Death at Burwell Farm

by Betty Rowlands

  She barely had time to say, ‘Hello,’ when Adrian’s agitated voice exclaimed, ‘Sukey, at last! What the hell’s this about a murder at RYCE? Were you there? Who was it? I got on to the police as soon as I heard the announcement on the local news this evening, but all they would say was that they were called to the house this morning and found the body of a man. A murder inquiry has begun and they’ll be issuing a further statement later.’

  ‘Then I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until they do, Adrian.’

  ‘Oh come on, Sukey, you were there, you must have picked up some information when you were doing your SOCO stuff—’

  ‘I wasn’t on duty at the time, and in any case—’

  ‘But you must know who the victim is, and have some idea—’

  ‘Yes, I know that, but if the police won’t release his name I’m not prepared to either.’

  ‘But I do have a personal interest—’

  ‘As far as that’s concerned, all I can say is that I can see no reason to think there’s any connection whatsoever between this murder and the death of your aunt.’

  ‘But you can’t be sure of that?’

  ‘It’s impossible to be sure of anything at this stage, but it seems highly unlikely.’

  ‘Didn’t you find a single clue in Vera’s diary to give you a lead?’

  ‘Adrian, I’ve read every entry since the one where she wrote about her first visit to RYCE. As it happens, her impressions are very much the same as mine – that is, we were both very sceptical at first but we soon came to recognise the value and the beneficial effect of the RYCE teaching, despite their somewhat eccentric methods. I’m not saying I’m as euphoric as Vera,’ Sukey added in response to an exasperated groan at the other end of the wire. ‘I’m merely saying that I’ve detected nothing but benign influences—’

  Adrian gave a harsh, mirthless laugh. ‘You can’t tell me it was benign influences that caused Vera to keel over the way she did.’

  ‘No, of course not. She had a heart condition that no one suspected – you have to accept that. Look, Adrian, I’m sorry if you feel I’ve let you down in any way. If it’ll make you feel any better, I haven’t banked your cheque—’

  ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, it’s not the money. But please, Sukey, don’t write Vera out of the frame altogether. I still think there’s a link – Cath and Anita think I’m crazy, but I can’t help it. Just say you’ll keep an open mind.’

  ‘All right, I promise you I’ll do that and I’ll let you know immediately if I come across anything.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  Sukey put down the phone and turned back to Fergus, who was pouring out the tea. ‘Gosh, he’s like a dog with a bone, isn’t he?’ the lad remarked as his mother sank wearily into a chair and gratefully accepted the full mug he handed her.

  ‘He’s obsessed. He’s still on about finding clues in Vera’s diary. That reminds me, I should return it.’

  ‘You obviously didn’t find anything useful.’

  ‘Apart from the fact that she made a passing reference to a bout of indigestion, which might or might not have been a symptom of the heart condition that killed her, nothing at all.’

  ‘I heard you telling Adrian you weren’t going to tell him anything that hasn’t been officially released, but…’ Fergus fixed his mother with a look that plainly said, You’re going to tell me, aren’t you? Sukey folded her lips and shook her head, but he put a hand on her arm. ‘Come on, Mum, you know you can trust me. You’ve told me everything that goes on at RYCE so far and asked me to keep it to myself – I haven’t even told Anita. Just think’ – his voice took on a familiar, wheedling tone that Sukey had always found difficult to resist – ‘I might even remember something you’ve mentioned that could help you solve the case.’

  ‘I’m nothing to do with the case now, except as a witness.’

  ‘But you were there when it happened, weren’t you? Was it you who found the body?’

  ‘No, his wife found it—’

  Fergus pounced. ‘Freya?’ Sukey, realising she had slipped up, gave a resigned nod. ‘So it was Xavier?’

  ‘Please, Gus, don’t let on I told you.’

  ‘Hand on heart!’ said Fergus solemnly. ‘How did it happen?’

  ‘He was stabbed in the back while meditating.’

  ‘Gosh!’ Her son’s eyes saucered. ‘Why on earth would anyone want to top him, though? I thought you said he was a good guy.’

