Murder With Mercy Read online

  ‘You think I’m up to his weight?’ Sardonic.

  ‘Oh yes. You know you are, too.’

  ‘Mm. Are you sure you won’t have a small one to keep the cold out? I can break my rule of not drinking if a visitor would like one.’

  ‘Wish I could, but I’ve got a policewoman coming round to see me later on today and I have to keep my wits about me.’

  ‘Really? Someone told me that you fancied yourself as a private detective.’

  Ellie grinned. ‘No more than you fancy yourself as Evan’s fifth wife.’

  Marcia barked out a laugh. ‘That’s true. Not my scene. I like him, of course. Known him for ever. Good drinking companion. Not a bad golf player, successful in business but …’ She shook her head. ‘Dunno about the future of the estate agency. Perhaps the dreaded Diana is right to concentrate on keeping it afloat. Thank the Lord I’ve a portfolio of shares that hasn’t sunk too low. I’ll drop in to see him, find out what days might suit. I can do Mondays and Wednesdays, two to four, no cooking or cleaning and I’m not helping him to the toilet and back. Suit you?’

  ‘Thank you, yes.’

  ‘He has a daughter, hasn’t he? Schoolgirl, comes home at four or thereabouts, so she can take over then. Who’s doing morning and lunchtime?’

  ‘I’ve done a couple or hours here and there but can’t commit to more. He’s suggested a couple of other women as well.’

  ‘Pauline, perhaps?’ A furrow appeared between the eyebrows. ‘She’s a bit past it, if you ask me. Pleasant enough. At least she could phone for help if there was an emergency.’

  ‘Not the type to divert him from his problems?’

  ‘She used to be sharp enough – a good bridge player if my memory serves me right – but her husband’s death took it out of her. It seems to me that the death of a loved one either stiffens you up or rots your backbone. I used to know her quite well, we were both on some committee or other … raising funds for the new library at the school, I think. Then she went on to take up some lost cause or other. I’m not into lost causes, as you might gather. I won’t waste time and energy on something which hasn’t a chance of succeeding. Haven’t seen her for some time, heard she’d let herself go, fancies she needs a hip replacement but the doctors say she isn’t bad enough, but there … Tempus fugit and all that rot. Not sure she’s got it in her to stand up to Evan, but any port in a storm. Sure you won’t join me in a small one?’

  She took another gulp of her carrot juice, shook her head, said ‘Grrrr!’ and set it down again.

  ‘No, thank you. I really must go.’ Ellie, worrying about Mikey and, well, everything, made as if to get up.

  ‘Don’t go yet. There’s nothing on the telly, and I’m not in the mood to be by myself. Tell me about the visit you’re expecting from the police. What have you done to deserve that, eh?’

  ‘Not me.’ Would it be indiscreet to mention the ladies who’d left life unexpectedly? Possibly. But Marcia probably knew at least one of them. ‘I expect you know Freddie and his wife Anita?’

  Marcia concentrated. Her intelligence was formidable. ‘I do. I did. He didn’t murder her, though.’

  ‘Who said anything about murder?’

  ‘You said the police are involved.’

  ‘Not in that way, no.’

  ‘Then why did you mention them?’

  Ellie grimaced. ‘I have a much younger friend in the police force. She has a nose for, what shall we call them, irregularities? A woman went to the police to report her aunt had died unexpectedly—’

  ‘Not Anita. No nephews or nieces.’

  ‘No, indeed.’

  ‘Her husband was distraught.’

  ‘So I’ve observed.’

  ‘If anyone were going to knock Anita off, it would be his little PA, whiny-faced May.’

  Ellie laughed. ‘Agreed, but I don’t think she did it. I liked Freddie. He’s feeling guilty, thinks he ought to have prevented Anita from killing herself.’

  A sideways glance. ‘No one’s going around saying that, are they?’

  ‘Only me. And only to you.’

  ‘Not to the police?’

  Ellie sighed. ‘Do you think Anita killed herself?’

  A nod.

  ‘Do you think she saved up her tablets till she had enough to do the deed?’

  A long silence while they both thought about this.

