Adina’s heart was pounding. She was acting on impulse and had not had time to think up a cover story for her reason for being in the room, should she be discovered. Satisfied that the noise was consistent and contained within the bounds of the kitchen, she moved slowly across to the desk, sat in the chair and lifted the telephone. There was just enough light for her to make out the numbers on the dial. She picked up the receiver and rang the operator.
‘Operator. May I help you?’
‘Yes, I would like Highgate 1354, please.’
‘One moment please, madam.’
There was a pause of a few seconds, which was enough to make Adina feel anxious. She realised that her hands were shaking.
‘Highgate 1354,’ announced a female voice.
‘Hello. May I speak to Mr Chaim Herzl, please?’
‘Hold on, caller, I will try to put you through.’
Another excruciating pause.
‘Herzl,’ said a male voice.
‘Chaim, it’s Adina.’
‘Adina, how are you, darling?’
‘Not good. I need to come in as soon as possible.’
‘I understand. Where can we collect you from?’
‘Come to the Hall and wait at the front. If you come in the morning at 6.00am, Raymond will still be asleep. I will be ready for you.’
‘We will see you then. Sweet dreams.’
Adina replaced the receiver, slipped out of the room and went up to the apartment.
27
DAY TWENTY-SEVEN
Sunday 7th August 1949
Beryl sat in front of the open hearth in the kitchen enjoying tea and toast, and the equilibrium that it was bringing to her digestive system. She was suffering from the mother of all hangovers.
Although she had washed her face and hands in the sink, Beryl felt grubby and uncomfortable as she was wearing the same clothes that she’d had on the previous evening. Still, she consoled herself with the thought that she wasn’t going to see anyone important and she was due to finish work around midday. Her thoughts turned to the staff lunch of the previous day, which, by her own estimation, had been a roaring success. It had gone on well into the evening and had ended around midnight when Raymond, Savage and herself had finally polished off the bottle of whisky. She reminded herself that the lunch had been held in memory of their late lord and master, and smiled at the thought that, apart from a toast proposed by Raymond Jenkins, Lord Roding’s name was barely mentioned. It had become more of a wake to mourn the probable passing of their jobs.
Beryl was woken from her thoughts by the arrival of James Davidson.
‘Morning Mrs Aldis.’ He appeared to shout the words and he was annoyingly chipper. Beryl’s thumping head seemed to maximise the sound.
‘Blimey, James. Do keep your voice down.’ She instinctively looked at the clock and realised that James was early. ‘Couldn’t you sleep?’
‘I slept well, actually, Mrs A.’
‘I thought you weren’t due in until 8.00am. Given the amount you were drinking last night, I’d have thought you’d make the most of the lie in.’
‘No. I woke up at my usual time and I’m feeling good. So, I thought I’d get up and get on with things. A good do, though, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes. Shame we can’t do it more often.’ Beryl gave a rueful grin.
‘How are you today?’
‘I must say, I’ve felt better, boy.’
‘Bit too much cooking sherry, eh?’
‘Something like that.’
‘You cooked a lovely dinner, though.’
‘Yes. I think we used up most of the food, so that was good. Did you manage to see the girls home all right?’
‘Yes, their mum wanted them home by 10.00pm and we managed that OK. I think I’m in love, Mrs Aldis.’
‘Really? Which one, Amy or Cecily?’
‘Do you know? I can’t remember. We had a good night, though.’
Beryl sensed a possible upset on the horizon, as she suspected that the twins had been playing games with the young man.
‘Just you be careful with those two little minxes.’
‘It’s OK, Mrs A. I’m a big boy. I can look after myself.’
I doubt that very much, thought Beryl.
‘What time did you finish up?’
‘Well, Adina had too much vodka and she went up just after you left, about 9.30am. Then me, Mr Jenkins and Savage finished off the Scotch. So, it would have been around, oh, midnight, I think it was.’
‘It wasn’t really worth going home at all then, was it?’
‘No, so I didn’t. I slept here, in the chair.’
James thought better of making any comment and just nodded.
Beryl got to her feet and stretched her shoulders. They were clearly giving her some gip.
‘Fancy a cup of tea?’
‘Yes, please. And some toast if there’s any going.’
‘Don’t push your luck, young man. You know where the bread is. You can make it yourself.’
‘Mrs Aldis, there is something I wanted to ask you.’
‘Go ahead, then. No time like the present.’
‘Do you think that I can have Tuesday morning off?’
‘I don’t know. What do you want the morning off for?’
‘I got a letter yesterday morning from his lordship’s solicitors. They want me to go to their office about a quest or something. I have to be there at 11.00am.’
‘I think that would be a “bequest”, not a “quest”.’
‘They want me to take my birth certificate with me. So, I’ve got Aunt Ruby trying to dig it out. She keeps all my important stuff, medical card, school reports and that kind of thing.’
‘Anyway, what’s a bequest when it’s at home?’
‘It’s a pleasant surprise. I’ll write it down for you and then you can go into the study and look it up in the dictionary.’
‘So, is that a yes then?’
