Murder In Law

by Veronica Heley

  Susan worked it out. ‘You want to question Diana’s nanny, Lucia, about Evan’s death? Yes, I can see that you would, but this isn’t her. Would you like something to eat? Cottage pie? Orange juice, tea or coffee to go with it?’

  Clunk! Susan realized that even the thought of coffee was nauseating. This was all Too Much! Fifi was fussing on Rafael’s arm. She wanted food and now her mother had failed her! This was terrible!

  Coralie didn’t stop eating. ‘What am I supposed to have done now?’

  ‘Nothing,’ said Susan, foraging in the fridge for something – anything – to give Fifi. Ah, some yoghurt. Fifi liked yoghurt. She handed it to Rafael, and turned aside to blow her nose.

  Lesley seated herself beside Coralie. Lesley had not taken in what Susan had told her. She said, ‘Forget food. I’ll start with Lucia. Where have you been all day, eh?’

  Coralie grinned. ‘At school. I like this cottage pie. It’s better than the one Mum makes. She’s got this thing about using soya instead of meat.’

  Lesley said, ‘What!’ And then: ‘You know something, Susan? I could do with something to eat. I’ve been on the go all day and … What! You say this is not Lucia?’

  Susan said, ‘Lesley, this is Coralie, the daughter of Sam, who is Ellie’s favourite taxi driver and coming round to take her home in a minute. Coralie is still at school. The first she heard about us was when her father roped her in to help us with the three children after school today. She’s been wonderful, but she doesn’t know anything about Diana, apart from the fact that it was someone called Diana who dumped her kids on us.’

  Curiosity emboldened Coralie to ask, ‘This Diana’s in trouble with the police? She’s not here, is she?’

  Rafael said, ‘Coralie, you don’t need to get involved in this. Can you ask your father to collect you straight away?’

  Coralie had no intention of being excluded from something so exciting. ‘Dad said he’d collect me as soon as he could.’

  Lesley pounced. ‘Susan, you referred to “children” in the plural. Social Services are in a tizz, unable to find Diana’s children. Have they been here all the time? Have you been telling porkies—?’

  ‘Calm down,’ said Rafael, spooning yoghurt into Fifi. ‘We didn’t lie. We didn’t have Little Evan when they arrived looking for him. They thought Fifi was the boy they were looking for and would have taken her away if we hadn’t proved that she was the wrong sex. They backed off then, realizing something was wrong with their paperwork. We were looking after Jenny at that time, but not Little Evan, though we did manage to locate him later.’

  ‘As for the nanny,’ Susan said, ‘she’s upstairs, fast asleep. Worn out. I doubt if you’ll get any sense out of her till the morning. Now, Lesley, there’s some cottage pie left, and one of my apple pies has survived the move. Why don’t you relax and eat with us? It’s been a long and tiring day. And Rafael, when you’ve got a minute, can you see if you can find Little Evan’s Hippo in the stuff Diana left with us? It’s his special soft toy and he’s missing it.’

  Lesley unzipped her jacket, but didn’t take it off. She was sticking to her remit. ‘Social Services are blazing mad. They don’t like being given the run around. Cottage pie, you say?’

  Susan’s mind was on what else to give Fifi to eat. ‘Diana asked us to look after her children, and that’s what we’ve done. Coralie has offered to help us with them over the weekend. We’re coping so far, and if we can’t cope in future we’ll yell for help. I’ll microwave some cottage pie for you, Lesley. And there should be some cream in the fridge to go with the apple pie.’

  Fifi finished the yoghurt. Rafael burped her. She obliged, but continued to fuss. Fifi was still hungry.

  Coralie said, ‘Give her to me. Does she have a bottle yet?’

  Rafael, misreading the ‘no’ signals from Susan, handed her over, to resume ingesting his share of the cottage pie.

  Susan was filled with such jealousy of Coralie that she felt faint. She didn’t like the idea of Fifi getting comfortable in Coralie’s arms. Susan wanted to snatch her baby away and feed her, herself. Only, she had no milk.

  Worse still, Fifi had assessed Coralie and decided she was a bit of all right. Treachery! How could her baby smile at a stranger!

