Hamish Macbeth 20 (2004) - Death of a Poison Pen

by M C Beaton

  “Now,” said Hamish, “what have you got?”

  Elspeth’s grey eyes gleamed silver. “Miss Beattie was having an affair.”

  “I’d got that far,” said Hamish. “Any idea who it is?”

  “Billy Mackay.”

  “What! The postman? But he’s married.”

  “Why do you think she kept it so secret?”

  Hamish half rose. “I should go and see him right away.”

  “Sit down, copper. You wouldn’t have found out for ages if I hadn’t told you. He’ll wait and I’m hungry.”

  “Who told you?”

  “I cannot reveal my source,” said Elspeth primly.

  “All right. How did you manage to find out?”

  “I’m known in Braikie more for being an astrologer than for being the local reporter, and they’re a superstitious lot. Some woman asked me to read her palm. I told her the usual and then said she was holding back some secret about Miss Beattie.”

  “How did you know that?”

  “Just a guess.”

  Mrs. Harris, thought Hamish. I bet she knew.

  “She got frightened and asked me not to put a curse on her if she told me. I promised I wouldn’t use it in the paper.”

  “So Mrs. Harris knew you were of Gypsy blood?”

  Elspeth’s face fell. “How did you know it was Mrs. Harris?”

  “An educated guess. And let’s hope the food comes quickly. I can’t wait to hear what this postman has to say for himself.”

  The food was excellent and both enjoyed their meal. Elspeth drove Hamish back into Braikie. He refused to let her come with him to Billy Mackay’s but promised to meet her afterwards, outside the post office in an hour, and tell her what he had found out.

  By asking around, he found that Billy Mackay lived in public housing at the edge of Braikie. He knocked at the door. It was answered by a slattern of a woman wearing a stained apron and with her hair in rollers. “Mrs. Mackay?”

  “Aye, that’s me.”

  “I would like to talk to your husband.”

  “What about?”

  “I’m making general enquiries, that is all.”

  “He’s gone fishing as usual.”

  “Where?”

  “Up on the Stourie. The pool below the falls. And you tell him the sink still needs fixing and he can stay away as long as he likes but he’ll still have to fix it when he comes home.”

  Hamish touched his cap and strode back to the Land Rover. He drove out of Braikie and up into the hills. The Falls of Stourie were a tourist attraction in the summer, but now the car park above the falls was empty except for a red post office van parked against some railings.

  He made his precipitous way along a muddy path that led down the side of the falls. The sun was already going down and the cascade of water shone red in the setting rays.

  Billy Mackay did not hear him approach because of the sound of the falls. He was a thickset little man in, Hamish judged, his late fifties. Hamish tapped him on the shoulder and he swung around, his face a picture of dismay.

  “Up to the car park,” shouted Hamish. “I cannae hear anything here.”

  Billy reeled in his line and meekly followed Hamish up the path. He turned and faced Hamish in the car park, wearing a defeated air. He had thin brown hair, a bulbous nose, and surprisingly beautiful blue eyes.

  “It’s about Miss Beattie, isn’t it?” he said. “The wife’ll kill me.”

  “How long had your affair with Miss Beattie been going on?”

  “About ten years.”

  “Man, weren’t you frightened of anyone finding out?”

  “We kept it really quiet. I’m the postman, see, so no one thought anything of me being around the shop. I don’t know if you could really call it an affair. It was the talking, you see. The companionship. Her at home, after the children grew up and left, she let herself go and nag, nagged, nagged from morning till night.”

  Hamish judged that Billy’s parents had probably brought him up to speak Gaelic. He had the clear perfect English of someone who had started his life translating in his head from Gaelic to English.

  “When did you last see Miss Beattie?”

  “Last time was two weeks ago.”

  “Why such a long gap?”

  Billy hung his head. “I got one of those filthy poison-pen letters. Whoever wrote it said he knew about the affair and if I didn’t stop seeing her, the whole of Braikie would know. I told her about it and we were both frightened, so we agreed to stop seeing each other. Man, if I had known it would have driven her to take her own life, I would have risked the scandal.”

