Scandal at Six (Lois Meade Mystery)

by Purser, Ann

  “For God’s sake, woman,” said Derek, “what’s this? You’ve got a ruddy great graze on your head. A real mess! You shouldn’t have been driving home!”

  “I fell over,” she said. “Nothing much. It’ll soon mend.”

  “Meanwhile,” said Gran sternly, “you’ll sit there while I get some stuff from the bathroom to clean you up. Derek, don’t let her move.”

  “You okay, me duck?” said Derek.

  “Not really,” whispered Lois. “Didn’t want to alarm Mum. I really did just fall over up at Cameroon Hall, and hit my head on a stone step.”

  “What were you doing there?”

  “Making notes for Dot for tomorrow. The floor was slippery in the kitchen. I feel a right fool. I’d been talking to Justin Brookes, and he told me some interesting details about his father and Pettison. It’s all a bit fuzzy at the moment, but I expect it’ll come clearer.”

  “You’re not a fool, not you, my love. But I expect you were in a hurry, as usual. You are much later than we expected.”

  “I think I was out cold for a bit. Then I came to, and took my time until it was safe to drive. Poor old Justin must have been very worried. I suppose I should have waited before driving off, but he’d gone to lock up, and I wanted to get home as quickly as possible. I think he’d rung for an ambulance. Don’t know what happened to that. Derek, could you put the kettle on? I’m dying for a hot drink.”

  Gran arrived back in the kitchen, armed with the first aid box and clean towels. “Now then, young lady,” she said, “let’s get you cleaned up. Derek, you go and light the fire in the sitting room, and when I’ve finished, we’ll help Lois in there to watch television for a bit. There’s a good antiques auction programme. And there you will stay, Lois Weedon, until it’s supper time. Orders, my lady.”

  By the time Gran had finished and Lois was safely tucked up in a rug on the sofa, she acquiesced gratefully. She was feeling dizzy again after walking through the hall, and leaned back against the cushions, closing her eyes. “Might have a little sleep,” she said. “Put the telly on, and then I’ll have something to look at if I wake.”

  Derek and Gran left quietly, and said they would be in the kitchen, if she needed any help. “Now then,” said Gran, as she made a cup of tea for the two of them, “do you think we had the whole truth?”

  Derek shook his head. “Lois wouldn’t lie to us, but she is very good at editing what really happened. It wouldn’t have taken that long to make a few notes, would it? The interesting things Justin told her must have been quite important.”

  At that moment, a figure passed the window, and Gran went to open the door.

  “Hello, Mrs Weedon. I wonder if Lois is at home?” It was Mrs Tollervey-Jones, and Gran drew herself up straight.

  “She is, but she’s having a rest. Is there anything I can do for you?”

  “Well, maybe you can, but perhaps I could come into your warm kitchen for a moment. It is very cold standing here.”

  Derek came up behind Gran, and said of course she must come in. “We’re having a cuppa. Would you like one?”

  “Thank you so much. That would be lovely. I can warm my hands round the cup.”

  Gran was looking daggers at Derek. She did not hold with Mrs T-J. She was now unofficial assistant to Lois in her foolish ferretin’, and encouraged her to take on dangerous missions.

  “The thing is,” the old lady said, “I think I recognised the man who stole the silver. I was in the cattle market in Tresham. I go there most weeks. I love to look at the cattle and sheep, you know. The thing I most miss after selling up the estate. I used to visit our farms, and have talks with the tenants. Looked round the herds and helped out when the vet arrived. So now I just go and stare at the beautiful animals and meet old friends.”

  “And the burglar?” said Gran.

  “Well, he was near the auctioneer, so I could see him clearly. He was with another man, and I could swear he was the new tenant at Josie’s shop flat. Young, fair-haired. Very nice looking. You couldn’t miss him, really. He stood out among all the beady-eyed farmers and stockmen.”

  “Well, I suppose it could have been him,” Derek said. “We don’t know much about him, but he claims to be an actor/businessman in Tresham. Don’t know what kind of business, but it could be connected with his uncle’s zoo. He kept some rare animals in our back shed. Strange fellow.”

