by Emily Selby
'What you mean, Katie?' Miriam asked, her voice taking on a sharp note.
'Apparently, you've said that having him at home was making the situation difficult. Benjamin and Julian were arguing, which was making Julian upset.'
'I've never said that.'
'There were witnesses, Miriam.'
'Are you spying on me?' Miriam's voice hiked up by an octave.
'Miriam,' Katie said as soothingly as possible, given her head was humming with potential theories. 'I know you didn't want to talk about the situation, but I'm not sure if you aware that things have become much more serious. Earlier this evening, someone strangled Chloe MacGregor.'
There was a long silence at the other end of the phone. Eventually, Miriam said, 'I don't understand it at all. Why was Chloe McGregor murdered? If anybody, I suspected her of killing Benjamin. I told Benjamin she was a gold-digger.'
Katie waited for a little, weighing her options. 'Why did you think she'd killed him?'
'I don't want to speak ill-'
'Nonsense, Miriam!' Katie cut in. 'The girl has been murdered, as has Benjamin. They deserve justice. You need to tell the truth. What secrets are you keeping? Who are you protecting?'
'You need to talk to Ally Baker,' Miriam said her voice clipped. 'I'm not sure if I remember it correctly. It was a few years ago. Ally's mother came to our home, very angry with Benjamin. Julian tried to defend him, but I can tell you, Benjamin was a stubborn man, set in his ways. He was born old, if you know what I mean. Everything had a monetary value to him. I never did like him. He was nothing like my Julian. But that's not the point I was going to make. The point is, Ally hated Benjamin, too. She had to quit her job in London. He threatened her. He said if she ever disclosed what happened, he would make sure no one ever employed her. Chloe MacGregor was also involved in the cover-up, but I don't know any of the details. I wouldn't be surprised if Chloe, at the bottom of her heart also shared Ally's sentiment for Benjamin. Despite her widely proclaimed love for him,' Miriam's voice brimmed with disapproval, if not disgust. 'Anyhow,' she added quickly, 'that's all I remember.'
Katie took a deep breath trying to calm her dizzy mind. So much information had suddenly come to light, she struggled to make sense of it all. And on top of everything else, this wasn't the reason she had rung Miriam.
'Miriam, you should talk to the police. Tell them all about Ally and Chloe. You should do it first thing tomorrow morning. But I wanted to ask you about something else.'
'What now?' Miriam asked, her tone defensive.
Katie plunged on. 'You thought Chloe could have killed Benjamin, but what about his wife, Ava?'
'Why are you asking?'
'I'm trying to understand the woman. Why did she come out of nowhere after so many years? Why here? Why now?'
'Ava's a strange woman. No, scratch that. She isn't strange, she's a lovely woman, she’s just not suited to Benjamin. She's caring, gentle, and good-natured. I could never understand how on earth she could fall for Benjamin.'
Katie bit her lower lip. Why did such a beautiful woman as Chloe "fall" for Benjamin?
'So, you weren't surprised when Ava ran away?'
'No, at all. On top of being with the wrong man, she was homesick, and Benjamin would never move to Ireland. It was too provincial for him. He liked to play big. I just wondered why she didn't just divorce him.'
'Apparently, it's because of her religion.'
'I suppose that might have been the case, indeed.' Miriam agreed.
'Do you think Ava was after his money?'
'I can't exclude it, but at the time, I thought she was just desperately lonely. She was in her thirties, so keen to have a family. She was a nurse at the time, which was how Benjamin and Ava met. Benjamin hired Ava to look after his father when he was recovering at home from a broken hip. They sort of gravitated towards each other. Ava seemed very lonely, missing her family. As for Benjamin, well, he had always been socially awkward, with his strange quirks. Too busy with his job, never had time for dating.'
'So, she is a nurse...' Katie said keeping her voice steady.
A nurse would know which tablets to mix with which to achieve the desired effect of "a death by apparently natural causes".
She needed to contact Jack!
No, it was Miriam who should talk to Jack.
'Were you aware she was in Sunnyvale?'
