False Alarm Read online

  She let the door slam to behind her and dived for the nearest loo. Up it came. Ugh. And again.

  Another slam of the door. Dilys had followed her. ‘Can I help? The waiter admits there was some lobster in the sauce! Oh dear.’

  Bea retched again. And again. She wanted to tell the girl to go away, but hadn’t enough energy to do so. Dilys hovered. Bea slipped down to the floor, and stayed there, waiting for the next upheaval.

  The door banged again as another diner entered. And banged again when she left. Dilys disappeared. Bang.

  Which reminded her. Dimly. Kamran said his daughter hadn’t heard anything after the caretaker took a dive down into the yard, except – and he wasn’t entirely sure about that – she might have heard a door closing.

  Which meant that she could guess – as he had – who’d killed the caretaker.

  And he’d passed that information on to Bea, who was quite unable to do anything about it.

  ‘You poor thing,’ said Dilys, reappearing with a bottle of mineral water in her hand and a box of tissues. ‘Max has told the maître d’, who’s told the cook, and they’re taking that dish off the menu and of course there’ll be no charge for the meal, but oh dear! Poor you! Could you drink some water? Here, I’ve got some tissues. If I wet them, I can get you cleaned up. And then we’ll take you home.’

  Bea croaked, ‘Water. Thanks.’

  Dilys ministered to her. Good for Dilys. Nice child. Deserved a better partner in life than Benton.

  At last Bea got to her feet, swaying, stomach empty.

  Dilys fetched Bea’s coat; Max had a cab waiting, and she was transported home. She saw that the answerphone light was blinking in the hall, but she ignored it. She’d be all right tomorrow. Hopefully.

  EIGHTEEN

  Sunday night to Monday morning

  A disturbed night. Bea went on retching at intervals. The floor rose up to meet her when she got off the bed. Luckily, her bedroom was en suite.

  She dozed and woke. It was morning.

  What day of the week? Monday? Probably. She felt dreadful.

  She tottered down the stairs to feed the cat and collect some bottled water to drink. She mustn’t get dehydrated or she’d be seriously ill. She used the internal phone to advise the manageress at the agency that she’d been incapacitated, found her mobile phone and went back to bed. She was alone in the house but didn’t want company, thank you very much.

  She dozed awhile. Her symptoms were subsiding. Or were they? No, they weren’t. She made it back to the toilet just in time. And dozed off.

  In the evening she fed the cat and began to worry about Maggie and Oliver. She rang Maggie, who never ever turned her mobile phone off. It was turned off this time, though.

  She rang Oliver, who did answer eventually. ‘Oliver, are you both all right?’

  Oliver sounded subdued. ‘Sorry not to have rung you. Maggie and I had a rough night. Stomach upset. Something we ate. But we’re all right now, more or less.’

  So they’d had a reaction to the lobster, too? No, no. Think straight, Bea. They didn’t have lobster for supper and . . . they must have eaten something else. But they were all right now, which was more than she could say for herself. She envied the ability of youth to throw things off.

  ‘What happened?’ said Bea, trying to think clearly. ‘Is Lady Ossett all right?’

  ‘Sure. They didn’t eat with us last night. Stayed out till late.’

  ‘Oh. Good. I think. I’ve had a stomach upset, too. Speak tomorrow.’

  She went back to bed.

  Tuesday

  She got up, feeling swimmy in the head. She knew she ought to eat something, but couldn’t face it. It was odd that Maggie and Oliver had also had a stomach upset. She had a horrid feeling she was missing something important. Her head was muzzy. She couldn’t think.

  She rang Oliver again.

  He sounded tired. ‘Yes, we had another late night. I don’t know how you oldies cope! Lady O quarrelled with the Professor about something obscure in a crossword puzzle, would you believe? Then, just as we were about to go to bed she decided to change all the furniture round and we were up till two o’clock doing that. She had me on the Internet looking for new lamps to buy. Yes, you might well laugh . . .’

  Bea really was laughing. She hadn’t thought she could, but she did. ‘Has Maggie been able to go off to work today?’

  ‘Looking like death, but yes; she has gone. I promised not to leave Her Ladyship alone, which is fine because she isn’t out of bed yet and I gather she has appointments with the beauticians this afternoon. She’s got them coming here, rather than her going to them. I thought I might be able to get away, but she’s paranoid about being left alone.’

