‘You’re Mrs Quicke, aren’t you? I’ve a terrible memory for names, but Gilbert made me promise to look you up. May I drop in to see you sometime?’
‘Time to cut the cake!’
There was a general move indoors, led by the bride and groom. Ellie’s arms ached with holding Frank, but he resisted being put back into his pushchair. Ellie managed to find a chair to sit on, so that she could hold Frank on her lap. But where was her handbag with the all-important phone in it? She must have dropped it somewhere, trying to look after Frank and see that he didn’t get into mischief. She looked to see if she’d left it by the table which had held the canapes, but they’d all been cleared away now. She peered down through people’s legs, to see if it had come to rest on the floor somewhere.
Speeches were going on over her head. People were laughing. Glasses were being refilled. She hadn’t got a glass. A waiter thrust one into her hand. Frank grabbed it, and she spilt some champagne over her fingers, trying to prise it out of his grasp. More laughter. The first toast. She sipped.
Quite a good champagne. Not too sweet, but not acid. An apple-like taste.
It went to her head. Heavens, when had she last eaten anything?
Another speech. She wondered if she could ease herself out of the chair and edge around the room to the door, see if she could find her handbag there. She was hemmed in. Ten to one the phone would ring in a minute and everyone would look around to see if it were theirs and she’d be so embarrassed.
Another gale of laughter. Louder this time. Someone had made a good joke, then. Was it the bridegroom? She hadn’t thought he’d have it in him. Another toast.
Frank tried to grab the glass again. She allowed him one tiny sip. He pulled a face and pushed the glass away. He really needed a good run around, but she was surrounded by people who, judging by their looks in her direction, thought it a poor show to bring such a young child to a wedding reception. She rather agreed with them.
There. Someone’s mobile had gone off. Was it hers? What was happening to Diana?
It wasn’t hers. A woman removed her mobile from her bag, spoke low down into it, and wriggled her way out of the throng into the hall to continue the conversation. If only Ellie could do the same.
More laughter. Another toast.
Good, no reading out of telegrams or cards or whatever it was they had nowadays. It always took up so much time, and none of the guests would know the people who’d sent them. Or care. The bride and groom disappeared, led away by one of the waiters to another room to change. Still Ellie couldn’t move from her chair for people around her. A noted bore from church suddenly realized he was standing right in front of her, and began to give her his opinion of the service, which hymns ought to have been chosen, and which not.
She abstracted her mind while nodding and smiling, she hoped, in the right places. Frank became ever heavier in her arms. It was possible he would go off to sleep if she kept very still.
People were looking at their watches, wondering how soon they could get away, trains to catch, staying overnight, where did I leave the car?
The bride and groom returned to the far end of the room. Ellie couldn’t see them from where she sat, but she could tell they were there by everyone’s reactions. The room emptied as if the plug had been pulled out, as everyone but Ellie and the waiters and waitresses followed the bride and groom out into the drive at the front of the house. Ellie could hear shouts of ‘Throw the bouquet this way!’ ‘Here, Joyce!’
Frank was drowsy in her arms.
She looked up and saw the lumpy Tracy holding a handbag which she recognized. The bag was open. Tracy had been looking inside. Perhaps had taken money out?
Tracy saw Ellie watching her. ‘This yours? I found it under the chair.’
‘Thank you,’ said Ellie. ‘It must have slipped off my shoulder when I was dealing with my grandson.’
Tracy shrugged and turned away, leaving the bag with the flap still undone, on a side table. Ellie watched her go.
One of the waiters approached her. ‘Is there a problem, madam?’
‘I hope not. I lost my bag.Your waitress picked it up. I just hope nothing’s missing.’
‘I’m sure not, madam. Let me bring it over for you, and you can check it. Though if it’s been lying around for some time, anyone might have picked it up.’
‘I realize that.’
