by Sabina Manea
‘She can’t have children. I know, because I’ve been here three years, and I hear stuff when they talk, and they think I don’t exist. They paid lots of money for treatment, but it didn’t work. All the time, she was going to Harley Street to see the expensive doctors. So, she was probably jealous.’
Catalina looked down and stroked her belly protectively.
‘The husband, he was nice. Always kind to me, and not a – how do you say it – dodgy old man, like some other people I used to clean for. I don’t know what he’s going to do now. This place was too big for them, and now he’s alone. They bought it for the children, but there aren’t any. It’s sad. So much money and not happy.’
‘It is sad,’ Nina agreed, making copious mental notes. ‘Money can’t buy everything, and it can definitely not buy happiness.’
The two women sat in companionable silence for a while, and as the sun streamed through the sash windows that the soulless remodelling had clemently spared, Nina felt all the sadness that lay hidden between the manicured walls. She herself couldn’t have children. When they found out, she and Walter decided it wasn’t worth the risk of failure and the associated pain to go down the route of fertility treatments. They simply decided they would enjoy being together, child-free, and not yearn for the unattainable. Other women, however, had a visceral desire, one that bred desolation and envy of those more fortunate in that respect – Roberta had clearly been one of them.
‘I’d better go, Catalina. Thank you for being so kind to me. I hope it all goes well for you.’
As the women said their goodbyes and Nina walked out, she felt a pang of guilt at the elaborate deception she had staged. At the same time, the information she had collected would be music to Lucia’s ears.
Chapter 24
Sat at her desk at the station, Lucia put the phone down. She and Carliss had just been speaking to Nina, who had reported back from her visit to the Vale of Health. The plot was thickening.
‘Let me get this straight. You two reckon Roberta Musgrave was Alec Penney’s mistress?’ asked Carliss in disbelief. ‘Blimey, this bloke got around. Must have ruffled a few feathers.’
‘I think “lover” is the more inclusive word, if I’m going to be pedantic about that sort of thing,’ said Lucia, who couldn’t resist gently teasing him. ‘That’s what it looks like, from all those rendezvous they had. It looks like Roberta mainly went to see him alone, without her husband. Alec Penney was doing a lot of consoling, that’s for sure.’
‘If Roberta Musgrave can’t have children and hates those who can, and Elsa had Alec Penney’s baby, what are the chances Roberta turned up at the offices to confront the secretary? If she’d found out her rival had a child, she would have been furious, even though the baby’s dead. In fact, she might not have known the baby was dead. What do you think? My head’s spinning and I feel like we’re going round in circles, Lucia. What a bloody mess this is,’ said Carliss.
The inspector looked worn out. Two dead bodies on their patch and none the closer to solving the cases. The Super wasn’t going to take this very well.
‘That’s pretty likely,’ replied Lucia. ‘Elsa could have well been lying when she said she didn’t know why Roberta had turned up out of the blue. The girl could have followed her home, lain in waiting, and stabbed her.’
The policeman watched her intently. ‘That’s one explanation. You don’t look like you’re buying it.’
‘I’m not. Roberta’s a tall, sporty-looking woman, and Elsa’s a slip of a girl. I can’t really see the PA attacking anyone with a knife, can you?’
‘You’ve got a point, but to that I’d say it’s not impossible. Elsa finds out Alec’s been shagging around, and she’s livid. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and all that. And remember, it’s dark. Elsa could have jumped out and stabbed Roberta before she had a chance to defend herself,’ replied Carliss.
‘Yes, perhaps. I think we should keep an open mind. We need to confront Elsa tomorrow and see what she comes up with, and then we can see where we are,’ said Lucia.
* * *
Later, in the Red Lion, Becky poured out a large glass of white Burgundy and handed it to her favourite customer with a sympathetic grin. ‘You look like you need it, babe.’
‘Tell me about it. It’s been a hell of a day.’
‘Want to talk about it?’
‘Not really, and besides, I probably shouldn’t, if I want to keep hold of my job,’ replied Lucia.
‘Look who’s here. Lover boy,’ whispered Becky.
