Murder in House

by Veronica Heley

‘How did you manage to phone for an ambulance?’

  ‘I didn’t do it. I suppose someone passing by must have done so. I was out like a light. It was chaos at the hospital,’ she said, tears forming in her eyes from weakness. ‘Some drunken louts in a car had rammed another car and there were six or more of them, all still drunk, reeling around, bleeding over everything. Disgraceful! It was hours before they came to attend to me. Then I had to wait for an X-ray for my wrist, and they said it was lucky it wasn’t broken, though what’s lucky about what happened to me, I do not know.’

  The policewoman said, ‘A neighbour must have heard the fight and phoned for an ambulance.’

  ‘Her? She wouldn’t give me the time of day. She’s –’ Mrs Belton tapped her forehead – ‘Alzheimer’s. Carers three times a day. She’s in bed by seven every night.’

  ‘Can you remember anything else about the two who attacked you? What they were wearing?’

  Mrs Belton was sinking lower in her seat. ‘Dark clothes. I don’t know. They were big and strong.’

  ‘Accents? Local? Did they say anything?’

  Mrs Belton looked puzzled. ‘I don’t think so.’ She put her hand to her head. ‘I ache all over. My head’s pounding.’

  ‘Did they steal much?’

  ‘My laptop, money and cards. Mobile phone. I don’t know what else.’ She looked around at the debris of her belongings. Some daffodils had been trodden into the carpet, and this jogged her memory. ‘Those daffodils were in a blue vase. It had a small chip on the top, but I still use it. It was Bristol glass, you know? That intense blue. My mother gave me two pieces, and I can’t see them. I can’t cope. When my daughter comes . . .’ She dissolved into tears.

  Thomas and Ellie exchanged glances. Ellie said, ‘Ursula can’t be here for a while. Suppose we pack a bag for you, Mrs Belton, and you come home with us, have a bath and go to bed with some aspirin. You’ll feel better after a good rest.’

  ‘No, no.’ She wavered to her feet. ‘Things to do. I must just go to the bathroom and then I must let the insurance people know, cancel my cards. I’m with the Sentinel people. One call and they cancel everything for me. The folder should be in the desk, but . . .’

  Thomas took charge. ‘Let me see if I can find the paperwork, while you tell Ellie what you’d like her to pack for you for a few days away.’ He raised his brows at the policewoman. ‘If that’s all right with you?’

  The policewoman stowed her notebook away. ‘This is the worst case yet. They’ve always been content just to steal handbags and laptops before. But this –’ she indicated the mess – ‘it’s escalating, I’m afraid. Give me an address where I can reach Mrs Belton. I’ll ask the neighbours upstairs; find out if they saw or heard anything.’

  Ellie gently steered Mrs Belton into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. As she came back into the sitting room, she heard the front door of the flat slam behind the policewoman. Thomas grovelled on the floor, sifting through paperwork. ‘A rum do, Ellie. What do you think?’

  ‘Very odd.’

  The landline rang. Mrs Belton called out from the bathroom, ‘Will you get it?’

  Ellie was nearest and picked up the receiver.

  A man’s voice. Educated. Forceful. ‘Well, is Ursula back yet? Tell her to ring me.’

  ‘What?’

  The call was cut off. Ellie stared at the receiver, then replaced it on top of the damaged settee. She thought: they left the phone in full sight, where we’d be bound to see it. They didn’t trash it, as they trashed everything else in the room. Therefore the men who trashed the room wanted Mrs Belton to be able to accept phone calls.

  The man on the phone had expected Ursula to come running back to London when she heard what had happened. It couldn’t be a chance call from an old friend, wanting to get back together, could it? No, it couldn’t. The wording was specific. ‘Is Ursula back yet?’ He must know what had been happening to phrase it like that. And he wanted Ursula to ring him.

  Which meant that he knew all about the trashing. Which meant that there was a connection between him and the vandals in masks, wasn’t there?

  Ellie felt quite dizzy. What was going on? Why was it so important for Ursula to return to London?

  Mrs Belton limped out of the bathroom, blowing her nose with tender care. ‘So sorry, I seem to have gone all to pieces. I’ve just realized, I can’t leave. Ursula will be expecting me to be here when she returns.’

