Murder for Nothing Page 13

  ‘What can he do about it? I don’t have Annie’s telephone number till Susan gets back from the hospital—’

  He paced up and down, thinking. ‘Tell you what, I’ll ring Susan and … No, that won’t work. If we could track down this Annie person before Milos gets here … No, that’s hardly likely. He’ll be here in ten minutes or less. You’d better get out your chequebook because he’s going to hold you responsible.’

  ‘I’ll tell him it was Angelica who took his property. He knows what she’s like and he’ll understand.’

  He pressed buttons and put his phone to his ear. ‘No, Mrs Quicke, he won’t understand. Why should he? She stole his property. Let’s face it: if she’d stolen some of your things you’d want them back, wouldn’t you?’ And to the phone, ‘Come on, Susan! Pick up!’

  ‘If she’s on the ward, they won’t like her using her phone—’

  ‘Then I’d better go and fetch her. No, I can’t, can I? I can’t leave you here by yourself.’

  Ellie started back for the landline phone in the hall. ‘I’m going to ask the police to come round—’

  He followed her. ‘That’s not a good idea.’ He continued to hold his mobile to his ear. ‘Even if they do come, what are you going to tell them? That you’ve been robbed of some illicit substances and a pile of cash?’

  ‘No, no. I shall tell them that Timmy Lee confessed to taking Angelica away from the party and can give her an alibi. That ought to keep them happy for a while.’ She found the number of the local nick in the phone book and dialled.

  Rafael gave up on his phone to address the air. ‘How did I ever get involved in this mess? I never get involved in my clients’ troubles. Ever. I don’t particularly want to be here when the police come but … Tell you what, I’ll wait outside in the street and warn Milos when he arrives – which will be any minute now – that you’ve called the police. He won’t want to mix with them, so with any luck that will give him cause for thought. Of course, you realize that it won’t stop him coming after you in the long run. All he has to do is wait till the police leave and then he’ll come down on you like a ton of bricks! And then what? Susan will never forgive me if anything happens to you on my watch.’

  She waited for someone at the station to answer her. ‘Stop worrying, Rafael. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. What’s the time now? About seven? The man I want should have gone home by now or taken a break to eat. Hopefully.’

  Someone picked up the phone at the station. A human being, not a robot. Hurray. The woman said, ‘What is your name, please?’

  Ellie put on her ‘slightly potty little old lady’ act. ‘Oh, am I through to the police? Yes? Do you think you could put me through to “Ears”, please. Oops! Naughty me. My dreadful memory. It’s DI Bottrill, isn’t it? Have I got that right?’

  Rafael stared at her. ‘You’re barking mad, you know that? You can’t ask for a DI by his nickname!’

  ‘I’m so sorry!’ Ellie apologized to the girl at the other end of the phone while smiling sweetly at Rafael. ‘Please, forget I said that. I do know his name really, but sometimes I … Yes, I really would like to speak to him. But first, can you confirm that he is in charge of the case of the redheaded girl who died at the weekend? He is? Oh, good. Well, I might have some information for … Oh, sorry, again. My name is Mrs Quicke. Ellie Quicke. I’m a friend of Lesley Milburn’s, who as you know is … Yes, you’re quite right and she was on honeymoon but she’s back now … Oh, you know about that? Yes, of course you would do, what with it being her place where the body was found. Did you see her when she was called in to the station today? Yes? Well, you may not know what happened afterwards, but she’s been whipped off to hospital. Yes, it was all very sudden … No, it’s not that serious. Well, I suppose it is in a way. She had a miscarriage. Yes, awful, isn’t it? She’s so distressed. Her niece is with her at the moment but she’ll probably be staying with me here for a couple of days after she leaves hospital because her flat is … Yes, you know what’s happened to her flat, don’t you?’

  Rafael narrowed his eyes, trying to work out what Ellie was up to.

  Ellie sent him another smile and sat down on the hall chair, to continue her conversation with the WPC – or maybe the phone was being manned, or womanned, by a civilian nowadays?

