Trap Lane

by Stella Cameron

  ‘If I go to see Elyan – will you come with me?’

  He couldn’t say he thought that was a lousy idea, but he did. ‘Please tell me who gave you the letter, Annie.’

  ‘I can’t!’ She made a choking sound. ‘Try to understand. I’m not being blackmailed, honestly, I’m not. But I’m afraid I might do something that could cause Elyan to get badly hurt – or die.’

  TWENTY-SIX

  Tony’s arrival in the bar lifted Alex’s spirits. He was a solid, logical presence just when she had felt her composure slipping away.

  They sat with Bill now, a Courvoisier in front of them both, while Bill had opted for another half of bitter.

  Tony kissed the top of her head and she smiled up at him. ‘How did it go?’

  ‘Well. Nice little filly, all present and correct. Mom’s a champ and very pleased with the new arrival.’

  ‘Good,’ Bill said and Alex almost laughed at his blank expression.

  ‘So,’ Tony said, ‘things were a bit quiet when I arrived. Any news you’d care to share with me?’

  Alex kept quiet, waiting for Bill who took a slow, thoughtful swallow from his glass. ‘We’ve been going over the afternoon Wells Giglio came in with his comments to Annie. Anything you’d like to add?’

  ‘I wasn’t here. I know what Alex has told me. I remember the man as theatrical in manner and it doesn’t sound as if he’s changed much.’ Tony swirled his Courvoisier and sniffed deep over the rim of the glass.

  ‘You didn’t track him down yet?’ Tony asked.

  Bill looked into the last fading embers of the fire and said nothing.

  Tony’s raised eyebrows to Alex said it all. Something was definitely bugging Bill Lamb but, at least for now, he intended to keep them in suspense.

  Snuffling, sleepy, Katie got up on slightly arthritic hips and rested her head on Tony’s thigh. He stroked her gently, his big hand finding all the little places she liked to be touched the most. ‘Good girl,’ he said.

  Her nose suddenly came up and quivered. Tony raised a forefinger in the air in a silent shush, then put the finger to his mouth. Bill was at instant attention and Alex tried to discern what Tony had heard. He looked between them and shook his head, narrowing his eyes and keeping pressure on Katie’s neck.

  The next sound was a key turning in the kitchen door and Alex frowned at him. Then she remembered Hugh was still out and started to relax. This time it was Bill’s hand that went up and she felt both men holding their breath.

  The kitchen door swished over stone tile. Rustling followed, but no other sound. Hugh must see the light on in the bar, yet he didn’t call out.

  Alex’s heart beat harder.

  There was an unintelligible whisper, then another. Soft footfalls followed. The kitchen lights went out, then the bar lights. If it was Hugh he must think she’d left lights on for him until he got back.

  She could not be the first one to call to him, but they were tricking him, she thought. Why didn’t one of them speak out?

  They heard no more until the wooden floor in the restaurant creaked.

  By the faint glow from the colored outdoor lights that always burned, Bill got up quietly and swiftly went through the bar and into the corridor past the snug to the restaurant and inn.

  ‘Hello, there,’ Alex heard him say, as the bar lights came back on. ‘Late night for you two.’

  Alex met Tony’s eyes and they both winced.

  ‘Hugh and Annie,’ she said in a low voice. ‘I think he went looking for her.’

  ‘I assumed no one was up,’ Hugh said and his voice didn’t waver from its usual assurance. ‘Annie rolled in right behind me. Have a good night, Annie.’

  ‘I’ll have to ask you to wait, Annie,’ Bill said. ‘Hugh, why don’t you join Tony and Alex in the bar. I’ll want to speak with you as soon as I finish with Annie in the snug.’

  Bill reminded himself that Annie was an adult and although he would rather not get tough with her, neither could he show her any preference if she proved uncooperative.

  Her eyes were red and swollen. She was clearly subdued but he made no comment and chose a table on the far side of the snug from the wall adjoining the bar. The walls were thick but caution never hurt. Longlegs and Miller were stationed outside in a car. He was grateful one of them hadn’t interrupted him by mobile yet. Now he did call the detective constable and ask him to join them and bring a jug and water and glasses.

