“No. I’ve just been checking on it. It’s in the Indian Ocean, about 900 miles from South Africa. It was a colony then, and they were sent there to quell some sort of uprising. That part’s true enough, there was a state of emergency declared in 1965 and British troops were brought in.”
“And that was when he met this woman and–” she paused, then whispered, “and married her?”
“Oh my God, I hadn’t thought of that.” He threw himself into a chair and put a hand up to his forehead.
“It would mean,” Megan’s voice shook as she spoke, “that his marriage to Mother was bigamous.”
“But surely John would have said.”
“Yes, yes, of course he would.”
Sister and brother gazed at each other in silent consternation, but not for long. “The thing is, Meggie,” Rodric said as he continued his pacing, “I was planning to persuade Father to sell some of the paintings, and maybe his stamp collection, and now I can’t do any of that. We desperately need the funds. In spite of the television people and their money, and I don’t even know if that’ll happen now, I think it’ll take more than that to put the estate to rights. And as to the stables, you can just imagine what Delma’s reaction is going to be.”
Her eyes enormous, Megan gazed up at her brother, but before she could say anything else, with shocking suddenness, the silence was interrupted by a hammering on the front door.
“What on earth?” Rodric exclaimed and strode across the room to pull open the door. His sister followed in his footsteps and they both rushed through the hall. Rodric got to the front door first.
On the doorstep stood two plain clothes police officers: a tall, dark-haired man and a short, stocky woman who Megan recognized. Behind them were gathered several uniformed officers and the police vehicles they had arrived in were parked in the courtyard.
“Rodric Mansell?” the tall man asked.
“Y-yes. What’s all this about?”
“I’m Chief Inspector Lambert, Newport police, and this is Sergeant Dilys Bevan, I believe you’ve met before.”
“She was one of the ones that came when Father collapsed,” Megan, who was standing just by Rodric’s shoulder, told him in a breathy whisper.
“Can we have a word?” the chief inspector asked.
“Can I stop you?” Rodric said, but instead of sounding defiant he only succeeded in sounding stroppy.
“Well, that wouldn’t be a very good idea.”
“Like I said, what’s it about? And who are they?” He waved a hand at the other officers in the courtyard.
“It’d be much better if we explained why we’re here in private, don’t you think?”
For a moment there was a stand-off, then Rodric’s shoulders sagged and he stood back and led them into the hall.
As the chief inspector and his sergeant entered, Nonna appeared from the corridor to the kitchen, and Delma came rushing downstairs from the gallery.
“Rodi! Who are these people?” Delma demanded.
“Police,” he said shortly.
“Again? What the hell do they want this time?” There was fear in her voice. “Where’s Mike?” No-one answered her question.
As was so often the case, Nonna took charge. After glancing out at the cars and officers gathered in the courtyard, she said, “I think you owe us an explanation for this invasion, officer.” Her voice was cold and calm, and Rodric was grateful for her intervention. “I can’t imagine what business you have with us, and in such numbers. Don’t you realise this is a house of mourning?” From anyone else this would have sounded ridiculous but, somehow, she invested it with quiet dignity.
“My apologies, but I think you’ll understand once we’ve told you why we’re here,” the chief inspector said. “Perhaps I could have a word with you first, Mr Mansell?”
Rodric hesitated, looked from Megan’s anxious face to Delma’s, from Nonna’s defiant one and back to the man standing before him.
“I think it’s best you come through to the study,” he said, and, turning on his heel, led the way across the hall, followed by the two police officers, and the three women.
When he got to the door, he turned. “Nonna, please,” he said.
She gave a curt nod. “Megan, Delma, come, let Rodric sort these people out.” There was no mistaking what she meant. The last thing Rodric saw, before he closed the door, was his sister looking stricken, his wife looking back over her shoulder with panic in her eyes, and Nonna calmly ushering them away towards the kitchen corridor.
