“Look who’s here,” he said. “You’re still a sight to behold, Letty, and young Hayley as well.”
“Not so young anymore, I’m afraid.” Hayley pulled a playful face. He’d kept up well, she thought, despite the stroke. She’d been afraid to find him a wreck, but his eyes were as sharp as ever.
“Fiddlesticks. You’ve got your whole life ahead. Not like us old-timers.” He glanced at the cake tin. “Why don’t you and my boy get the tea ready, while your nan and I catch up?”
“Your dad’s in a great mood,” Hayley said as she helped Ben prepare the tea.
“Surprisingly so.” Ben placed sugar and milk on the trolley. “He usually prefers it if no-one apart from Chris darkens our doorstep.”
“Well, he and my nan have known each other forever.”
“I know, but he turned his back on all his old cronies when things got bad.”
“Could be he didn’t want them to see him in a wheelchair,” Hayley said.
“That’s possible.”
“I’ve promised Letty we’d sit by the pond,” John said as they returned.
Ben dutifully pushed the wheelchair onto the flagged path running through the lawn all the way to the water. Hayley took charge of the tea trolley after she’d made sure the pathway was well-kept. She had a deep-seated fear of Letty falling and breaking her hip.
The upper tier of the trolley had fold-away boards which turned it into a table.
Ben supplied picnic chairs and gallantly lowered Letty into the most comfortable one, with cushions for her head and back.
They chatted about the weather and the upkeep of the pond with its fish and water-lilies while they enjoyed their tea.
“Why don’t you young folk go for a walk and take a peek at the fish?” John said. “I haven’t seen my Golden Orfes in a while. The heron might’ve had them as a snack.”
Ben gave Hayley a resigned glance as they rose to stroll around the pond.
“They make a nice pair,” John said when the two were out of earshot. “I didn’t see a ring on your Hayley’s finger.”
Letty tittered. “She’s a bit too independent and headstrong for most men, I’m afraid. Most blokes like their women pliant. And that last man of hers. Well.” She shook her head sadly. “I could have told her straight away he was wrong for her. Too demanding by half. But they don’t want to listen to us, do they?”
“Same with my Ben. I knew it when I clapped eyes on the gal it wouldn’t work out. But no, he had to marry her.” John reached for his special cup. A droplet of tea ran down his chin. Letty patted it swiftly away with a napkin.
“Your daughter-in-law did seem a bit out of place to me,” she said.
“I shouldn’t have let the boy come home. Not with her anyway. My mistake.”
“You couldn’t know that. Mind you, I sometimes wonder if I did the right thing with my Hayley, when she decided to return. Not exactly a lively place for young people, is it?”
“We found enough entertainment in our days. Now it’s all just technology and foreign trips and out with the old,” John said.
“Your Ben seems happy enough with you.”
“He has to make the best of it. It’s not as if he could up and leave.”
Letty massaged her neck, to work out a kink. “I thought he stays because of you. It’s nice to see my Hayley’s not the only one devoted to family.”
“What you need is a massage,” John said as Letty gingerly turned her neck. “I don’t know what I’d do without Chris. A week without him when he’s on holiday, and my whole body aches. Funny thing, muscles. You should think mine’d be numb, but now. But no. Give me merry hell, they do.”
“It must be a great comfort, and a relief for Ben to have Chris around. I’m so glad Hayley finally saw fit to hire more bar staff, and Heather’s shaping up nicely in the kitchen. We can’t have the children tied up forever.” Letty broke off a small piece of cake and nibbled on it, satisfied with the direction their chat took.
John would bristle at being told the blunt truth, but it couldn’t hurt to seed a few ideas. She showed her dimples. “I’ve been telling my granddaughter to go on a holiday and meet new people. Ben and his wife should have done that.”
“Donna went off on her own for a few days. That worked well.” John grunted. “Came back, she did, bold as brass, and told him to put her stuff in the attic.”
