A Question of Motive

by Roderic Jeffries

  ‘The milord was horrified by what she said. He told her to cease weeping; he would buy land, his father could farm it as his tenant, and she need not fear the Duc. Her mother was certain the milord was filling her daughter’s mind with fools’ dust. He would not buy any land, would wait until her father had forgone his tenancy, then would say that unless her daughter responded to his disgusting desires, they would be left to starve. But the father believed the milord and left the Duc’s tenancy. The milord bought fifty hectares of good land, the father became his tenant and more successful than he could ever have hoped to be. The milord demanded nothing from the daughter; indeed, he gave her a very handsome present when she married a good, working lad. That is why to promise on the word of an English gentleman used to be as binding as an oath made on the bible.’

  ‘Alvarez, you wasted a great deal of my time with a story intended for children. Had you known anything about the English aristocracy, you would appreciate such an offer would never have been made disinterestedly. Have you anything of interest to say?’

  ‘I have a report to make, señor.’

  ‘Then make it without any reference to fairy godfathers.’

  ‘I have questioned Señor and Señora Phillips who were aggressively rude.’

  ‘Is it necessary to repeat what you have already said?’

  ‘He denied there was any truth in his ever having been engaged in pornography. One has to accept he might be telling the truth and Señor Gill made up the story to avenge his friends, but from what I’ve learned about Señor Gill, he would never have acted like that. Had he wanted to make fun of Phillips, rather than uncover the truth, he would have thought up something witty . . .’

  ‘Do you, or do you not, believe Phillips was a pornographer?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘To be certain, one would need help from the English police since the evidence of dealings in pornography will be there. However, there is no reason to bother them. Señor Phillips and his wife were able to prove that at the time of Señor Gill’s death, they were on a Mediterranean cruise and had landed at Valletta.’

  ‘Making nonsense of your theory that he had a motive for murder. A mistaken possibility funded by an overactive and unrealistic imagination instead of intelligent logic.’

  ‘Yet by establishing he has this alibi, I have reduced the possible number of suspects.’

  ‘It would have shown a more alert intelligence had you tried to name the guilty party rather than establishing innocence.’

  ‘Yet by eliminating him . . .’

  ‘Do you remember what I said at the beginning of this investigation?’

  ‘With reference to what?’

  ‘Money. In this case, there is a considerable amount which offers a prime motive. Who benefits financially from the death of the señor?’

  ‘The staff have been left small amounts and Miranda Pearson a larger one.’

  ‘That is all?’

  ‘Apart from Kiernan who may have hoped to delete his debt.’

  ‘Does Señorita Farren not inherit the whole estate less the bequests?’

  ‘But . . .’ Alvarez stopped abruptly.

  ‘You wish to insult me again?’

  ‘Señor, remembering how much she inherits, it may seem logical to consider her as the possible prime suspect, but she did not kill her uncle.’

  ‘Your proof?’

  ‘It is very difficult to prove a negative, as you have told me in the past. But her grief on learning of her uncle’s death . . .’

  ‘Assumed grief is one of women’s favourite defences.’

  ‘She was grieving hysterically.’

  ‘Hysterics is another.’

  ‘I am certain she had no part in her uncle’s death.’

  ‘Your judgement lacks all weight, remembering your certainty Señor Phillips had so strong a motive. You will find out from the staff if there were signs of friction between her and her uncle, in particular because she had become involved with a man whom Señor Gill disliked so much that he threatened to disinherit her if she continued to see the man.’

  ‘That is most unlikely. Señorita Farren can not bear to have a man touch her.’

  ‘Have you disgraced the cuerpo by making what I believe is called a pass, and rightly have been contemptuously rejected?’

  ‘She informed me of the fact.’

  ‘Which will be because you had given reason.’

  ‘When I told her about the death of her uncle, she was in a terrible state and I tried, as one does, to comfort her by briefly touching her.’

  ‘A man of honour does not for any reason touch a woman he hardly knows.’

  ‘On this island, señor . . .’

  ‘There are very few men of honour. You will find out if she is involved with a man, if her uncle disliked him and threatened to disinherit her if the relationship continued.’

  ‘Señor, you have been upbraiding me for suggesting imaginative motives, yet what you have just proposed is not imaginative, it is impossible.’

  The line became dead.

  Alvarez left the post, made his way across the square in which people joked and laughed because they were not subject to a tyrannical boss, and went into Club Llueso.

  ‘You’re a stranger at this time of the day,’ was Roca’s greeting. ‘Been given the sack?’

  ‘That would almost be a pleasure. Give me a large coñac.’

  Alvarez entered the dining room. Isabel and Juan were watching the television, Jaime, at the table, looked up. ‘You’re in time, then.’

  ‘For what?’

  ‘She was beginning to worry you’d be so late, she’d have to dish up before you returned.’

  Alvarez poured himself a drink. ‘I wonder what she’s cooked. With the kind of day I’m having, it’ll be something ordinary.’

