Murder by Suspicion

by Veronica Heley

  Ellie took a deep breath. ‘We always meet on Thursday mornings to consider business matters. I vote we have a fresh cup of proper coffee – freshly ground coffee with cream and sugar – in the sitting room, and catch up on what we’ve been doing lately, holidays and such. Then we go back into the dining room and get down to business, with the proviso that we leave the Vision application on one side, pending further enquiries.’

  ‘Carried,’ said Kate.

  Stewart nodded. ‘Agreed. There’s a lot to discuss.’

  Just wait, thought Ellie, till I tell Thomas what’s been happening today. Whatever will he say? He’ll want to be on the next plane back, but … No. It’s not often that he gets the recognition that he deserves and can mix with people who are on his wavelength. I mustn’t bring him back just because I don’t quite know how to manage the problem of the Vision project. Those poor people that Ambrose is helping … He’s doing a lot of good there, isn’t he? He’s right about that. But his brand of ‘religion’ isn’t like anything I’ve ever heard of … well, apart from some bits of the Old Testament where there’s an awful lot of cursing going on … I’ll have to give this some thought, won’t I?

  NINE

  Thursday afternoon

  Ellie had a little nap after lunch. She was feeling much more like herself, but at her age, and after that long journey, she was allowed to lie down on her bed for a bit, wasn’t she? After that, she decided not to deal with any more paperwork and managed to get out into the garden. She was wrestling with a sycamore seedling which had somehow managed to grow up unseen behind a rhododendron bush, and which would cause no end of trouble if allowed to grow any taller, when Rose tapped on the window of the conservatory to attract her attention.

  ‘Ellie, I think it’s Diana, trying to get in!’

  Oh. Ah. Ellie tried not to grin. Diana had been really upset when Ambrose had cursed her, hadn’t she? Despite swearing she didn’t believe in God or indeed in an afterlife of any sort.

  Shucking off her gardening gloves, and leaving her clogs in the conservatory, Ellie got to the front door before Diana broke it down.

  ‘Where have you been! Where. Have. You. Been? I’ve been ringing the bell for hours …!’ Diana, in a temper, wheeling a sleeping toddler in a buggy before her.

  No, she hadn’t been ringing the bell for hours. Three minutes, max? ‘I was in the garden.’

  ‘I had to bring Evan. I didn’t think you’d mind since you must be pleasing yourself this afternoon, after working so hard this morning.’ Heavily sarcastic.

  Was it Diana’s new nanny’s afternoon off? Ellie did not feel up to coping with the boy. The last time she’d had him for the afternoon, he’d broken a side table with a rather good Coalport vase on it, spread the flowers and the water around on a silk rug, fallen over and roared his displeasure for ten solid minutes, upset his milk all over himself, lost a shoe in the garden (and how he’d got out there was a mystery), terrorized Midge (and that took some doing), pulled all the saucepans out of the cupboard while Ellie was washing out his T-shirt, causing Rose to trip over them and hurt herself and, oh, yes! He’d peed in his pants not once but three times. He was supposed to be out of nappies, but refused to use his potty.

  She really couldn’t face that again. She sought for her indoor shoes. Where had she left them?

  Diana was in a right state. ‘Those people, this morning! Out of order! They ought to be excommunicated, or something. They oughtn’t to go around cursing people. It’s … it’s … not right!’

  Ellie sighed. No, it wasn’t the most pleasant way of communicating with your neighbours. She must have left her shoes in the conservatory somewhere, because that’s where she kept her clogs and trowel … She went to look for them. Ah, yes. There they were.

  ‘Mother! You are not paying attention.’

  ‘I am, indeed I am. I find this all very upsetting, too.’

  Diana prowled around, hitting one hand against the other. ‘What he said … What nonsense! Of course, he was just spitting in the wind!’

  ‘Um. He does seem to have upset you.’ Ellie eased her feet into her shoes and looked at her watch. ‘Time for a cuppa? You’ve left the office early today?’

  ‘Yes. No. It’s the nanny’s afternoon off. Mother, I’m serious! He shouldn’t be allowed to—’

  ‘Lots of people go around doing things they ought not to do. They tell lies, cheat on their income tax and sleep with other women’s husbands.’ All of which Diana had done in the past. ‘I’m making a cuppa, anyway.’ She set off for the kitchen.

