Deadly Deceit

by Nancy Buckingham

  As soon as Boulter had been through the preliminaries, Kate said, ‘You knew a man named Barry Slater, Miss Murdoch.’

  She straightened, then frowned in puzzlement. ‘I ... I don’t understand . . .’

  ‘I’m the officer in charge of the investigation concerning his murder.’

  There was a small gasp, then silence.

  ‘Tell me about your association with Barry Slater,’ Kate pressed.

  She had to wait for a response. ‘My . . . my association?’

  ‘That’s what I said.’

  Kate waited again while Jillian looked back at her with a curious lack of emotion. She could only guess at the girl’s rapid thought processes. Should she deny any knowledge of someone named Slater? But the police must know something, clearly, to have summoned her here, so a denial might only make things worse.

  ‘Well, yes. . . I knew him. You said . . . you said he’s been murdered.’

  ‘His body was found earlier today at a disused airfield near here.’

  Jillian’s eyes flickered and she glanced quickly away. Then after a moment, she said, ‘I ... I did hear someone at the office talking about a murder. But it never entered my head that it might be Barry. Oh, God, how awful!’

  ‘What exactly was your relationship with Slater?’

  The girl moved her lips silently, then she tried again. ‘I... I just knew him slightly, that’s all.’

  ‘You’ll have to do better than that, Jillian.’

  There was more desperate mind-searching for hidden traps. Finally, she whispered jerkily, ‘I only met him once. A few weeks ago. It was in a hotel bar in Wynchford.’

  ‘Which hotel?’

  ‘The Lythgate Arms.’

  ‘Tell me about it.’

  A long pause, then a shrug. ‘We both happened to be alone, and we got talking.’

  ‘He picked you up, is that what you’re saying?’

  A faint dusting of colour came to her cheeks. ‘No, it wasn’t like that. Well, not exactly. You see, I had met him before, sort of, at the Cheltenham races.’

  ‘Sort of?’

  ‘It was Gold Cup day, and I was dashing back to rejoin my parents in the stand after going to the loo, and I skidded on a patch of mud. Barry - well, I didn’t know his name then -happened to be passing and he reached out and stopped me falling down the steps.’

  Kate nodded. ‘Tell me how it came about that you were in that bar in Wynchford on your own.’

  ‘I was just having a drink.’

  ‘Is that something you often do? Go into pubs alone?’

  Colour came to her face again. ‘No! It was just. . .well, I’d been to see my boyfriend.’

  ‘He lives in Wynchford, does he?’

  ‘Yes. He’s a solicitor. Sebastian Knox. He’d had an advance tip from a client about a house that was shortly coming onto the market, and he thought it might do for us when we’re . . . well, married.’

  ‘Keep going.’

  ‘I, er . . . I arranged to take time off work, and I drove over to Wynchford and we went to look at the house.’

  ‘So what happened?’

  ‘How do you mean, what happened?’

  ‘What I’m working round to,’ Kate explained, not hiding an edge of impatience, ‘is how it came about that, having gone to Wynchford to meet your boyfriend, you were later sitting in a hotel bar on your own.’

  ‘Oh!’ Another pause for furious thought. ‘Well, you see, Sebastian and I had a bit of a quarrel.’

  ‘What about?’ When the girl didn’t answer, Kate prompted, ‘Didn’t you like the house?’

  ‘It was okay. Quite nice, I suppose.’

  ‘Then tell me what you quarrelled about.’

  ‘It was nothing important.’

  Kate gave an exasperated sigh. Boulter intervened, saying in an avuncular voice, ‘It’ll be a lot easier for you, Miss Murdoch, if you simply tell us everything that happened that day. Otherwise, the chief inspector will keep on questioning you until she’s satisfied that you’ve held nothing back.’

