Filigrees, Fortunes and Foul Play

by Emily Selby

  Katie blinked. A craft shop? She'd really love it, but how realistic was it? How much work would the building require, particularly now, after the fire? Would she be able to afford it? And how would this work, given the location? A shop far away from the town centre?

  Katie chewed on her lower lip.

  'How generous of her. Not only the workshop, but also, if not first of all, her belief in me.'

  'I think she even had a name for the shop.' The solicitor sighed. 'Ever since she was young she wanted to have her own craft shop, or workshop, but women didn't have that much freedom in those days. She told me she'd wanted to call it Phyllis' Filigrees. So, her dream was that you named the shop like that. I understand, you both shared a passion for paper filigrees, I'm not quite sure what it is, but this is noted in the letter she added to her will.'

  Katie's heart sank. Phyllis' Filigrees? Oh, the irony! Poor Phyllis Dunbar was killed by what she loved.

  Katie swallowed hard. 'Yes, I quite like the idea in theory, but... I'm not sure what to say.' Katie stuttered. 'Thank you very much for all you help. I need to process it all. I'll give you a ring later.'

  Katie hang up, stunned. She couldn't stop thinking how ironic Phyllis' Dunbar death was in the context of her final wishes.

  19

  Jack returned to the staff room. Katie grabbed the pile of post and other documents for filing from her in-tray. Celia was watching the screens from the CCTV cameras.

  'A lot of hand waving for one man,' Celia commented.

  'Julian is quite expressive, I must say,' Katie said reluctantly. 'This, together with his directness, which is sometimes just blunt, can make for an intimidating encounter.'

  'Sad that he isn't in his top form. I hope Mr Fischer gets help soon for whatever health problems he's having,' Celia said. 'A nice couple, the Fischers. She runs the cafe in town, doesn't she?'

  Katie nodded, thinking back to all the information she learnt earlier at the same cafe. She really did need to talk to Jack about it.

  'When do you think they'll be done?' she asked.

  'It shouldn't take long at this stage,' Celia replied hesitantly, 'but with Mr Fischer, a lot depends on how he takes it. They need clear evidence before proceeding further.'

  'Further?'

  'To get the vicar in.'

  Ah, so the focus shifted towards the vicar. She just had to wait and see. And get hold of Jack at the earliest opportunity.

  Katie retreated to her office to attack the reports. She left the door open, officially in case anyone needed her help. Unofficially, to keep an eye, or ear on events. She carried on with her work. The silence in her tiny office and the staff room next door was punctuated with the clanking of two keyboards. Celia must have become busy with her paperwork as well.

  'They're coming.' Celia interrupted her workflow.

  Katie stepped out to check if she could catch the Inspector. At the same moment, the back door opened with a click. Katie's jaw dropped as Reverend Allan Miller walked in, with two officers on either side. Katie didn't see handcuffs though.

  'I need to check the situation in the interview room, please wait here.' Celia rushed towards the new arrivals.

  She disappeared in the interview room and emerged after a few moments to usher the trio inside. She returned to the office.

  'Julian Fischer is gone. He didn't want to meet the vicar here. Understandably. A great deal of money is missing from the church's account.'

  'So, there was something wrong with the parish finances. Phyllis was right.' Katie said.

  'She might have been.'

  'Do you think this is motive for her murder?'

  'We're investigating this angle as well,' Celia said with a serious tone.

  'Is the vicar being questioned about her death?'

  'At this stage, it's only about the finances.' Celia's voice returned to normal. 'But there is a chance he could have returned to Sunnyvale on the day of Dunbar's murder earlier than he claims.'

  Katie raised her eyebrows. That was an interesting avenue.

  'Gosh, I'm exhausted,' Celia moaned. 'And I still have all this paperwork to finish. Are you making fresh coffee?'

  'Sounds like a good idea.'

  Katie rinsed the pot and prepared the brew. As soon as the smell of coffee filled the air, Jack appeared at the door.

  'Any chance of a fresh cup?' he asked, smiling.

