Murder for Nothing

by Veronica Heley

  Ellie said, ‘You’ve met Susan before?’

  He half laughed, then turned to look out at the garden. A light drizzle was falling outside. Clouds obscured the sun.

  He said, ‘Susan? Angelica used to talk about Susan. Said she was a lump of lard. I don’t think they got along, did they? Something to do with Susan throwing her weight about.’

  She persisted. ‘You know her well.’

  ‘Why, I’ve seen her around. In the pub. And once at a club.’ He was not being open about this, was he? Why?

  Oh. Dear. Susan had only ever gone out clubbing once. It was true that in the past Angelica had made fun of Susan until the girl had begun to think of herself as unattractive. Then one day Susan had realized that showing off her wonderful bosom had a considerable effect on men. That very evening, one of her friends had persuaded her to go out clubbing. Susan had returned home in the early hours, discarding a pair of pink fairy wings and a headdress in the hall on her way up to bed. She’d been escorted home by …?

  Ellie pointed her finger at Rafael. ‘It was you who took her clubbing and brought her home afterwards?’

  He didn’t blush, exactly, but he didn’t meet her eyes. ‘I …’

  ‘You?’ she said. ‘You tried to get—’

  ‘A little too close, and got a knee jerk that I can still feel today. Yes.’

  Ellie grappled with the scenario of this smooth man-about-town propositioning Susan, and how his advances had been received. Susan had kneed him in the groin, hadn’t she? And now he’d come back for more?

  Why?

  She said, ‘So you are taking an interest in this case not just because Angelica owes you money but because you can see an opportunity to get close to Susan? Are you planning to pay her out for rejecting you? Do you intend to play with her as the cat did with the mouse? You want to make her fall in love with you, and then you plan to dump her?’

  He put his hands in his pockets and jingled coins. ‘Actually, no. I might have thought that, at first … but,’ he shot a glance at her. ‘I’d like to help you, Mrs Quicke. Sincerely.’

  Ellie snorted. She didn’t think he knew what ‘sincerely’ meant.

  He took his hands out of his pockets, and then put them back in again. ‘Look, you’ve got me all wrong.’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘I swear to you that—’

  ‘Don’t swear. Anyway, I wouldn’t believe you. Listen to me, young man. If you harm one hair of Susan’s head you’ll have to reckon with me. Understood?’

  ‘Yes, Granny.’ Meekly. ‘Honest, I’m not—’

  ‘Oh, yes, you are. You’re the closest thing to a scumbag I’ve met in ages, and you’re not fit to—’

  ‘Wipe the floor that she walks on? Yes, I know that. But, you can’t blame me for trying, can you?’

  Ellie found her handkerchief and blew her nose. ‘I’m very fond of Susan.’ Indistinctly.

  He grimaced. ‘She’s a girl, like any other. She can be romanced like any other. It’s up to her whether she goes along with it or not.’

  ‘You only want her because she had the impudence to reject your advances.’

  ‘Now you’re becoming quite Edwardian. “Oh, Sir Jasper!” and all that.’

  ‘I want you to leave this house.’

  ‘No, you don’t. Because if I go, you won’t have anyone to fight your corner, and when Angelica talks – which she will – and tells the police that she stashed the drugs and the money here, they will arrest you for possession of drugs and stolen money. You need me to keep you out of jail.’

  ‘Are you threatening me? Do you really think I’d sell you Susan to keep the police off my back? You are mistaken. You may live in a world of compromise and half-truths, and yes, I can see the logic in going along with your suggestion. But I try, however difficult it may be, to do the right thing and not to compromise. And I bet I sleep more soundly than you do.’

  He sat down, producing a smile charming enough to lure any woman under eighty into his arms. ‘Shall we let Susan judge for herself? I promise to be good. We know that Susan can defend herself when she considers it necessary to do so. I concede that I did misjudge her and she did punish me accordingly. We both know she can do the same thing again if she considers I am getting out of hand. How about that?’

  ‘I don’t trust you.’

  ‘I don’t trust me, either. Mrs Quicke, this is a new situation for me. I am trying to do the right thing. I am, I must say, quite astonished at myself for trying, but there it is. I promise to behave myself if she turns me down again. All right?’

  ‘I still don’t trust you.’

