by Anne Morice
There was something so grotesquely familiar in these remarks that I was mentally transported back to this very day, exactly a week ago, when Betsy had used almost the identical words. So when Piers said: ‘Oh, do let us stroll outside for a bit, away from this ghastly, oppressive house,’ I found myself being led back through the front door as though in a dream.
‘That’s better,’ he said, his arm still clutching mine. ‘One can breathe out here, and there’s something I want to ask you. Personally I never intend to set foot in that repulsive old mausoleum after today. I do hope some nasty little speculator will come along very quickly and offer Jasper huge sums, so that we can forget all about it.’
‘I should imagine Jasper feels the same, and luckily he has no need to hang on for a good price.’
‘How very true! It’s such a tonic talking to you, Tessa dear. Both those dainty feet so firmly planted on the ground, it fairly bucks one up. And I do appreciate your coming today, I honestly do, my darling. It’s really quite brave of you.’
‘No worse for me than the rest of you.’
‘Ah, but we had no choice, had we? Whereas you could so easily have backed out. Not everyone would be so trusting as to visit a house where three violent deaths had occurred in a single week.’
‘Three? Do you include your grandmother?’
He broke into a nervous titter and simultaneously his arm went taut and he drew my own closer to his side, so that I felt I were being pinioned by a steel rod.
‘Don’t be so literal, Tessa.’
‘All right, but what was it you wanted to ask me?’
‘An indescribably small thing, my darling, so very trivial; but you were on rather special terms with Betsy, weren’t you? I mean, she used to confide in you?’
‘Not me specially.’
‘Oh, come on, now! I’ve heard her yattering away to you for hours on end.’
‘Only because I listened.’
‘Oh, we are being difficult, aren’t we? But that’s exactly what I mean. Did you ever hear her say anything about some recording tapes?’
I had been expecting something like this and, although I had the answer ready, was careful not to jump in with it too quickly.
‘Recording tapes?’ I repeated in a musing voice. ‘No, I don’t think so. Not that I recall.’
‘Well, think again, there’s a good girl.’
‘Why? Is it important?’
‘Not particularly, my heart. I’ve already told you that. It’s simply that my potty old grandma did see fit to appoint me her official biographer and I might as well salvage that much from the wreck.’
‘And these tapes are missing, is that it?’
‘Oh, you are such a clever baby! How do you manage it?’
‘Sarcasm will get you nowhere,’ I informed him.
We had been walking quite slowly, but always further away from the house and had now reached the shrubbery which bordered that section of the lawn. Piers stopped and looked down at me.
‘You’re a dark horse sometimes, aren’t you, Tessa? I wish I could make up my mind about you.’
‘I doubt if it would do you much good. However, I’ll let you know if I do remember anything.’
‘Oh, forget it,’ he said impatiently, starting to walk back the way we had come and slightly relaxing his grip on my arm. ‘It was just a thought. Minimal importance.’
‘Except that these tapes might contain valuable material for your book?’
‘I doubt it. The old person was pretty past it; rambling on in a stream of unconsciousness, most of the time. All the same, one wouldn’t necessarily want any unauthorised person to get hold of them. Rather too many sharks about in this world, you know.’
‘Yes, I’ve noticed it.’
‘They’ll turn up, I daresay. Where’s Robin, by the way? You don’t tell me he’s left you to face this ordeal on your own?’
‘No, he’ll be along presently. He had some business to see to first.’
‘Business?’ he repeated sharply. ‘I thought he was in the police?’
‘Yes, he is. Don’t be so literal, Piers,’ I mocked.
As though a switch had been pulled, releasing a torrent of dammed up irritation, he dropped my arm and in the same movement clapped his palm against the nape of my neck, then thrust my head down, squeezing his fingers and thumb into the flesh under my jawbone, and pushed me forward at a brisk pace.
For all I know, he would have marched me the whole way back to the house in this fashion, but luckily I was spared the discomfort and indignity of it by the arrival of Robin, who came swooping into the drive like the goodie in the last reel. He made a half circle and came to rest by the edge of the lawn about twenty yards away from us, and Piers, who had withdrawn his hand with the speed of a conjuror, darted forward to greet him.
