Murder By Committee

by Veronica Heley

  Ellie grimaced. If she still had little Frank in tow, what price his creating mayhem at church while she sang in the choir? He'd need policing during and after the service.

  Ellie tried to imagine what he'd grow up like, if he continued on his present course. She shuddered. A delinquent at ten, an Anti-Social Behaviour Order at twelve? A string of appearances in court, followed eventually by some kind of confinement at Her Majesty's Pleasure?

  The problem was how to break the cycle. Was Diana aware of what was happening? Did she care, or was she so self-absorbed that she couldn't see it?

  Could Stewart cope? Probably not. Far too soft-hearted.

  Maria? Ah, but if Frank had started to attack little Yasmin, then how much would Maria put up with?

  The second message was from Stewart, enquiring anxiously how Frank was. Stewart was a straightforward sort of chap and would no more have dreamed of making himself ill to get his own way than of walloping his only son. Although a walloping might have helped, if only it weren't against the law.

  What was a harried parent to do, in such cases? What sanctions did one have against a potential juvenile delinquent? The Naughty Step had worked for Maria. But then Frank had attacked Yasmin. Would Maria be able to cope in future?

  Ellie realized she was thinking in circles.

  The third message was another silent one. It might be a salesperson trying and failing to get through, or it might be Marco. Again. Ellie had checked her conservatory when she came in. All was in order. Well, it would be when she'd got the glass cleaned, and the broken plants replaced. She must remember to phone the insurance people.

  The next message was from Kate next door. Anxious. ‘Are you all right, Ellie? Was it OK to send the police round to the church? The builders seemed to know what they were doing but there was a row with the cleaners, who wanted to stay on to clean the newly fitted panes of glass, but the builders said the panes mustn't be touched for weeks, to let the putty dry. So I'm afraid the place doesn't look quite right yet.

  ‘Oh yes. And I've been in touch with Gwyn and Talbot about You Know What. Most interesting. There's an emergency meeting up in the City about it this afternoon and they want me to go. I'll tell you all about it when I get back.’

  The last message was from Chris Talbot himself. ‘Mrs Quicke, have you seen Felicity? How is she? Julian's doing all right, but I'm packing the family off to stay with friends in the country for a few days, out of harm's way. Please ring me on the following number …’

  Nothing from Diana, drat it.

  Ellie poked her head into the living room. ‘Fancy another cuppa?’

  Felicity shook her head. ‘I'd forgotten cartoons could be such fun.’

  Ellie dumped Frank's filthy clothing in the washing machine, adding lots of washing powder. There was no point in trying to rescue the shoes; Tum-Tum had been right about them. They went in the bin.

  Frank appeared, still watching his cartoon through the open door to the living room. ‘I want some hot chocolate.’

  Hot chocolate on top of Coca Cola on top of Big Macs? Ellie said he could have orange juice and like it. He opened his mouth to howl, so she said he'd better be quiet, because she was just going to try to phone his mummy. Thankfully, he shut his mouth again. Diana's mobile was still switched off.

  Ellie left another message. ‘Diana, please ring me. Frank's missing you very much. Can I tell him you'll pick him up tomorrow morning before church?’

  ‘Before breakfast!’ Frank insisted.

  ‘Perhaps,’ said Ellie, cravenly, ‘she'll even be here when you wake up in the morning. Now, off to bed with you.’

  Frank had just started to howl when the doorbell rang, as did the telephone. Ellie scooped up the phone, told it to wait, and opened the door. It was raining hard.

  Stewart stood on the doorstep, looking anxious, and down the path from the road came Tum-Tum, also looking worried, under an enormous, colourful umbrella.

  Ellie waved them both in. ‘The more the merrier! Frank, stop that noise. Can't you see your father's here?’ And to the phone, ‘Yes?’

  It was Roy. ‘Heavens, Ellie; what's going on there? I wondered if you'd like a bite to eat at the Carvery tonight. Or perhaps we could go over to the golf club for a drink?’

  ‘You've forgotten; I've got Frank here.’ Ought she to mention Felicity, or not?

  Perhaps not. Especially if her suspicions of the girl proved correct.

  Roy had forgotten. Remembering the boy's behaviour that day, Roy wasn't going to offer to take him out too. ‘Oh. Well, perhaps another time?’

  ‘Go and see your mother instead.’