  Hamish sighed. “Billy, you’re in for a shock. Miss Beattie was murdered.”

  “But she hanged herself!”

  “Someone drugged her first.”

  “Who?”

  Hamish was sure that Miss Beattie had guessed the identity of the poison-pen writer and that somehow Miss McAndrew had killed her and then someone had killed Miss McAndrew. And Billy was a prime suspect. He would need to take him in for questioning. He knew that probably someone other than Mrs. Harris would know about the affair.

  He said gently, “I’m afraid I can’t hush this up, Billy. I’ve got to take you in for questioning.”

  He gave a weary shrug. “I’m glad in a way it’s out. I was proud of her friendship. She was a grand lady.” He began to sob, dry racking sobs.

  Hamish went to the Land Rover and came back with a flask of brandy. “Get some of that down you, Billy. There, man. I’m right sorry.”

  It was Blair’s bad luck that Daviot should still be in Braikie at the mobile unit which had been set up outside Miss McAndrew’s bungalow when Hamish turned up with Billy and explianed why he was taking him in.

  “We’ll take him down to Strathbane,” said Daviot. “Anderson, you come with us. Detective Chief Inspector Blair will stay here to supervise the ongoing investigation. You’d better come with us, Hamish.”

  Blair scowled horribly. He knew that when the boss used Hamish’s first name, the constable was in high favour.

  At Strathbane, it was a long interrogation. But it transpired early on in the interview that on the Saturday evening that Miss Beattie was murdered, Billy had been down in Strathbane for a reunion with some of his old army friends and had not got back to Braikie until the small hours of the morning. His alibi checked out. He was to be kept in the cells overnight, however, for further questioning. He was now a suspect in the death of Miss McAndrew. They would hold him until they discovered from the autopsy some idea of the time of her murder. Hamish was dismissed.

  He left headquarters to find Elspeth waiting outside for him.

  “You stood me up,” she accused.

  “We’ll have something to eat and I’ll tell you about it,” said Hamish.

  In the Italian restaurant, Jenny sat alone at one table and Pat sat alone at another. At last Pat called over, “My date hasn’t turned up.”

  “Neither has mine,” said Jenny gloomily.

  “So why don’t we have a meal together?” suggested Pat.

  Jenny gave a shrug. “Why not?”

  Chapter Four

  Fear death?—to feel the fog in my throat,

  The mist in my face.

  —Robert Browning

  Jenny lay awake for a long time. Pat had told her all about the murders in Braikie and so it was understandable that Hamish Macbeth had forgotten his date with her. Nevertheless, it rankled. If he had been meeting Priscilla, thought Jenny jealously, he would at least have phoned to apologise. Pat had been good company, and, yes, he was attractive and amusing, but he would not make Priscilla jealous. She could imagine Priscilla’s cool amusement. A reporter? On a local paper? And what took you to Lochdubh and why didn’t you tell me?

  How quiet it was! Suffocatingly quiet. She crawled out of bed and went to the window and opened the curtains. A thick wall of mist leant against the window. She suddenly felt nervous. It looked as if the whole of the worl
d was blanketed in thick sea fog. And out there, shrouded in the mist, was a murderer.

  Jenny went back to bed. This trip had all been a dreadful mistake. She would leave in the morning.

  Hamish Macbeth, too, was lying awake. He suddenly remembered he had forgotten his dinner date with Jenny. His restless thoughts turned back to the murders. People had sent him their poison-pen letters. But he shrewdly suspected that the only ones he had received were the ones without a grain of truth in the accusations. Someone, somewhere, he thought, had received a letter from Miss McAndrew which had hit on something the recipient had desperately wanted kept quiet. And there were so many suspects! Jimmy had phoned him before he went to bed to say that Miss Beattie’s birth certificate had been found among her effects, proving that she was legitimate. She had also made out a will leaving everything to Billy Mackay. His thoughts turned back to Jenny Ogilvie. He had better check out her background. It was odd that such a pretty girl should choose to holiday in Lochdubh at such a time of year. He decided to question her first thing in the morning before moving on to Braikie.

