Murder by Suggestion

by Veronica Heley

  Ellie made a mental note: Thomas had a part-time assistant and she herself had someone who came in to help her with the work of the trust. She would have to ring and tell them not to come in for a couple of days.

  ‘Understood.’ Russet put her cigarette away. ‘I’ll give you this morning, but if we don’t get the all-clear by lunchtime, I’m off.’

  Yes, and why shouldn’t she? I have every sympathy for her wish to return home. If Lesley doesn’t come up with the goods soon, then I’ll cheer Russet on her way.

  Ellie tackled Barbie next. ‘Now, Barbie, if the police investigate Walt’s death, I think they’ll also want to take another look at Bunny’s. It would be helpful if you could cast your mind back to the days before your husband died. Can you make a list of who might have had access to Bunny’s pills then?’

  Barbie blinked. ‘You’re assuming someone came to the house and deliberately mixed up his pills?’ She swallowed. ‘It’s terrible to think that that might have happened. I can hardly get my head round it.’

  ‘I understand, but logically it’s what must have happened.’

  Would Barbie faint? No, she was not the fainting sort. She took a couple of deep breaths. Then said, ‘Right, what happened that week, it all seems so long ago, before … before everything went wrong. I can’t even remember what I did that week. But I understand what you’re on about. I’ve got my diary on my smartphone, and I’ll see what I can come up with.’

  Ellie said, ‘My study is halfway down the corridor on the left. I’ll be there for a while, making phone calls. If you need me, you know where to find me.’

  The women brightened up at the thought of action. Ellie took a quick dive into the freezer to see what they might be able to use for their next meal, threw one or two suggestions in Kat’s direction and left the women making lists of what they needed to order from the shops.

  Down the corridor she went, thinking that the first thing she must do was to prevent her secretary and Thomas’s assistant from leaving their homes. Explanations would take time, so she must think what to say.

  But here came Diana, leaving Ellie’s study. ‘Mother, what’s your password? I need to use the Internet. And why haven’t you phoned Gunnar yet? His office says you haven’t been in touch today. You really are losing the plot!’

  Ellie told herself to keep calm. Count to five, at least. She made it to three and said, ‘Diana, I don’t think you realize the seriousness of the situation.’

  ‘Of course I do! I need to have a list of all the nurseries in the area. I intend to visit each one till I find my little boy and then—’

  ‘Listen to me for once! Or, if you won’t listen to me, listen to your friends. They are all in the kitchen, making plans, working out how to deal with this emergency. Walt’s death has put—’

  ‘So what! You’ve lost your sense of perspective. You’re completely off your rocker. The sooner I get you to the doctor’s the better. Three o’clock sharp this afternoon, remember. If you see that feeble husband of yours you’d better tell him to find another cushy berth. I’m not having him cluttering up the place when I take over.’

  Ellie thought kindly of murder. It would solve the immediate problem so quickly. The only snag was that she didn’t think she could physically strangle Diana, who was taller and probably a lot stronger than she was. Moreover, if Ellie hit Diana, Diana might well hit back.

  Restraining herself, Ellie said, ‘I need to know something. The five men formed a group which met for social reasons, but also for business. Do you happen to know what that business was?’

  ‘Oh, that! They thought I didn’t know, but of course I found out. Evan thinks I can’t access his laptop. Fool! He writes the password down on the back of the calendar in the sitting room every time he changes it. The men formed a company to buy a rundown shopping street near the town hall.’

  ‘That’s scheduled for rebuilding, isn’t it? There was something in the local papers about it only last week. The development company had put in plans to build five tower blocks with shops beneath, and the council turned the plans down.’

  ‘Of course. It wasn’t a serious plan. The men knew it wouldn’t be passed.’

  ‘Then what are they on about? They’re not developers, are they?’

  ‘No, of course they’re not.’ Diana sighed. ‘I wouldn’t have expected you to understand, Mother. It’s business and you’ve never been any good at figures, have you? In words of one syllable, they’re holding on to the site until the price rises, when they’ll sell out and make a nice profit. Get it?’