He brought the bag over. Frank came fully awake again and wriggled. She let him down onto the floor. Where was his pushchair? There were some toys, attached to that which might keep him occupied for a few minutes. With one eye on the toddler, Ellie checked over the contents of her bag, which looked all right at a quick glance. She flicked open her purse and paused. There should have been some twenty pound notes in there and a fiver. There were no notes there at all.
She held the purse up so that the waiter could see. ‘I rather think I’m missing some money.’
He didn’t want to know, she could see that. She could also see that making a fuss at a wedding reception – at Joyce’s wedding reception – was going to make her unpopular.
‘You must be mistaken, madam.’
So that was how it was to be played? She was sure the notes had been there this morning. Now they weren’t. Was it worth making a fuss? Possibly not.
She delved into the bottom of her bag for her mobile phone. Why hadn’t anyone rung her?
She tipped the bag towards the light. She couldn’t find the mobile.
Because – it wasn’t there.
The waiter was hovering, looking impatient. They would be wanting to clear up, get away. Rose would be coming back in soon, probably having a little weep. It would upset Rose a lot to have a theft discovered at Joyce’s wedding.
Ellie said, ‘I’m sorry to make a fuss, but my mobile phone is missing as well. Perhaps you’d better let me speak to whoever’s in charge?’
‘I’m in charge, madam.’ He didn’t look old enough, and he didn’t look as if he relished the position, either. ‘I’m sure you’re mistaken. All our staff are vetted. Anyone could have picked up a bag which had been carelessly mislaid. Anyone. Not just my staff.’
‘I agree. But you see, I have to think it might be your girl Tracy, because I saw her handling my bag. Will you speak to her, please? I don’t mind so much about the money, but I must have my phone back immediately.’
He didn’t take his eyes off her, but went to the doorway and called for Tracy. She came, slowly, insolently, hand on hip. Her fair hair had been tied back in a scanty ponytail but wisps were escaping in untidy fashion. Her shoes were scuffed.
‘Yes?’
‘Madam is missing some money and her mobile phone. She thinks you might have picked them up when you found her bag. Perhaps it was open and the contents tipped out?’
‘No.’ Tracy’s eyes were bright and bold, fixed on Ellie. Her body language said, ‘You can’t pin this on me.’
Ellie thought, She’s ditched the stuff somewhere. Or passed it on to an accomplice. Now where would she have put it, if she had so little time to dispose of it? She let her eyes roam around the part of the room in which the girl had been standing when Ellie saw her with the bag in her hand.
The waiter didn’t want any trouble. Also, time was passing and he wanted to get off. ‘Perhaps, madam, you left the mobile at home this afternoon, and just thought you had it with you.’
‘No,’ said Ellie.‘I’m expecting an important phone call. I checked several times this afternoon – after I arrived here – to see that the phone was switched on.’ She narrowed her eyes. Tracy had been standing halfway between the door and the corner of the room where there was a big stand of flowers. She’d been standing right in front of a glass-fronted bookcase, but there wouldn’t have been time for her to open the doors of the bookcase and stash something inside, would there?
‘Accusing me without any evidence,’ said Tracy, enjoying herself. ‘I’ll have the law on you.’
Ellie grabbed little Frank, who
was just about to dive under the table where the cake had been. She spoke to the waiter. ‘You see that stand of flowers in the corner by the door? It’s supposed to be all white flowers, but I think I can see a bit of blue. My mobile phone has a blue cover. Would you like to look for me?’
The waiter looked and produced Ellie’s mobile phone. Plus a small bundle of notes. He looked at Tracy and then he looked at Ellie.
Ellie said, ‘You can check the first few numbers on the memory bank in the mobile to see if it’s mine. They are for my daughter Diana, son-in-law Stewart, and cousin Roy.’
‘Yes, it’s yours,’ said the waiter. He shot a look at Tracy, who rolled her shoulders at him.
‘I expect you carelessly left the bag open and someone picked it up and the things fell out, then they popped them into the flowers for safety. Madam.’
The waiter looked at Ellie. Would she go along with this explanation, false as it sounded, or was she going to make a fuss? ‘Do you want me to call the police?’
