Cars and Cold Cases

by Diana Xarissa

  “I’m sorry,” Peter said.

  “When I got home that night, I thought something awful had happened,” Mel told him. “I couldn’t imagine where she’d gone. I rang the police right away and insisted on filing a missing person report. I couldn’t sleep. I kept ringing all of her friends and family members, trying to find her.”

  “It must have been awful for you,” Fenella said.

  “She rang me the next morning,” Mel said flatly.

  Fenella sat back in her chair and tried hard to not look as stunned as she felt.

  “She rang you the next morning?” Peter echoed.

  “Yep. The man she’d been so in love with, the one who’d gone back to his wife in the UK, he’d turned up at our flat out of the blue.”

  “Liam?” Fenella asked.

  “That’s the one,” Mel said. “I can’t bring myself to say his name, though.”

  “So what happened to Kay?”

  “Apparently he’d gone home and decided that he couldn’t live without Kay. But he didn’t think it was fair to her to come back while he was still married. It had taken him three years to sort out a divorce, apparently.”

  “That seems unlikely,” Peter said.

  “Yeah, well, Kay believed him. When he came to our flat, she went off with him back to his hotel. When she woke up the next morning in his bed, she discovered that I’d reported her missing. She was really embarrassed and she didn’t want anyone to know where she’d been.”

  “So you didn’t tell anyone,” Fenella said.

  “No, we didn’t. She especially didn’t want her parents to find out. They’d have been very upset to hear how she’d behaved. At first she talked about coming back to me, and we tried to come up with a story to explain her disappearance, but after a day or two it became obvious that she wasn’t going to do that. She had never stopped loving that other man and she decided that she wanted to be with him, not me.”

  “You should have told me,” Peter said.

  “What good would that have done?” Mel asked. “Kay didn’t want anyone to know and I certainly didn’t want people talking about how she’d only married me because she’d found herself in trouble. It was easier to just leave her listed as missing.”

  “So what happened to her?” Fenella had to ask.

  “That man had been offered a job in New Zealand,” Mel said. “He wanted her to go with him and she agreed. She was going to send a card or a letter to me once she arrived. I was going to take that to the police so that they could close the case. I never heard from her again.”

  “Do you think something happened to her?” Peter asked.

  “I know what happened to her,” Mel said. “She didn’t contact me, but she did send a letter to her parents after several years. She told them that she’d run away with a friend because she was unhappy and that she was fine and happily settled in New Zealand. Her parents were already living in the UK by that time and they never bothered to tell anyone, aside from me, that they’d heard from her.”

  “So the police should be able to track her down,” Peter said.

  “I suppose so,” Mel sighed. “I’m sure her mother kept the letters. Kay wrote to them a couple more times after that first letter. Her mum always rang me to tell me when they’d heard. Apparently she sent photos of herself and her children in some of the letters.”

  Peter glanced at Fenella and then patted Mel on the back. “That’s tough,” he said. “She should be ashamed of herself for treating you like that.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t know,” Mel said. “I should have rung the police as soon as I heard from her, but she was adamant that she didn’t want anyone to know where she’d been. At that point I still thought she would be coming back to me. Somehow, from there, the whole thing just kept going and growing and I couldn’t seem to stop it.”

  “Her parents should have contacted the police when they heard from her,” Fenella said. “The whole case could have been closed years ago.”

  “They probably should have, but her father was in pretty bad shape by then. Her mother had too much else to deal with to worry about Kay. They were pretty bitter, as well. Kay had let them worry about her for a very long time before she got in touch.”

  “So you’re going to tell Inspector Robinson the whole story tomorrow?” Fenella asked.

  “Yeah. I just hope he won’t arrest me for obstructing justice or filing a false report or some such thing,” Mel said.

  “I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Peter said. “Daniel is a good man and I suspect he’ll just be happy to have the case closed.”

  “I’m going to offer to go across with him to talk to Kay’s mum,” Mel said. “I’m hoping she might remember me. We always got along well. Kay used to complain that her parents liked me better than they liked her.”

  “Perhaps they had good reason to,” Fenella muttered.

  Mel shrugged. “As I said, if I could I’d do it all over again very differently.” He finished his drink and then sighed deeply. “I thought I would get drunk tonight and that would help, but it’s just making me feel sad and angry. Maybe I’ll go home and get some sleep.”

  “Why don’t you come back to my flat?” Peter asked. “We can grab some more beer on the way, and we can have a few drinks and talk about the good old days when we were young and single.”

  “Sure, why not?” Mel said.

  The trio made their way out into the night, with Mel staggering slightly between the other two.

  “I used to be able to hold my liquor,” he muttered as he tripped over nothing.

  “Maybe we should skip the beer, then,” Peter said.

  “Whatever,” Mel replied.

  When they reached the sixth floor, Peter let Mel into his flat as Fenella dug through her handbag, looking for her keycard.

  “I’m sorry about tonight,” Peter said. He crossed to Fenella’s side and tipped her chin up so that their eyes met. “I was hoping that we could enjoy being out together, just the two of us.”

  Fenella swallowed hard and then gave him a tentative smile. “Mel needs you tonight,” she said.

