Page 39 of Nothing But the Night (Basic Instincts 2)

“Hello, Mr Remar. My name is Jason Durham, I’m a private investigator.”

“Investigator?” The voice faltered on the single word.

“I work for the brother of Theo Glass. I understand you had a working relationship.”

There was a long pause before he replied. “I…did a favour for Theo and photographed him once or twice. I hardly knew him, though. I’m not sure how I can help.”

“I know about the adult content creation. I understand you shot quite a few of Theo’s videos.”

“I don’t know where you’ve got this information from.” There was no charm in the voice now, just pure hostility.

“From more than one source, Mr Remar. I’m not looking to do you any disservice. I’m trying to get a picture of Theo’s life in the months leading up to this death. I’m contacting as many of his acquaintances as I can.”

“I ceased working with him long before he died. I don’t see how I can help you.”

“Do you remember when you saw him last?”

Blake sighed. “I don’t know. Sometime last summer.”

“On a shoot?”

“If that’s what you want to call it, yes. Theo booked a hotel, and I went along to film him and some of his…friends.”

“You’d worked together a few times before that?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve seen some of the stuff you did together. Very professional. It seemed like you had a good collaboration going. Why did you stop working together?”

Jason heard Blake take a deep breath. “Look, I started filming him as a favour. It’s not the kind of workI usually do. I didn’t want to continue and that was the end of it.”

“A favour? So, you must have known Theo pretty well. You must have been good friends to get involved in something so risqué.”

“I’ve told you all I know. I did him a favour a handful of times then stopped. That was the end of it. I didn’t see him for months before his accident. I have nothing more to add.”

Blake hung up.

Wow. Aggressive. Defensive.

Blake Remar knew more about Theo than he was prepared to acknowledge.

Jason took out his notebook and drew a circle around his name. Blake had just become his prime person of interest.

Chapter Fifteen

A Grieving City

If Marc had ever been to Julie’s Bar before, he had no memory of it. Either that or the place had changed considerably. Though not as old-fashioned as The New Inn, it was a traditional pub with a friendly atmosphere. He’d arranged to meet Jason here at seven for a drink before they went to get something to eat. He’d kept the room on at The Vermont for another night and had got a surprising amount of work done there today without the usual distractions of being in an office. Marc had finished everything he needed to by five. He’d done a quick workout in the hotel gym, showered and changed, and arrived at the pub twenty minutes ahead of time.

The video jukebox was playing Kylie Minogue when he arrived. The place was reasonably busy, but from the way they were dressed he guessed these were people having a drink after work, rather than those at the start of a night out.

Just a week ago, Marc would have felt out of place coming into any of the bars in the gay village byhimself. How much had changed since he’d instigated the investigation and met Jason. This world, which had seemed so alien and unwelcoming to him before, was almost a comfort now. By discovering the venues on the scene, even The Viaduct, he felt like he was getting to know Theo in a way he’d never been able to when he was alive.

He could imagine his brother in here. Surrounded by friends, having a laugh and making the most of life.

With a sudden stab to the heart that had become all too frequent, Marc was flooded with regret for the things he’d never said and now never would.

There were two women working the bar. One with white and blue hair approached him with a smile and took his order. He went for a medium glass of white wine. As she fixed the drink and took payment, he noticed a framed photo on the back wall of a handsome man around forty years old. There was a plaque beside his picture.In loving memory of Phil Logan,it read.

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