Six Proud Walkers

by Anthea Fraser

  He opened the dining-room door and gestured Neville Walker inside. The man looked like a zombie, he thought, ten years older than the genial churchwarden he’d first met a week ago. In that week, he’d had a mother and a brother murdered and discovered he was adopted. Enough to age anyone.

  ‘Please accept my sympathy, Mr Walker,’ he began gently. ‘I know your brother’s death’s a terrible shock, so soon after—’

  ‘He wasn’t my brother,’ Neville said.

  Webb looked at him in surprise. Walker stared back, a blankness behind his eyes. It seemed he was still suffering from the first shock of the day; perhaps he’d not yet registered the second. Webb decided to go along with him.

  ‘No doubt your adoption came as a shock, but after all—’

  Walker’s impatient head-shake halted him. ‘Please, Chief Inspector—no platitudes. You can have no inkling how it felt. The family simply disintegrated in front of us. I’d so much. Now, at a stroke, I have nothing. No mother, no brothers, no family.’

  ‘You have your wife and daughters,’ Webb pointed out. That, surely, was inarguable.

  ‘A splinter group, a mere fragment. All this time we’ve been three separate units with no blood-ties, not a combined family, as we believed. Divided, we fall.’

  ‘Mr Walker, there are hundreds upon thousands of happy adoptive families. In all but birth—’

  Walker gave a harsh laugh. ‘Birth—exactly! Now I’ll never know who my parents were. I was probably illegitimate. How are the mighty fallen!’

  Deciding he’d allowed enough time for self-pity, Webb began the interview. ‘I’d like to hear of the events leading to your br—adopted brother’s death. Perhaps you could start when Mr Slim left you.’

  Walker gave his head a little shake as though to clear it. ‘We stayed in the library for a while, trying to come to terms with it. It was the deception that hurt most.’ He paused, and Webb waited patiently.

  ‘Then Phyllis came to say lunch was ready, but none of us were hungry. Since the meal was cold anyway, we decided to delay it for half an hour. It wasn’t put into words, but we all felt the need to be alone, to adjust to what we’d learned.’

  ‘So you split up. Where did you go?’

  ‘Into the drawing-room. I’d avoided it since my—since Mrs Walker was killed, but at that point I felt the need to be there.’

  ‘How long did you stay?’

  Walker shrugged. ‘I’d no sense of time. After a while, I went out on the terrace. No one was in sight. I think most of the others had gone to their rooms.’

  ‘And then what?’

  ‘Then I realised it was one forty-five, and went to the dining-room.’

  ‘Who was there?’

  ‘My wife, the girls, Ashley. Soon after, Howard and Gavin came in, then Eleanor and Jake. Robin didn’t appear, but we weren’t too concerned.’ His face twisted, and he looked away, his hands rubbing hard against each other.

  ‘When did you become concerned?’ Webb asked quietly.

  ‘When we’d almost finished, my wife asked Fay to go and look for him. We knew he wasn’t in his room—Eleanor’d knocked on the door before coming down. So Fay went straight to the shed.’

  ‘Why?’ Webb’s voice was sharp.

  ‘Because we thought that’s where he’d be. He enjoyed chopping logs, and often went down there when he’d something to work out—new designs, things like that. He said the exercise and fresh air cleared his head.’

  His head had been more than cleared this time, Webb thought grimly. ‘And then?’

  ‘Then we heard her screaming. The rest, you know.’

  ‘Who called the police?’

  ‘Melanie ran over to the hall.’

  ‘And that was at—what?—two-fifteen?’ He could check soon enough.

  ‘About that.’

  ‘And you’d split up when?’

  ‘It must have been around one. That’s the time we usually have lunch.’

  Webb saw Howard Walker next. He and his family had come over for the Will-reading and stayed for lunch. They would not have had rooms in which to hide away.

  ‘Where did you go when you all separated?’ Webb asked him.

  ‘We stayed where we were, in the library.’

  He was paler than ever and a small nerve was jumping in his cheek, but he seemed less disorientated than his elder brother. Elder adopted—oh, the devil take it! Webb thought impatiently. He’d continue to refer to them as brothers.

  ‘So you last saw your brother Robin when?’

