‘The Burke sisters,’ Bill said. ‘Doesn’t anything change around here?’
‘We hope not,’ Alex told him, and Dan laughed.
The two men poured brown sauce on their plates and ate in silence – apart from the scraping of their cutlery – for several minutes.
Alex put Max on the seat of a nearby chair. She moved her toast in front of her, spread butter and took a spoonful of marmalade to the side of her plate. She doubted she had ever felt much less like eating. Her coffee already had a dull film on top.
‘I was in the churchyard thinking and that’s when I heard Laura singing and playing the piano.’ Alex pretended not to notice Bill Lamb’s irritation at her interruption of his breakfast. ‘I didn’t know it was Laura till later, of course. I had a lot on my mind but she sang the blues the way we don’t hear it around here very often. She was so good. But then she stopped and I kept waiting for her to start again. When she didn’t, I went on walking and thinking. I had a lot on my mind.’
‘What?’ Bill said, swallowing and drinking some coffee. ‘What was on your mind?’
Murder and mahem. ‘Personal things. Nothing to do with why you’re here.’
‘We’ll decide that.’ He jabbed a forefinger, the one on top of his knife, toward her. ‘There’s a reason for anything I ask you.’
‘Right.’ She reconstructed her walk in the churchyard, leaving out nothing including watching the girls riding, their dogs, and having to be careful not to stick herself on rose thorns.
With his fork, Bill made ‘speed this up’ motions.
‘Back at the church,’ she said and folded her hands together in her lap. They wanted to shake, or gesture. ‘It was still quiet when I got there. Then a crash on the piano keys. Then silence.’
‘Uh huh,’ Bill said. ‘Then?’
‘I waited and thought some more for a long time about personal things.’ She pulled her eyebrows together. ‘I think that’s the right order.’
‘Be sure,’ Dan told her and he didn’t look amused by the minutia.
‘I kept hoping she’d play again. When she didn’t I left Bogie outside – under a rose bush – and went in. I wanted to tell her how much I’d enjoyed listening.’ The prickling in her eyes was too familiar. ‘If she was still there.’
This might be her way of dealing with Lamb’s passive aggression, but she wasn’t enjoying bringing back the pictures of that horrible time.
Moving through details faster, she got to when she found Laura’s body. ‘She was lying on the floor with her head against the music stand. I didn’t see her at first but when I fell—’
‘You told us all about that before.’ Finished with his meal, Dan put down his knife and fork.
‘I’ve been asked to tell everything again, from the beginning. There are steps there, where the choir stalls are. You will have seen them. I put my foot down from the bottom one and landed on a thermos bottle. It shot out from under my shoe and I went down. But I wasn’t hurt. Sore elbows, that’s about it.’
‘Thermos.’ Dan made it a statement. ‘You fell over a thermos? What kind?’
‘One of those hot or cold insulated types. I think they’re all more or less the same. This one was red with a knitted sleeve on it.’
Dan and Bill glanced at one another a little too long.
‘It was there when all those people arrived,’ Alex added. She reached for Max and sat him on her lap again. He stayed, which surprised her. ‘Doc James. Ambulance. The police. I expect forensics bagged it.’
Bill’s face whipped toward her. ‘If you start sounding much more like a pro, we’ll have to sign you up for the force.’
‘Call in and check it, Bill,’ Dan said shortly. He wasn’t a happy man. ‘Step out and do it now.’
Alex was confronted by two unhappy men.
Bill took out his phone and left the room.
‘That cat’s only got one eye,’ Dan said, as if thinking of something very different.
‘Tony had to take it out,’ she told him, barely stopping herself from adding that she’d helped with the procedure. ‘It was badly infected.’
‘Was it?’ He rubbed absently at the scar along his jaw. ‘When we got here last night someone was playing the piano. Blues. Bit of a coincidence, wouldn’t you say? Did you remember the music from last night and say Laura Quillam was playing the same stuff? Just by accident?’
‘I’ve talked about Laura playing the blues a number of times. That was Elyan Quillam playing last night. It was an impromptu thing. His girlfriend came and asked if anyone was allowed to use the piano, then persuaded him to play. I was expecting something like Bach but you heard him.’