  ‘No, but you are wondering if the love of a good woman can rescue a bad man. Right?’

  She had to laugh. ‘I don’t think you are that bad a man.’

  ‘Don’t fool yourself.’ Grimly. ‘I’ve been with dozens of girls and told dozens of lies about my intentions. Matrimony is not on my agenda. Why should the leopard change his spots?’

  ‘Hmm.’ She sat back in her chair, considering the man before her. ‘I don’t think you’ve ever left a girl pregnant?’

  ‘No. That would be messy. I don’t like mess. I promise not to leave Susan pregnant.’

  Ellie blew her nose again. ‘I can’t stop you romancing her. I have to trust her common sense not to be taken in by you. Or, if she decides to go along with your flimflam, then I’ll be there to pick up the pieces. I’ll give it some thought in prayer.’

  His lips twisted. ‘You think your prayers will save her from me?’

  ‘I think prayer works.’

  ‘Let’s shake on it.’ He held out his hand and, somewhat reluctantly, she took it. He shot her one of his glancing smiles. ‘And now I’d better ring Milos and give him the bad news that we haven’t been able to find the money and the drugs. He will not be amused.’

  He took out his phone and frowned at some messages that had come in. ‘He’s getting impatient. Can’t blame him. You really don’t want him coming over here to look for the stuff himself. I’ll see what I can do to head him off.’

  He pressed buttons and got through. He said, ‘Cool it, Milos. Mrs Quicke and I have searched the place and haven’t found anything of yours yet … No, Angelica’s not here. She’s been taken down to the police station to answer questions about the party. When she comes back, I’ll have another go at her, get her to tell me where she’s put the stuff … Yes, she’ll tell me where, I assure you. She should be back any minute now. I’ll ring you when I’ve spoken to her.’ He killed the call.

  The front doorbell rang. Ellie started to her feet. ‘I expect that’s her now.’ She hurried to the hall. ‘I may have shot the bolts after I let you in. Yes, I did. Can you reach the top one for me? It’s a little high for me. I can’t think how I managed to reach it earlier.’

  ‘Fear,’ he said, drawing back the bolt for her. ‘Let me have a look, see who it is before …’

  The front door opened, almost sweeping him off his feet. And there was Susan, looking as if she’d very much like to chop something into teeny weeny pieces and throw it into boiling water. ‘Who double-locked the door?’

  Behind her came Andy’s car, with Angelica in the passenger seat.

  ‘You!’ Susan pointed her finger at Rafael and advanced on him. No shrinking violet here. ‘I might have known you’d move in on Mrs Quicke when my back was turned!’

  He held up his hands, backing away, laughing. ‘No, honest! I’m the cavalry, riding to the rescue!’

  ‘As if! You … you slug!’

  ‘Have a heart! I really am trying to help.’

  Ellie noted with interest that his smile had disappeared altogether.

  Angelica flew into the house and cast herself upon Ellie. ‘Oh, I can’t bear it! If it wasn’t that I knew you’d help me, I don’t know what I’d have done!’ Tears sparkled, lips quivered, curls bounced. ‘Oh, it’s so wonderful to be home!’

  Wonderful for her, maybe, but not for Ellie, who tried to m
ake the girl stand upright only for her to cling all the closer.

  Andy came in, shutting the door behind him. ‘I told her not to say anything at all, and she didn’t. What a girl!’ Full of admiration for Angelica.

  Susan turned away from Raphael, dismissing him from her mind, to speak to Ellie. ‘I’m sorry to have been so long. The police had to check that I really did go to the pictures on Saturday evening—’

  ‘Me, too!’ said Angelica, curls bobbing. ‘They couldn’t find Timmy, horrid boy, the one who gave me a lift home after the party, but I told them about Jess and Gina and their friends arriving at the party just as I was leaving with Timmy, they contacted them and they confirmed it, naturally. And, oh, I’m so sorry about the party, Andy. I thought it would be just a few friends round but some horrid people came and it got out of hand, and I was so frightened, I didn’t know what to do, and it’s true – I ran away!’

  Great tears glistened in her eyes, and she removed herself from Ellie to hang on Andy’s arm.

  Andy smiled down at her. ‘There, there! You couldn’t have known what would happen. I’m sure the insurance will pay up, and if not, well, it’s not the end of the world.’

