by David Smith
‘Yes. It’s been a pretty strange day all round. By the way, Alice decided she was just too tired to come out though, I hope you don’t mind putting up with me for company?’
‘Of course not, I understand completely, but are you sure you shouldn’t be back with your family? We won’t mind, really.’
‘No, Alice was insistent I still come and I could do with something to take my mind off things, tonight. Anyway, thank you for coming out. You look beautiful this evening, as always. Now there are truly two and a half divine creatures in the house,’ he swooned, nodding at Pearl standing at the bar to Delia’s clear annoyance at her ‘half’ valuation in his appraisal. ‘Did your father happen to say whether the police are making any progress on the investigation? I saw Hunter earlier today but haven’t heard anything since.’
‘They arrived just after I left; I saw Hunter’s car pull up from my bedroom window as I was getting dressed, it’s a very nasty business. I hadn’t even realised that Nadia’s grandfather was staying there or I would have paid them a visit earlier. I’ll see if I can go round tomorrow when things have calmed down a bit, she must be feeling completely lost without any family members around her.’
At this moment, they were interrupted by Bas and his new friend walking over to their table. Both girls looked at this beautiful woman in admiration, dressed as if she had just stepped off a Paris catwalk. Despite being many years older, she could only be described as dazzling: flawless skin, impeccably dressed and with a gorgeous, winning smile.
‘This is Pearl Taylor; she’s over from the States,’ said Bas. The others nodded at her curiously.
‘Pearl’s a singer. Pearl, this is Eddie, my rather charming companion and the delightful Flyte sisters – Julia and Cordelia, aka Delia,’ he continued.
‘Nice to meet you all,’ Pearl said in a deeply sexy American drawl.
‘Ladies, if you don’t mind, I’ve asked Pearl if she’d join us for dinner, she’s alone in town and it’d be a shame for her to eat by herself.’
‘Of course, that would be lovely,’ they both said almost in unison, giving each other knowing looks.
‘And Pearl, this is Basil, a fine bassist, a serious and devoted friend and an utter sleaze-bag. But as he often tells us, probably the most eligible bachelor in this part of Leamington. So with that consider yourself warned, Miss Taylor,’ Eddie chipped in.
‘Oh, I think I can look after myself but he’s certainly a charmer,’ she chuckled, deepening her honeyed transatlantic voice further.
*
Delia wasted no time in asking her how much she knew about the day’s events. When Pearl expressed ignorance of them, she set about a little précis, asking Eddie to fill in the details at appropriate points. Pearl was wide-eyed and expressed genuine shock that such a thing could have happened in ‘this quiet, peaceful town’. She explained to them who she was and of course they immediately forgot about the murder and fell under her spell, urging her to take to the microphone herself.
‘Later maybe,’ she said. ‘I think I’d better let the local talent have a go first. I liked the waiter earlier, a real opera voice. Anyway I need to get into the mood and I’m starving after walking all over your pretty little town today, notwithstanding the worry of your rapidly increasing crime rate! Really, I thought I’d left New York behind me.’
Bas ordered champagne and they tucked in to their seafood starters. During the meal, the girls noticed that Pearl had an incredible appetite, demolishing the biggest steak on the menu as if it were a burger.
‘Where I come from, you eat before it disappears from the table or you starve,’ she said in a surprisingly matter-of-fact way for an international superstar.
*
Pearl was enjoying herself and had almost forgotten about the dirty little secret locked away in her hotel room. When they finished desert and ordered coffee, she was as good as her word. She walked over to the piano, took the microphone and whispered a few words to the pianist. He could barely conceal his excitement on learning who she was, but to his credit he accompanied her faultlessly through one of her better known songs, and one of his own jazz standard covers, without missing a note. After enthusiastic applause from the gathering crowd, they performed a mini-encore with a song from her latest album This Bacchic Crime.
When she was through, she returned to join her hosts at the table.
‘Champagne does it every time.’ said Bas, rather obsequiously.