  ‘That’s the impression he gave, but it’s obvious there’s someone out there with a grudge – maybe a former initiate for whom things went wrong and who held Xavier to blame. No therapy can work for everyone; even Serena admitted that they have their occasional failure, like poor Oliver Drew.’

  ‘What are they going to do now, I wonder? About their courses, I mean. Tomorrow’s the last day for you – what’s going to happen?’

  ‘I’ve had a message from Sergeant Radcliffe that we’re to attend as usual – if we want to, that is; some people may be too shocked to go near the place again. Presumably there’ll be some kind of announcement – that’s all I know at the moment. It’s hard to see how they can carry on without Xavier – he’s been the linchpin of the place.’

  The telephone rang again; this time it was Jim Castle. ‘Sook, I guess you must be exhausted so I won’t bother you this evening, but DCI Lord asked me to have a word with you about the RYCE killing. Can we meet tomorrow – say for a bite of lunch?’

  ‘That’d be lovely.’

  ‘You’re OK, aren’t you?’

  ‘Yes, I’m fine.’

  ‘Lord was full of praise for the way you handled things, by the way.’ There was a brief pause before Jim added softly, ‘I’m so proud of you, Sook.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She felt a warm glow of pleasure at his words.

  ‘See you tomorrow then.’

  ‘About one?’

  ‘Fine.’

  ‘Love you.’

  Sukey looked round for Fergus, but he had slipped quietly out of the room. ‘Love you too,’ she whispered. ‘Goodnight.’

  When Fergus reappeared a moment after she replaced the receiver, she said casually, ‘By the way, when are Dad and Margaret getting married?’

  ‘In October – why?’

  ‘I thought I’d get them a present, just to show there’s no ill-feeling; Any idea what they’d like?’

  A slow smile of sheer delight spread over the lad’s features. ‘I could find out. Gosh, Mum, RYCE has done something for you, hasn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, I think it has.’ Sukey yawned, finished her tea and rinsed out her mug. ‘I’m tired, I’m turning in. Will you lock up, Gus?’

  ‘Sure. Goodnight, Mum.’

  For some reason that she could never explain, the word ‘therapy’ that she had used during her conversation with Fergus came back into Sukey’s head as she got into bed and settled down under the covers. It reminded her of the final entry in Vera’s diary; something about a session in the ‘Rejuvenation Suite’ that she was eagerly looking forward to. The recollection prompted a vague question, but Sukey’s tired brain could pursue it no further. Moments later she was fast asleep.

  Nineteen

  Shortly before nine o’clock on the evening of the murder of Percy Burrell, his widow Edith appeared in the kitchen. Her daughter Serena was staring out of the window across the fields where sheep and cattle had grazed during the years when Burwell was a working farm. The sun was on the point of setting, turning a bank of cloud on the western horizon into a blazing inferno that lent a ruddy glow to the girl’s naturally warm colouring.

  When her mother entered, she swung round and exclaimed, ‘Where in the world have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you – everywhere the police haven’t sealed off, that is. We still can’t go out in the garden because they haven’t finished their so-called fingertip search; Josie couldn’t use the office until that detective sergeant had finished carrying out interviews and the Rejuvenation Suite’s out of
bounds until they’ve done poking about in the therapy rooms. Don’t worry,’ she added, ‘they won’t find anything. I stashed it all away as usual after Henry’s OCH yesterday. We’re on to a winner there, by the way. He’s booked a double session for next week.’

  ‘That’s good,’ said Edith absently.

  ‘And the police say we should be able to have the garden back by about midday tomorrow. I’m a bit worried about next week though – there could be cancellations when the news gets out.’

  ‘They will return.’ Edith joined her daughter at the window, her gaze fixed on infinity. The sky was changing by the minute, fading from flaming orange and vermilion to the pale flush of a ripe apricot as the sun finally sank from view. ‘They will return,’ she repeated softly, ‘or others will take their place.’

  ‘Sure they will.’ Serena took her mother’s hand and squeezed it gently. ‘It’s going to be tough for the next few weeks, but we’ll win through. You did brilliantly this afternoon, Mum. I was worried at first that the shock would have been too much for you and the session would simply fold, but the way you handled it was inspired.’