  “I know,” Peter replied ruefully. “I’ll make it up to you,” he added quietly. Fenella nodded and then leaned into his kiss.

  “Peter? Are you com, er, I, um, sorry,” Mel said from Peter’s doorway.

  Peter raised his head and then laughed. “I think I’d better go,” he said.

  “Good night,” Fenella said softly.

  “Good night.”

  She still hadn’t found her keycard and now she was all flustered from the interrupted kiss. After pulling nearly everything out of her bag, she finally found the card. It had managed to slip in between the bag’s lining and the bag itself, and it took Fenella a moment to work out how to get it back out.

  “It’s a good thing I only had one drink,” she muttered to herself as she opened the door.

  Katie raced out of the kitchen and then ran around the room in excited circles as Fenella locked up the door behind herself. “What’s the matter?” she asked the kitten as Katie jumped on and off each of the chairs in turn.

  “I think she’s feeling better,” Mona said. “She’s been racing around the place all night.”

  Fenella picked up the kitten and gave her a cuddle. “Are you feeling better?” she asked.

  “Merow,” Katie said. “Meerroowww.”

  Fenella laughed and put the kitten back on the floor. Katie raced around the entire room one last time and then disappeared into the bedroom.

  The light was blinking on her answering machine, so Fenella pushed play.

  “It’s Daniel,” a sexy, deep voice said. “There’s going to be a memorial service for Roger Starr tomorrow afternoon. Knowing you, you’ll want to attend. I think it might be best if I went with you. I’ll collect you at two. Ring me back if you don’t want to go otherwise, I’ll see you at two.”

  Fenella frowned at the machine. “Maybe I don’t want to go,” she said.

  �
�Of course you do,” Mona told her. “You were probably the last person to speak to him, aside from his killer; you have to be there.”

  “No one else knows that, besides Daniel,” Fenella said. “Everyone will think it’s odd that I’m there.”

  “Who cares what people think?” Mona demanded.

  “We’ll see,” was as far as Fenella was willing to commit at the moment. She got ready for bed and then curled up with Katie and fell into a deep sleep.

  14

  She wasn’t any more certain the next morning, but by the time she’d eaten breakfast and spent half an hour working on her research, she was bored and ready to do something. Going to a memorial service with Daniel wouldn’t have been her first choice, but at least she was going to get to spend some time with the handsome police inspector.

  After lunch she went into her bedroom and looked through her wardrobe. She’d worn one of Mona’s dresses to the last memorial service she’d attended, but Daniel had been at that one as well. While she’d loved the dress, she didn’t want him to think that she only owned one outfit.

  “There’s a beautiful dark grey dress in my wardrobe,” Mona told her. “I think it will be perfect for today.”

  Fenella found the dress and had to agree with her aunt. “It’s lovely,” she said as she held it up. “But I’m not sure it will fit.”

  “Try it on,” Mona urged her. “It should be perfect.”

  It was. Fenella did a slow twirl in front of the mirror and then smiled at Mona. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

  “There are matching shoes as well,” Mona told her.

  “You had an awful lot of shoes,” Fenella remarked as she hunted for the right pair.

  “In my day it was important for ladies to match their shoes with their outfits and their handbags,” Mona said. “I’m sure your mother did the same.”

  Fenella nodded. “Mum was always impeccably dressed,” she said. “Standards have changed a lot.”

  “Standards have slipped a lot,” Mona corrected her. “It’s a shame, really. I always felt elegant and in control when I was well-dressed.”

  “It’s hard to feel elegant in jeans and a sweatshirt,” Fenella admitted. “But they are comfortable,” she added, defending her most frequent fashion choice.

  Daniel was right on time and he greeted Fenella with a smile. “You look wonderful,” he said.

  “Thanks,” Fenella replied. “You look good, too.” The man was wearing a dark suit that made him look even more handsome than usual.

  “I’m not sure who is going to be there this afternoon,” Daniel told her, once they were in his car. “I suspect just about everyone from the Manderly case will make an appearance, though.”

  “Have you worked out whether Roger’s death was murder or not?” Fenella asked.

  “Not officially,” he said. “But there are a few things that don’t quite fit with the accident theory. One or two might be able to be explained away, but there seem to be several different issues complicating the case.”

  “If he was murdered, it must have been because the killer thought he knew something about Christopher’s death,” Fenella said.

  “That’s my take on the matter,” Daniel agreed.

  “So the killer will probably be at the memorial service,” Fenella concluded.

  “Which means we need to keep our eyes and ears open,” Daniel told her.

  “I’m just wondering how to explain why I’m even there,” Fenella said. “As far as everyone knows, I’d never met the man.”

  “You can tell them you spoke to him, if you want to. Just make sure you make it clear that he didn’t tell you anything about Christopher’s death. We don’t want the killer making you the next target.”

  “No, we don’t,” Fenella said emphatically.

  Daniel parked his car near the door of the large church. “They’re having the service in the church’s community room,” he told Fenella. “Apparently, Roger wasn’t religious, so they didn’t want to have the service in the church itself.”