  Susan told herself she was being unreasonable. That worked, a bit. She poured some juice into a cup that Fifi occasionally permitted herself to use, and handed it over, saying, ‘I’ve always had enough milk before now …’ She tried to be brave, but her voice wobbled. ‘We don’t have any formula in the house. I’ll have to get some tomorrow.’

  A taxi’s headlights strobed into the kitchen – the sooner they got a blind up there, the better – and the driver tooted his horn.

  ‘That’s Dad.’ Coralie rose, with some reluctance. ‘I could tell him you need me a bit longer?’

  ‘No, my dear,’ said Susan, retrieving her child and the cup from Coralie with alacrity. ‘We’ll be delighted to see you tomorrow morning and we’ll work out how much to pay you then. Now, off you go.’

  Coralie reclaimed her jacket, saying, ‘I’ll be back early in the morning. I’ll bring you some formula, shall I?’

  Rafael suspended operations on his plate to say, ‘Hang on. Can you give us a number where we can reach you?’

  Coralie recited a long list of numbers and left. Rafael nodded. ‘Got it.’

  Susan closed her eyes for a second. Truth to tell, she couldn’t remember any series of numbers longer than three, but Rafael was exceptional that way. She sat down in Coralie’s place and fed Fifi the rest of the juice.

  ‘Rafael, can you see if there’s any of my homemade soup in the fridge, and pass me a banana?’ The microwave pinged.

  Lesley rapped on the table. ‘Forgive me for dragging you back to the present!’ She’d gone all sarcastic. ‘I didn’t come here to talk about who eats bananas and who has baby formula. This is a murder enquiry. Now, this girl, Coralie. She’s going to go home and spread alarm and despondency all round the neighbourhood, isn’t she? And, if she’s that young, her family won’t let her come back tomorrow, will they?’

  ‘I don’t think wild horses would keep her away,’ said Rafael, dishing up some cottage pie for Lesley. ‘Are you able to tell us exactly what has happened? We know Evan was taken to hospital and that he died. That’s all we do know.’

  ‘He was attacked by intruders in the night and left to die.’

  Rafael said, ‘Burglary gone wrong? You hear of it now and then. Bad luck.’

  Susan shivered. ‘That’s awful. He’s got grown-up children by earlier wives, hasn’t he? Have they been informed? I don’t think they’ve had much to do with him recently. Ellie would know. I seem to remember one of his wives was French. Or did she just have a French name?’

  Rafael was nodding. ‘His first wife was called Monique. She died last year and I chauffeured Ellie to her funeral. Did you ever meet Monique? A formidable lady. Evan was furious when he found that she hadn’t left him anything in her will. How he could have thought she would, I can’t imagine, since he’d deserted her and had never paid any attention to his son by her – or to any of his other children, come to think of it. Monique left most of her estate to Ellie’s trust fund because she knew how much good they could do with it.’

  Lesley said, ‘How many times was Evan married, and how many children did he have?’

  ‘His earlier wives are all dead, and I don’t think any of them would be of interest to you, Lesley. Two children survived to adulthood. Ellie approved of the eldest girl, who’s called Freya. She seems sensible and well-adjusted, which is surprising considering her father’s lack of interest in her. After her own mother died, Monique took Freya under her wing and the girl is now independent, working as an estate agent and doing better than Diana. There is a boy as well, but there was something wrong with him. He must be in his early twenties now, but he’s in a secure unit and I can’t think he’d have been allowed out.’

  ‘I remember him,’ sa
id Lesley, grim-faced. ‘No, I’m sure he’s not allowed out, but I’ll check all the same. Evan’s death does look like a burglary gone wrong. Diana’s only become a person of interest because she lied to us about her movements.’

  Susan said, ‘She didn’t kill him, did she? How did she lie, and what do you think she’s done?’

  ‘She’s obstructed the police in the course of their enquiries, that’s what she’s done. It’s more than enough. I’d like to add everything from assault and battery to fraud and murder, but I’ve absolutely no proof that she’s guilty of anything but being one of the nastiest pieces of …! Forget I said that. I mean, it shouldn’t weigh with me in the slightest that she’s always behaved appallingly to her mother. In my opinion, she’s a gold-digger of the first water, but I’m not allowed to hold that against her in this case. Or am I?’