  Diana followed. ‘There’s absolutely no question of your funding this project of theirs, of course. Is there?’

  ‘Probably not,’ said Ellie. ‘But, it’s a dilemma. He seems to be having more success in rescuing druggies and alkies than most people do. I agree that his take on religion is not the usual one, and that he personally is way over the top.’ She put the kettle on and found the biscuit tin.

  Diana exploded. ‘Over the top? He’s stark raving mad. He should be locked up!’

  ‘Because he cursed you? Because he invoked the name of God? I don’t see why you’re so worried, Diana. You’ve always claimed that God doesn’t exist.’

  ‘Well, I … One has to keep an open mind about … It was the venom with which he attacked me! If Thomas were here—’

  ‘He would protect you?’ Ever so slightly sarcastic.

  ‘What? Well, I suppose he’d have stopped the man, somehow.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Diana. You’re right. You need protection as much as anyone.’

  Diana flushed and was silent. She accepted a mug of breakfast tea and a biscuit, forgetting that she usually insisted on having Earl Grey in a china cup. ‘You should have stopped him earlier.’

  ‘Perhaps I should.’ Ellie was prepared to concede that. There was no point in quarrelling with Diana, who did seem genuinely distressed. ‘Do you think you could talk to God about it, ask him to look after you? After all, if he does exist, he might be pleased to hear from you.’

  An attempt at a smile. ‘Oh well, I suppose there’d be no harm in it. Covering all bases, as you might say.’

  Ellie thought that this could be a very interesting development for Diana. Lots of people had doubts about the existence of God. Some lived with doubt all their lives. Even she, occasionally … and Thomas had once confessed to her that when his first wife had been dying, he’d gone through a bad patch.

  ‘Why not try it and see?’

  Diana was rapidly regaining her composure. ‘I’ll leave it in your hands, then. I’m sure you’ll do your best for me.’

  ‘I’ll do what I can. Tell me something. How exactly did you come to take Claire on?’

  Diana fidgeted. She didn’t like that question. ‘I thought I’d told you. She’d been working for this widow, who died and left the house to the lot that Claire hangs around with, the people of the Vision. Claire came to see us, to ask us to sell it for her. We got a buyer within the week. Only, then we got this letter from a solicitor, saying that the will was being contested. I rang Claire, and she came in, saying the house had been left half to her and half to the widow’s children and that they’d asked her to sell it for them, which meant we could go ahead, but the solicitor said we couldn’t. What a can of worms! We had to tell the buyer. He was so angry … I can’t tell you! Look, we acted in good faith. It wasn’t our fault! We weren’t to know that the will was going to be contested. Undue influence, the family said, and they’ve got their old GP to back them up.’

  ‘I do see that you’re out of pocket over the deal. The Vision people, too. They must be furious. So how come you took Claire on, after all that?’

  ‘She came to see me in tears, saying that if only we’d acted faster, the sale would have gone through, which was nonsense and I told her so. Then she asked if we had a job for her in the office, which we hadn’t. She went on and on about needing a job, and Nanny was due for her holiday, and Claire begged me to let her look after
Evan, so …’

  ‘And she was cheap. She didn’t tell you that she’d been convicted of an assault on a schoolboy a while back?’

  ‘No.’ Horrified. ‘Well, as it happens, she wasn’t up to looking after Evan, and you needed someone to look after Rose. It seemed like it was meant.’

  ‘You wanted to get rid of her so passed her on to me, without warning.’

  Diana didn’t want to answer that. She looked at her watch. ‘I must go. We’re out for supper. I suppose it’s all right for me to leave Evan with you for a couple of hours?’

  Ellie summoned up all her energy to refuse. ‘If you’re going out this evening, you’ll probably not be back till midnight, if then. You’d better get a babysitter for him. I’m in bed by eight at the moment – jet lag – and wouldn’t hear him if he woke and cried. Sorry.’

  That put Diana into a bad temper, but she made the best of it, knowing which side her bread was buttered. ‘Oh well. I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow. Perhaps you’ll have some good news for me by then?’

  ‘About the curse which Ambrose laid on you?’

