by Mona Marple
“What do they say?”
Teddy took a deep breath. “She’s an easy target, that’s all it is. Devon’s so detached from the family, so involved in her own life. And Meghan was too perfect for anyone to have a bad word about. But Priscilla, she doesn’t have anything else to focus on. She has too much time, if you ask me. Time to create problems that don’t exist and turn little arguments into huge problems. I mean, I’m the black sheep in the family, and she’s never been accepted into the family.”
“Does she know that?”
“Of course she does.”
“Do you think your closeness to your mum has contributed towards that?”
“I know for a fact it has, but here’s the thing Sandra. Is your name Sandra?”
“Sandy.”
“Sandy, right. Here’s the thing. My mom was the only reason Priscilla has that nose on her face. You know? So you can be jealous, or you can be grateful. And Priscilla doesn’t know when to be grateful.”
Sandy nodded, not sure what point Teddy was trying to make.
“She knows deep down she isn’t half the woman that my mom is. I can’t really argue with that. My mom, single parent, abandoned by our no-good daddy, builds a company and saves the day, every day. My wife, won’t get out of bed some days.”
“You said she’s ill.” Sandy reminded him.
“I say she’s ill to strangers, it’s an easier conversation.” Teddy admitted.
Sandy thought of Priscilla, asleep in the other room. An outsider, a woman desperately jealous of her mother-in-law.
“What kind of relationship did your brothers have with your mum?”
“We’re a very close family.” Teddy said. “Everyone loves mom.”
“Well, it would seem not everyone does.” Sandy said. “Where were you standing when the lights went out?”
“Erm.” Teddy’s face blanched at the question. “I was right next to my mom. We had our arms linked together, we do that a lot. When the lights went out, we let go of each other in surprise.”
“So you were the person closest to her. What did you do in the dark?”
“Nothing.” Teddy said. He looked down at his hands, which were shaking in his lap. “I’m scared of the dark. I tried to reach for my mom again but I was scared of what I might touch in the dark. So I stood totally still and tried not to have a panic attack.”
“Did you hear anyone move around you?”
“All I could hear was my heart beat thumping in my ears. I have this meditation technique I use before I paint, and I was trying that to calm my breathing but I was so scared.”
“Did you hear the thud?”
Teddy shook his head. “I didn’t hear anything until Graeme came back with the torch. I couldn’t hear until I could see.”
“Had there been any arguments recently among the family?”
“We’re a family, we always have arguments. Nothing serious, though. Eli hasn’t been happy for a while.”
“The divorce?” Sandy prompted.
Teddy nodded. “It hit him hard. I think he still loves her.”
“Should she have been coming on this holiday?”
“Erm, I don’t really know.”
“Okay. Is there anything else you want to mention?” Sandy asked.
“How much do you know about the tour guide?” Teddy asked.
“Nothing at all.” Sandy admitted. “I’ll question him like everyone else.”
“It has to be him.”
“What makes you say that?”
Teddy let out a long sigh. “Because he isn’t family.”
Sandy nodded. She remembered how awful it had been to consider that Tom had been capable of murder, and thought how devastating it would be to have to consider that a relative of hers could have killed. In a way she hoped Graeme was the killer too, because otherwise, the McVeigh family would not only be grieving, but would be torn apart by the crime.
“I’ll speak to him.” Sandy said, although she knew that he was the least likely suspect. He had no connection to the McVeigh family and no reason to murder a tour guest at random. Anyone who worked with the public knew that there were good and bad customers, but it was rare for a person to snap and kill someone who had simply annoyed them, asked one question too many, or stayed too long.
No, Graeme O’Connell was almost certainly innocent.
Marlene McVeigh had been brutally killed by one of her own relatives. A relative who had seen an opportunity when the lights went out, and acted in a quick and calculated way.
Could that person be Teddy, who appeared to dote on his mother?
