Interview with Miss Somer

What to do next visit the ripper club or interview the wife, I decided to go with the safe one for now although looking back on it I am not sure I chose right. Mrs Kat or as she likes to be called now Miss Somer talked quite a bit, I have edited the worse of it out. Miss Somer resides in the up market end of Royal Tonbridge Wells, I would say just Tonbridge Wells but she was quick to point out that it is “Royal” meaning that the Queen has a residence near the town. I did not have the heart to tell her this is not the meaning of the “Royal” prefix, Royals have stayed there in the past but it is not currently a royal residence. I figured she has just lost an ex-husband best not to remove her “Royal” connection too.

She invited me into her “front parlour” , her actual words were “We can talk in the front parlour, if you don't mind...”. Pictures of cats and lots of dollies was my impression of the parlour. I asked “Do you have cats?” to which the reply was “No definitely not, they smell whatever gave you that idea? Do I look like a cat owner, you can catch all sorts of things from cats you know...I...”. I moved straight on before she got a head of steam up. “Do you know what your husband was working before he died?” I said. Instantly her nose went up and said “I think you mean ex-husband, of course I am sorry he is dead, he was a good provider but some of the things he did, I just couldn't put up with it at all. Daddy always said Joseph was a weird one, I should of listened then. You know the reason why I got the divorce don't you?” I knew that it was a bad idea to let her continue but curiosity got the better of me, not that it mattered my silence was the affirmative for her to continue. “He wore socks in bed, quite disgusting if you ask me. It wasn't the only reason of course I wouldn't want you to think me petty but it was the last straw.” She paused I assume for breath I jumped in before she started again “You were telling me what Joseph was working on?” She looked me queerly like I was not right in the head, “Was I, well maybe I was. Joseph worked on everything you know, he was an important man once worked for the M.O.D. you know...” you don't hear punctuation often “...then he decides he wants to work as a croupier in some gambling den in Brighton, of course I let him sometimes you have let your men do their stuff gets it out of their system makes them feel independent for awhile. He didn't last long at it, wasn't his cup of tea. The money from the Government job was good enough until he found another job otherwise I wouldn't of been able to go out in public I mean the stigma of having an unemployed husband, you hear all sorts of stories, don't you know.” I am sure at this point my eyes were beginning to glaze over, perhaps I should of got Louise to speak to her instead. I tried once more, “Miss Somer do you know or not what Joseph was working before was killed, was it perhaps something to do with fridges?” I figured if I used the word 'killed' it might wake her up a bit, yet another glare and then “Fridges I don't think it was fridges, I do remember the last time we spoke he mentioned he was going to Cambridge to see a mad professor, of course I thought he was joking, I mean imagine the talk I would get about that.” She stopped and took a sip of tea, she had looked agast when I had dunked my digestive biscuit in my tea earlier obviously it was not a thing you do in “front parlours”. I decided to take a different tack and asked “Do you know if Joseph was interested in mysteries, I mean unsolved crimes and disappearances?” She looked a little surprised “How did you know about that? Of course you must of seen his collection of that rag, I forget what it is called something Fort, Tom mentioned that you have been to the flat. He was a member of some club as well, used to get things in the post a lot, he was always very defensive of his club, just a boys club as far as I was concerned. He was always saying that they would changed world some day the usual nonsense men say when they get together.” She paused and realised she was talking to a man, I took the opportunity to ask “Have you ever heard of a man called F.P. Sun?” To which the reply was a negative, after that it was all small talk that would drive most men insane, it was another hour before I managed to leave, I should have dunked my biscuit again that would probably had shorted the interview far quicker.

Mad professor perhaps he was talking about Professor Maad another person I do not want to see. The magazine is most likely the Fortean Times, while there were a far number of technical books in Kat's flat I never saw the FT there. I can only assume it was hidden under another pile of books somewhere. Maybe Kat has a connection to Sun after all, Sun obviously knew him. I wonder what Esme will say when I ring her, at least her cheque did not bouce like so many of my other clients.