Now it was Diamond’s turn to be logical. ‘I can’t tell you because I wasn’t there. Have you played with the quartet in Japan?’
‘Yes.’
‘The Japanese like classical music, don’t they? I expect some of them are very knowledgeable.’
‘Yes.’
‘You see, I’m wondering if a certain young woman who heard you play in Tokyo, or wherever it was, loved your playing, came to England this summer and got herself into one of the soirées the quartet gave. She could have introduced herself after the concert and told you she was a fan.’
‘Plenty do,’ Anthony said.
‘Plenty of Japanese women?’
‘All sorts. I don’t pay attention to fans.’
‘But you would pay attention if she made an intelligent comment about the music?’
‘I told you that already.’
Diamond decided the only way forward was an appeal to Anthony’s better nature. ‘Help me, Anthony. Try and remember. Whatever she said may not have seemed worth listening to at the time, but it could be important. She was Japanese and her name was Mari Hitomi and you’ve seen her picture before.’ He took the photo from his pocket.
There wasn’t a glimmer of recognition.
‘If she didn’t have anything to say about the concert, she may have asked a question about your violin, how old it is, how valuable, who made it, whether you have other violins.’
A shrug and a shake of the head.
‘She could have asked you to autograph her programme.’
‘I wouldn’t remember that.’ Anthony looked at his watch. ‘I must get back. The others will be ready to start again.’
‘She had a musical note tattooed on one of her upper teeth.’
‘A quaver,’ Anthony said at once, ‘on the lateral incisor, right hand side. Right to me, left for her.’ He didn’t add, ‘Why didn’t you ask?’ but Diamond felt as if he had. Even so, it was the breakthrough he’d been working for.
‘Did she say anything to you?’
‘She must have, for me to notice the tooth.’
‘Do you remember what was said?’
‘It couldn’t have been important.’
‘Take another look at the photo. Is this the woman?’
‘I don’t know. I can’t see her teeth.’
‘But is the face familiar?’
‘I told you I don’t remember faces.’
He got no further with Anthony.
Before allowing the quartet to resume their rehearsal, he addressed them as a group. ‘You’ve all been shown a photo of a Japanese woman called Mari Hitomi who was found dead in the River Avon a few days ago. We happen to know she was a fan of the Staccati Quartet visiting Bath about the time you began your residency here. Earlier, each of you claimed you hadn’t seen her before, but I have since learned from Anthony that he was approached by a woman of her description after one of the concerts you gave. He spotted the tattoo of a music note on one of her front teeth and this leads me to believe this was Miss Hitomi. Obviously this is significant. We’ll need to ask more questions of each of you and I’m advising you as individuals to contact me if you have any more information about her.’
Nobody spoke for several seconds. Then Ivan said, ‘Are you telling us we’re under suspicion?’
‘I was careful with my words,’ Diamond said. ‘I’m seeking information.’
Cat said, ‘You want to be careful about what Anthony tells you. He’s a sweetie, but his memory isn’t the sharpest when it comes to anything other than music.’
‘Thanks, but we’ll treat everything we learn from any of you with the same respect.’
‘I didn’t say he isn’t honest. He’s the most honest guy you could hope to meet.’
‘I’ll second that,’ Ivan said. ‘We trust him totally.’
17
After Diamond had said his piece and left, Ivan stated in a few trenchant words that he wanted to get straight back to work on the Beethoven without any more being said about the Japanese woman. Nobody objected. A surge of energy in the second part of the rehearsal reflected the tension among the quartet. They played Opus 59, No. 3 from the beginning. This time when they reached the fugue they attacked it with a pulsating tempo that almost did justice to Beethoven’s impossible metronome mark. The intensity of the task galvanised them all, yet the bowing was crisp and always under control. It was as if they were resolving their own anger through the playing – anger at Diamond, the police and the suspicion hanging over them.
‘I think we’re in shape,’ Cat said after they lifted bows from strings and sat back.