by John Holt
Bradley shook his head, and frowned. “I can’t think of anything,” he replied. “But it was four years ago.” He thought for a few more moments. “No,” he said finally. “Nothing comes to mind.”
Kendall shrugged his shoulders. “One more thing Mr. Bradley, apart from the family, and your guests, who else was at the house that night?”
Bradley thought for a few moments. “Let me see, there was the band of course, and we had quite a lot of agency staff, waitresses, that kind of thing.”
Kendall nodded his head. More possible suspects he thought. “What about your own people?” he asked.
“You mean everyone I take it, not just those helping at the party.” Kendall nodded. He meant everyone. “Well there was Derek, Derek Chambers, our chauffeur, and his family. They weren’t actually at the party. He had been given the day off. Then there was Charles, Charles Wheeler, our butler. He had a room on the top floor. There was Mary, Eve’s maid. She had a room on the second floor, a short way along the corridor from Eve’s room.” He paused for a moment. “Strange about Mary,” he said. “I had actually given her the day off, but she refused to go, insisted on staying to help.”
Kendall scribbled in his notepad. “Mary?” he repeated.
“Mary Dwyer,” Bradley replied. “Poor Mary,” he murmured. “Both of her parents died a few months before our party. She was devastated. I think she only wanted to help at the party to keep busy, to stop her from thinking too much.” He watched as Kendall wrote in the notepad. “That’s D, W, Y, E, R.”
“That’s fine, thanks very much,” Kendall said. He looked up from his pad. “One last thing,” he continued. “Could I get a list of all of the guests who were here that night?” He looked at Bradley for a moment or two. “Oh and I’d like the full details of the agency staff.”
Bradley hesitated, and shook his head. “Well I’m not sure about the agency staff, I mean it was four years ago,” he replied. “I suppose I could give you a list of the guests, but I don’t really see the relevance. Sadly one or two of my friends have subsequently died I’m afraid. But surely you don’t suspect any of my guests. There is no way that any of them would have been involved. Of that I am absolutely certain.”
“I am sure that you are absolutely right Mr. Bradley,” said Kendall. “But the list if you please.”
Bradley gave a sigh, and nodded. “Okay I’ll get it to you in the next day or two.”
“Good,” Kendall said. He took a deep breath, and thought for a moment or two. “That’ll do for now Mr. Bradley, I’ve been considerably longer than the thirty minutes I’m afraid, my apologies for keeping you so long.”
“Not at all, Mt Kendall,” Bradley replied. “Not at all, this has been very useful for me. Thank you.”
Kendall quickly finished his drink, and closed his notepad. “By the way can I hang on to this letter,” he asked, as he held up the light blue colored sheet.
Bradley stood up. “Certainly,” he said. “I hope that this has been helpful, to you. Let me show you out.”
* * *
Chapter Twenty-two
Questions, Questions, Questions
Kendall stepped out onto the driveway and headed towards where he had parked the car. He heard the front door close loudly behind him. He stopped, turned around and looked back. Was Bradley telling him everything, or was he holding something back. Everyone else that was involved seemed to be. Kendall suddenly saw a curtain move in one of the upstairs rooms. It was Bradley, he murmured. He shook his head once again, and turned back towards the car. He got in and turned on the ignition. For a few moments he just sat staring at the house. Then he pushed the lever into drive, released the brake and slowly drove forward. A few moments later he approached the main gate. He slowed down and pulled into the side. He switched off and got out of the car, and walked over to the gatehouse. “Hey I’m Tom Kendall.”
“I know who you are sir,” the guard replied, trying not to sound bored. “What can I do for you?”
“It’s Dave isn’t it?” Kendall said. The guard nodded. “I wonder if I could have a quick word or two?”
“About Miss Eve?” he asked. Kendall nodded. The guard shrugged his shoulders. He really didn’t need this. It had been a busy day, and now someone was asking a lot of questions about Miss Eve. Besides he had already spoken to the police, and told them all that he knew. “If it’s about the murder I’ve already told the police everything I can think of,” he replied. “So I don’t think …”
“It’s not about the murder,” Kendall said slowly. “I want to talk about the robbery.”