  “There’s a lot that’s strange about him, if you ask me,” Gran said. “Deals in rare animals, I reckon. Like Derek said, he kept a couple in Josie’s shed. Could explain him being at the market. Maybe does his dodgy deals there.”

  “Of course, I had forgotten the elephant shrews. Did they turn up?”

  “Dunno,” said Derek. “Lois might know. She may be awake now, so shall I go and tell her you’re here?”

  “Only if she’s feeling well enough. Not like Lois to be resting during the day!”

  “She had a fall. Not too serious,” said Gran. “It’s only a surface graze, but enough to give her a nasty turn. Shouldn’t have driven home, silly girl.”

  “Then don’t trouble her, thank you,” said Mrs T-J. “I’ll see her tomorrow, perhaps in the morning. Give her my love, and tell her to be sensible and rest.”

  “Some hopes!” said Derek.

  *

  “Who was that?” asked Lois, when Gran brought her a cup of tea. “Someone came in, and then left again, walking down the drive. I could hear footsteps and I thought it might be Dot. I’ve just remembered I was going to see her this afternoon.”

  “Brilliant, my dear Watson,” said Derek, following on behind. “Except that it was Mrs T-J, and she’ll give you a call tomorrow morning. Nothing urgent, she said.”

  Gran sat down in a comfortable armchair and looked at Lois. “Did you sleep?” she said.

  Lois nodded. “Drifted off for a few minutes. You can turn up the telly now if you like. I’ll stay here and watch with you.”

  “More like I’ll stay here and watch that you don’t stir,” answered Gran. “Derek’s decided not to go to work. So he’ll take Jeems for her walk, after he’s rung Dot Nimmo and told her you’re not free this afternoon.”

  *

  At half past five, Lois finally woke up from a deep sleep. The sound of the telephone woke her, and Gran got to her feet. “I’ll get it,” she said, and went out into the hall. A couple of minutes later she was back. “Josie would like a word,” she said, holding the extension.

  “Hello, dear? What’s new?”

  “It’s very strange, Mum. Justin’s just been in. He’s collected all his things, put them in the Fiat, and then came in again and said he was very sorry, but he wouldn’t be coming back. He said the rent was paid up to date. Nothing wrong with the flat, he said, but after his father’s death he had had to make other plans. He seemed in a hurry, Mum, so I didn’t delay him. I just think it was very strange.”

  “Mm, very strange,” said Lois. “Done a runner, has he? Never mind, Josie dear. I think I know the answer. He was rather rude to me this morning, and probably thinks he’ll go before he’s pushed! Don’t worry, we’ll get a nice middle-aged couple next time. Thanks for letting me know, anyway. See you tomorrow. Bye-ee.”

  Forty-three

  First call next morning was from Hunter Cowgill. At nine o’clock, when Lois was already busy with the cleaning schedules, the phone rang.

  “Ah, there you are,” he said coolly. “Something happen yesterday? I was expecting you to join me for a coffee.”

  “Sorry. Something came up. I’m coming into town this morning so can I call and see you? It is quite important, but best told face-to-face.”

  “Very well. Would ten thirty suit?”

  “Fine. See you then.”

  The second caller was Mrs T-J, and as Lois had been filled in by Gran about the man in the cattle market, they agreed to meet for a cup of tea around three.

  Thirdly, there was a call from Justin. When she heard his voice, Lois sat back in her chair and
was silent for a moment, collecting her thoughts.

  “Mrs Meade? Are you there? I do have to speak to you. Please!”

  “Yes, I’m here. What do you want? I know you’ve left the flat. Probably because you were very rude to me yesterday! I can’t remember all you said, but I know you’re trying to clear your father’s name, should the illegal animal trade become known publicly. However, let’s forget about that for a moment. What do you want?” she repeated.

  “To offer my apologies, and an explanation. I’m afraid I panicked, and then you ran away and fell down. I didn’t know what to do, and was about to take you to the accident and emergency department at the hospital when you came round and drove off. I was really shocked and felt terrible afterwards, not knowing where you had gone. You looked so dreadfully ill at first. Are you feeling better now?”