  ‘Just make yourself comfortable,’ Bill told Annie, turning off his mobile and slipping it in a pocket. ‘One of my officers, Detective Constable Liberty, will join us in a moment and bring water for all of us. Having him with us is a formality. Nothing to worry about.’

  Not a word from Annie who sat still, hands in lap, her eyes lowered.

  Longlegs took a blessedly short time to arrive, fill glasses of water and seat himself on another chair at the table. He took out his notebook and Bill said, ‘I’ve introduced you to Annie Bell, Detective Constable Liberty.’

  Longlegs gave her a kind smile.

  ‘I know this may be painful for you, Annie,’ Bill said. ‘But let’s go back to the recent afternoon when Wells Giglio came into the Black Dog.’

  He could see how tired she was already. He had no way of knowing – yet – where she’d been all day, or what she had experienced. Since Alex had thought Hugh went up to bed after closing, it was obvious he’d left the building quietly, quite possibly to find Annie. Long periods of stress wore down the strongest people and he didn’t think Annie was one of those.

  ‘Did you think Giglio was suggesting you had something to do with Sonia Quillam’s disappearance?’

  ‘He was angry with me. I’m not sure what he was saying but he was horrible.’ She reached for her water glass and emptied it. ‘He was frightening.’

  She would find out about Wells Giglio’s death soon enough. ‘What do you think he was suggesting?’

  ‘That I knew what had happened to Sonia. I don’t. How could I?’

  ‘Is there anything you think – perhaps deep down – that you should share with me.’

  After shaking her head, Annie rested her face in her hands and mumbled.

  ‘Excuse me?’ Bill said.

  Raising her head, she looked directly at him. ‘There is something. I went to see Sonia Quillam at Green Friday. I wanted to ask her to visit Elyan, her son, my fiancé, because she’s never been and it would help him, I know it would.’

  Deliberately, he didn’t let time hang. ‘That would have been on the 12th?’

  ‘Yes. Once I found out she was there, I drove up to the house and talked to her. She was nice, but she didn’t promise to go.’

  ‘And what time was that?’ Bill wondered if the visit was before or after Hugh was there.

  Annie thought. ‘I’m not sure. In the evening, seven thirty or so.’

  After Hugh, then. ‘Who told you where Sonia was?’ He was more than ever convinced that this young woman could be the key to finding the answers to vital unknowns dangling around this case.

  She went silent – again.

  ‘Tell me about your conversation with Sonia,’ he said.

  Her pale cheeks flamed. ‘I have. We’d have nothing else to talk about?’

  ‘There was something else, wasn’t there?’ He almost held his breath.

  ‘I’m so tired,’ Annie said and sounded weary. ‘Please, may I go upstairs and sleep? I’m not thinking properly. I need a clear head and I don’t have one now.’

  Longlegs got up and refilled her water glass.

  Bill dealt with his own internal war. She wasn’t wrong, but experience and protocol said he should push any possible advantage now.

  Annie wasn’t finished. ‘Sometimes when you have others to consider, you can’t just … jump in to make things easier on yourself. I need to think about other people. Can you understand that, inspector?’ She reached a hand toward him.

  Bill didn’t want to understand but he could no longer pretend he was n
ot human.

  ‘Long day for everyone,’ Liberty said quietly, doing nothing useful for Bill.

  ‘All right,’ he said, with a sidelong glance at Longlegs. ‘We’ll resume in the morning. I’ll have someone see you get upstairs safely.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Annie said, getting up.

  Bill rang for Miller to take her and the detective arrived in moments.

  Once the door closed behind them, Bill turned to Longlegs. ‘I didn’t see any point in laying it on her now, but in the morning we’ll have her taken to Gloucester and interview her there.’

  ‘Sounds a good idea.’

  ‘And you did a good job. Even if you do find Miss Bell charming.’

  Longlegs grinned. ‘She’s still fairly young and if she’s a guilty party in all this – most specifically, a killer – we can all give up on mankind.’

  Bill laughed. ‘She got to you! Well, join the band of brothers – we can all be susceptible to a lovely, innocent face.’

  Laughing with him, Liberty scribbled on his yellow pad. ‘Didn’t I introduce you to someone?’

  ‘Sorry. Did I forget something important?’

