by Charlot King
“I see. So Edward had bought Susan a necklace made of these scarlet poisonous beads and then was poisoned with them?”
“Exactly, Inspector. They are often woven together by locals to sell to tourists, especially in parts of Africa.”
“Yes! That’s what Susan said. She’d got the necklace from him that night as a present.”
“They have other uses. It has been reported that the rosary pea is used by witch doctors in Africa as a poison, to leave the dead with a scared face.”
The Inspector leans back in his seat and is touching one of Elizabeth’s plants, then thinks twice about it and pulls his hand away, wiping it on his trousers. “So, Susan’s necklace was stolen on the night of Edward’s death. The necklace you gave me from your lawn by Edward was actually the murder weapon.”
Elizabeth smiles, realising this next bit might confuse Abley, as it took her a while to work out. But before she can explain, the Inspector has run away with it and is getting it all wrong.
“So Susan poisoned Edward after he’d given her the necklace? We have the case wrapped up in five minutes after I ask you back. That must be a record! Susan murdered Edward out of some jealousy as his mistress. Then she killed herself, dramatically in the Chapel, trying to implicate Rebecca for the whole thing by pointing at her with her last breath. So we’d all think Rebecca did it. To frame her. Thank goodness you solved it, it was all getting a bit complicated.”
Elizabeth looks out of the window; she has thought it all through and what he’s just said makes no sense to her whatsoever. How can she correct him without revealing him for the shallow thinker he really is, she wonders.
“Not so fast, Inspector. It has been niggling away at me. If Susan had poisoned Edward with the rosary peas from the necklace, what about the red marks around her neck? Why would she make such a fuss to draw our attention to the murder weapon if she did it? It doesn’t make sense.”
The Inspector looks out the window, still confused. Elizabeth continues to explain.
“It couldn’t have been beads from Susan’s necklace either. The poison is not that quick acting. If he’d given her the beads that night as a present, she would have had to think very quickly to put some in his food, and he would probably have started to feel ill when back at college, not before. No, the poison didn’t come from her necklace.”
Abley leans back in the sofa and accepts he is as confused as ever about the beads on the necklace.
“I don’t understand. You mean Susan’s necklace isn’t the murder weapon?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. The necklace I found in my garden, Inspector, the one you have at the station as evidence, I am sure it had no beads missing. When I gave it to you it was really tight. There were no gaps in the string. You’d need a few beads to poison Edward. The abrin must have been ground up in something he ate or drank, maybe injected to cause multiple organ failure and in high concentrations to speed things along.”
Inspector Abley thinks about The Green Magician.
“We’ve searched the whole of The Green Magician with a fine tooth comb. Still shut with our men there. They’ve found nothing.”
“You can open it right back up, you won’t find anything. Anything the killer used will be long thrown away. Abrin gets you by inhibiting cellular protein synthesis, which would explain the multiple organ failure.”
Abley looks a little blank, not really understanding how the poison works, but not wanting to admit it. Elizabeth knows him so well, so explains it more simply.
“It stops cells from being able to make the proteins they need. Without proteins the cells eventually die.”
Abley puts on his most intelligent face.
“Of course. Makes sense.”
Elizabeth continues, “We need to find something else with abrin.”
“What if he had them in his pocket and accidentally ate them?”
“Unlikely. They don’t look like food, do they. I’ll get you the report first thing tomorrow.”
Abley stands up, very pleased with how things are moving apace now Elizabeth is back.
“Good to have you back on board.”
Elizabeth nods the slightest acknowledgement, but can’t be doing with any sickly gratitude. They both know Elizabeth will solve this now, and he can get back to playing golf.
“I have to go and teach later and before that I have to go back this lunchtime to see if my poor Bertie is up to eating anything. He’s been right off his food. He had fresh sea bass from a chap who delivers Brancaster caught fish.”
Abley realises he may be able to do something for Elizabeth.
