had reasons,’ Jose agreed. ‘I think she knew he was going to kick her out. They did nothing but argue, and she was drinking heavily, and—’
    ‘Tell her,’ Juana said. ‘Tell her everything.’
    Jose looked shifty, and wouldn’t meet Lorraine’s eyes. Then he said, ‘She was having an affair with Raymond Vallance, Mr Nathan’s closest friend.’
    Juana looked at Jose as if she expected him to say more: when he remained silent she spoke up herself. ‘And he has offered us money – to keep our mouths shut and give him the tapes.’ Juana met Lorraine’s eyes squarely. ‘I would have taken his money with pleasure, but we did not know where the tapes were.’
    ‘Did you tell him that yesterday at the funeral?’ Lorraine asked.
    ‘I have told him many times.’ She noted that Juana did not confirm what her conversation with Vallance had been about.
    ‘Did you know what was on the tapes?’
    ‘I can guess. Mr Nathan used to take drugs and party in the basement on the weekends. He would tell us to take time off. When we went in to clean, you could smell the . . . sex in the air.’
    ‘Do you think Raymond Vallance could have been here this afternoon?’ Lorraine asked.
    ‘He has a key,’ Jose put in. ‘She gave it to him.’
    ‘I see. Well, thank you both very much. If you think of anything else that might be important, I’d appreciate it if you’d call me – here’s my card.’ She placed it on the kitchen table. ‘I’ll go see Cindy tonight.’
    ‘What about the jeep?’ Juana said hesitantly to her husband.
    He shrugged.
    ‘What was that?’ Lorraine asked.
    Jose chewed his lip. ‘Well, it’s probably nothing, but I saw it very early, parked down the road. It was odd – most residents around here never park on the street, there’s no need.’
    Juana added, ‘But it wasn’t there when you looked later. Tell Mrs Page, tell her whose car you thought it was.’
    ‘It was the same colour, maybe even the same type, as the jeep Mrs Kendall Nathan drives,’ Jose said.
    Lorraine could hardly contain herself. She asked when Jose had seen it and when he thought it had been driven away. He was unsure of the exact time, only that it had been there early that morning and had gone after the murder.
    ‘You won’t tell her what we’ve said, will you?’ Jose said nervously.
    ‘No, of course not. Whatever we have discussed remains private,’ Lorraine lied, setting off down the steps. ‘Goodnight.’
    The couple stood in the doorway for a moment until the security lights came on, then closed the front door. Lorraine waited until she thought they must be back in the kitchen, then hurried across the lawn, stepped