To Love and to Perish

by steve higgs

  I could do this. I just needed to get to the hospital and into Derek’s room without getting caught.

  Drawing in a deep breath through my nose as I willed my brain to conjure a plan, I said, ‘Mindy we need to find a set of wheels. Can you hotwire a car?’

  Mindy burst out laughing. ‘Auntie what happened to you?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  She was still laughing. ‘Yesterday you were drinking tea from a fine china cup at your boutique in Rochester. Today you are a hardened criminal. I am starting to wonder when you will ask me if I know where to buy a gun.’

  She had a point. I’d broken so many rules today, so many laws, that stealing a car just didn’t seem like a big deal.

  With a little shake of her head, Mindy said, ‘There’s a car out front. I’m guessing it belongs to someone here because the number plate reads ‘B1EAK’. ‘If the car is here then the keys must be too. If you want a different car because the police are looking for mine, maybe we should take that one.’

  I nodded, chuckling at myself now. ‘Good plan. Let’s split up and find the keys.’

  Caught

  The car was Derek’s BMW seven series. I could tell that easily enough because the driver’s seat was ratcheted all the way back to accommodate his long legs. I had to bring it all the way forward just so I could touch the pedals. I knew the car was something Derek cherished so I insisted on driving – I didn’t want Mindy thrashing the gearbox the way she did her own car.

  We took hats from the hallway, a black bobble hat for me, and a ball cap for Mindy. With our sunglasses on, it was as good a disguise as we could hope for and I told myself any cops we saw wouldn’t look twice at us. They were looking for a sporty hatchback, not a motorway cruiser.

  Regardless of the confident voice in my head, I was so anxious with worry that my hands were shaking. I had to grip the steering wheel extra tight just to stop them.

  The journey from the Bleakwiths’ house to Maidstone hospital took just over thirty minutes. Mindy would have done it in ten, but I was being extra cautious and obeying all the road signs.

  We saw police cars on the way, each one making my pulse race even though it was already beating at twice its usual speed. None of the cops looked our way and I had to tell myself that I was seeing the usual amount of police. There were always cops on the road going here and there; today was no different. The difference was me noticing them.

  At the hospital that changed, because there were cops outside the door to Derek’s room.

  We had snuck in through A&E instead of using the main entrance where there might conceivably have been cops looking for me. Buster had to stay in the car. I took him most places, but we would never get through a hospital unchallenged with him at our sides.

  Thankfully, Buster thought guarding the car was a worthwhile task and that was how we sold it to him. I suspected he was going to be asleep before we made it inside.

  Now we were no more than a few yards from our destination, but there was no way we were going to be able to get past the two constables that stood between us and Derek.

  ‘What do we do?’ asked Mindy. ‘I guess I could give them a beating, but even dad might struggle to get me off if I tackle two guys in uniform. It’s not like I could claim I didn’t know they were police officers.’

  ‘No. No violence, Mindy.’ I insisted. ‘I have broken too many laws today already. This has to end now and if that means I go to jail while your dad argues to prove my innocence, then that is better than you, or anyone else, getting into trouble on my behalf.’ I gave her a hug. ‘You’ve been a great friend today, Mindy.’

  ‘Aw, you’re my favourite aunt, Aunt Flicka.’ She used the name she had for me when she was little and couldn’t manage all the syllables in Felicity. That I was her only aunt didn’t need to be mentioned. She broke the hug and wrinkled her brow. ‘I suppose I could take my clothes off and run along the corridor. I bet that would distract them. You could sneak in then and put the bust on Mrs Bleakwith.’

  Her alternative plan was not without merit and might work to boot, but I wasn’t going to let her try it.

  ‘Everything all right, ladies?’ asked a voice from behind us.

  We were sidled up against the corner of an intersecting corridor and peering around it. The man now switching his gaze from me to Mindy and back to me must have thought we looked suspicious, but he didn’t look to be hospital security. They wore uniforms and this man was wearing an old tweed jacket that was a size too big and his belly poked through it to force the two halves apart at the front. I judged his age to be somewhere close to sixty though he wasn’t wearing it well. He had a light tan as if he’d just returned from a trip somewhere and a knowing look that made me feel like I needed to guard what I said.

