by Alana Ling
‘Oh. Of course. He loves Rory.’
‘All right,’ I said. ‘Maybe I was wrong then. Do you know if Poppy was doing any sort of business with the Blakelys?’
Sarah eyes popped again. ‘No. I don’t think so. What sort of business would she be doing with them?’
‘It’s just that Jack Blakely said he was paying her to do a job, but he didn’t specify.’
‘That’s the first time I’ve heard of this,’ she said, withdrawing her eyes to her cup.
‘He was very aggressive about it. I thought maybe the sort of business they were doing together might have had something to do with Poppy’s death. It’s the way he reacted; he looked like he was protecting something.’
Sarah looked up at me. ‘What?’
‘Yeah, he was very defensive when I asked him about Poppy. I thought maybe he wasn’t pleased with her and decided to keep his money and, you know—hurt Poppy.’ My carefully selected words seemed to do the trick as Sarah sprung to life.
‘That bastard! I can’t believe he would do this. It’s not like Poppy was crazy about the idea,’ she shouted.
‘Crazy about what idea?’ I asked. My tea was getting cold, but I still held it in front of my mouth for an added effect of innocence.
‘Those bastards, the Blakelys, were paying Poppy to marry Rory. I can’t believe they would kill her. They could have said they’d changed their minds!’ Sarah was in hysterics.
I put my cup down and approached her, taking her hands in mine and looking her in the eye. ‘It was a suspicion. I didn’t say he had done it.’
Sarah took several breaths, trying to calm herself.
‘Why were the Blakelys paying Poppy to marry Rory?’
Sarah lips trembled. Her fingers slipped from my hands and she took a gulp of tea. ‘That horrible mother, she didn’t like the idea that the family line wouldn’t continue. Lloyd, you know, is infertile. When Poppy found out she had a tough time. She wanted to be a mother you see. One day. But I told her she could always adopt, or use other methods. She was happy to stay with Lloyd, but when Tia found out she was having none of it. She said her family wasn’t going to be made up of bastards.’
‘What about Rory? Why would she think the family line would die?’
‘Because he’s a homosexual, you know. She couldn’t stand the idea that her sons would never have their own kids. And that one of her sons was a homosexual? That devastated her. She told Rory it was only a phase and if he got married he would get over it. Rory didn’t want to do it. Then she threatened him. Either he married a woman or she would cut off his trust fund. When she forced Lloyd to break up with Poppy, Sarah went to her and told her she’d pay a lot of money if she married her gay son and continued the Blakely line.’
‘And Poppy said yes?’
‘Well, not at first. But, you know, Poppy was a free spirit. She wanted some independence. She loved Lesley and me and she appreciated the family fortune, but she wanted to be her own woman. So she planned on marrying the poor kid and then a couple of years’ later get a divorce so she could start a life of her own,’ Sarah explained.
I wondered how much of what Sarah was saying was embellishing the truth and how much was her idea of who her daughter was.
‘What about Rory? He was okay with this? No protest or anything?’
‘He must really like his father’s money. I don’t know. He agreed to Poppy’s plan and then took her out to “propose” in public. That’s when she hired you. On Valentine’s Day. She already knew it was going to happen, had your number ready. She was just waiting for the show.’
‘I understand.’ This explained so much that my brain was about to explode with all the information I had to process.
A phone call from Sam interrupted us and I excused myself back to work. Sarah thanked me for the help and asked me not to say anything. I promised not to, like I had promised Daniel I would stop investigating.
I walked into Bean Therapy barely able to contain all the information. I told Sam everything that had happened and while I did she took notes on our suspects map. When I finished I looked back at the map that was a lot redder than when we’d started. The red Sharpie had been used to fill in all the details and match them to everyone’s motive.
‘So, we’ve got suspect number one. Lloyd Blakely. Poppy’s ex and the infertile member of the family. He was forced to break up with his girlfriend and then had to watch her get married to his gay brother. Is that enough to make someone a murderer?’ I asked.
‘He did it,’ Sam said.