  The girl responded to the sergeant’s gentle charm. ‘I’ll try. Only she says this is all about Barry getting murdered, and I had nothing to do with that.’ She caught Kate’s stony gaze, and went on quickly. ‘Actually, Sebastian and I have been quarrelling quite a bit lately. Mostly, it’s been when I’ve wanted to play tennis or something instead of going out with him. He always says I’m being difficult, which isn’t fair. That day, when we were looking over the house, I pointed out that there wasn’t enough garden for us to make a tennis court, which I’ve told him I wanted all along. Sebastian really blew his top. He doesn’t play tennis any more, you see, because of some back trouble he got from a hunting fall last year. That’s hard luck, but as I keep on telling him, it’s no reason why I should give up playing. I really love tennis. We’ve got a court at home, and I’d hate not to have one when I’m married. Besides, it isn’t as if Sebastian’s been told he’ll never be fit to play again. It’s only a matter of time. The real truth is that he isn’t all that keen on tennis. He was never very good at it, and he doesn’t like it that I’m a better player than he is.’

  Jillian’s sudden volubility came as a surprise after such reticent replies. It was as if it had all burst out of her unintentionally. Kate guessed that the tennis court issue was the tip of an iceberg of problems between the pair. Probably she and Knox were quite incompatible, and the girl knew that deep down.

  ‘So you and Sebastian quarrelled again? Then what, Jillian?’

  ‘I was angry, so I walked out and left him there. If I’d driven straight home, he would probably have turned up after a while and there’d have been another beastly scene. With my parents taking Sebastian’s side, which they always do

  ‘So it was in a mood of defiance that you dropped in at the Lythgate Arms? And in the bar you got into conversation with this man Slater, whom you recognised as someone you’d fleetingly encountered at the Cheltenham races a little while before?’

  ‘Well, yes.’

  ‘What did you talk about?’

  ‘Oh, this and that. Nothing special.’

  ‘How much did he tell you about himself? Did he say what he was doing in this part of the world?’

  ‘Not really. He just said that he was here on business - from London, he said.’

  ‘What sort of business?’

  ‘He didn’t go into details. He said it was kind of confidential. We talked more about me, I suppose.’

  ‘Did you explain how you came to be there in the bar?’

  Jillian nodded. ‘I mentioned I’d had a bit of a row with my boyfriend.’

  ‘What did he say to that?’

  ‘He seemed amused.’

  ‘Hmm? So you were sitting in the bar chatting about nothing in particular. You had a few drinks, no doubt?’

  ‘Just a couple.’

  ‘Then what?’ Kate demanded remorselessly.

  The look directed at her across the desk was full of hatred. Jillian would so much rather be questioned by that nice sympathetic sergeant, who’d soothe away her troubles and whip out a large handkerchief to mop up her tears.

  ‘We ... we stayed and had dinner at the hotel.’

  ‘And after dinner?’

  ‘I ... I drove home.’

  ‘Having arranged to meet Barry Slater again?’

  Jillian’s eyes flickered. ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘Because I know you did meet him again. Once, at least. At a cafe in Chipping Bassett.’

  ‘Oh!’

  ‘The two of you appeared to be having a difference of opinion,’ Kate said. ‘What was that about? As the sergeant told you, I’m going to get the whole story out of you, Jillian. Make no mistake about that.’

  There were tears in those lovely eyes now. One broke loose and trickled slowly down her cheek. Kate heard Boulter’s soft gasp of pity.

  ‘You’ve got to understand,’ Jillian said chokily, ‘what happened at the hotel... it was because I was
so angry with Sebastian. Ordinarily I’d never have dreamed of doing such a thing, but. . .’

  ‘But?’

  ‘Well, Barry asked me up to his room for a nightcap. And . . . and . . .’

  Kate was sick of this waffle. ‘You had sex with him. Right?’

  Jillian’s ‘yes’ was the merest whisper of sound. She averted her gaze from Boulter, avoiding the look of reproach in the sergeant’s eyes. ‘I ... I know it sounds awful, but. . .’

  ‘I’ve heard it all before, Jillian,’ Kate told her. ‘Many times.’

  ‘I suppose so, but. . . I’m not really that sort of girl. And now you say that Barry Slater’s been killed. That’s terrible.’

  ‘Yes, murder is terrible. The taking away of another person’s life. That’s why the police leave no stone unturned to discover the killer and bring him to justice. Or her.’ Kate paused significantly, but Jillian remained impassive, staring down at the slender hands in her lap. ‘Tell me about the other meeting with Slater. In Chipping Bassett.’