  Howard’s mouth twitched. ‘When he left the library with the rest of them.’

  ‘You didn’t know where he was going?’

  ‘I never even thought about it. I was too shattered by what I’d just learnt to care where anybody went. I imagine we all felt the same.’ His eyes held Webb’s. ‘Chief Inspector, may I ask you something? Do you think this maniac has a plan of campaign, or just seizes his chances as he finds them? In other words, did he kill Mother and Robin because he happened to come across them, or was he looking for them specifically?’

  Webb rubbed his hand across his eyes. ‘If we knew that, Mr Walker, we’d have a pretty good idea who the murderer is.’

  Howard sighed. ‘Yes, I see.’

  ‘How many of you went to the scene when Fay started screaming?’

  ‘We all did, but Neville and I were in front, and thank God the women didn’t see anything. We tried to make them go back, but Lydia wouldn’t budge without Fay, so Neville half-carried, half-dragged her across. She was completely rigid, and still screaming in that shrill, inhuman way.’ He shuddered, and wiped his hand over his face.

  ‘And what did you do?’

  ‘Well, I—made sure Robin was dead.’ He gave a laugh that was more like a croak. ‘That sounds absurd, but you see I couldn’t believe it. Only an hour before, we’d been—’ He stopped, drew a deep breath. ‘Well, obviously there was nothing we could do for him. Gavin, poor lad, had started retching, so I took his arm and we followed the others back to the house. I asked Melanie to go for the police, but apart from that, none of us said a word. There’s only so much you can take, Chief Inspector, then the defence mechanism clamps down and anaesthetises.’

  And thank God for it, Webb thought. On the practical side, though, it had been a fat lot of good Hobson marking the route; it had been well and truly trampled before he got there.

  ‘Is there any way into the garden other than by the main entrance?’

  ‘There’s a gate in the back wall.’

  ‘How close is it to the shed?’

  ‘A hundred feet or so.’

  ‘Visible from the house?’

  ‘No, there’s a hedge in front of it, to hide the bins and compost heap.’

  ‘So the dustmen go in that way?’

  Howard nodded. ‘Phyllis unlocks it for them on Thursdays.’

  ‘But it’s kept locked the rest of the time?’

  ‘Well, that’s the theory, but the gardeners use it, and they’re not as meticulous as they might be. I’ve heard Neville complain about finding it unlocked.’

  ‘So, providing it was unlocked, someone could have come in and made his way to the shed, unobserved from the house?’

  ‘I suppose so, yes.’

  ‘We’ll check that straight away. And presumably your mother’s killer could also have entered that way?’

  ‘That’s not so likely. To get to the house, he’d have had to cross the lawn in full view of Miss James by the pool.’

  Webb considered. ‘She was dozing when your wife screamed. She could have missed someone.’

  ‘But an intruder would have seen her. Surely he wouldn’t have risked it.’

  There was little else of note. Webb let Howard go, and despatched Jackson to arrange for the gate to be checked. If it was locked it could be discounted; if unlocked, there was an even chance the murderer’d used it to gain access. And the possibility of prints.

  He sat frowning and drumming his f
ingers, reviewing the facts. He’d been glad enough to leave the women to Mrs Petrie; under stress, they’d be more comfortable with her, and his summary dismissal of Nina last time was still an embarrassment. Which left only the two boys, Gavin Walker and Jake Darby.

  He turned as Jackson came back into the room.

  ‘OK, Guy, Bob’s gone down to the gate. He’ll report back.’

  Webb nodded. ‘Let’s have a recap, Ken. At first glance, the three most likely suspects from the first murder are equally valid for this one. Clive Tenby wasn’t home when we called; he could have been lurking in the shrubbery. Only question is, what would he have against Robin? Gavin, of course, was right on hand. We can’t count too much on his father’s assurance he was with him all the time, but again, what possible motive? Another family quarrel we’ve not heard of? We know Gavin has a temper.’

  ‘As for Ridley,’ Jackson put in, ‘he seemed to be asleep when we called, hut there’s no saying how long he’d been there. And he’s the only one who admits to hating all of the Walkers.’