  “Who’s paying for all of this?” Fenella asked.

  “Sophia. She said she felt obligated to do something for the poor man. She’s also admitted to supplying him with food and sending her housekeeping service over occasionally to clean his house.”

  “That makes it sound like she killed her husband,” Fenella said.

  “I’m not convinced that she’s telling the truth,” Daniel replied. “I suspect she’s covering for someone, but I’m not sure who.”

  “Why would she cover up her own husband’s murder?”

  “If I knew the answer to that, I’d probably know the killer’s identity.”

  Fenella nodded and then followed Daniel out of the car. They went to a door at the side of the church. Daniel held it so that Fenella could walk in first. It opened into a small corridor. Discreet signs indicated the way to the community center.

  “We’re a few minutes early,” Daniel said as they approached the open door. “Maybe we should have waited in the car for a bit longer.”

  “Do you want to go back outside for a minute?” Fenella asked.

  Daniel hesitated. The sound of the door opening behind them made him shake his head. “Someone else is coming,” he whispered.

  Fenella looked back and smiled at Peter and Shelly. “I didn’t expect to see you two here,” she said.

  “I did tell you that Roger used to work for me,” Peter reminded her. “It’s only right that I should come and pay my respects.”

  “And I came with him because I didn’t have anything better to do this afternoon,” Shelly said with a chuckle.

  “Shall we?” Daniel asked. The foursome walked into the large community room together.

  There were rows of chairs set up in front of a small table. On the opposite side of the room, a small kitchen seemed to be overflowing with women in aprons who were rushing around. A handful of the chairs were occupied, and it seemed to Fenella as if every single person in the room stopped and turned to look at them as she and her friends walked in.

  “Ah, Peter, so nice of you to come,” Sophia called from where she was standing with Carl. As she crossed the room toward them, Fenella had a chance to wonder at the woman’s choice of outfit. Her black dress had a high collar and reached the floor, but it was by no means demure. Strategically placed cutouts showed off far more of Sophia than Fenella felt was appropriate for a memorial service.

  “It’s always lovely to see you,” Peter told Sophia as he greeted her with a hug. She kept her arm around him as he released her.

  “And Shelly, thank you for coming,” Sophia said, nodding in Shelly’s direction. “I wasn’t expecting a police presence,” she added, giving Daniel a questioning look.

  “I hope I’m welcome,” he said lightly.

  “Oh, of course you are,” Sophia said. She took a few steps closer to him and then took his hand. “You’re welcome anywhere and any time,” she whispered just loudly enough for Fenella to overhear.

  Daniel flushed. “And you’ve met Fenella Woods, I believe,” he said, pulling his hand away from Sophia. He rested it on Fenella’s shoulder as the other woman turned toward her.

  “Ah, yes, we met the other night at the party, didn’t we?” Sophia asked. “I didn’t realize you and Inspector Robinson were friends.”

  “We met over a dead body,” Fenella said.

  “Did you now?” Sophia asked, raising an eyebrow. “But you didn’t know poor Roger, did you? I think it’s rather odd, your being here today.”

  “I met Roger the day he died, actually,” Fenella told her. “I was sitting on the promenade and he sat down next to me. We had a short chat.”

  “About what?” Sophia demanded.

  “About the weather and a few other little things,” Fenella said. “He seemed like a nice man, really, just unfortunately unable to overcome his addictions.”

  “He was a nice man,” Sophia said, blinking back tears. “I’m going to miss him, actually. Pl
ease excuse me.” She turned and headed toward the kitchen. She’d only gone a few steps when several more people came into the room. Fenella and her friends made their way to the back row of chairs and sat down.

  “I’d like to try to speak to Carl and Herman before the afternoon is over,” Daniel told Fenella. “See if you can think of an excuse to speak to either of them. It might be better if you started the conversation and I just happened to be there.”

  Fenella nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Another large group of men and women came into the room. Some of them stopped to talk to Peter before they found their seats. Peter filled the others in on who they all were in between greetings. Most of them were former or current business colleagues who were only tangentially connected with the Manderlys and Roger Starr.

  “I think we should get started,” Sophia announced as she emerged from the kitchen. She walked to the front of the room and looked around at the nearly full seating area. “I think everyone is here,” she said.

  Someone cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him. He shook his head and attention returned to Sophia.

  “Roger wasn’t a religious man,” she began. “And he wasn’t the sort to enjoy having a fuss made of him. If he were here, he’d probably tell me that I shouldn’t have bothered with all of this.”

  A few people laughed, and Carl nodded. “He would, at that,” he said.

  “It seems to me, though, that we all should take a minute out of our busy lives to remember a man who touched us all. I’d appreciate it if some of you would share your memories of Roger.”

  After an awkward silence, Carl rose to his feet. He coughed a few times and then told a funny story about an occasion when Roger had been working late to help Christopher in the very early days of the business. When he was finished, a few other people offered their own memories, leaving Fenella feeling sad for the man who might have done so much with his life. Peter said a few words as well, talking about how talented Roger had been when he hadn’t been drinking. When he was finished, Sophia wiped her eyes and thanked everyone.