  Diana blanched and hastened away, taking little Evan with her.

  That was a bit naughty of me, but if it’s made her think about something other than making and spending money … Perhaps …?

  No, I ought not to have said it. Please, God. Look after her?

  And all of us? Amen.

  Friday morning and afternoon

  Another fine day. Ellie got Rose up, made them breakfast without any more appearances by Claire. That was a blessing. Vera popped in to help Ellie order some more food online, and Pat arrived to assist Ellie in dealing with the mountain of emails and paperwork that had accumulated. After lunch Ellie had a very short nap – she seemed to be getting over the jet lag nicely – and escaped into the garden. She had only just started pruning a rambler rose which had finished flowering for the year, when Rose tapped on the window and mouthed, ‘Phone!’

  Bother. Ellie went to the phone, struggling to get out of her gardening gloves and dropping the secateurs on the floor.

  Lesley. ‘How did you know? Are you in? Silly question: of course you are. I’ll be round in ten minutes.’ She cut the call.

  That didn’t sound like good news, did it?

  The biscuit tin was almost empty. Ellie decided to do something about that.

  Lesley arrived just as Ellie was putting some scones in the oven to cook. Rose was sitting in her big chair, talking to Midge as if the cat would understand what she was saying. Perhaps he did, as he was intelligent and aware that if he looked as if he were paying attention, Rose might reward him with a titbit.

  Ellie let Lesley in. As they were old friends, she said, ‘I can offer tea, but the scones won’t be ready for fifteen minutes.’

  ‘I want more than scones.’ Lesley led the way into the sitting room, but instead of sitting down, she went to stand by the French windows which were open on to the garden. She didn’t compliment Ellie on the roses. She probably wasn’t even seeing them.

  Ellie shucked off her apron and sat down. ‘Tell me.’

  ‘How did you know? How ever did you know?’

  Ellie wondered if she’d put the timer on before she left the kitchen. If she hadn’t, the scones would be burnt. Perhaps she really ought to have a modern oven with all the timing gadgets on it? Except that she’d never be able to work out what they all did. ‘I imagine you’ve found Gail’s body. Where was it?’

  Lesley stiffened her shoulders. ‘Last week they were dredging the canal in Perivale – not far away from where Jenna’s body was discovered under the bridge – and found the body of a young woman in a black plastic bag weighed down with stones. She wouldn’t have been found for ages, if they hadn’t been dredging that part by the lock.’

  ‘Was she wearing a niqab?’

  ‘No. You got that wrong, anyway. She was naked and three months pregnant.’

  ‘There must have been some means of identification or you wouldn’t be so tense.’

  ‘They checked against their register of missing girls, found a possibility and asked Gail’s dentist for her records. The result came in last night. The girl had had an accident with a Frisbee last year, and her two front teeth had been crowned. They’re doing the DNA tests, which should give us a clue as to the father of her child, but that all takes time. There’s no doubt that it’s Gail. Her mother has been informed.’

  ‘Cause of death?’

  ‘The hyoid bone was broken. Probably strangulation.’

  ‘Jenna was strangled, too, wasn’t she? How long had Gail been in the water?’

  A shrug. ‘The pathologist can’t say exactly. Best estimate is about a month.’

  ‘Dumped soon after death?’

  ‘Hard to say. But yes, probably.’

  ‘So the case has boomeranged back into your territory.’

  Lesley ground her teeth.

  Ellie checked her watch. Those scones … She wondered how she could think about scones when Gail’s mother must be grieving. ‘You say her mother’s been told?’

  Lesley nodded. She paced from the window to the door and back again.

  Ellie said, ‘You are assuming the same person was responsible for both girls’ deaths?’

  ‘Two young schoolgirls disappear. Granted, they are sixteen plus, but the school leaving age is now eighteen … Mind you, how you keep a sixteen-year-old in school when she doesn’t want to be there is something the powers that be haven’t worked out. Locking up the parents because they haven’t made sure the children are in school is a no-no. The age of consent for sex is sixteen, so … To get back to these two; after some months they turn up, pregnant, in the same canal, within fifty yards of one another. Both strangled. There has to be a connection. There’s all hell to pay.’