Chapter 12
Matt and Dilys followed Rodric into a large room. Every inch of three of the walls that weren’t occupied by bookcases, contained portraits – many with a distinct resemblance to the present-day family members – most of them in need of straightening on their hooks. In a bay window stood a shabby leather-topped desk. The opposite wall was occupied, in large part, by a grey marble fireplace, where sluggish flames flickered round stacked logs, giving little heat to the chilly air. Threadbare rugs covered the wooden floor, and in front of the hearth was an assortment of armchairs and a leather Chesterfield sofa. The whole place smelt of a mixture of wood smoke, damp and furniture polish.
Without offering them a seat, Rodric turned to the two police officers. “So, what is all this about?” he demanded.
“I’m sorry to say that the post-mortem on your father has revealed that he was injected with a strong animal tranquiliser which induced heart failure,” Matt said, watching the man’s face closely as he spoke. “The drug is only licensed for use by vets, but there’s no doubt in the pathologist’s mind that this was the cause of his death and we are, therefore, treating it as murder.”
The blood drained from Rodric’s face. He said one word, “No,” then was silent.
“Do you know if any drug of this sort could have been stored anywhere at the Abbey?” Matt asked.
“No, no, of course it hasn’t.”
“In the stables perhaps?”
“No! Why would we keep such stuff on the premises? None of us is a qualified vet.” There was an almost imperceptible emphasis on the word ‘qualified’.
Interesting, thought Matt. “We understand,” he went on, “that by law a vet must always have the antidote to hand in case of accidents. The post-mortem has shown that this was almost certainly no accident and, since it was used to inject your father, we’re assuming it was acquired illegally; it was obviously used illegally.”
Rodric didn’t say anything further, he just glared at the police officers from under his brows.
“We will need to make a thorough search of the stables.”
“But my wife won’t allow–”
“The officers we have chosen for the task are experienced with horses. We’ll also be searching the house and we’ll need to take all computers, laptops and mobile phones for examination, including the ones used by your father. I have a warrant.” Matt held out a piece of paper, but Rodric ignored it.
“Why on earth do you have to do all this?” Rodric demanded.
“Standard procedure, sir, in a case like this,” Dilys said.
“And we’ll be interviewing everyone individually,” Matt said, “including Garan Price, who, I believe, is related to the family.”
“He’s my half-brother,” Rodric said shortly.
“I would be most grateful if you’d inform everyone in the household that we need to talk to them,” Matt said, “and ask them to make themselves available tomorrow morning.”
“If you insist.”
“So, perhaps we could get going,” Matt said firmly.
For a few moments there was a silent stand-off but, in the end, Rodric gave in. “Oh, very well,” he said and led the way out of the room.
* * *
The three women waited. Megan sat and chewed at a nail, looking scared and saying nothing. Delma paced up and down, her hands thrust deep into her trouser pockets, occasionally asking, “How long is this going to take?” and “What’s going on in there
?”. The other two had no answer for her. Nonna kept herself occupied, did some washing-up, made a shopping list. Her movements were calm and precise. Only someone who knew her well would have known how tense she was.
She’d left the door wide open and, after about a quarter of an hour, sounds of activity filtered through to them. Nonna’s hand stilled, pen held above her notepad, Delma stopped her pacing and Megan looked up, fear increasing in her eyes. There was a murmur of voices, the deep one of the chief inspector, and Rodric’s lighter tones.
All three women made for the corridor, rushing along it, but Delma pushed the others aside and arrived in the hall first.
Rodric was standing by the open front door looking out. She grabbed at his arm. “What’s happened? What are they doing?” she demanded.
“Are they coming back in again?” Megan asked, her voice low and trembling; then she noticed Dilys standing to one side and flushed to the roots of her hair.
“Yes,” Rodric said shortly. “They want to search the Abbey, that’s why so many of them have come.”
“Search?” Nonna said. “What on earth for?”
“He says they suspect that Father– that Father was murdered.” His voice shook on the word.