While she had been singing, four further guests had joined the party. Hugh was standing next to Claudia from the corner house, one of the names high up on Alice’s ‘attractive and available for Hugh’ list. Alice had suggested to Eddie that he invite Claudia in her place. The other two are obviously police officers, thought Pearl, although neither is in uniform.
*
‘Pearl, let me introduce you to Hugh Powell, Claudia Baxter, Detective Inspector Hunter and his beautiful assistant, one of my very best pupils, Detective Constable Penny Dore,’ said Eddie, rather grandly.
‘Delighted to meet you all,’ she replied charmingly.
‘The Inspector is leading the investigation into this terrible murder and he was due to join us for dinner this evening, but I fear he seems to have allowed himself to be distracted from our idle pleasures in favour of working all through the night. Forgive his Germanic correctness; he’s really a lot of fun when you get him off-duty,’ added Eddie.
Pearl looked approvingly at Hunter. I was beginning to realise that my boss was a bit of a hit with the ladies. He was after all undeniably a rather handsome man. Hunter took her hand gently and raised it to his lips in an old-fashioned greeting. He appeared surprisingly nervous and I was amused to see him bow to her and click his heels ever so slightly; she replied with a smile and a sympathetic curtsy, also nodding a greeting to me and then in turn to Hugh and Claudia. Out of the corner of my eye I was looking at Hugh questioningly as he took his seat between Julia and Claudia, wondering whether this juxtaposition was Alice’s doing.
‘Inspector Hunter you say? What a good name for a policeman, but a case of poacher turned gamekeeper, maybe?’ she joked.
Hunter smiled. ‘There’s an element of truth to that indeed, Miss Taylor. It is truly an honour to meet you; I am really a very big fan of yours.’
‘I’m sure the honour is mine, Inspector, my friends here have already been telling me about you, your reputation goes before you, Leamington’s own star detective, no less,’ she laughed.
‘Please, Miss Taylor, that’s too kind. Indeed, I know that there may be some idle gossip in that vein about me, but my results are simply down to following correct procedure.’
‘And are you close to solving the case?’
‘Unfortunately at this stage in this case, we have more mystery than leads, so I’m afraid we cannot stay long. I just wanted to drop by and make my apologies to my friends and now I find I must also apologise to you Miss Taylor for not staying with you tonight.’
‘That’s quite alright, I fully understand. Off to round up the usual suspects I suppose.’
‘If only it were that simple,’ he said. ‘Before we go, however, I wonder if I could persuade you to sing once more; you are someone I have long admired. It would be such a great pleasure for me.’
‘Of course I will sing for you, Inspector, do you have a special request in mind?’
He thought for a moment and then said, ‘Well, I am rather partial to one of the numbers from your last album – ‘Nobody Loves Me’ I think it’s called.’
‘Yes of course, a good choice, and I’m sure that sentiment’s not personally applicable, Inspector – such a handsome man like you.’ This love-in was getting comical; I’d have to physically separate them soon. ‘It would be a great pleasure to sing for you. And with a clever young assistant like Penny here I’m sure this mystery you are struggling with should not prove too big a problem to wrap up.’
At the mention of my name I looked away from Hugh and stared back at her again.
She smiled at me, and I had to smile back somewhat grudgingly. I felt that in some subtle way I had just been patronised by this larger-than-life woman.
‘Yes Penny, ‘bright as a new penny’, don’t you Brits say? So with that name in particular, you should be able to help the inspector solve his little old enigma quickly,’ she added cryptically. I could feel the hackles on my neck rising and decided that there was something about her I did not like, despite the fact that Hunter seemed to be drooling at her like a school kid.
She got up, moved back over to the pianist and whispered to him. He smiled broadly back at her, presumably still not quite believing he was accompanying an international star.
As she sang one of the lines from the song she gestured at me as if inviting me to sing along with her. ‘I don’t take clues from horoscope hounds,’ were her words. They would become etched onto my mind, but at the time the significance was lost on me.
*
When she returned to the table, I was anxious to ask her a final question but in my annoyance stuttered over some of my words.