I ignored Sam and went on to suspect number two. ‘Rory Blakely. He’s gay but can have kids so he’s forced to marry a woman. Why not protest?’
‘Maybe Tom and him had an affair. Tom said he was in a relationship,’ Sam suggested.
I grimaced. ‘Just because they’re both gay doesn’t mean they’re attracted to each other,’ I said. ‘But.’ I paused. ‘It’s a possibility. Which brings us to suspect number three. Tom Tinley. Also gay. Rory’s best man. Who hated Poppy.’
‘Because she was marrying his man,’ Sam said.
‘And then there is the murder itself. Not only was she poisoned, she was choked to death while she was paralysed. The perfect murder for a couple to carry out, don’t you think?’
Sam grinned and picked up her bag. I didn’t need to tell her where we were headed next.
We walked to Tom’s office and asked to speak to him. His assistant informed us he was in a meeting, but he would be done soon if we wanted to grab a seat in the meantime. Sam got us both a cup of coffee, but it didn’t hold a torch to Devi’s artistry.
‘It spoils you, you know. Drinking such good coffee every day,’ Sam commented.
‘I know. This Americano tastes like poison,’ I said and chucked it in the bin.
Samantha mimicked me and disposed of her cup too. ‘You are a bad influence on me, Miss Christie.’
I raised my eyebrows. ‘You are one to talk. Half the reason we’re here this morning is your interest in murder,’ I told her.
‘Pff. You don’t need me. You are the one who decided to “interview” people to get to the bottom of this.’
‘To go to Daniel with a full picture of what had happened.’
We both laughed. A week ago, we were going through wedding details and chasing guests to confirm their attendance. Now, we were chasing murder leads.
Tom made an appearance. The lift doors opened and he walked out in a navy blue suit with a white shirt and his blond hair combed back. He was a picture out of the magazines. His face lit up when he saw us.
‘Don’t tell me you brought more muffins?’ He laughed.
I looked at my empty hands and apologised to him. I asked him if we could go inside and he invited us into his office. Once we were inside, we got down to business.
‘Excuse me for being so blunt, Tom, but what is your relationship with Rory?’ I asked.
He paused and stared at me. ‘What do you mean? We’re friends.’
‘We know you’re gay,’ Sam spat out.
I glanced at her and so did Tom. ‘What? That is none of your business,’ he cried.
‘We also know Rory is gay,’ I added.
His face turned white.
‘Is it true you and Rory are in a romantic relationship?’ If it wasn’t true, he would laugh it off. If it was he was going to get really defensive. Instead, he didn’t say anything, choosing to put a scowl on his face and stare at us angrily.
I put my bag back on my shoulder and stood up. ‘Come on, Sam. Let’s go. He won’t say anything. It’s our fault for trying to help.’ Sam stood up.
‘Help how?’ he said when we’d reached the door.
I sneaked a smile to Sam before turning around.
‘Oh, haven’t you heard? They’re looking for a couple of murderers. Poppy was poisoned and then killed by someone stuffing her wedding bouquet in her mouth until she choked. I turned the doorknob.
‘We didn’t do it!’ he shouted,
standing up.
‘So you are a couple?’ Sam asked.
‘So what? It’s not like we were hurting anyone,’ he admitted. I had to contain myself, mentally jumping in the air with a fist up triumphantly.
‘Unless of course you hurt Poppy to be together.’
He huffed and looked at his desk. ‘We had a deal, okay? He was going to marry her for a few years, let Poppy take the money Tia offered her and then they were going to split up and tell his mum he couldn’t have kids either. Poppy agreed to let us be together while they were married. She didn’t care about us. She only cared about money.’
‘But?’ I asked.
‘What?’ he said.
‘I suspect a but,’ I said.
‘Rory told me his mother found out about their plan and she wasn’t happy. She told him she wasn’t going to let him ruin his future like that.’
‘What did he tell her?’ Sam asked.
‘Nothing. He pretended he had no idea what she was talking about. Then he came to me crying and saying it would never work. She was going to find him another woman to marry if he ever split up with Poppy and that she wouldn’t have a gay son in this town.’
