‘No, some distance away. I just kept getting glimpses of them, as people in the crowd shifted.’
‘What about Mr Rain? Did you see him again?’
‘I saw him moving towards the door, with Miss Knight. People kept stopping them, to congratulate them, I imagine—they gave a really superb performance, by the way—so I assume they left together.’
‘What time would this have been?’
‘Let me see … the concert ended at a quarter to ten and I suppose it would have been about five past, when I saw Alicia talking to Rain.… It must have been about twenty past, when he and Miss Knight left.’
‘So you have no idea what time Mrs Parnell left?’
‘Sorry, no.’
‘And you?’
‘A few minutes after Rain.’
‘And what did you do afterwards?’
‘Came home, of course. No, wait a moment … I went for a stroll by the river, first. It was a lovely night, and the concert hall had been rather stuffy. I thought I’d have a breath of fresh air before turning in.’
‘You hadn’t taken your car?’
‘It wasn’t worth it. The hall’s only ten minutes’ walk from here, and as you’ve probably noticed, these houses have no garages. I rent one in Denholm Street, and by the time I’d got the car out I would have been half-way there.… Look, Inspector, I can quite appreciate that you need to build up a picture of Alicia’s movements last night, but do you have to have quite so much information about mine?’
‘Oh come, Mr Bassett. You’re a man of the law, you know what a passion for detail we have …’
‘And I’m your best bet so far,’ said Bassett good-humouredly. ‘Yes, I can see that. And as I’m pure as the driven snow I will demonstrate my innocence by providing you with cooperation par excellence.… What else would you like? Fingerprints? Shoe size? The clothes I was wearing last night?’
Thanet wasn’t going to be distracted or deflected. He smiled. ‘I don’t think we need to go quite as far as that at present. We’d settle for your time of arrival home.’
‘About ten to eleven, give or take a few minutes. I’m afraid there’s no one to corroborate that, you’ll just have to take my word for it.’
‘Thank you,’ said Thanet, rising. ‘You’ve been most helpful.’
‘Not at all. Though I can hardly call it a pleasure, in the circumstances.… I’ll show you out.’
At the front door Thanet hesitated. ‘Did Mrs Parnell tell you why she’d come to Sturrenden?’
‘Not in so many words. I rather assumed, to go to the concert.’
Lineham waited until they were in the street and the door had closed behind them before commenting, ‘Smooth, isn’t he?’
‘Oh, very. Do you think he was telling the whole truth and nothing but, Mike?’
‘I think I’ll reserve judgement on that one, for the moment … Do you think that was why she came to Sturrenden?’
‘For the concert? Could be. Nicholas Rain was her boyfriend once. Perhaps she was curious about this girl he’s just got engaged to?’
‘Yes, I read about that in the local paper, not long ago. She’s much younger than him, isn’t she?’
‘In her early twenties, I believe. I imagine he’s been too busy buzzing all around the world on concert tours to have thought of settling down before. I understand they met about a year ago, when she stood in for someone who was due to play the Bach double violin concerto with him—the same piece that they performed last night, incidentally.… I saw them together in Sturrenden once, a couple of months ago,’ Thanet added reflectively.
‘And?’ enquired Lineham, intrigued by his tone.
‘They were leaning on the parapet of the bridge, looking down at the river.’ Thanet was remembering the powerful waves of sensuality which had emanated from those entwined figures. They had reminded him of Joan and himself, on their honeymoon …’
‘So?’ Lineham sounded puzzled.
‘They were very engrossed in each other, that’s all.’
‘Understandable in the circumstances, I should think … But to get back to Mrs Parnell, sir … it’s a bit far-fetched, isn’t it, to think she would have taken the trouble to come down here, spend the night in a hotel, just to take a look at the girlfriend of someone she hadn’t seen in donkey’s years?’
‘What are you suggesting, Mike?’
‘Well, don’t you think it’s a lot more likely that she and Mr Rain have kept in touch? Perhaps, if her husband is dead, she might even have been cherishing the hope that Rain might marry her. She was a very attractive woman …’
‘And she came down hoping to put a spoke in the wheels, you mean? Possible, I suppose … Anyway, our next move’s obvious.’
‘Mr Rain?’
‘Mr Rain,’ repeated Thanet, nodding. ‘He lives out at Barton.’ He quickened his pace. ‘Come on, we’ll have to fetch the car.’
Buy Last Seen Alive Now!
About the Author
Dorothy Simpson (b. 1933) was born and raised in South Wales, and went to Bristol University, where she studied modern languages before moving to Kent, the setting for her Inspector Thanet Mysteries. After spending several years at home with her three children, she trained as a marriage guidance counselor and subsequently worked as one for thirteen years, before writing her first novel. Says Simpson, “You may think that marriage guidance counselor to crime writer is rather a peculiar career move, but although I didn’t realise it at the time, of course, the training I received was the best possible preparation for writing detective novels. Murder mysteries are all about relationships which go disastrously wrong and the insights I gained into what makes people tick, into their interaction and motivations, have been absolutely invaluable to DI Thanet, my series character, as have the interviewing skills I acquired during my years of counseling.”
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1980 by Dorothy Simpson
Cover design by Michel Vrana
ISBN: 978-1-5040-4435-6
This edition published in 2017 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
180 Maiden Lane
New York, NY 10038
www.openroadmedia.com
THE INSPECTOR THANET MYSTERIES
FROM OPEN ROAD MEDIA
Find a full list of our authors and
titles at www.openroadmedia.com
FOLLOW US
@OpenRoadMedia
Close Her Eyes Page 26