  Rafael and Susan exchanged glances. Lesley was overtired, overwrought and on the verge of behaving unprofessionally. Why hadn’t she gone home to her husband to relax?

  Mm. Well, they knew the answer to that. Ellie had always worried about Lesley’s marriage to a man who thought more of playing cricket and/or rugby than of his wife.

  Rafael handed Susan a banana and rummaged in the freezer for soup. ‘Well, Lesley. We do agree with you that Diana is a bully and not above cutting corners. Surely that is background information which you are entitled to hold and which must influence your thinking, even if she is innocent of anything else. You don’t really think she killed her husband?’

  ‘No.’ Lesley gave a tired sigh. ‘I wish I did because it would be so satisfying to do someone so dislikeable for murder. But to be honest, I don’t. Only, she’s not been straight with us and I want to know why. I want to know what she did from the moment she woke up this morning. I want to know why she’s left the children with you and why she’s failed to make a statement of what she knows. But, if you’ve got her here then I’ll snatch a bite before asking her any more questions.’

  Rafael met Susan’s eyes. They didn’t have Diana. An idea flickered into Susan’s mind as to where the woman might be. Had Rafael thought of it, too? He looked troubled. He’d been worried about something ever since they’d first heard about the attack. What did he know and why was he keeping quiet about it? He broke eye contact to put a tub of Susan’s home-made soup into the microwave.

  Lesley said, ‘Evan’s children. I can only hope that Diana’s been in touch with them, but …’ Clearly, Lesley didn’t think Diana had done so as her voice tailed off before she added, ‘Someone will have to speak to them.’

  Rafael said, ‘We’ve got their details on file at the trust. I’ll get them for you later.’

  Lesley chucked off her jacket and tucked into her plateful.

  Susan watched Rafael out of the corner of her eyes while he microwaved the soup and Fifi got through a third of a mashed-up banana, which Susan polished off.

  Rafael gave Lesley some apple pie, and she ate that, too. Fifi moved on to the soup. She wasn’t sure about it at first, but after a spoonful or two, got a taste for it.

  ‘So,’ said Lesley, clearing her plate. ‘It’s late, but before I pack it in for the day, I’d better talk to Diana and the nanny.’

  ‘As Susan said, the nanny’s fast asleep in our guest bedroom,’ said Rafael, stacking the dishwasher with dirty plates, and setting it going. ‘She’s out of it, period. You can talk to her in the morning. What happened was this: Diana dumped Jenny on us this morning and—’

  ‘Ah. Now, what time was this?’ Sharply.

  Susan kept an eye on the dishwasher. Was it going to leak again? She said, ‘I don’t know. Is it important?’

  Lesley lost her composure. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know anything, except that the picture is all wrong. It looks as if Evan disturbed some burglars last night, they attacked him and he was unfortunate enough to suffer serious injuries which led to his death. Diana says she’d taken a sleeping pill and slept through it all. She told me she’d got the children up, dressed and fed and took Little Evan to the nursery. On her return she left Jenny playing by herself upstairs before going down to get Evan’s breakfast, only to find him in the hall lying in a pool of blood. She didn’t mention having a nanny, and I only discovered there was one much later on. So I need the girl’s story.’

  Susan looked at Rafael for a lead.

  He was frowning. Unsure of himself for once. He shook his head – at himself or at her? He collected all the wet clothing that had landed in the hall and set it in the tumble dryer. He said, ‘Look, this may take some time. We’ll tell you everything we know but first let’s make ourselves a cuppa and take it into the big room where we can spread ourselves out and relax.’

  Lesley looked as if she were going to object, but finally nodded. ‘You’re right. I’m too tired to think straight. Let’s do that.’

  Rafael made coffee for himself and tea for the women. Susan carried Fifi through into the big room, switching on the sidelights and drawing the heavy curtains over the French windows at the back.

  Then she collapsed on to the big settee with the squashy cushions, and allowed herself a little playtime with her baby, who giggled and gurgled and made it clear that Susan was her favourite person in all the world. Very shortly Susan knew that she must give Fifi her bath and put her to bed, but under the circumstances she could stay up a little longer than usual, couldn’t she?