  ‘Then we’ve got the family itself. According to Eleanor Darby, they’re a hotbed of neuroses. Come to that, what about her? She might have found Robin had been two-timing her, and she strikes me as a tough cookie.

  ‘Tell you what, Ken—another errand for you: ask the Inspector to find out if anyone changed their clothes during the day. The women are more likely to have noticed, and the killer must have got some blood on him. And on your way back, collect young Gavin. We’ll have a go at him next.’

  When Jackson returned with Gavin, the boy was more subdued than he’d been in the library. Had more time to think, no doubt. Perhaps he was wondering if he’d left a shoe-print this time.

  ‘Tell me about your uncle,’ Webb began.

  Gavin flashed him a quick look, then settled back in his chair, relaxing slightly. ‘He was a very nice guy—good fun.’

  ‘Did you get on well with him?’

  ‘It was impossible not to get on with Robin.’

  ‘You didn’t call him “Uncle”?’

  Gavin shook his head. ‘He asked us to drop it when we got to about fifteen.’

  Webb said casually, ‘I hear he was popular with the ladies.’ The boy was silent, and he added gently, ‘It’s too late to be loyal, Gavin. We need to understand him, to find who was likely to kill him.’

  ‘I shouldn’t think it was a jealous husband, if that’s what you’re getting at.’

  ‘But he’d had a lot of girlfriends, hadn’t he?’

  ‘What’s wrong with that? He was a very good-looking guy.’

  ‘Anything serious before Mrs Darby?’

  ‘He wouldn’t have confided in me.’

  ‘But you might have overheard family gossip. Was he involved with married women?’

  Gavin flushed. ‘A couple, I think, a year or two back. In fact—I suppose you’ll find out—he was cited in a divorce case.’

  Jackson made a note of the name. That opened the field a bit.

  Webb came abruptly back to the present. ‘Where were you between one o’clock and the time you reached the dining-room?’

  The boy looked startled. ‘You’re not—?’ He broke off, and answered sullenly, ‘With my parents, in the library.’

  ‘Your mother reached the dining-room before you and your father.’

  ‘Dad felt in need of a whisky, so I went with him.’

  ‘Went where?’

  ‘To the drawing-room, where the drinks cupboard is.’

  ‘Did you see your uncle Neville?’

  Gavin shook his head. No doubt that was while Neville was pacing the terrace.

  ‘All right, that’s all for the moment. Send Jake in, will you, please.’

  Jake Darby looked pale and pathetically small as he hesitated in the doorway in his grey shorts and blue shirt. ‘Come and sit down, Jake. How are you feeling?’

  ‘All right, sir, thank you.’

  ‘Your mother will need all the help you can give her for the next few weeks.’

  The boy nodded, biting his lip.

  ‘Were you glad she was going to marry Robin Walker?’ Webb asked curiously.

  The child’s eyes dropped, and after a moment he shook his head.

  ‘You didn’t like him very much?’

  ‘I don’t think he liked me, sir. He only put up with me because of my mother.’

  ‘You resented him butting into your life?’

  ‘I suppose I did, a bit.’

  ‘But he wasn’t unkind to you?’ Another possible motive for Eleanor.

  ‘No, he just didn’t take much notice.’

  ‘I want you to think very carefully, Jake, and tell me exactly what happened when it was decided to postpone lunch.’

  ‘Uncle Robin took Mummy’s arm and they went out of the front door. I followed them. Mummy started to laugh, and Uncle Robin was furious.’

  ‘Why was she laughing? Can you remember what she said?’

  ‘Yes. She said, “Oh darling, you have to see the funny side, surely? All of you going on ad nauseam about your wonderful family, and all the time you weren’t related at all”.’

  Ye gods! ‘And how did your uncle take that?’

  ‘He went bright red and dropped her arm. Then he said, “I might have known I wouldn’t get any support from you! You’ve never lost a chance to sneer at the family, and now when I’m more in need of comfort and understanding than I’ve ever been, all you can do is roar with laughter.”’ The bitter words sounded oddly incongruous in the child’s fluting voice.

  ‘Then what happened?’