  'Of course, sir.' Katie replied, her heart skipping a beat. This was her opportunity to catch his attention, but Celia was faster.

  'What's the news, sir?' Celia asked getting up to grab a clean cup from the shelf.

  'The vicar has admitted to using church money to pay some personal debts. That's why there have been fewer donations recorded. He's been pocketing them. He intended to pay it back as soon as his investments paid off,' Jack said in a matter-of-fact way. 'They're taking him away for further questioning.'

  'Is it linked with the murder, you think?' Katie asked, handing him a steaming mug.

  'It's not clear yet. But he admitted Mrs Dunbar had confronted him about the missing money some time mid-August.'

  'Did he make Julian cook the books?'

  'The vicar convinced Julian Fischer to delay some of the entries and reassured him everything would be okay once the investments paid off. Mr Fischer had been fine with this arrangement until his last argument with Phyllis, and even more since her death.'

  'It looks like our vicar had a good motive to get rid of Phyllis. And to do it before she met with the vice chairman,' Katie said slowly.

  Jack nodded, sipping on his coffee.

  'Is the vicar a suspect now?'

  'He insists he has a good alibi for the murder. We've already checked it with his friend in Alnwick. It's at least a two-hour drive from here. But in the light of the new evidence, I'd like to recheck it.'

  Jack grabbed the phone.

  'I wonder if Barbara was just at the wrong place at the wrong time?' he said to himself and punched a number in. He waited a while.

  'May I speak with Mr Steven Leonard?' Jack said. The person on the other end must have been the man, because Jack introduced himself and jumped into further questions.

  'More evidence has come to light and we have further questions regarding your meeting with Allan Miller, who, I understand is your friend. Mr Leonard, can you confirm the date, time, and place you met with him, and how long you spent together, please?'

  A brief silence.

  'I'm not really able to give you this sort of information, Mr Leonard, but this is in relation to a murder investigation.'

  Jack gestured to her that he needed a pen and a piece of paper. Katie quickly supplied them, and Jack jotted down some details.

  'Let me just double check it with you,' he said picking up the paper and reading aloud. 'You and Reverend Miller met on the 26th of September, at your address, around 10 am. He had just driven up from Sunnyvale. You had a quick chat and showed him the audio equipment for the church fete. It took about twenty minutes. You invited him for a coffee to your house, but he declined. Apparently, he wanted to grab a coffee to go, as he had some more business in town. He appeared in a hurry.'

  Another pause. Jack kept nodding.

  'Thank you very much, Mr Leonard. That's very helpful. Yes, I understand you didn't realise what this was about. No problem. I'm glad you clarified this matter for us. Thank you, sir. Goodbye.'

  He disconnected. Katie and Celia looked at him in silence.

  'The vicar lied?' Katie asked. 'I wonder where he went to get that coffee and more business...'

  'Me too. I hope I'm about to find out,' Jack said with a mysterious smile and walked out.

  Katie took a few minutes to think about what she had heard, and sifted through the gossip for information useful to the enquiry. She made some notes for Jack. Once she had it well organised, she went out to talk to him. He was in the reception area, with a phone pressed to his ear. He listened with a smile.

  Another phone rang, and Katie answer
ed it.

  'This is Dr Robbs from ICU. Can I speak with DI Heaton please?'

  'Hi, Emily,' Katie greeted her friend, Linda's daughter cheerfully. 'It's Katie. How are you?'

  'Oh, hi! I'm fine, thanks. I can't say the same about your key witness though.'

  Katie's heart sunk. 'What do you mean?'

  'I'm calling your inspector about Barbara Cambridge. I have terrible news. I’m afraid she died about half an hour ago.'

  'What? Apparently, she was in a stable state last night.'

  There was a long pause on the other side of the line. 'That's why I really need to talk to the inspector.'

  Katie gulped and glanced at Jack. He was still smiling and nodding into the other phone. He noticed her and when she gestured that the call she was holding was for him, he showed her 'two ticks' sign with his fingers.

  'Hold on. He'll be with you shortly. Oh, Emily?'

  'Yes?'

  'Can you tell me how she died?'

