Strangled in the Sauna

by Oliver, Marina

  They could help no more. They sometimes went to Middlesborough with Terry, and gave Dodie the names of some of the pubs they frequented. They promised to try and talk to the police, to try and persuade them to ask around to find an alibi for Terry.

  'Why don't you go and ask around yourselves? Do you have photos of Terry you could show? You might even find the girl he picked up. She may have been a prostitute, but if he stayed with her the whole night, as he said, that's unlikely. She'd want more than one client during the night.'

  'Aye, we could do that. We could leave work early tomorrow and go. It's too late today, we'd barely get there before we had to come back. We gets up early.'

  'It'll be better on Friday,' one of them suggested. 'The same people will be in the pubs then, they might not other nights.'

  'The girl too.'

  Dodie drove back to The Crags somewhat cheered that Terry's friends believed he was innocent, and she had spurred them on to help with the detection work. She gave them her mobile number, and they promised to let her as well as the police know if they discovered anything.

  *

  On Monday Mr Shefford had appointments in the area, but in the evening he was in the drawing room, in his immaculate evening dress, and had acquired an admiring group of ladies. Hazel Prentice was well to the fore. Dodie and Elena found seats near to the group, listening while trying to pretend they were absorbed in their own conversation. Most of what they heard was Mr Shefford explaining what his work in far distant countries involved.

  'None of the people I spoke to in the village, including Mandy, believe Terry is capable of murder,' Dodie reported. 'And his cricketing pals are going to join the detection team, trying to find that elusive pub in Middlesborough.'

  Elena had news too. 'The police say we can use the pool again, and Sam has been persuaded to help Darren. I don't think he's best pleased, but Sheila says she used strong arm tactics to convince him it was in his interests, either until Terry is released, or she can employ someone else. She didn't say how, but I saw Rosie and she is looking far more cheerful.'

  'Oho! I suspect he's been convinced he has to accept the baby?'

  'My guess too. And another thing, Mandy rang to apologise for walking out and asked if she could have her job back.'

  'Will she?'

  'Sheila said she would give her another chance, but next time she had a tantrum would be the end. She thought Mandy has broken with her rich boy friend and needs the money. I think Sheila was relieved, she's been short staffed, needs maids who know the job, and it will be worse without Mrs Jones, though she says Pat is capable of supervising the maids for the time being. It's some of the other jobs Mrs Jones did that will be more difficult to cover, though they can manage for the time being until they can advertise.'

  'Doesn't Pat want the job? I'd have thought she was quite capable of it.'

  'She wants an office job, and she doesn't want to live in, though she has agreed to do so for a couple of weeks.'

  'How are the rest of the staff managing?'

  'No resignations, if that's what you mean, though Fiona is making noises about it being time to move on.'

  'We'd better find the real killer soon. I rang Jamie while I was at the pub, to update him on developments. He thinks, like we do, that the police here have a poor case against Terry. But it could be months before that's resolved, and meanwhile I expect Terry will be kept in custody.'

  'Which will be terrible for him.'

  *

  There were no new developments, and Dodie had no more ideas of how she could try to prove Terry's innocence. It would only serve if she could find the real killer, she knew, and she lay awake half the night reviewing all she knew in the hope of finding some detail she'd overlooked. On Monday morning she and Elena were among the few guests who used the newly-reopened pool, but the sauna where Mrs Jones had been found was still out of use, and no one seemed anxious to use any of the other cubicles.

  'Not that anyone would want to use it,' Elena muttered.

  Sam was there, sitting at one side while Darren appeared to be doing all the work. He was tapping his fingers impatiently on his knee, replying to any questions from the guests by referring them to Darren.

  'This ain't my job, and I don't have a clue about that,' Dodie heard him say. 'I'm only here because Miss Sheila thinks there should be two of us. To prevent any more killings, I suppose.'

