Secrets of the Dead

by A L Fraine

  Jon considered this latest development as he looked over the car records, wondering what Spencer thought he was doing.

  17

  Jon knocked on the door and waited, glancing over at Kate. She smiled back at him and nodded.

  Seconds later, the door opened, revealing a short, stout woman in grey clothing, with scraped back dark hair. She looked up at Jon and then over at Kate. “Can I help you?”

  “Hi, I’m DCI Jon Pilgrim and…”

  “DCI?” the woman replied with a slight frown.

  “Oh, sorry, I’m with the police. I’m a detective. I’d like to ask you some questions, if I may?”

  “Oh, you’re the people looking into Lizzy’s death, right?”

  “That’s right, ma’am,” Jon replied. “You’re Roza?”

  “Yes, I am. Hold on a moment, come in,” she said and stepped back into the room. Jon followed as she moved to pick up a coat. “I’d like to talk to you, actually, if you’ll just bear with me for a moment.”

  Roza walked through a set of double doors thrown wide into the next room. Beyond, Jon could make out a large, ornate wooden bed with an old man propped up in it, reading a newspaper. Roza walked up to him.

  “Mr Blythe, these police officers would like to talk to me,” she began.

  “What? Police?” He looked up. “What are you doing here? Hmm?”

  “Good day to you, sir,” Jon greeted him.

  “Don’t just stand there, young man. I can’t hear you, come over here.”

  Jon nodded and did as the man asked, approaching the bed. “Aaah, I see you now.”

  “This is Maxwell Blythe,” Roza said, introducing him. “Cecelia’s husband.”

  He looked significantly older than Cece and very frail. His face was heavily lined and covered in liver spots, while his skin looked thin and delicate. He peered at Jon through glasses perched on the end of his nose, as though he couldn’t see him properly.

  “Policeman, you say? What’s this about, boy? I see you brought your secretary with you,” Maxwell commented, waving an unsteady hand at Kate.

  Kate gave Jon a look with raised eyebrows but said nothing.

  “Sorry,” Roza mouthed.

  “We’re investigating a death, sir,” Jon replied.

  “I see. Well, I can’t stay here blabbering on. I’ve got work to get to, you know, up in the city.”

  “Not today, Maxwell,” Roza said, smiling at him. “You’re on your holiday, remember?”

  “Holiday?”

  “With your family.”

  “With Cece?”

  “And Chester,” Roza replied.

  “Aaah yes. We’ve just had a baby you see, young man,” Maxwell said. “Little Chester. He’s the bonniest baby you’ve ever seen. But you know that, don’t you, Doctor? You were at the birth.”

  Roza gave Jon a thin apologetic smile and shrugged. Maxwell was clearly having issues with his memory. It was probably the reason that they hadn’t seen him up and about during their time here, given how frail he seemed to be.

  “He’s a lovely boy,” Jon replied.

  “That he is, young man, that he is.”

  Roza turned on the TV and chose a channel, making sure that Maxwell could see it. “There you go. I’ve just got to head out for a few minutes, okay?”

  “Yes, yes, of course. Let me watch this,” he said, suddenly not interested in what she had to say.

  Roza nodded and walked back towards them. “He’ll stay there for hours,” she said.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Quite sure. It’s the only way I get a break.”

  “We could arrange something, maybe get someone to watch him?”

  “No, no. I’ll find Cece on the way out, let her know,” Roza replied. “Not that she’ll do anything.”

  Jon raised his eyebrows as he followed Roza out of the room, glancing back at Maxwell as he sat glued to the TV. He couldn’t help but notice the barbed comment aimed towards Cece and wondered if there was some animosity there.

  Minutes later, after Roza had found and told Cece about what she was doing, they stepped outside into the grounds of the house and started walking.

  “I’ve heard some of what you’ve been up to,” Roza said. “Investigating Lizzy’s death. She was killed, right? Murdered?”

  “We believe so,” Jon replied.