‘Miss Taylor, you were saying the mystery should not be too difficult to solve, do you have any information or thoughts on the case, anything you saw while you were walking around town today perhaps?’ I asked, my female suspicions now more than aroused by this mysterious and exotic visitor to our little town. What on earth is she doing here? I thought.
‘No, my dear, it was a jest, nothing specific, just my silly old dark sayings, and I’m sorry if I made a little joke at your expense. Please, excuse my odd sense of humour.’
‘Well, let me give you my card, in any case,’ I said, puzzled by her words. ‘If you happen to think of anything, here’s my email.’
‘That may well come in very useful, my dear, thank you,’ she replied.
I was baffled and somewhat irritated by the singer’s mysterious comments and indeed her unexplained presence in our town. I stared defiantly at Hunter, expecting his support with some further questioning. But the DI seemed completely besotted with this woman and merely smiled and signalled to me with his hand to calm down for the second time that evening. On the other side of the table, Bas was also scowling noticeably at the conversation. I guessed that he was more worried that his own later plans for the evening might be slipping away from him. Hugh, meanwhile, having seemingly made little progress with Julia, was now staring into Claudia’s blue eyes, she looked away embarrassed, perhaps already regretting accepting the last minute invitation. Apparently she’d only done it to help Alice out. Bas was obviously also quite taken with her, I knew from her reputation however that she could be difficult when she wanted to be. Julia was a far better bet for Hugh if I could get them together properly.
‘One last thing, Miss Taylor, if you are staying in Leamington for a while, there is something I would love to discuss with you, a revival of Coleridge-Taylor’s ‘Hiawatha’s Wedding’ I am planning. I wonder if I could tempt you to make a guest appearance, perhaps?’ Hunter asked.
‘Oh my dear lord, that sounds adorable but I’m afraid I have such a long list of engagements to fulfil, Inspector. I’d love to do something like that, especially given that Coleridge-Taylor is a personal hero of mine. Unfortunately my schedule is determined months, sometimes years in advance. I will, however, look for a gap and maybe I could join you another time if I am passing through?’
Gentle politeness and courtly manners,
Maintaining decorum ever righteous.
Cleanliness next to godliness, letters
That speak of chivalry, almost famous.
‘Il libro del cortegiano’, zealous
Troubadour, now you are my life and your
soul will possess my heart. It’s dangerous
To defy this sudden passion. Abhor
Romantic courtesy, love conquers all no more!
*
‘What was that all about, Sir? I don’t like that woman; I thought we went to talk to the Flyte sisters?’ I whispered to Hunter as we left. Somehow, Pearl had really brushed me up the wrong way.
‘Don’t worry, Dore, we’ll catch up with them tomorrow, the occasion wasn’t right. As for Miss Taylor, she’s certainly a smart lady.’ Hunter said a little formally, he stood aside to let me past and I caught him looking back, somewhat wistfully at Pearl. I’m not going to let this happen, I thought, the journalist maybe, but definitely not this one.
*
As the meal came to an end, Bas turned to Eddie and whispered into his ear.
‘Do you and Hugh mind walking the ladies home? I’d like to ask Pearl to stay behind with me for another drink in the bar.’ Eddie rolled his eyes. He’s at it again, he thought, but nodded and indicated to their other guests that they were about to leave.
‘Are your friends leaving already, Basil?’ asked Pearl, pretending surprise at the party splitting up so early. ‘I hope it isn’t something I’ve said? If so, please forgive me for my clumsy American ways.’
‘Not at all, Miss Taylor, it’s been a real delight to meet you but it’s just been an incredibly long day for everybody. We’d better get these young ladies home and tucked up in bed. Basil will make sure you get safely back to your hotel,’ replied Eddie, with a mischievous glint in his eye.
‘Do you want to stay a while longer and dance a little?’ Hugh asked Claudia, who was already gathering her coat and bag.
‘It’s a bit late for that now, isn’t it?’ she said somewhat sharply.
‘Yes of course, well at least let me walk you home as well then.’
