A Testament to Murder

by Vivian Conroy

  Had she herself decided to hide her injuries to prevent a scene? A scene in which she might not be believed as she was not a family member?

  Or had someone told her to cover up and keep her mouth shut?

  The overprotective father?

  Who had also fought with the mother about Jasper’s presence at the villa…

  Jasper thought long and hard. If he tried to talk to Anna Cane, he might just make things worse. She could deny knowing anything, out of mere fear of repercussions, and if they were seen together and Howard Jones got wind of it, he might think up some plan to remove the nurse from the villa. All for the sake of his son.

  As Jasper had explained to Howard the other day, he himself had no children and he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to feel the need to protect someone at all costs. Perhaps no matter what they had done.

  But he did wonder why Howard seemed to feel this strong urge. After all, if nothing had really happened, but a boat turning over and a little misunderstanding about whether Miss Cane could swim and save herself or not, why would Howard Jones act so skittish?

  He came to look for the boy, Jasper muttered to himself. Had he seen something? Does he know the full truth?

  A scream rent the air. It was feminine, high pitched and devastatingly loud among the rocks. It rippled away and then seemed to come back at Jasper. He stood like that, rooted to the ground, turning his head in the direction of the scream. He thought he saw something falling down the rocks. Something that reflected sunlight. He heard a crash, and more screaming. Bewildered voices. He saw figures running towards the vantage point.

  Clutching the binoculars, he began to run himself.

  * * *

  “We should never have left him alone there!” Patty shrieked as she stood with Koning beside her, staring down to where the water lapped at the rocks. “Someone should have stayed with him at all times. Where was Miss Cane?”

  “He told me to go get him water from the car and a hat.” Anna Cane stood tall and straight, her eyes on Patty as she spoke slowly. “He is my employer. I do what he asks me.”

  “Maybe you never went. Maybe you pushed him down!” Patty screeched. She felt Koning’s hand on her arm and heard him whisper, “Don’t.” But she didn’t care. She turned to Howard, who stood with a pale face and said, “Are you not going to do anything about this? That miserable little nurse just pushed Uncle Malcolm over the edge.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Patty,” Hugh said. Earlier he had been wearing a hat, but now his head was bare, the sun lighting up his blond hair. “Anna has got nothing to do with it.”

  “How do you know? Did you see her go to the car?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes, I did. I even walked with her to help her with the basket.”

  “What basket?” Patty asked.

  “This basket,” Hugh said, picking up a basket that stood on the ground. “It has sandwiches and fruit for our lunch.”

  “How can you talk about lunch when someone is dead?” Cecily wailed. She covered her face with both of her hands.

  “I’m merely pointing out,” Hugh said, “that nurse Cane and I were getting that basket from the car and we were nowhere near the vantage point when it happened.”

  Patty opened her mouth to say something, then just sobbed into her hands. Glancing through her fingers, she noticed how Cecily’s dress had rode up and there was a stain of something on the bright yellow. Something like… grease?

  “What exactly happened here?” a stern voice asked and Patty almost threw herself at Jasper to tell her version first. “Oh, Inspector, I’m so glad you are here.”

  “I’m not an inspector anymore.”

  “Nevertheless, you must investigate. Uncle Malcolm died.” Patty’s chest tensed as she put into words what was the best news she had ever had in her life. Koning had said the magical words to her, about the purple blossoming bougainvillea, so she had known exactly what day it was. Her name was on the will. She stood to inherit it all. And now that Malcolm had plunged down the cliffs into the sea, she…

  She could barely speak with excitement. “His wheelchair was shoved over the edge. Someone killed him. You must find out who it was.”

  “Maybe you did it yourself,” Cecily said. She eyed Patty from a mascara-streaked face. “I saw your red dress like a spot on the vantage point just before it happened.”

  “I was here,” Patty said, her breath catching. “But I walked away again. Mr Koning can testify to that. I had heard from Uncle Malcolm that we weren’t going to have lunch yet so I wandered off to look at the view.”