The guard looked puzzled. “Robbery,” he repeated. What robbery?
“The one that took place here four years ago,” Kendall replied.
The guard continued to look puzzled for a while, then he began to realize exactly what Kendall was talking about. “That’s ancient history, Mr. Kendall, all sealed and finished with,” he said. “It was Charles Wheeler. That’s funny really, the Butler did it.” He paused. “Sorry, it’s not a bit funny. You know I never really believed that it was Wheeler, never in a hundred years. He didn’t have the brains for such an operation, I mean stealing those jewels. What was he going to do with them? What would he know about disposing of stuff like that? And then to commit suicide, it just wasn’t like him. But then they found the confession. That was the clincher. It just goes to show that you don’t know anyone.”
Kendall took a deep breath, and nodded his head. “You’re not wrong there,” he said. “Look, I know that it was a long time ago, but really if you could just answer a few questions, it might just help me. Who knows? Hey it’ll only take a few minutes anyway. What’s that, eh, just a few minutes?”
The guard nodded his head, and agreed, albeit reluctantly. “Okay,” he said. “I can spare you a few minutes I suppose. Let’s get on with it.”
Kendall nodded and smiled. “Thanks,” he said.
“Thank me after you get your answers,” the guard said.
“Right you are,” replied Kendall. “I understand that there were forty of fifty guests that night, the night of the robbery. Is that correct?” The guard thought for a moment or two and then nodded. “You must have been quite busy I imagine,” Kendall continued. “People coming and going the whole time, I don’t suppose you got much rest.”
The guard looked at Kendall and shook his head. “Well it was busy alright,” he replied. “But it wasn’t too bad. Not really. I mean most of the guests had arrived by about eight, or eight thirty.” He thought for a few moments, and turned to his colleague. “That’s right wouldn’t you say, Charlie?”
His colleague looked up, and rubbed his chin. “About right, I suppose, no later than eight forty anyway.”
The first guard looked at Kendall. “There,” he said. “And I suppose they started to leave from about twelve thirty, and were probably all gone by about half past one I suppose.” He paused once again. Once again he looked at his colleague, hoping for confirmation. His colleague said nothing but merely nodded his head. The first guard turned to face Kendall once again. “So we had about three or four hours fairly easy, from eight thirty.”
“Twenty to nine,” the second guard interjected.
The first guard looked at him and frowned. He signed and then nodded his head. “From twenty to nine,” he repeated. “Until about half past midnight with nothing to do but our rounds.”
Kendall rubbed the side of his head. “Did you notice anything strange, or unusual about the evening?” he asked. “Anything unexpected.”
The guard shook his head. “No, nothing,” he replied. “Not that I can recall anyway.”
“Mary,” the second guard called out.
The first guard looked at him. “Mary,” he repeated. “What about Mary?”
“She went out, just before twelve,” the second guard explained. “Don’t you remember?”
“So what’s unusual about that?” asked the first guard. “Mr. Kendall asked if there was anything unusua
l.” He looked at Kendall and shrugged his shoulders. “She went out most Saturday evenings didn’t she?”
The second guard walked over to where Kendall was standing. He was carrying a large book with him. “She did,” he agreed. “But it was always a lot earlier than midnight.” He placed the book on the counter and opened it. “Besides she wasn’t out that long,” he continued as he started to flip the pages. “She was back by a quarter to one if I remember correctly.”
The first guard nodded. “That’s right,” he said as he suddenly remembered. “It’ll be logged in the book,” he continued as he pointed to the open book on the counter. “That’s the log book covering that period,” he explained. “We keep them for five years, and then they are destroyed.”
Meanwhile his colleague had found the appropriate page. He was shaking his head. “Well this is the page,” he said. “But there’s nothing listed about Mary.” He shook his head again. “I don’t understand it. It should be here.”
