Murder in Time Page 22

  ‘Does he see people for what they are now?’ A bitter note in his voice.

  ‘Yes. He hasn’t made Deputy Head of a big secondary school without insight into what makes people tick. And now he’s got Vera back …’

  He frowned. ‘Is that the girl he was going around with in the old days? Some shop girl or other? Totally unsuitable.’

  Ellie subdued anger. ‘They were pretty good together then, and now they’ve met up again, I imagine they’ll make it permanent.’

  A shrug. ‘What a pity. She’ll drag him down in his career. What sort of wife will she make to a headmaster?’

  Ellie had a vivid picture in her mind of Vera coping with a stroppy parent and coming off best in the encounter. She smiled. ‘I think she’d manage pretty well. She’s a fine, strong woman, who’s done a brilliant job in bringing up a boy who’s not exactly easy. She’ll carve her own way out of life, and she’ll never let him down.’

  He grimaced, understanding that she was referring to Daphne, who had indeed let Dan down.

  He looked at his watch. Before he could make an excuse to leave, Ellie said, ‘You knew that Vera was raped at the party?’

  ‘What!’ He stared, wide-eyed. ‘No!’ He hadn’t known.

  ‘Did you never hear about it?’

  ‘No, I … I was in hospital for a while and went straight home after that. Daphne never mentioned … No, you must be joking.’

  ‘Far from it.’

  ‘That’s terrible. Is that why they broke up? I knew Dan had stopped seeing her, but he never spoke about it to me, and I’d no idea. Are you sure?’

  ‘Oh yes. I’m sure.’

  He thought about it. ‘She was the only one of his friends who had the nerve to tackle the gang when they burst in. I suppose they took it out on her, afterwards?’

  ‘No, it was some of Dan’s so-called friends who raped her, thinking she was trailer trash and could be misused with impunity.’

  He was distressed. ‘I’m sorry. That’s awful. Why did I never hear about it?’

  ‘Shame. And misdirection. Neither set of parents wanted the match and were prepared to stop the lovers communicating. Dan himself didn’t know until very recently.’

  ‘I’m heartily sorry. It shouldn’t happen to anyone, never mind … You mean, it was actually some of Dan’s friends who …? I can hardly believe it.’ Yes, he was definitely upset by the revelation.

  They sat, watching Evan trying to crawl and not getting anywhere. The boy had lost his dummy, but didn’t seem to need it for the moment. Ellie expected Sam to make his excuses and leave, but he made no move to do so.

  He said, ‘They either crawl or they roll. I had one of each. Does this one roll?’ He flipped Evan on to his back, and resumed his seat.

  Evan looked up at Sam in horror, then transferred his gaze to Ellie, perhaps in a plea for protection? Ellie nodded and smiled at the baby.

  Evan looked back at Sam, who was smiling down at him. Sam said, ‘I like babies.’

  So he did. Good for Sam.

  Sam tickled Evan’s tummy. Evan convulsed with laughter.

  Sam looked across at Ellie. Ellie stared back at him. She thought … he knows! Or he’s suspected something. No, he doesn’t know, but he’s working it out.

  Don’t even breathe, Ellie.

  A flurry of movement. Evan had rolled off the rug again.

  ‘Ouch!’ Sam bent down to extract Evan from under a chair. Evan yelled, in fright and frustration.

  Ellie produced the dummy and stuck it in his mouth. ‘Give him to me.’

  Sam put Evan on Ellie’s knee and stood over her. Not speaking.

  Ellie said, ‘You’ve worked it out?’

  A long sigh. ‘If I’m right, and I can’t be sure … What good would it do to bring it all out into the open now, so long after …?’

  Ellie rocked the baby. ‘I know. I’ve been thinking along those lines, too.’

  ‘I mean, there wouldn’t be any point in trying to bring a prosecution after all these years, would there?’

  So he’d guessed who it might be? Ellie tried to make him name a name. ‘Perhaps it might depend on whether they’d ever broken the law on another occasion?’

  He reared back. She’d guessed wrongly. ‘That’s ridiculous. I can see that you don’t know anything, Mrs Quicke.’

