by Anita Waller
‘You have some beautiful things in here,’ Kat said. ‘My home just seems too… modern to fill it with antiques. And yet it isn’t, it’s a couple of centuries old. I think when we sorted out the interior it lost its old appeal. I love it in this room.’
‘So do I, and so did Tom. I think he came here to escape from that woman. Now, can I see this baby properly, please?’
Kat grinned and unsnapped the restraints holding her daughter into the car seat. She lifted her out and passed her to the seated Alice. ‘And she has my little jacket on,’ she said. ‘She really looks so beautiful, Katerina. You must be so proud.’
‘Oh, I am,’ Kat laughed. ‘And I have three expert babysitters, she’s spoilt rotten. I wanted to bring her to show you, so the other two have headed for the office, and I’m taking a day off. We’ve had a bad couple of days…’ She paused.
‘You have heard the news about Judy, haven’t you?’
‘News? She’s found Tom’s birth mother?’
‘No, no… she’s dead.’
‘Really?’ It almost seemed to Kat as if Alice didn’t believe her, but then she said, ‘How? Car accident?’
It all seemed too cold, clinical, and Kat didn’t know how to respond. She thought the police would have notified Alice, but it was obvious that hadn’t happened.
‘I’m sorry, Alice, I really shouldn’t be saying anything. It was partly my reason for coming here, because I thought the police would have told you. We did give them your name…’
‘What? She’s nothing to do with me. If, as you say, she’s dead, then so be it. I can’t grieve for her, she never cared for Tom, she just wanted his money. Maybe now it will go to the right people.’
‘Tom had money?’
‘Oh yes, but it’s pretty much tied up. Judy gets an allowance, and I know he supported several charities. He said he was leaving a new will when I saw him about two weeks before he died, so I assume she’s copped for the lot. I really hope… oh, never mind.’
Kat felt as if she was floundering in deep water. She couldn’t say anything about a will only just having surfaced; Marsden had asked them not to speak of it. And now she’d opened the conversation, she had to tell Alice how Judy had died.
‘Alice,’ she said slowly, ‘Judy was murdered. Stabbed in her bedroom. Mouse and I went to see her, and we found her.’
‘Really?’ There was still a coldness in Alice that was stopping Kat from saying anything further. For a Christian, Alice was being particularly uncaring.
Kat picked up her glass of water, and watched as Martha and Alice played with each other’s fingers. ‘Can I take a picture?’ Kat asked.
She took out her phone and snapped several of the two of them, then went and stood by Alice’s chair in order to get all three of them in the picture. ‘Thank you,’ Kat said. ‘I’m making a memory book for Martha, so that she remembers everything from birth to her eighteenth birthday. It will be part of her celebrations, having this given to her.’
‘What a lovely idea! Oh, it seems I have more visitors…’
Marsden’s car pulled up outside.
‘Then I’ll leave you,’ Kat said. She took Martha from Alice’s arms and placed her back in the car seat. Alice went to the door to let the DI in, and Kat nodded at Marsden as she went by.
‘Thank you, Alice,’ Kat said. ‘I’ll bring her again soon.’
‘Kat, I’m calling around to see you after I’ve spoken to Mrs Small. Office or home?’
‘We’re all at the office, even Martha,’ she said with a laugh.
Marsden headed out of Bradwell in a troubled frame of mind. Alice Small had showed no emotion concerning Judy Carpenter’s death, had wanted no details. When asked her whereabouts between 6am and mid-morning of the day of Judy’s death, she said she had been running, as she did every day, and gave names of several friends who routinely looked out for her as she ran around the village.
‘I’ll put Hannah on to checking that out,’ she mused aloud, but admitted to herself that it was just a tad unlikely that an eighty-year-old Christian lady would be able to overcome a much younger Judy Carpenter, killing her with a knife.
Marsden pulled up outside the shop in Eyam, locked her car and headed towards the door. The bell clanged as she entered; it was so old-fashioned, and yet everybody loved it.
Doris was in her usual place on reception, her laptop open, her fingers flying across the keys. ‘DI Marsden, can I help you?’