  Finally, Marcia said, ‘I’ll see you out, shall I? Tell Evan I’ll ring him, pop round to see him, suggest we play the putting game. And let him win. Well, some of the time, anyway.’

  She extended her hand, and Ellie shook it. ‘Thank you, Marcia. Do call me Ellie.’

  ‘Till we meet again. As I’m pretty sure we will, now we’ve made one another’s acquaintance.’

  ‘You’ll let me know if you hear anything about another untimely death?’

  ‘So long as you rule out Anita.’

  ‘Do you fancy Freddie for your fourth?’

  Marcia was amused. ‘It would never work. He loved Anita dearly, and I’m a better golf player than he is. He’s a social player. It would gnaw away at him, knowing I could beat him any day if I wanted to.’ She opened the front door. ‘A nasty evening. Did you park in the road outside?’

  ‘I don’t drive. I have my umbrella, and it’s not far.’

  Marcia cracked out a laugh. ‘Take care not to run into any murderers on the way home.’

  Thursday afternoon

  Evan had rung her again, wanting her to … She couldn’t make out exactly what it was that he wanted. She’d been so worried about him; the prognosis wasn’t good, was it? If he’d only get himself up out of his chair and get around on crutches, doing his exercises, he’d be well on the way to recovery … or if not complete recovery, at least on the road to it.

  He said he wanted company. He might just want to talk about himself. In her experience, that’s all most men wanted.

  If he wanted more than that, if he really was as miserable as he said, then she supposed she’d have to help him, but it did take it out of her.

  She’d better visit him as soon as possible. She’d nothing else on, and Diana wouldn’t be back till late. She really didn’t have anything else on that day, did she? She did wish she could find her diary. She felt lost without it.

  Ellie scurried through the rain, round one corner, across a busy road … whoops … a white van went through a large puddle and she only just drew back in time … along another road and up what couldn’t really be called a hill but did get her to slow down a bit, and then into her own road at last.

  Oops! She just realized she’d promised to do some food shopping on the way back, and it had completely slipped her mind. Oh well, she’d sort something out later.

  Detective Constable Lesley Milburn’s car was already parked in front of the house and the driver’s seat was empty, so Rose must have let her in.

  All day Ellie had been trying not to think what bad news it was that Lesley had to impart, and her imagination had run away with her. She’d decided that she really did not want to hear what it was that Lesley had to say but she couldn’t avoid it, except perhaps by emigrating to another country, or … how about going down with flu? No, perhaps best not.

  After the usual struggle with her key, she let herself into the house. It was getting dark. She switched on the lights in the hall. There were no lights showing down the corridor which led to Thomas’s study and quiet room, so he couldn’t be back yet.

  Rose materialized from the kitchen, muting her voice to deliver gobbets of news. ‘I’ve put that nice policewoman in the sitting room and given her a cuppa. No doubt you’d like one too, such a nasty day as it is. Oh, and the washing machine’s ground to a halt again.’

  Rose always overloaded the machine. Ellie gave the usual advice. ‘Try running a Rinse and Spin programme.’ That usually did the trick. ‘How is Vera? I do hope you haven’t been going up and down the stairs to look after her?’

  ‘Mikey perked up a bit this afte
rnoon and went up to see her. He said she was a little better. He made her a cup of tea, would you believe? Though I don’t think she drank it, because he came down later for some lemons for her. I sent him up with a jug of my lemonade which he said she was getting through like nobody’s business. I put up some sandwiches for her, too, and he said she did eat one though I think he had the rest, the little devil. Then he came down and went off to sleep again in the big chair in my sitting room with the telly on, and I haven’t liked to disturb him because he’s not well, the little angel.’

  ‘So he really is ill?’

  Rose looked as worried as Ellie felt. ‘It seems to come and go with him. You go and deal with that policewoman, who is a nice enough person but you can tell she’s sitting on some bad news, she’s got ants in her pants as they say.’

  NINE

  Thursday afternoon

  Lesley Milburn was standing by the window, looking out on to the sodden garden. ‘Thanks for seeing me at such short notice. Rose looked after me beautifully.’