  “Yes, I do feel better. But I have a nasty wound on my head where I fell in the kitchen. And I can’t remember much of what you told me before I fell.”

  “Can I tell you again? I was, as you saw, looking through Uncle’s files. I was hoping to find some evidence of him blackmailing my father for many years. I need to know how much my father was involved in Uncle Robert’s little schemes. It was enough to keep him under a financial obligation to Uncle; I do know that. I loved my father and looked up to him. I am very anxious to clear his name.”

  “Justin, this is all very interesting, but I fail to see what it has to do with me. An apology from you is all I need. I’ve told nobody else about your stupidity, just that I fell over and banged my head.”

  “Oh thanks! That’s a huge relief. And the other thing is, do you think I could come back to the flat? Would Josie think I was completely mad?”

  “Very likely, I should think. Up to you, Justin, to turn on the old charm. One thing, though. Leave me out of it. I shall be in touch with her this evening, so unless she mentions it, I’ll keep quiet. Bye. Oh, and there’s a matter of the police. I’m afraid I shall have to tell Inspector Cowgill most of what you told me. I’ll do my best for you.”

  *

  Cowgill greeted her with an anxious face. “Are you ill, Lois? Not hiding something from me? And why have you got your hair done up that way? It suits you, but makes you look more forbidding.”

  “Good,” said Lois, and explained about Justin and her fall, giving him an edited version. She had no wish to drop the lad into trouble at the moment, and now believed firmly in his explanation. In any case, he was more useful on the spot, than if he moved away, maybe to an unknown destination.

  “I just hope you haven’t left anything out of that explanation, Lois,” said Cowgill. “What I have to say is much less worrying, and I hope helpful. You remember our main aim is to catch Pettison at the time of handover, or at least in possession of animals illegally imported. I think this time we may have a chance to succeed. Because he’s in hospital, and out of action for a while, he’ll need to keep in touch with his so-called colleagues. We are now sure we know at least one of them, confirmed by what he told you.” He looked closely at her. “Are you sure you’re feeling perfectly all right, my love? I was extremely worried, you know.”

  “I’m fine, really,” she said. “Carry on. It all sounds pretty exciting to me.”

  “Not so sure about that, but we do know that Betsy Brierley is, as well as being Pettison’s mistress, an occasional handler, with her Ted. Now she has been reported by the owner of a pet shop in town, asking for some kind of shrews. He knew they were rare, and smelled something fishy. In a manner of speaking, you understand. So he called us.” He was glad to see her smile.

  “Ah, the poor little shrews,” said Lois. “I thought they wouldn’t survive in this weather.”

  “How would Betsy have retrieved them from your shed, do you think?”

  “Dunno,” said Lois. “It was safely locked, as you know. But if she had got a key from somewhere, she could have waited until the shop was closed and nobody was around, and then let herself in and lifted the animals. Then locked up again when she left. Not difficult. Justin could have lent her his key. Josie still has one, of course.”

  Cowgill nodded, and soldiered on. “So, definitely Brookes is one of them. Now, if there are more animals arriving in this country before Pettison is discharged, I suspect he will find a way for the courier to visit him first. In these transactions, cash is always used. And he will already have worked out that Betsy is on the make and would probably have siphoned off a chunk of cash for herself before handing over the rest to him.”

  “So how will we know which of his visitors is the suspect one? Look for a cobra disguised as a bunch of flowers?” Lois said, and laughed. “I think you’ll find Betsy Brierley has taken over the whole job until he gets out. Maybe you should pull her in? No doubt she takes her cut, but that’s something he’ll have to deal with. No hospital is going to allow animals, deadly or otherwise, into its wards.”

  “I don’t want Betsy, not at the moment,” said Cowgill. “I mean to get the head of this particularly nasty setup. The head of the snake, you might say. And since all of them, including slippery Pettison, are born liars, I’ll still have to wait patiently, and catch him in the act.”