‘Kat didn’t tell you I was calling in?’
‘Kat flew in with a screaming baby. She went straight through to her office and all is once again peaceful, so I assume Martha needed feeding. Do you need all of us?’
‘I do. I’ve come to realise over the time that I’ve known you, that we know different things. I want to pick brains.’
‘Intriguing,’ Doris said. ‘Let me see what Kat and Mouse are up to, and we’ll decide where to sit.’
She carefully opened the door to Kat’s office, where Martha was being placed in her car seat, obviously fast asleep. Kat put a finger to her lips, and came out to reception.
‘We all need to talk. Mouse’s office?’ Doris said.
Mouse was playing card games on her laptop, so they decided as she clearly had nothing better to do they would all squeeze into there.
‘You have something for us?’ Mouse began.
‘A little bit. Information about the will that the SOCOs uncovered. A lot of what I’m saying is guesswork, but I feel it’s accurate. We pulled in Keeley Roy yesterday and had an interesting chat with her. In a couple of days we’re going to talk to her again, but it’s going to be about the will.’
‘Is it valid?’ Mouse looked puzzled. ‘Does Keeley benefit?’
‘Why would Keeley benefit, Mouse?’ Marsden said with a grin. ‘You know, if you’re going to withhold information from me, don’t drop yourself in it when we have a general conversation.’
‘Keeley is a client,’ Mouse said, crossing her fingers as she told the minor white lie. ‘I am assuming she has now told you certain facts about her relationship with Tom Carpenter.’
‘She has, she was very open and forthcoming. It was almost as though it was a relief to have it out in the open. Would that have been a good enough motive to murder Judy Carpenter? I’m inclined to think not. But somebody did, and it was a particularly brutal assault. So, to go back to the will.’
She took a notepad out of her bag, and glanced quickly down the page. ‘Tom Carpenter was very stable, financially. He inherited vast amounts of money when his adoptive parents died, but they had invested in him anyway. Over the years, nearly twenty I understand, he bought all of the houses on that little side road where he lived with Judy. When he married Judy he was already living in that corner house, and we don’t think he ever told her about his finances. He rented all of them out, but about ten years ago two of the tenants approached the estate agent who acted as rent-collector to ask if they could buy their homes. He agreed, on condition they didn’t reveal who the current owner was, and those two ex-tenants were the men he approached when he needed this will witnessing.’
She paused to once again check her facts. ‘About seven years ago the house adjoining his own house became empty, and Keeley Roy became his tenant. It was all done through the estate agent; they look after the houses, see to maintenance, collect rents, re-let when necessary, and Tom Carpenter had nothing to do with any of it. Reading between the lines, I think it was to stop Judy finding out just how much money he had because his intention was to divorce her.’
‘Sneaky,’ Mouse responded.
‘Don’t forget most of this is supposition, but I sent one of the team to the estate agent’s office yesterday, and they confirmed the secrecy Tom Carpenter insisted on being in place. Even Keeley didn’t know he owned her house; she paid her rent every month for seven years or so, and didn’t know she was paying it to her Tom. He has put things right, I might add. The will says that Judy is to have use of the house they have a
lways lived in until her death, and then it goes to little Henry. That’s the first major point.’
‘Good grief, he’s a bit little to be a landlord,’ Doris said.
‘That’s not all Henry gets. He has a considerable trust fund set aside for him when he reaches… I think it’s twenty-one. I hope it’s thirty,’ Tessa added. ‘His mother, who still doesn’t know Tom was her landlord, receives her house, fifty-thousand pounds, and all the rent she has ever paid is to be returned to her. Plus, she shares ownership of the fourth house and all rental income with Henry until one of them dies. Then it all reverts to the remaining one. Tom’s left the final house to Alice Small, along with £10,000. As I said, he was a very wealthy man.’
There was silence for a moment as Kat, Mouse and Doris digested the information. Finally Mouse spoke. ‘I’m not buying that this murder is about money though. It doesn’t feel like it. The will was found after Judy’s death. So nobody knew about his huge wealth until SOCOs found the document.’
