Still Death (A Lexie Wyatt murder mystery Book 1)

by Shauna Bickley

  ‘It’s like an art gallery in here.’ Lexie couldn’t stop herself voicing the words. ‘Sorry, that sounds rude, but it’s amazing.’

  ‘Some men like cars, my weakness is paintings,’ said Alec.

  She must be the only person in the world who knew nothing about art and who didn’t have any original paintings in her house. Even in Primrose Hill they’d only had framed photographs of the children.

  The paintings were of such varied styles and subjects, she couldn’t tell anything about Alec from them. She turned to look at the far end of the L-shaped room and felt her mouth open. That wall had only one painting, which must surely be the larger version of Stargazer.

  Lexie had thought the painting in Sadie’s lounge was amazing, but this was truly mesmerising. She felt herself drawn to it and walked towards the far end of the room.

  ‘You like it,’ said Alec.

  ‘Like is such an insignificant word,’ she muttered.

  It was similar in theme to Sadie’s painting, although there were differences, but the tiny writing in the corner of the canvas confirmed Lexie’s instinct. Next to Dominique’s name were the words, Stargazer: Still Death.

  ‘I saw the other one, Still Life, on Friday evening. I thought it was incredible, but this, it’s beyond words.’

  She felt rather than saw Alec move, and grudgingly she turned away from the painting.

  ‘So how did you know Caroline, and what brings you all the way to Tairnoch?’ Alec asked.

  Now she needed to concentrate, this wouldn’t be an easy conversation. Alec appeared to be a gruff, unemotional male, but it wouldn’t be easy for him to talk to strangers about his niece, and she needed him to talk. She glanced at Nathan but guessed he wouldn’t help her with this conversation.

  ‘As Nathan said, we didn’t know Caroline, but we are friends with people who were close to her.’

  Nathan’s face tightened. She was stretching the truth with her use of “we” and “friends”, but she had to get Alec to feel comfortable with them. What if he hadn’t liked Patrick? What if he believed Patrick had been driving the car? He certainly wouldn’t talk to them if he believed Patrick had planned Caroline’s murder. Why hadn’t this occurred to her before? In her enthusiasm for answering her own questions, she hadn’t thought this through. It was obviously one of her faults.

  There was a gleam in Nathan’s eye. He was actually enjoying her discomfort.

  ‘Did you know Patrick Sinclair?’

  Alec nodded. He obviously wasn’t going to make this easy either.

  She pursed her lips, not sure what to say.

  ‘Why did you come here?’ asked Alec. He was staring at Lexie, so he couldn’t see Nathan’s expression, which clearly said, “Get yourself out of that one.”

  What the hell. If he chucked them out, it might as well be now, and then Nathan could say it had been a stupid idea. Except he wouldn’t, he was too thoughtful.

  ‘I knew Patrick, and he swore he had nothing to do with the hit and run.’ She paused, waiting for Alec to stand and point to the door, or get his shotgun. But he did neither. He continued to stare at her, so she continued. ‘I’ve spoken to a few people who knew him, and they don’t think he was involved either.’

  Alec shook his head, but not in a way that said he didn’t believe her, more that he was puzzled.

  ‘I only met Patrick once,’ he said. He narrowed his eyes, as if remembering the meeting, then shrugged slightly. ‘From what I could see, they were very much in love. Certainly Caroline loved him, and Patrick appeared to feel the same about her.’

  ‘How did you find out about Caroline’s death?’ asked Lexie. ‘Patrick said you were her only relative. Did the police get in touch, or some friends?’

  ‘You certainly have lots of questions.’ Alec stood up and wandered around the room, not speaking until he returned to the chair he’d vacated.

  ‘The police didn’t get in touch with me. They wouldn’t have known about me, as Caroline wasn’t my niece. It was one of those honoury titles you get when children are young, and it stuck, but she meant the world to me.’

  That, at least, made sense. There would be nothing for the police to follow through in that respect.