  Maybe she was right to be paranoid. ‘It’s all right, Oliver. You look after her. I’m OK. Or soon will be.’

  ‘The Professor knocked on the door a while back with a bunch of flowers for Her Highness, so I imagine all will soon be fine in that department again.’

  ‘You think it’s a match made in heaven?’

  ‘What has heaven got to do with it?’ Oliver was unusually terse.

  ‘Well, I’ve been off colour for a while, too, so I’m taking it easy today. I should be back on form again tomorrow. Keep in touch, right?’

  She made herself some toast and decided she didn’t want it. Ate half a banana. Fed the cat. Drank a lot of water. Checked with the agency that all was well. Was asked what she wanted to do about a request for a caretaker that had come in over the weekend. Bea remembered this was Sir Lucas’s attempt to involve her further in his network. She told her manageress to say that the Abbot Agency didn’t provide caretakers and that they would pass the enquiry on to someone who did.

  Bea was not, definitely not going to be drawn into Sir Lucas’s orbit. The manageress was considerate enough to ask how Bea was feeling, and to recommend that she drank flat Coca Cola to replace the salts she’d been losing. Bea didn’t have any in the house. ‘I’ll send one of the girls out for some for you.’

  A large bottle of Coca Cola duly appeared. Bea was instructed to drop a few grains of sugar into the liquid, to reduce the bubbles before she drank any. With some misgivings she followed the instructions and, slightly to her surprise, it did help.

  She dozed on the settee. Tried to think. The others hadn’t eaten the lobster, so . . . what did that mean?

  After a while she got up to hunt for a telephone number which she hadn’t used for some time.

  The detective inspector was not available at the moment. What had she expected? That he rush to her side with handcuffs ready to take someone into custody? That wasn’t likely to happen, was it?

  The odds were against anybody doing anything.

  She might as well let the matter drop, forget all about the people in the flats, and concentrate on minding her own business.

  Wednesday morning

  She woke with a slight headache, after a quiet night, but otherwise feeling she was on the mend. She drank some more water, managed to make her way into the shower and out again. She looked in the mirror and blenched. She looked as if she’d aged ten years. Would make-up help? No. She wasn’t ready for that yet.

  She knew she had to get some food inside her, but the thought of cooking made her feel faint. Perhaps some dry biscuits?

  If only Maggie or Oliver could return . . . But they were looking after Maggie’s mother, and it was right that they should do so, or Lady Ossett might meet with an ‘accidental’ death, too.

  How to prevent it? Well, she wasn’t capable of preventing a fly from settling on her arm at the moment, so she must put them out of her mind until she felt better.

  She didn’t feel up to getting dressed. She brushed out her hair, put on some lipstick, a housecoat, and her bedroom slippers. Very gently she let herself down one flight of the stairs to the kitchen.

  Tea. Not too hot. A plain biscuit, or even two? Another half of a banana. They stayed down.

  Winston required
to be fed. She obliged. She scanned the Business section of the morning papers, and yes, there was a report about a forthcoming AGM at Vicori House where ructions were expected, tra la. She wondered how Sir Lucas’s broken arm was getting on.

  She could tell that her agency staff were at work, as the phones were ringing down below. She accessed the messages on her answerphone. Nothing drastic, but one of them needed to be attended to. She took a note about it downstairs, thanked her manageress for the Coca Cola and said she hoped to be back at work the following day. She was told that at her age it would take time to recover. Thanks very much. On her way out, she remembered that young Evonne and Connor might call at some point looking for a job, so she warned the manageress to look out for them and help them if possible. But if not . . . tough!

  Back upstairs she let a few tears fall. Then brushed them away.

  Dear Lord, what am I supposed to do? Two deaths already. Possibly a third. A man’s arm broken. He could easily have made a fourth. And no one is being called to account for it. I feel as if I’m shouting into a bank of mist.

  I’ve asked all the right questions, I’ve tried to make people see what’s happening, and what do I get for it? A bonk on the head and food poisoning.

  Max ought to have made sure I didn’t have any dish with lobster in it, when he was ordering. Uh, oh. Not his fault. I should have made sure of it myself.