  She gave a piteous glance at Boulter. Couldn’t he put an end to this torture?

  ‘The next day Barry rang me at work and said he wanted to see me again,’ she continued at last. ‘I told him no chance, that was it. But he kept on pestering me, ringing me up at all sorts of awkward times. In the end I agreed to meet him, but it was only to make him understand that I didn’t want to have any more to do with him. I thought Chipping Bassett would be a safe place. I didn’t think there’d be anyone there who’d know me.’ She looked directly at Kate for an instant. ‘Who was it that saw us together?’

  ‘Never mind about that.’ Kate had no intention of losing a tactical advantage by revealing that the sighting had been a matter of sheer chance - that, at the time, she and Boulter had had no idea they were witnessing anything significant. ‘Are you saying, Jillian, that you got a promise from Slater on that occasion that he’d leave you alone in future?’

  She began to shake her head. Then Kate sensed the dawning realisation that it might bring this catechism to a quicker end to pretend that she had. ‘Yes, that’s right.’

  ‘So you parted with him on good terms, with a clear understanding that it was all over between you?’

  ‘That’s right,’ she said again, too quickly.

  ‘I suggest,’ said Kate, ‘that the truth was quite the contrary. That instead Slater made it clear to you that he wasn’t going to stop pestering you. And you realised that he could be a very real threat to you. To your whole future. You’ve already admitted that there was tension between you and your boyfriend. For Sebastian Knox to learn about your relationship with Slater might have been the final straw.’

  Jillian was silent, frozen. Kate gave her a few moments, then went on, ‘If I’ve got it wrong, then this is your chance to correct me.’

  The girl made no reply but just sat there looking down at her lap.

  ‘Do you have access to a shotgun, Jillian?’

  ‘No!’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Well, my father has a pair of guns, but they’re locked up. I don’t use them.’

  ‘Can you shoot?’

  A moment’s hesitation, then she began to shake her head.

  ‘You don’t seem very certain. I have ways of checking, you know.’

  ‘Well, my father did teach me - years ago. Clay pigeon shooting. But I haven’t ever done any real shooting.’ She hesitated a moment, then added, as if it clinched the matter, ‘Sebastian has often tried to get me to go with him on a shoot, but I don’t like the idea.’

  Sebastian, of course, might be an even better candidate for murderer than Jillian. Kate decided on an instant follow-through with that thought, to see where it would lead.

  ‘Tell me,’ she began conversationally, ‘how did you boyfriend find out about your relationship with Slater?’

  A direct hit, Kate! Jillian looked horrified, clearly seeing the direction of Kate’s thoughts.

  ‘You’ve got it all wrong,’ she whispered pleadingly.

  ‘You’re asking me to believe that Sebastian is unaware of what happened between you and Slater?’

  Silence.

  ‘You quarrelled about it, didn’t you?’

  The bowed head said yes.

  ‘When? Tell me about it.’

  A hopeless gesture. What was the use? The police were going to find out anyway.

  ‘On Sunday, last Sunday, I didn’t see Sebastian until the evening because I’d been playing in a tennis match. He told me that he’d been in the Lythgate Arms at lunchtime and someone mentioned about me talking to this man at the bar that time.’

  Kate pressed home her advantage. ‘Sebastian knew more than just that you were talking to him, right? He’d found out that you had dinner with Slater and afterwards went up to his room. Isn’t that so?’

  A hardly discernible nod of the head.

  ‘Sebastian was furious, yes? In a rage?’

  ‘But that doesn’t mean . . .’ Her lovely eyes were pleading. ‘Honestly, you mustn’t think . . .’

  Kate only needed to flick a glance at Boulter and he got the message. Have Sebastian Knox brought in for questioning before Jillian gets a chance to talk to him and concoct a story.

  As the sergeant left the room, Kate asked, ‘What exactly did Sebastian say about you and Slater? Did he make threats about what he was going to do?’

  ‘No! Not like you mean.’

  ‘What, then?’

  ‘Well. . . as you guessed, he was really angry. He called me all kinds of names and said that Barry deserved . . .’