  Ellie thought of saying that it was immoral but didn’t. Diana wouldn’t agree. Instead Ellie said, ‘You’ve invested in it?’

  ‘Naturally. At first, I couldn’t think how, and then I thought that Rupert, the skinflint, might be wanting to hedge his bets so I asked my stockbroker to see if he’d sell some of his shares to an anonymous buyer and he was only too anxious to do so. He thinks of himself as a clever businessman, outwitting all comers, but in reality he lacks the nerve to play with the big boys.’

  ‘Do the other men know that Rupert has been selling off some of his shares?’

  A shrug. ‘I have no idea. That’s their business.’

  ‘Diana, why did you invite your friends to come here? You must have had a reason. Is it something to do with their husbands’ secretive financial dealings? In your rage at being thrown out, did you plan to get back at Evan by warning the others that in a divorce they should look out for hidden assets?’

  Diana opened her mouth and closed it again. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  ‘Yes, you do. That’s exactly what you thought at first, but now you’ve changed your mind. You’ve hardly spoken to them since they arrived. Do you think you’ll get better terms from Evan in a divorce if you promise not to reveal what you know to the other wives?’

  ‘What an imagination you have.’ Diana smiled to herself, which meant that that was precisely what she was planning to do. ‘Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get on your computer and find out what other nurseries they may have put my son into.’

  ‘Where’s your laptop?’

  ‘Unfortunately, I left it at work.’

  ‘And your phone? Haven’t you one of those all singing, all dancing affairs?’

  ‘Yes, but it’s easier to use a computer.’

  ‘Tough,’ said Ellie. ‘I need my computer myself this morning.’ She brushed past her daughter into the study, closed the door and put a chair under the door handle to deter intruders.

  Now, the phone. First, her secretary, then Thomas’s assistant. She told both there’d been a domestic problem which would have to be sorted out before normal business was resumed. She said she’d ring them later that day or early tomorrow to see when they should come in again. She spared a thought for Thomas, trying to find another printer for the magazine. Oh dear, oh dear. But he could manage it, if anyone could.

  Finally, she got down to her own list.

  Her call to Lesley on her mobile went to voicemail. Ellie left a message. She looked at her watch. Russet intended to leave at lunchtime. How long could Ellie keep her here?

  Monique answered the phone at Evan’s house. Ellie listened for a child’s voice in the background but didn’t hear it. ‘Monique, it’s Ellie Quicke here.’

  Monique was amused. ‘I understand you’ve taken in the refugees.’

  ‘Ah. You’ve been talking to Terry? Yes, I have them here. There have been some interesting developments and I think we should talk. Shall I come over to you, or will you come to me?’

  ‘I see no necessity for us to meet. Nothing has changed since yesterday.’

  ‘Walt died.’

  ‘So I hear. A heart attack. Distressing. I never knew him. So what?’

  ‘It might not have been a heart attack. There’s to be an autopsy. The police have the emails and are considering whether to take action or not.’

  ‘Don’t tell me you’ve involved the polic
e!’ A note of alarm for the first time.

  ‘Looking back, don’t you think you ought to have done so if you had suspected foul play after Bunny died? You didn’t, which means you don’t really think there was anything sinister about Bunny’s death. Instead you used the emails as blackmail to get rid of wives who were surplus to requirements. You may have sat on whatever doubts you had about Bunny’s death, but I am not prepared to do so. I repeat, this matter is now in the hands of the police.’

  ‘I certainly didn’t think it was serious enough to warrant … Oh, this is ridiculous! I’m sure the police will dismiss your suspicions out of hand.’

  ‘You admit you didn’t take the emails seriously, but that you used them to get Diana out of Evan’s life. And, incidentally, to end the marriages of their friends? You didn’t care who you hurt, did you?’

  A long silence. Finally, ‘I suppose you could look at it that way. It is true I was thinking mostly of Diana but as soon as the other men realized Evan was going to get rid of her, they all jumped in and said they wanted their wives out, too.’

  Did the husbands have an ulterior motive? If they could divorce their wives before the truth came out about the secret development deal, they’d be quids in.

  Ellie tried another tack. ‘Diana’s worried that Evan will forget his dentist’s appointment, and can you remind him that he needs to have his warfarin levels checked?’

