There was the sound of a car on the gravel drive, and they all turned their heads towards the entrance hall. Duncan mumbled he had sent John to the kitchens and went to see who had arrived for himself. Francine and Diana were left alone, and Di turned a sympathetic face towards the bereaved mother.
“Did you know Andrew and Isabelle yourself?” she asked.
Francine hesitated before answering. “I met them both up in town. We share some of the same social circles. Isabelle was often accompanied by Andrew, but I never mentioned it to Duncan. Knowing how they felt about each other, I felt there was no need.”
“Have you ever met, or do you know anyone else who was here on the day Caroline drowned?”
“Do you mean someone who could have played a part in all this?” Francine leaned forward with her arms on her knees while she thought. “There’s always going to be some overlap, but yes, there are a few. Thomas meets many people in his capacity in the government, and we have countless acquaintances. I’ve no idea who was here that dreadful day except for those Duncan may have mentioned.”
“But there were a few, you said.” Diana goaded her gently.
“Yes. Apart from Isabelle and Andrew, I’ve met Russell and that photographer friend of his.”
Diana was puzzled at first. Sebastian had told her he never met Caroline’s parents. Besides didn’t Francine know he was Russell’s son?
“Sebastian?” she asked.
“No. No, Brian, or Barry something I believe he was called. They were all having dinner up in town. There was a lot of gaiety at their table I remember because they were discussing the film shoot. I’ve met Russell once or twice before. I always remember those people who are connected with Duncan for some reason. I suppose it’s because we were so close…still are in many respects. Anyway, he introduced me to Barry as the stills photographer for the shoot. I presume after this, Caroline met him, and Sebastian subsequently came on the scene. I’m sorry I never met the young man, and I’m not likely too now unless he comes to her funeral…whenever the police see fit to release her body.” She paused, as fresh tears were welling up in her expressive eyes. She reached over and grabbed a handful of tissues from a box on the small table next to her. She dabbed at her face and then screwed the paper into her fist. “Sorry, I don’t know what I’m going to do. My darling daughter is dead and all because of some insane person.”
Diana reached over and gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “It’s all right. You don’t have to talk any more if you don’t want to.”
Francine looked up and sniffed. “It’s not a problem. I need to talk about her. I’d hate to never mention her name again, that would be awful.”
“That’s exactly what Sebastian said about his mother when she died after her accident. He said his father refused to mention his dead mother, and he didn’t know how to grieve because of it. He felt so alone.”
“He sounds nice and understanding.”
“I think he is in some ways,” Diana answered vaguely. So that was when Russell had introduced Barry to Isabelle and Andrew.
A commotion and raised angry voices outside the drawing room door broke in upon her thoughts. Russell tore in, closely followed by Duncan. Both women looked surprised at the rude intrusion, and Diana sprang up from her seat.
Chapter 28
“Russell!”
Russell looked from one woman to the other. His face was an unhealthy mottled red. His veins stood out in his neck, and Di feared he was about to have a stroke or heart attack.
“I knew you would be here. What has he told you?”
“You bloody fool!” Duncan shouted. “Why shouldn’t she be here? And what’s it got to do with you what we’ve been discussing? I hope you’re not still harping on about me killing Isabelle.”
Before he could reply, there was the sound of another car screeching to a halt on the gravel drive and the sound of running footsteps. Puzzled, Duncan and the two women looked at each other. Duncan made a move towards the door while Russell rushed towards Diana, catching her by surprise when he grasped her with one arm around her middle and with his other pressed a large knife against her throat.
Diana screamed, and the sound ended in a gurgle as Russell pushed the blade against her skin. “Don’t. Keep very still and very quiet, or I’ll cut your throat.”
Francine staggered to her feet, watching the tableau with wide terrified eyes and let out a shriek as Sebastian appeared in the doorway. He leapt forward and then stopped when he saw his father.
“Don’t do it, Dad. Put the knife down, and let her go. Diana’s innocent.” He held up a hand as if warding off a devil.
“Keep away. Back up. I mean it. I’m not afraid to do it. Get out of my way.”
“Hey, take it easy. Look, I’ll stay here. Just please let Diana go. She’s not involved in any of this.”
Russell laughed mirthlessly. “Not involved? She’s as guilty as hell. She was one of them.” He pressed the knife even closer to Diana’s throat, and Sebastian took a couple of steps back.
When he was happy with the gap in the doorway, Russell tightened his hold around Diana’s middle and began to drag her through it. Francine continued to moan while Duncan stood by ashen and speechless. Russell forced Diana into the hallway and roughly spun her round to confront the others. As she faced them, she caught sight of John peering round the corner and staring at her, open-mouthed with horror.
Without thinking, Diana screamed. “Telephone the police!”
Her scream earned her a vicious kick on the shins, but because Russell said nothing, she couldn’t tell whether he had noticed John or not.