  Ellie helped her into her bedroom. ‘Don’t worry. We’ll tell Ursula where you’re to be found. Just concentrate on what you’d like me to pack up for you.’

  Thomas held up a file. ‘Eureka. The insurance details. And the number for Sentinel.’ He lifted his voice. ‘Mrs Belton, have you a camera by any chance? I could take some photos for the insurance people.’

  ‘In the right hand drawer of the table in the hall. Or rather, that’s where it ought to be.’

  Luckily, the vandals hadn’t touched that table. While Ellie helped Mrs Belton to change and pack for a few days away, Thomas found the camera and took pictures of the damage. He also asked permission to take photos of Mrs Belton’s ruined face when she was ready to depart.

  ‘Leave everything to us,’ he said, helping her into his car. ‘We’ll cancel the cards and inform the insurance company. All you have to do is relax and get better.’

  ‘I daren’t think what Ursula will say. Her pictures—’

  ‘We’ll ring and explain.’

  Thursday midday

  Ellie administered aspirins, tucked Mrs Belton up in bed in their spare room, and went downstairs to join Thomas, only to find him on the phone to the insurance people.

  Rose came into sight and hovered. ‘Mr Roy . . .’ she began, and twitched a smile as Ellie clapped her hands to her forehead. ‘Well,’ said Rose, ‘I did promise to tell you he’d called as soon as you came in, and so I have. I also told him that other people have their troubles, too, and he shouldn’t expect you to have a hankie ready every time he gets a runny nose.’

  ‘Er, no.’ Ellie subdued a desire to giggle.

  ‘He really is a very silly little boy,’ said Rose. ‘At least, that’s what Miss Quicke says.’

  ‘Er, yes.’ Ellie wondered at Rose’s use of the present tense, but decided that now was not the time to ask about it. ‘Rose, I’m sorry to impose a guest on you, but Mrs Belton’s been mugged and her flat wrecked. We simply couldn’t leave her there, could we?’

  ‘We shall rise above it. Which reminds me that that funny Ms Woodyates popped round again this morning and said she’d wait for you, but I told her you’d gone out for the day, which I hope was what you wanted me to say.’

  ‘Cards cancelled, insurance informed,’ said Thomas, putting the phone down. ‘The insurance people will send someone round to the flat to check in due course, but promised to let us know beforehand. Now, Rose: what’s for lunch?’

  ‘Ant, where are you? I’ve got a small problem.’

  ‘You’ve got a problem? What about me? And you’ll have to get off the phone sharpish as I’m waiting for Ursula to call. It can’t take her that long to get back from Portsmouth. In the meantime I’m chasing my tail, trying to find Mia. I thought I’d be able to pick her up at the bakery where she’s been working, but she’s left there and the manageress wouldn’t talk, but I got a lead on her by asking where the immigrants worked locally. The blonde at the café parted with the information for a tenner. It seems Mia went AWOL yesterday in the company of an old woman, a Mrs Quicke. Mean anything to you?’

  ‘Never heard of her. Do we really need to get Mia back? I mean, she’s family, sort of, and not exactly a threat, is she? Why not let her go?’

  ‘That’s what I thought at first, but that was before we knew how much we need Ursula on our side. If Mia meets up with Ursula now, do you really think she’ll keep quiet? Of course not. The whole story will come out and then we’ll be in the shit. No, Mia has got to be found and dealt with.’

  ‘Not anothe
r accident!’

  ‘Of course not. I’ve got someone who’ll take her off our hands.’

  ‘But if she’s gone off with an older woman—’

  ‘The blonde didn’t have an address, but Mrs Quicke’s in the phone book and I plan to pay her a visit this afternoon. So what’s your problem? Run out of condoms?’

  ‘You know I paid the boys off last night? As agreed, I let them keep her mobile and the stuff from her purse, and they assured me they’d left the landline alone . . . but they’ve taken her laptop as well.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘It’s not exactly an up-to-date model, but it’s got all her work stuff on it. So I thought I’d give them fifty for it as it might come in useful. I mean, she must be in trouble without it. We could tell Ursula we’d discovered it somewhere and she could have it back for her mother when she met up with us. Right?’

  ‘Sometimes, little brother, you amaze me. Very well. Another fifty it is.’