'No. It was a bit of a shock when Sunita told me that Benjamin had met her in our café.'
'Have you seen her in town?'
'No. In fact, I'm not sure I'd even recognise her. I've only seen her a few times.'
'By the way, Chloe MacGregor looked similar, did you know that?'
'No,' Miriam replied, sounding distracted. 'But I wouldn't be surprised. Benjamin liked things and people to stay the same, so he could manage them, like money and physical assets.'
'It fits with I've heard about him so far,' Katie murmured.
'Anyway,' Miriam said, sounding tired. 'Sorry, Katie. I'm exhausted. I need some sleep.'
'Of course, I apologise for calling you so late, but I've heard you've been away a lot.'
'Who from?'
'Sunita told me she’s been trying to phone you all afternoon, until about six o’clock.' Katie said, controlling her voice for any signs of hesitation. It was a neat way of weaving a half-truth into the conversation!
'Sunita rang me mid-morning, as soon as she heard the gossip about Benjamin's wife. And then, obviously, reported on the café being closed with the police searching the place. That, together with Julian ringing me all the time since the doctors are limiting my visits, was more than enough for me to deal with. I turned my phones off and decided to catch up on rest and restoration, and house chores.'
'Do you need any help?'
'No, thank you, Katie. Nathan is coming tomorrow. I'll be fine.'
'Of course,' Katie said hastily, sensing that she should end the conversation. 'Sorry to have bothered you, Miriam. Good night and take care. Let me know if I can help with anything.'
Katie disconnected and checked her phone. Still no news from Jack.
She texted him: "You need to talk to Miriam again. I'll fill you in tomorrow."
23
When Katie walked in to the staffroom the following morning, Friday, a familiar tall, hunched figure was pacing in the reception area.
Katie popped her head around the door. 'Hi, Ally, how are you?'
Ally stopped and grabbed the edge of the counter so tight, her knuckles turned white. Her long, usually made-up face was pale, with dark circles under her eyes. She'd pulled her golden-blonde hair into a ponytail. 'Is the inspector in?'
'Not yet. He should be here, shortly. Can I get you a cup of coffee?'
'Already had some. Couldn't sleep all night. Did you find Chloe's body?'
'I did.'
Ally lowered her head. 'Poor Chloe. It's all my fault. I didn't tell the inspector the whole truth, and now I can't stop thinking that maybe if I had, she wouldn't have died.' She squeezed her eyes closed, and a tear rolled down her reddish cheek.
Katie pushed the buzzer to unlock the door and stepped into the waiting area. She put her arm around Ally and gently guided her towards the seating area.
'I'm sorry for your loss, Ally. But even if you had told Inspector Heaton everything you knew, would Chloe have admitted to it?'
'She probably wouldn't.' Ally sniffed. 'She didn't think she was doing anything wrong. Neither was I. I was just helping a friend. She told me she had a-'
'A wardrobe malfunction?'
'No,' Ally lifted her head and glanced at Katie strangely. 'The snapped bra was my idea. She told me the truth and made me swear to keep it secret. She came to Sunnyvale earlier than they'd agreed. The plan was for him to prepare Julian and Miriam and then, let them meet her. Chloe was going to wait locally, but she came earlier and decided, silly girl, to check on him. She saw Ben with a woman, so obviously, she became suspicious. She followed him to the café and ...' Ally hu
nched.
'Well?' Katie pushed gently.
'That's the part I didn't tell the inspector about. There’s an industrial-sized rubbish bin by the side door. They were sitting too far for her to see anything, so Chloe climbed inside the bin. But it was empty, or she was on the wrong side of it. Not only couldn't she see anything, but she couldn't get out of the bin either. She waited for Ben and the woman to leave the cafe and rang me for help.' Ally took a tissue out of her pocket. 'Chloe didn't know the woman was Benjamin’s ex-wife. Once the gossip was out, she felt really stupid, but also... quite suspicious. She was angry Ben hadn't told her he was meeting with his wife.'
'Did she see or hear anything while she was in the bin?'