  Dodie then went to have a manicure with Fiona. She chatted with the girl, but gained no more information about Fiona's plans. Before and after lunch she came to the conclusion things were getting back to normal. The murder had been solved, the murderer was in custody, and most of the guests simply wanted to forget about it. No doubt when they went home, or when the trial occurred, they would have plenty to say to their friends, but they seemed to have come to a general conclusion that there was nothing more to discuss.

  Dodie and Elena went to have coffee after lunch with the Sankey sisters. They were depressed about the prospects for The Crags, but over the shock of what had happened. When Felicity came into the sitting room, bringing a policeman with her, they looked up in puzzlement.

  'What now?' Joan asked.

  'Inspector Brooks wishes to see you, Miss Sheila.'

  'This, Miss Sankey.' The policeman placed a large briefcase on the table before the sisters. 'We found this case in a flat rented in Middlesborough by Mrs Jones.'

  'She had a flat in Middlesborough? We never knew that. How did you discover it?'

  'From her bank statements. She made regular payments for the rent, and this morning we searched the flat. You did not know? You had no home address for her?'

  'No. She had, she said, always had live-in jobs. How long has she had this flat? Did you find out?'

  'Since just after she took the job here. So she never told you?'

  'I suppose, if there was no one else living there, she'd see no need,' Joan said. 'Why should we ever want to contact her there?'

  'Odd, nevertheless. There was someone there late on Friday night, the people in the flat below heard noises. But there were no fingerprints apart from Mrs Jones's. Whoever was there was very cautious.'

  'That doesn't sound like Terry,' Dodie murmured.

  The Inspector glanced at her and frowned. 'Now, you recall the three linked keys in her handbag? The large ones were to the flat, and the small one opened this briefcase. It was well hidden, under a floorboard which had been loosely nailed down, in a fitted wardrobe. It's what was found in it that we are puzzled over, so we want to ask you if you can throw any light on it.'

  He glanced around at the four ladies, then with a dramatic flourish, inserted the key in the lock and threw open the lid. They peered in, and gasped. The case was full of small items, mostly silver, a few gold. All of them were enclosed in small plastic bags. There were fountain pens, propelling pencils, cigarette cases, watches, rings, brooches, bracelets, tie pins, earrings, small silver charms such as were attached to bracelets, cuff links, and at the top, a large diamond ring, an elaborate brooch, and a flamboyant multi-jewelled necklace.

  'And we found other keys and this emerald ring in her carry-on bag,' the Inspector added. 'We think they may be linked to her murder.'

  *

  CHAPTER 12

  The four women looked at the briefcase and its contents in disbelief.

  'That's my ring, the emerald,' Elena said. 'It was stolen from my safe on Thursday while I was swimming.'

  'So Mrs Jones was the thief after all,' Sheila said, and picked up the necklace. 'This was also stolen from a guest's safe, a few weeks ago. As was this ring, and this brooch,' she added, picking them up.

  'And surely this is Mr Barratt's tie clip, and the cigarette case we were told about,' Joan said, picking them out of the briefcase.

  The Inspector was looking startled. 'You say these things were stolen from room safes here? Were the police informed of these thefts?'

  Sheila sighed. 'No, Inspector. None of these three were, the victims wa
nted to avoid the publicity that would undoubtedly have followed.' She explained their reasons, but it was clear the Inspector did not approve.

  'And these others? You recognised the tie clip, I see.'

  Dodie riffled through the rest of the items in the case. 'These people have assumed they lost the items elsewhere. Mr Barratt thought it may have dropped behind the dressing table and been hoovered up. The cigarette case was thought to have been put into a handbag, but could have slipped instead down the side of a seat cushion. The losses of most of the rest might also be explained in such a way.'

  'But we have no idea who owns all the rest of this!' Sheila said. 'How on earth are we going to return them to their owners?'

  'I'm afraid we need to hold on to them for the time being, Miss Sankey, for evidence. We may be able to return them in a few weeks. Now,' he added, raising his voice over Sheila's dismayed protest. 'These keys. You have, I assume, never seen skeleton keys, which is what these are. May we see whether they will open the safes in your guest rooms?'