“Poor Ben. He must have been distraught.” Letty’s tone showed just the right amount of commiseration, she thought, without being overtly curious.
“If you ask me, he was glad. Donna wanted it kept secret, of course. Told the cleaner not to tidy the bedroom anymore.” Anger blazed in John’s eyes.
“How long did she live up there?” Letty asked.
“Six weeks or thereabouts.”
“And she already told him she wanted a divorce?” Letty sadly shook her head.
“About halfway through. When she’d totalled how much money she could squeeze out of my boy. A schemer, that’s who she was, with all her simpering and fancy clothes.”
Letty gasped. “I made Hayley promise me she won’t let anybody touch what’s hers when I signed over the ‘Green Dragon’. You hear about so many bad things happening when people break up.”
“I should have kept the farm in my name, but I wanted to do the right thing by the lad when he put in all his money to keep all this afloat. That’s why I added his name to the deed.” His good hand shook. He gripped the armrest of his wheelchair.
“It is nice though to see you’re both still here. Traditions matter, don’t they?”
“When I leave, it’ll be feet first.” An obstinate look came into John’s eyes.
“You have a good span ahead of you. We’re a tough lot, our generations.” She chuckled softly. “I’m glad my Hayley’s found a new friend. It’s good to have things shaken up once in a while, and Eve is just the sort my girl needs.”
John grunted again.
Letty said, “But of course, you’ve met her. Nice girl. Good head on her shoulders, too.”
“She seemed alright.” John moved his wheelchair a few degrees.
Letty suspected that he was a lot less dependent on Ben’s constant support than his son realised. Maybe she should tell the boy to stop clucking over John like a brooding hen.
He looked across the pond, at Ben and Hayley who were laughing together. “Much better to stick with someone you know,” John said. “Trust is what matters. New is all very well, but it’s relying on another that’s important in the end.”
“I can’t see Hayley with any of our regulars,” Letty said. “Although your Chris is making a habit of dropping in again.”
“In that case Ben’d better get a move on, before he’s outshone in Hayley’s eyes.”
For an instant, Letty was surprised to hear John contemplating a relationship for Ben. But then matchmaking for his son would still put him in a position of power. She decided to probe further. “Chris might come in to see Eve.”
John perked up. “She’d be good for him. Chris could do with a bit of fun. He’s been single too long. How anyone could choose the army over settling down with a good solid lad like him is beyond me.”
“He looked fine to me, not heartbroken at all. He must have to fend off some of his patients with a stick. Or their daughters.” Letty smiled.
John laughed, a short, wheezing sound that struggled to come out. “If you could hear half the stories he’s telling me. Not always suitable for female ears.”
He’d be surprised if he could hear half the stories she’d heard over the years in the “Green Dragon”, she thought. “He must have a knack,” she said.
“The one person who got a word out of my daughter-in-law when she had one of her moods. Treated her like a patient.”
Letty rolled her head again from side to side.
“I’ll ask him to have a look at you,” John said. “Or you could come on one of the evenings he babysits me.”
“That would be
lovely. I don’t want Hayley to worry unnecessarily.” Letty waved across the water. “I hate to run off, but we shouldn’t leave Grace and Heather on their own for too long. It’s a lot of responsibility, taking care of the whole pub.”
John lifted his good hand and touched Letty’s cheek. “It’s good to see you again. Have a proper chat with a mature person.”
“I’ll be back,” she said.
Hayley insisted on Letty having a rest before Eve came over. She left her nan resting on the sofa, Letty’s body at peace and her mind churning away.
Eve struggled to temper her impatience. Luckily, Letty didn’t keep her in suspense.
“John Dryden is hiding something, and I believe it’s about money, or another reason why he can’t afford to let Ben go his own way.” The old lady shook her head in resignation.
“What makes you think that?” Eve asked.
“He said as much. And he wants Ben to get a girlfriend.” Letty’s eyes gleamed.
Eve’s cheeks grew warm. “Pardon?”
