14 Suspicion at Seven

by Ann Purser

  “I missed it,” she lied. “Spent most of my time talking to old friends and clients. It’s a great day for meeting people. I loved the parade, and the foxhounds with the master. It was a shame one of the hounds turned nasty with a young boy, but no great harm done, apparently. Dogs are dogs, and even Jeems can turn savage with black Labradors.”

  Gran looked relieved. She had been prepared to brazen it out if Lois had come into the marquee, but now she knew she could relax. She had thought she caught sight of the back of her head, but it obviously wasn’t Lois. It had been so exciting, and she had taken a respectable amount of money for Donald. He had confirmed that her own supply of jewellery would be arriving soon. She and Joan had agreed to sign up as members on a trial basis, with an opt-out clause if they decided against it. If they went ahead, they would each recruit a couple of friends from other villages. It was so easy! She had decided not to tell Lois and Derek until their jewellery arrived, when it would be too late for a fuss. Donald suggested that as he had so recently had a party in the village, they should perhaps go farther afield. He would be on hand to help throughout.

  “So what else did you and Joan see, Mum?”

  Gran shrugged. “Oh, all the usual things. I saw some very pretty little bantams, and nearly bought a couple for you.”

  “I’m pretty well up to capacity, thanks, Mum. Did you see the bulls, your favourites? I saw that beautiful Hereford got first prize again.”

  Gran nodded. “He certainly deserved it,” she said, without actually admitting to not having seen it.

  Lois had hoped to catch her out, knowing that the red rosette had gone to a glamorous-looking creamy beast, nothing like the Hereford. But Gran was a match for her. She knew exactly how to avoid committing herself, and Lois gave up.

  Derek, however, asked a number of questions, wanting to know if his many farmer friends had been there and if Gran had chatted to any of them. It became obvious that she hadn’t seen a single one, and Lois’s suspicion that she and Joan had spent the whole time on the jewellery stall was confirmed.

  Later on, when Gran had retired to her own room, obviously quite exhausted by her afternoon’s adventure, Lois told Derek what she had seen, and to her surprise, he said he knew already. One of his friends had stopped his car on the way home from the show, and said he had seen his mother-in-law in the craft tent.

  “What did you say to him?” said Lois.

  “Not much. I asked if he was sure, and he said there was only one Mrs. Weedon, and he knew Joan, too. Shall we have to find out what they are up to, before it goes any further?”

  “It’d be better to wait until Gran tells us herself, and then we can always get her out of trouble, if necessary. She looked like she’d had a new lease on life, chatting to customers at the stall. And, by the way, I saw something else a bit odd.”

  “Don’t keep me in suspense,” said Derek.

  “There was a huge refreshment tent, and in one corner, behind a great palm tree in a pot, I saw Donald himself, cosying up to a redhead who looked as if she wouldn’t be seen dead at an agricultural show, wouldn’t know one end of a cow from the other. She was familiar, and might have been the model who was at the jewellery party, but I couldn’t see her very well.”

  “Where was Aurora? Wasn’t she at the show?”

  “I don’t think so,” said Lois. “The bakery is open until half past five as usual. Oh dear, that Donald Black is even more of a fool than I thought. Obviously, we say nothing.”

  “What do we say nothing about?” said Gran, appearing at the door with her hair in a hairnet and her face shining with moisturising cream. “Have you seen my book? Barbara Taylor Bradford’s best. I want to read it again.”

  Lois found the book and wished her mother a good night’s sleep. “You’ll know how it ends, won’t you?”

  “Perhaps this time she goes off with the rogue and lives happily ever after?” said Derek.

  “And goodnight to you two, too!” said Gran crossly, and disappeared.

  The truth was that she was sure she would not be able to get to sleep, her mind whizzing round the afternoon’s events. She settled back into bed and opened her book. Five minutes later, she was fast asleep and snoring contentedly.

  * * *

  “We’re nearly out of bread,” said Gran, as Lois and Derek appeared for breakfast. “We had a bit of a run on it for sandwiches yesterday. We could get a loaf from Josie. She’s open until twelve. I shall be going to the morning service with Joan. It’s a shortened matins, so I could go straight down after, if you like?”

