‘Celeste, don’t be stupid. Let go of him. You’re just going to make things worse.’
Either her friend couldn’t hear her over the racket or she plain didn’t care. Flora found herself pushed to the side, while the strange little tableau edged ever closer to the open door. The second officer snapped his phone shut, then reached out for Eduardo. He said,
‘I’m arresting you for the murder of Alberto Caro. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence –’
‘He didn’t do it!’ Celeste screamed. ‘You can’t just walk in here and drag him out of my room. What gives you the right to do that?’
‘– do say may be given in evidence.’ The officer carried on reading Eduardo his rights, ignoring Celeste’s protests, while Eduardo continued to struggle. He’d switched to English, but still wasn’t making much sense. With two of them to hold him steady, the policemen had no trouble manoeuvring the actor into the waiting car. Celeste wailed and stamped her feet and told them they’d be sorry.
‘I know your boss,’ she shouted. ‘Jack Harding. He’s a friend of mine, and you’re going to be in so much trouble. He’ll have you for this.’ The wind took her words and whipped them away, but one of the policemen looked back and gave her a pitying smile.
‘Give him a call,’ he told her. His voice was deep and carried all the way into the house. ‘It was him what told us to bring this one in.’
Chapter 11
‘He was in my room when I got back from town. He hasn’t been there the whole time, I swear it.’
Celeste was sitting at the end of the long dining table with Flora close by her side. They couldn’t talk in Celeste’s room because it was still being searched.
‘They’re looking for the tiara, I suppose. They must think Eduardo stashed it there.’ Celeste lowered her head all the way down to her hands, which were clasped on top of the table. ‘Oh, Flora. It’s all such a mess.’
Flora tentatively patted her friend’s back. She’d tried to comfort her earlier but had been thrown off and turned upon – Celeste had run the gauntlet of blaming everyone for Eduardo’s arrest, even Flora. But now she seemed to have run out of fight, so Flora risked another pat. She also decided to risk a potentially tricky question.
‘Celeste, does Jack know that Alberto was blackmailing you?’
Her friend nodded, just the barest movement of her head in her hands. ‘Someone told him. I thought it was you. He was really angry that I didn’t tell him myself.’ She lifted her head and sighed. Her face was streaked with tears, her mouth blurred and swollen, her nose pink at the tip. She still looked stunning, Flora thought with a slight sigh of her own. That star quality just shone through, no matter what. When Flora cried she looked like a blotchy-faced monster. Which was why she cried as rarely as possible.
‘Did you see him today?’ Flora said. ‘Jack, I mean.’
‘I saw him in town. Just after you dropped me off. We had coffee, and then he brought me back here. Maybe he saw Eduardo in the window, or maybe he just got lucky, I don’t know. But about an hour after he left, a load of uniformed officers turned up and started banging on my door.’ Celeste shivered and hugged herself. Flora had asked Sidney to bring her a wrap along with their coffee, but neither seemed to be having much effect. ‘By that time I’d found Eduardo in my room, obviously,’ Celeste said, looking up at Flora. ‘And we were … Well, I’d been worried about him. It was only natural for us to want to be close.’
Flora had guessed as much from their attire – or lack of it. Oh to have the kind of sex drive that overcame all dangers, and a partner who shared it. She sighed again, then picked up her coffee.
‘So, Jack thinks Eduardo killed Alberto because he found out the director was blackmailing you.’
Celeste nodded. ‘They said I might be charged with aiding and abetting him, hiding him from the police, and for tampering with evidence.’ Her voice rose to a wail.
‘I don’t suppose messing up the crime scene helped much,’ Flora said, staring into her cup. She felt Celeste stiffen by her side, but she pressed on. ‘Look, if you did it the way you said you did, it’s the same as admitting you think Eduardo killed Alberto too. Think about it from Jack’s perspective. Why try to cover up for your boyfriend if you knew he was innocent?’ She paused to allow this to sink in, then went on. ‘But if you messed up the room by accident because you were looking for the photos, that’s a different matter. What I’m saying is, maybe you should have come clean with Jack from the start. Completely clean.’