  ‘Mummy put out a hand and said, “Oh Robin, I didn’t mean—” but he didn’t let her finish. He shrugged her away, and walked quickly round the corner to the terrace. And Mummy looked at me and said sadly, “I shouldn’t have said that, Jake. I must go and apologise. You go on up to your room. I won’t be long.” So I did.’

  ‘And was she long?’

  ‘Quite a time. I lay on my bed reading and wondering what was going to happen.’

  ‘And when she came, did she tell you she’d apologised?’

  ‘No. When she got to the terrace, Uncle Robin was talking to Fay, so she went and walked in the rose-garden for a bit. And when she went back to look for him, he’d gone. She knocked at his bedroom door, but he wasn’t there, either.’ ‘How long were you alone reading?’

  ‘I’m not sure. About fifteen minutes, I should think.’ Long enough for Eleanor to have seen Robin heading for the trees and followed him.

  ‘Thank you very much, Jake, you’ve been most helpful.’

  ‘Thank you, sir.’ The boy slipped from his chair and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

  ‘And what,’ Webb asked Jackson, ‘do you make of that?’

  ‘Question is, has Mrs Darby also got a temper? Because if they both started shouting at each other—if, for instance, he wouldn’t accept her apology—well, the axe was nice and handy, wasn’t it?’

  ‘Exactly. In each case, the murderer made use of the tools to hand, the poker and then the axe. It seems to suggest that both murders were unpremeditated, the result of sudden frenzy. And frenzy is certainly the word.’

  ‘But she couldn’t have killed the old lady — she was in London that day.’

  Webb sighed. ‘Well, let’s hear what she told the Inspector, anyway.’

  CHAPTER 12

  As it happened, Eleanor’s statement corresponded closely with her son’s. She had not, however, mentioned the scene with Robin, merely saying that he was ‘very upset’ and wanted to be alone.

  ‘How did she seem?’ Webb asked.

  ‘In shock. Not really accepting it.’

  ‘Think she could have done it?’

  ‘It hadn’t occurred to me, but yes, given sufficient provocation.’

  ‘Did she mention Fay talking to Robin?’

  ‘No. I gathered that once outside the house, they went their separate ways.’

  ‘The point needs c
larifying. She might just have omitted it to avoid letting on she went after Robin. On the other hand, it could be significant that Fay was with him. She might even,’ Webb added deliberately, ‘have gone with him to the shed. That could account for her hysteria.’

  A corner of Nina’s mouth lifted. ‘You seem convinced, sir, that the female is deadlier than the male.’

  ‘Not convinced, Inspector, just keeping my options open.’

  ‘For what it’s worth, if Fay had had a hand in it, she wouldn’t have been as calm as she apparently was over lunch. Look how she reacted when she found him.’

  ‘Unless it was all one big act?’ But after a moment he shook his head. ‘No, I’m as convinced as I can be that her condition was genuine. So—anything of interest in the other statements?’

  ‘Not really. Mrs Ashley Walker says she was with her husband and son in the library till she went in to lunch.’ Nina paused. ‘Actually, she seemed more upset than Mrs Darby.’

  ‘Interesting,’ said Webb inscrutably, and Jackson flashed him a glance, remembering the interview after the first murder. He bet the Inspector remembered it, too.

  ‘And the others?’ Webb prompted.

  ‘Melanie was shocked and frightened, but she’d nothing fresh to offer. She was also upset about her sister, wishing she’d gone to look for Robin herself, as her father’d suggested.’

  ‘Why didn’t she?’

  ‘She’d not finished eating, so her mother sent Fay.’

  ‘Where was Melanie during the half-hour before lunch?’

  ‘In her room. She felt there was nothing she could do, so decided to get on with some work.’

  It’s the very devil that they all separated. The only corroborating evidence is the Howard Walkers’, and whether we can believe that is anybody’s guess. Have you seen Fay’s mother yet?’

  Nina nodded. ‘She came downstairs a few minutes ago. Fay’s been given an injection and is asleep. When they all left the library, she went to the kitchen to ask the maid to postpone lunch. She stayed for a minute or two, because Phyllis had something to tell her. I’ll come to that in a minute. Then she too went to her room. She admitted being shaken by the adoption bombshell, but mainly because her husband was so upset.’