Whisper the Dead

by Stella Cameron

  Taking advantage of the diversion he’d caused, Bob Hill urged Alex aside. ‘I’ve wanted to talk to you again,’ he said. ‘Have you given any more thought to expanding your business?’

  She decided he had a face she liked very much. He had the look of a man you could trust. ‘Not really, Bob. It’s been busy around here and I don’t think I took the suggestion seriously.’

  ‘I want you to,’ he said. ‘You know what you’re doing and I want you to put in a manager and run the Cock and Bull for me. Whenever you’re comfortable with taking it on as a partner, we’ll work that out.’

  Alex didn’t know what to say. Was she interested in expanding? She was only human, so the thought of doing well enough to grow the business appealed to her, but she was happy as she was. Then there was Tony and she could no longer even pretend she didn’t want to consider him in her long-term plans.

  ‘Alex?’ Bob prompted her.

  Before she could think of a response, her mother took her by the arm and whispered, ‘Come into the kitchens with me.’ Lily’s head was purposefully down and she kept on walking.

  The tug was insistent and Alex barely had time to catch Bob Hill’s eyes before Lily hurried her away. ‘What is it, Mum?’ They faced each other in the middle of the kitchen. ‘What? Something’s happened.’

  ‘Nothing’s happened. Nothing is going to happen. Please, just this once, do as I ask you to do.’

  ‘Just this once? What are you talking about?’

  ‘Please come with me. We can’t be interrupted. We’ll go upstairs to your room. No one will expect that.’

  Alex absorbed the desperation in her mother’s eyes and took off along the back passageway leading to the restaurant and the stairs to the inn. The room she kept for times when it was easier not to drive up the hill to her house was just to the left at the top of the staircase. Lily had the key and let them in.

  ‘Mum, will you put me out of my misery, please?’ Alex asked as Lily closed the door. ‘You’re frightening me.’

  Lily closed and locked the door. ‘I’m sorry to do this to you. I haven’t managed things very well. Liz Hadley can take over my work for as long as necessary. She’s very good.’

  ‘You’re not managing whatever this is well, Mum.’ That wasn’t how she’d meant to sound. ‘I mean … just tell me what you mean.’

  Her mother’s hands went to her neck. ‘As soon as I saw Bob Hill’s name in the papers with all the fuss about the development, I wondered if he was the Bob Hill I knew a long time ago. The pictures were grainy and I wouldn’t let myself try to find out for sure. I didn’t want it to be him and for as long as I didn’t have proof I could tell myself this was a different man with the same ordinary name. It isn’t. He’s more than thirty years older than when I last saw him but it’s the same face. A man, not a teenager, but it’s the same person.

  ‘Alex, Bob Hill is your father. He doesn’t know that, although he’s obviously drawn to you and the fact that you helped him the way you did has given him a reason to stay close to you. At least, that’s what he thinks. He must feel an affinity he can’t understand. If you get to know him better you may have to win his son over. He doesn’t like you although he probably doesn’t know why either. And Rob’s wife – I called him Rob – could be overdoing how much fussy attention she pays you. And I may be automatically jealous of anyone else who could come into your life and share you. Other than Tony.’

  Too much. Was this what freefall from a plane felt like while you waited for your chute to open? Alex swallowed with difficulty. She couldn’t explain the sensation.

  ‘You do believe what I’m telling you?’

  She nodded.

  ‘He has his own life and I have mine. I wouldn’t have it any differently now. At the time, I loved him and I thought he loved me, but we were too young.

  ‘I’m going to stay out of the way, probably at James’s. It’s secluded there and I want to explain this to him. He deserves that and much more.’

  ‘You don’t want Bob Hill to know the truth, do you?’ Alex said. She felt shivery. ‘At least not yet. He doesn’t have to.’

  ‘Thank you. Let me have time to work out how to deal with it all. That’s a lot to ask, I know, when you must be very confused.’

  ‘I’ll be all right.’ Would she? ‘You come first with me. Can I tell Tony?’

  Her mother’s smile was a surprise – and puzzling. ‘I want you to. Once James knows. And I will find a way to deal with it.’

  ‘You’ve got guts.’ Alex hugged her mother, held her for a long time.