  Ah. She was following his reasoning, if at some distance. ‘I thought, like you, that if someone had been keeping out of trouble ever since, there might be some merit in not charging him with rape—’

  He turned away with a dismissive gesture. ‘Is that the time? I really must be on my way.’ He retreated into the hall.

  She was annoyed with herself. She guessed – too late – that he’d been thinking about the murder, and she’d been talking about the rape. She followed him into the hall, carrying the baby with her. ‘Must you go so soon?’

  ‘I really must.’ He let himself out of the house and shut the front door firmly behind him.

  ‘I bodged that,’ Ellie said. ‘Stupid me!’

  She looked at the phone. Following on her earlier train of thought, it seemed to her that if the rapists had kept out of trouble ever since, there was a case to be made for leaving them in peace … that is, provided she could get Abdi to calm down. But, if one or more of them had tried it on again, then it would be a different matter and they’d deserve to be pilloried, prosecuted, and probably imprisoned.

  But. She didn’t know how to check on their careers subsequent to the party. She could ring Lesley and ask if any of the surviving rapists had been in trouble since – but that would mean giving away their identities. Well, apart from Dick Prentice, and he deserved whatever was coming to him.

  She walked the baby up and down in her arms, jiggling him to keep him quiet.

  The evenings were drawing in, and she must put on some lights soon. The conservatory window was still a crack open. It had been a fine day, but the temperature dropped sharply at night. She took Evan into the conservatory and managed to close the window, even though he nearly threw himself out of her arms in an effort to reach Midge, the cat, who had been lying there, minding his own business. Midge squawked, Evan yelled, a flower pot crashed on to the floor. A fine azalea, just about to come into flower. Bother.

  She ought to have strapped Evan back into his buggy before trying to do two things at once. Babies first. Plants second.

  It was something of a miracle that the pot hadn’t broken. One handed, she replaced the azalea on the staging.

  Sometimes, just for half a second, she imagined she could see the figure of her aunt in the corner of the conservatory. Miss Quicke had passed on some time ago, but just occasionally, out of the corner of her eye, Ellie thought she caught a glimpse of her. Which was odd because Miss Quicke had never been interested in plants. Rose often reported that she’d seen her old employer in there too. All very odd.

  Dear Lord, grant her peace.

  Actually, the conservatory was a very peaceful place, full of colour practically all the year round.

  Dear Lord, grant us your protection.

  Indeed, thought Ellie, smiling. I certainly need it, and so does Thomas.

  Let the wicked be confounded, and grant peace to the righteous.

  Vera needs a spot of peace. And Dan. And little Evan, who will try to kill himself by throwing himself around at inappropriate moments … and … and everyone. Especially Rose.

  You’re on the right lines …

  She strapped Evan back into his buggy, pushed the dummy into his mouth, and went to see about supper. Vera usually cooked for herself and Mikey at weekends. She might even be cooking for three that day.

  Ellie now knew who had killed the doctor. Or rather, she guessed that it had been one of two people. But which one? Like Sam, she wasn’t sure that it would be a good idea to probe further … and yet … and yet. Justice could be a cold tool, perhaps doing more damage to people’s lives than might seem appropriate. She needed more information. Perhaps Vera cou
ld supply it?

  Saturday evening

  Diana collected Evan after supper. In a whirlwind, as usual. ‘I don’t know why you can’t change him into something clean after he’s eaten.’

  Ellie had managed to pocket the dummy as Diana strode in. Fortunately, her action went unobserved. Ellie defended herself. ‘We’ve got through three outfits already today.’

  Diana wasn’t listening. ‘My husband wants us to go out somewhere tomorrow. I may have to bring the baby round again. All right?’ Off she went, without waiting for an answer.

  Ellie shrugged and pulled on the cord which connected to the bell outside Vera’s door. When the girl answered, Ellie said, ‘Vera, is it convenient to have a word?’

  Vera said, ‘Yes, do come up.’ So up Ellie went, to find Vera scrubbing the sink in her kitchen while Dan taught Mikey the rudiments of chess in the sitting room. Vera was still wearing a T-shirt and jeans, but she’d loosened her hair around her ears and, yes, she’d used a touch of mascara on her eyelashes.

  Vera said, ‘They ought to be attending to their school work, both of them. But will they?’ Her tone was one of indulgence. ‘Like a cuppa?’