  “I thought of going over to Brigham this morning,” said Lois. “I need to chat to Aurora about a New Brooms client, so I can get bread at the same time. Her shop opens for a couple of hours, and I’m sure she will have a spare loaf for me. Lunch at the usual time?”

  “One o’clock prompt.” Gran was uneasy. Would Lois be going to pump Aurora about the jewellery? She had asked Donald if they could both keep quiet until she was ready to tell the family herself. She knew Lois and Aurora were good friends.

  * * *

  Six miles away, in the warm kitchen of the bakery, Aurora was listening to an account from Donald of yesterday’s show. He seemed very pleased at the result of the day’s takings.

  “Our stall,” he said, “was the only decent one in the craft marquee. And Elsie Weedon and her friend Joan were amazing! I had chosen fairly unglitzy stuff, guessing they would attract the older women, and they shifted a very respectable lot. Of course, they knew a lot of the farmers’ wives and so on. I should think they are in for a good career! And they won’t want to do it forever, so we won’t have any difficulties, with luck.”

  “I’m not so happy about it, as you know, Donald. Lois Meade is a good friend of mine, and I wouldn’t want to cause her any worries. They must be in their early seventies at least. And you know as well as I do that there is a lot of work in organising a jewellery party.”

  “But I shall be there, helping them all the way, and once into the swing of it, I am sure they’ll be fine. After all, they can recruit younger people to help.”

  After that, they did not talk for an hour or so. Aurora was busy in the bakery, and Donald disappeared into his office to work. When the phone rang, Donald picked up the house phone.

  “Good morning! Can I help you?”

  “Ah, Lois here, Donald. Is it okay if I pop over this morning for a couple of loaves? We seem to have run out earlier than usual. But do say if it’s not convenient.”

  “It’ll be fine, Lois. Never turn away customers; that’s my motto. How’s your mother this morning? Oops, I forgot! You’re not supposed to know. But anyway, she and Joan did a brilliant job yesterday. They offered to help, and in no time at all, they had taken over, and I left them to it.”

  And I hope that’s all there was to it, thought Lois. She feared this was not so, but said she would be there in half an hour, and looked forward to hearing more about the show. She supposed she had better not mention the redhead.

  SEVENTEEN

  Brigham was a pretty village, and the Mill House Hotel looked good enough to star in a movie, with the pond in dappled sunlight from the overhanging willow. On an impulse, after Aurora closed up the bakery, Lois decided to take her over for a drink in the hotel bar, where the big windows looked across water meadows. Perhaps they would take Jeems for a walk first, instead of shutting her up in the car.

  Aurora was delighted with the suggestion, and, leaving Donald to look after himself, they set off cheerfully, with Jeems straining at the lead.

  After a gentle stroll to the river and round by the rushing weir, they came back to the hotel and decided on a cold cider to cool themselves.

  “But first the toilet!” said Aurora, heading for the hotel ladies’ room. Lois fetched Jemima’s bowl of water from the back of the van, which she moved into the shade. With Jeems safely on the
lead attached to the car, she went back to find a table by the window looking over the meadows.

  Finally settled with chilled cider, Aurora said how much she had enjoyed their walk. She lived so near the hotel, but seldom went in for any reason other than to sell bread and supplies for the restaurant.

  “Lois, forgive me if I’m wrong,” she continued, “but did you have another reason to come over today? I know your Josie sells bread, and opens up for the papers on Sundays.”

  “Her bread is not a patch on yours, I’m afraid,” said Lois.

  “No other reason?”

  “Perhaps a batch of scones?”

  “Don’t avoid the question!” said Aurora, laughing. “I meant some other reason for coming over?”

  “Well, I did wonder if my mother had signed up for anything with Donald. You know they manned the stall for him at the show?”

  Aurora nodded. “Did you see them?”

  “Yes, but they didn’t see me.”