  Susan made one of her sick-making noises, with which Ellie fully agreed.

  Angelica was all smiles. ‘Oh, you are all so good to me! I am such a lucky little girl!’

  Rafael said, ‘So now you’re back, little lady, have you worked out how to solve your money problems?’

  ‘Oh, yes!’ She was all smiles. ‘You’ll never guess what happened. I had no idea someone was going to bring a drug dealer to the party but there he was, and I was thinking this was not a good idea when a fight broke out and someone was going to take him off to the hospital to be looked at, so before he disappeared he pushed this bag into my arms. I didn’t even look to see what was inside it because I was so upset, he was all over blood, and I realized this was getting to be a really bad scene, and then Jake said he was going, and that upset me all over again, and then Timmy offered me a lift home, and I got on the back of his scooter without thinking, and only when I got home did I look in the bag and realize he’d given me some pills and all the money he’d collected! Wasn’t that wonderful? So now I can pay you off, Rafael, and we can all be friends again!’

  Ellie blinked. Pinched herself. Had the girl really thought …?

  Susan said something softly to herself. A prayer, possibly.

  Andy gaped. And swallowed. ‘But Angel, it’s not your money.’

  Angelica was ecstatic. ‘Don’t you see, the drug man can’t come after me for the money because what he was doing was illegal, and obviously it was meant that it finished up in my hands. Aren’t I the luckiest?’

  Rafael rubbed his forehead. ‘Give me strength! All right, girl. Where did you hide it?’

  ‘Oh, that was so clever of me, too.’ She started off down the corridor. ‘Thomas didn’t like it when I went into his Quiet Room to light a joss stick, which everybody does when they want to meditate, don’t they, although personally I don’t go in for that sort of thing much, but I thought he’d like it, and he really didn’t need to be quite so rude to me about it, did he? I told him, I said, I was taught at school to say the Lord’s Prayer, although obviously I’ve long since forgotten how it goes …’ She opened the door to Thomas’s Quiet Room and dived into the cupboard in the corner. ‘So I put the bag in …’

  She gave a little scream.

  Rafael said, frowning, ‘It’s not there. We searched this room earlier.’

  Ellie slumped into the nearest chair. A particular sequence of events trickled through her mind and she knew, or rather, guessed what might have happened to the package … and then she thought, no, she must be mistaken.

  ‘Oh my God!’ Angelica whimpered. ‘Someone’s stolen it! Get the police!’

  Andy made a strangled sound and stated the obvious. ‘Angel, we can’t go to the police asking them to track down illegal drugs which you brought here.’ Then, rather bravely, he eased Angelica to her feet and patted her shoulder. ‘Perhaps you came back and moved it to another hiding place, later?’

  Ellie felt for her mobile phone, which would have certain numbers on it. Her hand fell away from her pocket. She’d given her mobile phone to Lesley, hadn’t she?

  ‘No, no, I didn’t move it!’ cried Angelica. ‘I thought it was safe there, and if anyone found it and blamed Thomas for having the drugs then it would serve him right, wouldn’t it? Because he really was so unkind to me. You do believe me, don’t you?’ She slitted her eyes. ‘Someone watched me hide it, and then they came down and stole it.’

  Ellie thought, I know what’s coming. No, surely, she wouldn’t dare!

  And it came.

  ‘Susan!’ Angelica whirled round. ‘You stole it, didn’t you?’

  Susan gaped. ‘What? But …! Come off it! I didn’t know anything about drugs until this very minute.’

  ‘You were listening for me, spying on me when I came in on Saturday night, and then you crept downstairs and found the package and took it for yourself.’

  ‘No, I didn’t. I don’t hear you when you come in late at night. My bedroom is not over yours. I’ve never heard you come in, except once when you banged the front door by accident and woke me up.’

  Angelica cast herself on Rafael. ‘She did it! I know she did it! She’s always been jealous of me! You’ll have to get it out of her. And you can make it right with the drug person, can’t you? I know you can. You can do anything!’

  Rafael took hold of her wrists and held her away from him. ‘I can’t come between you and Milos. Now you’ve admitted having possession of his property he’s going to come after you, my dear, and I certainly won’t try to stop him.’

  ‘But Rafael, I thought you were my friend!’