For a moment there was a cacophony of voices, each of the women questioning, denying, saying how ridiculous that was. Who would do such a thing? There must be some mistake.
At last, Rodric held up his hands. “Please. All of you. Quiet!”
Gradually the hubbub subsided. But not for long when, with a glance at his wife, he said, “They’re going to be searching the stables.”
“No!” Delma gasped. “They can’t.” She swung round to glare at Dilys. “You can’t.”
“I’m afraid it’s necessary, Mrs Mansell.”
“But you’ll disturb the horses. Rodi, you must stop them.”
“Delma, I can’t, the chief inspector showed me a warrant.”
“I’m going out there. I’ve got to be there.”
She turned but her husband grabbed her arm saying, “No. Let them go ahead. He said the ones doing the stables know how to deal with horses. The others are going to go through the house.”
“All of it?” Nonna asked, her eyes wide. “What on earth are they looking for?”
At the same time Megan asked, “Everywhere? Even the bedrooms?”
“Yes, everywhere,” Rodric said flatly. “What’s more, they want all our mobile phones, iPads, laptops, the lot.”
At that moment the chief inspector came back in through the front door, followed by several officers who’d put on white all-in-one suits. Megan gasped and stepped closer to Nonna, who put her arm round her.
“Thank you for your co-operation,” he said, addressing this to all of them. “Perhaps you could start off by handing over all the devices?”
“Well, you can’t have my brother’s” Delma said defiantly, “He’s not here and he’s got his phone and his iPad with him.”
“We’ll just have to check his at another time. For now, just tell us whose room is whose upstairs and some of us will make a start there – we’ll be as quick as we can.”
“Nonna,” Rodric said, “could you show them upstairs?”
Several officers trooped after her as far as the gallery. The others heard her cool voice telling them which room was which, then she came back down, her face expressionless. “When do we have to give them our phones and all that?” she asked.
Dilys, who had been standing quietly to one side taking it all in, came forward. “Now would be best.”
Nonna glared at her. “Oh, very well,” she said. She rummaged in her pocket and held out her mobile.
“Perhaps you could put them all on here,” Dilys indicated a heavy oak table to the side of the hall.
Nonna placed it on the table and, with bad grace, Delma and Rodric did the same. Megan said she didn’t know where hers was, and Nonna told her, “It’s in the kitchen Megan, I’ll get it.”
* * *
After about fifteen minutes there was a small collection of phones, iPads and laptops gathered on the table. Various police personnel had been dispatched to collect them from all over the house, and finally everything was packaged up into sealed plastic bags and carried out to a police van.
“Thank you very much for your co-operation,” the chief inspector said to them all, then turned and made his way outside.
They all glared at his back as he went, then Nonna said quietly, “Let’s all go into the study, Rodi, until they want to invade that as well, of course.”
Obediently they followed in her wake.
Rodric walked over to the fireplace and stood facing it. He put up his hands and rested them on the mantelpiece, his head bent. None of the women sat down, they just stood in a group behind him.
Delma was the first to speak. “For God’s sake Rodi, tell us what went on!”
He turned and ran a hand across his mouth then spoke slowly, “He said– he said that Father was poisoned. The post-mortem results are clear.”
Megan sat down suddenly on the leather sofa, her face sickly white. “That’s not possible,” she whispered.
“I’m afraid it is.” Rodric’s voice was dull and matter of fact. “The chief inspector says they’re confident the results are correct.”
“They could have made a mistake,” Nonna said quietly. “Mistakes have been made before.”
“But it’s nonsense. It was probably an accident,” Delma protested. “Or it could have been suicide.”
“No!” Megan protested.
Rodric looked at his wife, his expression unreadable. “They don’t think so. And they’re a hundred percent sure that a strong animal tranquiliser was used, the sort that vets use to sedate large animals.”
Delma stared at him, aghast. “Are you accusing me, Rodi?”