  Met by his warm smile, I nevertheless needed to get rid of him, but wanted to do so politely.

  ‘We’re just waiting for someone,’ I told him. Then, because it looked like we were hiding from the police around the corner, I added, ‘Do you know what the police are doing there?’

  The man waggled his eyebrows. ‘I do actually. Apparently, there’s a crazy woman who tried to kill the patient in that room. They think she might try again.’

  I said, ‘Goodness,’ and tried to act like the news was shocking. However, though I tried to stop my cheeks from flushing with red, they were doing their own thing and failed to match my words.

  Mindy hooked her hand into my elbow. ‘We should go, Auntie,’ she said with a tug to get me moving.

  The man took a step to his left to block my path and raised a hand to demand I stop. ‘Sorry, Mrs Philips,’ he was reaching into his jacket. From an inside pocket he produced a small black wallet which he flicked open to show his police identification. ‘I’m Detective Sergeant Mike Atwell. I’m supposed to arrest you on the spot, but I would like to have a little chat first if I may. Are you going to attempt to run?’ he asked. ‘Because that would be quite counterproductive.’

  My heart was hammering in my chest. I was caught. Remembering Mindy, I corrected my mental statement: we were caught. He wasn’t trying to arrest me though; at least not yet he wasn’t. He wanted to have a chat first. What the heck did that mean?

  He smiled and relaxed his posture. ‘I’ll take that as a yes. You seem to have caught the attention of my boss, Chief Inspector Quinn.’ My shoulders sagged upon hearing the man’s name, but my body language just made the detective chuckle. ‘Yes, he is something of an acquired taste.’

  ‘He thinks I am trying to kill my business partners. Thinks I already did kill one, actually.’

  ‘But you didn’t?’ The detective hitched an eyebrow and waited for my answer.

  Mindy snapped, ‘Of course she didn’t. She’s spent all day trying to work out what is going on and has it all figured out.’

  The detective swung his gaze to Mindy, and then back to meet my eyes, his expression showing surprise and interest. ‘That sounds a lot like someone I know,’ he commented without hinting at who he might mean. ‘So if you are not the killer, who is?’

  I sucked in a deep breath and went for it. ‘Mrs Bleakwith, the wife of the man in the room around the corner.’ Over the next two minutes I told him about the cream and the terrible rash and joint pain, about John arguing over Derek’s position and his attempt to kill him by shoving him over the balcony. I explained about Joanne’s affair with the doctor and how I thought the doctor was the one at Orion Print last night destroying evidence so the police wouldn’t be able to catch them. I had to admit I didn’t know what evidence it might have been.

  Detective Sergeant Mike Atwell listened almost without interruption. He asked a couple of clarifying questions but nodded along the whole time I was talking. Honestly, it felt great to have someone in the police who was prepared to listen to my side of the story. By the end of my tale, I was buoyed with confidence. I not only had it all figured out, but I had a mature police officer on my side to arrest Joanne and send officers to get Dr K
imble.

  I felt like punching the air.

  Once I was finished, Detective Sergeant Atwell pursed his lips and scratched his chin. ‘I think perhaps we had better speak with the Bleakwiths.’

  I couldn’t have agreed more. Maybe I did have the brain for solving mysteries after all.

  As we came around the corner and into the corridor, the two constables glanced our way. It took less than a second for their brains to get up to speed, their reactions impressive as they both turned to block our path. One was reaching for his radio, the other taking a step forward to intercept us.

  The detective sergeant stepped out from behind us. ‘Stand down, chaps,’ he ordered.

  Confusion shot through both constables. They had orders to arrest me on sight no doubt.

  ‘We’re to arrest Mrs Philips and her accomplice on sight, Sarge,’ the one coming towards us said, confirming my expectations.

  ‘They are already in my custody,’ DS Atwell replied. ‘Don’t they look like they are in my custody?’