  ‘You’re mistaken if you think I’m going to nursemaid him.’

  ‘He needs someone to look after him.’

  A pause. ‘It’s true that I hadn’t thought of moving in for more than a few hours. It’s true that he does seem to expect … But that’s nonsense, of course. I have my own life to lead.’

  ‘Of course you do.’

  ‘I must admit I hadn’t taken the little boy’s attachment to his mother into consideration.’

  Ellie told herself not to panic. ‘He’s not ill, is he? Diana’s been searching for him all over the place.’

  ‘He’s all right, but he is missing her. Well, he’s been playing up a bit. He’s rejected his favourite toy because his new nanny put it into the washing machine. Apparently it doesn’t smell right now. They go a lot by smell at that age, don’t they? None of us got much sleep last night – he was grizzling and his nanny had to walk him up and down in his buggy for hours. He’s fast asleep now and she’s fit for nothing this morning. Evan says he’ll soon settle down.’

  ‘Could you bring the boy over here? We usually have him a couple of times a week. You could let him stay with Diana for a few hours.’

  ‘No. She’d kidnap him, take him off to the Outer Hebrides.’

  Ellie had to admit Monique had a point there. ‘Well, I’d like you to come over and talk to the women. We’ve discovered that they all have alibis for Walt’s death.’

  ‘You think that changes things? No, no. Walt’s death was due to a heart attack.’

  ‘Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t. Don’t you think the timing is significant? Two of the group have died within a fortnight in the ways suggested by the emails. Doesn’t that make you wonder who’s next? You said Evan wasn’t well. What are the odds on his meeting with an accident of some kind in the next week or so?’

  ‘That’s absurd. Are you really suggesting that—?’

  ‘Walt’s death is also suspicious? Yes, I am. Will it be Terry next, or Rupert? I’ll expect you in about an hour, shall I?’ Ellie rang off.

  Next she phoned the office of the cleaning agency which she used, only to learn that her friend Maria was not working that day. However, Maria’s second-in-command was happy to confirm that yes, they had been approached to do some removal of personal effects for a couple of clients and had managed to find enough cleaners who had been free that morning to cover two of the requests. And yes, they’d recommended a couple of other agencies who might have been able to help the client out at short notice.

  Armed with her lists of agencies, Ellie went to the library where Barbie and Russet were settling down to work. Ellie briefed Russet on what she had learned so far. Barbie was muttering to herself. ‘She came early that day, didn’t she? Must check. I’d better ring her …’

  Ellie returned to the phone in her own office. She braced herself. She had to ring Gunnar on behalf of Diana. Oh dear, Gunnar wouldn’t work for nothing, and Ellie could see that funding Diana’s divorce might well be a costly affair, especially if Evan were going to try to hide his assets. Then there was the complication of Diana being pregnant again.

  Gunnar was in court again that day, and uncontactable. Ellie didn’t know whether to be glad or sorry about that. It was a relief to be able to defer that particular problem, anyway.

  She decided she’d better see how Trish and Kat were getting on in the kitchen. On the way there, she came across Diana pacing up and down the hall, phone to her ear. When she saw her mother coming, Diana turned away and disappeared into the sitting room, shutting the door firmly behind her.

  So who was Diana phoning that she didn’t want Ellie to know about?

  Ellie shrugged. She had enough to concern her without that.

  In the kitchen, Trish and Kat had their heads together over their lists.

  Trish said, ‘Mrs Quicke, we’ve made a list of things we need ourselves, mainly toiletries, and we’ve made a start on a list of foodstuffs we think you need. Would you like to cast your eye over what we’ve done and see if there’s anything we’ve forgotten, or that you’ve already got? I’ll use my credit card to pay for it, of course. Which supermarket do you favour?’

  Ellie cast an eye and nodded. ‘Susan usually orders for me from Waitrose. Get their earliest delivery slot.’

  Kat was polishing glasses. ‘I tell Trish that we will survive. She is not sure about that, but then her father rings and says to come over tomorrow and bring me, too. He is a good man, no?’

  ‘He is,’ said Trish, managing to smile.