  Alec carried on talking. His voice took on a softer tone. ‘Caroline’s father and I were school friends. We both fell in love with the same woman, Penny, but she chose Nicholas. That was hard, so I worked overseas for a few years but eventually I came back. I loved Penny, but Nicholas had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. I couldn’t hate either of them. Caroline was a wonderful girl. Nicholas and Penny were killed in a crash with a drunk driver when Caroline was twenty. I was devastated, we both were.’

  The manner of Caroline’s death would be hard for Alec, and he’d also lost the last link with the love of his life and his childhood friend.

  She waited a moment before speaking again. ‘So if the police didn’t get in touch, how did you find out about the hit and run?’

  ‘In the cold-hearted way that typifies our modern life.’ Alec must have realised she didn’t have a clue what he meant. ‘I’d been working on a project in Singapore and had been there for about six weeks. I was idly surfing through the online papers one evening before going out for dinner, when I saw a small piece about Patrick’s suicide and his mother’s death.’

  ‘So you didn’t know about the hit and run then.’

  ‘No. I work overseas most of the time. Sometimes weeks went by between conversations with Caroline. When I read that Patrick was dead, I was surprised she hadn’t got in touch and anxious at what she must be going through. Obviously I couldn’t get through to her. That worried me. I did some digging around and eventually found out—’

  His face was a mask, but his jaw clenched rigidly. Lexie was silent until he let his breath out in a sigh. ‘I was numb that night. Caroline was like a daughter to me. She’d been dead for several weeks and I hadn’t known.’

  ‘So not hearing from her hadn’t worried you?’

  ‘Not until I read about Patrick. We were both busy people. Sometimes we’d talk a couple of times a week or exchange texts, but there were plenty of times we’d go several weeks without any proper communication.’

  Lexie asked the question she was nervous to voice. ‘Did you believe Patrick was the driver?’

  Alec answered quicker than Lexie had imagined. He’d obviously considered the question himself.

  ‘When I arrived back here, there was a voice message from Patrick. I guess he didn’t have my mobile number. He said I shouldn’t believe anything I read in the newspapers about him. Of course, by the time I listened to the message, Patrick was dead.’

  ‘Did you believe him?’ asked Lexie.

  ‘When Caroline first told me about Patrick, I read all I could find on him and his articles. I thought Nicholas and Penny would have approved. Penny rated fairness highly.’ He laughed without any evident humour. ‘The meeting with Patrick was typical of our lifestyle. I was off to start another project and he had just finished some research on a story he couldn’t mention. We met in Paris for a few hours then I flew on to the States.’

  He gazed out of the window for a moment, as if remembering the meeting, then turned back to Lexie. ‘I only met him that one time, but I found it hard to believe he planned to kill Caroline. Was it an accident?’ He shrugged. ‘Patrick certainly had a lot of problems, with his mother terminally ill, and I guess he wanted to see her before doing anything else. I don’t know.’

  Nathan had been silent up to now. He leaned forward his elbows resting on his knees. ‘You said you were in Singapore when you found out about Caroline, that you’d been there for weeks.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘But what about seeing Caroline a few days before she was killed?’

  Alec looked confused. ‘I didn’t see Caroline. What are you talking about?’

  ‘A few days before Caroline was killed she told Patrick she was going to visit you,’ said Lexie.
/>   Alec shook his head. ‘She didn’t ring me, and if she came here, the house would have been empty.’

  ‘Did she have keys?’

  He nodded. ‘From the way you mention it, you make it sound as though there was a particular reason.’

  Lexie told Alec about her friendship with Evelyn and meeting Patrick. She told him everything she could remember that Patrick had told her.

  ‘So he thought Caroline had come to see me about something she’d seen in a photo, or something that was wrong with a photo?’

  Lexie nodded.

  Alec pulled a face. ‘It doesn’t make any sense to me. I don’t know anything about magazine shoots, other than stuff Caroline had mentioned. She’d sometimes moan about photographers, or house owners acting like divas. She worked mostly on that house and home type magazine, although I know she did sometimes get pulled into stuff on the other magazines.’

