by Lily Ashton
She flicked further back, but the pages did not reveal the details. Perhaps he had jotted them down later, in which case they might be in another book. Which Alice did not have. So she got in the Defender and drove back to Renton Hall to find it.
Alice stepped over a cable running from a manhole in the driveway into the hallway, disappearing through a hole in the wall. Decorators, electricians, a man to install satellite television and two men carrying a king-sized bed – the Hall was buzzing. In the library, bookshelves were being fixed to the wall. The space above the fireplace was still empty – Gina’s dealer must be struggling to find a suitable piece.
In the conservatory, Devi was talking to Gina, who had both hands on her hips and a glare on her face. Devi beckoned Alice over.
“Ah Alice, I hope you can help us. Gina and I are discussing which fabric to re-cover the seats in here. Eleanor wants a traditional conservatory, so we’ll keep the tiled floor and there’ll be lots of big plants, but she wants people to be comfortable. She is bringing in big sofas and easy chairs. We all agree on a jungle-type print, but I think it should include some colour.”
She handed Alice a swatch of fabric. Amongst the large ferns on the print were pink elephants and yellow flowers.
“But Eleanor said traditional.” Gina shot her arms in the air. “Animals on seating are not traditional.”
“Perhaps not, but without another colour this room will be green and more green.”
“And that is the point of a conservatory, no?”
“I’ve seen colourful flowers in even classical glass rooms, so I can’t see your objection to the blooms on this print.”
“But elephants! No. There will be no elephants here.” Gina’s phone rang, but she ignored it.
“Alice, what do you think?” said Devi.
The print looked innocuous enough, but this was one argument Alice was not going to get involved in.
“This is such a beautiful space and with that fabulous view of the lake, I’m sure the conservatory will be lovely whichever fabric you choose.”
As her phone buzzed again Gina backed away, muttering as she pressed Answer. “Tsk, how many clients do I have to deal with at once?”
More than me! Not for the first time, Alice wished her own phone rang as often as Gina’s. She took Devi’s arm and led her away.
“The woman just won’t listen,” said Devi. “Eleanor wants this print and she asked me to speak to Gina. She hoped that if both of us asked her, we could make her agree. I find it weird that Gina doesn’t do what her clients ask her to do.”
“Gina’s very experienced and she has a formidable reputation, which she protects by rejecting clients’ suggestions that she knows won’t work. I can see that and I’m sure there are plenty of other interior decorators who would do the same.” Alice smiled. “Though I do like your elephants.”
“Well, I’ll tell Eleanor that I tried. I can’t do any more than that.” Devi flattened against the wall as a man with a roll of carpet on his shoulder struggled passed. “I need to see that carpet laid. Eleanor can’t be here today and she wants me to report back.”
In the attic, Alice lifted up the trunk lid. She sat on her haunches and picked out the notebooks. One of them had to be Wilfred Carberry’s missing diary. In the end, there were twenty-seven notebooks with the same fawn covers, the word ‘notes’ written in the middle. Finding the continuation of the 7 August 1972 entry would mean going through every book.
Alice picked up snippets of Wilfred’s jottings as she thumbed through the books. One day he was annoyed that a delivery of cow feed was late. Later on, he was pleased that his son had scored a century in his end of school year cricket match. And delighted that his stag watercolour, painted near his sister-in-law’s home, had perfectly caught the animal’s majesty. Some of the pages should be framed and hung alongside the Renton Hall plans. The hotel guests would find them entertaining.
A floorboard creaked behind her and Alice looked up. Christian! She fell to one side, placing a hand on the floor to prevent herself toppling. Christian eased across the space between them and offering her his hand, helped her to her feet.
“I don’t remember the last time I had that effect on a woman. It’s a pity you’re my sister!” Christian smiled, revealing newly whitened teeth and bright eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Alice clasped her hands together. “I mean it’s good to see you.”
“Devi told me you were up here.” Christian dug hands deep in his trouser pockets. “Look, I don’t like us falling out, Ally. So whatever I said or did to upset you … I’m sorry.”
“Me too. I mean, I’m sorry for my part. And thank you for, well … just thanks.” Relief, like a heatwave in December, gushed through Alice’s body. After sleepless nights agonizing over whether Christian would come back, here he was. And Alice was not going to let him go again. “So, what have you been up to?”
“Big decision.” Christian sat on the desk chair. “I’m going to set up my own events planning company. I mean I know I’ve said that before, but I’ve spent the past few days thinking about it properly, to make sure it’s what I really want. And, well, I’ve almost started my own business three times already, so it was about time I just got on and did it. So, I have and I’ve started the process. I’ve told my boss and handed in my notice.”
“That’s great news.” Alice beamed at her brother. “And you’ve already got your first job – Devi’s launch party.”
“Yes. It was good of Devi to give me the project. And it’s definitely given me a kickstart.”
Alice leant against a wooden post. “Does that mean you’ll be based in London now?”