“No, no, of course not, but I do need to know if you had access to anything like that, Delma, have you–”
“I cannot believe that you’d suggest anything so horrible. How could you, Rodric? You know only a vet can use that stuff. How dare you?” She stood defiant, glaring at her husband.
“But you are a vet, Delma,” Nonna said, the malice in her voice quietly obvious.
“Not qualified, though,” Rodric said hastily.
Delma turned her glare on Nonna. “Oh, I know, you’d love to pin this on me, wouldn’t you?”
“Don’t be absurd, Delma,” Nonna said coldly.
“Yes, you would. I know you’ve always hated me.”
“I really don’t think–”
“Stop it! Stop it!” Megan burst out and slumped down onto the settee, covering her face with her hands. “I can’t bear it.”
Nonna sat down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. “Ssh, cariad, don’t upset yourself so.” After a warning glance at Delma, then at Rodric, Nonna added, “So what else are they going to do?”
“After this search they’ll be coming back tomorrow morning,” he said, “and they’ll be interviewing all of us, including your brother, Delma, so you’d better make sure he’s here. The chief inspector made it clear we must all be here for that. Where is Mike anyway?”
Delma didn’t meet his eyes. “He went to meet a friend in Swansea, just overnight. He should be back later.”
Nonna gave her a contemptuous look. “Does anybody know what he’s up to? He’s been here for three weeks now? Doesn’t he have a job to go back to?”
“You know he’s between jobs, I told you, that’s why he came to see me – us – now. I’m allowed to have my family to visit, aren’t I?”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Rodric said hastily, “but he does need to be here when the police come. You must text him.”
“I can’t very well do that since those bastards have taken my mobile.”
“You can phone him on the landline,” Nonna suggested. “I’m sure you remember his number. Whether or not he takes any notice is another matter. I get the impression he’s not too keen on them.”
>
“On whom?” Delma said haughtily.
“The police. He was talking about how he got the better of them just a few days ago.”
“What are you suggesting?” Delma snapped.
“Shut up!” Megan shouted, her hands over her ears. “Don’t you realise you’re just making things worse with all this arguing?”
“Megan’s right,” Rodric said firmly. “We must stick together, not quarrel amongst ourselves. And I must contact Garan, warn him they’ll be wanting to see him as well.”
“Why Garan?” Delma asked.
“Because he’s a member of the family.”
“Only your father’s–” Delma began, then caught Nonna’s eye and subsided into silence.
* * *
Mike Cotter had enjoyed meeting his contacts in Swansea. He drove along the motorway, music blaring from the radio, ignoring the speed limit and feeling empowered and pleased with himself. They were so easy to manipulate, these idiots, and the last three weeks had been very useful. Apart from keeping him out of the limelight in London, he’d managed to get rid of quite a few odds and ends that had been burning a hole in his pocket and he’d helped Delma make a bob or two as well. What was more, the contacts in Bulgaria were proving very grateful for his networking.
He tried his sister’s mobile, keen to let her know that he was on his way back and keep her on her toes. He was irritated that Delma didn’t pick up. It was a pity he hadn’t got the Abbey’s landline number, but never mind, he’d bring her to heel when he got back. She was proving to be a little more difficult to handle than he’d expected, but he was pretty sure that, in the end, he’d be able to keep her under control. He knew too much for her to go rogue on him. He saw himself as the pivot around which others revolved, the puppet master pulling several interconnecting strings. He smiled in satisfaction as he came off at the Castellgwyn slipway. And now his dear little sister was going to inherit a tidy packet. That could be very useful, one way and another. The old boy’s death couldn’t have come at a better time. And as for that other matter, that could be even more useful, particularly if it was proved the old man had been helped out of this world as Mike suspected. Okay, a police investigation could be somewhat inconvenient, with the spotlight being turned on his sister’s family, but he’d had to deal with worse in the past.
Murder at the Old Abbey Page 12