‘Talented boy – or man.’
Alex murmured agreement. ‘I didn’t mistake the kind of music Laura was playing.’
Bill Lamb reappeared and shut the door firmly. With absolutely no facial expression, he took the empty dishes, opened the hatch to the bar and pushed them through.
In other words, he didn’t want more interruptions.
In silence, he sat and scribbled something in his notebook, tore out the sheet and gave it to Dan who read, also in silence.
‘That cat’s only got one eye,’ Bill said. ‘Doesn’t he fall off things?’
‘His balance can be a bit—’
‘Describe the bottle,’ Dan said.
The bottle. She pressed her eyes shut. ‘I just did, but here goes again. Red with some sort of knitted tartan sleeve on it. The top was off – the cup, that was near Laura.’
‘And there was a stopper. Screw-in type, I expect,’ Dan said.
She thought about that. ‘Of course there would be. I hadn’t thought about that. But I didn’t notice one. The bottle smelled of some sort of juice.’
‘You picked it up?’ Bill said at once.
‘Yes.’ She swallowed. ‘I wondered for a second if the blood was juice from the bottle, but it wasn’t.’
‘No,’ Bill said. ‘What did you do with the bottle?’
‘I put it on top of the piano bench. Tony said I shouldn’t have picked it up and he was right. But it was just reflex, really.’
‘Why was Tony there?’ Dan asked.
‘He was looking for me. We didn’t have a chance to discuss why.’ In the quiet moments that followed Alex began to feel trapped and as if she were being closed in more and more tightly. ‘Please, tell me how Laura died. I never met her – not while she was alive – and it all feels unfinished. She was murdered, wasn’t she? That’s why you’ve come back to Folly.’
‘I really couldn’t answer that,’ Dan said. ‘But I can say forensics didn’t find a thermos to match your description. Or any other description.’
FIFTEEN
Alex stood alone in the snug, holding Max over her shoulder, for a long time after the detectives left. The cat purred into her neck and gave her hair a lick of approval.
‘You’re growing into a sloppy date, my boy,’ she told him, but her heart wasn’t in it and if she wound herself much more tightly, she’d snap.
With her eyes tightly closed, she recreated the scene in St Aldwyn’s. She had set the wretched bottle on the piano stool, she was sure of it. But then it was the last thing she could or wanted to concentrate on. Laura had been all that mattered, and the mad outrage of her lying there.
She thought of poor Elyan, his disbelief and obvious agony. And the man walking away from the church a bit earlier … even if it had been Elyan, and she had no proof, she’d seen how he fell apart when he’d seen his sister, lifeless, on the cold flagstones.
Tony appeared in the doorway and braced himself on the jambs. He raised his dark brows. ‘One of my spies let me know you’d been in here with Sherlock and Watson for a long time.’
‘That’s supposed to be us, or have you forgotten – or dissolved our partnership?’
He was too sensitive to her mood for laughter or smiles.
‘Laura was murdered,’ she told him. ‘I’m sure of it from the way Dan didn’t s
ay so.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘I asked him directly and he said he, um, he couldn’t answer that. As in he didn’t think he should tell me.’
Tony shrugged away from the door. ‘The press are already gathering like maggots on … like … they’re all over the place. Kev Winslet says there were TV crews skulking around Green Friday. And there’s a couple of reporters in the bar trying to wheedle information out of Lily. They haven’t figured out that they’d have better luck with the ducks on the pond.’
‘Tony.’ The word seemed forced past paralyzed muscles. ‘They didn’t find that red bottle that was on the floor, the one I picked up and put on the piano bench. Apparently forensics have no record of it.’
Red slashes rose on his cheekbones. ‘That’s ridiculous. It was there. Anything that was there when we arrived, was there when we left. Did you tell them you picked the thing up?’
‘Of course. Why wouldn’t I?’
‘You’re right, you’re right. I want us to go somewhere and talk. Not here. Let’s give Max to Harriet and Mary.’
