Because he allowed her to provide the strength which he needed. ‘I have to ask you this. Did your husband fear that your explanation of your visits to Vista Bonita was no more than an attempt to disguise the fact you were having an affair with the señor?’
‘If he’d believed that, his only thought would have been how to gain from the relationship.’
The front door opened, was shut with unnecessary force. Crane entered the room and held up a bottle. ‘In honour of our visitor, the best brandy on their shelves.’
Alvarez recognised the label. Cheap and not on many shelves.
TWELVE
‘Señor,’ Alvarez said over the phone, ‘we can strike out Ivor Crane from the list of possibles.’
‘There is reason or are you relying on instinct despite its proven failures on several previous occasions?’
‘He can best be called a complete twit.’
‘You find yourself unable to offer a more informative description?’
‘All bluster. Tried to make out he and his wife only lived in a pokey Mestara house until they found a bigger property. Obviously, they couldn’t afford to live anywhere else. Then he served a coñac which could only be described as the dregs.’
‘The taste is immaterial. What is of concern is that you were drinking when on duty. Something only very recently you have assured me you would never do.’
‘He offered me a drink and I naturally refused, señor. He continued to try to persuade me to have one and it became obvious that, being English, he had that strange reluctance to drink on his own. Not wishing to increase his embarrassment, I finally accepted.’
‘Why should he suffer any embarrassment from your refusal?’
‘It could seem to him that I had judged him to be so hard up that his offer had been made only to conform with tradition.’
‘Your avowed sympathy for his feelings became too strong?’
‘He continued to press me and finally brought a bottle of coñac in to the room. In the circumstances, I decided that to continue to refuse would increase his embarrassment and that would cause resentment on his part. As you have said many times, when questioning someone, take every opportunity to keep him at ease.’
‘In my authority, I listen to many excuses. Some are acceptable, some are possessed of a grain of truth, most are sufficiently unbelievable to question the speaker’s intelligence. You have just shown you denigrate my intelligence.’
‘I have never had the slightest reason to do such a thing, señor.’
‘It can be said to be both our misfortunes that I cannot return the denial. I have yet to learn why you consider Crane incapable of causing Picare’s death.’
‘His character. His wife scorns him, much of what he says is an attempt to make out he’s sharp and successful when it is obvious he is weak and a failure. If Picare was dragged under the water in his pool, the person concerned must have a strong character. Crane’s wife suggested he could never do anything which would put him within a hundred metres of danger.’
‘You did not consider she might have been lying?’
‘Señor, she scorns him.’
‘Her emotion was not an act?’
‘Because of the tone with which she spoke, because in the short time during which I was there, I understood she had every reason to scorn him.’
‘For the moment, it is necessary to rely on your judgment. Your report of Giselle Dunkling?’
‘I have not spoken to her yet.’
‘The Lynette woman?’
‘I have not had the time to question her. I have been working day and night—’
The line became dead.
He looked at his wristwatch. Questioning a possible suspect should not be rushed so he would speak to one or both of the other women the following morning.
He left the post and was walking across the old square when a woman said, ‘Hullo’. He came to a stop, half turned. The face was familiar.
‘You look very busy, inspector.’ Carolina Pellisa, the daily at Vista Bonita.
‘I am having to work harder than ever.’
‘Do you know yet what … what happened?’
‘I still have to make certain.’
‘Then maybe …’ She looked away.
‘You have something to tell me?’
She looked back at him. ‘I think so, but …’
‘I should like to hear what it is. Let’s find somewhere to sit. Club Llueso is just over there. You might like a coffee?’
‘I should, but if I have one I’ll be late at work.’
‘You go by bus?’
‘There isn’t one which would get me there on time, so I cycle.’
‘Up that mountain?’
She smiled. ‘I call it a hill, so it’s easier and the exercise is good for me.’
That was a general misconception. ‘Tell them you’ve been delayed by a puncture. Better still, that I stopped you and asked questions.’
‘I’d rather not. I don’t want Rosalía to know. She says we mustn’t talk about what happened because that could become disloyal to them who pay our wages.’
An unusual attitude in this day and age. ‘Very well, no coffee. But we can’t talk here with tourists everywhere. We’ll go to the post.’
‘Oh!’
‘You’d rather not?’
‘I was just thinking … Anyone who knows me might think I was in trouble.’ She paused briefly. ‘It’ll give them something to talk about!’
They left the square, walked the short distance to the post. He said they had to go upstairs and she went first, had to wait for him to join her. He showed her into his room and set a chair by the side of the desk.
‘What do you want to tell me, Carolina?’
‘I don’t want to, it’s just I think I should.’
‘Because you understand the duty of everyone. I’m afraid you must tell me what you know. Does it concern the late señor?’
‘No.’
‘Then who?’
‘She becomes so upset over so many things, even meaningless ones. Rosalía who is fond of her, noticed she’d become so concerned, she was afraid Marta would worry herself ill. She talked to Marta for a long time to try to find out what was wrong and eventually learned Marta was terrified she’d be arrested and imprisoned.’