  Roy groaned. ‘You won't believe the trouble I'm in there. Sir Arthur's PA was waiting for me when I got back, with a letter from his solicitor. Can I bring it round to show you?’

  ‘Take it to your mother. If we're talking solicitors, she's got a heavyweight one in tow, remember?’

  Roy sighed. ‘Well, I don't know. But if you're not free …’

  ‘No, I'm not. See you tomorrow at church, right?’

  Roy sighed again. Disconnected.

  While she'd been talking on the phone, Frank had been excitedly telling his father all about his day. ‘… and Tum-Tum dumped me in the bath with all my clothes on, and he says my shoes are ruined, and then the policeman gave me some horrid water and she made me drink it and I went to sleep all afternoon and then we went to McDonald's and there was this stupid girl who screamed like a mouse, like this … eeeh! So I pushed her a bit and then she spoiled everything and made me walk home, all the way … till we took a minicab, but she wouldn't let me sit up front and Mummy's not answering the phone but she'll be here tomorrow before breakfast …’

  Ellie shooed the menfolk into her sitting room. ‘It's time Frank was in bed. Are you going to take him back with you now, Stewart?’

  ‘No!’ said Frank. ‘'Cos Mummy's coming here tomorrow before breakfast.’

  Ellie took the coward's way out. ‘I'll ring her back and tell her where you're going to be. Perhaps it would be best if you went back with your father.’

  ‘No!’ Frank went bright red, squinched his eyes shut and prepared to have a tantrum.

  ‘Oh, come on, Frank,’ said his father. ‘You know Maria puts you on the Naughty Step if you lose your temper.’ He didn't say that he did it himself, and it was obvious from Frank's reaction that Stewart didn't.

  Frank opened his mouth to yell. Stewart dithered, but Tum- Tum picked the little boy up, took him out to the hall and dumped him on the bottom step. Frank was so surprised, he forgot to scream.

  Tum-Tum said, in a firm but kindly voice, ‘Stay there till you're prepared to say thank you to your granny for having taken care of you today, and then you can go home to your own bed with your father, right?’

  Frank's eyes were round. He looked at Tum-Tum with awe. Everyone looked at Tum-Tum with awe.

  ‘Splendid,’ said Stewart, in a gobsmacked voice. ‘How's about we get going then, Frank?’

  Frank got off the step and went to stand beside his father - on the side away from Tum-Tum. ‘I'm going to sit in the front.’

  ‘No, you're not,’ said Ellie, relief that he was going and common sense fighting for ascendancy. ‘Your special seat is in the back of the car, and we don't want to lose you if there's an accident, do we?’

  He ignored her. Pretended he hadn't even heard her. Didn't thank her for looking after him.

  Tum-Tum said, still in that kind but firm tone, ‘Haven't you forgotten something, Frank?’

  As if under a spell, Frank turned to Ellie and said, ‘Thank you for having me.’

  Tum-Tum said, ‘There's a good boy.’

  Stewart ushered Frank out to the car. The boy's voice floated back to them. ‘Tum-Tum's cool, isn't he?’

  Silence. Blessed relief as the front door shut behind the pair.

  ‘Phew!’ said Felicity, who'd been observing the tussle from a safe distance.

  ‘Thomas,’ Ellie gave him his
proper name for once, ‘I'm deeply moved and very grateful. How do you do it? He's been a little monster all day. I know he's missing his mother. This is the second weekend on the trot that she's failed to take him out. I feel as if I've been fighting a tornado with poor results, then you walk in and tame him with a look.’

  ‘It's not the look that counts,’ said Tum-Tum, sitting in the big armchair. ‘It's being consistent. Give him lots of praise when he's done something good. I suppose he's been playing you off against Maria, and Maria off against Diana. The usual.’

  Ellie rescued the biscuit tin from a high shelf, which so far Frank hadn't managed to reach, opened it and put it on the arm of Tum-Tum's chair. ‘Help yourself. Cuppa? No? Frank's miserable. Diana's not consistent, though I think she does love him in her own way.’

  ‘It doesn't matter where he gets his love from, so long as he gets it from someone.’ He took a couple of biscuits and turned his not inconsiderable bulk towards Felicity. ‘How are you coping, my dear? Roy was telling me, when we were clearing up after the fair this evening, how he came to meet you. I very much appreciated your helping us out today. I hope the police presence didn't put you off us for good.’