  ‘Because you’ve now got a serial killer on your hands?’

  ‘It’s a reasonable assumption.’

  ‘Jenna disappeared in Perivale and was found there. Gail disappeared from this part of the borough, but has been found in the same place. The A40 road creates a barrier between Ealing and Perivale. One is a London borough but, if I remember it rightly, the other comes under Uxbridge, so they must have different police forces. Which has priority?’

  ‘Neither. Hands off. Murder takes precedence. Experts move in. Eyebrows are lifted. Aspersions are cast. Files are requested. Who was responsible for looking into Jenna’s disappearance and investigating the subsequent discovery of her body? Who was responsible for looking into Gail’s disappearance, mmhm?’

  Ah. Now Ellie began to understand Lesley’s problem. ‘It was your beloved inspector, “Ears”, who took charge of Gail’s disappearance, wasn’t it? I seem to remember you were also involved.’ She got to her feet. ‘Excuse me a minute. The scones are calling.’

  Lesley followed her out to the kitchen.

  ‘Ears’ was the commonly-used nickname for Lesley’s boss, coined by Ellie in a ‘senior’ moment, since those appendages of his turned bright red when his blood pressure rose. He was a middling-good policeman who’d reached his potential and would probably go no further. He resented Lesley’s flair and gave her routine tasks rather than encouraging her to climb the ladder. He hated Ellie for having given him a nickname and had been heard to wish her to the devil. He lacked Ambrose’s powers of invective, but his sentiments were similar.

  Ellie rescued the scones just in time. Rose had fallen asleep in her chair. Midge was sitting plumply in the middle of the kitchen table, so Ellie shooed him off. As quietly as she could, Ellie made some tea and put mugs and milk, scones, butter and jam on a tray. Lesley helped by following Ellie back into the sitting room with the teapot.

  Ellie poured tea, and they helped themselves to scones without speaking.

  Only when they’d finished eating, Lesley said, ‘Rose …?’

  ‘I gave Claire the Tearful the sack. I’m trying to find someone else to look after Rose. I don’t like to leave her alone in the house. She’s happy
here, and there’s nothing more the doctors can do for her. She’d be miserable if she were put in a home, and the hospital would only push and pull her about and fill her with drugs in an effort to fend off the inevitable.’

  Lesley licked a trace of jam off her fingers. ‘If Ears knew I’d asked you for help, he’d have my guts for garters.’

  ‘Are you asking for my help? Surely the man responsible for the murders should be looked for in Perivale, and in any case the matter has been taken out of your jurisdiction.’

  ‘True. But. Ears has been hauled over the coals because he didn’t take Gail’s disappearance seriously. Actually, no one did. Dozens of young girls like her disappear every year. Most of them turn up when the boyfriend’s money runs out. Nobody fusses much unless they’re under-age.’ Lesley took a turn around the room. ‘Everything’s changed now that the girl has turned up dead. Ears is in the frame for blame. He’s mad as fire. Black mark on his record. So he’s taking it out on me. If he possibly can, he’ll make out that I disobeyed his instructions to keep working on the case.’

  ‘Nonsense,’ said Ellie. ‘He’s the senior officer. It’s his responsibility.’

  Lesley fiddled with the full-length curtain at the French windows. ‘Ellie, I want you to do something for me, if you will. I’ve been told it’s hands off the case “while people who know what they’re doing solve the mystery of the two deaths”. But, you know Claire and could talk to her about it, couldn’t you?’

  Uh-oh. Here it comes.

  Lesley was going to persuade her to do something she did not want to do. The less Ellie had to do with Claire the Tearful, the better. Ellie said, ‘No.’

  ‘Oh, come on! You know you have a way of getting people to talk to you. It’s clear that Claire was involved in some way. She must have been. Perhaps she saw something, heard something … Ellie, I’m desperate.’

  ‘No,’ said Ellie.

  Lesley wasn’t giving up. ‘Look, she used to live in Perivale, as did the first girl, Jenna, when she disappeared. I know there’s no obvious connection, and I know that Claire moved down here before Jenna’s body was found. What I can’t ignore is the fact that in due course Claire has words with another girl, who is living in the same house as her, who turns up dead back in Perivale. It’s too much of a coincidence.’