The Marlow Murder Club

by Robert Thorogood

  Becks went over to the dresser and pulled out some of her stationery. She handed the sheets of paper to Judith, who looked at them in surprise.

  ‘Maybe they shouldn’t have your name and address embossed at the top of each sheet,’ she said. ‘Seeing as we’re planning a robbery.’

  ‘Oh, right! And don’t say that. It sounds so wrong when you put it like that. Let me get some A4 from Colin’s office.’

  As Becks left the sitting room, Suzie started asking Judith about the layout of Andy’s office, where the main door was, and the precise location of the shredding machine.

  By the time Becks returned and handed over some sheets of plain paper, a weariness had crept into her like a cold fog. She couldn’t explain why, because it went without saying that she had no interest in breaking the law. But there was a vitality to the way that Suzie and Judith were talking about ground-floor offices, and the fact that the window at the back of Andy’s office was open on such a hot day, that Becks desperately wanted to be a part of.

  ‘But even if his office window is open, how can we get in?’ Judith asked.

  ‘We climb in.’

  Judith hooted with laughter.

  ‘There’s no way we could climb in through a window!’

  ‘All we have to do is make sure we can get up to it. You said it was a ground-floor window.’

  ‘I know, but it’s still quite a way off the ground.’

  ‘Then we’ll have to get a ladder.’

  ‘I think people might notice if they saw two older women walking around Marlow with a ladder.’

  ‘I suppose. So what can we do?’

  This seemed to stump Judith. But not for long.

  ‘We’ve got one thing going for us, haven’t we?’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘We’re invisible.’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘It’s like I said. We’re “older” women, aren’t we? No one notices women over the age of about forty.’

  ‘You can say that again,’ Suzie said, chuckling darkly. ‘My days of turning heads are long gone.’

  ‘More fool the rest of the world, as far as I’m concerned,’ Judith said primly. ‘But society’s decided that I’m just a little old lady. Invisible, as I say. We should play to that.’

  ‘In what way?’

  ‘Well, we should try and look even more old and decrepit than we are.’

  ‘You mean, go around in a wheelchair?’

  ‘You know what,’ Judith said, ‘I think a wheelchair is exactly what we’re looking for. One of those old ones with strong brakes. Although where could we possibly get one from?’

  ‘I reckon I know,’ Suzie said.

  ‘You do?’ Becks said.

  ‘There’s one for sale in the Marlow Hospice shop.’

  ‘You’re right, there is!’ Judith agreed.

  This surprised Suzie.

  ‘You go into charity shops?’

  ‘Of course I go in charity shops. Where else am I going to get my jigsaws from?’

  ‘Well, you learn something new every day. But if we can get ourselves an old wheelchair, I think we can get into Andy’s office. And I reckon we’ll be able to get everything else we need from the charity shops on the High Street. But it’s no bloody good.’

  ‘Why not?’ Judith asked.

  ‘Because we’ll need you to sit in the wheelchair, as you’re the oldest here. And I’ll need to push it, as it’ll be me who goes in through the window. But we’ll also need someone who can enter the building from the front and create a diversion.’

  ‘I’ll do it,’ Becks said.

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Does this other person break the law?’

  Suzie wrinkled her nose.

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘And does she have anything to do with the break-in?’

  ‘God no. I don’t think anyone at the solicitors will even realise the third person had anything to do with it.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘I reckon so.’

  ‘Then I’m in.’ Becks felt a rush of adrenaline as she realised that she was finally doing something so daring. Something her younger self would have done.

  ‘As long as I can pretend I had nothing to do with you if you get caught,’ she added. She was prepared to take a baby step towards greater independence, but no more than that.

  ‘Sure,’ Suzie said. ‘Now I’m going to ask you a question, and I bet the answer is yes.’

  ‘Okay,’ Becks said.

  ‘Do you bake your own bread?’

  ‘As it happens, I baked a sourdough loaf this morning.’

  ‘I knew it! That’ll be perfect.’