  ‘Yes, of course I’ll tell Lesley that you’d like to be remembered to her. I suppose the station will want to send her some flowers, or something. I hope she won’t be kept in hospital long. Anyway, what I was really ringing about was that I wanted to speak to “Ears”, I mean, to DI Bottrill, but you do know who I mean, don’t you? I’m afraid we’ve never really got on – he thinks I’m a dreadful old fool – but I do have some information which might … Oh, yes of course. I hadn’t realized it was so late, and naturally he will have finished for the day. You’ll leave a message for him? Tell him he can come round at any time tonight or tomorrow to suit him. Thank you so much.’

  She put the phone down and drew in a deep breath.

  Rafael repeated her words. ‘“He can come round at any time”.’ He nodded, once. ‘Yes, of course. If Milos knows the police can come round at any time, then he’ll steer clear. I’ll tell him.’

  He shot out of the door and Ellie sighed with relief. She could trust Rafael to put the drug dealer off. And if Ears did bother to send someone round, she could deal with that when it happened.

  Meanwhile, the soup was probably boiling over in the kitchen, and she must attend to that before doing anything else.

  Except … the phone rang again.

  Only, there was no one at the other end when she picked it up.

  It might just be a nuisance sales call. Or it might not. It might be Milos, checking that she was still in the house. Or it might be an automated sales call which hadn’t connected her to the outside world. Hopefully it was only that.

  Her breathing was just a trifle too fast for comfort. She was not going to panic. Definitely not. And if she didn’t unstick her feet from the floor and get out to the kitchen, the top of the stove was going to be swimming in soup and would take ages to clean. She made it to the kitchen just as the soup was beginning to bubble over the sides of the pan.

  And here came Rafael, looking thoughtful. ‘I told Milos you’ve asked the police to call on another matter, and he’s agreed to give you twenty-four hours to produce his stuff. After that … you are crazy, you know? What makes you think you can stop Milos in his tracks? I mean, he’s really on the warpath.’

  ‘Mention of the police did it, though. Didn’t it?’

  ‘For twenty-four hours. Don’t you have any sense of danger? Do you know what he routinely does to those who don’t pay up? I’ve heard that … well, I don’t want to frighten you, but it’s not nice.’

  He frowned, clicking his fingers. Almost to himself, he added, ‘Why is he so angry? I suppose he has every reason to be annoyed if his man got beaten up and robbed, but … well, I wonder if Angelica got someone to do that? Nah. Not her style. But … who was it who had a fight with the drug salesman at the party? Would it have been someone Angelica knew? Or some stranger who’d gatecrashed the party?’

  ‘I’m too hungry to speculate. Are you ready for some soup?’

  There was a stir in the hall, and Susan’s voice called out, ‘I’m back! Where are you, Mrs Quicke?’

  Ellie raised her own voice. ‘We’re in the kitchen.’ And to Rafael, ‘I thought you were going to fetch her.’

  ‘I arranged to send a car for her and texted her it would be waiting. I didn’t want to leave you alone.’

  Susan appeared, her red-gold hair curling loose around her head instead of being drawn back into a ponytail. ‘Oh, Mrs Quicke! Poor Lesley …’ And, on seeing Rafael, she stopped to say, formally, ‘I must thank you for the car. The driver refused to take any money. You must tell me what I owe you. I’ll pay you back, of course.’

  Rafael held out a chair for Susan. ‘My pleasure.’

  ‘I insist,’ said Susa
n, taking the seat. Not meeting his eye.

  Ellie poured soup into bowls and set them on the table. ‘Sit down, Rafael. Eat up, Susan, and tell me how you got on.’

  Rafael said, ‘Yes, how is Lesley, and where’s the villain of the piece?’

  Susan tore some bread into pieces and dunked them in the soup. ‘Boy, am I starved!’ She slurped a mouthful and closed her eyes in pleasure. Took two more mouthfuls, and was prepared to talk. ‘Well, when I got there, I found they’d put Lesley in a side ward. She was as white as a sheet, with a drip in her arm and her eyes closed. Andy and Angelica were arguing over her bed and they wouldn’t shut up. It was upsetting Lesley, so I called a nurse, who told them to calm down.’

  ‘What were they arguing about?’ asked Ellie.