  The lead constable made an uncertain face. ‘Well, they could do with being a bit more in cuffs, if you know what I mean, Sarge.’

  DS Atwell acted as if it were an amusing suggestion. ‘There hardly seems a need for that, Coruthers. I’m taking them to see the alleged victim.’

  Constable Coruthers’ eyes flared in shock at the announcement. ‘But, Sarge, that’s who we’re here to stop her getting to. She already tried to kill him once.’

  ‘No, I didn’t,’ I replied calmly. I felt oddly serene and in control. This was my party now.

  The young man’s eyes flitted between mine and DS Atwell’s. He had orders but his chain of command was not here and a senior detective was. ‘I need to check with the chief inspector,’ he announced, probably being wise in covering his backside.

  DS Atwell continued walking, steering me between the officers with a hand on my shoulder. ‘If you must. I’ll be inside sorting this mess out in the meantime.’

  It was clear the two young men in uniform did not feel comfortable letting us into Derek’s room, but the detective gave them no choice. He pushed on the door and stood aside to let Mindy and me go in.

  Derek was sitting up in bed, the pillow end of it tilted up to support his back. He shot me an apologetic smile. Joanne was on the far side of the bed, looking our way with a surprised expression. She was holding Derek’s hand, doing a good job of maintaining the façade of the loyal wife. Tamara was sitting on a chair in the corner, fiddling with her phone but got to her feet when she saw us coming in.

  She was the first to speak. ‘Mrs Philips. The police seem to think you pushed dad off the balcony.’

  Derek chuckled. ‘I already told them I jumped.’

  Theory in Pieces

  Like the needle jumping off the record, all the triumphant music in my head stopped in an instant.

  Showing my great intellect, I said, ‘Huh?’

  ‘I jumped,’ Derek repeated. ‘I just couldn’t take the pain anymore. It was tearing me apart. I know it was cowardly. Honestly, I think I was so delirious from the pain, I never really questioned my decision to jump. It would seem I have caused some drama.’

  Shaking my head in disbelief as my well-constructed theory fell apart, I asked, ‘Who else knows this?’

  Derek and Joanne both nodded their heads toward Detective Sergeant Atwell. ‘He does,’ they replied in unison.

  That Derek had attempted to take his own life was throwing me but that didn’t change the fact that Joanne was having an affair and was the one rubbing the deadly cream onto her husband’s skin every day.

  Feeling my face stretch into an ugly leer, I aimed it at Joanne. ‘Does the detective also know that you are the one who created Derek’s pain?’

  Joanne reacted as if slapped. ‘What?’

  Derek glanced up at his wife and then back at me. ‘What?’

  Tamara’s jaw fell open. ‘What?’

  I shook my head and held my chin high. ‘I’m sorry, Derek. Sorry that I must burden you with such terrible news. Your wife has been trying to kill you.’ The blood drained from Joanne’s face. ‘The cream she had been applying to your body is what has made you so sick.’

  ‘Yeah,’ chipped in Mindy, striding across the room to dump the cream on the bed. ‘This stuff is eating your skin.’

  Joanne looked like she wanted to back away, but the wall was right behind her and the only way out of the room was through all of us.

  ‘No,’ she denied my accusation. ‘No, I just did as the doctor told me.’

  ‘The doctor?’ I scoffed. ‘You mean your lover!’

  Derek could not believe what he was hearing. Still holding his wife’s hand as he stared up at her, he seemed unable to form a coherent sentence.

  Tamara did it for him. ‘Mum what is she talking about?’

  ‘You almost got away with it,’ I stated firmly. ‘Almost, but I saw your scarf in his surgery today.’

  ‘Is that where I left it?’ she questioned.

  ‘And I saw the parking permit for the golf club, Joanne. The same club that Derek’s physician, Dr Kimble is a member of. Is that where you meet each other? We all know you can’t play golf. Not with your injury.’

  It was clear from his expression that this was all news to Derek; he had no idea.