  ‘I don’t do it every morning. We don’t need a loaf every day. I’m just trying to save money,’ Becks added, defensively.

  ‘Yeah, sure you are.’

  ‘But won’t Andy notice if we remove the shredded paper from his office?’ Judith asked. ‘It’s kept in a see-through cellophane bag behind the machine.’

  ‘Oh I see,’ Suzie said with a frown. ‘That’s a bit of a problem.’

  ‘Although maybe not. Logically, when we take it, we need to replace it with some shredded paper that looks the same.’

  ‘And where are we going to get a load of shredded paper from?’

  ‘Maybe one of the charity shops has a shredder,’ Becks offered.

  ‘They don’t,’ Judith and Suzie both said at the same time.

  ‘Then we’re a bit stuck,’ Becks said, and then her eyes lit up as she had an idea. ‘Or maybe not. In fact, I think I know exactly where I can get a load of shredded paper from.’

  ‘Then that’s rather splendid,’ Judith said, clapping her hands together in delight before turning back towards Suzie. ‘But tell me, why on earth do we need a loaf of bread?’

  ‘Let’s go and cut ourselves a couple of slices and I’ll explain. Because, between Becks’ loaf of bread, some shredded paper and a charity shop wheelchair, I reckon we’ll have a good chance of getting our hands on what we need by the close of play this afternoon!’

  Chapter 23

  At just after 4 p.m., Becks entered Andy Bishop’s office building without an appointment, but with two thick slices of white bread, one in each pocket of her coat. As for Judith and Suzie, they were at the sharp end of the sting, not that anyone would have realised this if they’d passed them in the street. Having bought everything they needed from the Marlow Hospice shop, Suzie was pushing Judith along the back alley behind Andy’s office in an old wheelchair. Judith’s dark grey cape covered her lap, and they couldn’t have looked more harmless if they’d tried. Certainly no one would have thought they were about to carry out a daring heist.

  They passed a number of terraced Victorian cottages with pretty front gardens, but they soon reached the back of Andy’s larger Georgian office building with several cars parked on the tarmac. They could see that his window was still open.

  ‘Okay,’ Suzie said. ‘Here goes.’

  Suzie pushed Judith across the tarmac, past a back door to the building, and stopped underneath Andy’s open window. As the ground on this side of the building was a little lower, the sill was higher than Suzie’s head.

  ‘You reckon you can get up there?’ Judith whispered.

  Suzie didn’t reply for a moment. ‘Sure,’ she eventually said.

  They both knew she was by no means sure. It looked far too high for her to climb through.

  As for Becks, she was inside the building, introducing herself to the receptionist.

  ‘Good afternoon. I understand you handle family disputes, that sort of thing.’

  ‘We do. How can I help?’

  ‘Well, it’s a delicate matter, but I wondered if there was perhaps a lawyer I could talk to.’

  ‘Do you have an appointment?’

  ‘I don’t. But I’m happy to wait until someone’s free.’

  ‘We’ve a number of lawyers in today, but Mr Bishop’s got a gap in his sch
edule in half an hour.’

  ‘Mr Bishop?’ Becks said, suddenly unsure.

  ‘If you don’t mind waiting?’

  Becks made herself reply brightly, ‘No, that suits me fine.’

  Andy Bishop was the last person Becks wanted to see, but as she went over to the chairs in the waiting area, she reminded herself that if everything went to plan, she’d be out of the building long before she had to meet him.

  ‘Can I take your coat?’ the receptionist asked.

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘It’s such a hot day, I’m sure you want to take your coat off.’

  Becks’ smile froze.

  ‘No. I’m all right,’ she said, her hand unconsciously going to one of the pockets of her coat and touching the thick slice of bread that was wedged inside.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Quite sure, thank you.’

  The receptionist looked at Becks askance. She could tell that something was ‘off’ with Becks but couldn’t work out what it was.

  ‘Okay, but if you change your mind, you only have to say.’

  ‘Thank you. Although, can I ask, do you by any chance have a loo I could use?’