  ‘Angelica wanted Andy to take her to a hotel to get away from her drug dealer, and he was trying to attend to Lesley but, as he kept saying, he’s not good with people who are sick. Angelica didn’t pay any attention to Lesley but wanted Andy to concentrate on her, when it was all her fault that this has happened. Then the nurse said Andy could stay but Angelica must go, and she had hysterics! Yes, really! There and then, in front of everybody. So they called another nurse and Angelica was hustled out, and Andy didn’t know whether to go after her or stay with Lesley. He really isn’t much good with sick people, you know. And Lesley said …’

  She screwed up her face, fought for control, put her soup spoon down and took a deep breath, at which her magnificent bosom heaved. Rafael’s eyes widened and his spoon hovered in the air.

  Susan said, ‘Lesley told him to go. And he went.’ Susan gulped.

  Ellie said, ‘But you stayed, being the brave girl that you are.’

  ‘I held her hand and stroked it, and said a lot of stuff about how everything was going to be all right, and I put in a spot of praying, too, though I don’t know that she believes, but it made me feel better. At any rate, Lesley stopped crying, and I think she drifted off for a while. They brought round some food round but she didn’t want anything. The nurse kept checking on her. Lesley has to go down to surgery in the morning to make sure everything came away properly. Then Rafael texted he was sending a car for me and I left.’

  She took another deep breath. Rafael made an odd sound in his throat and almost spilled his soup.

  Susan said, ‘Thank you for the soup, Mrs Quicke. I’m perfectly all right, honest. I just need some food. I missed lunch.’ She went back to work on her soup.

  Rafael said, ‘So where are the missing couple?’

  Susan shrugged. ‘Don’t ask me. Angelica wanted them to elope to the Orkneys or something. Gretna Green, perhaps? He didn’t want to go but he didn’t want to stay with Lesley, either. He’s conflicted.’

  Ellie nodded. That was her reading of the situation, too. ‘I don’t think Angelica will go anywhere without her make-up and a change of clothes, so she’ll come back here for her things before she goes anywhere.’

  Rafael said, ‘Angelica has no sense of danger, has she?’

  Susan scraped up the last spoonful of soup. ‘Experience has taught her that no matter what sort of mess she gets into, someone will always get her out of it. She’s elected Andy as her saviour for the moment but,’ a tiny smile, ‘I don’t think he’s as anxious to ride to her rescue as he used to be. He’s beginning to suspect that she’s out of his price range.’

  Ellie collected empty soup bowls and dished out plates for ham, cheese and salad stuffs. ‘Did you retrieve my mobile?’

  ‘I knew there was something else I had to tell you. I took Lesley’s phone with me, to swap them over. I gave Lesley hers, or rather I showed it to her and then put it in her locker, although I don’t think she was really taking in what I said. I don’t know where her handbag is, by the way. She didn’t seem to have it with her. When I asked her for your phone, she nodded and then she drifted off. They came to take her blood pressure and check on the drip so I looked in her locker, top and bottom, but I couldn’t see it. Then Rafael rang to say a car was coming for me. Lesley didn’t answer when I spoke to her and I didn’t know what to do. So I said I’d see her again in the morning or as soon as it was allowed, and I left. I’m sorry. I know you said it was important.’

  Ellie felt a cold spot forming in her stomach. This was really bad news. She’d hoped to contact Annie and reclaim the goods that night. Oh, dear.

  Milos had given her twenty-four hours to return his things, so she did have some leeway. If she could get hold of Annie through the agency first thing in the morning, all might yet be well.

  Ellie worked her way through the ham and salads. They all concentrated on eating. Without much enjoyment. They really ought to have had something hot and filling, but Ellie hadn’t had time enough to prepare anything else.

  Susan got to her feet, squaring her shoulders, causing Rafael’s eyes to widen. ‘I think we all need carbohydrates. Let’s see if I can find something in the freezer to line our stomachs with. I made some individual sticky toffee puddings some time ago …’

  Rafael fanned himself. ‘Do you make bread as well?’

  ‘Of course.’

  Rafael said, ‘I’m hyperventilating. Will you let me watch next time you make bread?’

  A perfunctory ring on the doorbell and in marched Angelica, trailing Andy behind her. ‘Oh, Mrs Quicke! It’s so wonderful to be home again! I can’t tell you what a dreadful day I’ve had!’

  Andy said, through gritted teeth, ‘Not as bad as Lesley.’ Andy looked harassed. There were lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there before. Perhaps he really was distressed about Lesley? Or had the hours in Angelica’s company worn him down?

