Scandal at Six (Lois Meade Mystery)

by Purser, Ann

  “What about the Brierleys? They were both involved, weren’t they? Certainly, they were in contact with Justin. And she was responsible for the death of those dear little baby elephants!”

  “Oh yes, we’ve always known Betsy was a help to Pettison in more ways than one. We’re not sure about Ted, but he must have known what was going on with the strange animals Betsy brought home on occasion.”

  “I remember you saying,” Lois said slowly, “that you weren’t taking Betsy in for questioning, because you wanted to get the head of the snake. What exactly did you mean?”

  Cowgill sighed. “I did say that, I know. And I see now that I was wrong. My idea was that as long as Pettison didn’t suspect we were on to him, very close on his tail, we stood a good chance of catching him in an illegal act. But if Betsy had twigged and been able to warn him, he was clever enough to destroy all his records and do enough to make it very difficult for us to make a good case against him. It never occurred to me that he would be killed first.”

  “And now, could it have been an accident? Who was that care attendant who drove him to Farnden and then took him behind the shop to look at a hive full of killer bees? No official volunteer drivers would have done that.”

  “Right as ever, my dear Lois. We are well on the way to discovering who he was. I won’t keep you much longer, my dear. You are looking exhausted, and should go home to have a good rest. I wouldn’t have asked you to come in if I’d known.”

  “So what else, Cowgill? I’m still wide awake.”

  “Justin and Betsy? I understand there’s something between them, running the zoo while Pettison was out of action?”

  Lois nodded. “Mm, but nothing more than that, I think. I actually think he fancies my daughter. I’m good at seeing the signs of a predatory male.”

  Cowgill smiled at her. “Oh dear,” he said. “Does it show?”

  “Back to business,” said Lois sternly. “There is one more thing Justin said. The lower half door to the pigsty was locked, and he opened it reluctantly, leaving the key in the padlock. The mystery attendant pushed Pettison in, then almost immediately ran out, shut the door and locked him in, and, as Justin discovered, took the key with him. That’s why he couldn’t get Pettison out quickly enough. Justin hasn’t forgiven himself for that.”

  “So we’re looking for a heavily wrapped-up driver with an adapted vehicle, and a padlock key in his pocket? Shouldn’t be too difficult to trace.”

  “And, surely, one who had evil intentions towards Pettison. And who knew the bees were killers. That narrows it down,” said Lois. “I must go now. Gran is still cross with me, and if I’m late for tea she’ll kill me. Oh God,” she said, putting her hand to her mouth. “I shouldn’t have said that. Sorry. I’m off. Bye.”

  *

  It should have been easy to trace a specially adapted taxi and its driver, but when Cowgill instigated the search, it proved more difficult. There was only one hire company in Tresham owning a specially adapted vehicle, and that was in a repair shop, being overhauled to have new harnesses fitted. He directed a search further afield, and then packed up and went home.

  *

  The Meade family were seated round the supper table when a knock at the door brought Mrs Tollervey-Jones into the kitchen. Gran looked cross at the interruption, but Derek pulled up a chair and invited her to sit down.

  “I just couldn’t settle, my dear, worrying about you,” she said to Lois. “Are you sure you are all right? There is such a thing as delayed shock, you know. But I see that you are being well looked after, and I apologise for bursting in. Stupid of me, but it was such an awful thing. Anyway, I’ll be going now.”

  Derek, recognising that the old lady had had something of a shock herself, standing by the ambulance as the wheelchair with its tragic occupant was loaded in, said she must stay and have a snack with them. “I don’t suppose you’ve eaten this evening?” he said.

  The conversation inevitably centred on the accident, and after ten minutes or so, Lois suddenly banged the table with her hand. “It was not an accident!” she said. “Robert Pettison was murdered by that attendant, who locked him in and took away the key. He’s got to be found, and although Cowgill’s lot are all looking, I think we should think about it seriously, too.”