  “I think they decided on the spur of the moment to help him out. He had business with a client, he said, so it was a great help. I suppose you didn’t see him?”

  Warning lights came up in Lois’s head, and she said no, she didn’t think so.

  “I think the client was young and blonde,” said Aurora, her voice in a whisper.

  “Ah, well that’s another thing,” said Lois. “I am sure you have nothing to worry about. Shall we have another?”

  They sat for some time, chatting about this and that, and neither mentioned Gran and Joan again. They watched the big waterwheel turning slowly round and round, wet and dripping, its buckets spilling out as it moved.

  In a pause in the conversation, Lois said that if Aurora didn’t take her eyes off the wheel, she’d never focus properly again. Aurora laughed and was about to turn away, when her eye was caught by something on the wheel. Then she gasped and screamed, yelling, “Stop it! Stop the wheel!”

  Slowly appearing from one side was a shoe, and as more people clustered round, shouting, “Stop the bloody wheel, can’t you?” the soaking-wet body of a man in a suit and tie appeared spread-eagled across the top of the wheel.

  Complete silence fell, and the wheel turned remorselessly on, spitting out its alien burden as it disappeared from sight.

  Aurora crumpled to the floor, her hands covering her eyes, and Lois bent to help her. “It was him, wasn’t it, Lois?” she whispered. “It was Donald?”

  Lois could think of nothing to say, except, “Yes, it was.”

  EIGHTEEN

  The lovely sunny morning at Brigham had turned into a horrific nightmare, and when Lois finally reached home, she had brought Aurora with her.

  “I couldn’t leave her by herself,” she had said softly to Derek and Gran. “She has completely collapsed.”

  “No wonder!” said Gran. “Stretched out on the water-wheel, did you say? For goodness sake, how did he get there? You’d been at the bakery talking to the two of them not more than an hour previously?”

  “More like a couple of hours,” Lois said. “We went for a walk before going into the hotel for a drink. Anyway, she’s asleep now, I think. I gave her one of my pills. The police will come knocking soon. I rang Matthew as soon as I could.”

  “And Cowgill?” said Derek.

  “Of course,” said Lois crossly. “He’ll be coming over this morning to talk to Aurora. I said we’d let him know when she was up and ready to talk. Are you all right, Mum? You’re looking a bit seedy.”

  “Naturally! He had become a good friend in a short time. I don’t know what Joan and I will do now.”

  “If you mean the jewellery parties, the whole thing will have to be put on hold until Aurora is able to take over. I think she knows all the details, and wouldn’t want people to be left in the lurch.”

  “Just as well you and Joan hadn’t got yourselves in too deep,” said Derek, and immediately knew he was in trouble as Gran burst into tears.

  “You have no cause to say such things!” she shouted at him through her sobs. “He was straight as a die, poor man.”

  “Quite right,” said a weak voice from the doorway. Aurora stood there, still in a borrowed nightie, rubbing her eyes.

  “I didn’t dream it, did I?”

  Lois went to her and put her arm around her shoulders. “No, I’m afraid not. But there’s no need for you to worry about anything else at the moment. Inspector Cowgill is coming over to talk to you soon, but not until I give him the okay. Would you like some breakfast? Coffee or tea?”

  Aurora shook her head. “Not at the moment, thanks Lois. Perhaps I’ll have a shower and get dressed, and then I’ll manage a cup of tea, if that’s all right with you, Mrs. Weedon?”

  “Of course, my dear. Why don’t you call me Gran? Everyone else does, and it simplifies things.”

  After Aurora had gone upstairs, Lois turned on Derek. “That was the most tactless thing I can think of!” she said. “Poor Aurora and then Gran. Isn’t it time you were off to work? I thought you had to go early this week?”

  “Odd as it might seem to you, Lois, I have stayed at home until I was sure the women in my care were all fit to be left, and to offer my help if needed.”

  Lois subsided. She crossed the kitchen, and Derek put his arms around her. “Buck up, me duck,” he said, and kissed her gently. “I’m off now, but I’ll be back at lunchtime. The job is over at Fletching, so it won’t take me long.”