  Angelica was her usual sunny self. ‘Oh, poor Lesley. But she’s in the right place. She’s being looked after properly and I’m so hungry! Can I manage a drop of that soup? I think perhaps I might.’ She seated herself next to Rafael, pulling Andy down on the other side of her. She looked as fresh as a daisy and quite as bewitching.

  Andy looked ten years older than he had that morning.

  Susan transferred individual puddings into the microwave and whipped up a sauce, saying, ‘The last I saw of you, Angelica, you were being escorted from the ward. Where did you go?’

  ‘Oh, it was so awful! Poor, poor Lesley. I did feel so sorry for her. I went down and waited for Andy at his car, and when he came I just burst into tears, I was so upset, and he had to take me for a drink, only the best place was closed, and you wouldn’t think they’d close at this time of the evening when everyone needs something to help them face the world, would you? And he wouldn’t take me into a pub on the way back, even though they are open all day.’

  Andy put his head in his hands.

  Ellie said, ‘Angelica, pay attention. I’ll feed you now and you can stay the night in the spare room, but tomorrow you’re out of here and no argument.’

  A pout. Angelica was not taking the threat seriously. ‘Oh, I know you don’t mean that! I’ve nowhere else to go.’

  ‘Try your mother. She lives somewhere in London, doesn’t she?’

  ‘Yes, but she’s got this horrid boyfriend, and he said …’ She gulped most beautifully, while tears hovered on her eyelashes. ‘He said I mustn’t go back there any more. Anyway, I’m a lodger here, bona fide, and if you want me to go, you’ll have to give me thirty days’ notice, and then the magistrate will probably say I have another thirty days to find somewhere else, so you can’t turn me out, just like that, so there!’

  Ellie said, ‘That’s not true, Angelica. You have not signed any contract with me to rent the room and have never paid me any rent. You’re a house guest, only, so I can ask you to leave whenever I like.’

  ‘But I know you won’t!’

  Did the girl really think that? Ellie had another card to play. ‘Angelica, I’ve got your drug dealer coming here tomorrow, looking for you, so you really do have to find somewhere else to go.’

  Angelica wailed, ‘But you’ll protect me, won’t you? I haven’t go
t his stuff. I swear it!’ A calculated look. ‘If you don’t help me, I’ll have to tell him that Susan stole it from me!’

  ‘As if!’ said Susan. ‘Try facing up to your responsibilities, Angelica. You caused the problems. You deal with them.’

  ‘You!’ Angelica hissed. ‘What do you know about the problems a pretty girl like me has? Stupid Susan! I suppose you know Rafael bet on getting into your pants by the end of term?’

  Rafael half started up out of his chair. ‘Susan, believe me! That was before I—’

  Susan laughed. ‘Silly girl. Of course I heard about it. I asked the man who’d taken the bet how much my virginity was worth and he said fifty pounds. I said that wasn’t enough. Make it fifty thousand, I said, and we’ll split the proceeds.’

  Rafael subsided into his chair, laughing. ‘That’s my girl!’

  Susan aimed a wooden spoon at him. ‘I am not your girl. I am myself. Now, anyone want a pudding?’

  Andy shook his head but everyone else took one.

  Ellie said, ‘Now you’re all here, I wonder if we can get any more information about Kate, the girl who died at Angelica’s party.’

  ‘Not my party!’ said Angelica, but even Andy shot her a look which said, Shut up!

  Ellie said, ‘How come you all know one another, anyway? Not you, Andy, but Susan and Angelica and Rafael? And, come to think of it, also Jake and Timmy Lee.’

  Susan said, ‘The catering section is only one of the courses which the university runs. There are lots of other ones. There’s a student bar, but it’s crowded and can get noisy, so some of us prefer going to the Queen’s Head up the road. That’s usually where we meet up to make plans for the weekend, go clubbing or go to festivals. Some of us socialize only with the people on our own courses, but some of us mix and mingle with others. I’ve seen Timmy Lee there, and Angelica with Jake … though I don’t think he’s a student. He was slumming it, probably.’

  Rafael said, ‘That he was. The Queen’s Head is noted for its talent, which is why I used to drop in occasionally. Pretty girls aplenty, all looking for a good time. I don’t do that now, of course,’ he added. ‘I’m a reformed character now.’