4 Camera ... Action ... Murder!

by Faith Mortimer

  Clare waved her spoon in their direction and resumed her conversation with Russell, who looked bemused and irritated by Clare’s less-than-subtle remarks. Di noticed he wasn’t eating. He sat with a cup of tea in front of him and a piece of untouched toast.

  “Coffee?” asked Steve passing her a cup and meeting her eyes. Di pulled a face and said thank you. Apart from Clare, the others seemed to be restrained that morning.

  “Has anyone seen our hosts?” she asked looking round the table. She wasn’t surprised when nobody said they had.

  “I thought I heard Duncan on the telephone before I came in here, but I haven’t seen him. I’m sure he’s still upset and keeping a low profile. As for Isabelle, I’ve not seen or heard her,” said Clare in between mouthfuls. “Do try some of these strawberries, Di, you can’t beat English ones. I bet you don’t get many in Cyprus.”

  “We do actually, and what’s more, they’re ready from January onwards.”

  “How utterly divine! I might have to come and pay you a little visit.” She rolled her eyes at Russell, no doubt thinking about bowls of luscious strawberries and cream. Her action suddenly reminded Diana of the 1975 English musical film, Tommy, in which there was a famous scene where the character, played by Ann-Margret, hallucinated she was cavorting in detergent foam, baked beans, and chocolate. The thought of Clare sliding around in strawberries and cream made her shudder, and she supressed a wild laugh at the idea.

  “Any time. We’d love to have you. Just contact us by phone or email, and we’ll let you know if it’s convenient. We’re there most of the time.”

  “Perhaps I can persuade Russell to accompany me? You fancy a trip out to Cyprus don’t you? I’ve heard it’s hot and steamy.”

  Russell looked quite worried over her suggestion, especially over the double entendre but quickly came up with an answer.

  “Sorry. I can’t leave my garden. I’ve entered my roses in the county show this year. When I’m not working, they take up all my spare time.”

  “For shame. I’ve always declared if I have to give up a bit of fun for the sake of mowing a lawn or weeding, then life’s not worth living,” Clare replied. “Pretty but sharp, are rose bushes. You ought to grow something less troublesome.”

  Footsteps coming down the hallway caught their attention, and everyone paused when Duncan walked in.

  He looked pale but in control and quite calm. “Good morning, everyone. I trust you all slept well?” Not waiting for an answer, he took an empty seat at one end of the table, unfolded a napkin and helped himself to toast from the table. While he was spreading the butter, he announced the police would be back soon after breakfast.

  “I’m afraid I overslept this morning. It was probably something to do with the sedatives my doctor gave me. I took three, and they completely knocked me out. Anyway, the superintendent wanted me to tell you once again how he appreciated you all staying last night. It helped his officers tremendously to get as much information as they needed. You know you’re all perfectly entitled to leave whenever you like. He’ll be here again shortly and will no doubt thank you personally if any of you are still here. I’ll be glad when it’s all over.”

  “We’ll all go home after breakfast and leave you and Isabelle to peace and quiet. I expect you’ll be glad of that,” Joanna said huskily from the other side of the table.

  Everyone looked at Duncan, who carried on chewing his toast as if nothing had been said. The silence was broken by the beep of an incoming text message on someone’s mobile and Russell hastily stood up. He reached into his pocket to answer the phone and then thought better of it. “It’s mine. Sorry about the intrusion. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll take it upstairs,” he said, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

  “You’ll forgive me if I don’t talk about Caroline. She and I shared a special relationship, and that’s all you need to know. So how does everyone feel about yesterday’s photo shoot?” Duncan looked around him, oblivious to some surprised looks from those taking breakfast at his sudden change of subject. “Seb has told me he’s taken some splendid shots which we can use and, according to my wife, some extra special ones which I don’t know about yet.” Duncan got up, went to a side table, and helped himself from a dish containing bacon and cooked tomatoes. “Would you like to explain, Sebastian?” Duncan asked in a steely voice. He suddenly dropped the lid of the silver serving dish onto the sideboard. The loud clatter made everyone jump and look up.

  Duncan regarded Sebastian with a malevolent expression, and Diana could have sworn he turned even paler and looked frightened. With a startled glance around the room, Sebastian stood up and in his haste knocked over his chair. Ignoring it, he muttered a sorry and fled the room.

  “Like father, like son,” murmured Duncan. He picked up his knife and fork and calmly began to eat. Diana felt sure she was the only one who could have heard him because she was sitting nearest to him. She added a spoonful of sugar to her coffee while trying to keep a blank face. Why had Duncan picked on Sebastian, and what could he possibly have meant? She also wondered why Sebastian appeared so worried.

  Chapter 12

  “Has anyone seen Isabelle?” asked Duncan about half an hour later, poking his head round the door. The few remaining guests were all gathered in the drawing room. They were having a last-minute coffee and were either talking or glancing through the daily newspapers. Most had packed their overnight bags, and one or two cases were standing in the hall waiting to be placed in their cars. “Isabelle isn’t in her bedroom or her study. I haven’t seen her since last night,” he went on. He looked around at the group before him. No one answered.