  “We’ve not seen you around much,” Kate stated.

  “That’s because I don’t get away from Maxwell very often. He’s a full-time job, what with his Alzheimer’s. It doesn’t leave me with much time, and Cece’s not one for looking after him either.”

  “Is she not?” Kate asked.

  “No. She does the bare minimum. That’s what she pays me for, or, that’s what she’d say, anyway.”

  “I see. So, tell me about the day of Lizzy’s murder,” Jon asked. “What did you do?”

  “I was with Maxwell during the day, helping him navigate the party, getting him drinks and something to eat. I was busy with him all day. I took him up to bed early. He gets tired so, he can’t stay up late.”

  “And in the evening, did you leave Maxwell’s room?”

  “Not really. I ended up staying the night and sleeping on the sofa because I could see that Cece wasn’t in any state to look after him, and I wasn’t about to have that on my conscience. But, I did hear an argument.”

  “An argument? You’re sure?” Jon asked.

  “Oh, positive.”

  “Between who?” Kate pressed.

  “I didn’t see them, but I’m positive it was between Lizzy and Veronica.”

  “What time was this?”

  “About twenty-to-eleven,” she answered.

  “Do you remember what was said?” Jon pressed.

  “Of course. Veronica was accusing Lizzy of stressing Harold out. She said that Lizzy could kill him by getting him worked up and that she should be careful. Lizzy argued her side, telling Veronica not to be ridiculous, but Veronica kept going, said she should be more considerate and think about the family more. Said she was a very self-centred girl.”

  “You’re sure about this?”

  “Quite sure. They weren’t shouting or anything, though. It was all in hushed voices. I think they were trying to be quiet, but I could hear them plainly enough through the door. I think the argument continued, but they moved away from Maxwell’s room, so I didn’t hear any more.”

  “How certain are you that this was between Veronica and Lizzy?”

  “About as sure as anyone could ever be without seeing them, you know? I know their voices. I’d recognise them anywhere.”

  “Was that all you heard?” Kate asked.

  “That was all I heard that was interesting. I heard the others come upstairs, and Cece came to see Maxwell, but went to her own room.”

  “She doesn’t sleep in the same bed?” Kate asked, incredulous.

  “Hasn’t done for years,” Roza replied. “I drifted off to sleep but woke around twenty-past-one and needed a drink. So I went downstairs and found Piers in the kitchen. He was, I don’t know, stressed, maybe? He seemed angry but looked embarrassed when he spotted me. Then he went upstairs.”

  “And he was in the kitchen?” Jon asked.

  “That’s right, near the oven,” Roza answered.

  Near the knife rack, Jon thought, suspicious.

  “Did you see anyone else?” Kate asked.

  “Portia and Spencer on the patio, smoking, but I don’t think they saw me.”

  “Did you see Lizzy during the party at all?” Kate asked.

  “Yeah. We get on. I always liked her, and we talked a few times during the day.”

  “About what?”

  “Not much, really. I did ask her about an investigation she was doing, though.”

  “Oh. You know about that?” Jon asked.

  “You know about it too?”

  “Harold told us yesterday.”

  “Interesting. Well, she came to me a while ago, asking questions about
Cece. We got to talking, and…” Roza paused mid-sentence and then sighed. “Look, I’m only telling you this because I think you need to know and because Lizzy is dead. But she told me about Harold wanting to know more about his family, and who they were. So I was only too happy to tell her about Cece, and what she’s doing.”

  “Cece? What is she doing?”

  “She’s a gold digger. She married Maxwell for his money, and she’s been conspiring to make sure she gets it when he finally passes. All the paperwork is in place, everything. She stands to inherit his fortune when he passes, and Maxwell is completely oblivious to it.”

  “And you know this for certain?”