  Forty-four

  Lois looked at her watch. It was too early to find Mrs Tollervey-Jones, so she had spent a happy half hour looking in the library for details of elephant shrews. It was too late for rescuing them, but in case more turned up, she wanted to know what Josie would be dealing with. After finding shrews, and learning more about them, she turned to chimpanzees. She had been struck by Dot saying they could be violent. The general image was of an intelligent, friendly animal. But then, you could say that about dogs, and yet small children had been savaged by pet dogs. As she trawled through the websites, it was obvious that there was a huge and lucrative network of quite legal suppliers, and mostly the animals were sold with a full supply of documents from health authorities and vets. There were also fraudsters, more difficult to trace, and dangerous to know. Wild animals should be in their natural environment, the law said, not treated as amusement for human beings. No wonder Pettison called them his people. She believed he genuinely thought of them as equals. How ridiculous and pathetic! Perhaps he should be expending his energies on saving forests and jungles and the planet in general. Or maybe he thought that was what he was actually doing?

  She returned to her car, and drove slowly back to Farnden. She was early, and hoped that Mrs T-J was at home. Luckily, she spotted the old lady in her back garden, sweeping up leaves and debris from particularly hard frosts, and greeted Lois with a big smile.

  “Wonderful! You could not have arrived at a better time, my dear! I’ve done quite enough for a woman of my great age. Come along in now, and we’ll have a nice hot cup of tea.”

  As advertised by chimps, thought Lois, and, with a sudden feeling of hopelessness at the thought of the huge and shady trade they were up against, she followed her into the house.

  “You’re looking a bit down, Lois. Are you sure you’re feeling better? Shock can be quite difficult to recover from. You must give it time, my dear. Anyway, here’s tea, and I’ve baked old-fashioned currant buns for us. To hell with slimming, I say!”

  Lois laughed. “I think you’re fine as you are, Mrs T-J. What was it that nice Japanese friend of yours called you? A lovely English gentlewoman. And quite right, too. Now, you did say you had something to tell me? Was it about possibly spotting your burglar in the cattle market?”

  “Yes, it was that. But there was more to it than I said on the phone. After the auction had finished, I made my way round to the auctioneer’s office. An old friend, you know. I asked him about the man I saw, and he remembered him, but couldn’t tell me his name. He’s often there, at the auctions, and sometimes has a woman with him. Doesn’t bid for anything. But Sam Downing, the auctioneer, said he’d seen him afterwards, when he went to get his car, in a huddle with a couple of other people. So is he the charming Justin Brookes? Or am I mistaken?”

>   Lois brightened, and said she was sure it could have been. “Did you notice anything unusual about the burglar, anything you might recognise again about the man at the market?”

  “I’ll give it some careful thought. He was quite a pleasant burglar, in his way.”

  “Mm, well, we shall see. These buns are delicious! May I have another, please?”

  *

  In a private ward in Tresham General Hospital, Robert Pettison stared out of the window at the wintry scene. He was bored. Each day, his condition had improved, until he had no tubes or monitors attached to him, and was able to walk with a stick around in his room, holding on to the furniture. Daytime television was appalling, and he hadn’t sufficient concentration to read a book. The newspapers were full of bad news. A magazine brought to him by a kindly nurse, full of pictures of the royal family and their relations, had bored him further. He knew one or two of the distant ones, and had thought perhaps he could make a few pounds telling a more juicy story than the one in the magazine. But blackmail was a dicey business. He had no interest in it, except where it had become vital, such as with Justin’s father, and that was hardly blackmail!

  Who would have thought that the young Desmond Brookes, so promising a pupil at their school, until they were summarily dismissed, would have thought it beholden on him to go back to the dreary fenlands and take over the family farm? A first at Oxford, and offers of good jobs galore. That could have been his future.

  And now his son, Justin! Nothing like his father, who had grown into a mild man with a dread of trouble, dating back, no doubt, to his bullied days at school. Justin was for years a biddable young chap, and he, Pettison, had made use of this. Now he had changed, with the death of his father.

  A nurse knocked at the door and came in. “You have a visitor, Mr Pettison. May he come in? Ah, I see you’re sitting out in a chair. Well done, my dear!”

  “Who is it?”