Lucia turned around to see Will Sherriff staring right at her. Oh, great, she thought. Last thing I needed – being seen carousing with one of the suspects. Can anything else go wrong today?
To her horror, he came and sat next to her at the bar. ‘Hi, boss.’ He was clearly enjoying pulling her leg. ‘Long time no see. How’s it going?’
‘Fine, thanks. I probably shouldn’t be talking to you, you know,’ Lucia replied with a naughty glint in her eye, unable to resist his easy charm.
‘Yeah, you probably shouldn’t. But you are, aren’t you?’ He signalled to the barmaid for another round of drinks.
As they lay in her bed later that night, Lucia couldn’t resist probing a little. ‘Have you got a lot of family?’
He stretched out and fixed her with his disconcertingly green eyes. ‘Loads. Siblings and cousins and uncles and aunties left, right and centre. You?’
‘No, not really. I wish I did. I’m an only child, you see. It would be nice to have siblings and cousins my own age, someone to hang around with.’
‘Yeah, it’s good. My cousin, we’re thick as thieves. Married a really nice bloke too. I’d do anything for them.’
As the chat subsided and comfort was sought elsewhere, Lucia thought of how happy a large family must have been. She felt a momentary pang of regret – though almost instantly dismissed – for opting out of having her own.
Chapter 25
‘We’ve been back and forth so many times – I’m sick of it.’
The inspector sighed wearily as he steeled himself for yet another trip to Well Walk. That girl Elsa was running rings around them, and Lucia could see he was beginning to lose any shred of patience he had left. He’d been on at least ten cigarettes a day – the best part of a pack, if he was being honest – for the past week, and his stress levels were through the roof. Getting a dressing down from the Super hadn’t helped. She had every right to question why they hadn’t closed the Penney case yet, since the PM had already come down on the side of accidental death. She had called their investigation a wild goose chase, and Carliss was on strict orders not to let it run for longer than another week. If they didn’t dig up anything useful, they would be in some sort of yet unspecified trouble. Though she had no appetite for finding out what that might be, Lucia ignored the warning – she was now like a dog with a bone. The theory forming in her mind had to be tested, and the first set of loose ends was in Hampstead.
Elsa Whittle opened the door with a weary look.
‘Come in then. You’re wasting your time. I’ve told you everything I know. I’m never going to get through this paperwork if you keep turning up to distract me,’ she admonished them.
‘Just one last set of questions, Miss Whittle,’ said the inspector before she had time to offer them a seat. ‘Were you aware that Roberta Musgrave and Alec Penney were lovers?’
The question shot the girl down as if the ground had vanished from beneath her feet. She froze where she was standing, her muscles rigid and her fingers twitching uncontrollably. Eventually she took a couple of hesitant steps and sat down in the nearest armchair. When she finally spoke, it was a merely audible whisper.
‘Yes.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t quite get that. You knew, didn’t you?’
‘Yes,’ she said loudly, as if she had lost control of her voice. ‘I knew.’
‘You must have guessed, seeing how many appointments there were in the diary, and always with
her alone. It doesn’t take a suspicious mind to put two and two together,’ said Lucia, sitting back with her ankles crossed, keeping a close eye on the girl.
She had nearly fooled them, with her pathetic sob story and her pained little face. Lucia wasn’t ready to label her a killer just yet, but there was definitely more to Elsa Whittle than met the eye.
The policeman watched Elsa like a bird of prey. ‘When did you find out they were having a relationship?’
‘I’ve known for some time. Months. The way she looked at him – the way they looked at each other. Little things – a stolen glance here, a hand lingering on a shoulder for a fraction of a second too long there. I just knew.’
The girl shrunk further into the armchair, her bottom lip quivering, though no tears were forthcoming. Her face brimmed with anger and resentment.
‘Did you ever confront Alec Penney about it?’ asked Carliss. He was starting to sound very irritated, as if every word that came out of the girl’s mouth was a personal affront.