  Felicity blushed. She certainly blossomed in the presence of a man. ‘You were all very kind. I was feeling so down this morning. Ellie was so kind about our dog being poisoned. It just seemed meant, you know?’

  ‘Mm,’ said Tum-Tum, whose eyes saw further than most. ‘So, shall I give you a lift back home in a minute? You won't want to walk in this weather. It's raining quite hard.’

  Ellie waited for Felicity's reply with interest. What did the girl really want? A refuge from a violent husband, for whom she still carried a torch? Or something else?

  Felicity gave a little wriggle. ‘Ellie has been so kind as to ask me to stay here overnight, which is wonderful, because it can be a bit lonely at home when my husband's away.’

  Which sounded fine if it had come from a sixteen-year-old who'd known Ellie all her life, but didn't quite ring true from a thirtysomething woman who'd only just met her that week.

  ‘Ah,’ said Tum-Tum, nodding. Probably not believing a word of it. ‘Well, Ellie, I really dropped in to give you a bit of bad news. Mrs Dawes managed to fall and twist her bad knee during the clearing-up. It's swollen to twice the size. Archie took her off to hospital to get it checked out, and brought her home afterwards. Nothing's broken, but she's going to have to keep off that leg for some days. Archie said she was worrying herself silly about not being able to do this and that, so I dropped in to see her just now, and promised to tell you what's happened. Perhaps you can give her a ring? She's got the telephone by her bedside and I fixed her up with a snack and a thermos for later.’

  Ellie exclaimed, ‘Oh, poor dear. Yes, of course I'll ring her. Does she need any food?’

  ‘She's well stocked for food, but in a right fantod about making it to the church hall for her flower-arranging class on Thursday, and whether she can get to meet up with her old friends for their weekly get-together, and I don't know what else. Oh yes, and she wanted to remind you that you're on the coffee rota for tomorrow morning.’

  ‘Jean's already been on to me about it.’

  ‘There was something else bothering her, but she wouldn't tell me what it was. She said you'd know, and she was sorry if it had inconvenienced you.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Ellie, nailing this one down with ease. It sounded as if - when Felicity returned to the church enquiring after Roy - Mrs Dawes had told a porky. She'd told Felicity he'd already left and directed her to Ellie's house. But he hadn't gone home. Or rather, he'd taken his mother away, and then come back. Because he'd been helping Tum-Tum clear up later on.

  Had Mrs Dawes thought that she was helping Ellie by misleading Felicity as to Roy's whereabouts? Had Mrs Dawes thought Ellie would be hurt if Felicity annexed Roy? Oh dear. Probably.

  Ellie looked at Felicity, but the girl was gazing blandly out into the conservatory. Possibly she hadn't understood the ramifications of the message which Tum-Tum had delivered to Ellie. Or maybe she had, and was choosing not to hear.

  Tum-Tum shook the empty biscuit tin, and replaced the lid. Laying his capable-looking hands on the arms of the chair, he heaved himself upright. ‘Well, must be off. See you in the morning, Ellie. And you … my dear?’

  Felicity managed to blush again. She did it very prettily. ‘Oh, perhaps.’

  Ellie accompanied Tum-Tum to the front door. She said, ‘Thank you, Thomas. For everything.’

  ‘Not at all.’ He opened the front door, unfurled his giant umbrella and sailed forth into the wind and rain. There was something of the jolly sailor about Tum-Tum.

  Ellie returned to the living room to find Felicity yawning. ‘Is that the time? I don't know why I'm so tired.’

  ‘Not too tired, I hope, to tell me why you're here? Not too tired to get fresh instructions from your husband? You were asking me where your father is going to be tonight? Don't you want me to find out for you? Or did you take down his telephone number from the messages he left on my answer machine?’

  Ellie had heard of people who could cry to order, but had been sceptical. But Felicity, apparently, could do just that. Tears began to well over her eyelids, and run down her cheeks. ‘Oh, how could you?’

  Ellie sat down beside Felicity, and patted her knee. ‘Come on, you can tell me.’

  ‘You're all being so horrible about Arthur!’

  ‘Who abuses you.’

  ‘No, no! He doesn't!’

  ‘What about that bruise on your face?’