  “I’m with that family all day, every day. I see and hear stuff. I don’t mention it, I don’t talk about it, I just get on with my job, but I listen and watch. I’m not sure there’s much I can do anyway though. Or, I wasn’t until Lizzy told me about what she was doing for Harold. I think she had an idea of what was going on, I just confirmed it for her. Besides, I don’t like the idea of Maxwell being robbed, even if it is by his wife.”

  “And was this mentioned during the party at all?” Kate asked.

  “I asked when she was going to tell Harold what she knew, but she was quite vague about it.”

  A thought clicked in Jon’s mind. “Did anyone overhear that conversation?”

  “I don’t think so,” Roza replied, but Jon wasn’t so sure. It fitted almost exactly with what Spencer had got from Chester. Whether Roza realised it or not, he was willing to bet that Chester overheard that conversation, he then told Spencer, which led to Harold being taken to hospital.

  “Lizzy wasn’t talking much to the rest of her family. They don’t seem to get on well, but I’ve always liked her. She’s much less aloof and superior than the rest of them. Portia, too. I like her. I’ll miss Lizzy.”

  “Was there anything else?”

  “No, I think that was all, really. I was thinking that I should probably talk to you and let you know what I saw and heard that night. The family tend to forget I’m around, so I’ve heard all sorts over the years. But that’s all I have for you, really. I hope it’s helpful.”

  “It is, very,” Jon replied. “Thank you.”

  “Not a problem,” Roza said as they turned back to the house and made for the side door again. As they approached, Jon spotted a slim figure standing beside the door. As they got closer, Jon realised it was Portia. She stepped away from the house and approached.

  “Thank you, Roza. We’ll be in touch if we need anything further,” Jon said, stopping to let Roza walk on, and Portia approach.

  Realising what was going on, Roza nodded, and pressed on, greeting Portia as they passed one another. Jon noted they seemed to be on friendly terms as they smiled.

  “So, Cece has a motive too,” Kate whispered before Portia got close.

  “I think they all do,” Jon replied. Spencer with his criminal connections, Piers with his affairs, Cece with her gold-digging. I’d bet good money that Vivian somehow swindled the money out of that movie star she married.”

  Kate frowned and nodded, but seemed a little troubled too. “Best not to jump to any conclusions.”

  Jon nodded his agreement. “I know, But these guys keep giving me reasons to suspect them.”

  “Hmm,” Kate muttered as Portia drew close.

  “Can I talk to you?” the girl asked. “I need to tell you something.”

  18

  “Of course,” Kate replied and smiled at Portia.

  Jon smiled too but was aware that Kate had a better manner than he did, and he didn’t want to scare Portia off. She looked nervous, and there seemed to be tears in the corners of her eyes.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sure you’re busy, but I really needed to talk to you. I had to. I just… I couldn’t let her get away with…” Portia sighed. “Has my mother spoken to you yet?”

  “No,” Kate replied. “We’ve been looking into all of the family, though.”

  Portia nodded. “Okay. So, did you find anything out about Carter Burton?”

  “We did, yes. That’s your father, right? Your mother's ex-husband?”

  “Right,” Portia replied. “Do you know what happened between them?”

  Jon kept his mouth shut. He was interested to see where this might go and was keen to push for whatever information Portia was willing to give them, but this was going into a sensitive area, and he felt that Kate should be the one to take the lead.

  He was, however, very aware that they didn’t have a responsible adult with them. This worried him, but he didn’t want to interrupt the relationship that Kate was building with the young woman.

  “If you’re referring to the court case and the accusation of rape she levelled against him, then yes, we’re aware.”

  Portia nodded and paused, taking a moment to herself and a deep breath before she looked back up at Kate. “She’s lying.”

  “About what?” Kate asked, her voice calm and even… measured.

  “She wasn’t raped. She lied about it just to get the money from him. She did it on purpose, and… and it makes me sick. I hate it. I can’t stand it.”

  “She’s said this to you?” Kate asked, sounding as shocked as Jon felt.

  “Yeah. She’s bragged about it to me several times. Said she made it up to get what was rightfully hers.”

  “Rightfully?”