  She took Jasper’s arm. “You must make a list right away of where everybody was when it happened. It’s imperative you find out who did it as soon as possible.”

  Jasper said, “Of course I could ask questions if we’re agreed something criminal happened here. But I’m not sure…”

  “Here!” Patty pulled him to the edge and pointed down. “I can see a wheel of the wheelchair. Uncle Malcolm plunged to his death.”

  She added quickly, “Poor soul. What a terrible way to die.”

  Jasper stared down with a frown. “I see what you mean. It does seem like a wheel of the chair is lying there. But I don’t see the rest of it.”

  “It must have broken in the fall. The rest must be in the water. With… Uncle Malcolm’s body.” Patty thought it wise to sob in her hands again.

  Hugh said, “Patty’s statement about Malcolm saying lunch wasn’t ready yet proves nurse Cane and I were away from the scene getting the basket for the lunch. You can cross us off the list right away.”

  Jasper said, “If an accident happened here, it’s more of a matter for the French police.”

  “Nonsense,” Cecily said. “None of us speaks a word of French. We need someone to protect us or we’ll all get accused. Wrongly. You must help us. You’re one of us. I mean, a fellow Englishman.”

  Patty peeked through her fingers how Jasper was taking this. He seemed to be torn between leaving the matter with the right authorities and diving right in. She bet he could be like a bloodhound on a trail once he was released.

  Her heart beat fast. Marrying Hugh had seemed risky, but this was infinitely riskier. An investigation might also mean a closer look at her past. Could the inspector find out about Leo? That could bring everything she had built crashing down around her. Still she had never felt so alive.

  Jasper looked around. “Are we all here? Where is Kenneth?”

  “I saw him a minute ago,” Howard rushed to say. “I think he was studying some insect he spotted.”

  “And he didn’t hear the screaming and come running to see what was happening here?” Jasper hitched a brow. “I think we should look for him before he vanishes.”

  “If you’re implying that Kenneth had anything to do with this…” Howard hissed.

  Anna Cane stepped forward as if she wanted to say something, but Hugh put a hand on her arm.

  Patty narrowed her eyes. What had her husband going with this little nurse? Why had he come to her aid, claiming they had been together when the murder had happened? Did Hugh know Anna had done it and was shielding her?

  “Hello!” Kenneth’s youthful voice carried far.

  They all turned to look in the distance where the path ended in a wilderness. Kenneth stood there, with…

  Malcolm leaning on his arm.

  Patty’s mouth fell open. This could not be true. Malcolm was dead. He had fallen down the rocks. He was dead. He had to be dead.

  She could barely stop herself from screaming.

  Cecily did it for her, clapping her hands to her mouth to stop the sound. Howard looked like he was seeing a man come back from the dead and Hugh grabbed nurse Cane by the arm and the girl winced like struck.

  Patty didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Malcolm was not dead. It was her day as sole heir and he was not dead. She hadn’t inherited anything.

  Yet.

  * * *

  “Why did you say we were togeth
er?”

  The soft voice behind his back made Hugh jerk. The whiskey in his glass spilled over the edge on the white fabric of his crisp trousers. He had changed out of his sweaty outfit as soon as they had been back at the villa. But the lukewarm water of his bath had not been able to wash away the sense of being hot, dirty and afraid.

  Mostly afraid.

  Anna Cane came to sit beside him. She had also changed, into another dress. This one was red. The sleeves were only three quarters long and on her bare lower arms the angry scratches stood out. “Are you not covering them anymore?” Hugh asked.

  Anna shrugged. “It’s too hot to be covered every single day. I’ll lie and say I got caught in brambles. Or something.” She held his gaze with her own mesmerizing eyes. “Why did you say we were together when it happened?”

  “Nothing happened. Malcolm is still alive and well.”

  “Someone pushed his chair over the edge.”