‘Hm, Mrs Blakely is suddenly looking quite the prime suspect,’ I muttered to Sam and she nodded. ‘Thank you so much, Tom. For what it’s worth, I don’t believe you did it.’
He sat back down, defeated, and we left the office.
‘Really?’ Sam asked.
‘Really what?’
‘You don’t think he did it?’
‘So far it doesn’t look like they were hiding anything other than their relationship. And if Poppy had agreed to let them see each other and to give him a divorce and no children, and they’d both get their money, I don’t see why they would kill her.’
‘Unless of course there’s something we don’t know,’ Sam commented and hopped into my car.
Fifteen
We arrived at the Blakely house a little after three o’clock and Tia Blakely welcomed us. Refusing her offer for refreshments, the maid disappeared, and we got down to business.
‘Mrs Blakely, we wanted to ask you a few questions about your relationship with Poppy,’ I said.
Tia wiped her nose briefly on a floral handkerchief.
‘She was a lovely girl. Like I said the other day, I couldn’t wait for her to be my daughter-in-law.’
‘Mrs Blakely, we know you paid Poppy to marry your son,’ Sam said.
Tia looked at Sam with a shocked pale face.
‘I can’t believe your audacity. Poppy has just passed and you’re…’Her smoked cheese turned into plain smoke in my mouth.
‘We also know the reason you paid Poppy to marry your son is because your only fertile son is gay,’ I told her.
She put her handkerchief down and the shocked face turned into surrender and annoyance.
‘Oh, all right. What do you want? You want money too? Fine, how much?’ She stood up, walking away from us in search of her purse.
I got up too and followed her.
‘We don’t want your money Mrs Blakely, we want the truth.’
She stopped in her tracks and looked me in the eyes. ‘Why? What do you gain from it? You’re a wedding planner.’
I bit my tongue. ‘Justice. Poppy might have been an awful woman, but she didn’t deserve to die.’
‘You think I killed her,’ Tia said and laughed out loud.
Sam joined me, standing next to me.
‘Mrs Blakely, we know your entire plan: you trying to cover up Rory’s sexuality, the deal you made with Poppy, her relationship with Lloyd,’ Sam told her and Tia flinched at the mention of her second son’s name.
‘Why would I kill Poppy? She was doing me and this whole family an honour.’
I shrugged. ‘We also know that she had made a different arrangement with Rory and you found out about it.’
Tia laughed again. She paused for a moment and then resumed her laughter even louder. ‘Please, my dear, I didn’t need to kill her. As if she’s the only woman in town.’
She had a point, I realised. She didn’t have a motive to kill her unless there was something about her and Poppy we didn’t know.
‘Tom told us you spoke to Rory about his deal with Poppy to not have any kids and told us you wouldn’t have any of it,’ Sam persisted.
‘With that logic, my dear, I would have killed my son, not Poppy. Dear God, would you leave the detective work to the professionals. You can’t go around people’s houses and accuse them of murder.’
Sam put her hand under her chin and looked thoughtful, measuring Tia’s words for truth. I was ready to go. I only wanted to find out one more thing.
‘How did Rory react when you found out?’
I could tell Tia Blakely’s patience was running very thin so I made a gesture of picking up my handbag.
‘Well, he begged me to change my mind, but can you imagine? The Blakely family dying down because Rory had decided he wanted to live that lifestyle.’ Tia shivered. ‘Anyway, he left without saying a word. I could tell he was upset, but that’s of little consequence. He has got to do his duty for this family.’
I aimed for the door, but Sam had one last question.
‘Are you going to marry him off to another woman?’ she asked.
Tia looked nonchalant in her response. ‘Well, not straight away. We’ve got to show face, you know, for the public, give him a mourning period, but after that Amanda is ready to take Poppy’s place. They will say Poppy’s loss brought them even closer, or you know something stupid like that, and we’ll announce it to the world.’
‘Amanda?’ I asked.