'She couldn't see anything, but she heard someone or something banging on the bin as if knowing she was there. And then, of course, she heard the car driving away and she rang me.'
'And she didn't tell the police about it?'
'I rang her yesterday at lunchtime, after her interview with the police to ask her how it went.' Ally paused to blow her nose.
Katie ran through the sequence of events of the previous day in her head. 'Was she back at the hotel at that stage?'
'Definitely. She had to leave the hotel restaurant to talk to me. It was very noisy in there.'
It must have been the call the receptionist referred to?
'What did you talk about?'
'She didn't want to talk about it, but I had a hunch she hadn't told the police about being trapped inside the bin. So, I insisted she ring them again to correct her statement. She yelled at me, saying she'd be too embarrassed to tell anyone she'd been trapped inside a silly old bin for half an hour. Now, I can't stop thinking that if she had explained it to the police, she wouldn't have died.'
Ally covered her face and started crying again. Katie rested a hand on Ally's shoulder, trying, unsuccessfully, to come up with some words of consolation.
She couldn't stop thinking that if Chloe hadn't yelled the comment about the bin at Ally, she mightn’t have died.
Katie would love to know who else could have heard the telephone conversation.
'I'm so sorry, Ally,' Katie said simply. 'I don't really know what else to say.'
'It's okay. It's me who should be asking what else I should say.'
Was this an invitation to ask more questions or just a polite statement?
'Chloe was your good friend and your husband's sister. How did you meet?'
'We met by chance - a flat sharing ad. That's how our friendship started. A little later, she introduced me to her brother, and we started going out. At some point, she told me about a job opening in the company where she worked.'
'The same company Benjamin Fischer worked for?'
Ally's head jerked. She threw Katie a dagger of a glance. 'How did you know?'
Katie ran her tongue around her mouth. 'Someone might have mentioned that,' she said.
'I bet it was Miriam. She'd be the one to know. My mum made a bit too much commotion about it. But never mind, I need to talk to the inspector about it. Perhaps, whatever I know can help find Chloe's killer.'
Katie stood up, reluctantly. 'I'll go and check if he's arrived yet.'
As she returned to the staffroom, a question entered Katie’s mind and wouldn’t leave. Did Ally's connection with Benjamin matter?
24
Back in the staffroom, Katie left a message for Jack and retreated to her office. She had some backlog of paperwork to go through, and she wanted to see how she could streamline her tasks to fit the new schedule.
If she wanted to be successful at the new job, she had to rethink her old one.
The thought of the previous night’s visit to the hotel brought the heavy feeling of dread back to her stomach. Was it the murder or her terse conversation with Mr McBride?
She scrolled through her emails and tasks for the day, pushing aside her doubts about the hotel job, the house and potential consequences. Three weeks wasn't an eternity, and she might learn new skills that could prove helpful later.
She’d just managed to distract herself enough from her worries and become engrossed in the first task for the day, when there was a knock on her door.
'Come in,' she called.
It was Jack. Paled-faced, with deeper lines, etched into his forehead. Katie's heart ached - he'd been working long hours again. At least he’d got home last night because instead of his favourite steel-blue suit and a white shirt, he was wearing the navy jumper the team bought him for his birthday and a pair of plain trousers. Casual Friday!
'Apologies for not calling last night but we finished really late.'
'I guessed that,' Katie said softly. 'Did you get any sleep at all? You're in early.'
'A few hours.' He rubbed his cheeks and grinned. 'Looking better with a little more colour?'
Katie smiled back and shook her head. Maybe the information she had for him could help push the case forward. 'Have you made any progress?'
'I hope so. I've just talked to Ally Baker.'
'What do you think?'
'I wish she’d told me the whole truth the first, or even second time around. But the new information supports my hypothesis that Chloe might have overheard something when she was stuck in the bin.'
'I'm not so sure,' Katie replied, running through the information she gathered and her own reflections. 'I’m guessing it’s hard to hear or see anything if you're sitting inside an industrial bin, but the killer might have thought she had.'