“Does he happen to deliver to local restaurants as well as to you?”
“Yes. How do you know?”
“Because if it’s the same bloke, we contacted him. He was one of the suppliers at The Green Magician. And as it turns out they had some fresh fish with signs of scumbitoxin, the stuff Leedham found in Edward’s stomach.”
Elizabeth is grateful for the tip. Her heart sinks though, as she’ll have to throw the rest of the fish away and go out and find a new supplier. It makes her think of home and something else on her mind.
“Well if you can solve that so quickly, can you at least find my greenhouse burglar?”
“What?”
“Someone has been stealing my grapes. I can’t for the life of me catch the perpetrator. And they have been doing it right under my nose, and the noses of your police officers who are supposed to be guarding my garden. Yet someone is coming in and taking grapes willy nilly.”
“Sand, leave sand on the floor. You’ll catch the prints and it will lead you to the thief.”
“Sand, hmm. I’m going to try that. At lunch. I listened to the tape recording I made to try to catch them in the crime, but all I heard was just hissing, the odd boat noise on the river and a few crows cawing to each other.”
Elizabeth looks at Inspector Abley and wonders if he’s still unsure of her return.
“What’s the matter?”
“Rebecca Wiley told me you told her Susan wanted to meet you both?”
“Yes. Most odd. I really wonder, like I said before, if we shouldn’t look more closely at Dr Eruna? He was in the Chapel when Susan collapsed, wasn’t he?”
“You really must keep me abreast of these developments. Can you assure me you will in future, now you are part of my team?”
“Of course, Bob.”
Elizabeth sees the Inspector relax a little, but not completely.
“Come on, was that it?”
“I’m supposed to be playing today. Captain’s competition.”
“Ah, golf. What time?”
“3pm. I really don’t want to miss it. I could use it to work through all the clues while I play, don’t you think?”
“I completely agree.” Elizabeth breaks the tiniest of smiles.
“I need to get my head around the case.”
“Do that. Work through until 2.45pm and then go. No one will complain.”
“I’ll be back later.”
“I’m here. Lemon can call you if something happens.”
“If I get a buggy I can be at the Gog club house in ten, from the furthest bit of the course. It’s just like a long lunch break.”
Elizabeth smiles to herself. Old times. Abley gets up, with renewed energy.
“Right, good. And as for this Dr Eruna chappy, there were a lot of people in the Chapel.”
“Yes, but they were singing. I met him before; he was saying how he knew Edward at college. He was being less than sympathetic about his death.”
“Perhaps we should pay him a visit. See what he says to us.”
“I think that would be a good idea, Bob. Do you think Rebecca and Kara need police protection?”
“We offered a man on the house but they refused.”
> “And Mr. Smythe-Jones?”
“Oh I think he can protect himself. You know, he has a motive. Inherits Edward’s estate apparently. Edward didn’t trust Rebecca to look after herself. With Susan out of the way, and no heir, we’re talking millions. Do you know Jonathan said he hadn’t seen Edward in ages, but Edward called his landline the morning he got back from Africa from the department.”
Elizabeth listens to the Inspector intently as he starts to walk to the door.
“It’s good to have you back. I’ll wait for your toxicology report with bated breath. See you later at the station?”
Elizabeth nods. The Inspector smiles and leaves. Elizabeth puts the book back on the shelf. Relieved at being at a college of only graduates, she builds herself up to see her next Masters student.
“Next. Come in.” A young man pokes his head around the door. Elizabeth picks up his essay and waves in the young lad.
“So, Mr Gimson, making it up again? I can sniff out a fake story at fifty paces.” The student comes in and sheepishly sits down.