  'I really shouldn't, but I mean you work at the police anyway. But don't tell anyone you've got it from me. This will be up to the police to confirm, but we think someone might have fiddled with her drip. She ended up with the wrong medicine.'

  'Do you think it might have been an honest mistake?'

  'The hospital will investigate, of course, but two nurses checked the drip at the time it was given to her. This is our procedure. We think someone might have tampered with the drip sometime this morning. She died in her sleep, if that's any consolation.'

  'This is awful.'

  Jack's face suddenly appeared in Katie's vision field. His blue eyes were smiling, but the moment he caught her expression, the sparkles disappeared.

  'Hold on, the inspector is here. I'm passing you to him.' Katie handed him the receiver.

  'Emily McKay, I mean Dr Robbs from the hospital.'

  Jack introduced himself and then he listened. He’d been doing an awful lot of listening today. He was getting better at it. He asked a few questions, most of them similar to those just asked by Katie.

  'Thank you, Dr Robbs. We'll be there in a few minutes. Please, make sure no one touches anything.'

  He put the phone down and looked at her.

  'I know, Barbara died,' Katie blurted out.

  Jack took a long deep breath. His face was grey, his cheeks appeared sunken.

  'My fault. I should have kept someone watching her at all times.' He rubbed his face with his both hands 'Damn it, I should have protected her!'

  Katie waited silently, searching for the words to ease his pain.

  'But how would you even know? Wasn't she a suspect, too?'

  'No, she wasn't! Never.'

  'There has been a lot of bad blood between Barbara and Phyllis, apparently. I was going to tell you this morning.'

  'You can tell me on the way to hospital.'

  'But I'm not an officer. Did you forget?' Katie's ears were red hot.

  'Sorry, Katie. Fill me in when I'm back,' he said and rushed out of the station.

  20

  When Jack returned to the office, Katie was getting ready to leave. He looked preoccupied and didn't even glance at her. He marched straight to the boss' office, and Celia went with him.

  Katie considered sticking around to talk to Celia, but there was no way to tell how long they would be. She scribbled the key information on a sticky note, added her phone number underneath and a 'Call me if you need more details message. She left it in Jack's cubbyhole. To make sure he picked it up, she texted him.

  She walked out, keen to reach Willow Park on time for her first cleaning session.

  Willow Park was a cosy nursing home, with three wings, grouping residents based on the level of care required. There was also a section dedicated to physiotherapy, massages and other physical therapy treatments open to non-residents.

  Katie had been booked to fill in for a sick worker on the Willow Park’s cleaning team, and at the same time get a feel for what the job was like. So far, she had only worked in private homes, industrial cleaning was a different beast. On top of this, given her family situation, Katie couldn’t commit to working shifts.

  The work wasn't too difficult. What she didn't know, she was able to learn quickly, and her teammates were keen to help.

  When they took an afternoon break, Katie sat on a bench on the patio. A bit overwhelmed with everything that had been going on in the previous few days, she wanted to catch some late afternoon light and breathe in the fresh air.

  Autumn had always been her favourite season, and Willow Park’s garden was a perfect place to enjoy it. Colourful begonias adorned baskets hanging over the patio, while the flowerbeds displayed beautiful heather in various shades of pink, lilac and purple. The main alley was glistening with golden and red leaves. Katie breathed in the crisp air, smelling of wood, and old leaves. She closed her eyes, enjoying the warm sunlight on her face.

  'Hello Katie, how are you my dear?'

  A familiar voice pulled her out of her contemplation of seasonal changes. She opened her eyes.

  'Hi, Dorothy, I'm fine. How are you?' Katie greeted one of the seasoned Paper Crafts Club members. 'You're looking great. I can see those physio sessions are helping.'

  Dorothy Ravencroft had fallen off a ladder in the summer. She broke her hip, and had a hip replacement followed by an extensive rehabilitation. Still on crutches, but at least she was walking again.

