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Gardener doubted that. The painting depicted a woman calmly holding the jaws of a lion. She was cool and collected. At the bottom of the frame was the word ‘strength’.
“It’s something my wife is into. It means that you have inner strength and fortitude during moments of danger and distress: that you have the ability to remain calm and strong, even when your life is going through immense struggle,” Ross said.
“And are you?” asked Gardener.
Ross turned to face the officers. “No, but my wife has over the course of her life – none of which I have the desire to go into. It shows that you are a compassionate person and you always have time for other people even if it’s at your own expense. That sums up my wife perfectly. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Now, I’m very sure that you have not come to talk to me about this painting or my office, so would you please tell me why you are here? My time is valuable, even if yours isn’t.”
“We’d like to talk to you about Wilfred Ronson,” said Gardener.
“Who?”
“A solicitor who had ICD surgery at St. James’s Hospital in Leeds.”
“I’m sorry, gentlemen, I don’t know anyone called Wilfred Ronson.”
“Oh my God,” said Reilly. “Is this what you get for paying thousands for private surgery? A doctor who can’t even remember your name?”
Ross seemed a little short on patience, thought Gardener, judging by his expression. “I can remember the names of all my patients, Mr Reilly. So if I’d operated on someone called Wilfred Ronson, I would know. When was this?”
“The end of June,” said Gardener.
The man in front of them seemed to relax slightly. Gardener did not like that. “What date?”
“The 28th.”
“In that case, it wasn’t me,” replied Ross. “Which is why I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The records show it was you, Mr Ross.”
“The records are wrong, detective. On the 15th of June, my wife and I flew to Florida for a month. We have an apartment there. Didn’t return until July 17th. You can check with the airline if you like. We flew business class with BA from Manchester airport. I can also give you the names and addresses of the people we saw in Florida while we were there. Before you leave this office, I would like to know who says I have operated on Ronson, and why. Then I will telephone my own solicitor and have the matter investigated.”
That was a bolt out of the blue that Gardener never expected.
Chapter Forty
“The problem is one of your own making, Graham. You’ve created it, no one else.”
“How the hell have I done that?” Johnson was tired of the lectures. No one was perfect, including the man dishing out the sermons.
“You left! You were out at the first sign of trouble.”
It was easy for him to say, sitting at his desk, living the lifestyle of a lord.
“What the hell was I supposed to do?”
“Stay, front it out. What did they have on us, anyway?”
“My van,” shouted Johnson. “They came to see my van because a white van had been seen all around Bramfield at odd times in the morning, when strange things were happening. People reported the van as having a brake light out. My van has a brake light out.”
“There’s probably a hundred white vans out there with a brake light out. Did anyone say they had seen your van in particular? Did they give out your registration number?”
Graham Johnson was growing more frustrated by the minute, unlike the man in front of him, who had yet to raise his voice despite the mounting tension.
“Well, not exactly.”
“So, you had a vehicle similar to the one seen around Bramfield and Bursley Bridge at strange times in the morning, and you also had a brake light out. That still doesn’t mean they had anything on you. They were clutching at straws, Graham.”
“But how would I have explained my way out of it?”