  I’ve tried to talk to CJ. He doesn’t want to know.

  Piers can’t help. Not his scene.

  Max . . .? Don’t be daft. If I can prevent him from pinning his colours to the Holland and Butcher mast, that’s as much as I can manage.

  She noticed that a heavy rain was falling outside. That would wash the remains of the snow away . . . together with the footprints on the fire escape.

  Even the elements were conspiring against her.

  She hauled herself upstairs, pulled on casual clothes and attempted some make-up. It made her feel better. Slightly. Winston the cat came up to keep her company. She made her bed, put aside for cleaning the dress she’d worn to the restaurant.

  As she stood at the front window, looking out over the street, where the cars were going swish, swish as they passed by, she heard an inner voice say, for evil to triumph, it is only necessary for good men to do nothing.

  Did that mean she had to try once more to get someone to interfere at the flats? Possibly. But she couldn’t do it by herself. She’d tried that. She needed help.

  She’d asked for help and nothing had happened.

  Don’t give up.

  She went downstairs, found some paper and her notebook, and settled down to making a chart of who lived where at the flats, with appropriate comments. It took some time, but clarified her thoughts.

  Her front doorbell rang, and someone let himself into the house. ‘Mother?’

  Max. Of course.

  She didn’t feel up to arguing with him. ‘Dear Max; how thoughtful of you to call. Yes, I am feeling a little better this morning. Not quite my usual self, but getting there.’

  ‘I suppose it could have been worse.’ He was grumpy this morning. ‘I had to explain to Benton that you were not feeling the thing.’

  ‘No, indeed. Dilys was sweet. A nice child.’

  He wasn’t interested in Dilys. ‘I said we’d have to meet up again, as soon as you’re back on your feet. What about tomorrow lunchtime?’

  Why couldn’t he take a hint that she was not interested in the projected merger? She decided to play the invalid card for all it was worth. She let herself down on to the settee and put her feet up. Winston leaped on to her lap, turned around three times, and deflated. She closed her eyes. ‘I do hope I’m not going to be sick again.’

  He blenched. ‘Can’t you get Maggie to look after you?’

  ‘I would if she weren’t guarding her mother’s back. Oliver, too. I can’t draw them away from the front line.’

  ‘What front line?’

  She didn’t reply, but kept her eyes closed. She could hear him shuffling around, fiddling with his watch strap, unwilling to waste a minute but also unwilling to risk being there if she was going to be sick.

  He touched her forehead. Clumsy boy. But tender-hearted. ‘Hope you feel better soon.’

  She didn’t open her eyes, and heard him leave the house. Good. She snuggled down, one hand in Winston’s fur. The cat was purring. She relaxed. Slept.

  Awoke to a peal on the front doorbell. Was it afternoon, already?

  Winston had departed. She stood up, feeling more like herself, and went to let her caller in. Detective Inspector Durrell. Intelligent, laid back, of mixed ancestry, with a growing family and a wicked sense of humour.

  Maybe God had answered her prayers, after all. ‘Am I glad to see you!’ She almost kissed him.

  ‘They pulled me off another case to deal with you.’ He looked yearningly towards the kitchen. ‘You haven’t any food or drink on the go, have you? I seem to have missed lunch. And breakfast.’ He thought about it. ‘I did have something to eat last night. I think.’

  She led the way to the kitchen. ‘I’m recovering from a bout of food poisoning which you won’t want to know about but which . . . How many people have to get sick before health and safety close down a restaurant?’

  ‘What?’

  She sighed. ‘No, I don’t suppose one person being sick is enough. I asked if the fish dish had lobster in it and was told that it didn’t. But it did. The restaurant apologized of course, but personally I don’t think it was very helpful of them to say there wasn’t any lobster in the dish when there was. So I’ve been knocked out for the last couple of days. Well, put that one down to experience and refuse to visit that particular restaurant again, right? I could do with something to eat now. What would you like?’

  ‘Anything.’ He stretched. Seated himself on a stool. Winston the cat immediately jumped up on to him and sat there, purring, confident that by this means he’d get to be fed.