“He does.” Letty patted the seat next to her. Hayley, torn between curiosity and the urge to check on her staff, sat down.
Letty stroked Hayley’s arm. “And it’s you, my darling, John’s set his sights on for his son.”
“What?” Hayley and Eve said in unison.
“That’s crazy,” Hayley said.
“Is it?” Letty asked. “Look at it from John’s point of view. He’s known you since you went to secondary school, he can be sure you’re not after whatever money there may be left, and you look after me as much as Ben looks after him.”
“Ben likes Eve. John must have noticed.” Hayley spoke as much to herself as to Eve.
“He has. That’s why he’s so keen to set you up with Ben, before his boy gets any ideas of running off with Eve.” Letty chuckled. “You won’t miss out on romance either, Eve. For you, John has his eye on Chris.”
“That’s the most stupid thing I’ve heard,” Eve said.
“Is it? I think it’s nice to have a parent who cares about your happiness,” Letty said.
The bell from the pub rang. Hayley jumped off the sofa. She said, “Isn’t it just? Because Ben always used to be the apple of John’s eye. Why then would he try to steer Ben away from Eve?”
“Maybe because you’re all wrong.” It hurt Eve to say it out loud. “Ben’s not exactly shown any kind of interest in me, and I have tried. Subtly.”
Hayley gave her a pitying look. “The local ideas of subtle are pretty much one step away from flinging yourself on his lap. You said yourself, he’ll shy away from you until he’s cleared. I’ve seen him and you. He is more than interested.”
“What about you?” Eve asked.
“Me? And Ben? Are you kidding? You see the strong, brooding guy, manfully masking his wounds. I see a gangly youth who swapped packed lunches with me. He’d written his name in computer code on his lunch box. Hopeless.”
Hayley blew Letty a kiss and flew off.
Eve took the spot next to Letty. “What should I do?”
“Go on with what you’ve started. One thing I’ve been wondering about.” Letty’s head drooped a little. She needed rest, Eve thought, as music erupted from the pub and startled them. Letty’s head shot up. She pressed a button on a remote, and a minute later the music died down enough for them to hear nothing but a faint base-line.
“What is it? The fact that Ben kept Donna’s affair secret from the police?” Eve mulled it over for the umpteenth time.
“That too, although he would do anything to spare his father. John hated to be the subject of gossip.”
“But it would have been in their own interest to deflect suspicion.”
“Ben had his alibi. No.” Letty stifled a yawn. “My question is, how did the sleeping pills get into John’s tea?”
Chapter 19
The words reverberated in Eve’s mind as she tried to sleep. Even if the door had been unlocked and the killer found easy access, the drugged tea threw everything into confusion. Unless – she sat upright in her bed and grabbed her notepad – Donna had been the mastermind. She could easily have ground up a few of John’s pills and put them into his teapot, ready to dissolve when the hot water was filled in.
She could have given her lover a spare key and drugged John to keep him out of the way for her rendezvous. They could have planned to steal a few heavy, valuable items while Ben was gone. He wouldn’t be able to stop them, and if Donna disliked the Drydens as much as Ben told Eve, it would have made perfect sense.
It would also explain why there were no signs of a struggle. Poor Donna had trusted her killer. As for his motive, they could have argued about money, or a lack of affection, or any number of things. Wife number two used to fly into a rage whenever one of her fake nails broke.
Eve put the notepad away and snuggled back under the duvet. Her theory needed a few more details to bolster it up, but that shouldn’t be too difficult, and then Hayley could run it by her police source if they got stuck with identifying the lover.
Ben sauntered into the ‘Green Dragon’ the next Monday. Grace’s eyes popped as she saw her former employer, but she managed a weak smile. The two men at the bar beat a sulking retreat. News about Hayley’s threats of banishment for any customer spoiling for a fight must have travelled, Eve thought. She stayed in her spot at the table in the back. If Ben wanted to join her, he had to make the first move.
Instead, he established himself at the bar.