  Thursday early afternoon

  The phone rang under Thomas’s hand. He picked it up, only to hand it to Ellie.

  It was nice, fat Jackie from the bakery. ‘Mrs Quicke, sorry to be ringing you so soon, but that man came again to the bakery today. I said nothing. But now I hear that he frighten one of my friends who is also working in the Avenue, and she say Mia was with us but is now gone. I am sorry, but she say to him that Mrs Quicke has got her. Only, she is not knowing your address or phone number, so that she could not say.’

  ‘Thank you for warning me. It was good of you.’

  ‘Is Mia all right?’

  ‘Not really. I took her to see a doctor, and he has admitted her to hospital.’

  ‘That is good. I thought of doctor, but Mia say, “No, no, he will find me.”’

  ‘He won’t find her where she is now, I assure you.’

  ‘That is good. Have a nice day.’

  Ellie put the phone down, and tried to smile. ‘Well, he’s a fast worker, I must say. All my precautions, taking Mia round by Armand and Kate’s, have turned out to be fruitless. He knows I took Mia, so I suppose we can expect him at any minute.’

  Thomas eyed the hatstand in the hall, which contained a number of stout walking sticks and large, old-fashioned umbrellas. ‘We’ll keep front and back doors locked and bolted. If anyone tries to force an entry we ring the police, right? Now, let’s have something to eat, and decide what to say to Ursula.’

  At that moment Roy burst into the hall from the kitchen, closely followed by the Stick Insect.

  ‘Ellie, I saw you were back so I’ve given you a few minutes before—’

  ‘Dear Ellie!’ Grace was wearing another green outfit, with what looked suspiciously like a mink collar over a neckline far too low for what she had to offer in the way of bosom. ‘Dear, dear Ellie! And dear Thomas, too! How fortunate to catch you both in. I saw this dear man go into the house by the side entrance, and thought I’d take you both by surprise.’

  Roy and Thomas imitated startled horses, which made Ellie grin. Thomas looked at his watch and said, ‘I’ve just remembered an important phone call.’ He almost ran down the corridor to his office.

  Roy fidgeted, eyeing Grace with distrust. ‘I’m sure that . . . I’m sorry, but I have a most urgent matter to discuss with my cousin.’

  ‘Oh, don’t mind little old me,’ fluted the Stick Insect, tucking her arm inside Roy’s and making him flinch. ‘Ellie and I are such good friends, I’m sure you won’t mind my sitting in on your confabulations. My friend always used to say I have an extraordinary ability to get straight to the heart of the matter. Are we in here?’ She led the way into the sitting room, towing a reluctant Roy along with her.

  Ellie folded her arms across her chest, stifling an impulse to roar with laughter. Then, meeting the distress in Rose’s eyes, Ellie sobered up.

  ‘Rose, it’s all right. I’ll deal with her. Meanwhile, could you see that the kitchen door is locked and bolted? Just in case.’

  ‘You haven’t eaten yet.’

  ‘Soup and sandwiches for me and Thomas? Nothing for the others, or they’ll be here for hours.’

  She marched into the sitting room to find Grace still with her arm firmly locked around Roy’s as they looked out on the wintry garden.

  ‘Grace, I’m so sorry, but I’m afraid this conversation I’m going to have with Roy is private, family business. I know you’ll understand. It was good of you to call. And yes, we must make a date to meet up some time soon.’

  Grace’s mouth turned down, but she absorbed the rebuff with a smile that didn’t look too strained. ‘Oh, what a pity. I had been so looking forward to a nice visit. It’s just like you, always thinking about other people, but you must take some time for your dearest friends, don’t you think?’

  ‘Indeed,’ said Ellie, lying through her teeth. She escorted Grace to the hall and out of the front door, promising to ring as soon as she had a free moment. Grace took her by surprise, bending to kiss Ellie on both cheeks in farewell. ‘Till we meet again, chère amie.’

  Ellie double-locked the door behind Grace and shot home the bolts. Now for Roy, who was pacing up and down, biting his lower lip.

  ‘Roy, before you start, I need something to eat. Come into the kitchen with me.’

  ‘We can’t discuss this in front of Rose.’

  ‘Why not? I know exactly how this conversation is going to go: you’re going to ask me to buy your flats so that you can buy into Prior’s Place, and I’m going to say “no”.’