“Don’t even think of it,” Russell snarled at the occupants of the drawing room. “One phone call and she gets it.” Russell yanked Diana towards the stairs. “You and your bloody meddling! Why couldn’t you leave things alone, you interfering bitch?”
Diana gasped as she was pushed up the steps. “Russell, this isn’t you. Why did you do it?”
“Shut up,” he growled. “I’ll tell you in a moment. I suppose you deserve to know. God, but you pushed hard enough. Get up there!” Russell gave her a shove, and despite stumbling onto her knees on the first two stairs, Di was forced upwards.
Reaching the landing, Russell took a moment to check his bearings before dragging Diana towards the second smaller flight of stairs leading to the roof. Diana’s heart began thudding in her chest once she realised where they were headed. There would be no escape from there except down. She tried to prise Russell’s fingers from her side and received a smack to the side of her head from the knife handle. She whimpered with pain and felt a trickle of blood roll down her temple. She had never been as terrified as she was now. Oh my God, she thought. I don’t want to die! I’ve got a baby and loving husband. I don’t want to die like this.
***
Once John recovered from his initial shock of seeing Russell wielding a knife to Diana’s throat, he responded to her scream and ran to the kitchen. Reaching the open doorway, he rushed through, shut the door behind him, and shot the bolt. Mrs Smith looked up from her floury board in surprise.
“Whatever’s the matter? What’s all that shouting and why have you bolted the door?”
“Phone! I’ve got to phone the police!” he gasped and raced to the back wall. Mrs Smith watched in amazement while she listened to his call. After he finished and explained to the housekeeper what was going on, she raised a hand to her mouth in horror.
“Oh, my goodness! What shall we do?”
“Stay here. We’re safe from that madman with the door locked. At least, you should stay. I’m going to run down to the other gate entrance and get the police to come in that way. It’s a bit farther, but I know I can head them off. If they come in the front, then he’ll hear them, and he might kill Mrs Rivers.” Before she had time to argue, he had the back door open, told her to lock it after him, and was off running like mad down towards the lake.
***
At the top of the stairs, Ru
ssell shoved the door open, pushed Diana out onto the roof and released his grip on her. Wanting to put distance between them, she scuttled to the far edge. It was only the second time she had been up there, and the height made her feel giddy. Some repair work was obviously being carried out on the stone buttresses, judging by the workmen’s tools lying about. As it had been raining, the men must have taken the day off, and the space was deserted. She took a breath and closed her eyes, hardly believing this was happening. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she had to fight hard to stop herself screaming. Despite thinking yesterday that almost all the clues led to Russell and then confirming her fears today, she was still stunned. Pulling herself together, she knew she had to get him talking. God only knew what he would do once she ran out of questions.
“Why, Russell? Why kill Caroline? And why Isabelle? What did they do to you?”
“Oh, you’re not so clever then, are you. I didn’t kill Caroline. At least, not directly. It was Isabelle’s malicious idea to give her a shock. She hated that girl. Isabelle thought the publicity would be good if she got a soaking. It was she who thought up the idea of making a small hole in the boat. She didn’t know I watched her with that screwdriver that night. It was very convenient because I made sure I never laid a finger on it. My fingerprints were never anywhere near it, especially since I made sure to always wear Sebastian’s gloves and not mine.”
“But the weighted hem? Surely that caused her to drown—”
Russell waved a hand. “Yes, of course that was me. Isabelle reckoned that if Caroline fell in, then there were enough people to drag her out. Isabelle didn’t know about the weights. Once she told me she was pregnant, she had to die.” His face took on a gloating look.
He was being erratic. First blaming Isabelle for Caroline’s death and then admitting to the crime.
“But Sebastian…he loved her. He’s your son! The child would have been your grandchild.”
Russell laughed, and Diana recognised the wild look in his eyes. He stuttered and his narration lost its complacent, reasonable rhythm.
“She had to die. I had to put her out of her misery…she was one of many such women.” He hesitated and faltered as he thought about what he was saying. Diana waited while he collected himself.
“The child wasn’t my grandchild because Sebastian isn’t my son. There had to be an end to it. I couldn’t let an incestuous relationship continue. I told you before she needed saving.”
Diana couldn’t believe her ears. “Incestuous? Not your son, then who is—?”
Russell walked towards her with a malicious smile upon his face. He grasped her by the shoulders and roughly shook her. “Who else but the spawn of Satan himself, Duncan Macpherson,” he spat his name out. “That bitch, Isabelle, may have eventually stopped Duncan from screwing Emily but not before he’d got her pregnant. When Emily came to me all mealy-mouthed and innocent, she never gave any hint of whose bastard she was carrying. One month down the line and she passed off the baby as mine, but I never truly believed her as much as I wanted to. I did try, but she turned out just like all the other sluts all living in sin without the sanctification of marriage.”
“But Sebastian has lived with you all these years. He believes you’re his father. To him you are his father.”
Russell looked at Diana coldly. “Well, he’s not and never will be. Do you know I’m not sure who I loathe the most out of that family?”