  “Yes, an empty chair. That makes no sense.” Hugh took a deep draft from his glass. Normally alcohol burned down his throat but now it was like an icy finger touched him. The finger of death.

  Anna said, “It could make a lot of sense if someone wants to scare us. Provoke us. See what we would do if we believed Mr Bryce-Rutherford was dead. Murdered by one of us.”

  Hugh didn’t reply and Anna added, “The first thing you did was give yourself an alibi.”

  Hugh wanted to protest but she put a finger on his lips. “Don’t deny it. You can say you were just being gallant and helping me out, but I know better. You weren’t vouching for me. You needed me to vouch for you.”

  Her blue eyes peered deep into his. “I was at the car getting the basket. But where were you?”

  Hugh pouted his lips as if he was kissing her finger. She pulled it away. “This is not the time to play games. Did you push the chair over the edge?”

  She added in a rush, “I believe that if you did, you did it to provoke the real killer, who is waiting to get to Mr Bryce-Rutherford. You want to stop him before he can strike. I know that. I also know that when you realized I was getting accused you pretended you were with me to make sure I didn’t get into any trouble. You could help me and help yourself at the same time. It was brilliant. So very, very clever.”

  Hugh smiled as her praise washed over him. For the first time since the incident he relaxed a little. “Yes, it was very clever,” he said quickly. “You need to be clever, you know, when you want to outwit a killer.”

  “Do you know whose name is on the document today? Who might be lurking to strike?”

  Hugh shook his head. “But I do know that Howard has access to a gun.”

  It had little to nothing to do with the wheelchair affair, but as he had expected, Anna’s eyes widened and she stared at him. “A gun?” she whispered. “You mean, especially to…”

  “He claims he found it in the villa. But I’m not so sure. He came after me last night and he almost shot me.”

  Anna grabbed his arm. “Oh, no. What happened then?”

  “I wrestled with him and took the gun away from him. I told him it was stupid to walk about with a loaded gun. He claimed he had believed he was going to catch a burglar. But he lied. Howard isn’t the type to go see what it is when he hears noises in the night. Besides, he is just a guest here. Why bother? If something got stolen…”

  “He thinks he will inherit it all,” Anna said. “He is protecting it already as if it was his own.”

  Hugh nodded, caught up in his fantasy about last night’s events. “He told me a few things that are very telling. I mean, he didn’t mean to reveal them of course, but… I caught on to them right away.”

  Anna said, “Do you think Kenneth is involved as well?”

  Hugh held her gaze. “You know that better than me. You never did tell me why Kenneth would want to kill you.”

  Anna shifted weight, moving away from him. A cold draft breathed between them like an abyss opened up.

  Hugh said, “You need not protect him. You don’t owe him anything.”

  “I can’t tell you. If he finds out...”

  “Kenneth? You think he will try again?”

  “No, his father. Mr Jones threatened to hurt me if I told what really happened with the boat. Oh, Hugh, I’m so afraid.” She threw her arms around his neck and fell against him.

  He held her tightly, breathing the scent of her sweet perfume wafting from her soft hair. She muttered against him, “Now that you told me that Mr Jones owns a gun, I’m even more afraid. What if he does try to kill me?”

  “You must make sure you’re never alone. And turn the key in the lock of your bedroom door every night. Guard yourself.” Hugh patted her back. She was shaking all over. “I will be there for you, Anna. I promise.”

  Anna made a soft desperate sound.

  Hugh said, “If you’re really that afraid, you could leave.”

  “No!” She sat up and eyed him indignantly. “I must stay. I… Mr Bryce-Rutherford depends on me. I can’t just walk away.”

  Hugh had the feeling there was more to it, but she didn’t say any more. He took her hands in his and said, “I’ll be there for you, Anna. You can rely on that.”

  * * *

  Patty didn’t know what she hated more: the wasted energy on her little act of grief at the rocks, while Malcolm had not been dead at all, or the idea that the hours of her turn to inherit ticked away with nobody doing anything to make sure Malcolm actually died.