  ‘Sorry I’m late. There’s a lot going on at the moment.’

  ‘I know how busy you are.’

  ‘I saw Hugh this morning. He’s the project manager from the hotel site. He says they won’t be pressing charges against Mikey.’

  ‘Good.’ Lesley sighed, rubbed her forehead. ‘Except that it’s gone too far. The thing is that my colleague, the one who took Preston’s statement and looked after Mikey, well, she was not entirely happy about it.’

  ‘You mean she knew she ought to have had Mikey examined and his injuries noted before I arrived and made a fuss, so she took it to a higher authority to get her own version of events in first?’

  ‘I wouldn’t put it like that.’

  ‘Well, no. She’s your colleague, and you have to stand up for her. I suppose she’ll get an official reprimand for what she did. Or rather, for what she didn’t do.’

  ‘She is a conscientious officer and … This is so difficult. I’ve been trying to work out how to tell you, and there’s no way to put it that you’re going to like.’ She took a deep breath. ‘She did take the case to the boss, and he instructed her to get Social Services involved at once. Not next week, or in due course, but immediately. He says the boy must be removed from an environment in which he truants and commits criminal damage. He says his mother has let him get out of hand and is clearly unable to exercise any kind of control.’

  Ellie groped for the nearest chair. In her head she heard Lesley’s voice repeat ‘out of hand … out of control’.

  Lesley looked anxious. ‘Are you all right?’

  Ellie cleared her throat. ‘Don’t tell me Ears is doing this out of a respect for law and order. He’s doesn’t give a damn about the boy. He’s doing this to get back at me.’

  Lesley looked as if she were going to cry. ‘Of course not. He’s concerned. It’s his job to, well, see the bigger picture.’

  Ellie thought of saying a rude word, but restrained herself. They both knew that Ears had long wanted to humiliate Ellie and had seized on this chance to get at her through her protégé. Ellie said, giving every word due weight, ‘Ears is a small-minded, pettifogging person who has been promoted beyond his abilities. If that’s slander I’m prepared to back up my words with chapter and verse.’

  Lesley was unconvincing in his defence. ‘You know I can’t see it like that. And I’m never quite sure what “pettifogging” means.’

  Ellie tried to smile. ‘Neither am I. It sounds right, though.’

  Lesley nodded.

  Silence.

  Ellie said, ‘Of course the boy needs a good talking to. Of course he shouldn’t have been truanting, and he shouldn’t have been at the hotel site. But until he recovers from the beating he was given and the loss of his voice, there’s no way we can find out what really happened. Hugh said he’d investigate. He doesn’t want to think that one of his workforce is lying. I can see his point of view. Preston is no fly-by-night, and he’s due to retire any day now. It would be easy just to forget the whole thing. I’d agree, if it weren’t for one thing—’

  ‘The knife.’

  ‘Yes. The knife. That puts an entirely different view on the matter, doesn’t it? Hugh doesn’t think Preston would use a knife on a child, and I’m inclined to accept his judgement. Also there has been some sabotage at the site which may well affect the date for the opening of the hotel. This means that people at Head Office are getting involved, so even if Hugh refuses to prosecute, there’s going to be repercussions.’

  ‘A refusal to prosecute won’t stop Ears taking action. He says Preston made a formal statement, and that we have to act on that.’

  ‘When you say that Ears is getting Social Services involved, what sort of timescale are we thinking of? I mean, Mikey and his mother are both ill. Neither can be interviewed at the moment. Thomas and I can guarantee the boy’s good behaviour in future, can’t we?’

  ‘You are not his legal guardians. I don’t know exactly how Social Services would respond, but …’

  The door creaked open, and in stalked Midge, tail erect. He ignored both women to plod to the fireplace, where he lay down and began to give himself a thorough grooming.

  Ellie and Lesley looked at the door through which the cat had come. Mikey and Midge were almost always together. Was Mikey lurking just outside the door? Had he been listening to their conversation? And if so, what would he do about it?

  ‘Excuse me,’ said Ellie, and went to the door to look out into the hall. There was no sign of Mikey but there were plenty of doors nearby behind which he could hide, including the dining room, the cloakroom and the big junk cupboard in the hall.