Marsden sat back and waited.
‘You’re right,’ Kat joined in. ‘I don’t see this as being about any financial gain. Yes there’s going to be a lot, especially for Keeley, but there’s an itch I can’t scratch at the moment; I’m working on it. He didn’t leave any actual cash to Judy? That seems a bit… strange. No wonder she saw potential in linking up with Pam Bird.’
Doris looked at her girls. Deep thinkers, both of them, and she knew they needed time to work this one through. Her own IT skills wouldn’t help push this conundrum to any sort of conclusion. This was about life as much as about death.
‘So… motive.’ Kat frowned as she said the word. ‘Why would anybody want to kill Judy? She hadn’t done anything wrong. Yes she had a plan, but at that particular moment of her death, she had done nothing illegal or immoral. She hadn’t even met Pam Bird, she was hanging fire so that it all looked innocent when we introduced the two of them.’
‘You think the Pam Bird connection is somewhere hidden in this?’ Marsden asked. ‘I was going to see her today, but that nurse woman told me not to bother, she was out of it because she had woken up in so much pain. She sounded almost accusatory, as though it was all my fault she’d had to have extra painkillers.’
‘Grace isn’t a nurse as such,’ Mouse explained. ‘She was employed to help out with the business when Pam’s husband was taken ill. When he died, Pam continued to employ Grace because Pam’s own illness is so debilitating. She never knows from one day to the next if she’s going to have manageable pain levels, so if it’s any consolation, Tessa, I don’t think she was bullshitting you, it would have been a genuine reason for you not being able to see Pam today.’
‘Let’s hope by tomorrow she’s feeling much better because I’m going to see her,’ Marsden said.
Chapter 26
Marsden stayed for another half hour, batting thoughts backwards and forwards with the three women. She agreed to call in to the shop after she had spoken to Pam Bird, and fill them in on any developments, or even simply ideas her team had cast around the office.
Finally it felt as though they hadn’t held anything back, although she did realise it was entirely down to the death of their client; their mouths would have been as if sewn tightly shut if Judy Carpenter had still been alive.
Pam Bird was lying on the sofa, a fleece cover placed over her. She had a book by her side, and a carafe of water with a glass over the neck of it on a small coffee table within easy reach. She looked comfortable, if a little drowsy.
‘DI Marsden,’ she said. ‘Good to meet you. Kat and Beth have spoken of you and I know they think highly of you. I’m not sure how I can help, but if I can, I will.’
The door opened and Grace appeared with the obligatory tray of tea and coffee. Marsden smiled her thanks, and knew she would have to use the bathroom before driving away. Her bladder was already feeling slightly overwhelmed.
‘Do you need me, Pam? Grace asked.
Marsden jumped in. ‘No, Mrs Bird will be fine. I’m only here for a chat. I may need to speak to you separately, but I’ll come and find you.’
Grace gave a reluctant smile, nodded and left the room saying she would be in the office.
‘Do you mind if we record this conversation, Mrs Bird? It saves me making notes.’
‘Not at all.’ Pam said.
‘Well I rather think Grace might raise objections, but it’s not her I’m speaking with. She didn’t appreciate me asking her to leave.’
‘She’s very good to me,’ Pam said. ‘But she can be a bit possessive. I honestly don’t know where I would be without her. She gave me my pain medication just before you arrived instead of after lunch, in case I became stressed. I wouldn’t have thought of doing that.’
No and neither would anybody else, Marsden’s suspicious mind screamed out. ‘What pain medication do you take, Mrs Bird?’
‘I take Gabapentin three times a day, and Imipramine at night. I can top up if it’s particularly severe with co-codamol and ibuprofen.’
‘Powerful stuff,’ Marsden said. ‘So you’ve had your afternoon dose of Gabapentin a couple of hours early?’
‘I have, but the pain is pretty bad today. Not as bad as yesterday but when I get a flare-up as awful as that one was, it takes me a few days to recover. I’m sorry if I sound a bit dozy, this drug has that effect on me. I think it’s when I mix it with Imipramine… Makes me sleepy.’
‘You’ve had that as well? Your bedtime medication?’