  Becks knew the whole plan hinged on the answer the receptionist was about to give.

  ‘Yes, straight through that door there,’ the receptionist said, pointing at a door to the side of a rather grand staircase. ‘It’s at the end of the corridor.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Becks said, her heart thumping.

  She headed through the door. Now she’d given the receptionist the slip, she had to find the office’s kitchenette. After all, as Suzie had told them, all offices had kitchenettes, didn’t they?

  Outside in the car park, Judith and Suzie were beginning to panic.

  ‘What if Andy comes and looks out of the window?’ Suzie asked in a whisper.

  ‘He won’t.’

  ‘But if he does, he’ll see you sitting there.’

  ‘He’s not going to close that window. It’s boiling hot.’

  ‘What if he does, though?’

  Judith twisted in the wheelchair and looked firmly up at Suzie.

  ‘Now is not the time for backing down,’ she hissed. ‘We’re seeing this through, for good or for ill.’

  Suzie quailed. Gulped. Nodded.

  ‘Okay,’ she said.

  Judith checked the watch on her wrist.

  ‘Bloody hell, what’s she up to in there?’

  The truth was, Becks hadn’t been able to find a kitchenette of any description on the ground floor. It had taken her only a few moments to poke around and find a cleaning cupboard and a stationery room in the corridor behind the main staircase. But there’d also been a rickety old servants’ staircase. Knowing how important her part in the plan was, she’d gone up it.

  So, as Judith and Suzie were outside waiting underneath Andy’s window, Becks was on the first floor, trying to find the office kitchenette. There has to be one somewhere, Becks thought to herself. All she could see were heavy gloss-white doors, each with the name of a solicitor on a plaque to the side. Where was the bloody kitchenette?

  But then she saw an opening at the end of the corridor that had no door to it, so she headed towards it and was thrilled to see that it led into the office kitchenette. Checking that no one else was in the corridor to see her go in, she slipped into the little room.

  Inside, a short, fat man was standing by the kettle.

  Adrenaline flooded Becks’ system. This was Andy Bishop, wasn’t it? Unless there were two very short, fat men who worked in the building, which seemed very unlikely.

  ‘Hello,’ Andy said with a delighted smile.

  Becks’ instinct told her that Andy was trying to be flirty, but that couldn’t be possible, could it?

  ‘I’m sorry?’

  ‘Andy Bishop, how do you do?’ he said, offering his hand.

  ‘Mrs Rebecca Starling,’ Becks said, shaking Andy’s hand. It was clammy.

  ‘So what are you here for? I can’t imagine it’s a divorce.’

  Oh God, Becks thought to herself. He’s trying to chat me up.

  ‘I’m sorry, it’s a private matter. But I was looking for a glass of water. It’s such a hot day.’

  ‘It sure is,’ Andy said as he finished making himself his cup of tea. ‘You should take your coat off,’ he added with a wink. ‘It’s too hot to be wearing coats indoors.’

  ‘No thank you,’ Becks said primly as she turned her back on Andy and reached up to a shelf to get a glass. As she did so, she couldn’t help but marvel to herself. Her explanation that she was there to get some water had arrived in her brain unbidden. She’d had no idea that she could lie so effortlessly.

  But then, she’d been giving men like Andy Bishop the brush-off since she was a teenager, so she kept her back to him as she ran the tap until the water became cold. She could feel Andy appraising her as she stood there, her finger under the tap, and her body tightened in anger. Who was this man to think he could look at her like this?

  She heard him stir his drink with a teaspoon, and then, before she knew it, he was at her side.

  ‘See you around,’ he said as he dropped his teaspoon in the sink and left the kitchenette.

  Becks let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. She was cross to see that the glass of water in her hand was shaking. But she knew her encounter with Andy had upset her because of how he’d behaved towards her, not because she was in his building for nefarious reasons. In fact, she realised, Andy’s manner might have shaken her, but it had also stiffened her resolve.