  “Did Justin say he saw the vehicle? It was quite dark by that time.” Mrs T-J looked around the table. “I know he was a sort of protégé of his uncle, and is very cut up about it all, but perhaps there is something . . . ?”

  “You mean he could have organised it?” Lois frowned. This had not occurred to her, and seeing Justin in a state of collapse after it had happened, she could not imagine that he had had anything to do with it.

  “It is possible, Lois,” said Derek. “He might not have realised just how appalling the whole thing would turn out. Perhaps he thought it would frighten his uncle into agreeing to take some different course of action with the zoo.”

  Lois could see that this conclusion would probably have been arrived at by the police, and decided to ring Cowgill tomorrow to see if this was so. Now she changed the subject to the small-animals racket that had been carried on by Pettison. “Thank heavens there won’t be any more of that,” she said.

  “Not from the zoo, I hope,” said Mrs T-J. “Unfortunately, it goes on in many places, here and abroad. There’s big money in it, and once a network is set up, with the right connections and runners, the illegal nature of it is hard to prove. Pettison’s contacts will regroup and carry on, I expect. They are well organised, particularly with the small creatures, which are easy to hide.”

  “Mm, and not all of them are cuddly little treasures,” said Lois feelingly. “That snake, for instance. And the toad and the frog. And that amazing spider with her babies. That one was quite sweet, so long as you forgot it was a spider!”

  “Why was the flat targeted, do you think?” Derek said.

  “Because Pettison really wanted Justin to live there, to keep his ear to the ground, especially when I was around, I suppose,” said Lois. “And the reptiles were to put off other prospective tenants.”

  “And the other stories of reptiles poisoning dogs and people?”

  “Nothing to do with Pettison, so Justin said. Just coincidence. There are plenty of other sources of supply. You can see them on the internet.”

  Mrs T-J spoke into a moment’s silence. “Speaking of rare animals,” she said, “did any of you ever see Pettison’s private mausoleum? It is grisly, but quite remarkable.”

  Lois thought that the less said about that the better, and turned the conversation back to the zoo. They speculated about what would happen to it, and Derek said he thought it would probably be closed. “After all,” he said, “Pettison’s dead, and the Brierleys and Brookeses could well have a spell cooped up in jail. Unless, of course, they get heavily fined. Even then, they’ll have no money to run it.”

  “Well,” said Mrs T-J, rising to her feet, “I suppose that’s the end of it now. For us anyway, Lois dear. The villain Pettison has got his just deserts, and when the mysterious attendant is found, and I’m sure the police will soon do that, life can return to normal.”

  “And so say all of us,” said Derek, seeing her to the door. “Lois is exhausted, and I hope New Brooms will be her priority from now on.”

  A forlorn hope, thought Mrs Tollervey-Jones, and smiled her farewell.

  Fifty-four

  A week later, Dot Nimmo sat at her window, looking over the road to the Brierleys’ house. All the curtains were drawn across, and Dot had seen few comings or goings since the terrible news about the zoo owner. She supposed Betsy had imposed total mourning on the house. Only once had the front door opened, and that was to permit Ted, resplendent in his undertakers’ black, to march off briskly.

  Pettison was to be buried in a leafy glade behind Cameroon Hall, where a handful of people would attend a brief ceremony of committal to the grave. Justin, and his mother, Pettison’s sister on a flying visit, stood amongst th
e leafless trees. He bowed his head and tried to think of good things his uncle had done. He had had his moments of kindness and affection, but these had been sadly outweighed by his unashamed cruelty in handling little animals which were almost certain to die in captivity, away from their natural homes. Now the unfortunate man was decently buried and covered by loamy earth. Dust to dust, thought Justin.

  *

  After the funeral service, which Lois attended against Derek’s wishes, and, as she said, representing New Brooms, a few people gathered in the zoo café to drink a warming glass of punch.

  Lois found herself sitting by Betsy Brierley, who was being obviously shunned by a few stalwarts of Tresham’s blameless citizens who attended more out of curiosity than respect.

  “It must have been a shock, Mrs Brierley,” she said. “He was a good friend, I believe?”