  ‘I can show you the figures that prove—’

  ‘There is no way I’d ever want to do business with the Priors.’

  Roy gaped. ‘Why ever not? They’re one of the soundest, best respected—’

  ‘I’ve been hearing another side of things. Roy, you were at his party in the new year. Did you like the way your wife was being fondled by one of the other guests? Didn’t you see the way that the young people were being used in the same way to soften up potential buyers? And then there’s the mystery of the boy who jumped; what part did the Priors play in that tragedy?’

  ‘But that’s nothing to do with . . . Ellie, I’ve promised!’

  ‘Not in writing, I trust.’

  ‘Just a scribbled note. He needed that to show the bank.’

  ‘Who will come down hard on him unless he can sell the flats fast? And in this difficult time, do you honestly think he’s going to manage that? Roy, I’m ashamed of you. What would your mother have said? You know she didn’t want to put any money into that project.’

  ‘Ellie, don’t be like that. It’s not my fault.’

  Ellie sighed. No, it probably wasn’t. He’d been born terminally stupid about money. His mother had decided against leaving him a lot of money for that very reason. Instead, she’d given him a block of flats which she’d hoped would provide him with a secure income for life. ‘So, what steps have you taken?’

  He revived at her softer tone. ‘Well, naturally, I tried to sell my flats first, but no one’s biting at the moment. Then I asked around to see if I could get a mortgage on them, but that’s difficult too.’

  ‘Why not be satisfied with what you’ve got? You’re a brilliant architect, but no financial brain. Don’t you think you’d be better off without any assets other than what you earn?’

  ‘That’s what Felicity says. It’s all right for her, with a financial genius for a father and all the money her first husband left her. I want to provide for her myself, and let’s face it, someone stands to make a mint with Prior’s Place.’

  Ellie rehearsed such phrases as: You must be joking! And: The Priors saw you coming! She could see that manly pride was kicking in. Roy didn’t like to think he couldn’t match his wife’s money. No wonder Felicity was alarmed; Felicity understood her husband better than most wives did.

  Ellie took Roy’s arm, and sat him down on the settee beside her. ‘Dear Roy, you are the kindest, sweetest and most loving of husbands and fathers. Felicity loves you for yourself, and not fo
r your money. You have a real talent for your work, which is something that I don’t have, nor Felicity, nor Kate, nor anyone else I know. You are brilliantly creative, which we are not. We can only admire. To each his own. Handling money is another matter. Yes, it is,’ she said, as he would have protested.

  ‘But—’

  ‘So wouldn’t it be best if you let other people deal with that side of things for you? I can’t handle big money either and I know it, which is why I let other people do it for me. Now, how would it be if I asked one of them to look at this project for you, and give you an idea of how profitable it is likely to be?’

  He grasped at the olive branch. ‘You think you can find a financier to back me?’

  ‘It’s always possible,’ said Ellie, not at all sure she meant it. ‘The great thing is to use the right key in the lock. Architects are creative builders. Financiers move money around. I think you should stick to what you do best, and leave the boring bits to other people.’

  He nodded, absorbing the idea. ‘You’re right, Ellie. This finance business has been getting to me. It’s not my line at all, and I’m going to leave it in your hands to deal with. I’ll tell Prior so, and get him off my back.’

  Ellie almost patted him on the head and said Good Boy. But managed to smile and urge him to his feet instead. ‘It will put Felicity’s mind at rest to know that you’re leaving all that side of things to the experts.’ She soothed him out of the front door, and made sure the door was safely bolted against the outside world. What next? Food, she hoped. But first she’d better check with Thomas.

  Her beloved was scoffing an enormous wodge of sandwich, grunting to someone on the phone and, at the same time, tapping on his keyboard. When he saw her he held up one finger, gave a final grunt into the phone, and dropped it back on its rest. ‘Save the mark! Don’t they teach children nowadays to read a calendar? This chap said he didn’t think I meant it when I told him copy date was January seventh. Have you eaten?’

  ‘I will in a minute. Thomas, how much do we tell Ursula, and how can we prevent her rushing back to London?’

  He took another huge bite, chewed, and swallowed. Ellie’s mouth watered, but she made herself wait.