  The door to the kitchen quarters was open, as usual. Ellie could hear Rose’s telly from where she stood … also, the washing machine swishing away. Well, at least that was working properly now. She hoped.

  She returned to the sitting room, shutting the door carefully behind her. ‘How long do you think we’ve got before they come asking questions?’

  A shrug. ‘A couple of days? Normally, it would take longer, but the pressure’s on. Your solicitor can advise you.’

  ‘I’ll get him on to it. Meanwhile, let’s see what Hugh can discover. Will you give us warning of any visitation?’

  ‘I will if I can but I may not hear. I’m not in the loop on that one.’ Lesley got to her feet, brushing herself down. ‘You didn’t by any chance have an opportunity to look into the untimely deaths we spoke about?’

  Ellie tried to put Mikey out of her mind. ‘Um, that girl Petra came to see me. I think she imagined I’d give her a job at the hotel just like that, but she isn’t qualified for anything she wants to do and she isn’t interested in training for it. To tell the truth, I wasn’t impressed, though I must admit she did make me feel uneasy about Auntie’s death.’

  ‘Oh, her. Well, she’s out of it for the moment, anyway. Tumbled down some stairs outside her flat and wasn’t found for a few hours. Concussion and a badly sprained ankle. They’re keeping her in hospital overnight and then sending her home. She’s way off her rocker, in my opinion. You won’t believe this, but she rang the police from her hospital bed, wanting us to charge her cousin with causing her to fall down the stairs.’

  ‘Really? And had she?’

  ‘Of course not. Ears told me to check her out, so I went to the hospital and took her statement. Then I went to call on the cousin, which was a nice waste of my time, as she had a solid alibi for the whole day, out shopping with a friend who’s getting married. Social Services have taken Petra’s boy into care until she can cope again.’

  ‘Really? How come she laid it at her cousin’s door, apart from the fact that she thinks the cousin is the Wicked Witch of the North and responsible for everything from global warning to the milk going off?’

  A shrug. ‘She says her cousin was lying in wait for her on her return from the shops, and that she’d booby-trapped the stairs with her child’s scooter, causing her to lose her balance and cr
ash down the stairs. Sheer clumsiness, if you ask me.’

  Ellie said, ‘Petra told me she had a live-in boyfriend, but I must admit he didn’t sound the type to step in and take care of her or the boy.’ Ellie allowed herself a flicker of amusement. ‘Two single parent families in trouble. Petra’s child is taken into care, and Vera’s is threatened with the same fate. If I know anything about Petra, she’d be bound to say there’s one law for the rich and another for the poor. I can afford to fight for Mikey – who has certainly strayed from the straight and narrow – while Petra’s boy has done nothing wrong as far as I know, and his life is going to be at the mercy of officialdom for months to come.’

  ‘Yours may be, too,’ warned Lesley. ‘Once they think a boy is at risk—’

  ‘Understood.’

  ‘You didn’t hear of any other doubtful deaths?’

  Ellie hesitated. ‘Yes, I did, but I can’t see what good it would do to dig up someone who took an overdose when she was facing a recurrence of cancer. Oh, I don’t mean that you ought, physically, to dig someone up. That was a figure of speech. Best let sleeping dogs lie.’ She laughed at herself. ‘There I go again, misusing words.’

  ‘You must tell me if you’ve heard of anything suspicious. What about the elderly woman who lived in a house overlooking the park?’

  ‘Nothing there. The only death I’ve heard about is … You know, I can’t see what earthly good it would do to tell you about it. It would only cause a great deal of distress to the family, who are already deep in grief.’

  ‘I can’t afford to overlook anything. You must let me be the judge of what is or is not important.’

  Ellie held her gaze. ‘If your mother was dying a painful death, and she asked you to fetch her some strong sleeping pills from the chemist, would you do so?’

  ‘That’s not the point.’

  ‘Yes, it is. If Petra’s aunt and this other woman that I’ve heard about, if they committed suicide, surely there’s nothing you can do about it?’