  Elspeth was awake as well and also thinking about Jenny. She had a shrewd suspicion that Jenny was not just an ordinary tourist. For some reason, Jenny was after Hamish Macbeth. Why? It hadn’t been love at first sight. When Jenny had first set eyes on Hamish, Elspeth was sure she had been disappointed in him. Better check up on her, thought Elspeth sleepily.

  A silent morning broke with every sound still muffled by the thick enveloping mist. Once more Hamish phoned Angela and begged her to look after Lugs. This time Lugs went eagerly, straining at the leash, and when the dog saw Angela, he wagged his ridiculous plume of a tail and leapt up at her, barking with joy. I cannae even keep the affections of my dog, thought Hamish gloomily after he had thanked Angela, and then he headed for Sea View to interview Jenny.

  He was told Jenny was at breakfast and made his way into the small dining room.

  “Good morning,” said Hamish, removing his cap and sitting down opposite her. “I am here on official business, but first I would like to apologise for forgetting about our dinner engagement. Have you heard about the murders?”

  Jenny nodded, and then said, “What official business?”

  “I have to question everyone. Have you had any connection with Lochdubh before this, or do you know anyone connected with Lochdubh?”

  “No,” said Jenny quickly, and then fiddled with a piece of toast.

  “So why Lochdubh for a holiday?”

  “I wanted to get clear away. I stuck a pin in the map.”

  Now, why is she lying? wondered Hamish, looking at her bent head, at the guilty flush rising up her neck, and at the nervous fingers now crumbling the toast.

  He took out his notebook. “May I have your address?”

  “Number 7 A Crimea Road, Battersea.”

  “And where was it you said you worked?”

  Jenny stared at him. What had she told him before?

  “I—I d-don’t have a j-job,” she stuttered. “I didn’t like to tell you that before. You see, Mummy and Daddy give me a generous allowance. I don’t have to work and I’m a bit ashamed of being such a layabout.”

  “And where do Mr. and Mrs. Ogilvie live?”

  “Chipping Norton.”

  “In the Cotswolds?”

  “Yes.”

  “Address?”

  “Look, is all this necessary?” said Jenny desperately. “They’ll be worried sick if they know I’m up here where there have been two murders.”

  “So you know about the murders?”

  “Yes, I had dinner with that Pat Mallone. He told me.”

  “Right. Parents’ address?”

  “Manor Farm, Sheep Lane, Chipping Norton.”

  “Phone number?”

  “I forgot to bring it with me. I can never remember it.”

  Hamish closed his notebook. “You’ll be hearing from me.” He left abruptly and Jenny heaved a sigh of relief.

  Her relief disappeared when Hamish came back five minutes later and sat down again. “Now, Miss Ogilvie”—no more ‘Jenny’—“I have spoken to your parents. They do not know you are up here. Furthermore, they say you work for a computer company in the City called Camber Stein. Camber Stein confirm you are on holiday. Why did you lie to me?”

  “I…I…I…”

  “I have a friend who works at Camber Stein. Her name is Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. Do you know her? No more lies.”

  “Yes,” mumbled Jenny.

  “Does she know you are here?”

  “No. She had talked a lot about Lochdubh. I had some holiday owing and decided to come up here at the last minute. I hadn’t time to tell her.”

  Hamish leant back in his chair and surveyed her. “It would have been natural to tell her. She was brought up here, she is my ex-fiancee, her parents own the local hotel. So why not?”

  “I’m telling you, I hadn’t time,” shouted Jenny.

  “You’ve been awfy interested in me since you arrived,” said Hamish slowly. “I’m not the subject of some joke between you and Priscilla, am I?”

  “No, no. Honestly, she doesn’t know I’m here.”

  “I’ll check it out. Be back shortly. Don’t move.”