‘What do you think? Of course I didn’t,’ Elsa replied sharply. ‘What good would that have done? He would have denied it. I might have even lost my job. No, I had to sit here day in, day out, watching her come in and shut herself up in there with him. He acted as if there’d been nothing between us. Keep it professional, it’s for the best, that’s what he always said. But he couldn’t keep it professional with her, could he? He just couldn’t help himself.’
The monologue had turned into a full-blown rant as she spat out all the ill-feeling that had been pent up for so long.
‘It must have been galling, watching them carry on like that. Not to mention the breach of ethics – having a relationship with a client. Not something Alec Penney would have wanted publicised. Did you kill him because you couldn’t take it anymore?’ Carliss was almost frantic, stammering over his words. He wasn’t really making any sense.
Lucia turned to her boss, unable to conceal her surprise. This wasn’t on, and he should have known better than to question Elsa as if she were a suspect. He knew the rules. You couldn’t just wring out a neat little confession – that would hardly pacify the Super.
The girl fixed him with haunted eyes, as if he were accusing her of witchcraft.
‘No! No, I didn’t kill him. I couldn’t. I loved him. Despite everything he’d done wrong, I couldn’t help it. That’s why I stayed here, didn’t look for another job. I couldn’t have harmed him, I couldn’t…’ she trailed off, now in floods of tears which Lucia assessed as looking fairly genuine.
‘What about Roberta Musgrave? If you were in love with Alec Penney, the sight of her must have been repugnant. You followed her home and stalked her, found out her habits, knew she always went for a jog around ten at night, just to clear her head before bed. We’ve spoken to her husband, you see, and whoever stabbed her had to have known her routine. You lurked around the edge of the Heath, close to her house, and waited. All it took was one or maybe two debilitating first blows, and after that she’d be powerless to defend herself. What did you do with the knife? Look, if you tell us the truth now, it’ll be easier for you in the long term.’
Elsa cried speechlessly, and Lucia thought it was high time to intervene. ‘DCI Carliss, can I have a word outside?’
Out on the street, with the front door firmly closed, she lay into him. ‘What the hell’s come over you? She’s not a suspect. We’re both going to lose our jobs over this!’
The inspector pressed his temples with feverish forefingers, trying in vain to snap back to normality. He’s shattered, Lucia realised, suddenly seeing him with fresh eyes.
‘What’s up with you?’
‘I don’t know. I just don’t know what came over me in there. This case has really ground me down, more than I knew,’ he confessed wearily. ‘I can’t sleep, and it feels like my brain’s permanently at half-mast. I’ve messed up, haven’t I?’
‘Either you take a couple of days off, or you snap out of it.’ Someone had to put their foot down. This couldn’t go on.
‘I can’t take any time off, not now. Look, I’ll have an early one tonight. I promise not to do any more talking in there either. You take over.’ He looked at her with genuine remorse. ‘I’m sorry. It wasn’t fair on you, putting you in this position. It won’t happen again – I’ll make sure of it.’
‘OK,’ she agreed, not altogether convinced. ‘Let’s go back in and pick up the pieces.’
Inside, Elsa had calmed down and sat waiting patiently for their return.
‘Sorry about that. Just some urgent business to deal with,’ lied Lucia. ‘Elsa – Miss Whittle – I’m sorry for seeming so harsh on you earlier. We’re just trying to get the facts straight on what happened to Alec Penney and Roberta Musgrave. I think it’s all starting to add up,’ she remarked, stifling a stern put-down in the direction of her superior, who looked like he was about to pipe up to say it wasn’t adding up at all for him. ‘When Roberta came here the other day, was anyone else around?’
The girl thought for a moment before answering, visibly relieved to be on less contentious ground. ‘Yes, actually. Forgot all about it. Will, the builder. He was out the back, fixing the window frame. He’s always so good – makes as little noise as possible. I barely know he’s there most of the time.’
‘Alright, that makes sense. I’ve just got one more question, for clarification. Did Roberta say anything about your… er… past relationship with Alec?’
‘No, nothing of the sort. As I said already, she just wanted to rifle through his study. Unless he told her himself – and I can’t see why he would have done – she had no way of knowing about me and Alec.’