“I liked your essay about heracleum mantagazzianum, giant hogweed, Gimson. Indeed now classed as an invasive species. I think perhaps a little too much fuss has been made of this particular invasive. I agree with your conclusions on management. I was particularly interested to read the part you wrote about habitat preferences and your comments that it can be found more commonly along old canal ‘toad paths’. Did you study much history at school before coming to Cambridge? I wondered if you’d read about horse drawn canal boats being pulled along towpaths pre and through the industrial revolution?” As Gimson’s face sinks with shame, Elizabeth smiles a little. If Susan didn’t kill Edward and didn’t kill herself, Elizabeth must catch the man she thinks really committed the double murder before he strikes again.
33. Won’t Stay a Secret
Jonathan Smythe-Jones is in the Stranger’s Bar at Westminster with the Chief Whip of the Conservative party. The Whip, a typical aristocratic politician, is so well dressed he makes Jonathan look a little shabby. Jonathan has the cheque from Edward in his hands.
“I don’t think I should cash this, but do you think he wrote a stub in his cheque book? It could look really bad for me.”
The Whip, with a cut glass voice, leans into Jonathan’s ear.
“The more you can keep your distance from your brother-in-law right now the better, without of course giving off an impression of coldness to the family. Do you really need to spend so much time with your sister? I think your quota for the week has expired.”
The Whip looks down at his phone, and hurriedly checks his emails. Jonathan stands up and paces.
“I inherit everything, you know. I just found out. Edward left it all to me. Didn’t trust poor Rebecca to look after herself.”
The Whip’s face moves into a hard glare.
“You need to create some distance, you hear? We need to talk about the country, not your ruddy private life.”
✧
Kara leans over on the bed and strokes Rebecca’s hair. Rebecca flinches. They have been together for a couple of hours and no matter what Kara does to settle Rebecca, she won’t let her in. Exasperated, Kara gives up trying to be a good friend, opens the curtains and looks out onto her garden, pleased with what she’s done with it. Rebecca throws her head back down on the pillow, lost in misery. Kara, on the other hand, takes a deep breath of fresh air from the window, “It’s sunny outside. Your British weather. Make hay while the sun shines, isn’t it? Why don’t we go and sit on the lawn? I can make you more tea?”
Rebecca grabs a pillow to mask the ache in her stomach. Kara turns to face Rebecca as she picks up some perfume and sprays some on her chest and around the room.
“You would have been a great mother. You may still. Hey, why don’t you help me sort the party favours?”
Rebecca looks at Kara and sighs. Is this what it has come to? The back bedroom of her brother’s house, being fussed over by Kara. Does Kara really think she wants to help with wedding details when she has just become a widow? Can she get anymore thoughtless, Rebecca wonders. “Susan ruddy Bunt. I just can’t believe it.”
Kara opens her wedding box and takes out a couple of sample choices, holding up two small liqueur bottles. She’s much too excited about her wedding to continue to discuss Susan Bunt in some downward spiral to hell.
“Come on. I need to place an order today for either four hundred of these, or these almonds and chocolate flags. Or should I get both? I can’t give young people these. What do you think? Here try one. Might be a better idea than tea.”
Rebecca looks at the bottles, which say ‘drink me’, like Alice in Wonderland and the bags of sweets.
“Give me one of those.”
Rebecca opens a bottle and drinks the blackberry whisky inside. She opens Kara’s box and takes out another three and puts them on her lap, opening their lids.
“Are your family coming? I’ve not met them before.”
Kara shuts the lid on the box, to stop Rebecca drinking anymore as she watches Rebecca down the three little bottles, spilling some on her chin and the duvet.
“Mum died.” Kara sips her own party favour.
“What about your Father?” Rebecca opens the lid to the box to pull out more bottles.
Kara sneers at the thought of her father. “Not bloody likely. I keep my distance.”
Rebecca finds this puzzling. She always thought Kara must have had a good upbringing, she certainly hasn’t ever wanted for anything.
“Isn’t he supposed to give you away? I thought you wanted a traditional wedding?”
“I think I’d prefer absolutely anyone else to give me away. I don’t need that pond life to do it.”