  THIRTY-FOUR

  They all gathered around the series of computer screens ranged in front of Bill Lamb. On one screen, he pointed to a face wedged into a gap between the shoulders of two taller women. They were part of a group in front of an anonymous building. ‘That’s Beverly Irving. According to Lily Duggins.’ He began to enlarge the picture, stopping and pulling back each time the image blurred completely. ‘Dark hair, dark eyes, a bit chunky by the look of the face. Lily is here this morning, working with a sketch artist. They’re trying for something that might be current together with another showing some age progression between this—’ he pointed to the screen – ‘and now. And since we’re convinced this woman went into some sort of disguise, they’ll be altering her appearance by different means. Subtle stuff mostly. Hair style and color – that sort of thing.’

  The Gloucester digs gave access to all the equipment possible. And being back in their own quarters, the squad had the interview rooms and extra bodies Dan and Bill had decided they were going to need as they poured their all into assembling everything they had on three cases with one common element: violent death. Twice by blunt force head trauma and once, well, once by some exhibition of rage when a bottle was driven down Lance Pullinger’s throat while he was too drunk to fight off his assailant.

  ‘Gladys Lymer was here yesterday afternoon,’ LeJuan put in. They’re going to compare what each of them come up with. We’re looking for similarities in what they say. The artist interprets witness comments in the sketches. Don’t ask me how.’

  ‘I saw Gladys Lymer downstairs,’ Detective Constable Miller said. ‘She looked scared out of her mind – if she’s got one.’

  ‘Nice, Miller,’ Longlegs said. He wasn’t one for snide jabs.

  Bill wasn’t in the mood for sniping between the troops and was about to say so when Dan walked in. He had several rolls of paper with him and began opening them up and tacking them to the boards. ‘This is the one in the photo,’ he said. ‘With help from Lily.’

  ‘Will you look at that,’ Bill said. ‘I know he had the photo as a guide but I still don’t know how you bring a face to life the way these people do.’

  ‘The artist is a woman,’ Dan said, sounding distracted. ‘Delia Stroud.’ He unrolled a second picture, this one showing an older version of Beverly.

  ‘Forties in this, do you think?’ LeJuan asked. ‘Good looking but I don’t like her eyes. Something strange there.’

  ‘Like she’s pretending not to be angry, but she’s mad as hell,’ Ashton suggested.

  ‘Yeah,’ LeJuan said, hands on hips. ‘Exactly. Doesn’t matter a damn, though. Who knows what she looks like now?’

  ‘More like this, according to the artist. See. Older. Eyes show it, and jaw. Thinner. The gray in the hair is window-dressing for now. At least a couple of these will be in tonight’s papers and on the tele.’

  Several phones, including Dan’s, rang at the same time. Bill reached for the one on the desk where he sat. ‘Bill Lamb. Yes. Go for it.’ He listened and couldn’t help smiling. Propping the phone between ear and shoulder, he jotted notes.

  When he hung up he was in the middle of an expectant silence. He pointed to himself and Dan nodded, yes. ‘The burned-out vehicle was a Jeep all right. Someone made a good attempt to destroy the VIN but didn’t do a good job. In a hurry, I’d say. Enough left to make a stab at the identification number. Stolen about two years ago
in Hull. Most recent trace to a used-car dealer with form for various reasons. He hasn’t done much time. He’s in London – Southwark. He’ll be getting visitors shortly.’

  Dan sang, ‘“Nine green bottles …”’ and added, ‘almost anyway. Now the bloody rest had better fall. What else?’ He looked around for other reports from calls.

  Silence told that story.

  ‘Mustn’t be greedy,’ Dan said with a faint smile.

  Miller stood up at her desk. ‘Vince Crowley called Lost Property asking if they had his wife’s papers.’

  This was delivered with a straight face and it was several seconds before laughter broke out and Miller sat down again, looking pleased with herself.

  Barry Trafford came into the room. He struggled out of his jacket, moving his mobile from hand to hand. ‘Did you see the news alert on the tele? They’re quick. I haven’t even seen those recreations yet.’ He glanced at the boards, saw the sketches and shrugged. ‘How long have we had them?’