  “You believe right,” said Betsy, with a sulky look. “And you needn’t bother to pussyfoot around it. I was his mistress, and we had good times together.”

  “Of course,” said Lois blandly. “And isn’t that your husband with the undertaker’s men? They do a really good job, don’t they? Dignified, an’ that. I reckon it’s nice to give a good send-off.”

  “You’re not saying his death was a good send-off, are you?” said Betsy in a loud voice. Everyone turned to look at her. “The poor old bugger died a horrible death, and the sooner the police find that sod who pushed him into a bees’ nest, the sooner I can sleep at nights.” She stood up, adjusted her tight skirt, and strutted away.

  “Straight in it,” Lois muttered to Justin, who came to sit by her and introduce his mother.

  “Don’t worry, Mrs Meade,” he said. “She had to explode sooner or later. I’ve been in touch with her, as there’s going to be a court hearing soon, and she and I will be in starring roles. I don’t think she and Ted talked much, so it’s probably done her a bit of good. Don’t take it personally!”

  As Lois walked away from the zoo and up to the house to collect her car, she was passed by the hearse returning to base. She remembered reading about black horses with plumes of feathers on their heads, pulling a special carriage for the coffin. And in those days, you could hire mourners! Maybe Pettison would have liked that. Or perhaps he would have preferred to be drawn by a harnessed gorilla, pounding its way round the streets of Tresham.

  Driving home, she thought again of Betsy’s outburst. She had probably loved Pettison, in her way. She might decide to give up selling herself, and concentrate on working with Justin in the zoo instead. If they got off with only a fine, of course.

  As she walked into her kitchen, Gran stood by the cooker, stirring vigorously. “I expect you’ve had something to eat?” she said crossly.

  Lois shook her head. “No, nothing to eat. I’m ravenous!” she added.

  “Well you’d better get your coat off and go and ring Inspector Cowgill. He’s been on the phone. I told him where you’d gone, and he said to ring him back as soon as you got in.”

  “And I say,” Derek added, “you will have your lunch properly, and after that you can ring him. Agreed?”

  “Agreed,” said Gran.

  “Mm, thanks, Mum,” said Lois.

  *

  “And now can we get on with our lives?” Ted Brierley stood with his back to the fire, glaring at his Betsy. Her face was ravaged by constant crying, and he was thoroughly fed up. Okay, so it was natural for her to be sorry, but not this great rush of mourning! She had embarrassed him at the funeral, sniffing and snorting! Half the time at home now, she was looking through albums of photos she had filched from the hall, weeping over photographs of Pettison, from golden-haired youth to cheerful-looking zoo owner, carrying a grinning chimpanzee on his arm.

  And the other half of the time, she sat in an armchair, refusing to eat, and rejecting any attempts at conversation or comfort.

  “I’ve had quite enough of this,” he continued. “You gave him a service, and he paid for it. I fixed it up, kept him happy and benefited financially. That’s all there was to it, as far as I’m concerned. A business arrangement. But no, you had to fall for him, and I suppose he fell for you, and I was forced to get rid of all your other clients. He wanted sole possession, and I had to agree. You made that quite clear. Now both our jobs are gone, and we can’t live on my undertaking money.”

  “We could be out of a job anyway,” muttered Betsy. “There’ll be a case against us for trading in them animals. Aiding and abetting, I suppose.”

  “Why don’t we cross that when we come to it? We’re well rid of him, and we’ve still got a future together. He wasn’t the only one who grew fond of you, silly girl! So can we start again? You can give up hiring yourself out, if you want, and I’ll ferret about for work where I can. We can be a proper couple. If you and young Brookes want to work together at the zoo, fine. I can help out there as well. As long as we are paid a reasonable sum. There should be money in the bank there, when Pettison’s financial affairs are sorted out. What do you say, Betsy?”

  Betsy shook her head, sniffed and said nothing.

  *

  Lois duly rang Cowgill after she had had her lunch, and he had been brisk.