*
Eddie left with a Flyte sister on each arm and Hugh accompanied Claudia, the two of them walking behind the others in a somewhat awkward silence. Hugh was working hard to establish common ground with Claudia; he did better when they started to talk about sport. Her studied indifference broke down and her voice began to become more animated. As they passed the Catholic church, he asked her if she was religious. She laughed and shook her head.
‘No, religion exists only to lull men to their sleep.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘The lady Acrasia from Keat’s La Belle Dame sans Merci – she who now has you in her thrall!’
*
‘Another drink maybe, Pearl?’ asked Bas, after the others had gone.
‘Really, I’d better not, I have something to prepare for tomorrow, I’m afraid. A diva’s work is never done.’
‘Of course, then I’ll call you a taxi,’ he said, with obvious disappointment.
‘No need, it’s a nice evening, I’ll walk back. It’s really not far to my hotel. But I think I’d appreciate an escort with the sort of crime wave you have going on in this town.’
Bas accepted this invitation eagerly, paid the bill and left with Pearl a few minutes later. Conscious that he did not want to bump into Hunter again, and with a further plan in his mind, Bas selected a rather longer route rather than the road that ran straight past the police station. They took the Parade south past the Town Hall, walked along estate agents’ row and then turned left along Newbold Terrace up towards Holly Walk. The road that runs along the park.
‘This is my surgery just up here on the left,’ he said when they had left behind the main lights and noise of the town centre. He pointed to a brass plate next to the door of one of the town houses.
‘The Pearl Dental Clinic: Mr Nevinson and Mr Hyde,’ she read. ‘Somewhat of a coincidence, but at least you’re not Dr Jekyll.’ she joked.
‘No, I’m still very much Mr Nevinson; and my partner is Mr Hyde, Mr Edward Hyde, in fact.’
‘Well, Mr Nevinson, as it happens I’ve been having some problems with a wisdom tooth recently; maybe you could take a look for me while I’m in town?’
‘I’d love to, but actually I’ve been specialising recently as an implantologist.’
‘And what is that exactly?’
‘An implantologist is a dentist who specialises in placing dental implants using titanium rods; they are used to replace teeth tha
t have been lost to decay or trauma, fairly new to the UK market.
‘It sounds like it might be lucrative, but really I wasn’t planning a whole course of implants, I just need a simple check over,’ she laughed.
‘Of course, anyway I can take a quick look but I’m afraid there won’t be anyone in the surgery till Monday as tomorrow’s Sunday. Unless…’
‘Well I’m not exactly going to go in there alone with you tonight,’ she said, interrupting in a half-joking voice, ‘and I’m afraid I won’t be here on Monday.’
‘Oh,’ he said, realising his mistake. ‘Well I could grab my bag out of the car if you’d like and take a quick look now at your hotel to see if anything needs doing urgently.’ He pointed to a Porsche that was poorly parked at an angle to the kerb just along the street from the surgery. She nodded in agreement.
Bas fetched his bag and they continued along the pavement that ran along the other side of the road from Jephson Gardens. They walked along to the end of the street and then turned left up the hill towards Holly Walk. Bas linked his arm with Pearl’s as they walked up the road, putting his hand on the small of her back to lead her across the road. She smiled and he was encouraged that she did not object to this semi-intimacy. He was getting excited and she was leading him on just enough. Pearl’s hotel was just across the road. As they entered the foyer, she indicated towards the bar, the next stage of her plan already forming in her mind.
‘Sorry, but if you’re going to examine me, I could do with a brandy, I am a little nervous about dentists. How about you?’ she asked and called over to the barman, fortunately not the same one who was on duty at lunchtime. Neither Bas nor the barman saw the pill she dropped into his drink when it was served.
‘To your good health and thank you for a wonderful evening so far,’ said Bas, now hopeful of his chances of taking this further.
‘Yes, bottoms up as you Limeys say,’ she joked and gulped down her own glass in one shot. Bas was somewhat amazed and returned the toast, indicating to the barman to fill the glasses up again.