  Now Gran and Lois were left in the kitchen, and both sat down and stared at the table in silence. Then Gran said in her usual strong voice, “I don’t know, I’m sure.”

  “Neither do I,” said Lois. “But I intend to find out. Will you help, Mum? I wouldn’t ask, but you did see quite a bit of him very recently.”

  “Of course I will. And I’m sure Joan will, too. We’ll have to own up, won’t we? We had agreed to be jewellery sellers, and had got as far as planning our first party in Fletching. Donald was going to help us all the way, he said.”

  “Had you handed over any cash?” Lois stared at her mother, sure that she would be able to detect a lying answer. “Honest?”

  “Well, we had paid our membership fee, but there’s a get-out clause. Honest, Lois.”

  “Thank God for that. At least we shan’t have to fight to get it back.”

  “He said several times that his scheme was all aboveboard, and there was no catch to it. He were a good husband, Lois. Aurora will vouch for that.”

  Lois nodded, but she vividly remembered the angry telephone call and the redhead hiding behind a potted palm, not to mention rumours of Donald Black consorting with Sylvia Fountain in full view of his poor wife.

  “At least Aurora has a watertight alibi,” Gran continued, unaware of the aptness of the adjective. “She was with you from the time you said goodbye to him at the bakery to when you saw him on the wheel. Oh God, Lois! What a horrible way to die! How did he manage to get onto the wheel?”

  “I expect the police will be looking at the wheel. The best we can hope for is that he was drowned in the deep water before the wheel got him.”

  “We don’t know exactly how he died, do we?”

  “Not yet. We’ll probably know more when Cowgill gets here. I think I’ll ring him now, and tell him to turn up in about an hour’s time. In a way, the sooner Aurora can get through it, the better.”

  Aurora seemed quiet and composed when she reappeared and drank her tea. “A small piece of toast would be wonderful, Gran, thank you. I guess the day ahead is going to be a bit gruelling.”

  “The inspector will soon be here. I’m sure you’ll find him very sympathetic. He’s not one of those steely detectives you see on the telly. He’s no fool, mind you, and knows instantly if someone is lying to him. But you know him anyway, don’t you, from him being a regular customer an’ that.”

  “Talk of the devil,�
� said Gran. “That’s him coming up the path. I’ll let him in.”

  * * *

  Lois said she would see Cowgill in her office. She would go first, as she was a witness, too, and this would give Aurora time to prepare herself.

  “He might as well see us together,” said Aurora. “We both saw exactly the same thing.”

  “Police don’t work like that,” said Lois, and went through to welcome the inspector.

  Seated in her office, Lois pointed to a chair on the other side of her desk. “You can sit here at my desk when you see Aurora, but for God’s sake, be gentle with her. She has had a terrible shock.”

  “Of course. You know you don’t have to tell me, Lois. I feel very sorry for the poor woman. It must have been a nightmare. Anyway, why don’t you start from when you saw him last, in the bakery earlier on. I’ll leave talking to Gran until last.”

  NINETEEN

  Cowgill was very professional as he listened to Lois’s account of yesterday’s events. Lois could hear Jeems barking at a passing farmer’s truck containing two sheepdogs, known as the Enemy, and it did not seem possible that Aurora’s husband, not such a bad chap but for his weakness with the ladies, had been drowned in such distressing circumstances, while peaceful country life was going on as usual.

  “Thanks, Lois,” Cowgill said at last. “I’ll be talking to you again, but for now perhaps you’d ask Mrs. Black to come in? She was very distressed when I talked to her yesterday, and I hope she may be feeling stronger today.”

  Aurora was pale but collected, and said in a small voice, “Good morning, Inspector.” She sat down and folded her hands in her lap.

  Cowgill said all the right things before asking her his first question. “Have you any idea, Mrs. Black, why your husband should be anywhere near the Mill House Hotel yesterday morning?”

  She shook her head. “But we do know them all there so well, and we are always running across with extra bread for the restaurant, and things like that.”