‘Poppy’s bridesmaid?’ Sam added.
Tia chuckled. ‘But who else?’
I drove us to Amanda’s house next, like a madwoman on fire.
‘I can’t believe that woman,’ Sam said.
I nodded, paying attention to the narrow streets which surrounded the suburbs.
‘She was right though. Why would Sarah kill Poppy if she was doing her a favour?’
‘People kill for all sorts of reason, Jo. You’d be surprised.’
I cast a sideways glance at her and Sam nodded again as if to reinforce her point.
‘I don’t think she did it, though. She has an alibi and her motive is weak compared to our other suspects.’
I shook my head. ‘She didn’t do it. She’s a woman who speaks with power and money, not murder. If she wanted Poppy rid of, she would have paid her to walk away. No, I don’t think she did it. And Daniel doesn’t suspect her either, although it would be interesting to find out what he thinks of her manipulating deals.’ I suspected it wouldn’t be in her favour.
Amanda only lived two streets down from the Blakelys, so our car trip was short. I parked in front of her quaint mansion, however, when we rang the bell, no maid answered our call. We rang three more times, but to no effect.
‘Can I help you?’ someone shouted behind us. Sam and I both flipped our heads around towards the source. It was no one else but the woman of the hour.
Amanda walked away from her yellow Mercedes. She was wearing yellow peep-toes and a yellow jumper with blue jeans. She stood in front of us with her car keys in her right hand and her left hand on her hip.
Her lime flavour hit me and I couldn’t help wincing.
‘Hi, Amanda. We came by to check on you. We heard you weren’t going to the funeral tomorrow and so wanted to make sure you are all right,’ I lied.
She grimaced and pulled her head back. ‘Who said I’m not going to the funeral? That’s ridiculous. Poppy was my best friend.’
‘Oh, Mrs Blakely said you were too upset to go,’ I said, throwing in more empties, hoping to get an invitation inside.
She seemed to think twice about what I suggested. ‘Well, I am. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to go. Would you like to come inside?’
We went in and were seated in her living room, which was twice the size of mine. Her sofas were a sickening mustard colo
ur that I could almost taste and her walls were white with yellow paintings dotted around. The wooden coffee table was also painted yellow, a modern design with a bunch of white roses sitting in the middle in a yellow vase. The woman was obsessed with the colour of sick. Everything had a touch of yellow wherever we looked. The only other colour that could be found in the room was the bunch of blue hydrangeas in the middle of the table that made me taste bubble-gum.
‘Excuse the mess. I know it’s ridiculous, but it’s so hard to keep this house tidy despite how small it is.’
I wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her really hard. There was nothing small about this house. Sure, it was smaller than Poppy’s and Rory’s family houses, but it was certainly bigger than I could ever afford.
‘So you are going to the funeral on Sunday. That’s great,’ I said.
Amanda nodded.
‘Is that the start of the new plan?’ Sam asked.
Amanda looked at her. ‘What plan?’
I stared at Sam and saw her smile at Amanda.
‘Mrs Blakely told us you’re next in line to marry Rory,’ I said. Amanda’s eyes goggled and she gasped.
‘She-she told you that?’
We both nodded.
Amanda put her hands on her cheeks. ‘That’s so mortifying. Oh my Lord, I can’t believe she told you. Oh, what you must think of me,’ she shrieked. ‘It’s so embarrassing. I don’t understand why she told you this. It was supposed to be a secret.’
‘She was explaining why she didn’t have a reason to kill Poppy,’ I told her and Amanda eyes popped again. ‘But unfortunately, that puts you in the spotlight.’
‘You—’ Her cheeks went red. ‘You think I killed Poppy? That’s ridiculous. What reason would I have?’
I shrugged. ‘We don’t think anything. It’s how things would look to the police. Maybe Tia offered you the money, but then Poppy changed her mind and you wanted her out of the way; could be one of the angles.’
‘You must be joking. That is ridiculous. I refused the first time she offered me that deal, what makes you think I would kill Poppy to get it again?’