Alex followed him into the main bar where the sisters sat by the fire as if they made a habit of spending mornings as well as evenings there. Bogie rose from his blue tartan blanket and if a dog could frown he’d be doing just that. He hurried to stand at Alex’s side, head raised, teeth bared, as he glared at Max. The cat saw him but settled in more snugly.
‘Here’s your boy,’ Alex said, giving Max to Mary.
‘Before you ask,’ Harriet said, ‘no, we don’t usually come in the mornings but we saw that lovely Dan O’Reilly and his unpleasant companion arrive last night and came over out of, well, interest. And we thought you might need some support, Alex. We saw them leave just now but they had you with them in the snug, didn’t they? And that Lamb person looked in a nasty mood when they left.’
Alex sighed and Mary said, ‘You don’t have to say anything but we know they were in there with you, Alex. Don’t let yourself be upset by anyone. Do you understand, young lady?’
Feeling as she might have at age eight, Alex nodded.
‘We’re expecting two o’clock customers,’ Harriet said very quietly. ‘Nice young couple who need a quiet and safe place to be together. Just thought we’d mention it in case you felt like coming by.’
Alex whispered in Harriet’s ear, ‘Elyan and his girlfriend?’
Harriet nodded. ‘Told them how to get there by the back way along the lane. You already know.’
Tony got down on his haunches and ruffled Bogie’s fur. Alex slipped into an empty chair beside Mary. They were all trying not to look at the scatter of strangers at the bar who might as well have worn ‘Press’ signs around their necks.
‘We need a little time to ourselves, ladies,’ Tony said. ‘If we could come earlier than your other guests, I’d appreciate it very much. Is there an actual back door out of your place?’
‘Do you think the fire department would let us operate without one?’
Alex smiled at him and rubbed his arm. ‘We should know that, shouldn’t we? Sometimes you don’t think about those things.’
Straightening up, Mary said, ‘Come by the lane. The hedges each side of the garden path go all the way to the cottages and turn right and left. Take the right fork. Beside what used to be a fuel bunker, there’s a big gap in the hedge there and a door into the building. We’ll make sure it’s open. Just let yourselves in. I really did think you knew that was there. There’s an exit sign on the inside for customers. In case of fire.’
‘We don’t go that side,’ Alex said. ‘But you’re right, we should have known. When would be a good time to come?’
‘Anytime. We’ll be going back now so please yourselves.’
‘Can I give you a lift?’ Tony asked.
Harriet smiled sweetly. ‘I think it would be better if we didn’t draw too much attention to any relationship, don’t you? And we need our walks anyway.’
‘Absolutely,’ Alex said, standing and starting toward the bar with Tony in her wake. Bogie bounded along beside them, clearly sensing what he probably thought of as family time.
Alex slipped behind the bar and closed the hatch. ‘Ambler, or something stronger?’
‘Half of Ambler,’ Tony said. ‘We should be off as soon as you can get away. I’m glad I left Katie at the clinic with Radhika.’
‘Okay, will do,’ Alex said, wrinkling her nose at him.
‘You will do what?’
‘Leave Bogie here. Best be able to move quickly and quietly if we have to. It wouldn’t surprise me if our movements are being watched.’
Alex made a fist but stopped herself from punching it down on the counter. ‘I’m sick of all that,’ she said in a low voice. ‘What can they possibly think either of us had to do with Laura’s death?’
Tony held onto her clenched hand. ‘Forget I said anything. I’m being paranoid.’
‘Just got a call from Sybil at the parish,’ Lily said, sliding an arm across the counter and leaning toward them. ‘The police have asked to move into the parish hall. Looks as if they’re ready for a long haul. And word has it the press is all a’flutter. They’re rushing around to beat each other with a scoop, or whatever they call it. We’ve already got them poking around in here.’
‘Can’t be nice to have strangers dislike you,’ Alex said. ‘Some people have to be reporters. I’m just glad I’m not one. What bothers me most about them is that they make me expect to see them write about things I hoped would turn out not to be true.’
