by Simon Brett
The other striking thing about her was that she seemed to be very nervous, almost fearful.
They had only just got through the pleasantries of ‘good mornings’ when they were interrupted by the arrival of a smiling girl with a tray of two coffees. Henry was asked if she wanted any, but demurred, saying only that she had just had some with her breakfast.
She waited till the girl was safely in the lift before saying, ‘This has worked out very well because I wanted to see you two. Fergus was going to drive me out to Kayaköy this afternoon. You do know who I mean by Fergus, don’t you?’
‘I’d met him back in England,’ said Jude, ‘and then we both talked to him yesterday in Ölüdeniz.’
‘Yes, of course, he told me he’d seen you.’
There was a silence. Henry was evidently not finding the conversation easy, so Jude tried to help out. ‘When we saw you at Chantry House the other week, you said you weren’t going to come out to Kayaköy with Barney. What made you change your mind?’
‘Well, I think the important thing is that I’m not out here with Barney. I hope he doesn’t even know I’m here.’
‘He certainly didn’t mention it when we last saw him.’
‘And when was that?’
Carole and Jude both did mental calculations, then Carole admitted they hadn’t actually seen him since the Tuesday night at Antik.
‘And what did he say then?’
‘He was just asking us how we were enjoying our stay,’ Jude replied.
‘And he also told us that Nita had had to go back to England because her mother was ill.’ Carole just floated the information to see what reaction it would get. She wasn’t about to tell Henry that Nita’s mother had died when she was twelve.
‘I see.’ Henry was still struggling. ‘The reason I came out here was to save my marriage.’
‘Oh?’
‘It sounds melodramatic, but it’s true. Look, this is rather awkward to talk about, but since you’re involved …’
‘I’m involved?’ asked Carole.
‘No, you’re not involved … at least, I don’t think you are, but you’re involved, Jude.’
Jude looked puzzled and felt a little worried. She wasn’t sure where this was going.
‘Listen,’ Henry went on, ‘this may be news to you, Carole, but I’ve known for a long time that Barney and Jude once had an affair.’
‘No, it’s not news to me,’ said Carole pointedly. ‘Though I only heard about it last night.’
Jude avoided her friend’s eye, focusing on Henry as she said, ‘It was a very long time ago. I’m not going to say we didn’t have fun at the time, but it’s really nothing you should be worrying about.’
‘No, I wasn’t worried about it when Barney and I first got together. You know, at that stage of a relationship – or certainly once we’d got married – you do all that going through your past emotional entanglements, and everything’s fine. Water under the bridge. You feel confident that the relationship you’re in now is the one that’s going to work, so you can forget about all the baggage from the past. Anyway, the sex was so good, we could even laugh about our previous lovers.’
Some women might have been offended by that, but Jude wasn’t. She found it comforting, proof that Barney had no longer been thinking of any ongoing relationship with her.
Henry went on, ‘Barney was quite funny about the things he and Nita used to get up to. And I realized that with her it was just sex, there was no real emotional engagement. And they had sex in some fairly bizarre places. Sometimes they’d even link up when she was guiding tour groups to some of the archaeological sites. She’d abandon her punters in an amphitheatre or something while she and Barney nipped off for a quickie.’
Carole and Jude exchanged looks. That fitted in with the scenario for the day of Nita’s death.
‘I didn’t mind hearing about stuff like that,’ Henry went on. ‘It was funny. And the fact that he made no secret of it, the fact that he didn’t hide it from me, that seemed to strengthen our relationship. I just felt so secure with him.
‘And that’s how it was with Barney and me. It really worked. Different backgrounds and all that, but that seemed to increase the attraction rather than diminish it. We were fine—’ she lowered her voice – ‘until quite recently.’
‘So what happened?’ asked Carole flatly.
‘Well, the fact is …’ Henry was once again having difficulty getting the words out. ‘The fact is … that sex has always been very important to Barney …’
Jude didn’t think it was the moment to say anything; the subject could all too easily move to the top of a Number twenty-seven bus.