  ‘Yes, you did. At the get together in May I introduced you to Benjamin – my husband.’

  ‘Argh.’ Bill grinned. ‘Shows you a lot about my retention skills. I remember Benjamin but that’s all. Nice guy.’

  ‘The best,’ Liberty said, smiling back. ‘Guv, I think this girl is on the up-and-up. I don’t doubt she’s got a lot on her mind and some of it will probably relate to the case, but there’s something about her.’

  When Hugh had arrived at Alex and Tony’s table he had said, ‘Why didn’t you shout when you heard me coming in? I wouldn’t have turned the lights out on you. Sheesh, this hasn’t been an easy day.’

  Tony responded, ‘We thought someone was breaking in for a minute. Good time to have the police at your table.’

  Alex hadn’t trusted herself to look at him. She smiled and sipped at her drink.

  ‘Damn, I’m bushed,’ Hugh said. ‘I’m going to have a little Baileys with my coffee.’ He sounded breezy, but watching him walk back to find coffee first, Alex wasn’t fooled. Even with a smile on his lips, there had been ice not quite hidden in his eyes.

  When Hugh returned, he sat in the only spare place at the table and tipped onto the chair’s back legs, hands wrapped around his mug. The picture of nonchalance. He sipped coffee and Alex somehow doubted he had added much Baileys.

  After twenty minutes, or perhaps more, of pointless banter, they heard the snug door open and close and footsteps on the stairs. A short while later, Bill appeared to join them. The detective constable was still with him. They took two chairs from another table.

  Bill pushed his glass of flat bitter aside, abandoning it for silent observation. Cool he might be, but she could feel how sharply he concentrated.

  ‘When I got here, Alex thought you were in your rooms,’ Bill said. ‘A better offer must have come up.’

  ‘Something like that,’ Hugh said calmly. ‘I wasn’t going to sleep so I went out for a drive. There’s been a lot of upheaval in Folly of late. Any news on Sonia Quillam?’

  ‘Not at our end. How about you?’

  The cat and mouse game was not fun to watch.

  ‘There’s no reason Sonia would be in touch with me,’ Hugh said. ‘I made my feelings very clear the last time we met.’

  ‘Really?’ Bill gave him an unwavering look.

  Hugh turned to Alex and Tony. ‘What kept you two here so late? Just Bill?’

  ‘I was at the Drake farm,’ Tony said. ‘Little mare had a difficult delivery but all’s well.’

  ‘I was waiting for Tony when Bill came back,’ Alex said, feeling like a teenager making an excuse for bad behavior. ‘We decided we’d both like a drink. Then Tony arrived and agreed.’

  ‘And now there are five,’ Hugh said, so evenly the air crackled.

  Suddenly inspired, Alex said, ‘Bill came to ask about Wells Giglio’s visit. I told him everything I could remember. Can you think of anyone who was here that I might have forgotten. I got the obvious people.’

  A door opened and closed – the front door.

  ‘Did you say Harriet and Mary?’ Hugh asked.

  ‘Yup.’

  ‘The man who owns the new chippy was here with someone I didn’t know.’

  Alex smiled. ‘The chippy that opened months ago? That’s Vince Springer of Springer’s. I’d forgotten seeing him. The Peales were here. And Annie, of course.’

  ‘And it was the Peales’ friend who took Giglio out of the pub?’ Bill said.

  Hugh said, ‘Yes. Very quietly and efficiently.’

  ‘And the friend came back but Giglio didn’t.’

  ‘Giglio didn’t.’ Hugh tipped his head to one side as if deep in thought. ‘I’m not sure about Saul Wilson – Harvey finally introduced me to him when I dropped off the shots they ordered – I don’t remember seeing him again.

  ‘It’s not easy to notice a whole lot when Wells Giglio’s been in the room. He has a way of using up all the air.’

  Sergeant Miller hurried into the bar, a definite veneer of excitement on her cool features. She’d swapped her clacking pumps for soft flats and seemed more approachable.

  ‘Well,’ she said, ‘he isn’t using any air now, I hear. They called from Gloucester to talk to you, guv. Your mobile must have been off. They said it’s already on the tele that Giglio’s been pulled from the bottom of the same watering hole as Percy Quillam.’