‘Yes, but make sure you’re back to clean up after lunch. Her ladyship will be back from London on Tuesday.’
Beryl was pleased for the lad, but she wasn’t about to tell him about her own good fortune. These things led to jealousy.
She shuffled across to the sink to fill the kettle. ‘Hello. Who’s this coming up the drive?’
James joined Beryl at the sink. They both looked through the window and saw a black Buick limousine coming slowly up the driveway towards the Hall. Unable to make out who was inside the vehicle, they watched it until it moved, out of sight, around to the front of the building.
‘Oh, my word,’ said Beryl, ‘I hope it’s not her ladyship come home unexpectedly. We’re in one hell of a state. Mr Jenkins can’t answer the door; he’ll be snoring his head off. Smarten yourself up, James. You’ll have to go and see who it is.’
Panic had set in; James and Beryl ran around the room gathering up bottles and glasses, and other evidence of the previous evening’s celebration, and they unceremoniously dumped them in the pantry. He quickly checked himself in the mirror and spat on his hands to smooth down his hair. He then walked through to the vestibule, and opened the front door expecting to welcome her ladyship or receive some other visitor. He was surprised when after a few minutes nobody had made any approach. He altered his position to investigate further and moved out onto the front steps just in time to see Adina Jenkins embrace a smartly dressed man, who kissed her on both cheeks. She handed him her suitcase and climbed into the back of the vehicle. The man placed the suitcase into the trunk at the rear before climbing into the back of the car himself. The Buick then moved off down the drive at a modest speed. James walked back to the kitchen to tell Mrs Aldis about what he had seen.
‘Panic over,’ said James.
‘Well, don’t keep me in suspenders. Who was it?’
&
nbsp; ‘Mrs Jenkins. She’s just gone off with some strange men. She had a suitcase with her.’
‘Did she look as if she knew them?’
‘Yes, she was quite happy to go with them. In fact, one of them kissed her on both cheeks.’
‘Well that’s foreigners for you,’ said Beryl. ‘They do that kind of thing all the time.’
‘Shall we tell Mr Jenkins?’
‘No,’ said Beryl. ‘None of our business.’
*
It was early morning when Adina Giurgiu silently closed the door of the south wing of Beaumont Hall. She had one suitcase and she carried it purposefully across the gravel forecourt to the limousine. The driver had brought the Buick to a halt as close to the south wing as he was able, and he kept the engine running while his boss got out of the car to deal with the business at hand.
As she got to the vehicle, Adina was met by her “friend” Chaim Herzl, who placed his hands on her shoulders, they embraced each other, and he kissed her on both cheeks. She got into the back of the vehicle and Chaim placed the suitcase in the boot. Raymond would have been oblivious to her departure. She had left him lying prostrate on the settee in the living room, where he was sleeping off the effects of the alcohol from the previous evening. Adina had anticipated that this would be the likely outcome, as he was already inebriated when she had made her excuses to leave the party the night before. After telephoning her “friends”, she had returned to the apartment, packed and hidden her suitcase. She had spent a restless night in anticipation of her departure and her impending flight to freedom.
In the front of the limousine were two Israeli soldiers, both smartly dressed in suits and wearing fedora hats. One of them was the driver and the other a bodyguard. Although Adina was unaware of the fact, both were armed with handguns. She had first met her “friend” Chaim Herzl several months before at the Bevis Marks synagogue in London. He had been responsible for facilitating the regular payments from Adina to her mother, which had been channelled through her local synagogue. The money had provided something of a lifeline for the family.
Adina was now on her way to London and then, she hoped, on to a new life. Chaim had already agreed that he and his organisation would provide the means of transport, and he had arranged for her to be issued with an Israeli passport. As a heroine of the State of Israel, nothing was too good for her.
*
Meanwhile, Stephen Savage was in heaven. In fact, he was in clover. Lying alongside him was the fair Sister Margaret, who, for once, was topless, her blonde hair was flowing free and she was without her wimple. She thrust her ample breasts into his chest and laid across him. She gently kissed his forehead, sniffed his hair and licked his face. He was the happiest he’d been for a long time. Oh, how he loved this nun. He then became aware of the disgusting smell of her breath.
In startled disappointment, he opened his eyes, focussed and found himself considering the face of Colin, one of his black Labradors. ‘Shit! My head is killing me! What was I drinking last night?’ he said aloud.
The Labrador was joined by his brother Nigel, and they both stood staring at Savage expectantly. He struggled to his feet, looked at his surroundings and realised that he had been sleeping on the lawn in his front garden.
On seeing that the front door to his cottage was wide open, he remembered that when he had returned home from the party, he was intent on feeding the dogs and had let them out for a run in the garden. He could remember nothing after that point. Just as he was getting his thoughts together, his attention was drawn to the sound of a motor engine, which was coming from the road beyond his garden gate.