  ‘Deserved what?’

  ‘You’ve got it all wrong, honestly. Sebastian was just talking like that because he was angry. He would never . . . not in a million years. It’s impossible. You must believe me. Please!’

  ‘I hear what you say. Now, Jillian, I’d like an account of your movements from early yesterday evening through to this morning.’

  The girl was finding it difficult to hide her nervousness. Her hands were trembling. ‘As soon as I finished work,’ she said hesitantly, ‘I drove straight home. And I stayed in all evening.’

  ‘You didn’t go out at all?’

  ‘No, I didn’t,’ she answered emphatically. ‘I ... I had something to eat, and afterwards I washed my hair and did a few other things. I listened to records for a bit. Then I went up to bed early and read a book.’

  ‘Your parents will be able to confirm all this, I take it?’

  ‘Well, no. Actually, they were out last night. They went to the Oxford Playhouse, and had a meal afterwards. It must have been well past twelve when they got back.’

  ‘So you were alone in the house for the entire evening?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Is there no one who could confirm any of this? Did anyone call round? Did you receive any phone calls?’

  Jillian shook her head.

  ‘That’s a pity, isn’t it? We only have your word to go on.’

  Kate said it as a challenge, expecting Jillian to retort hotly that what she’d said was nothing but the truth. But she just sat there mutely, looking badly scared now.

  When Boulter returned and signalled to Kate that Sebastian Knox was being brought in, she allowed Jillian Murdoch to leave. The girl stood up, giving Kate another wretched glance when told to hold herself in readiness for a further interview.

  ‘Are you going to talk to Sebastian?’ she asked.

  ‘Of course I am.’

  Jillian looked to protest, to plead. Then her whole body slumped in defeat. Boulter showed her out, his broad hand hovering above her shoulders as if he’d dearly like to comfort the poor little darling.

  Chapter Six

  Boulter was back in Kate’s office within a couple of minutes, bringing with him news that Sebastian Knox had arrived in a patrol car.

  ‘I told them to shove him in an interview room till you’re ready for him, guv. He’s our man, obviously.’

  ‘Nothing’s obvious at this stage of an e
nquiry, Tim, as you damn well know.’

  ‘I’d bet anything it’s him, though.’ He looked at Kate hopefully. ‘You can’t really have any doubts, guv, surely?’

  ‘I can’t afford not to have doubts.’

  ‘One thing’s for certain, though - Jillian didn’t do it.’

  ‘Would you still think that way,’ Kate asked dryly, ‘if she had an ugly mug and a figure like a board?’

  Boulter glowered at her. ‘In my book that guy Slater had it coming to him, anyway.’

  ‘Now you’re making a moral judgement. Not our job.’

  And bloody prissy you sound, Kate! As if you’ve never made a moral judgement in your life.

  She relented. ‘Okay, Tim, I admit that I’m not grief-stricken over Slater’s death. By all accounts he wasn’t a very appealing character.’

  ‘Hah!’ the sergeant exclaimed, as if he’d won a round.

  ‘We’ll have to get over to that hotel in Wynchford as fast as we can,’ Kate went on. ‘We need more info on Slater and what he was up to on our patch. First things first, though. Who’ve we got on the murder squad so far? I hope you’ve lined up Frank Massey for Office Manager.’

  ‘Sorry, guv, nothing doing there. Inspector Massey is just off on a Public Order course.’

  ‘Damn it, Tim, I need Frank here’

  The sergeant grinned at her. ‘Some people have no consideration, eh?’

  Kate scowled. ‘So who am I going to get?’

  ‘You’re not going to like this, guv. The only one available is Inspector Trotton.’

  ‘Oh, for God’s sake.’

  As Kate’s personal choice from those officers qualified to operate the Incident Room, Don Trotton would be right at the end of the list. She and Trotton were permanently at daggers drawn, ever since the complacently handsome Don had made a crude pass at her and she’d refused to play along. Not only refused, but had pulled rank and given him a right tongue lashing. In revenge, he’d spread it among the lads that the long-widowed Kate Maddox was a pushover just panting to get laid.