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  ‘You’re early, Mum,’ Alex said. ‘I only just got here myself. Bit of a late night for some of us.’ She would fill her mother in on the previous night’s happenings later, when she felt like facing it all again.

  Scoot came through into the kitchen, pointed at the boxes of fresh, fragrant pastries from George’s Bakery and mouthed, ‘Please?’ Alex nodded and he opened the box.

  ‘Take a couple, and for Kyle. Have you got your lunch?’ He would be off to school on his bike shortly.

  Scoot gave a thumbs-up and grinned at Lily. ‘Kyle and I get the best lunches of anyone, don’t we, Lily?’

  ‘Off with you,’ Lily said, but her smile was pleased. ‘Got your homework?’

  ‘Ye-es,’ he intoned and left through the back door.

  ‘Alex,’ Lily said urgently. ‘Do you know about Annie?’

  ‘She’s in bed as far as I know,’ Alex said. ‘What are you talking about?’ She checked her watch.

  ‘Mary phoned – about thirty or forty minutes ago. That’s odd all on its own. Harriet usually does any phoning, not that it happens often. They’re in a state, Alex.’

  Bogie and Katie chose that moment to trot into the kitchen, tails wagging, noses raised expectantly. They always took a while to wake up and eat if Tony dropped them all off in the morning.

  Alex steered them to their dishes, barely taking her eyes off her mother’s taut face. ‘What’s the matter? Should I go up and wake Annie. Hugh’s a bit late this morning, too.’

  Lily made a fist and held it over her mouth.

  ‘What?’ Alex’s insides were jumping around.

  ‘Harriet looked out of the window this morning and saw Annie walking. Just walking, head down with her hands in her pockets. Scuffing along Pond Street as Mary put it.’

  Alex thought a moment. ‘She must be so tired after yesterday and last night.’

  ‘A car came by – very slowly, Mary said Harriet said. They didn’t recognize it but it was light gray. That Sergeant Miller got out and spoke to Annie.’

  ‘Miller on her own? I wonder what that was about?’ Alex couldn’t stand still.

  ‘Mary said a man came along and stopped. He said something – probably asking if there was a problem and if any help was needed. But he left so it looked as if everything was all right. But then Miller put Annie in the back of the gray car and drove off.’

  ‘To go to Gloucester, do you suppose?’ Alex said. She pressed her
fingers to her cheeks, trying to decide what to do first. ‘Bill’s car was already gone when I arrived. He must have left really early.’

  ‘Could we ask Bill about it?’ Lily asked with hope. ‘About why Miller picked Annie up?’

  ‘I get the impression she only tells us so much about what’s going on in her life.’ The girl had chosen to be alone, which made her more vulnerable, but Bill knew that. Although Alex had known him for several years as an apparently cold, business-only man, she had learned he had a softer side. If he didn’t, Radhika wouldn’t love him.

  ‘Bill would make sure she let us know where she is,’ Lily said as if reading Alex’s mind. ‘We’ll hear. But we’d better make sure Hugh knows about this immediately. He’s good to her, Alex. He cares about her and I think she turns to him the way she would her family if they weren’t estranged.’

  Alex tried to smile but failed. ‘I’ll go up,’ she said, but Hugh walked into the kitchen at the same time.

  He looked at the two of them and frowned. ‘Something’s up? Tell me.’

  ‘Oh, hell,’ he said when Alex finished explaining. ‘I wish she hadn’t come to Folly at all. But I wonder if she came because of what’s been going on – something we don’t know about that’s behind the deaths and Sonia’s disappearance. I’m damned if I can figure it all out.’

  His response made Alex feel better somehow. He didn’t sound like someone who was involved in two unnatural deaths. ‘What do you think we should do?’ she asked. ‘If she’s going to be questioned, she should probably have a solicitor with her.’

  ‘That will be covered, don’t worry. I just don’t know if she’s emotionally in a place to give the right responses for her own good. But then, how do I know exactly what’s going on with her?’

  ‘I’m going to phone the police in Gloucester and say I’m coming in there,’ Alex said, already in motion.

  Hugh shook his head. ‘They’ll discourage you, Alex. That’s a nice way of saying they’ll tell you to mind your own business.’

  ‘I’ll say I have pertinent information on the case.’