Celeste got up and walked to the window. The drapes were pulled back, and even from the other side of the room Flora could see they were dusty and threadbare. Outside, the early evening sun was finally poking through the rain clouds. She wondered whether they would bother having Alberto’s memorial dinner now. If she and Marshall were going home tomorrow, it seemed a shame not to have the chance to say goodbye to the others. Crazy bunch though they were, Flora was starting to think she might miss them. Even Raquel.
‘Flora, it’s too late for me to talk to Jack now. He won’t listen to me. But you could.’ Celeste turned and held out her hands, held them out straight, palms together, as though praying. ‘He’d listen to you. He thinks the world of you.’ She laughed once, the laugh Flora didn’t like much. ‘You can wrap him around your little finger, always could.’
Flora shook her head. ‘No, I can’t.’
‘He let Marshall go, didn’t he?’
‘Yes, but that was because Marshall hadn’t done anything wrong!’
‘Neither has Eduardo,’ Celeste cried. ‘Flora, you have to help me. I’m in … Eduardo’s in trouble. He doesn’t speak the language very well, he’ll be frightened, he might –’
‘Is he in this country illegally?’ Flora was on her feet now too. She leaned on the table, her eyes fixed on Celeste. ‘Is that what all this is about?’
‘No! Of course not. Oh, forget it.’ Celeste swirled around and circled the table, throwing the wrap at Flora’s feet with a dramatic flourish. ‘I thought we were friends,’ she said, her voice high and full of emotion. ‘I thought you cared about me.’
‘I do care. It’s not fair to put that on me, and you know it.’ Flora’s jaw was aching with tension. She unclenched her teeth and took a steadying breath. ‘Look, Marshall has agreed to do the Channel run first thing tomorrow.’ This was a lie, but Flora was confident she could talk him round. ‘So, your things will be over there ready for you when you need them, and as soon as Eduardo is released you can get on a plane and put all this behind you.’
‘But what about –’
‘I’ll try and talk to Jack,’ Flora said, ‘but I can’t promise anything. Meanwhile, why don’t you go and see Sidney, ask him to check if the police have finished with your room. Then you can go and have a bath or something, get changed, make yourself feel a bit more human.’
The thought of a hot bath reminded Flora of her own plans, but there was no chance of a spot of relaxation for her. What a day, she thought. She sent a mollified Celeste in search of Sidney, then headed out across the gardens. At the very least she needed to change out of her wet things before she tried to get hold of Jack. She thought it unlikely that he’d listen to her again, but for Celeste’s sake she would try. It was the least she could do.
The sun was right behind the trees now, shining into her eyes sideways in staccato flashes. It was disorientating, and she wished she hadn’t left her sunglasses in the yurt. She slowed her pace and held up her hand to shield her eyes. The effect was even worse once she entered the wooded area – darkness, then blinding light, then darkness again. Her foot hit something soft but unyielding and she nearly tripped. She heard a sort of umphing sound and looked down, still shielding her eyes. Lying on the mossy ground, her legs spread out like a rag doll’s and her back half propped against a fallen log, was Gabriella. Flora dropped to her knees. She saw the hilt of a knife sticking up from the young woman’s chest, she saw that her eyes were closed and her
mouth was open. Flora reached for her blindly, her hands fluttering. What was she supposed to do?
‘Gabriella,’ she said, ‘Gabriella, hold on. I’m going to call for help.’ Flora’s phone was in her rucksack. She reached for it, her fingers fumbling with the straps. She dropped the phone, picked it up again. Gabriella opened her eyes. She spoke, it was little more than a whisper, but Flora bent close and put her ear to the woman’s mouth. She felt Gabriella’s hand touch her arm, and then heard her voice again.
‘En la honda.’ She said it again, this time rising on the last word, and then her hand fell away. When Flora turned to look at Gabriella’s face her eyes were still open but all the life in them had gone.
***
‘I just don’t understand it.’