  Dolores stepped through the bead curtain. ‘You’re late.’

  ‘I had endless work to finish.’

  ‘In which bar? As you have finally arrived, we can eat. I’ve had to keep the meal warm when it needed to be served immediately, which won’t have improved it.’

  Juan looked away from the television to speak to his mother. ‘Uncle won’t mind.’

  ‘Indeed!’

  ‘He said the meal will only be something very ordinary.’

  ‘It is always interesting to learn how one’s work is appreciated.’

  Alvarez spoke hastily. ‘I only . . .’

  ‘Of course, I understand that my meals are not to be compared to those available at a Chinese takeaway.’

  ‘All I said was, because I’ve had such a terrible day . . .’

  ‘Mine, of course, has been easy since I only had to make beds, collect discarded clothes from the floor, tidy rooms left in chaos, visit many shops in order to save centimos, and cook meals for those who consider them to be very ordinary. But, being a woman, I have no reason to complain.’

  ‘You don’t understand. When one has a day in which things have gone wrong and one is blamed for being ridiculously imaginative yet the other person is even more so, one begins to think nothing can be right. When I said the meal would be ordinary, it was just my depression, not what I really thought. And I didn’t say “very” ordinary.’

  ‘Yes, you did,’ Juan argued.

  ‘You know that’s not true.’

  ‘It is.’

  ‘Your uncle,’ Dolores said, ‘has a reason for arguing.’

  ‘What reason am I supposed to have?’ Alvarez demanded.

  ‘To avoid admitting that since you’ve started eating out, you do find my meals very ordinary.’

  ‘I’m trying to explain that when I said “ordinary”, I didn’t mean they were ordinary.’

  ‘You could not remember “inedible”?’

  ‘It was simply that because of the delay, by your standards of perfection, the meal would not be as wonderful as it would have been.’

  ‘As my mother used to say, a man’s praise
is as valuable as an empty purse.’ She returned to the kitchen.

  Alvarez spoke to Juan. ‘Why did you tell your mother I said “very” when I didn’t?’

  Juan giggled.

  Eva opened the front door of Aquila. Alvarez wished her a good morning.

  ‘The señorita is not here; Pablo’s driven her into Palma. She wanted to buy something.’

  ‘And Luisa?’

  ‘She’s in the kitchen.’

  ‘Then I can have a word with her and with you.’

  ‘Why me?’

  He smiled. ‘No need to worry. You’re not being blamed for anything.’

  He stepped inside. After a moment, he suggested they went into the sitting room. She was reluctant to sit because she was afraid the señorita would return and think she was making herself far too much at home. He persuaded her that, if necessary, he would explain and no blame would be levelled at her.

  He asked if she smoked. She didn’t and in any case, the señor did not like smoking in the house and he . . . She stopped. ‘I was talking stupid because the señor . . . He’s . . .’

  ‘You are not being stupid. It takes time to be at ease with the past. Tell me about him.’

  ‘How d’you mean?’

  ‘I want to know if there was anyone on bad terms with him. Someone who had had a row with him.’

  The door opened and to her evident relief, Luisa entered, not Mary. ‘More trouble?’ Luisa asked.

  ‘I’m just here to learn about the señor’s life,’ Alvarez answered. ‘Whether he had had rows with anyone. The point is, I’m trying to find out if there was someone who had cause, or thought he had, to kill him.’

  ‘Then I’d best take things off the cooker. Won’t do them any harm to rest awhile.’

  ‘I’m glad I’m not ruining a banquet.’

  ‘If there was any fear of that, you wouldn’t interrupt me.’

  She left the room, soon returned and sat without hesitation. ‘You’re asking if someone didn’t like the señor. He was a good man for a foreigner. Friendly. Always wanted to know if we were well. I had a pain in the leg and he said I was to see a specialist and he’d pay for that because it would take time before I could see someone on the national health.’

  ‘Have you known him to have a row with anyone?’

  ‘I can only think of Benito Muritano.’

  ‘Tell me about him.’

  ‘He lost his job when the small family painting firm closed down because of the bad times. He knows Juanito Santos and asked if the señor might want some painting done. Juanito spoke to the señor who said the house needed painting on the outside, so Benito could do that. The estimate said two coats of paint. When Benito, and the man who helped him, had finished the first coat, he said the job was done. The señor pointed out that the estimate was for two coats. Benito said one coat was the brush going up and the second coat was the brush coming down.’

  ‘I’ve not heard that one before.’

  ‘Benito didn’t realize the señor was not just some ignorant foreigner and was surprised when he said what he thought of the fraud. Like any guilty man, Benito became angry at being caught out and threatened the señor. The señor paid half the estimate for a job half done and said if there was any trouble, he’d inform the police.’

  ‘Has there been more trouble from him?’

  ‘Never heard there was.’

  ‘Have there been any other rows?’

  ‘Depends what you mean. There was the guest who upset Eva.’