  Lexie found it hard not to sigh. She’d expected so much from this meeting, not quite that Alec would have an answer ready, but that somehow she’d come away knowing what it was that worried Caroline, or what she’d seen. She glanced at Nathan, but he didn’t return the look. A casual observer would think he was quiet, letting her talk to Alec, but Lexie knew better. Nathan wasn’t really angry, more upset that she’d ignored his concerns about the danger this might cause. She didn’t like that she’d hurt him in this way and wanted to reach out and squeeze his hand, but he might pull away. She didn’t want that, not in front of Alec, when she wouldn’t be able to explain. And on top of that, the subterfuge appeared to be for nothing.

  ‘You came all the way up here to see me about this?’ Alec asked.

  ‘Not quite. The weekend away is a birthday treat for Nathan, but I chose Inverness because Patrick told me you lived here. He had planned to visit you.’

  ‘He didn’t mention it in the message he left. As I said, Caroline had keys to the house but there was no sign she’d been here, and she would have left me a message,’ said Alec.

  ‘I don’t think Caroline’s name was ever mentioned in any of the reports, so how did you find out she was dead.’ Lexie hoped the question wasn’t too blunt.

  ‘I rang the police when I couldn’t get hold of her. I was given the run-around at first and put through to several people, especially as I wasn’t officially family. The last person I spoke to told me she couldn’t tell me the name of the… victim, but when I gave her Caroline’s name she confirmed it was her and that she’d already been cremated. Apparently Peter Webber, or more likely an assistant, had spoken to them. They knew her parents were dead and that she didn’t have any siblings and said they’d organise her funeral.’

  Lexie shivered. This could be the link to Alec that someone could follow. ‘Did you have to give a name when you spoke to the police?’

  ‘I did, but ironically the first person misheard it, so I didn’t bother correcting them.’

  ‘Probably just as well.’ Nathan’s voice sounded grim.

  Alec glanced at him, then at Lexie. ‘So you believe Patrick. You don’t think it was an accident, and you don’t think Patrick was the driver?’

  This time Lexie couldn’t stop her sigh. ‘If I’m honest, I don’t know. Nathan never met Patrick, so he’s only going on what I can tell him. Initially, I thought it was a very iffy story and I only listened because Evelyn wanted me to, but after spending a little time with Patrick I believed in him and the type of person he was, even though I only met him on a couple of occasions.’

  Alec nodded. ‘Much the same as me, then.’ He considered for a moment. ‘What are you going to do?’

  Lexie felt totally deflated and out of ideas. ‘You were our, my, big hope. We don’t really have anywhere else to go, figuratively speaking, and, as Nathan has reminded me a few times, it could be dangerous.’

  ‘If what you suspect about Caroline’s death not being an accident and Patrick not being the driver, then yes, I have to agree with Nathan.’

  ‘But doesn’t that make you want to do something?’ said Lexie.

  Alec sat back in his chair. ‘You’ve had longer to think about this than I have. I’ve been coming to terms with the fact that Caroline is dead and Patrick supposedly killed her, and then himself and his mother. Now you come along and turn everything upside down. And, I have to add, with no real evidence.’

  After a minute or so Lexie nodded. ‘I guess so. That’s been the problem all along. If I hadn’t met Patrick, I’d agree with what the papers wrote. It was a horrible accident, and he couldn’t bear to own up to it. He disappeared from London and went to visit his mother, who was terminally ill. It makes a tidy story.’ She hadn’t imagined this scenario. She’d put so much faith in Alec knowing something important and being passionate to find justice for Caroline, Patrick and Evelyn.

  ‘I’ve disappointed you, haven’t I?’ said Alec. ‘I don’t just mean about not being here to meet Caroline, but also because I’m not rushing around to do something.’ He raised his dark eyebrows at her questioningly. ‘I’m an engineer; my life is built on practicalities. You know what I’ve learned? The old cliché is true — life does go on. I found that out the hard way when Penny died. I mourned Nicholas, but losing Penny so unexpectedly all but destroyed me. However, here I am. We find something to live for. After Penny, it was making sure Caroline was okay. Now, well I guess work will keep me going.’

  Lexie couldn’t find a response to that and was glad when Nathan finally spoke. ‘Are you going abroad again?’