  Ellie accepted and sat at the kitchen table. No need to ask questions. Vera was only too anxious to talk.

  ‘Did I tell you that Dan took me round to see his house? Not the one he’s living in now which, honestly, there’s hardly room to swing a cat in and the kitchen is a joke, not that I’d quibble about that if I had to live there, though it would be a tight squeeze for the three of us, each of us, being realistic, needing somewhere to spread out papers. My main concern is that it would be difficult to make it a comfortable place in which to live.’

  ‘You’ve agreed to marry him, then?’

  ‘No.’ She flushed. ‘I’ve said “no” and he understands that I mean it. I won’t have him dragged into the mud if Abdi carries out his threat.’

  ‘I might know a way around that.’

  ‘Mm? Really? Well, we’ve waited so long …’ She relaxed, leaning against the sink, head bowed. ‘Will Thomas bless our marriage when … If …?’

  ‘Do you doubt it? Of course he will. Would Dan like to move in here?’

  ‘Same thing applies. He needs space. So does Mikey, and so do I.’

  Ellie grimaced. ‘You mean, Dan wants his own front door, and he wouldn’t like traipsing up through two flights of stairs in someone else’s house. If only we could have got the council to agree to our having a separate entrance to the flat!’

  ‘It might have made a difference, yes.’ Vera busied herself wringing out the washing-up cloth and hanging it up. ‘I said I couldn’t imagine myself as a headmaster’s wife. He said he thought I’d be tremendous, that I’d keep all the cranky parents in check if need be.’ She laughed, colour rising in her cheeks. ‘He said I was just what he needed, that I’d push him up the ladder, and that if ever I got out of line he’d give me a look, sort of sideways, and I’d get the message and maybe rethink, which is what we used to do when … in another life.’ She filled the kettle and switched it on.

  Ellie thought that sounded like an excellent way of going on. She speculated that Dan might well have made headmaster by now, if he’d married Vera instead of Daphne.

  Vera moved around the kitchen, clattering pots and pans away. ‘Mikey and Dan respect one another, thank goodness. I realize I’ve centred too much of my life around Mikey, because he’s only going to be with me for maybe five or six more years. He’ll want to fly away one day, he’ll be off to university, perhaps a year early …’

  Ellie smiled to herself. Dan knew how to get round Vera, didn’t he?

  Vera hesitated. ‘Dan wants more children.’

  ‘And you?’

  ‘After what happened? I can’t make up my mind. One minute I think yes, that would be wonderful. But it would mean I couldn’t carry on working … or could I? And the next minute I want to run away and hide.’ She collapsed on to a chair. ‘Did you say you wanted a cuppa? Hark at me. Early Alzheimer’s. Can’t remember what day of the week it is.’

  ‘Saturday.’

  ‘Saturday? So it is. We went to see his own house. It smells of mice, and he’s got the builders in. It’s old and inconvenient. The kitchen’s a disgrace, and there’s only one bathroom. It fits him like a glove. Mikey loved it, too. He wants the attic rooms. Dan showed me a small room next to the main bedroom and said he wondered if I could think of a use for it. Talk about transparent! He wants a daughter. And Mikey turned round and said he’d like a little sister, and they both looked at me, all wounded like, as if I were refusing them the thing they wanted most out of life. I said, “Suppose I want another son?” But we didn’t quarrel about it. Just … moved away from the subject for the time being.

  ‘He said I could design the kitchen the way I wanted it. As if! It would cost thousands! And the garden’s overgrown. Not that I know anything about gardens, and neither does he. He had the nerve to say that he thought you might help us design and restock it!’

  ‘Clever,’ said Ellie, smiling.

  ‘Oh, he’s clever all right. I’d forgotten how good he was at getting his own way. I’d seen his racing bikes and asked how much time he gave to his hobby, and he went all sad-looking on me and said he thought I’d make him give it up, and he’d do that for me … which was all very well, but I’d seen some stuff from his headmaster on his desk about giving up his bike to start a new club at school on Saturdays, which he’d already agreed to do, so he’d decided to give it up before we got together again.’

  She met Ellie’s eye, and they both started to laugh.