‘What on earth could make her think that possible?’
‘You questioned her after the señor died.’
‘I had to, much as I disliked doing so.’
‘She told you she heard the visitor say goodbye to the señor when he was by the pool and then the visitor drove away.’
‘That’s correct.’
‘After speaking to you, she began to worry she was wrong.’
‘In what respect?’
‘Because she heard the visitor say goodbye, she expected him to leave immediately. But now she thinks maybe she got it wrong and perhaps she finished the work she was doing before she heard the car leave.’
‘How long would it have taken her to finish the work?’
‘I can’t say.’
‘What changed her mind?’
‘She’s been so disturbed since the señor died, Rosalía wonders if she’s making up the mistake in some way to lessen her sense of shame.’
‘Shame over what?’
‘Perhaps thinking the señor would ever marry her. I don’t know. I can only tell you what Rosalía suggested.’
‘What do you think?’
‘As I’ve said, I don’t have an opinion. I’m just a country person, but I’ve learned not to try to judge what other people will do and think.’
‘Then you have learned more than most. What you’ve told me means I must have another word with Marta.’
‘If you do, she’ll tell Rosalía who’ll know I must have spoken to you about this. She’ll be so annoyed, she might advise the señora to get rid of me because of my malicious gossip. What I earn here is important because everything has become so expensive and with so many people out of work, I wou
ld have terrible trouble trying to find another job.’
‘I’ll make certain Rosalía does not know you have spoken to me.’
She hesitated, seemed about to repeat her request, then stood. He accompanied her down to the front door. It was almost merienda time, so he walked across to Club Llueso.
‘Given up work for the day?’ Roca asked.
‘Taking a breather to rest the brain.’
‘It’s still active?’
‘I’ll have a café cortado and a coñac.’
‘You do know you can have coffee on its own?’
Alvarez sat at a window table, considered what he had heard, not the people passing outside, a couple of whom were dressed in skirts so short he would normally have noticed them. Since there was no reason to believe Marta had had reason to lie to Rosalía, her later evidence concerning Russell could seem to be acceptable. Yet if her original evidence had been fallacious, had she recovered sufficiently for her altered evidence to be accurate?
Roca brought coffee and coñac to the table. Having put them down, he waited. Alvarez looked up. ‘Something bothering you?’
‘Wondering if you’ve anything to say.’
‘Such as?’
‘Thank you.’
‘Do I expect to be thanked when all I’ve done is the job I’m paid to do?’
‘How would you know when you don’t do it?’ Roca returned behind the bar.
Alvarez drank some of the brandy, poured the remainder into the coffee. When Salas had named Russell to be the likely murderer, if there had been a murder, he had questioned whether a man would murder for the sake of a legacy, generous but not a fortune. That question remained. So did the logical answer – very probably not. But human nature was often governed by emotion rather than logic.
Did he speak to Marta or Rosalía first? Salas had demanded he questioned Russell again, so perhaps the answer was determined. It was satisfying to sort out a problem even when the answer called for more work. He signalled to Roca to bring another coñac. He began to notice the public. A young woman wore a skirt so short that modesty could not be in her vocabulary.
‘Get your eye-balls back in before they fall out,’ Roca said, as he put a filled glass of brandy on the table
THIRTEEN
‘Señor Russell is maybe on the beach,’ the receptionist at Hotel Tamit said.
‘You’ve seen him leave?’ Alvarez asked.
‘No.’
He could not understand why someone should willingly grill himself. The sun was not there to provide the pain of sunburn, but the pleasure of sitting under a shade umbrella while having a drink. ‘Then would you use the PA system to make certain he isn’t still in the hotel.’
‘It’s probably not working.’
‘Give it a try.’
The receptionist, with ill grace, swivelled round on his chair and depressed one switch of the ancient apparatus on a shelf behind the desk. He spoke into the microphone and was clearly annoyed when his suggestion of failure was proved wrong as a nearby speaker on the inner wall relayed, in tortured tones, the request for Señor Russell to come to reception.
Russell walked out of the bar, came to a sudden stop when he saw Alvarez; uneasily, he shifted his weight from one leg to the other before he crossed over. Alvarez greeted him.
‘Hullo, inspector,’ he said uneasily.
‘I won’t bother you for long, just need a brief word or two.’
The lift doors had opened and a blonde (unlikely genuine), hurried across to where they stood. ‘I heard you being called. Is something up?’ She studied Alvarez.
‘No need to call for the fire engine. Just met a friend and we need a chat. Go on into the bar and I’ll be with you in no time.’
She said, in little-girl tones, ‘I’ve been told never to drink on my own until I’m twenty-one.’
Alvarez tried to work out how long ago that ban had been imposed.
‘Order a champagne cocktail and tell them it’s on my account.’ Russell said.
‘If you take too long, I’ll become thirsty.’ She went into the bar.
A frequent complaint? he wondered. ‘I need a word so can you suggest somewhere quiet where we can go?’
‘Not really.’
‘We’ll try the lounge. Doesn’t look inviting enough to be overcrowded.’