Ellie shook her head. She’d got her phone back, and there wasn’t really enough evidence to take to the police. Tracy did a slow turn and removed herself from the room, her apology for a ponytail bouncing behind her.
The waiter said, ‘Our apologies, madam, that you’ve been so inconvenienced.’ He handed over the phone. It had been turned off, so even if someone had tried to contact Ellie, they wouldn’t have got through. Frank had crawled under a chair and was going to bump his head when he sat upright. Ellie dived for him and pulled him out, protesting.
Ellie said, ‘Tell me, have you ever employed that girl before?’
‘Well, no. We were one short today so got her through an agency.’
‘Which agency, may I ask?’
‘Ladies in Waiting. We often use them, because their people are Silver Service trained.’
‘That girl isn’t.’
‘No. We’d booked her for a function this evening too, but I’ll make sure she’s not required. Will that be all, madam?’
Ellie bounced Frank on her knee and turned on her phone. There was one message waiting for her.
Stewart; ‘Ellie, turn on your phone, for heavens’ sake. Diana threw a wobbly and they had to call in the doctor to calm her down. We should all be able to leave shortly.’
Ellie was still gazing at the phone when Rose came in, having a little weep.
‘What a lovely wedding, wasn’t it? I don’t suppose they remembered to thank you for everything that you’ve done to make it happen, but dear Ellie, I do thank you from the bottom of my heart and I’m sure dear Joyce will when she has recovered from the stresses of the day. Oh dear, my poor feet. I shouldn’t have worn these shoes really, they do pinch, but Joyce said I mustn’t wear my usual old clodhoppers. Wasn’t the garden the most marvellous place to have the reception? And the waitresses and waiters – superb, except for that one, but we won’t mention her on this lovely day, will we?’
Frank ran to her and hugged her leg. She loved Frank, and Frank loved her. With a touch of envy, Ellie watched Rose pick up Frank and give him a cuddle, to which he responded with lots of giggles.
Dear Rose. She was just like one of the family.
Rose put little Frank down, smoothing back his hair. ‘I suppose I must go and deal with my cousin and his wife, poor things, no chick nor child of their own so they don’t realize that children can love their parents without showing it. I wish I could come back to you tonight, Ellie – how is dear Miss Quicke managing? – but I shall have to take them out to supper and after that I’ll be so tired I’ll just go home to my own little bed, which doesn’t seem like my own any more, isn’t that odd, but I suppose it’s because I’ve got so used to a bit of peace and quiet and the boy next door – well, I suppose we were all young once …’
She drifted away to where her cousin and his wife waited for her, grimfaced.
Then Bill was there, also looking grim-faced. No Stewart and no Diana.
Ellie and Bill took Frank out into the garden to look at the gulls, while the catering staff moved into the drawing room to clear out the traces of the party.
Ellie asked, ‘What happened?’
‘I don’t know what happened before I arrived, but when I did she accepted me as her solicitor without turning a hair. I used the excuse you gave me, that Diana was so upset about the separation from Stewart that she was not perhaps as calm as she looked. Diana picked up the hint and within five minutes she was in floods of tears, following it up with a full-scale temper tantrum.
‘I suggested we take a break. The police were nonplussed. They’d picked up somehow that Diana and her aunt were daggers drawn and they wanted to question her about it. Eventually Diana settled in to a good long weep, unable to lift her head and certainly unable to answer their questions. The police suggested she might like to see the doctor, take a sedative. She refused the sedative, said she’d be perfectly all right once she’d had a good rest. So they said they’d send for her again tomorrow. She put on a lovely act, I must say. All noble innocence, wrongly accused.’
‘You think her guilty, then?’
‘It’s not my place to think such things. I don’t particularly wish to represent her, but if they call her in again tomorrow and I can’t get my partner back in time – which I don’t think I can – yes, I’ll represent her.’
‘Thank you, Bill. It’s more than I asked of you.’
‘I must say, she gives a lovely performance. It would be a hard-hearted jury who would convict.’
So Bill did believe her guilty.