He just caught sight of a black car that had entered the drive and had passed his cottage on its way up towards the Hall. Savage, for reasons not even known to himself, did not like the look of the vehicle. Knowing that her ladyship was in London, he wondered what business its occupants could possibly have at Beaumont Hall. He had been taken by surprise when the car had driven onto the estate and did not have a chance to make a note of the registration number. He resolved to do so when it made its return journey back down the drive. In fact, he would do better than that. He would speak to the driver. Savage rushed inside the cottage to collect his shotgun. He eventually found a pen and paper and took up a position sitting on the garden wall. He did not have long to wait. After barely a few minutes had elapsed, the Buick made its way back down the drive towards him. It was moving at no great speed and this give him the chance to surreptitiously jot down the registration number of the vehicle. As the car got to a point some twenty yards away, Savage stepped into the road and held up his right hand bidding the driver to stop. The shotgun remained broken open and slung over his left forearm. Savage saw that there were two men in the front of the vehicle and he could see the look of apprehension in the driver’s eyes. The passenger appeared to give the driver an instruction, and the car swerved onto the grass verge to avoid Savage and it moved off down to the main gate, gathering speed. Savage was a lucky man. He had no notion of the fact that the Israelis were armed. It was likely that, had he pointed the shotgun at them, he would have been killed on the spot. Totally oblivious to his brush with death, Savage walked up to the big house to see Beryl and report what he had seen.
*
At 10.15am, having been woken from a deep drunken slumber, Raymond Jenkins opened the front door of the apartment to Cooper and Pratt. They were the very last people that he wanted to see. He was not feeling at all in tiptop condition. Before going to the door, he had quickly washed his face and hands in the kitchen, and he feared that he probably reeked of whisky. He felt fragile and vulnerable, but he tried to put on a businesslike front and feigned bonhomie. He was still wearing the previous day’s clothes and had not had a chance to change out of them. He looked awful.
‘Good morning Inspector, Sergeant. This is an unexpected pleasure.’
‘Good morning Mr Jenkins. I trust that you are well?’
‘I’ve felt better. We had a bit of do last night in memory of his lordship. If you wanted to see her ladyship, she is away up in town, I’m afraid, and not expected back until tomorrow.’
‘It’s actually you we’ve come to see, Mr Jenkins. We need to have a bit of a chat about the murder. It might take some time.’
‘I see. Does that mean you are arresting me?’
‘No, that really won’t be necessary. Do you want to speak to us here or do you want to come down to the police station?’
‘I think I’d better come down to the police station. My wife is still asleep in the bedroom. I don’t want to disturb her, if I can help it.’
Jenkins shut the door to the apartment, left with the officers and asked them to wait at their car while he quickly walked to the kitchen to speak to Beryl Aldis. He found her lying on the floor, scrubbing out the stove. She looked, for all the world, like a garage mechanic carrying out an oil change. Beryl was completely unaware of the presence of the police officers and Jenkins very much wanted it to stay that way.
‘I’m just popping out to town for a couple of hours, Beryl. I’ll see you later.’
Beryl acknowledged him. A few minutes later she went out to the bins and caught sight of Jenkins talking to Cooper. She watched as they both climbed into the rear of the unmarked police vehicle, which then disappeared off down the drive.
On arrival at the police station Jenkins was taken before the station sergeant and then to an interview room on the ground floor. He was supplied with tea and a cigarette by Pratt, who was intent on cultivating a basis of trust and confidence.
Cooper began, ‘Mr Jenkins or may we call you Ray?’
‘Ray is fine.’
‘Before we start the interview, thank you for agreeing to come down to the police station, Ray. This shouldn’t take too long.’
‘That’s OK, Inspector. I’m happy to help.’
‘You may call me Albert if you
like. Tell us about your job at Beaumont Hall. It is that of butler, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’
‘Would you say that you occupy a key position at the Hall?’
‘Yes, I think so, or at least I thought I did. That’s changed somewhat since the death of his lordship. I’m no longer a “gentleman’s gentleman” as such.’
‘I’m sure that things have changed quite considerably since his lordship’s passing. So, does that mean you act as butler to her ladyship now? Is that your role?’ asked Cooper.
‘No, it isn’t. I am looking after the household for her because she spends most of her time in London. So, I suppose I’m going to be more of a manager now, really.’
‘Is she going to sell Beaumont Hall, do you think?’
‘I don’t know. I would say that she’s presently taking stock of her life. She’s just about to inherit a large estate and I think that she’s still coming to terms with the responsibility of it all.’
‘Quite an undertaking for her, I should think.’
‘It’s going to affect her enormously. The thing is, until the solicitors get their finger out and read the will, we won’t know the full extent of any changes that may come about. It’s causing a lot of concern, particularly among the younger members of staff.’
‘Why should it be different for the younger members?’
‘Well, my wife Adina and I were lucky in that Lord Roding left us six hundred pounds between us. That should give us a good start elsewhere, if necessary. Beryl and Savage were also left money. The youngsters weren’t so fortunate.’
‘Do you think you’ll lose your job, then?’
‘None of the servants really know what the future holds. But, if she sells up, I suppose, yes, I’ll be out of a job, and, of course, with his lordship’s passing, Adina has automatically lost her job.’
‘Do you have a date for the reading of the will?’
Devotion to Murder Page 26