Katie told Jack about her conversation with Ally and what she'd heard from the hotel receptionist.
'I heard that, too,' Jack replied, nodding thoughtfully. 'We've interviewed everyone who were in the hotel around the time of the murder, including staff. It was a massive job, and we still have quite a few people to follow up, as they weren't around when we conducted the interviews. But those who noticed her talking on the phone don't seem to have any connection with the case.'
Katie bit her lip. 'What if the person who overheard the conversation wasn't in the hotel at the time?' she asked cautiously.
Jack leant against the wall and crossed his arms. 'Do you mean someone might have heard Ally's side of the conversation?'
'Possibly, but-
'Ally said she phoned Chloe from her home.'
'Okay then,' Katie said nervously, not knowing how else she could broach the subject. 'I've got this weird hunch but no evidence to support it.'
'Fire away. You'll still have to provide logical and evidential support later.' His eyes twinkled as he spoke.
Katie pressed her lips to hide the smile creeping onto her face. That was quite a change for Jack - a couple of months ago he would insist on hearing only hard evidence and would ignore gut feelings and unsupported assumptions.
'I'd better tell you about my chat with Dorothy and Miriam last night.' Katie gave him the summary of the case-relevant points.
'Miriam suspected Chloe of bringing forward Benjamin's death?'
'Yes, and more. I can't shake the impression that Miriam is happy Chloe has disappeared from the scene. She disapproved of Benjamin's involvement with a younger woman. I bet, she's worried about the finances and is definitely in need of money. She was keen to tell me there were reasons why Chloe hated her fiancé.'
Jack's forehead furrowed. 'You think Miriam might have wanted Chloe dead?'
'That's the part I'm struggling with the most because Miriam is my friend, and I know her to be a good person. But somehow it all fits.'
'What fits?'
'Miriam not wanting Benjamin to marry Chloe. Miriam being frustrated with her brother-in-law and the effect his visit had on Julian. Miriam letting Julian walk out of the crafts room with a pair of scissors in his hand.'
'Are you saying-'
'Yes. No.' Katie sighed. 'I can't get it out of my head. Miriam had access to the pillbox. She was by herself at home all yesterday afternoon, not answering any calls. She knew all the people involved.'
'What about
the phone call between Ally and Chloe?'
'Maybe it didn't matter. Maybe it was a coincidence.'
'I see,' Jack said, pushing himself away from the wall. 'If only people were telling the full story.' He shook his head. 'I agree, Miriam Fischer doesn't come across as a person who could kill, but I've met a few murderers like that. I was planning to talk to her today anyway.'
Katie ignored the heavy sensation in her chest.
Ratting on your friend, huh, Katie?
'And if you needed anyone to confirm Miriam's negative comments about Benjamin's visit and that she knew about Chloe, Dorothy Ravencroft is prepared to do that.'
'That may be helpful,' Jack said and reached for the door handle. 'I'd better get on with pushing people to talk to me before any more of them disappear.'
Another sudden thought crossed Katie's mind. 'One more thing,' she said, her heart dropping a few inches lower, making her stomach weigh even heavier in her belly.
'Yes?' he asked looking at her over his shoulder.
'Obviously, it could have been Ally as well.'
He nodded. 'She’s certainly on my suspect list, and I'll get to her once I've sorted this mess out.'
He walked out, leaving Katie torn between the desire to find the murderer, or murderers and justice being served, and the guilt over being disloyal to her friends.
25
Just as Katie managed to push aside the guilt, her phone rang. It was Roy Dunbar.
She had forgotten about him! Another pang of guilt settled in her chest.
'Hi Katie,' Roy greeted her. 'Have you got any news for me?'
She told him about Michael's offer, and her decision to accept the inheritance from Mrs Dunbar's will.
'To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed,' he said once she’d finished. 'But I understand you've got to do what's best for you and your daughter. You can't live in an old workshop.'
'No. And if I wanted to turn it into a craft shop, I'd need a planning permission, and that's extra cost.'
'And you wouldn't get a lot of customers either, given its isolated location.'
