Lynch was standing too close to Annabel for Kate’s liking. It might have been an interview room, but it was as if he wanted to invade her personal space. ‘Let’s all sit down, shall we?’ she ventured.
‘Absolutely.’ Lynch waved Annabel to a seat, then pressed the record button for the interview, and took care of the opening preliminaries: time, date and the names of those present.
‘Let’s start, Annabel, with you arriving at the hotel room. Was there anything different or strange about Rick Shevlin?’
‘No. It was the same as any other job.’
‘Your first thought?’
‘Getting the guy to come off as fast as possible.’
‘Was he obliging?’ Lynch began walking in a circle around her. It seemed to Kate, and probably to Annabel, that he was physically inspecting her. ‘Did he want to do anything kinky?’
‘They usually have a wish list. The pervs pay better.’ She attempted a laugh.
False bravery, thought Kate.
‘So Rick was a perv, was he? What was his speciality?’ Lynch seemed to be enjoying himself.
Annabel didn’t answer immediately. Eventually she said, ‘For the most part, he wanted the usual stuff: sucking his prick, licking, teasing, but he liked having the upper hand as well, dishing out his fair share of pain, slapping me about, a bit of rough stuff, you know what I mean.’
‘Do you like the violent pervs?’ He leaned over, as if to intimidate her.
‘Detective, take it easy,’ Kate said, with a look that said, ‘Back off.’
He took a couple of steps away.
‘I seem particularly attractive to pervs.’ Annabel perked up slightly. ‘I’m told they like me.’
‘What’s your secret?’ Lynch still looked as if he was relishing the conversation.
‘They like the way I dress. You don’t think I wear this gear for comfort, do you?’
He turned to face her. ‘What are your special tricks?’
‘Do you fancy some, Detective? Looking to do a few turns on the side?’
Kate could see his irritability bubbling under the surface. He hadn’t taken kindly to Annabel’s last remark.
‘Listen, you,’ his voice was filled with venom, ‘a man has been murdered, and you happen to have been the last person we know to have seen him alive. Don’t waste your time with any sideshows for me. I’m not interested.’
‘And I don’t have time for this shit.’ She folded her arms again. ‘As I told you, I don’t know anything.’
‘You managed to get very close to Rick Shevlin,’ he retorted.
She stared at him. ‘I have rules, you know. He wanted me to do stuff, but I wasn’t having any of it.’
Kate hoped a less intimidating approach would get more answers. ‘And what are your rules, Annabel? What did he want you to do?’
‘No kissing. I don’t do anal. No fingers or anything other than his prick goes inside. If it does, it costs a lot extra.’ Then, looking directly at Kate, sensing an ally, she stood up. ‘Listen, as I keep saying, I don’t know anything. I need to get back.’
‘You’ll go when I say so.’ Lynch’s tone was controlled but harsh. ‘Dr Pearson asked you what the punter, Rick Shevlin, wanted. Now be a good girl and answer. I don’t need to remind you that you’ve broken the law so let’s try to be civil to one another.’
‘I wasn’t the only one in the hotel room. Rick was there too. Remember, he booked me.’
‘But he didn’t do anything illegal, did he? And now he happens to be dead.’ Lynch wasn’t going to let her off easily.
‘Looking to be fucked isn’t illegal, but me fucking him is. That’s sick.’
‘I don’t make the rules, Annabel. Now, who owned the whip, you or him?’
‘Me.’
‘Do you have it here?’
‘No. I only bring it if I’m asked.’ Then, in a flirtatious tone, ‘Are you specially requesting it, Detective?’
Again, Lynch didn’t bite, but it was obvious to Kate that the girl used her flirtation as a false shield.
‘We’ll need the whip when we finish here. I’ll get a female officer to accompany you. I don’t want you disappearing on us.’
Kate looked directly at Annabel. ‘The victim had whip marks on his buttocks. Did he ask you to whip him?’
‘As I said, he liked to inflict pain, so it surprised me when he wanted to be punished too – it was as if he couldn’t make up his mind.’
‘Outside of the rough stuff and the whipping,’ Kate continued, ‘did he look for anything else?’
Again Annabel stalled.
Kate took another approach. ‘Had you agreed terms before you arrived?’
‘Yeah, but it didn’t stop him looking for more.’
‘So tell me, Annabel, what did he want you to do?’
‘He was into the hard stuff, cutting and the like. He said he liked the sight of blood, really got going when he saw it. I don’t do cutting. I told him that.’