  He turned to Eva. ‘What happened?’

  ‘It wasn’t my fault. I didn’t do anything to make him think I was that kind of a girl.’ Eva spoke quickly.

  ‘He was a fool to think you could be. He was a guest?’

  ‘At one of the big parties.’

  ‘Which gave enough work for six more staff,’ Luisa said. ‘We’d be clearing up long after it finished.’

  ‘What did this man do?’ Alvarez asked.

  ‘I was leaving the breakfast room which was where we kept the extra food and all the drink. He comes in, fuffy, and nearly knocked me over . . . and started feeling me, put his hand up my skirt. I shouted and people came in. The señor spoke to the man in English; don’t know what he said, but I’d never heard him near so angry before. He told Pablo to see the man left immediately.’

  ‘Do you know his name?’

  ‘No.’

  He asked Luisa: ‘Do you?’

  ‘Hardly know the names of anyone he had to parties; not like them what came to meals. But the señor likely mentioned the name to the señorita and she might tell you who he was.’

  ‘The señor was very close to her, wasn’t he?’

  ‘More like a father than an uncle. When she first came here, scared to do anything or to go anywhere, he couldn’t have been kinder.’

  ‘Does she have a boyfriend who can give her the comfort she needs?’

  ‘There’s been plenty of men her age invited, but there’s none come back to ask her out.’

  ‘Bad luck for her.’

  ‘If you ask me, she didn’t find it easy to be with any of ’em.’

  ‘Well, that’s the end of the inquisition! You’ve both been kind and helpful.’ He stood.

  ‘Find who did it,’ Luisa said. ‘The bastard should be made to pay for it.’

  ‘He will.’

  He left.

  Normally, speaking to Salas was like stubbing a big toe. But on this occasion, there would be no trouble and, perhaps, even reluctant praise.

  ‘It is Inspector Alvarez speaking, señorita. I should like to speak to the superior chief.’

  ‘He is busy.’

  ‘This is important.’

  ‘Then wait.’

  He leaned back in the chair. The minutes passed.

  ‘Yes?’ said Salas impatiently.

  ‘It is Inspector . . .’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘I have been speaking to the staff at Aquila, señor. You remember you considered the motives for murder I put forward were fanciful?’

  ‘I imagine I used a stronger word.’

  ‘I have to say I don’t think they were any more fanciful than the one you proposed. I have learned Señorita Farren does not have, and has not had, a boyfriend, so there was no one of whom the señor disapproved and because of whom, he would have threatened to disinherit her. As I mentioned at the time . . .’

  ‘You lack the ability to understand if there is the possibility of a motive, that must be checked.’

  ‘Which is what I did when I spoke to the Phillipses, but you . . .’

  ‘It is to be regretted you are incapable of differentiating between feasible and ridiculous. Have you questioned the staff?’

  ‘Yes, señor.’

  ‘And have you questioned Señor Kiernan about his IOU?’

  ‘I intend to do that very soon.’

  ‘Do you know where he lives?’

  ‘No, but I will soon find out.’

  ‘Have you learned who Miranda Pearson is?’

  ‘Señor, I have been so busy . . .’

  ‘Whatever has captured your enthusiasm, it clearly has not been work.’

  ‘I have learned there are two more possible suspects to be considered.’

  ‘They are?’

  ‘Benito, a professional painter who was out of work. Being a friend of Santos, he asked if Señor Gill would give him a job. Señor Gill said he wanted the house painted outside with two coats. Only one coat was given. When questioned, Muritano claimed there had been one coat when the brush went up, a second when the brush came down.’

  ‘The inhabitants of this island would find a way of defrauding a pauper. Señor Gill reported him for attempted fraud?’

  ‘The señor paid half the agreed amount.’

  ‘Then he was a fool.’

  ‘It avoided Santos feeling dishonoured since he had recommended Muritano. Before he left with half the money he had hoped to gain, Benito threatened Señor Gill.’ />
  ‘In what terms?’

  ‘That is not known.’

  ‘You haven’t questioned him?’

  ‘Señor, if I were two persons . . .’

  ‘An unwelcome proposition. You will establish the facts. Who is the second person to whom you referred?’

  ‘The señor gave large parties and at one of these, Eva, the maid, was accosted by a drunken Englishman who tried to molest her by . . .’

  ‘You will not gain pleasure by detailing the nature of the molestation.’

  ‘Señor Gill ordered Parra to see the man out of the house immediately. Since this was in the sight or hearing of other guests, his assault will have been widely known and he would have understood the contempt that would bring him.’

  ‘What is his name?’

  ‘The staff cannot identify him. It is possible the señorita will be able to do so, but she had driven in to Palma and was not at home when I was there.’

  ‘You will speak to her the moment she returns. You will identify and question, Muritano and Miranda Pearson. That done, you will be in a position to present a more valid report than you have just done. Whether in fact you do, is open to doubt.’