“And Isabelle? Why kill her?”
Russell sneered. “She knew too much, and I’d always hated her. She might have stopped Emily and Macpherson’s affair, but when Em came to me, it was too late. She’d already been spoiled, ruined. Emily didn’t want to get married either. She still wanted Macpherson. So Isabelle failed. Then she took up with Andrew Downs after I introduced them. She was a hypocrite, sleeping with one man while being married to another. I couldn’t accept that. She helped ruin my life. Why should she find happiness?”
Diana began to shake as she listened to the hatred spilling from his mouth. He was completely insane. She realised he had again loosened his tight grip on her while talking, and she cast a furtive look around the roof, looking for some way out of this terror. The main wall and door was behind her, there were two more walls with sloping roofs off to her left and right side. To her front, there was a crenelated lower wall which overlooked the maze garden. Part of the wall looked loose and crumbling, hence the work. She was standing on a tar-pitched flat roof, wet, uneven in places, and slippery from the recent rains. Her heart sank. Apart from scaling the side walls or running back down the stairs, there was no escape. She heard a scraping noise behind her and turned to see Duncan and Sebastian hesitating at the top of the stairs. Russell immediately pulled her back against him, and she once more felt the cold steel against her flesh. She prayed John had called the police.
“Come and join us, if you like.” Russell grinned, his mouth drawn back in a horrid gape.
Sick inside and knowing that Russell might finally flip and cut her throat, Diana understood she had to keep him talking. Her head throbbed from where he had smacked her with the knife handle, and her shins and knees were sore from being dragged up the uncarpeted stairs. She tried to move her head away from the blade. If only she could look at Russell and make a plea to make him think about what he was doing. She took a deep breath and then froze when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Down on the ground, she swore she saw someone dart behind the maze, with another man close behind. She prayed it was Adam with a squad of crack police marksmen.
“Have you had time to explain everything to Sebastian, Macpherson? How his whore of a mother came to me already made pregnant by you? Or told him about that slut of a girlfriend of his who was bearing his own bastard?”
Duncan looked horrified at his words and for a moment there was silence. Sebastian stood completely still and covered his mouth with a hand before uttering a low groan.
“No, Dad, no! That can’t be true! Caroline would have told me. We loved each other. If she was pregnant we would have got married and we would have loved the baby. Please say it’s not true. Why are you doing this?” Sebastian shook his head in desperation and then stared at Russell with pleading in his face.
Russell turned his cold, cruel eyes to Sebastian. “Which part? About the baby you made with your sister? Ha! Did you know Duncan was Caroline’s father? Or do you mean the part about the incestuous relationship you both enjoyed? She broke a cardinal sin—you both did, and she had to atone for that!”
Tears ran down Sebastian’s face as he stood with his hands formed into fists at his sides. “No!” he yelled. “You’re lying. I suspected you of being involved for some reason but not this!” He made a move towards Russell who pulled the knife nearer to Diana’s throat. Diana gave a terrified cry when she felt the blade slice into her skin.
“Back, whoreson,” he said.
There was a gasp from Duncan. “But you’re wrong. Russell, you’ve got it all wrong. Sebastian is not my son!”
“Lies! You never knew when to stop did you? Not content with stealing my Emily in the first place, you got her pregnant and then let that bitch Isabelle walk all over you and her.”
“No! You must listen. After Caroline was born I contracted a bad case of testicular mumps, which made me sterile. Sebastian is not my son…I swear he’s yours. Emily was telling the truth when Sebastian was born. He was born a month premature. Please let Diana go. She’s nothing to do with this. ”
There was a roar from Russell once he heard Duncan’s words. Sebastian shouted in outrage to his father and took a step towards him. As he moved, Russell drew the knife deeper under Diana’s chin and dragged her towards the low wall. “Come any nearer, and I swear I’ll cut her throat. It won’t make any difference to me because she’s guilty too. She was living and rutting with that policeman and then decided not to marry him. All women are the same. They need to be saved.”
Diana was held in a vice-like grip and felt Russell�
��s breath hot against her skin. It was that same strange smell as before. As he dragged her back with him she felt her feet slip on the uneven and wet surface. She lurched against him, knocking him off balance. Russell bellowed in her ear, and as a white flash seared her brain she remembered where she first smelt pear drops. Incensed, Diana took her chance. The edge of the nearest gap in the crenelated wall was crumbling away. Diana gave a violent shove sideways with her hip, Russell’s leather soles slipped in the wet, and he pitched towards the gap taking Diana with him. Sebastian reached out a hand and grasped her arm just as there was a loud gunshot. With a cry of pain, Russell lurched sideways.
Chapter 29
It was late evening, and the shadows were long. Inside Havershall House, an air of expectancy hung in the still darkness, as though the old house was waiting and straining to catch the sound of explanation. The last but one police car had left an hour earlier with the accompanying ambulance and white body bag.
4 Camera ... Action ... Murder! Page 24