‘I’d have been here sooner,’ Robin explained, ‘only I had a puncture. Just outside in the lane, fortunately. Hop in, Tessa, and you can guide me to that pet garage of yours. I’d like to get the tyre repaired before we have to drive back to London.’
‘Oh, come in and have a drink first, my dear,’ Piers begged him. ‘You’ve got time.’
‘No thanks, I’d rather get to a garage before all the mechanics knock off for the weekend.’
‘But there’s no need for you to go. Come inside and have a drink and we’ll get Digby to take it for you.’
‘I can’t imagine why he would want to do that.’
‘He will if I tell him to,’ Piers replied simply.
‘Did you really have a flat tyre?’ I asked, as we drove off.
‘Of course not. It was the only excuse I could think of. I wanted to get you on your own for a minute and warn you about wandering off with strange men and allowing them to strangle you.’
‘Oh, you noticed that, did you? You can turn off into the trees here, if you want to park out of sight. There’s a through-way, so it’s perfectly legal. Yes, in some respects, Piers is very strange indeed; but I got entangled in that little scene through sheer inattention. I’ll be on my guard now and it won’t happen again.’
‘That’s a relief. I got your item of information, by the way. You were quite right. He owns that house and three others in the same neighbourhood.’
‘Splendid! And I must say, Robin, it was decent of that sour old Mackenzie to jump to it so quickly.’
‘He was rather tickled. You’ve got him all wrong, you know, Tessa. That patronising manner is just good, honest, old-fashioned gaucherie. He’s rather impressed by you, as it happens; told me you’d been extremely helpful. I think he’d be ready to take you on, if you ever felt like changing your career and becoming a W.P.C.’
‘He’ll make me an honorary superintendent,’ I said, ‘when he hears what else I’ve got for him.’
XVIII
(i)
I cannot tell how Betsy’s funeral compared with Maud’s, but it was short, dignified and very moving. I was obliged to keep my dark glasses on all the way through, and even the hard faced Margot had to mop up once or twice.
Jasper was present, still in his sloppy, canvas shoes and looking more sulky than sorrowful, but he sat well away from the rest of the family, who occupied the front pew. They were joined at the last minute by a very pretty, tall girl of about twenty-five, who was a stranger to me. She hesitated beside their pew and was turning away to a seat across the aisle when Dickie, who was nearest to her, moved down a place and made room for her between himself and Piers.
Chief Inspector Mackenzie also came in late and stationed himself at the back. He and Robin ostentatiously cut each other dead, which was no doubt in accordance with the prepared script, and the young man who had been at the inquest once again represented Pettigrew and Barrett. He attached himself to me, as we returned in the slow procession to the house, with Piers and Margot at its head.
I asked after Gerald and he said: ‘Dodgy, you know. He lives on his nerves a good deal, I think.’
‘And when they collapse, the
re’s nothing much left?’
‘That’s about it.’
‘Except for Pete, of course, the man who looks after him?’
‘Oh yes, old Pete. A trifle boneheaded, but dependable as they come. I say, are you working on anything at the moment? I loved your last one.’
I thanked him and we had a brief though enjoyable chat about developments in this field, in the course of which Robin unobtrusively fell a few paces behind, as befitted a husband who had heard it all before, and when I glanced back I saw that he had teamed up with Digby.
We had got to within a few yards of the front door when my solicitor friend changed the subject.
‘You’ll be getting a letter about this in a few days, but I’ve already mentioned it to Mrs Roche and I thought you might like to know that Mrs Craig had remembered you in her will.’
‘Oh dear!’ I said, stopping in my tracks and automatically rummaging for the sunglasses, until I remembered I still had them on, ‘I mean, how very kind of her!’
‘She’s left you her pearl necklace. Do you know it?’
‘I’ve seen her wear it once or twice. It was her mother’s wedding present, I believe.’