  'They've fixed my leg. It's like new, but I'm sure all those metal screws and rods will set off any metal detectors for yards.' She gave a short laugh. 'But they're great here. This is my physiotherapist.' Dorothy looked at the young woman in white uniform who walked just behind her. 'She's awesome. Helped me walk again, and she's been helping keep my spirits up as well.'

  The physio excused herself leaving Dorothy and Katie alone.

  'You've been badly missed at the club meetings, Dorothy. When do you think you'd be able to join us again?'

  'I can use my hands but I’ll have problems with transport, and sitting for too long. Speaking of which, do you mind if I sit and chat with you for a few minutes.'

  'Not at all, it'd be great to catch up. I'm on my break.'

  Dorothy sat beside Katie.

  'Are you working here now?"

  'Only for the next week or so. Covering for sick leave. It's handy.'

  'Yes, now you've lost Phyllis. I'm so sorry about that, Katie. It must have been awful for you discovering her body.'

  Katie sighed. 'Yes, it was.' She pushed away her first thought of trying to change the subject - she was tired of talking about the murder, but a thought hit her. Dorothy Ravencroft, although younger than Mrs Dunbar, had lived in Sunnyvale most of her life and, having worked at the post office in her younger days, knew of many secrets. Katie decided to grab the opportunity.

  'And now, Barbara and Roy.'

  'Yes, I've heard that Barbara is in hospital.'

  Unsure if the latest dreadful news had the chance to hit the town, Katie opted for a safer approach.

  'What an awful thing to happen. First Phyllis, now Barbara being attacked. Why those two? Why target two absolutely harmless, even though not particularly popular senior citizens? '

  Dorothy nodded, while making soothing grunts.

  'Yes, yes. It’s absolutely unbelievable.'

  'Can you make any sense of it?'

  'Not really. Phyllis could be annoying, that's for sure. She drove me nuts many times with her need to stick to plans. "We agreed to do scrapbooking in October, we should do it. Why make plans, if one doesn't stick to them",' Dorothy mimicked Mrs Dunbar's high-pitched voice. 'Oh, sometimes I felt I wanted to strangle her with a piece of twine.'

  Katie glanced at her. Dorothy was known for her passionate comments but didn’t have a mean bone in her body. Even with this in mind, the comment sounded a little out of place.

  'Oh, sorry, dear. I didn't mean to say that. I didn't kill her. I didn't have any grievance against her. I had no motive, and I was here at my physio sess
ion when it all happened. And look'-she lifted her right leg, still in a protective strapping—'I can only walk with crutches.'

  Obviously, she’s thought it all through, including the alibi.

  'But,' Dorothy continued, her eyebrows raised, and her voice lowered, 'Barbara had a good reason to hate Phyllis, and I bet she's never forgotten. Sadly, our Barbara is not the forgetting or forgiving type. Which isn't something you would expect from a vicar's daughter, but then, who am I to judge?' Dorothy said and made a few grunting noises again. To Katie, Dorothy often appeared as if she was having a parallel conversation with herself.

  'At school, she was a quiet, serious girl. Didn't have much time for fun,' Dorothy picked up after a few seconds. 'Her mother died young. She was the oldest of the bunch. She looked after her siblings and helped her dad ran his office for a couple of years, even when she was in the nursing school.' She paused and looked away. 'I don't normally talk about these things, but I'm wondering if this is something important.'

  'What is it?'

  Dorothy glanced at Katie. Her round, brown eyes looking careful and serious.

  'Do you know about Barbara and William Dunbar?'

  Katie nodded. 'Miriam mentioned something.'

  'When William was working on something for the church, Barbara must have fallen in love with him. Apparently, he was going out with someone else at the time, but that silly girl dumped him. Barbara was first to offer her support to him, probably hoping he would propose to her. It went on for months, I believe. And then, he went away and came back engaged to Phyllis instead. Barbara hated Phyllis all her life. I wouldn't be surprised if Barbara had something to do with Phyllis' death.'

  Katie blinked and held her breath.

  'Do you think Barbara could have killed Phyllis?'

  'I don't want to accuse an innocent person, I've got no evidence, but it bothers me. I wonder if I should talk to the police about it. What do you think?'