  “Where the devil has she got to? I’ve spoken to Mrs Smith, the housekeeper, and she said Isabelle didn’t ring down for her usual cup of green tea at eight o’clock. I can’t think where she is.”

  “Has her bed been slept in?” Di asked, immediately confirming they didn’t sleep together.

  “What? Yes, yes. Her sheets are quite rumpled. In fact, if I didn’t know better…” He tailed off and looked confounded and almost embarrassed. Diana wondered if it was because Isabelle was missing or by what he had been about to say.

  “Maybe she went for a walk,” Joanna volunteered. “Perhaps she was still upset over yesterday and needed to have some time to herself.”

  Duncan gave a snort. “You think so? But Isabelle never walks anywhere, as well you know. This really is too much, irritating woman. I’ll be in my study if anyone wants me. The damned police will be here any minute.” He turned on his heel and left the room. There was silence, and most people looked startled. Diana privately questioned whether it was because Duncan scoffed when he said Isabelle never walked anywhere or because he had ignored Joanna’s suggestion that she might be upset.

  Steve joined Diana and bent down to whisper in her ear. “We saw someone out this morning. They could easily have been Isabelle despite her dislike of walking.”

  Di frowned and nodded. “Do you suppose she met someone? Supposing it was her down by the lake and then again up near the house.”

  “That doesn’t explain where she’s got to now.”

  “Do you think we should go and look for her? The police will be here any minute, and she’ll want to know what’s going on, surely?”

  “You really think so? She’s a grown woman and this is her house.” He shrugged. “If Isabelle doesn’t want to be found, then I’m positive she’s capable of thumbing her nose at authority and going off somewhere. I’m betting she’s going to wait for Duncan to tell her. She was hardly bothered yesterday, why would she be any different today?”

  “Do you think she has a lover? Duncan looked very baffled when he was talking about her rumpled bed. I’m sure he was thinking she’d just had a night of hot sex and then gone walkabout. Clare was telling me Andrew has spent a number of weekends down here recently and—” Diana’s voice stuttered to a stop when Steve almost choked at her words.

  “Di! You make me laugh. Can you
really see the ice queen having hot sex with anyone? She might break a fingernail.”

  “Even so, she’s had some facial work done for someone, and it’s most definitely not Duncan. From what I’ve seen since we’ve been here, those two can’t stand each other and have separate rooms. They argue far more than they used to.”

  Steve chewed the inside of his mouth while thinking. “Maybe you’re right, but it doesn’t make any difference to where she is now. Hang on, there’s a car coming up the drive,” he said turning to look out of the windows. “It looks like your old flame has arrived.”

  Di gave him a withering look. “Old flame? I thought you weren’t bothered. I’m certainly not, so why should you be?”

  “I’m not.”

  “Sounds like it! Listen, Duncan’s gone to his study which is at the back of the house, so he won’t have heard Adam’s car. I suggest we nip out and have a quick word with him before he speaks to Duncan. I’d like to have a private chat about things. Coming?”

  ***

  It was easy to head Adam and his sergeant off before they entered the house. Di and Steve met the two police officers as they got out of the car, and Adam immediately made a suggestion.

  “Good morning. I’m glad to see you before you left. I’d like a word with you before I speak to the Macphersons. I’ve got some ideas I want to run past you. Can we walk a little?” he asked. “Barbara, you may as well accompany us.” He turned and faced Diana. “I’ve already filled Barbara in about you and Steve. She’s pretty quick off the mark and had already gathered you’d helped me before on a case—not that you had any choice back then, Diana.”

  They strolled down the grass past the maze and headed naturally towards the lake. Diana grimaced at his unfortunate words and tried not to show her shudder. No, she most certainly didn’t have a choice back then. She had been caught unawares when the killer set his sights on her. It had taken Adam a lot of persuasion to listen to her theories and intuition. Steve caught her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze, and she gave him a smile as if to say, ‘I’m all right, really I am.’

  Adam gave no indication he had noticed anything. Instead, looking ahead, he asked, “I believe you didn’t know Caroline Tushing very well?”

  Steve and Di exchanged looks, and Di answered, “No. This was the first time we’ve met her.”

  “And did you like her? Did she seem normal to you?” Diana thought the second part to his question was a bit odd.

  “Yes. She seemed nice. We chatted on the first day when Russell introduced me to her. She seemed very normal. She was chatty and excited about the film and that she had a starring role to play. But we didn’t get into any deep conversation, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Hmm. And what about you, Steve? You’re a good judge of character if I remember rightly.”

  “Like Di, I only spoke to her briefly. We met early on that first day and then again at dinner. She seemed full of fun and positively bloomed with health. On the day she died we chatted in between posing for photos. I thought she was very natural and easy to talk to. She came over as young and enjoying what we were doing. The only thing she didn’t seem too happy about was the bit in the boat, but apparently, Sebastian, the young photographer, put her mind at rest over that.”

  “Duncan McPherson was her lover as well as her benefactor, I understand?”