  ‘I got these an hour or so ago,’ Dan said. ‘Buggered if I know who makes these decisions. But there’s nothing to be lost by getting them out there.’

  ‘I’ve got something on the carriage house clothing at Knighton,’ LeJuan said. ‘This is a strange one. The women’s stuff is all different sizes and came from different shops in London. The men’s clothing was all bought at the same shop in Burford and it’s in the same size, but it wouldn’t have fitted Lance Pullinger. Too small.’

  ‘We know one thing for sure,’ Bill said. ‘We aren’t dealing with professionals. Did they think we wouldn’t check?’

  ‘I talked to Lily this morning,’ LeJuan said.

  ‘He talks to everyone,’ Bill muttered. ‘Women, that is. Regular ladies’ man, our LeJuan.’

  ‘As I was saying.’ LeJuan grinned. ‘Lily mentioned she doesn’t like the way Grant Hill looks at Alex. Like he hates her guts. I think it worries Lily. We might want to look deeper into what’s got his knickers in a twist about Alex.’

  ‘As you say, not deeply enough if he’s still giving her the evil eye.’ His phone rang and he took it from the breast pocket of his shirt. ‘O’Reilly.’ He listened for so long that the room gradually fell silent. Some worked. Most watched him and waited. His lips parted and he stared straight ahead. Finally, he said, ‘You’re fucking pulling my leg,’ and listened some more. ‘Right. I’m on it. That’s one fox who never crossed my mind. All we have to do is get it in the henhouse and shut the door.’

  Dan slid the mobile back in his pocket and crossed his arms. ‘We’ve had an anonymous informant. Female, from what they could tell. Thinks we might like to know that Esme Hill was having an affair with Lance Pullinger. A long-standing affair.’

  THIRTY-FIVE

  ‘Let’s go somewhere and talk,’ Alex said, taking Tony by the hand and pulling him away from the pond on Folly’s village green. ‘You must have turned your mobile off again. I couldn’t find you. What are you doing, wandering around out here anyway? It’s the middle of the afternoon. Aren’t there any animals you should be saving?’

  ‘Not wandering – walking Katie,’ Tony said. ‘And I’m between patients. Anything else you want to know, Ms Duggins.’ He caught her around the waist and kissed her. ‘We don’t have to talk, do we,’ he added against her mouth. ‘How are you doing? I was coming to dig you out soon.’

  She pushed back and looked at him. ‘I’m very confused. Probably more confused than I was last night. And this morning before we left home. I don’t know what to do next.’

  ‘I like it when you call my house home, Alex.’

  ‘We spend a lot of time there.’ She wouldn’t let herself look away. ‘If we’d been at my house I’d have called that home.’

  ‘We don’t need two houses, do we?’

  Katie returned from the edge of the pond with mud all over her graying beige muzzle. Tony sat on his heels and wiped her off with a glove from his pocket.

  ‘That was a loaded question,’ Alex said. ‘But not as loaded as it used to be. We will have to do something about us one of these days. And we are going to. I’m going to make a list of questions, for myself and for you. You can do the same, if you want to.’

  He smiled up at her, squinting into pale sunlight that had found a thin patch in almost solid white cloud cover. ‘Right. A list. I don’t usually make them without including a few things I can cross off immediately, just to make myself feel good. That wouldn’t be cheating for this list, would it?’

  Alex tapped her chin thoughtfully. ‘No. It wouldn’t. Go for it then, put the list somewhere safe and think about it. I’ll do the same. I mean this. I’m not joking.’

  ‘Right you are.’ A little of the light went out of his smile. She knew he’d like her to go ahead and tell him when they’d go over those lists but the light moments had to be over for now. ‘I’m scared, Tony. For my mother. And for some other people. I’ve spent hours putting together some of the bits I know, or I’ve observed, or heard, about the case. Or should I say cases, plural. Mum overheard something in Gloucester this morning. Dan would be furious but it wasn’t her fault if the Serious Crimes people shout at each other when they’re working.’

  Tony bounced to his feet and pulled her hand beneath his elbow. ‘Do you want to tell me about the things you’ve been putting together first, or what Lily overheard?’ He bent to slip on Katie’s leash.