“Quiet tonight,” Ben said to Hayley.
“That’s why I called you.” She handed him a bottled beer. “Drink’s on the house.”
Grace moved close enough to overhear them. As did Eve, who’d brought her empty glass as an excuse to eavesdrop.
“My nan could do with your tech advice, if you can spare a moment.” Hayley came around from behind the bar and clasped his arm. “She’s worried about vandalism, with everything going on in the news.”
“Sure.” Ben followed her, the bottle in his hand.
“She’s asked you to join us, Eve. She’s interested in your new security measures.”
Eve could sense a wave of dislike rolling towards Ben. Unless it was aimed at her as well. She stiffened her neck and trailed her friends.
“Hello, Letty.” Ben kissed the old lady on both cheeks. Letty coloured slightly, testament to Ben’s appeal. He hadn’t kissed Eve. Or taken her hand.
“What can I do for you?” he asked.
“Sit down and relax.” Hayley pulled up a chair for him. “We only wanted to send a message not to mess with Nan and me, or Eve, or you.”
“I can’t stay too long,” Ben said, but he accepted a beer.
Letty patted his hand. “It’ll do your father good to grow up a bit. Give him an emergency button to summon aid and become a little independent. Or John will run your life for you, if you like it or not.” She glanced at Eve who sat as far away from Ben as she could without it being obvious.
“It’s complicated.” Ben stared at his bottle without drinking.
“Looks simple enough to me,” Hayley chimed in. “Do you want to still be hanging around him every waking minute when you’re fifty?”
“Good heavens.” Ben ruffled his hair. “I’m doing what I have to, to take care of him. One day –“
“One day he’ll be dead, and you’ll be a lonely old sod, shuffling around in carpet-shoes and saggy cardigans in that bloody manor,” Hayley said.
“Thanks for that lovely picture.” He inched closer to Eve. “Do you agree with Hayley?”
“I don’t know the situation well enough to say anything.”
Hayley gave her nan a small signal.
“You do realise that John is convinced you need female company?” Letty’s sweet smile showed off a dimple.
“He does?” Ben’s glance wandered to Eve, only to be redirected at Hayley, and Letty.
“He told me himself. He also thinks Eve should find a partner.” Letty twinkled. “Your father wants he
r to get together with his nice massage therapist.”
Ben caught his beer bottle before it crashed on the floor. The liquid sloshed over the side and onto his jeans. He hastily mopped it up with a tissue.
“Of course, it’s nice to see him take an active interest in other people again. I’ve got my share of company, but your father’s alone too much,” Letty said.
“You just told me to leave him on his own more often,” Ben said.
“Only so he’ll stop seeing you as a caregiver and start seeing you as a person again. That’s a different kettle of fish.” Letty twinkled at Hayley, who gave her a quick squeeze.
Ben didn’t seem convinced.
Eve wasn’t surprised, only slightly disappointed. He’d always put his father’s needs first, she thought. Which was silly and sad and simultaneously sweet.
She took her bag. “I’ll walk you home,” he said, “unless you’d rather not be seen with me in public.”
“Not at all.”
Hayley gave her discreet thumbs-up as they all walked downstairs. At the bar, she waved them off in a display of enthusiasm. Hayley might as well have flipped her customers the bird.
Ben took a close look at the visible camera. “Good work.”
“Fast too,” Eve said. “And the work crew cleaned up their mess without being prompted.” She had four cameras altogether, covering front and back. They instantly recorded any movement and sent an audible signal to her phone.
“I’m glad you feel safe again.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” she lied. If she told him how much the word murderer and the hate behind it had spooked her, he’d bolt.
“Would you like to come inside?”
“Next time.” He held up his phone, grimacing wryly. He’d missed two messages from his father.
“Had a nice evening?” John watched Ben with an unusual intensity.
“It’s always good to help out,” Ben said. “I don’t want Letty to get ripped off by any smug salesman.”
Let Sleeping Murder Lie: A cozy mystery Page 15