Sandy remembered the flash of temper he had shown towards Hamm, a teenage boy who had just seen his dead grandmother’s body. Not the actions of a loving uncle.
Could Teddy have the turbulent temperant of an artist?
“Teddy, I think you’ve helped me enough for now. Who would you suggest I speak to next?”
“How would I know?” Teddy said.
“You mentioned that Eli’s had some issues. I think I’d like to speak to him next.” Sandy said. Teddy showed no reaction to the suggestion. “Is there anything I should ask him about?”
“You’re the private investigator!” Teddy said. He banged his fist onto the table, making Sandy jump. Her silly questions had worked. She had managed to see his temper. Quicker than she had expected.
“You have a temper, I see.” Sandy said. She held eye contact with him as his cheeks flushed with colour.
“I am not the murderer.” Teddy said.
“I never said you were.” Sandy said, with a smile.
8
“How did he do?” Tom asked as Sandy returned to his side in the drawing room. The scene was almost identical to how she had left it. Teddy returned to his pacing without even a glance in his unconscious wife’s direction.
“I’m not sure.” Sandy admitted. “He seems like a real mummy’s boy, but he was also living on her money and waiting for a big pay out so he can get into politics.”
“You think the inheritance will be that pay out?” Tom asked, his eyes wide. “She certainly seems to have been wealthy enough.”
“It’s a possibility at least.”
“The thing that bothers me is how quickly the murderer seized the opportunity. Who could be that calculated?”
“People will do anything if they’re desperate enough.” Sandy said. “I’m going to speak to Eli next, what do you make of him so far?”
“Nothing at all. He’s sat out here with his son all the time, they haven’t said a word to each other. He’s not as whacked out as Jeff, that’s for sure.”
“Could be the cold and calculated person we’re looking for?” Sandy asked.
“Who knows?” Tom admitted. He gave her a weak smile, clearly uncomfortable with his role in the investigation.
“I’d like to speak to Eli next, come with me please.” Sandy called. Eli met her gaze and stood up. Hamm matched his movement and the two walked towards Sandy together.
She lead them back into the office, where Eli took the seat and Hamm remained standing.
“I really am sorry to be having this conversation.” Sandy said. Eli nodded. Hamm gazed straight ahead at the stone wall. “Can you tell me a bit about your mum to start with?”
Eli sighed. “What do you want to know? Do you want to know about how she insisted on giving a generous maternity leave to her staff, or about how she started her company and still made it to every school show?”
“I guess I’d like to know who would have the motive to hurt her.”
“Kill her.” Hamm corrected.
“Kill her, yes, sorry.” Sandy said, careful not to show a reaction to the words.
Eli shook his head. “That’s all I’ve been thinking out there. One of my relatives is a killer. Somebody I love - even if it’s pathetic Priscilla or ice-cold Devon, I love those women as much as I can’t tolerate them - and one of them has taken our leader away from us all.”
“
And do you know why anyone would want to do that?” Sandy asked.
Eli was quiet for the longest time, and Sandy couldn’t stand to look at his eyes. They were the deepest pool or sadness she had ever seen. For all of his external reaction, Teddy hadn’t had that look of despair.
“Eli?” She prompted.
“No.” He said finally. “I’ve got no idea.”
“Tell me about the family dynamics. You’re divorced?”
Eli nodded and glanced at Hamm. “My wife is a wonderful woman.”
Hamm scoffed.
“It’s the truth, son. Our marriage didn’t work but I care deeply for Meghan. I always will.”
“How was the divorce? Was it friendly, or...” Sandy asked.
“It was a train wreck.” Hamm said. “The two of them trying so hard to act like best friends in front of me, as if I didn’t know what was happening.”
Eli pulled a face at Sandy. She could feel his discomfort and wondered whether to feel guilty for asking these questions in front of his son.
“I bet she’s sad to have missed this holiday.” Sandy said.
“She was heartbroken.” Eli admitted.