  ‘I was inspired.’ Edith’s voice had a faraway quality, as if her mind was in another dimension. ‘His spirit was working through me.’ She closed her eyes, raised her arms above her head and began to speak in the exultant tones of an evangelist addressing a prayer meeting. ‘I will keep faith, Xavier. I, Freya, will be your mouthpiece and carry on with your mission. In the name of the Unlimited, I pledge you my word.’ She reopened her eyes and let her arms fall to her sides, but continued to gaze out of the window with an expression of near ecstasy.

  Serena eyed her uneasily. ‘Snap out of it, Mum – you’re not talking to the punters now,’ she said. Edith gave no sign of having heard her. ‘You haven’t told me yet where you’ve been hiding yourself all this time,’ she went on. There was still no response. She waved a hand in front of her mother’s face. ‘Planet Earth calling Edith Burrell, are you receiving?’

  Edith started as if awakened from sleep and turned wide, questioning eyes on her daughter. ‘What was that, dear?’ she asked languidly.

  ‘Where did you go when the afternoon punters had gone home?’

  ‘The initiates,’ Edith corrected mechanically.

  ‘All right, the initiates. Where were you?’

  ‘In Xavier’s room, of course.’

  ‘The attic room where he used to meditate when the weather was too bad to use the garden?’

  ‘Where else?’

  ‘That’s one place I never thought of looking. What on earth were you doing there?’

  ‘Tuning in to the cosmic vibrations. Serena, they were everywhere, so clear, so powerful. Through them I could feel his spirit calling to me. The wellspring of his inspiration was flowing into me, releasing my cosmic energy, giving me the strength to carry on with his work.’

  ‘Mum!’ There was a sharp note of anxiety in Serena’s voice. ‘What are you on about? You know you don’t take all that stuff seriously.’

  Edith looked at her aghast. How can you say such a terrible thing? After all these years of serving Xavier, are you saying that you’re rejecting the eternal truths that he revealed to us? Have you lost touch with the Unlimited?’

  ‘Mum, for goodness’ sake…’

  Edith took both the girl’s hands in her own and gazed earnestly into her eyes. ‘It’s the shock, of course, the terrible loss we’ve endured that has shaken your faith’. Don’t despair, my dearest child, just remember those four vital words that he taught us: Release Your Cosmic Energy. Repeat the mantra over and over again whenever doubt assails you. The power is still there within you. We’ll meditate together before we go to bed. I promised Xavier.’ The large eyes were swimming in tears that slowly overflowed and slid down the pallid cheeks. In that moment, mystic inspiration dissolved in the reality of physical loss and Edith became the grieving widow weeping in her daughter’s arms. ‘I’m going to miss him so badly,’ she sobbed.

  ‘Oh Mum! Are you saying you were still in love with him? I’ve always thought… you’ve been saying for years…’

  With an effort, Edith controlled her sobs. ‘I know,’ she said brokenly. ‘I thought so too, but now he’s gone… all this time we’ve been deceiving him, letting him think we were true believers while playing our own game. But now I know… it’s taken his death to make me realise the truth.’ At this point, the light of fanaticism rekindled in Edith’s eyes as she continued, ‘He’s been taken from my sight, but he will continue to be my spiritual guide and yours too, while together we continue his great mission.’

  Serena opened her mouth as if about to challenge the assumption, but quickly recognised that this was not the time for rational discussion. ‘Yes, he’s out of sight,’ she said gently, ‘but of course he’s still out there in the Unlimited. You – we, that is – will remain forever united with him there.’

  Edith gave a deep sigh of relief. ‘I knew I’d make you understand,’ she whispered.

  ‘Of course I understand.’ Serena took her mother by the arm and led her to a chair. ‘You need rest and something to eat. Sit there and relax while I prepare our supper.’

  Was it you?’ The woman’s voice was shrill, panic-stricken. ‘Was it you who killed him?’

  The man glared at her. ‘Are you out of your mind? What possible reason would I have to kill him? I’d nothing to gain from his death. In any case, I didn’t even know the knife was there.’