  She moved over to the toaster that Suzie had predicted would be there, got out the two thick slices of sourdough bread from her pockets and jammed them into the machine, yanking the lever down and making sure that the heating elements inside lit up red. The bread was too thick for the slot. There was no way it was popping back up when the machine finished. For good measure, Becks twisted the dial on the side of the toaster up to its maximum setting, and with a quick glance up at the ceiling where the fire alarm was placed, a little green LED lit up to show it was working, she left at speed. Her job now was to put as much distance between herself and the jammed toaster as possible.

  ‘I wondered if we’d lost you,’ the receptionist said as Becks finally returned to the lobby.

  ‘Sorry,’ Becks said. ‘I had to wait to use the facilities.’

  Again, she was surprised at how easily the lie tripped off her tongue.

  ‘Anyway,’ the receptionist said, already moving on. ‘Mr Bishop just came past, and I had a quick word with him. He’s finishing up some work, and he’ll be able to see you in a few minutes.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Becks said with a smile, and sat down. She knew that if all went well, she’d be leaving the building before then.

  Inside his office, Andy Bishop was reliving his encounter with the yummy mummy he’d bumped into in the upstairs kitchenette. I wonder why she needs a lawyer? he thought to himself as he took a sip on his cup of tea, before realising the office was unbearably hot. He glanced over at the window that overlooked the car park. It was open, but he was sure he could open it further.

  Andy went across to the window and yanked it up a few more inches. He half noticed an old woman sitting outside in a wheelchair with what looked like her caregiver. He returned to his desk but stopped as he realised the person in the wheelchair looked a lot like the Judith woman who’d visited him earlier on, asking questions about Ezra. Andy strode back to the window and stuck his head out, but the woman in the wheelchair had vanished. Hmm, he thought to himself, before losing interest in the whole question and returning to his desk.

  As for Judith and Suzie, they’d panicked the moment Andy had first appeared at the window, and Suzie had pushed Judith at speed towards the first house that was next to the car park. Judith had kicked the little picket gate open with her feet as Suzie had shoved her in, and both women were ducking down behind a pink hydrangea at the precise moment Andy had l
ooked out of his back window for a second time.

  ‘Do you think he saw us?’ Judith asked.

  ‘Shh!’ Suzie said, her heart hammering against her chest.

  The sound of a piercing alarm suddenly filled the air. Finally!

  ‘Okay, you’re on,’ Judith said, straightening up as Suzie wheeled her back towards the window that Andy had so recently vacated. As they approached, the sill looked even higher above their heads than it had done before. How on earth was Suzy going to climb up and into Andy’s office?

  Inside, Becks sat in the reception area, her hands on her lap in quiet satisfaction as the fire alarm screamed. Half a dozen solicitors and clients emerged from various doors and drifted down the stairs from the floor above.

  ‘Is this a drill?’ one of them asked.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ the receptionist replied.

  ‘Okay. Everyone to the assembly point. Round the back.’

  Becks stood up, all smug satisfaction gone.

  ‘Round the back?’ she asked.

  ‘When we evacuate the building, the assembly point is the little car park behind the building.’

  ‘Not out the front?’ she asked in quiet desperation.

  ‘No. We can’t go clogging up the High Street, so let’s get to the back, everyone,’ the man called out.

  Becks was frozen to the spot as the clutch of people started to head towards the corridor that led to the back of the building. There was no way of warning Suzie and Judith that the whole office was about to leave the building right next to where they were breaking in.

  But then, what Becks didn’t know was that at that precise moment, Suzie and Judith were failing to break into anywhere.

  It had been Suzie’s theory that as long as Judith stayed sitting in the wheelchair to act as ballast, she’d be able to climb up onto the back of the chair and in through the window. However, practice was proving harder than theory. This was mainly because it turned out that Suzie had terrible balance, and Judith kept trying to shift position to help her, which made the wheelchair risk tipping over.

  ‘Stop moving!’ Suzie called out as she stood on the armrest, one hand holding a wheelchair handle, the other gripping onto the top of Judith’s head.

  ‘You’re hurting!’