Pam nodded, and shuffled her body a little higher. ‘Would you mind pouring me a coffee, please, DI Marsden, and help yourself to either tea or coffee. And we have scones! Grace makes beautiful scones and cakes. Please, help yourself.’
Marsden did as instructed but said no to the scone. She didn’t want to take the risk of a sleeping tablet having been ground up and used in the scone mixture…
You’re a cow, Marsden, she told herself. She’s probably a really nice caring person. Who dispenses evening sleeping tablets in the middle of the day.
‘Okay,’ Marsden finally said, ‘let’s talk about your son. You had him, I understand, when you were only sixteen?’
‘That’s right, and forced into giving him away. It wasn’t because I didn’t love him, it was because I did love him. He would have had no life with me, a sixteen-year-old who knew nothing. I was still dependent on my parents, and there was no way they would let me keep him.’
Marsden nodded sympathetically.
‘And now I’ll never know him.’ Pam glanced briefly at the picture standing proudly in the middle of the mantelpiece. ‘He was a handsome man, wasn’t he?’
‘He certainly was. A man you can be proud of producing, and from what I’ve been told, he had a happy childhood.’
‘But he didn’t have a happy marriage, did he?’ A frown briefly crossed Pam’s face. ‘I could have been taken in completely by this woman who was supposed to be coming to see me. I could so easily have believed that she wanted to fulfil Tom’s last wishes that he find me, because that’s what I wanted to believe. And she would have made it her business to become part of my life, wouldn’t she?’
‘Everything is pointing to that, I’m afraid,’ Tessa said gently. She sipped at her coffee, enjoying the taste, the expensive taste. No instant in this house, she guessed.
‘I would like to go to his grave, if he has one. Beth Walters said she would find out for me.’
‘If Beth Walters said that, then she will. Judy Carpenter was her client, and under normal circumstances she would have simply asked her, but now Judy isn’t there to ask. I’m seeing them later, so I’ll remind her.’
It was clear that Pam was tiring, so Marsden put their cups back on the tray and stood. ‘Have a nap, Mrs Bird. I don’t think I’ll need to trouble you again, but I would like to speak with Grace, just to tidy everything up here. And I’ll remind Beth about the grave of your son. I do hope seeing it, if there is one, gives you some sort of closure.’
Pam smiled. ‘
Thank you. Grace is at the end of the hall, last door on the left. She’s dealing with accounts and stuff in there, all the work my husband used to do. She keeps his assorted businesses ticking over nicely, attends all the meetings for me. I’d be lost without her.’
Pam’s eyes were already closed by the time Tessa left the room, and she headed down the corridor, initially looking for the downstairs toilet. It was a relief when she found it.
Grace was sitting behind an imposing desk, the laptop open in front of her. She was on the telephone, and waved to the chair at the other side of the desk. Tessa sat and waited. It seemed Grace was on with one of the businesses she was looking after, and Tessa felt uneasy. Grace’s tone was quite imperious; the words were meant to convey that what she said was gospel, and whoever was on the other end would obey.
Replacing the receiver, Grace turned her head and looked at Tessa. ‘Can I help?’
‘I’m not sure. It’s just a general chat really, to get my thoughts in order. What do you do?’
‘What do I do? I suppose I do most things. I was employed here when William Bird became ill, but that was coincidence really. He hired me to be a help to Pam. It was clear she couldn’t do much, chronic pain illnesses can be horrific. However, almost from the start it was clear he wasn’t on this earth for long, and I took on the role of looking after both of them. I began to handle almost all of William’s affairs under his guidance, and continued to do so after his death. Pam isn’t capable of dealing with anything really, and what’s more she doesn’t want to.’
Marsden nodded. ‘How many businesses are we talking about here? I realise Mrs Bird is extremely wealthy, and I merely wondered why.’
‘I look after ten, although really for most of them it’s more a monitoring brief. He had excellent people in place, did William, and they’ve simply carried on. The businesses are varied. He used to buy into ailing developments, and make them whole again. He had a knack for recognising what was good and what was irrecoverable.’