‘You don’t sound too happy about it.’
‘I’m grateful, naturally. It’s just that people always seem to be leaving me their pet pieces of jewellery and, so far, I can’t say that much good has come of it.’
‘Oh yes, Miss Stirling’s ring. That was rotten luck, I agree, but there’s quite a good chance that the police will be able to trace it. Anyway, cheer up! There’s no reason to suppose that the pearls will cause you any trouble.’
Robin rejoined us at this point and the young man continued on into the house. I never saw him again after that day, so cannot tell whether he makes a habit of throwing out such false predictions, or whether this was the exception.
‘We don’t have to stay long, do we?’ Robin muttered, as we entered the cavernous gloom. ‘I mean, I could do with a drink, but preferably not here. If you took those glasses off you might be able to see something.’
‘Only ten minutes. Perhaps we ought just to say goodbye to Margot. It might look rude to leave without a word.’
The word with Jasper came first, however. He was slumped in an armchair, with a tumblerful of whisky in his hand, and he stuck out a foot to bar my way, or to trip me up, for all I know.
‘You here again?’ he enquired.
‘We’re going in a minute, you’ll be relieved to hear.’
‘I wish to God they’d all go,’ he said, glaring morosely at his assembled relatives. They were grouped in a tight bunch as usual, although one member short, Digby having done one of his vanishing acts.
‘Occasions of this kind get on my nerves,’ Jasper explained.
I forbore to point out that it was not one which was likely to be repeated many times in his life, because it was evident that he was far from sober and that very little would be needed to exacerbate that sensitive spirit. Choosing a safer subject, I asked him about the girl who had come late to the church. I had noticed that she was still among us and was at that moment talking to a besotted-looking Dickie, giving him the full treatment with seductive smiles and adoring looks.
‘Who are you talking about? You do ask such a lot of bloody questions always. Oh, her! Don’t you know? She’s one of the nurses. Maureen something or other. I haven’t the faintest idea what she’s doing here. If you want it straight and unadulterated, Miss Quizzy Crichton, I don’t know what any of this crew is doing here. They didn’t give a damn for Betsy, as you bloody well know, and I wish to God they’d all go home and leave me in peace.’
The spectacle of Jasper loudly parading his emotions had become so familiar that it was easy to overlook the fact that some of them might be genuine, but for once I found myself pitying him. Although his speech was slurred, there was no mistaking the wretchedness in it, and his expression as he looked across the hall to where Margot and the others were gathered, had lost all its insolent cockiness.
‘I’m sorry, Jasper. I understand how you must be feeling, but we really are leaving now. I’ll say goodbye to Margot and then we’ll be off. With any luck, it could start a general move. Ring me up in London, if there’s anything I can do.’
He nodded, before taking another hefty swig at his drink, and I moved away.
‘Goodbye, Margot.’
‘Going already? Well, we shall be, too, as soon as Digby has finished loading up the car. We used to leave a few spare macs and boots down here, but I don’t imagine we’ll be needing them in future. It was good of you to come. Betsy left you her pearl necklace. Did they tell you?’
‘Yes, I hope you don’t mind?’
‘Not in the least, my dear. It’s quite a pretty little thing, I should think it would suit you. I asked Jasper to get it out for you to see, but needless to say he hasn’t the faintest idea where she kept it. He thought Albert might know.’
‘Oh, it doesn’t matter. I am sure Albert has a lot more important things to see to.’
‘You’d think so, wouldn’t you, my dear? But Jasper calmly informed me that he’d given him the rest of the day off, as it wouldn’t hurt us all to fend for ourselves for once. Isn’t that charming? You’d have thought he might at least have had the tact to wait until after the funeral before telling me, in so many words, that he is now master of the house and I should mind my own business.’
‘Well, I don’t know, Margot. Albert’s been through a gruelling time, and you must admit it’s exactly what Betsy would have done.’
‘That’s beside the point. However, you want to be off, so I mustn’t keep you. Come and see me in Lowndes Square one day,’ she added, not meaning it.
