Michael Faringdon's room, Dragonfly Resort, Dominica
Tom: (knock, knock) Hello, Mr. Faringdon?
Michael: Yes?
Tom: Excuse us for you in your hotel room. My name is Tom Hunter and this is Gina Thompson. We’re investigating the of your ex-wife Judy. We believe it’s connected to the disappearance of a friend of ours, Ben Griffiths.
Michael: Are you police?
Gina: Oh no, not at all! We’re journalists. We work for The Move.
Michael: Journalists, eh? Well, you’ve come to the place.
Tom: Believe me, Mr. Faringdon, we simply-
Michael: Do you seriously think I want of people to know about my private life? You’re making a .
Gina: Mr. Faringdon, please. We just want to find out the about your wife's death. The police say she suicide, but we’re not sure. We know she was involved with Beautiful Babes. We want to find out how.
Michael: Beautiful Babes? (sigh) Jesus!
Tom: What’s wrong?
Michael: It’s a name I wanted to hear again, that’s what. But it seems like it’s hard to escape. First your friend Ben Griffiths and now you, all talking about Beautiful Babes. better come inside. We need to talk. But I can only five minutes. I’ve got a business appointment.
Tom: A business appointment? I thought you were on holiday.
Michael: I am. I came here with my daughter Jessica to relax. After all the about Judy’s death, I thought we both needed a few weeks to down. But I’m still a property , even when I’m on holiday, and this island has . So I’m meeting some people in Roseau to talk about a building a hotel on the of the island. Then I have to Jessica. She’s with some friends of mine who a restaurant near Roseau.
Gina: Well, it’s very kind of you to talk to us, Mr. Faringdon.
Michael: Michael.
Gina: OK, Michael... Uh, why did you say you never wanted to hear that name again? What happened with them?
Michael: Take a seat. Can I get you something to drink? A ?
Tom: A beer would be .
Gina: Thank you, yes.
Michael: They destroyed my family, that’s what happened. Judy wanted to be a , and they said they could help her. And now she’s dead. They gave her no help at all. They promised the and gave her nothing.
Tom: Listen, Michael, our friend Ben was investigating Judy’s death and something him to Beautiful Babes. Then he disappeared and we discovered that he came here to Dominica not long ago. Do you know where he is? You said he came to see you, right?
Michael: That’s right, he did. Your friend Ben was here about a week ago. He asked me the same questions about Beautiful Babes. But I don’t know where he is now.
Gina: When he left you, did he say where he was going?
Michael: He didn’t actually say so, but my would be Scotland.
Tom: Scotland? Why?
Michael: Listen, something strange is . Like you, Griffiths was convinced that Judy didn’t kill herself. He says she was murdered by someone at Beautiful Babes. And they have in Edinburgh.
Tom: Michael, we’re very concerned about Ben’s . If your wife was murdered and Ben knows something about it, then he could be in himself.
Michael: All I can do is tell you everything I told him.
Gina: Any information you have will be .
Michael: OK. The first time I got suspicious of Beautiful Babes – and the first time I had a argument with Judy – was about four years ago, when she took from our account and paid it to Beautiful Babes. I didn’t understand why she did that, because she’d already been with them for a couple of years and she was already doing some .
for catalogues mostly. But Judy was always obsessed with her looks, and she wanted to be a super star. She wasn’t satisfied with the she was getting. She told me Beautiful Babes could make her into a top model, or a film star, and $50,000 was their . I accepted it. She desperately wanted to be famous, and I thought she might succeed. But then a month later another $50,000 disappeared. Again we had an argument, but Judy said it was a sum compared to what she would . I accepted it again – I loved her so much I couldn’t the thought of losing her – but I suspected they were her. Then a couple of weeks after that she told me she was pregnant. Well, I was delighted – we both were – but surprised as well. I mean, it wasn’t something we – in fact she always said that she didn’t want a baby until she was really famous. But she seemed very happy, and the very next day she announced more fabulous to me – she was going to star in a film. It was set in Scotland in the Middle and had some big names in it – some of the biggest stars in Hollywood. She left straightaway – she said they wanted to shoot all her scenes before her became too visible. I wanted to go with her, but I had some business to see to, so I said I’d her later, in a couple of weeks. I took her to the airport and I remember saying goodbye… I was so pleased for her, and she looked so beautiful and so happy. Everything was right. But it was one of the last happy moments in our marriage…
Gina: I’m sorry if this is difficult for you, Michael.
Michael: Yeh… It’s memories, that’s all.
Tom: What happened, Michael? Did you go to Scotland to see her?
Michael: No. She was back in Los Angeles herself a couple of weeks later. The pregnancy was going badly. She was having and she had to down. She couldn’t star in the film because it was too – it meant running around the Scottish Highlands and swimming in rivers and that sort of thing. The strange thing was that she didn’t seem to be too disappointed. The baby was more important than her , she said. And I agreed. I thought for a moment she’d forgotten all about becoming a star – but then when I my account I got another big shock. $100,000 this time. To Beautiful Babes again. Judy said it was just to make sure the film director gave her a in his next film. She was booking a part , and when the film was , the money would be paid back. I was pretty furious, I can tell you. OK, I was making good money myself, but I wasn’t prepared to give it all to those at Beautiful Babes.
Tom: So what did you do?
Michael: I went in there and demanded to see the manager. And I discovered that Beautiful babes in Los Angeles is just a office. They do a lot of business there, but the headquarters is in Scotland.
Gina: Was that a coincidence, do you think? Judy went to Scotland to be in a film.
Michael: I don’t think so. I to Scotland myself to find out. I spoke to the chairman in Edinburgh. A real talker called James Foley. At first he pretended he didn’t know what I was talking about. As if there were thousands of women like Judy and he was too busy to know about them all. But then he looked in his and found her contract. He even gave me a copy. And when I read it, I wondered how Judy could be so stupid. The contract promised her nothing. She’d given away all that money and Beautiful Babes was doing nothing in return. When I got back I showed the contract to a and he said there was nothing I could do. Judy promised she’d never give money to Beautiful Babes again, and eventually I . And then when our daughter was born – Jessica – I thought we were going to a normal life. I thought that finally Judy would start to be happy. But she wasn’t.
Gina: Did she still want to be a star? Was that the problem?
Michael: No, it wasn’t that. Listen, I really have to go to that business right now. But if you want to know the rest of the story, I can lend you this – Judy’s diary. When you read it, a lot of things will become clear. Such as why we divorced. And why I believe that my wife was a very woman.
Gina: Her diary? Surely it’s very personal?
Michael: Well, yes and no. It’s not like a normal diary. You’ll see. I showed it to your friend Ben Griffiths. It’s all about Jessica. Maybe it will help you understand. I don’t know. I keep reading it myself to try and understand, but I can’t really figure it out. It won’t take you long to read, but I want it back when you’ve finished. You can leave it for me at the reception.
Gina: Of course. Michael, you’ve been very . Thank you for giving us your time.
Tom: If we find out anything more about your wife’s death, we’ll let you know.
Michael: Thank you.