Ellie sighed. She wished she could be as sure, one way or the other. ‘So where is she now?’
‘She went with Stewart to get some things she needed from the flat. Stewart has more backbone than I thought. He behaved well. He didn’t reproach her, or bother her with questions. Just asked her what she wanted to do. He gave me a message for you, asking why your phone had been turned off, said he’d pick up little Frank as soon as he could. End of story. I’ll run you back home, shall I? Can you face the dance tonight?’
Ellie stiffened her back. She could take this. Of course she could. Bill deserved a lollipop for all his trouble. ‘Certainly I can. I owe you so much. I have a new dress to wear and I’m going to knock everyone’s eyes out.’
‘That’s my girl.’ He gave her an absent-minded hug and a kiss on her cheek.
Stewart arrived at Ellie’s just after Bill had dropped her there. Aunt Drusilla was ensconced in the conservatory with her paperwork and called for Ellie and Stewart to join her.
Ellie explained what had happened and asked Stewart, ‘Where is Diana?’
‘She wanted me to take her to the flat and then get lost. I asked her what she wanted to do about Frank. She said she was sure you’d look after him for a bit. I said I wanted to keep him with me and she just laughed as if I’d made a joke. Then I asked if she intended to keep the flat for herself, in which case I’d move out. She said the flat was a dump and she wouldn’t be spending any more time in it, that I was welcome to it.’
‘Is she still very distressed? Bill told me she cried a lot at the police station.’
‘No. She was perfectly all right. She can turn it off like a tap, you know.’
Ellie did know. Diana’s two-year-old tantrums had lasted until she went to school, causing terrible battles with Ellie, who had tried in vain to teach her daughter that this was not a good way to carry on.
Ellie said, ‘I thought she’d grown out of throwing tantrums.’
Stewart grimaced. ‘Until she can’t get her own way about something. It was a nasty shock when she first threw a wobbly at me on the day she learned she was pregnant. I was thrilled that we were to start a family so soon and we could have managed, easily, if we’d moved to a smaller house. She didn’t see it that way. So we compromised; she had the child but we kept on with the big house – much against my better judgement.’
Aunt Drusilla said, ‘Do you still love her?’
Stewart shook hi
s head. ‘No, but I married her and I’ll stick with her, as long as she’ll let me.’
Stewart picked little Frank up, gave him a hug, and took him out into the garden.
‘You can’t help admiring a man who’s letting himself in for a life of misery,’ said Aunt Drusilla.
Ellie watched Stewart as he ran around the garden with his son, playing hide and seek. Frank loved it. He shrieked and ran, and shrieked again.
Ellie took the opportunity to go upstairs, have a shower and change into her new dress, hoping the neighbours wouldn’t complain about the noise Frank was making. He was such a dear little boy and was probably suffering from the tensions between his father and mother.
Ellie managed to get some food on the table – with her largest apron covering her dress. She only needed to feed little Frank and Aunt Drusilla, luckily, as she’d eat at the dinner dance and Stewart had said he wasn’t hungry.
‘By the way, Ellie, thank you for the introduction to your friend Kate,’ said Aunt Drusilla. ‘She’s given me a lot of useful information about that scoundrel who has been mishandling my affairs. I’ll pass it all on to the police on Monday.’
‘Giving them something else to think about? Isn’t it a bit late for that?’ asked Stewart, nursing little Frank on his knee. Neither Ellie nor Aunt Drusilla said anything to that. A heavy silence settled upon them.
Ellie switched on the electric light. The fine spring day was drawing to a close and though the nights were getting lighter, it would be some time before they could eat without artificial light. Stewart looked tired, she thought.
‘Did you say you’d got a babysitter coming tonight?’ she asked.
Stewart looked at his watch. ‘I’d better get going. At first I thought I’d cancel her, but then I thought I might as well go out somewhere tonight, give myself something else to think about.’
He went off, carrying Frank under one arm – much to the little boy’s delight – and the pushchair under the other.
Murder By Accident Page 21