  Kat put her head on one side. ‘Is that someone ringing a bell?’

  Ellie hastened back to the hall, only to be beaten by Diana on her way to the door, saying, ‘That’s my car in the drive!’

  It was indeed Diana’s car. Monique got out of the driving seat stiffly, rescued her cane and plodded towards the house. Diana wrenched the back door of the car open to extract her little boy, who had been strapped into a child seat.

  ‘Mummy!’ cried the toddler, holding out his arms to Diana.

  ‘My little precious!’ Diana held him close. And then, ‘Pooh, you smell! And you haven’t washed today, have you? Give Mama a big kiss!’

  ‘I did it,’ little Evan said, with satisfaction. ‘All over. Pooh and wee. Lots.’

  Monique sidled her way up the step and into the hall. ‘He refused to use his potty, he gave his nanny a bloody nose, and sicked his breakfast up. He’s probably dehydrated and got a nappy rash. He takes after his father, doesn’t he?’

  Diana gave her son some smacking kisses. ‘You’re Mummy’s little darling, aren’t you, my pet? Let’s take you upstairs and get you changed and clean, and then we’ll have a nice boiled egg and soldiers and some milk.’

  ‘Not egg. Biccy.’

  Ellie knew who was going to win that tussle and it wasn’t going to be Diana.

  Diana carried the lad indoors and up the stairs. Russet and her belongings now occupied the room in which the little boy occasionally slept over, but Ellie also kept a change of clothing there for him. Diana would probably complain about Russet’s things being there, but tough! She’d have to cope.

  Monique plodded her way into the sitting room and seated herself, looking around to see what was what. ‘Big house. A bit lonely for you on your own?’

  ‘I’ve remarried. Thomas is out today. Also, I have a lodger. Thank you for bringing the boy over.’

  ‘I’m not up to looking after toddlers at my age. His nanny’s in bed with a migraine and his father needs looking after, rather than being able to look after someone else.’

  ‘There’s r
oom for negotiation about Diana returning?’

  ‘I didn’t say that. Why did you summon me?’

  ‘I’m concerned about what happens next. You haven’t left your ex-husband alone, have you?’

  Monique shook her head. ‘His friend Terry is there. They’re drowning their sorrows in drink while swapping stories about how glad they are to be rid of their wives.’

  ‘And Rupert, the skinflint?’

  ‘I understand he’s courting a widow with a substantial fortune.’ An acid tone of voice.

  Ellie had to laugh. ‘Oh, poor Kat. I hope the new woman in his life can cook, or he’ll be comparing her to Kat all the time. You do understand why the men should not be left alone?’

  ‘You think another husband is going to die soon? By rat poison, or drowning? Or from being overactive in bed? I can tell you, Evan’s hardly up for that at the moment.’

  ‘Talking of which,’ said Ellie in her creamiest tone, ‘I understand he was feeling particularly well eight or nine weeks ago.’

  ‘What!’ Monique caught on quickly. ‘You mean …? Oh, my …!’ An indrawn breath. ‘That’ll put the cat among the pigeons. Are you sure?’

  ‘Diana is. Evan doesn’t know. Would you like to tell him? And at the same time remind him about his dentist appointment and to get his warfarin levels checked?’

  Monique said, ‘Grrr …!’ but got out her phone.

  Ellie said, ‘I’ll make us some coffee.’ She fled, but didn’t get as far as the kitchen, for in the corridor she came face-to-face with Russet.

  ‘Mrs Quicke, I can’t rest until I find out what’s happening to—’

  ‘Have you discovered which cleaners did which house?’

  ‘Oh, yes. At least, I got the names of the agency who did my place and Diana’s. I haven’t got through to the others yet because … I’m sorry, Mrs Quicke, but I really can’t concentrate properly on anything till—’

  ‘Understood. Come into my study and we’ll try Lesley at the police station again.’

  Ellie’s study was small, but Russet managed to pace up and down while Ellie tried to contact her friend, who was in a meeting and couldn’t be interrupted. Ellie insisted her call was urgent and was told that a message to call Ellie would be taken into the room and given to Lesley.