“Is there anyone new in your life, romantically?”
“Oh no, absolutely not.” Eli said. His eyes were earnest. She was warming to him more than she had expected to. Killers can be charmers, she reminded herself.
Sandy glanced at Hamm, who was staring at her.
“That’s true.” He confirmed.
“I understand that your mum was quite wealthy. Was she still supporting you financially?”
“Of course not.” Eli said, then the hint of a smile crept up one side of his mouth. “Oh, you’ve spoken to Teddy. Yeah, she was paying his way, and hers - Priscilla’s. But the rest of us work. I mean, Devon’s earning the big bucks in their house, but Jeff and I weren’t living on the bank of mommy.”
“Okay.” Sandy said. “What do you think about Teddy not earning his own money?”
Eli shrugged. “I don’t pretend to understand artists. I work in finance, I’m a numbers guy. You give me an investment and I can tell you whether to throw your grandad’s savings in it or not, and it’s done me well. But I can’t look at a picture and tell you if it’s a masterpiece or garbage.”
“That didn’t really answer the question.”
“I think a man earns his own living.” Eli said, maintaining eye contact as he spoke. “I’d be grateful if you don’t pass that on to my brothers.”
Sandy nodded. The family had enough to deal with, without her stirring more problems.
“Tell me about Devon?”
“Not much to tell. She’s here but she’s not here. She’s a scientist, she lives for her work. And Trixie, of course.”
“She doesn’t throw herself into family life?”
“We’re not her family.” Eli said. “She’s made that pretty clear over the years. I don’t know how mom managed to convince her to come on this trip. We’re all here for two weeks, she flew in yesterday with us but she has a flight booked home tonight.”
“Wouldn’t it be Jeff who convinced her to come?”
Eli laughed. “Absolutely not. Have you spoken to Jeff? He won’t say boo to a goose. He finds it physically impossible to say the word no. I mean, literally, he will not say that word. He’s a people pleaser. So, if Devon said no - and trust me, she said no about this trip - he wouldn’t have dared argue it.”
Sandy jotted notes on her pad and let out a breath. “Would you say it’s a happy marriage? Any jealousy from Devon towards your mum?”
“I’m clearly not the best judge of happy marriages, but there’s no jealousy from Devon. She doesn’t have enough interest in any of us to be jealous. She was pretty annoyed to interrupt her work to come out here, I heard her have a blazing row with mom before we all flew out.”
“Tell me more about that?”
“We had a dinner the night before we flew, and Devon wasn’t happy because she’d wanted her last night alone with Trixie to be quiet, just them, which I can understand, but mom insisted on hosting this fancy dinner at the McMansion. It was real good, ya know, fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, soft-shell crab, homemade peach pie. Mom really knew how to put on a dinner. So mom always asked the ladies to help her serve, and the men had to wash up after - it’s always been that way. Started when we were little, mom would serve but the three of us would take it in turns to wash. So as the women have joined the family, they’ve helped serve and all three of us have split the washing. One washing, one drying, one putting away. Well, Meghan had decided not to come on holiday, so she wasn’t there that night. And Priscilla was upstairs lying down because she was so scared about the flight. So it was just mom and Devon serving, and things got a bit heated.”
“I need to know as much as you can tell me about the argument.”
“Mom was accusing Devon of putting her work before her family, and that’s when Devon said it. I mean, I’ve always known it, but Devon came out and said it. She said “you’re not my family”. I was going in the kitchen for some reason and it stopped me dead in my tracks. I mean, my mom has welcomed that woman with open arms, like she did Priscilla. She’s looked after Trixie every time she’s been asked, she’s treated Devon like her daughter. I’ve had to comfort mom before about how Devon has been distant with her, and I’ve just said not everyone’s as close as we are, but for her to come out and say that to her, it was a low blow.”
“How did your mum react to that?”