They sat in the otherwise deserted lounge. A waiter took their orders. Russell’s evident worry increased as Alvarez kept the conversation neutral.
The waiter returned, put a lager and a brandy down, spiked the bill. Alvarez drank, replaced the glass on the table. ‘You’ll know why I’m here, of course.’
‘I’ve said all I possibly can.’
‘Then you won’t keep the young lady in solitude for long. I imagine you haven’t received your legacy yet?’
‘That sort of thing takes for ever.’
‘I don’t suppose this hotel costs you much, but experience suggests your companion will expect to be treated generously.’
‘I saved to come out here and chose this hotel because it’s cheap and looked much better on the travel agent’s brochure. I can just afford a little entertainment.’
‘Why did you come to the island?’
‘I needed a break; by reputation it’s a whole lot quieter than Ibiza.’
‘And you’re not an all-night reveller. But more to the point, was it because Señor Picare lived here?’
‘No.’
‘You had a meal at Vista Bonita on the first night of your arrival.’
‘Who says I did?’
‘Perhaps you were in a hurry to ask Señor Picare for money.’
‘Certainly not. Even if that were true, what of it? We’re related and he had a lot more than he knew what to do with. Why shouldn’t he share some of it?’
‘A political question, so I am not equipped to answer. Why have you lied to me?’
‘I haven’t.’
‘Not when you mentioned how glad Señor Picare was to see you; how much he enjoyed talking about old times.’
‘He did.’
‘A lie can be given by silence as well as by words. You told me he was by the pool when you said goodbye to each other; you walked to your car and drove off. If that were true, he was still alive when you left and you could have no responsibility for his death.’
‘That’s what happened.’
‘Is it?’
‘He asked me to come again and have another meal and what would I like.’
‘Just prior to your departure, there was no such invitation.’
‘Who says?’
‘One of the staff.’
‘Whoever it was is lying.’
‘Why should she?’
‘How the hell do I know?’
‘Señor Picare’s bank statements show he drew a fairly large sum the day after you arrived on the island. Did he give you money?’
‘No.’
‘As I have learned, he was far from generous unless he gained a benefit from being so.’ It was time for another gamble. ‘I have spoken to the cashier who cashed his cheque. He remembers that the man who handed him a cheque signed by the señor had red hair and the white skin of someone who was only recently on the island. There can be little doubt the cashier will be able to identify the person concerned. I will ask again, was it you?’
Russell picked up his glass and drained it. ‘Look, I’m not a fool. When I heard about Neil’s death and you questioned me, I understood I was the last person to see him and if you people knew he had given me some money, it must seem I had something to do with what happened.’
‘Conclusions can be correct as well as obvious.’
‘I didn’t … couldn’t …’ He picked up his glass and went do drink, found it empty.
Alvarez signalled to a waiter.
Their fresh drinks in front of them, he said, ‘Tell me about your last visit to Vista Bonita.’
His hand shaking sufficiently to ripple the level of the whisky he had chosen, Russel
l raised the glass and drank. ‘When we’d had liqueurs, he said he was going for a swim and I should join him. I told him, one shouldn’t go into water within an hour of eating. He laughed at me. It was an old wives’ tale, but if I liked to believe it … He said he might be seeing me again, I left. I swear to God, that’s true. I don’t know what happened afterwards, I wasn’t there when he drowned because he scorned the old precept.’
‘Was the luncheon delicious?’
The unexpected question momentarily bewildered Russell.
‘You can’t remember what you ate?’
‘I didn’t like it.’
‘Why’s that? Rosalía was not well?’
‘Who?’
‘The cook. A magician in the kitchen.’
‘Neil said she was good and the dish was one of his favourites. But I don’t like pork, especially when it’s got something on it and is wrapped in cabbage leaves. I left almost half and that seemed to annoy him.’
With good reason. Lomo con col. A favourite Mallorquin dish; when cooked by Rosalía, it would have been memorable. ‘What was the sweet?’
‘He said that was another of his favourites – vanilla ice cream with maple syrup. I hardly had any because ice cream always makes my teeth jump.’
‘For you, an unfortunate meal. What did you do after it?’
‘Went out to the pool patio and had coffee and liqueurs.’
‘What did you choose?’
‘Didn’t have any choice. He liked green Chartreuse, so that’s what I had to have. Burned my tongue.’
‘A meal made ever more unfortunate. Having suffered, what was your next disaster?’
‘As I said to you already, he said he was going for a swim and I should join him.’
‘Which you did?’
‘Again, as I told you already, it was too soon after we’d eaten. He laughed and said that was a myth. It happens to be one I believe. So, I thanked him for the meal, said goodbye and left.’
‘Where was he when you said goodbye?’
‘I don’t know. I’m getting confused with all the questions.’
‘He was by the pool shortly before you drove away. Would you agree?’
‘How can I, when I can’t remember clearly?’
‘It would save complications if you could. Unfortunately, I must return to work. Incidentally, I hope you are not thinking of leaving the island in the near future.’
In Search of Murder--An Inspector Alvarez Mallorcan Mystery Page 10