  Lesley subsided into a roomy armchair and closed her eyes. ‘What a day! My beloved husband wanted me to join him this evening at some “do” at the cricket club.’ She shuddered slightly. She was not a fan of the game or of her husband’s friends.

  Susan recalled again that Ellie had had no great opinion of the man Lesley had married.

  Lesley said, ‘Let me recap. At five past nine this morning Diana reported a burglary at her house in which her husband had been badly beaten. She said he was still breathing but unconscious. Two detective constables attended the scene. They found Diana sitting on the floor beside her husband, holding his hand. He was alive, just. There were spatters of blood and evidence of a struggle throughout the ground floor. One constable accompanied Evan in the ambulance to the hospital, while the other stayed behind to secure the scene.

  ‘Diana was informed that, because of the state the place was in, the family would have to move out for a while. Accompanied by the remaining constable, she went upstairs to wash her hands, change her bloodied skirt and pick up a couple of things from her bedroom. She collected little Jenny and some bags of the children’s belongings from the top floor, with help carried them downstairs and put them into her car. She drove away at a quarter to ten saying she’d drop Jenny off with her grandmother Ellie before going on to the hospital.

  ‘Meanwhile, Evan was rushed into the operating theatre at the hospital. The detective constable who’d gone with him, hung around, hoping he’d pull through and be able to tell them who’d done it. The clock ticked on. No Diana. An hour went by. Still no Diana.

  ‘The detective constable at the hospital became alarmed. Suppose some accident had befallen Diana on her way to hospital? She phoned the station for instructions and I was detailed to take over. I understood immediately why the case was given to me. It amuses my boss to give me anything which might possibly cast a bad light on Ellie or her family.’

  Susan and Rafael ironed out smiles. In a senior moment, Ellie had referred to Lesley’s boss as ‘Ears’ because those appendages of his turned bright red when his blood pressure rose. The nickname had become common knowledge, and ‘Ears’ had vowed that some time or other he’d put Ellie behind bars. So far he’d failed to do so, but he wasn’t going to stop trying, was he?

  Lesley continued, ‘So I set out for the hospital, reviewing what I knew about Evan. It has always amused Ellie that she was Evan’s mother-in-law, since they were roughly the same age. I knew of his reputation as a local businessman with a finger in many pies. I arrived at the hospital at ten forty-five. Evan was still in the operating theatre but th
ere was no sign of Diana, who eventually appeared at the hospital at four minutes past eleven. She explained her late arrival by saying she’d had to leave her child at her mother’s house, and when she arrived at the hospital she hadn’t been able to find a parking space. At eleven ten the surgeon came out of theatre to say Evan had died and Diana turned to stone. Shock, yes.

  ‘She was neatly dressed for work in a black suit and medium high heels, not a hair out of place. She was the very picture of a successful businesswoman. I asked if there was anyone she’d like to be with her. I was thinking of Ellie, of course. She just stared at me. I asked if she’d like a cuppa, and she blinked a couple of times and said she would, as she hadn’t had any breakfast. We got her something to eat and drink. I got the impression that she was thinking very hard.

  ‘When she’d finished eating, she asked me what would happen next, about the body and so on. I told her there’d have to be an autopsy, that Forensics would be looking for evidence of the perpetrators at the house, and so on. She seemed to be taking it all in.

  ‘I asked her if she felt able to tell me what happened. She said she’d taken a sleeping pill last night and overslept. She said she and her husband didn’t sleep in the same room or even on the same floor. His increasing frailty meant he’d been sleeping downstairs on the ground floor. She was on the first floor and the children in their nursery at the top of the house.

  ‘I asked if the children had slept through the night, too. She said they wouldn’t have heard anything at the top of the house with the door shut. She said she’d woken early, gone upstairs to get them washed, dressed and fed, before taking her little boy to the nursery. She said there was a servants’ staircase which came out by the kitchen at the back of the house and she’d taken them up and down that way so as not to disturb Evan, because he always slept late. She said on her return she’d left her little daughter playing upstairs in her playpen in the nursery and gone down to make Evan his breakfast before she went off to work, and that’s when she’d found him.