  “So we were led to believe. I remember Russell telling me as much just before he introduced me to her,” Di volunteered. “You might already have been told that Duncan has always liked pretty young girls around him, but as far as I know, he’s always treated them well.”

  “So I’ve established.” Adam paused in front of the boathouse as if he hadn’t seen it before. “And going back over his records, she certainly wasn’t the first, not by a long shot.” He looked tight-lipped and angry.

  Diana was incredulous. “Duncan has a police record? Whatever for? Are you allowed to tell us?”

  “Diana, if I didn’t trust you both, then I wouldn’t be having this conversation with you. Macpherson’s been questioned before about various relationships with under-aged girls. I know Miss Tushing was over twenty-one, but there’s still a huge discrepancy in their ages. It makes him seem rather seedy, don’t you think? Not quite the upstanding pillar of society he portrays himself to be. Personally, his type makes me sick, and I’d love to get a conviction that holds up in court, but he’s always managed to wriggle out of any situation because he has a tenacious and wily old bastard of a solicitor, who’s as sharp and ruthless as me.” He grinned mirthlessly. “What I want to know is, did he have anything to do with her accident and why? What made you think the boat was tampered with in the first place? Was it that age-old feminine intuition, Diana?” He said, giving her a searching look.

  She returned his stare. “Something wasn’t right. She screamed, and most people watching just laughed, thinking she was mucking about, but I thought there was real fear in her voice. Steve just said she’d already been panicking about going in the boat, and I asked myself why Duncan would have placed her in that position. It’s probable he knew beforehand that she hated boats and was afraid of water. But I still can’t believe what you’ve just said about him. I thought I knew him so well. He was so kind when I first joined the company. He never came on strong to me…I can’t have been his type.”

  “You’re not blonde and at least twenty-five years younger. Yes, I’ve been through his file and made the connection. Even Isabelle must have fitted the bill once, apart from her age. And talking of her, did you know that it was actually Isabelle’s idea to use the boat? Apparently, according to Duncan Macpherson, Isabelle Macpherson thought it would make a marvellous tableau and give them real advertising power. She met the producer from Lodestone Pictures—what was his name again?” He glanced across at his sergeant who flipped open her notebook. “Ah yes, thank you…Andrew Downs. She met him before Duncan knew him, and when she came up with the idea, he jumped at it.”

  “We thought so, didn’t we, Steve? We wondered if it was Isabelle all along who thought up the boat scenario. I supposed at first it was just a malicious game that turned nasty, only now I’m not so sure.”

  Adam touched the unpainted door frame to the boathouse, running a finger lightly over the leafy bright-orange lichen covering it before stepping inside. “Species Xanthoria, I believe,” he said, scrutinising his surroundings. “I didn’t get a good look in here last night. Did you, Barbara?” he asked, turning to his sergeant.

  “No, sir. We had a quick scout around but there was no real reason to, and even with flashlights it was quite dark. The electricity appeared not to be working in here.”

  Diana remembered something. “By the way, did you take the screwdriver that was here?”

  Adam and Barbara looked at each other. “What screwdriver?” he asked.

  “It was there on the workbench with the hammer and chisel. The hammer is unusable because the handle’s missing, and the chisel is useless without an edge. Both look ancient, but the screwdriver was newer. When Steve and I came down here this morning during our run, we looked in and realised it missing. We thought you’d taken it last night.”

  “Run?”

  Di felt her face flame. “We thought we’d get fitter.”

  “Right. Fitter, eh?” He looked her up and down.

  Di was momentarily irritated by the man. She swore he was trying not to laugh while sharing an amused exchange of looks with his sergeant.

  “No, we didn’t take the screwdriver. When did you say you saw it?” Adam asked.

  “We didn’t, but it was on the day before Caroline had her accident. We were exploring the grounds on the day of our arrival, and it was after lunch. Actually, it was early evening. We came in here and saw the boats. Then Isabelle followed us in and made us come out. She said the place was all but condemned and dangerous and about to fall down on our heads. She also said the paint was tacky on the rowing boat, and ‘No, we couldn’t take it out because we’d smu
dge it.’ She was very adamant and quite rude, and we thought it odd at the time,” Steve said, butting in before Di had a chance to explain. He saw the flash in her eyes over Adam’s remark and thought she was about to say something she would later regret.

  Adam cast his eyes at the roof and walls and squinted. “Well, it is run down, but I’d hardly call it condemned. Was the paint still wet on the boat?”

  “Neither of us touched it, so we can’t be sure, but it looked like it was dry despite being recently painted. We thought she was over the top about keeping us out of here and wondered what her real reason was. Besides, the gardener’s boys use the rowing boat for a spot of fishing, don’t they? So they must come in here from time to time, condemned or otherwise.”

  Bobbing his head in agreement, Adam paced around the building for a few minutes, then stopped and addressed his sergeant. “There are fingerprints on the boat of course.” He turned back to Steve. “We’ve found different sets, some smudged inevitably. We have to match them up with possible suspects, but that shouldn’t take long.”