“Yes, that’s where the demand is. There’s plenty of people prepared to pay good money for someone else to organise their events. Even better, it’ll only be a couple of hours’ drive to see you instead of the five hour trip we have now.”
Being closer to Christian would be amazing! The physical distance between them had been a major reason for the limited occasions they had seen each other. Ten hours’ driving had meant committing a whole weekend to the trip.
“Well, perhaps you can find me some clients, too,” said Alice.
“Why, are things not going well for you?”
“They’re fine. Renton Hall is a big job and I’ve got another one lined up afterwards. But,” – Alice lowered her voice – “getting money from them is like pulling teeth. Only one of us wants to do it.”
“Welcome to the real world!” Christian threw back his head and laughed. “The key is to have lots of clients. If you have more work than you can cope with, then you should be able to get money in regularly.”
My thinking exactly! Though it was working out how to reach more people that was the problem. Perhaps advertising would help.
“What’s your business called by the way?”
“Alice Haydon Freelancing”
Christian frowned. “You might want to come up with something more catchy.”
Alice had wondered that herself. Time for a rethink. Or even a proper razzmatazz launch like Devi’s.
“How’s the clothing launch party going?”
Christian swirled the chair from side to side. “Really good. It’s going to be brilliant, you must come; twentieth September.”
“They’re well designed clothes, I wouldn’t mind buying some myself. When are they available for sale?”
“Devi will give you whatever you want, just ask her. No, I’ll ask her.”
“I couldn’t. Of course I’ll pay.”
“Don’t be silly. Besides, I know you’ll wear them and then you can tell people they’re Devi’s!”
Alice admired her brother’s wily tricks – she could learn a lot from him. She could even ask him to be involved in her company. Perhaps a sleeping partner?
“I didn’t think this job
would involve you crawling around on the floor.”
“Actually, Christian, you can help me. I’m looking for the other section of one of Wilfred Carberry’s diary entries.” Alice put up her hand before Christian could say anything. “Don’t ask. I’m hoping it’s in one of these, so could you help me look for it please?” She gave Christian a handful of books. “There should be an entry on the first page, saying something about an agreement Wilfred made with his neighbour Bill Trevelyan. I need to know what that agreement was.”
If Christian wondered whether his sister was going a little loopy, he showed no sign of it. He opened up the first book. Alice did likewise and they worked their way through them all.
“It’s not here, Ally.”
Alice agreed. “It’s possible the page could have fallen out, these books are over forty years old.”
“Or perhaps Wilfred tore it out and put it somewhere else.”
The pair got up and Alice piled the books on the desk.
“Hey!” Simon Newgate was standing at the top of the stairs. “I came by to drop something off to Devi and she said you were up here. I thought I’d come and say hello.”
“She must be getting tired of directing people to the attic,” said Alice.
“I would ask what you’re up to, but it feels like there’s a long explanation and I’ve got a train to catch. We should have a drink some time and a proper catch-up. I’ll call you at the weekend.” And without waiting for a response, Simon disappeared.
“I suppose he’s sniffing around Devi’s business again now that Nick’s gone,” said Alice.
“Can you blame him? It’s a lucrative account. And I’m only running her events, so I’m not in his way.”
Thunder sounded overhead and charcoal clouds coloured the window. Alice stood by the glass.
“No matter what the weather’s like, there’s always an interesting view from here.”
“I suppose water plopping onto a lake does have its charm.”
Christian stood beside his sister. Alice felt her brother’s warmth beside her. Thank goodness they were talking again. And this time, she would not let them fall out over some silly remark. Christian’s relationships were none of Alice’s business. Besides, it would be cool to have a Bollywood star in the family.
Lightning flashed across the lake, thunder cracked and Alice flinched away. So she did not register the whizzing sound that passed her ear. But she did hear a loud crack from somewhere behind them, and glass crashing to the ground. She inched around and saw a hole in the window, a spider’s web of cracks around it.
“Get down!” Christian put a hand on Alice’s head and pushed her to the floor. “Someone shot at us. And they’re close by.”
Chapter 25
Alice’s face was pressed to the floorboards, dust collecting in her nose and throat. Christian had thrown himself on top of her, and gallant though this act was, he was preventing her from breathing
“We’ll hide behind that sofa thing,” said Christian. “Get behind me.” He got to his hands and knees, pulling Alice by her sleeve. “Let’s go.” He crawled to the chaise longue and sat on the floor, his back against the seat. Alice tucked in beside him.
Alice’s racing heartbeat echoed through her ears. She put a hand on her chest and took a deep breath. What on earth just happened? Alice stared at the window. It did look as if a bullet had passed through it – somebody really had tried to shoot them.
She tapped Christian’s shoulder. “Did you see anyone out there?”
“No. But it’s so dark, I can’t be sure. I’ll check.”
“No.” Alice tugged his arm. “Let’s find a light first.”
Christian nodded and the pair looked around. The only light was from a small anglepoise, which did not spread further than the edge of the desk. The switch for the main light was by the door and getting there would involve crawling across the attic floor and exposing themselves to anyone still lurking in the attic. A tall standard lamp was closer. Its flex trailed along the wall, but Alice could not see a plug.