  Hamish went outside and took out his mobile phone, dialled the computer company, and asked to speak to Priscilla. When her cool voice came on the line, his heart gave a lurch. “It’s Hamish,” he said.

  “Hamish! I haven’t heard from you in ages.”

  “Do you know a girl called Jenny Ogilvie?”

  “Yes, of course. I work with her and she’s a friend. Why?”

  “She’s here.”

  “What! In Lochdubh?”

  “Aye.”

  “Good heavens. She was round at my place only about a week ago. Why didn’t she tell me?”

  “That’s what I was wondering. First of all, she lied about where she worked. Then she said she didn’t work and that her parents were supporting her. Then she said she came up on an impulse. I am not a vain man but she seemed to be setting her cap at me.”

  There was a silence, and then Priscilla said slowly, “I have been talking about you. I think she is a little bit jealous of me. Maybe she thought that if she could snare you, it might put my nose out of joint.”

  Again that lurch at the heart.

  “I’ll get rid of her.”

  There was a silence. Then Priscilla said, “No, don’t spoil her holiday. She’s had bad luck with men and always chooses rotters. She’s actually very kind. When I had the flu last winter, she came round and nursed me and did all my shopping.”

  “I thought your fiancé, Peter, would have been on hand to do that.”

  “He couldn’t spare the time. He works very hard. Maybe she could help you on this case.”

  “What! Her? Priscilla, the lassie’s daft.”

  “She’s got a knack of getting people to talk to her. People on the tube end up telling her their life stories.”

  “The place is crawling with police. I haff no need of herself’s help,” said Hamish stiffly, the strength of his Highland accent showing he was upset. But what had he expected? That Priscilla would immediately fly up to confront Jenny? He had broken off the engagement because of Priscilla’s aloofness. Why go down that road again?

  “Suit yourself,” said Priscilla.

  “I usually do. When’s the wedding?”

  “We’ve put it off again. Peter’s awfully busy. I’ll let you know.”

  “Do that. I’d better get on with my work. Goodbye.” Hamish rang off and stared bleakly along the misty waterfront. The thick mist was beginning to shift and eddy like so many ghosts being called home.

  He gave a sigh, then went in and sat down in front of Jenny. “Don’t ever lie to me again,” he said. “I’ve just spoken to Priscilla.”

  “Oh, God.” Jenny’s face was scarlet and her large eyes were swimming with tears. “I’ll leave today.”

  Hamish’s face softened. “No n
eed for that. Let’s forget about the whole thing. Enjoy your holiday.” He stood up and, on impulse, bent down and kissed her on the cheek.

  After he had left, Jenny slowly put her hand up to the cheek he had kissed.

  Mrs. Dunne bustled in to clear the breakfast things away. “What did Hamish want?” she asked.

  “Just asking questions about why I was here,” said Jenny. She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. “I seem to have an allergy.”

  “Morning!” Pat Mallone bounced into the breakfast room.

  “I must ask you both to clear out of here,” said Mrs. Dunne. “It’s past time for me cleaning the dining room.”

  “It’s all right,” said Pat cheerfully. “We’re just leaving. Got your coat?”

  “Yes,” said Jenny, picking up her new anorak from the chair next to her. She followed him out onto the waterfront. “Where are we going? I was thinking of leaving today.”

  “You can’t. We’ve got two murders to solve.”

  “Isn’t that Hamish’s job?”

  “What! The local bobby? In my opinion, that man’s overrated. Let’s go to Braikie and ask around. I’ve been sent to get local colour and background. The boss has a commission from the Daily Bugle for a feature piece. This is my chance to shine in one of the nationals.”

  Hamish decided on arrival in Braikie that he should interview Penny Roberts, the headmistress’s pet. He knew if he approached Arkle, he would be told that he was disrupting lessons. He entered the school and knocked at the glass door of the secretary, Freda Mather.

  He heard a faint ‘Come in’ and opened the door. Freda turned white when she saw him and swayed in her chair. He went quickly round behind her desk and said, “Now then, lassie, take deep breaths. That’s it. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”