The first guard pushed to the front. “Of course it’s there, it has to be,” he said. “Let me see.” After a few moments he had to admit that there was no mention of Mary’s going out that evening, or of her coming back. “There’s nothing down,” he said to no one in particular. “That’s ridiculous.”
“And yet I know for a fact when she went out, and when she came back,” said the second guard. “It was so unusual, for her that is.” The first guard nodded his head in confirmation.
Kendall wasn’t sure what it all meant, if anything. It probably meant nothing at all, but his curiosity had been roused. “Where do you think she went?” he asked.
The second guard looked up from the book. “That’s easy,” he said. “She went down the town to see her boyfriend.” He paused for a few moments. “But why she was so late going out I don’t know. And why she got back so quickly is another mystery.”
“Perhaps she had an argument with the boyfriend,” suggested Kendall.
“Perhaps,” the second guard replied, but he was far from convinced.
Kendall gave another glance at the open book. There was no mention of Mary. It was probably of no significance anyway. Nonetheless there was still a little niggling at the back of his mind. “You said that she went to see her boyfriend that night,” he said. The security guard nodded in confirmation. “Do you know his name?” Kendall asked.
Dave looked up from the book. “Well, yes I do know, but ..” He was unsure, hesitant. “It is kind of private.”
Kendall shook his head. “Look Mr. Bradley has asked me to investigate the death of his daughter.” He paused. “The murder of his daughter,” he continued. “I think that murder is somehow connected with that robbery of four years ago. I don’t know how, but if they are not connected then it is a pretty big co-incidence. And I don’t go for co-incidents.”
The guard shrugged his shoulders, and gave an audible sigh. “I can’t see any possible connection myself, but it’s so long ago it can’t do any harm, I suppose.” He looked over at his colleague. Charlie said nothing, but merely raised his eyebrows. “It was a guy called Jack Warner.”
Kendall looked surprised, disappointed. It wasn’t the answer that he was expecting. “Jack Warner,” he repeated. Who was Jack Warner, he murmured.
“Did you say something Mr. Kendall?” Charlie asked.
Kendall nodded. “I was just wondering who Jack Warner is, that’s all.”
“Jack Warner was the man that Mary was going to marry,” Dave replied.
“Was?” repeated Kendall still puzzled. “You said was going to marry. What happened?”
The guard shook his head. “Sadly Jack Warner was killed in a car crash. Mary was completely devastated,” he explained. He thought for a few moments. “It was about three years ago I think.”
“Nearer four,” his colleague Charlie corrected him. “It was shortly after the big anniversary party, don’t you remember?”
“That’s right,” said Dave. “It was shortly after the robbery.” He sighed deeply and shook his head. “I remember now. Poor Mary, it simply broke her heart, she never really got over it.”
So that was that, just another piece of a puzzle, Kendall thought. A piece that didn’t seem to fit in anywhere. “Thanks,” he said. “That’s a great help. I don’t suppose, by any possible chance, you could tell me exactly when and where the accident happened?”
Dave looked at him. “Well I can’t see any relevant to your enquiries, but if memory serves it was sometime around the middle of September 2005,” he replied. “I remember because I had just returned from two weeks in hospital. It was about six weeks or so after the big party.”
“I remember it now,” said Charlie suddenly. “It was about a month after Miss Eve had got married.”
Dave looked at his colleague and smiled. “That’s right, so it was,” he said. “It was exactly a month after.”
Kendall nodded and wrote something in his notepad. “Do you know where it happened?”
Dave thought for a few moments. “It was on the Tamiani Trail, Highway 41, to the south of town. Close to Dade Collier airfield. The road is dead straight along there, and then suddenly there is a sharp turn to the right, about seven or eight miles from the airfield.” He paused and shook his head. “Going too fast that’s all. Way too fast I imagine. Couldn’t control the turn and spun off the road.”
Charlie shook his head, and sighed. “It was pretty dreadful for her,” he said. “She was pretty well inconsolable.”
Kendall didn’t know the stretch of road they were talking about, but he was certainly going to find out about it. He looked at the two men. “I don’t suppose you could tell me what Mr. Warner looked like, could you?”