  Not letting anyone else get a word in, I barrelled on. ‘The two of you wanted rid of Derek and his chronic condition gave you the perfect opportunity. He was going to waste away, unable to move because of his terrible joint pain. Death would be a welcome release when it came. Daily, you applied a cream that you knew was killing him, all so you and the doctor could be together.’ I was almost shouting now. ‘Were you going to leave and move to the Caribbean? I saw the brochures, you know. You should have hidden them better.’

  Joanne was shaking her head with horrified disbelief; I had her and she knew it. ‘No. No, this is all wrong. I’m not having an affair. I don’t have any idea what you are talking about.’

  ‘Save it for the jury,’ I sneered. ‘Derek would die, and no one would suspect a thing. That was until John Ramsey ruined it.’ Like a bomb going off in my head to ruin my theory, I remembered that Derek just claimed he jumped. I kept going regardless, now making it up as I went along.

  I took a pace to my right, then another, moving about as I watched her and wagging a finger in her direction. ‘You didn’t know Derek jumped. You thought John pushed him. We all did. But Derek landing in hospital was never part of the plan was it? He started to get better and you couldn’t have that. It’s why you were fighting so hard to use his cream this morning. You thought John ruined your perfectly crafted murder, so you took revenge by fixing his brakes.’

  I turned my head to meet DS Atwell’s eyes. ‘She’s all yours,’ I told him with a note of finality.

  He nodded his head in acknowledgement, but he didn’t move. I expected him to call the constables in, but he remained where he was, watching Joanne. Several seconds passed.

  No one was speaking. Joanne’s chest heaved from the shock of being exposed for the criminal she was. Tamara’s delicate features contained not one jot of colour and she looked like she might faint. Derek was still holding his wife’s hand.

  Just when I thought I was going to have to say something, DS Atwell, scratched his chin. It was the same thoughtful motion I saw him perform in the corridor outside.

  He frowned next and narrowed his eyes at Joanne.

  This was it. He was going to read her, her rights.

  ‘Mrs Bleakwith what were you doing at the golf club?

  Her cheeks flushed and she looked guiltily down at her husband lying on his hospital bed. The bed she had put him in.

  ‘I’m so sorry, sweetie.’ Her voice was a hushed whisper. ‘I took a cleaning job.’

  I wanted to put my fingers in my ears and wiggle them around to clear out the wax. I must have misheard her.

  Derek sighed. ‘How much this time?’

  ‘Not much,’ she
whispered.

  He squeezed her hand. ‘It doesn’t matter, darling.’

  Mindy raised her hand. ‘What’s going on?’ I wanted to second her question.

  Joanne forced her face up to look across the room. There were tears in her eyes which she refused to wipe away. ‘I am a gambling addict,’ she announced with shame.

  As Tamara rushed to her mother’s side and the two of them embraced, Derek took over.

  ‘Joanne has been fighting this for years. It got really bad about a decade ago and she started going to meetings. She even had hypnotherapy to try to control it, but it rears its ugly head every now and then.’ He swore under his breath. ‘The problem is that it is so easy, and the websites target people they know are vulnerable.’

  Joanne broke away from Tamara but kept hold of her daughter’s hand for support. ‘I took the job at the golf club to make money I could play with. And to hide what I was doing from Derek. We are supposed to be saving to buy a holiday home. That’s what the brochures are for.’

  ‘We’ve been talking about it for years,’ Derek explained. ‘What’s this about the cream though? How is it that you think the cream was poisoning me?’

  When I came into the room, I had been certain about all I knew. Now I wasn’t sure I knew anything.

  Trying not to mumble, I said, ‘Well, your skin was terrible, and your joint pain was enough to make you try to take your own life. I thought it had to be the cream. It made complete sense. As soon as Joanne stopped putting it on you, you started getting better.’

  Joanne held up her hands. ‘I put the cream on with my bare hands. Even if I washed it off afterward, surely it would have some effect on me if there was something in it that was causing Derek’s condition.’

  To prove a point, she opened one of the jars and smeared a glob of cream up her left forearm. ‘It’s just medicated skin cream.’

  ‘So who killed John?’ I had to ask, utterly flummoxed.