‘I’ll do that,’ I assented fervently, not meaning it either.
The boot of Margot’s car was open and Digby had his head inside. He did not take it out when we called goodbye to him.
‘I have a strong sensation of anti-climax,’ I told Robin, as he started the car. ‘Of something lacking.’
‘So have I,’ he admitted. ‘Though luckily I know just where to find it. What’s that place called overlooking the river? The Angel?’
‘No, the Saracen.’
‘That’s the one.’
‘I was expecting something to happen,’ I explained, still harping on the same theme, after we were installed on a bench in the window. ‘A sort of Catharsis, if that’s the right word.’
‘How can I tell if it’s the right word until I know what you mean by it?’
‘A bust up, that’s what I mean. I expected the murderer to show his hand in some way, so that you would dash forward and foil his wicked plot and Mackenzie would pounce out of the bushes and apprehend him. I don’t know why I expected something like that to happen. At least, I do, as a matter of fact.’
‘Well, which?’
‘I had this fixed idea that something still remains to be done and that whatever it is would have to be done while we were all there in the house; and yet no one made a move.’
‘You still haven’t made it clear why you expected anyone would.’
‘Not from choice, necessarily, but something tells me this business isn’t finished yet. There’s a loose end to be tied up, and today was the last chance.’
‘Perhaps you’d like to go back? You could always do your celebrated act of having mislaid your glasses. He or she may just have been waiting until we were safely off the premises.’
‘No, it can’t be that. Margot told me she was leaving almost immediately, and where she goes her little flock is bound to follow. But it doesn’t add up. You see, Robin, there’s been a kind of crazy pattern linking all these crimes. They were so haphazard in one way, more like lethal booby traps, and the murderer appears to have been pretty casual about who got caught in them; but they had two things in common. They could all have been set up by any one of them, and also aimed at any one of them. That can’t happen any more, because it’s highly improbable that any of Margot’s bunch
will ever come back.’
‘The trouble with you, Tessa, is that you expect everyone, murderers included, to behave exactly on the lines you’ve laid down for them, and it doesn’t always work out. Drink up and relax; and for heaven’s sake let’s talk of something else.’
I endeavoured to follow this advice, but my efforts were not exactly crowned with success.
‘You didn’t get anywhere with Digby, I suppose?’ I asked, after a long pause.
‘No, there wasn’t time; but he was certainly fidgety and he bolted like a rabbit as soon as we were indoors. Not that that means anything. Probably his normal reactions when addressed by one of the fascist pigs. Also I don’t call that changing the subject.’
‘I apologise,’ I said, setting my glass down. ‘It’s antisocial of me, I realise that, but I feel so uneasy. There’s something missing, I know there is, and I shan’t sleep a wink until I find it.’
(ii)
The missing piece turned up in the nick of time and, not surprisingly, Lulu was the one to supply it.
Refusing, as she put it, to take no for an answer, she had bidden us to drinkies at White Gables on Saturday evening. Fortified by the news, just received, of Ellen’s imminent return from Tunisia, and aware that the summer house was a little too cramped to accommodate all three of us for an entire evening, Toby had capitulated. Seven o’clock, therefore, found us seated in the cosiest sitting-room imaginable and surrounded on all sides by rubbery coasters shaped like ivy leaves.
In other respects, the pattern was much as before. Robin and Toby promptly segregated themselves on one side of the room, leaving Lulu to me on the other. Once more she assured me of her pleasure in my company and of her instinctive feeling that we had so much in common, while regularly reprimanding the other two for trying to listen in.
She began by asking me about Ellen and her expression clouded a little on learning that the Tunisian interlude was nearly over. To divert her mind from this sad prospect, I asked about her own experiences of foreign travel and was rewarded with a lengthy dissertation on a Mediterranean cruise which she and her hubby had taken the year before he died, in which they had met up with a jolly crowd and had no end of larks, including getting up a theatrical entertainment for the other passengers, which had drawn the personal compliments of the captain.