‘Very important to me too, as it happens; very important to our relationship. And, anyway, just in the last few months … well, not to put too fine a point on it … Barney’s lost it.’
‘Lost what?’ asked Carole.
But Jude felt pretty sure that she knew the answer, so she asked bluntly, ‘You mean Barney can’t get it up any more?’
‘Yes. Exactly that. And I don’t know what the reason is. Maybe he’s under stress with the business, but then he’s always been under stress with the business and actually seemed to thrive on it. Or perhaps it’s the booze. He’s always drunk a lot, though. Mind you, with worrying about his performance in bed, he’s drinking even more, which I’m sure doesn’t help the situation.’
‘No, it wouldn’t.’
‘And it’s having a terrible effect on our marriage. Because he’s, like, blaming me for it. I’m not sufficiently stimulating for him in bed. And it’s putting terrible stress on me.’
‘Was that why you came to see me for the healing?’
Henry Willingdon nodded.
‘I thought, with those symptoms, there must be something else you weren’t telling me.’
‘Well, now you know what it was.’
‘And look,’ said Jude diffidently, ‘now we’re on to the subject, you say Barney blames you for what’s happening – or not happening?’
‘Yes.’
‘And has his frustration taken any physical form?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Has Barney hit you?’
Henry couldn’t put her answer into words, but she nodded slowly, and tears glinted in her eyes.
The same image was going through both Carole and Jude’s eyes. In a Lycian tomb at Pinara … Barney trying to recapture the wonderful sex he used to have with Nita … finding himself unable to deliver … blaming her … lashing out at her … grabbing hold of the lanyard round her neck … and twisting and pulling it.
‘A little while back you told us,’ said Carole, ‘that you’d come out here to save your marriage.’
‘Yes.’
‘I don’t see exactly how you were proposing to do that.’
‘Well, the worse the … all right, I’ll use the word – impotence – got, the more Barney blamed me, and the more he also talked about earlier relationships where everything had worked perfectly.’
‘Like the one he had with Nita?’ Jude suggested.
‘Yes. And the one he had with you.’
The scrutiny from Henry’s blue eyes was so intense that Jude had to look away.
‘Look, I know Barney suggested that you might pick up again, have sex again.’
She couldn’t deny it. ‘Yes, he did. But I can assure you I made it perfectly clear that there was nothing doing.’
‘Barney can be very persistent.’
‘I know he can. So can I, though. And when I say “nothing doing”, it means “nothing doing”.’
Henry Willingdon did seem partially reassured by that. And with relief came a few tears. ‘I’m sorry, I just do love Barney so much. And I’m sure I can make our marriage work again.’
‘I would think so,’ said Carole sniffily. ‘Virtually every other advertisement you see in the paper promises to cure “erectile dysfunction”.’
‘Yes.’ Jude’s manner was more soothing. ‘Ther
e’s a lot of help to be got out there.’
‘I know, but Barney’s got that terrible masculine pride. He’d hate going to a doctor and admitting there was anything wrong … in that department.’
‘I’m sure you could persuade him, Henry.’
‘Maybe.’ And she did look a little more hopeful.
‘In the meantime,’ said Carole, ‘do you know where Barney is?’
‘No. I assume he’s staying at Tulip Cottage. But you must realize I haven’t been trying to find him. I don’t want him to know I’m here.’
‘Well, we went to Tulip Cottage and it was all locked up.’
‘Ah. It is quite easy to get in there if you want to try again.’
‘Oh?’
‘Yes, we always leave a key in the amphora to the right of the front gates.’
‘We might try that,’ said Carole. ‘We certainly do get the impression that Barney’s lying low. Jude’s tried phoning him a few times, and he hasn’t answered.’
‘Good.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I don’t want Barney talking to Jude … for reasons which I’ve just explained.’