  ‘Well,’ said Vera, ‘it’s a good thing I can see through him. I suppose. But what he wants with that monstrosity of a house, I don’t know. Yes, I do. It’s got good-sized rooms, with high ceilings and old fireplaces. I can just see him reading his papers, working at that old desk of his, looking at me over the top of his glasses when I go in to ask if he wants a cuppa. Not that he wears specs yet, of course. I’m rambling. None of this is going to happen.’

  ‘It might. Vera, there might be light at the end of the tunnel—’

  ‘So long as it’s not the light of the oncoming train. Besides, I can’t leave you and Thomas and Rose in the lurch.’

  ‘We’d find someone else. Vera, I wanted to ask you about some of the guests Dan invited to the party. I’ve met and talked to some of them, but I’d like to have your opinion on them, too. Dick Prentice, for instance.’

  Vera shuddered. ‘Yuk. Used to make my skin crawl.’

  ‘You went to see him, and he threw you out, threatened you with this and that. Have you seen him since?’

  She shook her head. ‘Wouldn’t want to, either.’

  ‘Dr Gail. What did you think of her?’

  A shrug. ‘Secure in herself. Anxious that her precious brother isn’t dragged into this.’

  ‘Simon. What did you think of him in the old days?’

  ‘Kept himself to himself. Looked down his nose at me. Polite enough … After all, he wouldn’t want to offend someone who might be asked to vote for him in the future.’ A sarcastic tone. Then, a frown. ‘I went to hear him speak at the Town Hall once. He’s a good speaker but, like all politicians, he takes ten minutes to say one thing. He’s on his way up, they say, might even get in at the next General Election. I suppose he’ll be a reasonable enough Member of Parliament. I seem to remember he married well; money and long legs.’

  They both grinned at the image Vera had conjured up.

  Ellie said, ‘Abdi never took any notice of you before that dreadful night?’

  ‘He liked pretty little blondes. I wasn’t his cuppa at all. Cuppa coming up.’ She busied herself making a couple of mugs of tea.

  ‘What about Raff Scott?’

  ‘I haven’t thought of him for years.’ A shake of her head. ‘Naughty boy, Raff. He thought his good looks would excuse him everything. Tried to get into the knickers of every girl in the class. Succeeded with some, I be
lieve.’

  ‘Not with you?’

  ‘Nah. Not my type. Mind you, I had to slap him down once when he got me pinned up against a cupboard.’

  ‘You kneed him?’

  Vera grinned. ‘One of his mates came in and saw! Was his face red. He didn’t try it again.’

  Oh, but he had, hadn’t he? And she didn’t know that he’d raped her? No, she didn’t. ‘He’s not still around, is he? Someone said—’

  ‘Killed on active service. He’d always wanted to be a soldier. Was he in the Territorials before he left school? I think he might have been. He had – what do you call it? – a lust for life. It’s odd to think of him being dead. You’d have thought he’d have come through, no matter what.’

  ‘Who else do you remember from those days? What about Sylvia? She helped you get away after the rape, didn’t she?’

  ‘Sylvia. I haven’t seen her for ever. Didn’t Dan say she’d gone to Australia, working in TV or something?’

  ‘Jack the Lad?’

  Vera’s face cleared. ‘Jack’s a good man. He helped me move into the council place that I had for a while. Got me my first cleaning job. I met him again down by the river a couple of years back. I was with Mikey. Jack asked if Mikey wanted guitar lessons and said he’d teach him, if he liked, but Mikey’s never been interested, so it came to nothing. You remember things like that, don’t you?’

  She pulled out the ironing board and the steam iron. ‘For years I didn’t know who had done what to me. Except that, obviously, I realized Abdi was involved when Mikey was born. I suspected it was Dick Prentice, too. But I didn’t really want to know. I didn’t want to think about it. Now … some of the time I think I ought to know and the rest of the time my mind veers away from the subject. Too painful. You’ve been finding out, haven’t you? These questions of yours. Were they about onlookers, or did they all rape me?’

  ‘You’re right. You need to know. There were four men involved. Dick Prentice brought the drug to the party, handed it to Gail, who handed it to you. He was first on top of you. Abdi was next. Then Raff, who was probably revenging himself on you for turning him down earlier. And lastly, Simon Trubody.’