  Ellie thought hard. She must have those phone numbers somewhere else … perhaps not in her usual address book, but … in her study somewhere? Of course, she might be mistaken, and someone else had found and taken the drugs and the drug money, but …

  What was that noise? Her landline was ringing.

  She hastened back to the hall and picked up the phone. Thankfully, it was Lesley, who sounded faint and weary. ‘Ellie, is that you? I was ringing so long. I thought you must have gone out.’

  ‘I wish I had. But I’ve got a house full at the moment. How are you?’

  Susan had followed her, and after Susan came Rafael. Susan said, ‘Is it Lesley? What’s the news?’

  Lesley’s voice was a mere whisper. Sedated? ‘They’ve got me on a drip, would you believe? And then tomorrow they’ll make sure everything’s come away properly and tidy me up. I’ll probably be allowed home in the evening.’

  ‘Tell me what you need and I’ll get it to you. Nightdress and toilet things, a jumper and jeans? What else?’

  As Lesley talked of shoes and a jacket, Andy emerged from the Quiet Room with his arm around Angelica, who was leaning on him.

  Susan gestured to Ellie that she’d like to talk to her aunt.

  ‘Yes, yes,’ said Ellie, trying to make notes. ‘Now, Andy and Susan are here. Shall I hand you over?’

  ‘Does Andy want to speak to me?’ Lesley sounded distant.

  Ellie said, ‘Andy? It’s Lesley on the phone. They’re keeping her in overnight.’

  He hesitated, detaching himself from Angelica, but not exactly hastening to take the phone which Ellie held out to him.

  Lesley sighed. ‘Don’t bother him, Ellie.’ And cut the call.

  Ellie put the phone down.

  Susan said, ‘Why are they keeping her in?’

  Ellie looked not at Susan but at Andy. ‘She lost the baby.’

  Andy registered concern, and then what looked very much like relief. ‘Did she? Well, I … but I suppose she’ll take it hard. That’s bad. To be honest, I didn’t want to have a baby so soon, but she—’

  Angelica said, ‘It was extremely selfish of Lesley to saddle you with a baby before you wanted it.’
/>   I would very much like to strangle Angelica. Slowly.

  Susan flushed and burst into tears. ‘Oh, no! Oh, how awful!’ Susan didn’t weep prettily, as Angelica did, but her tears were real. ‘Oh, poor Lesley! Is she all right? Can I visit her? She must be shattered.’

  Lesley had said she was destroyed.

  Rafael put his arm around Susan. ‘She’ll need some things. I’ll take you to the hospital and wait for you.’

  Susan elbowed him away. ‘Don’t be ridiculous! This is nothing to do with you.’

  Actually, if he were to make it his business, we might all get through this adventure with as little trouble as possible. But not, of course, at the expense of Susan’s peace of mind.

  Dilemma. Is it a good idea to have an ally with a spotty past? Answer yes or no.

  Er. Yes. Sometimes. Probably.

  Andy dithered. He didn’t know whether to show grief for a lost baby or concern for his wife. Perhaps Angelica was right and Lesley had wanted a child, but he hadn’t. Or he hadn’t wanted one yet. Yet his upbringing taught him that he ought to display distress in such circumstances.

  He lifted his arm to put it around Angelica’s shoulder again, and then let it drop. Even he could see that cuddling Angelica was inappropriate at that moment. He said, ‘What ward is she on? I’d better get down there.’ He spoke without enthusiasm but he did say it.

  Ellie wondered if Lesley wanted to see her husband or not. Perhaps, when he saw her lying there on a drip, having lost their child, it might rekindle his love for her? ‘What a good idea,’ she said.

  Angelica had another role in mind for him. She gave a little scream. ‘Oh, Andy, no! You can’t leave me here without protection. Those horrid drug men will be round any minute, wanting their things which I don’t have, and none of this is my fault, and I know they’re going to be so cross with me and they’ll threaten to beat me up and mark my face so that I’ll never be able to go out of the house again! Oh, I’m so frightened!’ And she cast herself on him again.

  ‘Oh, come now,’ said Andy, showing a mixture of embarrassment and tenderness. ‘It can’t be as bad as all that.’ He tried to make her stand on her own two feet, but she was having none of that and clung all the closer.