  She supposed that he did understand what his wheelchair’s plunge down the rocks meant and that he would be extra careful now, so it probably made little sense to expect that someone would do something, but to her mind it was unbearable to just continue like they had before the incident. There were so many unanswered questions. Had Hugh really helped the nurse with the lunch basket? Where had Howard been? Why was Cecily’s dress stained? Had it been oil from the wheelchair’s wheel? Had she leaned against it in her attempt to shove it over the edge?

  But why an empty chair?

  That was crazy.

  Patty pushed her hands to her temples, then shocked upright as the gong for dinner resounded. She got up and looked around for her turquoise bracelet which she had handled this morning before leaving, undecided whether it was too heavy to wear. She had put it aside then, deciding on another one that fitted better with her dress.

  Oh, there on the windowsill.

  She walked over, reached down to fetch it, absentmindedly letting her gaze wander the view outside. Then she leaned over, suddenly with the quick swoop of a bird of prey closing in for the kill. Pressing her forehead against the pane, she narrowed her eyes. Hugh, walking towards the villa, with nurse Cane beside him. Deep in conversation.

  If those two carried that lunch basket up from the car together, I will eat my hats.

  All of them!

  Patty turned away from the window. There was an intimacy between those two that was hard to forge in just a few days together. Had they known each other before they came here? Had nurse Cane worked for one of the friends of Hugh’s domineering mother? Had he met her there and fallen for her? Had he, out here, suddenly been reunited with an old flame?

  What if the two of them were concocting some kind of plan to blame her, Patty, for the murder?

  Patty stood and pushed her thumb against her lips. When she had decided to marry Hugh, she had also decided that as soon as she had what she had wanted of him, she’d get rid of him somehow. The current developments meant she’d have to act sooner than she had imagined.

  Deep in thought, she walked down the stairs. The others were already in the dining room. Malcolm was seated at the table with Koning and the butler fussing over him.

  Howard and Cecily exchanged odd looks, while Kenneth stood at the window looking into the garden. Had he also seen Hugh with nurse Cane? That might be helpful.

  The two of them came in moments later, separately. First the nurse hurrying to the side of the old man and offering him a glass of table water,
even though he didn’t seem to want anything. And Hugh hovering by the door frame, the prototype of the bored artist, not eager to sit down to yet another dragging dinner with family and friends.

  Theodora wore white tonight, something with lace like she was a bride. She sat down beside Malcolm in what was usually Cecily’s place and said to him, “I have to talk to you later tonight, Malcolm. You will be grateful if you listen to me well. Your wheelchair might not be the most expensive to replace, but your life is worth so much more.”

  She glanced round the table. “Later,” she whispered in a loud enough voice for all to overhear. “When we are together. I will give you…” She leaned over to him and said the last words so low Patty didn’t catch them. But she thought the word name was in it.

  The name of whom? Of the person who had pushed the wheelchair over the edge?

  The name of Malcolm’s would-be killer?

  Chapter Nine

  Howard sat in the butler’s pantry alone, gulping down more whiskey than he normally drank in a month. His head was whirling with events, with things people had said and done, the looks on their faces when they had supposed Malcolm was dead. He tried to remember who had looked gleeful, happy, or at least not very surprised.

  But they had all seemed shocked and undone. All but that bitch Theodora. Where had she been? He could not even remember. But she had to have been able to watch all of them or else she couldn’t know anything. Something important as well.

  He clutched the glass. He had to go through with the plan he had suggested to Hugh. It had been a stupid impromptu plan but now there was no other way. He had to find out who was named in the will for this new day. Then Hugh and he had to create the perfect opportunity for the killer to strike. And they had to catch him in the act.

  Howard put the glass down and checked his watch. One o’clock. He could be pretty certain that Malcolm was done with his mysterious business in the study and that he and those who helped him had retired for the night. All Howard had to do was get into the study and then into the safe.