Flora was watching Jack’s team as they worked, quickly and efficiently, to seal off the scene of Gabriella’s murder. They had erected a kind of tent around her body, and a man in white overalls was trailing through the trees now, winding out the police-issue tape. Flora stood next to Marshall. He’d been the first one to reach her when she started to scream for help. Marshall had taken her phone from her hand and called Jack. So far he’d been unable to convince her to come back to the yurt to warm up, to get some rest.
She said it again. ‘I just can’t understand who would want to kill Gabriella. She was so young, so alive. And now she’s gone. Just like that.’ She looked up at Marshall. ‘It’s wrong. You shouldn’t be able to take someone’s life like that. It feels …’ She couldn’t put into words how it felt. Like a crack in the universe, like the sudden reminder of what she’d always known – that one moment a person could be living, laughing, storming around the place, full of life, and the next … Nothing. It had been like that with her father, the heart attack so sudden it was like a personal assault on her very being. Her mother’s death had been more drawn out, but there was still that moment – there, and then not there. ‘I don’t know, Marshall. Alberto was a shock, of course it was, but he was so hated, he had so many enemies it seemed –’
‘Inevitable?’ Marshall ventured. He had his body turned inwards to face her, or perhaps to protect her. She shook her head.
‘No, not that. Oh, I can’t explain. But this? Poor Gabriella. What could she have done to hurt anybody?’
Marshall dipped his head in Jack’s direction. The detective had just come out of the tent, was talking to one of the SOCO team. ‘I’m sure he’ll find out. He looks like he knows what he’s doing.’
Flora squeezed Marshall’s arm in thanks. She knew how much it would have cost him to offer that gesture of support.
‘She spoke to me, you know. Just before she died.’
Marshall gave a low whistle. ‘What did she say?’
‘It was in Spanish. I’ve no idea what she said.’
They watched a while longer. The sun had dipped beyond the hills and the evening carried the threat of more rain. In the clearing, artificial lights mimicked the Rojo film set, lighting up the trees and the earth with white brilliance, turning the surrounding area even darker by contrast. Jack picked his way towards them, nodded to Marshall, then said, ‘Flora, we need to talk. Do you feel up to it now?’
She didn’t, but she said okay.
‘Not here, though,’ Jack said. ‘Let’s go into the house.’
Once again Sidney had been asked to put on tea and coffee in the dining room, and the others had been instructed to stay put. Celeste rushed up to Flora as soon as she and Jack walked in.
‘What’s happening? No one will tell us anything.’ She turned to Jack, her expression suddenly frosty. ‘So you’ll be letting Eduardo go now, I expect. Clearly he couldn’t have had anything to do with this, not while he was in custody.’
Jack ignored her and put his hand under Flora’s elbow. ‘Over here,’ he said, gesturing towards a room further along the hall. It was the library, or at least it had been the library once. Flora looked sadly at the empty bookshelves, at the lumps of white sheeting hiding ancient furniture. Sidney hovered at the door, but Jack sent him away. Flora managed to catch his eye first, and she sent him a reassuring smile. She wondered what the old man made of all this. He probably rued the day he’d agreed to host Rojo Productions and the filming of Una Cita con la Muerte, no matter how much money Alberto had agreed to pay for the privilege.
She told Jack about finding Gabriella’s body, trying to remember every detail. The adrenaline was starting to leave her now, and she felt wiped out and flattened. When she’d recounted everything she could think of, including the exact angle of the knife, and the time and the conditions of the ground and goodness knows what else, she told Jack about Gabriella’s final words.
‘Can you remember them exactly?’ he asked. He sat up a little, his eyes gleaming.
‘Yes. I think so. She said “En la honda.” She said it twice, but the first time was clearer than the second.’ Flora watched Jack’s face. He would understand, of course. She was desperate to find out what final message the wardrobe girl had entrusted to her.
Jack thought for a few seconds. ‘In the deep?’ he said. ‘That’s what it translates to. In the deep. What do you think it means?’
‘I don’t know. I was hoping you’d know.’ Flora let out an infuriated breath. ‘I thought it might have given us a clue to her killer. Why wouldn’t she want that? For God’s sake, if I was dying and someone found me, I’d want to tell them who did it.’