  “Sorry to disturb you,” he said. “Something has come up, and I do need to talk to you. Say tomorrow, at about three? I have to come over to Fletching, so I’ll call on you, if that’s convenient?”

  “Derek is going out, but I shall be here. Him and Gran are conducting a campaign to keep me away from anything to do with ferretin’, so don’t be put off if she’s grumpy when she opens the door. I’ll be in my office, so if I see you coming, I’ll make a dash to let you in!”

  Cowgill put down the phone with a smile. He was glad and relieved to hear Lois sounding back to her old self. Seeing her so exhausted and shocked, he had worried. He could not bear to lose contact with her, however seldom they should meet. Now that they were almost related, with Josie’s husband being his nephew, he hoped that this alone would mean seeing her occasionally. He did not think of Derek as an obstacle in any way, he realised as he went off to find Matthew. He was content to be on the periphery of Lois’s life.

  *

  Wondering what he wanted to talk about, Lois stayed in her office, sorting through New Brooms schedules for the coming week. She was finding it hard to concentrate, and decided to walk down to the shop with Jeems, call in to see Josie and then continue with a dog walk round the playing field.

  “Don’t be too long,” said Gran, as she returned to the kitchen. “It gets dark really early, and very cold with it.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Lois replied. “And I’m not a kid anymore. I appreciate your concern, but I am a grandmother myself.”

  “And so you are!” said Gran. “You’d do better to concentrate on being a good grandmother instead of mixing yourself up with nasty animals and that inspector.”

  “Bye, Mum,” said Lois cheerfully, and unhooking Jeems’s lead, she set out for the shop.

  *

  “Hi, Mother!” said Josie. “You’re looking very healthy with your warm scarf and rabbit-fur gloves. Are they rabbit, or one of Justin’s foreign things?”

  “Enough, Josie! I’m up to here with wisecracks from Derek and Gran.”

  “Sorry! What can I get you?”

  “Nothing. I just called in to see you. I’ll go the minute a customer arrives.”

  “Don’t be daft. I’m very glad to see you. How’s everything?”

  “All right. I went to Pettison’s funeral. It was quite dignified, actually. Poor old Betsy Brierley was very upset.”

  “Naturally,” said Josie. “She was his longtime fancy woman, wasn’t she? It must have been a great shock to her when she heard about it.”

  “Yep, I’m sure. Josie . . .”

  “Yes, what?”

  “Have you talked to anyone in the shop who actually saw that taxi they said brought Pettison here that night? There were quite a lot of people gathered around to see what was going on.”

&nb
sp; “Not really. The neighbours came running out when they heard the shouting, and people who were really close could hear the bees as well. But I reckon the taxi had driven off by then.”

  “Mm, well, I just wondered.”

  “Why don’t you ask Joan, Gran’s friend? She must have been one of the first to come running round. Her garden backs onto the shop’s patch. She could have seen or heard something.”

  “Good idea. Thanks, love. Here comes the vicar, so I’ll be on my way. Take care of yourself, and don’t allow any buzzing insects into the shop.”

  She walked around into Blackberry Gardens, and knocked at Joan’s door. It was answered immediately, with a warm invitation to go in and have a cup of tea.

  “Jeems will be fine. I keep a few dog biscuits for visiting pooches,” she said. “How’s your mother?”

  “On top form, thanks,” Lois said. “I was hoping I could ask you one or two questions about that terrible night. You must have seen quite a lot of the goings-on?”

  “Yes, I did. I saw some of it from the bottom of the garden, but I did run round quickly to see if I could help.”

  “Did you by any chance see a taxi leaving the scene?”

  “No, no taxi. There was only one vehicle going by at twice its usual speed!”

  “What d’you mean, Joan?” Lois said urgently.

  “Well, believe it or not, I saw the tail end of a hearse! A great long black thing, and it shot off in the Tresham direction. Funny, that.”

  Fifty-five

  Inspector Cowgill arrived on time next day, and Lois saw his car drawing up. She rushed to the door, but collided with Gran coming at speed from the kitchen.