  ‘Beverly’s alive so I’m worried about Gladys’s safety.’

  ‘So are the police and I don’t doubt they’re taking precautions.’

  ‘I don’t think Winifred Sibley was killed to scare Gladys. Winifred had been told what Gladys knew so that’s why she was killed – so she couldn’t repeat what she knew. Why wouldn’t Gladys be in just as much danger now?’

  ‘We just covered that,’ Tony said, walking them slowly in the direction of the road. ‘I believe you’re probably right on both of those counts but we have to trust the police to know, too, and do what they have to do. Something could have gone wrong that brought about Winifred’s death. But I can’t get past the idea that there was an element of trying to control Gladys without killing her. Doing that would have been a very direct connection to the past.’

  ‘Ive to get to the bottom of it all. Grant Hill detests me, but not because we share the same father …’ Alex turned away from him. ‘Please don’t make a big thing out of it. I’m not ready. Mum finally told me Bob Hill is my father and I haven’t processed it yet. My mother won’t say more about it. I know it has to be a shock to you, Tony, but it’s more of a shock to me.’

  ‘Oh, Alex. I’m sorry if you’re taking it hard but I think he’s a good man. Let it settle in your mind, love. Please.’

  ‘Thank you,’ she said quietly. He was always so reasonable and she loved him for it. ‘I don’t think Grant knows about it, any more than Bob does. But Grant has decided Bob is romantically interested in me and it’s driving him crackers. Bob’s kind to me and has made reasons to do nice things for me. Grant probably knows all of that, even the offer of a partnership in the new pub perhaps. Bob’s very open. I can’t blame Grant for coming to conclusions that are way out of line.’

  Tony stood still. ‘But Dan knows Grant threatened you. He’ll have figured out what’s going on in Grant’s head by now.’

  ‘They showed sketches of Beverly on TV today. I know you won’t have seen them.’

  He shook his head, no. ‘What does Lily say?’

  ‘I don’t think I mentioned she’s staying at your dad’s. More secluded, she says, and she doesn’t want to run into Bob Hill. I called her and she’d just got back from Gloucester and working with the artist – and trying to talk to Dan. I could tell she’d been crying. Of course, with what the artist has done so far, it just brought everything back but it didn’t move her any closer to really knowing what Beverly looks like now. And she’s sure she hasn’t seen her because she says even in the later sketch it’s still the Beverly she knew.’

  ‘Are you going to
let me in on what Lily overheard in Gloucester.’

  ‘Let’s sit on a bench. Keep your eyes open for anyone coming near us.’

  Katie noted their change of direction and pulled toward the bench. She jumped up and seated herself in the center, making it plain she wanted one of them on either side of her. Tony and Alex obliged.

  ‘Let me just say that I think Grant Hill has some plan to work everything out to the Hills’ advantage. Like I mentioned, I overheard that Grant could be involved in sort of staging the carriage house. I’m not sure what that means exactly, but I do know Lance Pullinger used to live there some of the time and it sounded as if he might have had a female friend there quite often.’

  ‘I got that, I think.’

  ‘The most damning thing my mum heard today was Dan announcing that they’d had an anonymous call to the station from a woman – probably a woman – who said it was Esme Hill who was having an affair with Lance.’

  Turning toward her, Tony hitched up a knee and held it. ‘I didn’t see that coming. Who would make a call like that? Someone with their eye on Bob Hill, perhaps? Stirring up doubt about Esme Hill’s fidelity?’

  ‘Could be,’ Alex agreed. ‘He’s in a business where he’s around a lot of people, women as well as men. And they must have a social life. I know you’ll pooh-pooh this but I wonder about Lady Mekins. If her husband and son are the center of her existence – and I’ve heard her say they are – why is she always hanging around the Hills?’

  ‘I think I heard how Audra and Esme met at the gym and they’ve been fast friends ever since.’ Tony followed the flight of a pigeon for a moment. ‘Have you noticed Audra hanging around Bob?’

  ‘I’ve only seen them in the same place once but no, I haven’t. And the two women are close friends, you can tell that.’

  ‘So, is someone jealous of them both?’