‘Fine.’ Jude paused. ‘You know we talked to Fergus yesterday.’
‘Yes.’
‘And to Kemal. You know who Kemal is?’
‘I know who he is. I’ve never met him.’
‘Well, both of them were talking about what happened to Barney’s first wife.’
‘The rather insignificant Zoë.’
‘I don’t know whether she was insignificant or not.’
‘You’d have to think so if you heard what Barney said about her.’
‘Kemal seemed convinced that the accident that happened to her was … “arranged”.’
‘I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.’
Carole thought it was time for the straight question. ‘And was it Barney who “arranged” it?’
Henry looked genuinely shocked. ‘Of course not. He didn’t go out to Sariyerler that day. He wasn’t even in the boat.’
‘Then who did arrange it?’
‘Nita, obviously. She was Zoë’s diving buddy that day. She had the opportunity. She unclasped the weight belt.’
‘But why would she do that?’
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake! Because she loved Barney. She could see things weren’t going well between Barney and Zoë. She wanted him all to herself.’
‘If she’d do that to one of his wives,’ said Carole quietly, ‘aren’t you worried she might do the same to another one?’
‘Yes, I was very worried about that,’ Henry Willingdon replied almost smugly. ‘But not any more. I know I’m no longer under any threat from Nita Davies.’
TWENTY-FOUR
They couldn’t get any more out of Henry about what she meant by that last remark, except that she claimed to have heard Nita was back in England, looking after her sick mother. But she would not say where she’d got that information from.
In fact, she behaved as if her agenda for their meeting had been dealt with and they didn’t need to talk any further. Jude reckoned the only item on that agenda had been double-checking whether there was a threat of her ever hooking up again with Barney. Henry seemed to consider that that question had been answered and she felt that her marriage was safe from Jude.
And she seemed equally sure that it was safe from Nita. Carole and Jude discussed that over lunch. Following one of the late tour guide’s recommendations, they ate in the Fethiye fish market. Which was excellent.
But they did have a bit of trouble finding it. As they walked through the hot streets of Fethiye, Jude suddenly pointed upwards and burst out laughing.
‘What’s so funny?’
Jude read the words on the sign. ‘“TLOS PROPERTY” – isn’t that wonderful?’
‘In what way?’
‘Well, look – “TLOS”.’
‘Yes, Tlos is a Lycian archaeological site with a Roman Amphitheatre quite near to the seaside resort of Kalkan.’
‘No, but don’t you see why it’s funny … with the word “PROPERTY”?’
‘It means it’s an estate agent, presumably catering for English buyers.’
‘I know it’s an estate agent, but don’t you think it looks like a misprint for “LOST PROPERTY”?’
‘No,’ said Carole.
When they did find it, the Fethiye fish market proved to be a circular tiled building, the central hub of which was a wide circle of fishmongers, surrounded by an outer ring of restaurants against the walls.
Carole was a little inhibited about doing something as ethnic as selecting her own fish, but Jude quickly got into flirtatious banter with one of the salesmen. On his recommendation they each chose a sea bass which looked far too big for a single meal and paid for it from the purple kitty purse.
Then, resisting the blandishments of the other restaurateurs, Carole (who’d consulted her guidebook) walked into one called Reiss Balikcilik. There, Jude ordered another beer (‘I really must limit my beer intake soon – but it’s just so refreshing’) and Carole a glass of white wine (‘that one that tastes a bit like Sauvignon Blanc’). Mezes and salads arrived as they waited for their fish to be cooked.
‘That business about Barney trying to recapture his potency by going back to earlier lovers,’ said Carole. ‘Did that ring true to you?’
‘Oh, yes, I’m afraid so. It would have been in character. And certainly in character for him not to seek medical help for his impotence problem. He’d very much think that was something he could work out for himself – and that it was his wife who was at fault rather than him. A classic case of a bad workman blaming his tools.’ Jude giggled. ‘Though that’s probably not the most apposite expression in the circumstances.’