“She leaned in real close and said to her, ‘young lady, I’ll be your family until the day I die’. I turned around and walked away then, and by the time they brought in the shrimp, nobody woulda guessed anything had happened.”
“Wow.” Sandy said as a chill ran down her spine.
“Yeah.” Eli said. “Now, I like Devon, and I’m sure she wishes she could take those words back.”
“Or she killed your mother.” Sandy said.
Eli bit his lip. “Better that than my real flesh and blood.”
“Let’s talk about Priscilla.” Sandy said.
“I’d rather not.” Eli said, his gaze shifting.
“You’ve been very open so far, Eli. You’ve told me about your divorce, about you thinking Teddy should work, and all about Devon. Why don’t you want to talk about Priscilla?”
The colour drained from Eli’s face. “Because I’m not a detective, and I think you’ll place too much weight on the answers I give you about her.”
“What was Priscilla’s relationship with your mom?”
“She hated her.” Eli said. His voice shook as he spoke. “Priscilla couldn’t stand her.”
“Do you know why that was?”
“I could take a guess, but no, I’ve never sat down with her and asked her why she hated my mother. You should ask her.”
“I will, but people are sometimes less than honest. You, for example, told me there’s nobody in your life on a romantic level, but you have a love bite on your neck.”
Hamm glared at his father, who had turned the colour of beetroot. The small red mark on his neck, just visible over the top of his shirt, could easily have been a birthmark or a bruise, but his reaction proves her suspicions were right.
Eli swallowed hard. “I’m not comfortable having this conversation with my son present.”
“Why not, dad?” Hamm asked, his eyes fixed on the red mark. “I’ve already heard enough. I might as well know the rest.”
Eli placed his head in his hands, and Sandy wondered if he was about to confess to an affair with Devon. Or Priscilla.
“I meant it when I said I still love Meghan.” Eli said, his voice a whisper. “She dropped Hamm off the night before we flew but she forgot his passport, so I went across to collect it. We’re adults, Hamm, and it hurts to be alone sometimes. I can assure you both that there’s nobody in my life other than Meghan.”
“Gross.” Hamm said as he realised what his father was confessing.
; “Sandy, I love my wife and I’m a good man. I wish our marriage had worked. Sometimes, outside influences get in the way of a happy ever after.”
Sandy nodded. She knew that to be true. Her parents’ own happy ever after had been cut far too short, and she had waited so long for her own happiness that she had begun to give up hope of happy endings ever being found.
“Eli, who do you think killed your mother?” Sandy asked. She expected that none of the family would answer this question with a direct answer, but she intended to ask them all.
Eli looked up and met her gaze. “I’m a numbers guy, like I told ya. If I was going to place a bet here, and look to get my money back, I’d have to say that Priscilla is the safest bet. I can also tell you that if I turn out to be right, my brother will be absolutely devastated. To lose his mom and his wife, I mean, that’s more than any man should have to bear.”
His voice caught as he finished speaking, and it was clear he was not only speaking about Teddy.
9
Sandy allowed Eli a few moments to compose himself, then lead him back into the drawing room. Hamm skulked behind them, appearing to still sulk about the fact that his parents had hooked up.
Sandy watched as they returned to the same chairs they had sat on before the chat.
Tom had taken a seat near Graeme, and sat poker-straight.
“Can we have a word?“ Sandy asked. He stood up and followed her away from the seating. “Are you ok?“
“Not really.“ Tom admitted. “I‘m getting pretty spooked in here. I don‘t want to babysit these people. I‘m going to go and chase up the police now you‘re back.“
Tom practically sprinted out of the room towards the fresh air, where he‘d be able to escape the others and get signal for his phone call.
Sandy sighed and looked at each person in turn.
Graeme watched her and when their eyes met, he rolled his eyes as if the whole incident was a dramatic waste of his time.
“I need a drink.“ A high voice called, and Sandy turned her gaze to see that Priscilla had woken up. She lay across a bench, the skin on her face and chest blotchy and red.