  'Of course.'

  'My room is the nearest, on the ground floor,' Elena said, 'and the ring was stolen from there. Let's go.'

  They all trooped through the office. Felicity gave them a puzzled look, then turned back to her work. In Elena's room the Inspector selected one of the keys and within seconds had opened the safe. He then relocked it and turned to face the women.

  'You see how easy it would have been?'

  'And quick,' Dodie said. 'It would take just a minute, easily done when, perhaps, Mrs Jones was supposed to be checking the room, or changing towels.'

  'Yes. Can we go back to your room now, Miss Sankey, and discuss what needs to be done? I have more questions.'

  'Can I tell the people who lost things that they have been found?' Sheila asked as they seated themselves back in the sitting room. 'And can we ask Mr Barratt to come and identify his tie clip?'

  'It would relieve their anxiety even if you can't give any of them back at once,' Joan added.

  'But what about the things we can't place?'

  'Are you saying none of the owners who lost items, and these are mostly silver, worth a few pence, complained, or reported a loss?'

  'Most of them didn't. They may not have realised the things vanished from here. Or they did not wish to embarrass us if they were not sure they had been lost here.'

  The Inspector looked sceptical. 'I have a suggestion. We will, of course, photograph all these things when I get them to the station. Meanwhile, could you contact all your guests, explain some property has been found, without saying how or where, and ask if any of them may have lost anything while they were here?'

  'That is hundreds of people!' Sheila protested. 'If Mrs Jones began stealing as soon as she started to work here, that's three years' guests.'

  'But many of them come more than once,' Joan reminded her. 'That will cut out a lot of them.'

  'Then what?'

  'If someone claims to have lost, say, a pen, you could email or post photographs which we will give you of all the pens, and ask if they can identify theirs. That way, you may be able to reunite the items with their owners.'

  'May?'

  'Some are not so distinctive as to be easily identified. Also, it depends on whether Mrs Jones was stealing before she came to work for you.'

  'She worked in boarding schools. It's unlikely.'

  'There are staff in boarding schools. And some of these girls might have expensive pens and so on. What did she do there?'

  'Much the same as here, she was housekeeper.'

  'With similar opportunities of picking up things left carelessly out on desks or dressing tables. We are making enquiries there. So if your guests cannot identify all these objects, we will have to look further back.'

  'Yes, I see. Well, we'll have to do it.'

  'Why would she hold on to all these things?' Dodie asked. 'Surely she would want to cash in on them?'

  'She may have sold some items already,' the Inspector said. 'She was perhaps being cautious, especially if she had few places where she might go and not be suspected. It indicates she had no criminal contacts, people who could have sold them for her. On the other hand, how did she obtain the keys?'

  Sheila groaned. 'It gets worse!'

  'Not necessarily. Now, which of these items do you know, or think, were stolen from safes, and which could have been picked up in the rooms?'

  'The necklace, brooch, and ring, and Elena's ring for certain were taken from locked safes,' Sheila said, putting them to one side. 'Maybe some of the other jewellery, this ring, the earrings, bracelets, maybe the silver charms. Nothing else like pens and cigarette cases would have been kept in the safes, I think.'

  'When did things start to go missing from the safes?'

  'For certain, a few weeks ago.'

  'Perhaps it was only then she acquired these skeleton keys?'

  'How would she get them?'

  'Some criminal accomplice, in all probability.'

  'Then that must be someone outside. Have you found her ex-husband? He's not been here, though he was sleeping close by and he must have heard about her murder. I'd have expected him to come and demand to know all about it.'

  'We're looking for him.'

  'And he or some other crook she was involved with killed her, not Terry.'

  *

  Sheila began to consult with Felicity over which guests could be contacted by email, and which would have to be sent letters, and cross out the duplicates. Dodie and Elena retreated to the latter's room.