Their fish arrived. It did look beautifully cooked, and removing the delicious flakes from the bone put a stop to their conversation for a while. Only when the last white morsel had been consumed and their oily lips been wiped clean did Carole say, ‘Well, I think our first priority is still to track down Barney.’
‘I agree. I’ll have one more go at his mobile.’
Jude did. But once again received the message that Barney’s phone was switched off.
‘So it’s back to Tulip Cottage,’ said Carole.
‘Yes. And let’s see if we can find the key in the amphora.’
They could. Both were struck by, but neither commented on, the inconsistency in the Willingdons’ attitude to security. The gates and walls of Tulip Cottage protected it as though it were Fort Knox, and yet a key was left readily available in probably the most obvious place for a would-be intruder to look.
They let themselves in and were suitably impressed by the villa that was revealed. Unlike Morning Glory, Tulip Cottage was a completely new build, not based on any existing structures. But it showed the same high spec and meticulous attention to detail. Barney Willingdon’s villas were very definitely at the luxury end of the market.
But Carole and Jude didn’t have time to take in the beauties of Tulip Cottage. There was something of much more interest on the villa’s gravel driveway.
It was Barney’s white Range Rover. The driver’s side door was open, and there was a neat bullet hole on that side of the windscreen.
As Carole and Jude drew closer, they saw that all the 4 x 4’s tyres were flat, as if they too had been shot at.
On the headrest and back of the driver’s seat were still-wet traces of blood.
Of Barney himself there was no sign.
The women were too shocked to speak, but both turned at the sound of a house door opening.
Erkan had just come out on to the terrace. In his hand there was a pistol.
TWENTY-FIVE
‘What are you doing here?’ he asked in surprisingly good English. He reached up with his free hand to touch a cut on his forehead. The hand came away with blood on it. He swayed slightly.
‘Perhaps you’d better sit down.’ Jude came towards him. He wa
ved her away with the gun, but staggered a bit and did go and sit on one of the poolside chairs.
‘We came here looking for Barney,’ said Carole.
‘So did I.’ His voice was a bit blurred, dozy from the blow he’d received.
Jude gestured to the car. ‘It looks as if you found him.’
‘Yes, I found him. And I shot at him. But he escaped.’
‘Well, look,’ said Carole in her most reasonable voice. ‘If it was Barney you wanted to shoot, then presumably you don’t want to shoot us.’
‘No,’ Erkan conceded.
‘Then perhaps you would be so good as to put that gun down.’
He couldn’t see a reason why he shouldn’t accede to her request, so he laid the pistol on the small table at his side. ‘I will find him, though,’ he asserted, ‘and kill him.’
‘Are you sure you haven’t already killed him?’ asked Carole. ‘There is blood on the seat of his car.’
‘No. When he see me, he gets into car to drive away. I shoot tyres to stop him. Then I shoot at him through windscreen, but he is getting out of car and I only hit his shoulder, I think. Then he throws stone at me.’ He gestured up to his bleeding forehead. ‘For a moment I pass out. When I come round, no sign of Barney. I go in house, look for him, he not there.’
‘May I ask,’ asked Jude gently, ‘why you want to kill him?’
‘He kill my wife,’ came the simple reply.
‘Are you sure he did? Did you see him kill her?’
‘No, but I know when they were to meet – eleven o’clock. And I know where – the tomb. And that is where I find Nita’s body. He must have killed her.’
‘You are talking,’ asked Carole, ‘about the Lycian tomb at Pinara.’
‘Yes. How do you know this?’
‘Because I went there. I found your wife’s body.’
Erkan looked puzzled and even more confused. ‘How you know she would be there?’
‘I didn’t know. Well, actually, I had heard she was taking a tour group to Pinara that day, but I was just looking at the tomb because it’s one of the few there that’s accessible.’
‘I do not understand. When you see Nita, she is dead?’
‘Yes. Strangled by the lanyard of her ID card.’