Christian and Alice both reached for their mobiles and switched on their torches. They crawled around the side of the chaise longue and cautiously stood up. Making their way across the attic, they waved their beams underneath the desk and behind cupboards. But there was not the faintest sign of another person.
“Let’s go back behind that sofa thing, while we work out what to do next.” Christian took Alice’s hand and they returned to their safety position.
Alice’s instinct was to shut the door at the top of the stairs to stop their attacker coming back. But her legs felt like blobs of clotted cream; she could not rise to her knees let alone to the door.
“Did we just get shot at?”
“Let’s not talk about that now.”
Good advice! Alice turned her mind to practicalities. “How are we going to get out?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing.” Christian gave a wry smile.
“We could stay here until someone comes up and rescues us.”
“We could. But let’s come up with a more practical suggestion …”
Alice looked up at the window. “We could just make a run for it. We’ve checked out the attic, there’s nobody here.”
“There wasn’t when we looked, but whoever was here before could come back.”
That seemed unlikely. Take a shot once and run away, but come back for another go?
“I think it’s probably clear by now.”
Cannonball rain pelted the roof. Water blew through the hole in the window and sprayed across the floor.
“Boo!”
Alice screamed. She clutched Christian’s arm with both hands, pushing her face into his shoulder. She felt a tug to her hair and heard a voice, though it was indistinct against the thunder. Alice drew her legs to her chest and burrowed deeper between Christian and the chaise longue. But her brother moved, and she would have dropped to the ground had she not been caught in a firm grip.
“Alice, look at me!”
Alice turned around. Devi was shaking her arm. “Goodness me, what silly game have you two been playing? You look scared half to death. You almost hit the roof when I said boo.”
“Simon Newgate shot us,” said Alice. “Shot at us.”
Devi released Alice’s arm. “Are you sure?”
“Look!” Christian pointed at the window.
“Oh my god.” Devi reached out a hand towards the glass.
“We should go,” said Christian. “Simon, or whoever did this may still be in the house. And we’re trapped up here.”
Alice nodded and took Devi’s hand. Christian peered over his shoulder once and nodded. He made for the stairs, the two women close behind. At the bottom, Alice scanned the area. There were decorators and maintenance workers scurrying around, but she could not see Simon Newgate. At the front door, she ignored the weeping sky and ran for the Defender.
Inside Daisy’s saloon, Alice made coffee.
Devi picked up the box of Indian sweets she had given Alice. “I see you’ve had a few of these, did you like them?”
“Livvie and I loved them. Beautiful flavours and very different from what we’re used to.”
“Good. I’m thinking of launching my own sweets range, so you should both come to a tasting session.”
The hatch door opened. “Can I come in?” said Roddy. Without waiting for an answer, he clambered down the steps. “I thought I’d come and see if there was another dance session in the offing.”
Alice glared at him. He dropped his smile and sat down.
“So how come you’re all here?” said Roddy.
“Christian and I were shot at in Renton Hall’s attic.”
“Dear girl, not again? Your curating life is turning into a one-woman combat zone.”
“Again?” said C
hristian. “This has happened to you before?”
“Long story short, yes. But let’s not get into that. We need to figure out what happened to us today.”
“That’s exactly what you should do.” Roddy said. “But first, I’m going to pop home and fetch a necessary aid.” He disappeared through the hatch door.
Alice held up her incident board. “I think we can presume that whoever shot us has something to do with the Renton murders. I started with three suspects and whittled that down to two – Simon Newgate and Cheryl Horton. I’ve got motives but no proof. But I am convinced it was one of these two people who just attacked us.”
“Simon must be the prime suspect as he was at the Hall today,” said Devi.
“True. But I think we need to go back to the beginning on this.” Alice took a notebook from a drawer in the sideboard. “We need to write down everything we know about the murders and the suspects and pin it on that board.” She tore out sheets of paper and handed them around, together with felt tip pens.
Roddy returned with a bottle of rum. “Here we go.” He poured a measure into Alice and Christian’s coffee. “And a non-alcoholic version for Devi that a friend won in a raffle. But don’t let that put you off, I’m told it’s very good.”
Alice did not like rum as a rule, but in warm coffee, the sticky sweet flavour was soothing. She knocked back the rest.
“Now.” Alice addressed the group. “Simon Newgate. As Devi says, he was at the Hall today and as I’m assuming that Cheryl wasn’t there …” – she waited for confirmatory head shakes – “we’ll take him first.”
Alice thought Simon slick and polished, much as she imagined an ad man to be. But he had not said or done anything to make her think he was capable of bumping off his business partner.
“I suspected Simon from the word go.” Devi flicked back her hair. “He wanted Nick out of the way, so he could have the whole business to himself.”
“I heard that from Harry Horton too,” said Christian. “Whose opinion was that Simon wasn’t as good a businessman as he thought he was.”