  ‘That’s easy to say – how do I know you’re telling the truth?’

  She clutched at his arm. ‘You haven’t got an alibi…’

  He shook himself free. ‘That doesn’t make me a murderer. The way that lot of crackpots run the place probably means none of the others have alibis either. It also means that any of us could have done it with only a chance in a million of being spotted. You, for instance.’

  ‘That’s a dreadful thing to say.’

  ‘It’s no more dreadful than for you to suspect me. You were there before me; if you’d been snooping around at any time during the first three days you could have seen that knife, you knew where he’d be at that time, that he’d be alone and off his guard doing his meditation thing—’

  ‘All the others knew that as well.’ He shrugged, but made no reply. ‘I didn’t do it, I swear it!’ Her voice rose to a thin shriek. ‘How can you possibly believe I’m capable of sticking a knife in someone?’ She swallowed, struggling for self-control. ‘Please,’ she implored brokenly, ‘please say you don’t believe it!’

  ‘Why should I believe you?’ he said. His face was stony, his voice cold. ‘I feel I hardly know you at all. You could be capable of anything.’

  She gazed at him in horror. ‘You won’t… you didn’t say that to the police, did you?’ she faltered.

  ‘What do you take me for? The last thing I want is for them to get wind of our relationship.’

  She put a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide with alarm. ‘Oh dear God, why did we start this?’

  ‘You mean, why did you start it. I had my reservations all along, but you were so insistent… and now we could be in all sorts of trouble.’

  ‘So now it’s all my fault,’ she said resentfully. He shrugged, but did not answer. ‘Who was to know such a terrible thing would happen?’ she went on. ‘Haven’t you any idea who might have done it?’

  ‘I reckon any one of the people who were there at the time is capable of murder, given the provocation. If you ask me, they’re all barking mad – they wouldn’t be there otherwise.’

  ‘We were there and we’re not—’

  ‘All right, we had our reasons, didn’t we?’ Just for a second, the grim expression softened a fraction.

  ‘What did the police ask you?’ she said after a moment.

  ‘Just the usual questions – what time did I arrive, who was there already, did I see any strangers or anyone acting suspiciously. They made it pretty clear that it was only a preliminary statement, of course –
they’ll want to question us all more closely later – “when we’ve recovered from the trauma” as that detective sergeant so delicately put it,’ he added with a trace of a sneer. ‘Then I had to fetch a change of clothes and hand over what I’d been wearing, “for forensic tests”, they said. I thought that was a bit of a liberty, but it would have looked bad to object. How about you?’

  She gave a weary shrug. ‘The same.’

  ‘Well, let’s hope they don’t probe too deeply into my background. That would be a total disaster. I think it would be better if we didn’t see one another again for the time being – after tomorrow, that is.’

  ‘You think we should go tomorrow?’

  ‘Don’t you want to?’

  She shuddered. ‘I feel as if I never want to go near that place again.’

  ‘I think we should, after the statement Serena issued on Freya’s behalf. It might look fishy if we stay away.’

  She gave a resigned nod. ‘I suppose you’re right.’

  ‘But after that, we mustn’t risk being seen together.’

  ‘If you say so.’ She grasped his arm, her mouth working, her eyes half blinded by tears. ‘You will keep in touch, won’t you?’

  He jerked his arm away. ‘Only insofar as is absolutely necessary.’

  When Sukey arrived at the pub in Brockworth where they had arranged to meet, she found Jim already seated at a table for two in one corner, a half-pint glass of beer in one hand. As it was Friday, the place was fairly busy and the level of chatter was high enough to ensure that no one was likely to overhear their conversation.

  He got to his feet as she slid into the chair opposite his. ‘I’ve taken a chance and ordered coronation chicken sandwiches for us both,’ he said. ‘I thought it would save time, but if you want something different—’

  ‘Coronation chicken will be fine. Did you ask for wholemeal bread?’

  ‘Of course. What would you like to drink?’

  ‘Something long, cool and non-alcoholic, please.’

  ‘Elderflower cordial?’

  ‘That’ll do nicely.’