  'I've still so many questions,' Dodie said, sinking down into the armchair.

  Elena perched on the bed and tucked her feet under her. 'Do you think Terry could have obtained those skeleton keys?'

  'It's possible, especially if he frequents dubious pubs in Middlesborough. But why murder her? Whoever did that would not be able to get hold of the stuff in the briefcase.'

  'Unless they knew about her apartment and could get there before the police. As someone did, though they didn't find the briefcase. More and more it looks like thieves falling out.'

  'If they did know she had an apartment and kept the stolen items there, why didn't they make more of an effort to find her handbag and those keys, and make it easier to get in and take the goods?'

  'It was under the passenger seat, probably out of sight.'

  'They'd have searched for it.'

  'They must have known about the apartment,' Elena said.

  'And if they did, they might have had keys too? Perhaps they were interrupted in the car park?'

  'Too many possibilities.'

  'I'm assuming the thefts from the safes only began recently. None of the others, the smaller things, were reported, and they could all have been thought ordinary losses.'

  'But surely Mrs Jones could expect that thefts from the safes would be reported? They were, to Sheila, and she was perhaps fortunate that none of them wanted the thefts reported to the police.'

  'Might she have known that?' Dodie asked. 'She could have talked to the victims, discovered or guessed their situations, and chanced it.'

  'She wasn't the type to get chatty with the guests, and she'd no reason to think I would not report the theft of the ring.'

  'No. Was it a last throw? Did she intend to vanish with all the loot? Did whoever her accomplice is discover that and murder her for revenge?'

  'And what about that note in Terry's pocket? How could she have threatened him, and why?'

  'Was it just her general bossiness?'

  'We may never find out unless we can talk to him. So what do we know for certain?' Elena began to tick things off on her fingers. 'She was the thief here. She kept all or most of the loot in this Middlesborough flat. The thefts from the safes began only a few weeks ago, so we can assume she obtained the skeleton keys only then.'

  'If it's really Terry, though I find it hard to credit he was too careful not to leave fingerprints, did he go to the flat after he killed her, if he did, but couldn
't find the loot? Didn't the police say it had been well hidden?'

  'Might that be why he can't produce an alibi?'

  Dodie shook her head. 'I still can't see Terry acting so coolly. And he was truly shocked when he first saw her body. He's not a good enough actor to fake that.'

  'It's all circumstantial, but it looks bad for him. Yet who else could it be? I can't believe Frank or Brian would do it, or either of the gardeners. How long, incidentally, have they worked here? Much before Mrs Jones came?'

  'We can ask Sheila. But she's too preoccupied just now. It might have been her husband, they were apparently still in touch. It's time for tea, let's have it in the drawing room and listen to the rumours.'

  *

  Mr Shefford was sitting with his usual admiring crowd, but he looked rather more serious than usual. Interest in the murder, though still present, was muted, and most of the guests were more concerned with catching up on their interrupted treatments. After a while Dodie and Elena went to their rooms. They needed to think, to try and disentangle the threads of this murder. Dodie lay down on her bed, but instead of her planned review of all the information she had, she fell asleep, and only woke when Pat and Mandy came to see to the room.

  'Oh dear, I'm sorry,' Pat said. 'We'll do the rest first and come back when you've changed.'

  'Sorry to hold you up, but I'll be quick. Where's Rosie? Is she feeling unwell?'

  'No, Miss Sheila has just changed us around, different pairs, she does that occasionally.'

  'She wants Pat to keep me in order,' Mandy said, but she laughed. Whatever the reason, she did not appear to resent it.

  Dodie showered to drive away the sleepiness, then dressed quickly in one of her loose, comfortable caftans. She was opening the door of her room when she remembered she had not put on her watch. As she turned back towards the dressing table the door of the room opposite opened, and she heard Mr Shefford emerge. She grabbed her watch and hurried back towards the door. Was this her opportunity to talk, as they made their way downstairs? Then she paused, hearing Mandy's voice.