  She opened the fridge. She couldn’t take fried food. There were some chicken fillets. She enquired of her stomach whether or not they would do and received an affirmative answer. ‘Something with chicken and rice do you?’

  ‘You’re a wonder, Mrs Abbot. And a pain in the derrière, of course.’

  She tried to laugh. ‘You’ve been told to silence me; is that right?’

  ‘Not at all. I’ve been told you know where to find the villain in the case.’

  She gaped. ‘What! Who . . .?’

  ‘Tariq. There’s a warrant out for his arrest, and the word is that you will know where to find him.’ He twisted round to look up at the cupboards behind him. ‘Are there any biscuits in the tin? Or some of your home-made cake? I have the fondest memories of working with you before. Your cooking is out of this world.’

  ‘I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I suppose this is Sir Lucas getting back at me because I refuse to bow down and worship at his shrine. I’m in shock. I haven’t the slightest idea where Tariq may be. Anyway, what’s he charged with?’

  ‘Everything from spitting in the street to murder.’

  ‘What nonsense.’ She sent him a sharp look. ‘I’ll feed you, but in return you’ll promise to listen to my side of the story, right? I suppose you’ve been told that nothing must rock Sir Lucas’s boat, and that I’m a silly woman whose imagination has run away with her.’

  ‘Serious doubts have been raised as to your sanity. I’m informed on the highest authority that as soon as you’ve told me where he’s hiding you should take a holiday in the sun.’ He found some peanuts and started to eat them.

  Bea put a saucepan under the tap and dropped it. ‘Sorry. Still rather tottery, I’m afraid.’

  A firm hand took the pan off her. ‘You’re not fit. You sit down, and I’ll cook.’

  ‘You can cook?’

  ‘I learned when my wife was tied up with three children under school age.’ He set the water on to boil. ‘Now; start from the beginning. Someone attempted to kill Sir Lu
cas—’

  ‘Well, actually, I don’t think they did. His fall was collateral damage.’

  ‘You amaze me! And not for the first time. You keep the onions in a stand by the back door, I seem to remember. Go on.’

  ‘I have to set the scene first. Sir Lucas is a giant spider. He sits in the middle of a beautiful web, a structure with worldwide appeal which attracts lots of shiny, juicy flies. Once within his orbit, the flies find they’re so entangled that they can’t get free.’

  ‘Ah. He gives out money and patronage, so no one wants to offend him? Carry on.’

  ‘He likes to think that everything in sight belongs to him. When he moved into the block of flats in which he and his wife lived, he tried – and mostly he succeeded – to put all the other tenants on short-term contracts only. Yes, this is important, so you needn’t look bored.’

  ‘Was I? Where’s the salt? Ah. Got it.’

  ‘This meant he could control the tenants who lived in the flats. Three or four people who’d lived there before he owned the freehold resisted his charms, and kept their long-term contracts, but they were all senior citizens and he could afford to wait for them to die off. To encourage them to think about moving, however, he raised the service rents, which put pressure on those with a restricted income. You follow me?’

  ‘He’s a business man. Yes.’

  ‘He issued new contracts to some tenants and put money into other tenants’ businesses. Carmela was his “therapist”; don’t ask me what that means because I don’t know. He put money into the dominatrix Cynthia’s business. A colleague took another flat which is currently occupied by his daughter. Then there was one leased out to a couple of Sir Lucas’s employees, which was eventually sublet to Tariq.’

  ‘Ah; now we’re getting to it. He’s the man I’m hunting, the man who set the trap which set Sir Lucas tumbling down the stairs.’

  ‘No, it wasn’t him. To get back to Sir Lucas. Men who run empires are always looking over their shoulders to see who wants to stab them in the back next. Consider his situation: he’s facing a hostile takeover bid, and he suspects someone in the company is trying to oust him from power. In addition he’s planning to divorce his current wife and take on a younger woman who has money of her own. When he trips and falls he assumes it’s all part and parcel of a plot to get rid of him. He sets his security people to ferret out the mole at Vicori House and – realizing that if the wire across the stairs had been intended for him, his enemy must have an accomplice at the flats – he looks around for someone to blame there as well. He jumps to the conclusion that the villain must be Tariq, but even he needs a smidgeon of proof, so he brings in an outsider to investigate.’