  ‘A cupboard door swung out on me. Arthur didn't do that. Honest!’

  It was possible she was speaking the truth. Yet, earlier on she'd admitted that Arthur had disciplined her. And the dog.

  ‘He used to beat his dog. You told me so yourself. And he bullies you, doesn't he?’

  Felicity tried to laugh. ‘Arthur, a bully? You've got him all wrong!’

  ‘He's a bully and a sadist. He employs Marco, who is also a bully and a sadist.’

  Felicity drew in a sharp breath. Her eyes switched from side to side. ‘Marco's a bit rough, yes, but he doesn't mean any harm. I'm sure it wasn't him who damaged your conservatory, even though he did get himself badly scratched. Anyway, I can't see any damage now. You probably made it all up, to get back at Arthur.’

  ‘Why would I want to get back at him?’

  ‘Because he's rich and important and …’ She hesitated.

  ‘I'm not?’ Ellie shook her head. ‘Felicity, I understand that you want to be loyal to your husband, in spite of the evidence, but …’

  She was interrupted by someone tapping on the door from the conservatory into the garden. It was Kate, letting herself into the house. Ellie and Kate kept keys for one another as a matter of course. Kate wore her work clothes - a trouser suit of impeccable cut, in dove grey - but was holding baby Catriona over her shoulder.

  ‘Ellie, are you there? Armand's been a poppet all day, looking after the baby, but of course he hasn't done a stroke of work, playing with her. She had a nap at the wrong time and now, of course, she's wide awake.’ Kate brought Catriona into the living room, but stopped short when she saw Felicity. ‘Sorry, I didn't realize you had company. Ellie, if I can have a quick word?’

  ‘Sit down, Kate,’ said Ellie. ‘Felicity is staying the night, because her husband wants her to discover where Mr Talbot might be hiding out.’

  Kate was startled. ‘But …!’

  Felicity turned her tearful gaze on Kate. ‘I know you've all got a down on Arthur, but honestly, he'd never in this world put Julian in hospital just to get back at my father, even though they don't see eye to eye about things.’

  Kate sat with care not to disturb Catriona, who was munching on her fist and looking around her with bright, wide-open eyes. Kate and Ellie regarded Felicity with identically sceptical gazes. Felicity managed to sniffle, while fumbling in her shoulder bag for a tissue. Not finding one straight away, s
he dumped the bag on the settee beside her. In doing so, some of its contents fell to the floor. She dived for her purse, but Ellie beat her to it.

  ‘Five ten pound notes, and plenty of coins. Felicity, you said you hadn't any money.’

  Felicity sniffled again. ‘You just don't understand. Anyway, it's all your fault. You invited me to the church in the first place-’ ‘I was sorry for you, more fool I.’

  ‘-and my father was paying you to rubbish Arthur to me.’

  ‘Not a penny.’

  Felicity was wide-eyed, no longer crying. ‘Then why …?’

  ‘Because,’ said Kate, ‘your dog died, and that's upset the delicate balance of City business. Your husband thought your father had done it, and started World War Three. He was wrong, as it happens.’

  Felicity reddened. ‘You're trying to make out that Arthur's gone round the twist.’

  ‘So you think so too? Your father was afraid that you yourself might have poisoned the dog, in an attempt to rid yourself of your husband.’

  Felicity's mouth opened wide, and her eyes shut. Was she going to scream? No, she was going to laugh. In a horrible, retching way.

  Ellie got to her feet. ‘If you're going to have hysterics, I'll slap you. Do you hear?’

  Felicity gulped once or twice, but her colour remained high. ‘You don't understand. I love my husband and I'd never want to kill him. And if he did die, I wouldn't be able to pay the bills for my mother's care.’

  ‘Nonsense,’ said Kate, the brisk businesswoman uppermost in her, even while she rubbed baby Catriona's back. ‘As his widow, you'd be entitled to claim the house and a reasonable sum to support you.’

  Felicity was unconvinced. ‘He's got ways of tying his money up. He explained it to me when we got married. It's to prevent anyone trying to grab his assets if one of his businesses goes pearshaped.’

  Kate said, ‘Which they have. Felicity, your husband has got across one too many powerful people. He's in deep trouble, but doesn't seem to realize it. In conducting this vendetta against your father, he's lost sight of the real issue.’

  ‘I don't know anything about it.’ Sullenly.