Rebecca thinks of the perfect person. “Edward would have given you away. He would have been perfect at that. Not for buying the party favours though. These are nice. He bought loads of toot back from Africa, I expect it included your wedding present. Had dreadful taste in gifts, didn’t he? I remember that little mauve gonk he bought me back from Austria. He thought it was the best thing. It was hideous.”
Kara picks up the almost empty bottles Rebecca has tossed on the duvet, which are now leaking out blackcurrant stains.
“I don’t need gifts, you know me well enough for that. All I need is your brother, Rebecca. Just a simple wedding, marrying the man I love.”
Rebecca half smiles, “And four hundred people. Get the liqueurs, definitely.”
✧
Mr Leedham drops his orange glasses onto the end of his nose and starts to read aloud.
“She could have committed suicide, but if she’d wanted to there are much quicker and easier ways than poisoning yourself with this concoction.”
Abley chips in.
“Her house was burgled after she died.” Abley looks at Elizabeth. This is new information since this morning. Abley walks over to the white board and starts writing the words ‘double murder?’. Elizabeth looks closely at the board and starts stating the facts.
“Susan was all set to go on holiday without Edward. She’d upgraded to first class. Put her plants in the sink at home, ready to be there when she got back. She was pregnant and seemed at ease with the fact. This didn’t seem like a woman willing to take her own life.”
Abley wonders about the murderer.
“Rebecca Wiley. Surely she has a motive?” Elizabeth looks to Leedham for him to continue to read his report. “Mr Leedham, if we go back to the start and retrace what you’ve found. Then perhaps just hear me out? I have a theory.”
Mr Leedham starts to read.
“It looks like she lost extensive fluid and there are signs of peripheral neuropathy.”
Elizabeth interjects.
“And we agree that Susan Bunt died of a cardiac arrest, but she was clearly a very fit young woman, wasn’t she?”
“Yes, that truly stumped me. Despite smoking she had a strong cardiovascular system. The symptoms don’t match any one cause.”
Elizabeth draws Mr Leedham and his orange spectacles down to look through the microscope on the desk. Mr Leedham gazes down the eyepiece as Elizabeth speaks.
“Look at the bone marrow. There are high traces of an alkaloid.” Then as Mr Leedham lifts his head, Elizabeth holds up a leaf in front of them both, from a plant she has brought in.
“Would you like to check through these chemicals with me, Mr Leedham? See if we can’t find traces of any?”
As Abley takes a peek through the microscope himself, unsure of what he’s looking at, a sergeant pops his head through the door.
“Inspector, there has been an incident at King’s College. Another break in.”
Abley looks at his watch. It’s already eleven.
Elizabeth gives Mr Leedham the leaf, as the Inspector takes hold of her shoulders and whispers.
“Glad to have you back. So she was poisoned? Is that what you are saying?”
Elizabeth nods and replies.
“If you’re out looking for burglars, catch my grape thieves. I can’t lose anymore. It’s going to be a good year.”
Mr Leedham is confused but Abley just shakes his head at him to ignore Elizabeth on this occasion. He wants to get this case off his desk quickly, and yet it keeps growing.
✧
Jonathan is still with the Whip. They have left the Stranger’s Bar and are now walking across the House of Westminster lobby. The two are very close and take a seat at the edge. Jonathan talks first.
“I’m going to deal with this. Make no mistake, this ends now.”
“This won’t stay secret forever, I agree and I can’t see you have any choice, but don’t do anything stupid.”
Jonathan looks angry.
“She’s driven me nuts from day one. She hangs around, turning over stones. I won’t take it anymore. No, you have my word that I will put an end to it, discreetly but finally. Tonight.”
Jonathan knows exactly what he has to do. He wishes there were more hours in the day, the amount of times he’s been back and forth from Cambridge to London over the past days. The Whip has no sympathy for Jonathan, only interested in ensuring full party support for government.