Lily looked from Alex to Tony and grimaced. ‘We could all do without this. That poor girl. Did Dan and Bill say how they think she was killed?’
‘They didn’t even say she was killed but they didn’t say she wasn’t, either. Reporter heading this way.’
They switched to discussing the new Broadway Historical Society.
A stocky man with a weatherworn face and deep wrinkles around brown eyes reached them. ‘You’re the Alex Duggins who found the body,’ he stated, notebook already in hand. Not shy or a novice.
Tony faced him with a hostile stare.
‘Bart Hadden with the Echo.’ His smile was pleasant enough. ‘You are Ms Duggins?’ he said to Alex.
‘Yes.’
‘And you found the Quillam girl’s body in the church.’
‘I’d rather not discuss that.’
‘Why? It’s been reported you were there. Reliable source, too, I saw. It could help sort things out if you gave some more details. Might jog someone’s memory.’
‘About what?’ Tony said.
Bart Hadden puffed out his lips and shrugged. ‘Ooh something they saw or heard. The police are setting up shop in the village. They wouldn’t do that for a straightforward death. Not even a suicide. We know what that leaves. You must have some ideas about who might want to get rid of young Laura – how about it?’
‘You must be kidding,’ Tony said and took a long swallow of his beer. ‘You think one of us is going to start accusing someone of … of a crime?’
‘You were going to say, murder.’ The reporter’s grin wasn’t malicious. ‘Well, always worth a try. It’s early days yet. Give me a jingle if you want to tell me something. You can trust me to be fair.’ He drew a card from the breast pocket of his baggy tweed jacket and placed it on the bar.
None of them returned his waggle-fingered wave as he turned away.
Lily sighed and swiped a cloth across the counter. ‘They’re like hunting dogs. They’ve got the scent of the prey and they’re ready to close in and tear it apart.’
‘Aren’t they, though?’ Alex said. ‘And at the moment they’re hoping I’m the prey.’
SIXTEEN
The sky, grey and getting greyer, sagged to rest heavily on the hills around Folly. A misty haze rose, like steam, over the fields. Tony held Alex’s upper arm – her hands were deep in her coat pockets – and set out through the warped gate from the Black Dog back car park and into the overgrown jungle of
untended ground behind. He used his fists to thump the sticky gate closed again.
‘We’re taking this clandestine operation stuff seriously, then?’ Alex asked.
‘You think it would be a good idea for the plods to see us making it away together? We don’t want to be followed.’ Already he saw signs of strain in her face. Her eyes moved from one place to another, checking for whatever, and there was a haziness to the clear green. He hoped she wasn’t losing weight but she did appear even smaller today.
She smiled at him. ‘No, we don’t. Why not go over that stile on the other side of the path, just down there?’ She pointed ahead along the stony lane, much of which sprouted knee-high clumps of weeds. Treacherous coils of old bindweed snaked in every direction, like bleached ropes waiting for the unwary foot.
‘Good enough,’ he said. ‘I think we should probably get our own discussion over before we get to the sisters’ place. There are some things that need to be said.’
‘I thought that was why we were going there. They wouldn’t interrupt us.’
They reached the old stile in the hedge. Alex climbed on the cross piece with her usual assurance but a loud creak slowed her down. She had flinched at the sound.
Tony helped her over and followed, breaking off a piece of wood on his way. They both grinned. ‘I’m a lot heavier than the last time when I used this,’ he said. ‘I was thinking more that if Elyan and Annie got there early – beat us there even – we might wish we’d gone over a couple of things first. Did you tell O’Reilly and Lamb about the man you saw?’
‘No.’ She raised her face to the wind and her black curls tossed. ‘I didn’t think of it. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I didn’t. Bill seemed to be in charge of grilling me, and that’s what it felt like. He threw me off balance, Tony. He can be nasty.’
Large raindrops fell, spattering their faces. Almost at once the scent of the earth rose, rich and sweet. ‘Bill Lamb is a nasty son of a bitch. We aren’t just discovering it, either. I think it irritates the hell out of him that Dan isn’t aggressive all the time. Dan should have stepped in.’
Melody of Murder Page 12