  “I don’t think she did well out of the divorce. She wanted more. She was also angry about the film roles he got her. They made her a laughing stock in Hollywood for a while. She hated that. That was the start of everything going downhill, but it ended with the divorce and the court case.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kate said.

  “It’s okay. I just… I had to tell you. I couldn’t let it lie anymore. I hate women like her. You can’t just lie about this stuff. It’s incredibly harmful to those of us who’ve been victims.”

  Jon noticed Kate’s reaction to what Portia had just said, in part because he’d picked up on the implication of her words as well. He glanced at Kate, who briefly met his gaze and gave him a tiny nod.

  “Portia, are you saying you’ve been a victim?”

  The girl nodded and broke down crying, her tears flowing freely as a racking sob burst forth. Kate pulled her in close, hugging her and patiently waiting for Portia to bring her emotions under control.

  Eventually, sniffing, she stepped back from Kate, wiping her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay, we’re on your side. If you want to share with us, you can, but you don’t have to…”

  She nodded, and for a moment stood in silence. “I was raped several years ago,” she said eventually. “I never reported it. I didn’t say anything to anyone for ages. I was ashamed. Lizzy was the only person I eventually told.”

  “Lizzy knew?”

  “Before my…” she floundered for a moment, “…experience, I found Lizzy one day, upset. I comforted her, and she told me that she’d been attacked.”

  “By who?”

  “I don’t know. No one in the family, she said that much. But she wouldn’t say who it was. She just said she’d been raped. I remember how fragile she looked, how broken. I’d always thought of her as strong, you know? She was the tough one. I always admired that about her. So, when it happened to me, she was the only person I knew I could talk to. She understood, unlike my mother. I couldn’t talk to her, not after what she did to Carter. She ruined him, destroyed his life and for what? Some money she’s squandered on clothes and booze. It really just… it makes me sick to my stomach.”

  “That’s understandable,” Kate replied. “So, you had a connection to Lizzy, a kind of shared nightmarish experience.”

  “We understood one another. We helped each other.”

  “That’s good, I’m glad you found one another.”

  “No one knows about this, by the way. No one. Well, apart from you two.”

  “We won’t tell anyone if you don’t want us to.”

&n
bsp; “Thanks,” Portia replied.

  “So, were you two friends?”

  “Yeah. We kept in touch, swapped messages. We could help each other through the darker moments when things got too much.”

  “Do you know if she got herself into any trouble? Did she know anything that might get her killed?”

  “I knew she was investigating the family, looking into things,” Portia answered. “I helped her look into my mother. Told her what I knew, and found stuff for her. You know, it’s not right that Lizzy’s dead. She must have found something out. I don’t know what, though.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Kate reassured her. “Thank you for telling us. I can arrange for some help for you, if you like? There’s plenty out there for victims like yourself.”

  “Yeah, thanks. I think… send me the details. I’ll have a look.”

  “I will. Can I get your number?” Kate asked as Jon’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Grabbing it, he stepped away from the two women and answered it, noting it was from the station.

  “Hello?”

  19

  “Jon.”

  “What’s up, Fox?” he replied, wondering what Nathan was calling about.

  “I thought you’d like to know, we’ve picked up Spencer’s car on the NPR system,” Nathan said. “It’s been spotted at the edge of Guildford. We’re tracking it now.”

  “Excellent,” Jon replied.

  “What do you want to do?”

  He considered his next actions. There were leads to follow up here, more people to talk to, but the discovery of Spencer’s car was just too intriguing.

  He debated it internally for a moment more, but there was no ignoring this. They needed to find Spencer, and maybe bring him in. He was one of their prime suspects, and the fact that he’d run away spoke volumes about his potential involvement in this case.

  They needed to bring him back in as soon as possible.

  “Okay, keep on it. Kate and I will drive in. You can direct us to him.”

  “Will do, guv,” Nathan replied, and the line clicked off. Kate turned to him as Portia walked off.