Both men shook their heads. “Sorry,” said Dave. “We never ever saw him.”
Kendall looked puzzled. “Mary was always very shy about that sort of thing,” Charlie explained. “Very secretive.”
“Our little secret, she would say,” said Dave as he started to laugh. “But it wasn’t our secret. It was her secret, and she kept it to herself. She told us absolutely nothing about him.” He paused for a few moments. “I always thought that one day she would bring him back and introduce him to us. But she never did. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was killed in that crash, you might have thought that it was all in her imagination, and that he never really existed.”
“Right,” said Kendall, trying to make sense of that last comment. “Thanks for your help.” Not that he was that sure they had actually helped him at all, just a lot of dead ends. He turned to leave and then stopped. He turned around to face the security guards once again. “Just one more thing,” he said. “Do you know where I can find Derek Chambers, the chauffeur?”
Dave looked at Charlie. “He’ll probably be down at the garages,” he said. “Cleaning the Rolls more than likely.”
“Or the Jaguar,” suggested Charlie. “Or the BMW, or the ….”
Kendall got the picture. He nodded, and smiled. He then turned around and walked over to the driveway, and headed towards the garage block.
* * *
Chapter Twenty-Three
Derek Chambers
Kendall walked slowly along the driveway. After a few moments the garage block came into view. All five doors were standing open. Four cars were neatly parked inside, all newly polished. The first was a shiny black Daimler. Next was a dark green 4x4. Third was a bright red Jaguar. Lastly was a silver blue Cadillac. At the front of the garages was a fifth car, a Rolls Royce Silver Phantom. Kendall stopped for a few moments, admiring the Rolls. Certainly BMW’s and Mercedes were probably faster, but you could not beat the Rolls for its looks and design. What it lacked in sheer power and speed, it made up for in style. As Kendall stood watching, a man came into view carrying a large bucket. He saw Kendall watching and gave a slight wave. He then placed the bucket down and started to shampoo the car.
Kendall walked over. “Oh Mr. Chambers,” he called out. “My name is Kendall, Tom Kendall. Mr. Bradley
has asked me to investigate the death of his daughter. I wonder if you might be able to help me.”
Chambers looked at Kendall, and gave a deep audible sigh. “Yes Mr. Kendall,” he replied. “Such a dreadful thing, I don’t know how, but I will help you in any way that I can.”
“Thank you Mr. Chambers,” Kendall said as he took out his notepad. “Nice car,” he suddenly announced, pointing towards the Rolls Royce.
Chambers looked up, and turned towards the car. He smiled. “None better,” he said proudly. “You can keep your BMW’s and your Ferraris.” He ran his hand over the gleaming hood. “Of course they are fast, and powerful, but this, this is style. Pure style and old world elegance, you just can’t beat it.”
Kendall nodded. “Style and elegance,” he repeated, and started to smile. “Mr. Chambers first of all I would like to ask you about the robbery.”
Chambers looked puzzled. “The robbery,” he repeated. “What robbery?”
“The one that happened four years ago,” Kendall explained.
Chambers continued to look puzzled. “I thought that you were investigating Miss Eve’s murder,” he said.
“That’s right, I am,” said Kendall. “But I believe that the robbery and the murder are somehow connected.”
“Oh I see,” Chambers said, not seeing at all. “Well what can I tell you?”
Kendall shook his head. If I already knew what he could tell me, there would be no need for him to say anything. “I understand that on the night of the robbery, the night of the big party, you had been given the day off,” Kendall said. “Is that correct?”
The chauffeur nodded. “That’s right,” he replied. “Mr. Bradley had no need for me that evening. He gave me tickets for the theatre.”
“Oh, what did you see?” Kendall asked.
The chauffeur shook his head. “I saw nothing,” he replied. “I didn’t feel very well. A touch of flu, or something, I guessed. I gave the tickets to my daughter. She and her boyfriend went to see Phantom of the Opera.”