  ‘Boston. Next week.’ Alec got up and pulled a business card from a desk drawer. ‘Here’s my number. If you find out anything else or need to ask me anything, just ring me. My email’s there as well.’ He glanced at his watch.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Lexie. ‘We’ve taken up quite a bit of your afternoon.’

  ‘No, it’s not that. I wondered if I could buy you dinner in Ullapool. I don’t want to keep you from your trip to Inverness but, despite the nature of our conversation, I’ve enjoyed meeting you. Maybe we could discuss a few lighter topics over dinner, especially as you said it’s Nathan’s birthday treat.’

  Lexie gestured for Nathan to decide.

  ‘We might as well eat before we drive back,’ said Nathan. ‘I guess you’ll know the best places, so thanks, we’ll take you up on your offer.’

  Lexie wandered back over to contemplate Stargazer while Alec changed.

  ‘You really are taken with that painting,’ he said when he came back.

  ‘I don’t know what it is. I’ve never been an art person, still not really, certainly not on your scale.’ She gestured at the dozen or so paintings on the walls. ‘But this one fascinates me. It’s Nathan’s boss who has the other one. I met Dominique a few weeks ago at her sculpture exhibition.’

  ‘Seeing the painting and buying it was luck and great timing. I was only in London for a few days and saw the exhibition advertised. Dominique’s work inspires great emotion. Fortunately I’d just been paid very well for a contract in the Middle East, and as I don’t have any family, I get to spend my money as I want.’

  He took Lexie and Nathan around the room and told them where he’d bought each piece and why he liked it.

  Lexie found so many paintings overwhelming. It was hard to concentrate on an individual work. She would have preferred just to look at Stargazer.

  Alec was talking about the one in front of her. She had missed the artist’s name, although she wasn’t bothered. It was one of those modern paintings of geometric shapes and primary colours. Tilly could probably do better. The one next to it was totally different in style, but she didn’t like it either. In the Forest. It was mostly dark, gloomy tree trunks giving a creepy feeling. A bit like their first evening driving along the lane to Cherry Tree Cottage. She looked at the signature. Arnold Wallace. Never heard of him.

  ‘That’s a James Jackson,’ said Alec. He pointed to a pleasant painting showing a faded blue sky and muted autumn colours.

  In Lexie’s opinion the artist had
missed the whole point of the vibrancy of autumn colours, but she kept quiet.

  ‘I bought it because it reminds me of the time I spent in New England. Autumn is an amazing season there.’

  ‘It’s nice knowing why you bought them,’ said Lexie. ‘It makes it more interesting, more personal.’

  Nathan and Lexie followed Alec’s Range Rover back along the track and onto the road into town. For once Lexie tried to keep quiet. Nathan had surprised her by agreeing to the meal with Alec and she wasn’t sure if he was still upset with her.

  They had a drink and looked at the menu. After they ordered, Nathan asked Alec about the projects he worked on and they spent most of the main course discussing engineering, planes, and building bridges. Lexie was pleased that Nathan seemed more relaxed now as he talked with Alec, and she found out more about the new factory. It was good to see him so animated about his work; it made the move to Nettleford worthwhile. She didn’t understand all the technicalities, but Alec interspersed the work side of things with anecdotes of the places he’d visited.

  After dessert Nathan looked at his watch. ‘I didn’t realise we’d talked so much. We’d better hit the road; we’ve got a flight tomorrow.’

  Alec signalled for the bill and insisted on paying for the meal. ‘Call it my contribution to your birthday weekend.’ As they stood by their cars, he added. ‘Please get in touch with me if you do find out anything more about Caroline or Patrick, or if you have any other questions. I just wish I’d been here when Caroline needed me.’

  There wasn’t much to say to that.

  Their flight wasn’t until lunchtime, and for some reason Nathan wanted to visit Culloden. Lexie was determined this last day should be as enjoyable for Nathan as their first day. She kept smiling as she trailed around the battlefield after him, but she was relieved when they went into the visitor centre as the day was overcast and chilly. Nathan spent a long time looking at the various weapons used during the battle. Lexie was sure he did it on purpose. When he nodded towards the exit and car park he couldn’t stop a grin and she caught hold of his arm, happy that he’d forgiven her for the visit to Alec.