‘Thanks for your help, Elsa. It’s made a big difference.’ Lucia smiled gratefully, relieved that she had managed to salvage the potentially delicate situation that her boss had put them both in. ‘Just for completeness, what did you do after you left here that evening?’
‘I went straight home as soon as Roberta left. Mum had cooked us a big dinner, and she doesn’t like to be kept waiting. After that I watched telly and had an early night – no point going out when I’ve got to be back here at the crack of dawn every day.’
Lucia breathed an inward sigh of relief. The girl had thankfully produced a solid alibi – no possibility of sneaking around the Vale of Health in that case. As far as Roberta Musgrave was concerned, they could at least cross one person off the list.
Chapter 26
‘Remind me why we’re looking into Max Penney again,’ Carliss asked.
He looked considerably restored as he glanced up from behind his computer screen. Lucia had dutifully dispatched him home early the day before, with strict instructions not to touch any work. She wasn’t convinced he’d complied, but at least he no longer looked at death’s door.
‘Cam and I went through his interview,’ Lucia explained, ‘and there’s something puzzling about it. His behaviour – didn’t it strike you as odd?’
‘What do you mean?’ Carliss replied. ‘Oh, OK, I suppose he was a bit on edge. Some people – most people in fact – don’t like being questioned by the police, do they?’
‘Still, I’d like to have a dig around for myself. Here’s what I’ve got on him so far. He’s Alec Penney’s twin brother – we knew that already. They went to the same schools, even to the same university. When they qualified, they ended up working in the same hospital, if you can believe it. Joined at the hip. They left their respective jobs to set up Connections Counselling together and made a good run of it, judging by the tidy year-on-year profits.’ She peered at the documents on her desk, disbelief etched across her serious face. ‘So, riddle me this. Why, after spending all their life together, does Max suddenly decide to call it a day and quit the business?’
‘Maybe he was bored. Wanted a fresh start.’
‘Going back to the same hospital to be a psychiatrist? What kind of fresh start is that? No, I don’t buy it. I think relations between them soured, and probably to the point of no
return. We just have to work out why, and I’ve got a feeling that Max Penney isn’t going to tell us.’
‘So, what do you have in mind?’
‘Max Penney was in Alec’s study the night his brother died, we know that much – the CCTV clearly shows him entering and leaving the building, and we can assume at this stage that Elsa didn’t lie when she said Max went in to speak to Alec.’
Lucia was setting it all out methodically, building up to a possibility neither of them had considered before.
‘But look at it another way,’ she continued. ‘What if Max went there not to speak to Alec as such? What if he went there to look for something?’
‘What, you mean something in Alec’s office? But Alec would have been there. Surely, he wouldn’t have let Max rummage through his things. Besides, what could it be that Max was so desperate for? I don’t know, Lucia, I really think you’re grasping at straws here.’
‘It’s a long shot, I agree. But whatever angle we pursue, we seem to come back to this place, Well Walk – Alec Penney’s offices, and in particular his study. The day she was murdered, Roberta turned up looking for something, didn’t she? What is it about that study that’s so fascinating, I wonder?’
‘Well, there’s only one way to find out.’ Carliss sighed as he admitted defeat once again. ‘It’s back to Well Walk.’
In Hampstead, Elsa opened the door with a resigned look. She seemed a little surprised by their reappearance, though unbothered about letting them back in, knowing the pressure was off – for the time being, at least. Alec’s study looked very ordered. The paperwork had been removed as part of Elsa’s tidying up of client affairs, and aside from the books on the set of shelves along the wall, there was nowhere that could conceivably elicit any useful information.
‘This is probably a waste of time, but let’s look through the books. There aren’t many of them,’ said Lucia, ignoring Carliss’s eye roll.
The selection was fairly meagre; a few tomes of popular psychology, neatly arranged by colour. More of a prop than for actual reading, mused Lucia. They worked well to brighten up the room, make the space cosier so that people would be more inclined to confess their darkest secrets. Good posturing. There was nothing hidden between the pages of the books. In fact, they all looked virtually brand new, as if they had never even been opened.