‘Hey, calm down.’ Jack laid his hand over hers for a moment. He said, ‘Maybe she didn’t know she was dying. When your body goes into shock it releases its own painkillers – it’s possible she wasn’t afraid, or even aware of who you were. Or maybe she was delirious. The sad thing is, Flora, we’ll never know.’
‘In the deep,’ Flora repeated, her forehead creased in thought. Then she shook her head. ‘No, you’re right. She must have been delirious. It’s a shame, though. I really thought it might have been a clue.’
Jack watched her for a moment. ‘Flora, I don’t want you thinking about clues. You’re not a detective, it’s not up to you to solve this. You’ve been helpful so far, really you have –’
‘I found out about the note,’ she said, indignantly. ‘You’d still be questioning Marshall if not for that.’
‘True enough,’ he said, smiling. ‘But we would have found out about it eventually.’ He laced his hands behind his head and leaned against the pitted back of one of the old wooden chairs Sidney had uncovered for them. ‘Anyway, I think we have this pretty much nailed down now. Just a few loose ends to tie up, then we’ll be able to draw a line under it. Let this lot get back to Spain.’
‘What do you mean?’ Flora sat up. She rubbed her cheeks, surprised at how cold her hands felt.
‘Come on, Miss Detective,’ Jack said, laughing. ‘You must have worked it out by now.’
‘I’ve had a hell of a day, Jack. How about you just enlighten me?’
He nodded, and gave her an apologetic look. ‘Sorry. Well, we found the tiara’s case in Gabriella’s bag. I recognised it straight away. Our theory at the moment – and it seems pretty robust – is that Gabriella killed Alberto for the Infanta Tiara. That’s how come she was hanging around outside his room when you and Raquel found the body.’
‘She had the tiara on her?’
‘The case, yes. Which proves she stole it. She must have been after it for a while, we think it was why she took the job in the first place.’
Flora thought for a moment. ‘You know, I saw her coming out of Alberto’s room on my first day here. He was outside with the others at the time. Maybe she was looking for it then.’
‘Maybe. But of course, Raquel was wearing it most of the time. Must have been frustrating for Gabriella. So she picks a time when Raquel is out with Vincenzo, a time when she isn’t wearing the tiara, and then sneaks into their room. But Alberto’s there, or he comes back and disturbs her –’
‘And she kills him,’ Flora finished. ‘But why did she do it with Eduardo’s
sword?’
Jack shrugged. ‘She was the props lady. Maybe she had it in her bag. Or maybe she was setting Eduardo up for it. He had been threatening Alberto that morning. In front of everyone.’
‘It’s a lot of maybes, Jack,’ Flora said. ‘Don’t you need some facts to build a case?’
He sat back as though she’d slapped him. ‘We have facts. I’ve been into her background – Gabriella Marino has a criminal record in Spain. Fact. Also, we know there’s been a gang of fences operating in this area, dealing in art, jewellery and antiques. Fact. It won’t be hard to trace her movements now, and I’m betting she’s been in touch with them. I’m betting she only took this job to spy on Alberto and get to the Infanta Tiara. After all, it would be useless to anyone else – it’s too high profile to sell on. You’d need an expert to handle it for you.’
A door slammed in the distance. Flora heard voices in the hall, then silence again. She said, ‘Isn’t it a coincidence, though? Their wardrobe person resigns just before they leave Spain, and then Nick happens to find Gabriella, an international jewel thief cum make-up artist and costume designer?’
Jack laughed and slapped his leg. ‘Oh, Flora, you crack me up. So, first of all, Gabriella studied hairdressing and make-up in prison. Has a qualification in it. Fact. Second, it was no coincidence. The Infanta Tiara’s trip to England made the local news in Spain. She would have made sure she was first in line for the job, no matter what.’
Flora thought about the photos of Alberto coming on to the young woman, and wondered whether that was how she’d made sure. She shuddered to think of it. But after seeing the photos, it wasn’t hard to imagine Gabriella hating him enough to kill him. With or without the priceless diamonds.
A Date With Death: Cozy Private Investigator Series (Flora Lively Mysteries Book 2) Page 15