Murder in House Page 23

  Diana eased herself closer to Denis. ‘I don’t know this man from Adam, but the other day I was showing some people round a house I own not far from here and he came to the door and said was I Ms Quicke, which of course I am. He said I was hiding his sister, which of course I wasn’t. He was wearing an animal mask, and he really frightened me. When I said I didn’t know what he was talking about, he started to hit me. You can still see the marks.’

  And indeed, the police could.

  Anthony jeered. ‘How did you recognize me, when I was wearing a mask?’

  ‘I didn’t recognize you then, no. Luckily a friend intervened and you ran away, but—’

  ‘You’re quite mad.’

  Diana raised her voice. ‘I recognized your voice when you came to the door here today and started yelling to be let in.’ That stopped him for the moment. Diana continued. ‘When you assaulted me the other day, I reported the incident to the police and the case must still be on file. After that, I went to stay with my mother. This flat is mine, but recently I lent it to my partner here. I’d been told that this madman – whatever his name is – has been asking around trying to find me, and it occurred to me that he might come here because my name and address is in the phone book. So this morning I came here to talk to Denis about moving out for a while, perhaps coming to stay with me at my mother’s.’

  Here Diana almost blushed. Meeting Ellie’s eye, she said, ‘Well, I told Thomas I was going to fetch Denis, and he said he’d speak to you about it, so I thought it would be all right.’

  Ellie ground her teeth. The effrontery of the girl! She could twist facts for England!

  ‘But when I got here we, well, got sidetracked.’

  To their credit, the police didn’t even snigger.

  Diana continued, ‘When this man started thumping at the door and ringing the doorbell, we were a little slow to answer it, I suppose. I got to the door first and looked through the spyhole. I saw this man, a complete stranger. He was yelling that he knew I was in here and had his sister, and I realized I’d heard him say those words before. I’d already had a taste of his fists, so I rang the police.

  ‘Denis didn’t understand what the man was like. He thought he could reason with him – show him around, prove to him that we didn’t have his sister in here. I told him not to, but he opened the door, and got knocked down! Can you believe it? This man walked straight in and threw a punch, and Denis went over, just like that! I was so frightened. I ran out into the road in my bare feet, and grabbed the first person who was passing, and got them to phone for an ambulance.

  ‘I didn’t go back into the flat till the paramedics came and they got here long before the police, and by that time my beautiful flat was wrecked, and this man was trying to slap Denis back to consciousness, and then they started fighting. Why don’t you arrest him and take him away and lock him up and make him see a shrink because I don’t know where his sister is, and I don’t care, either!’

  ‘I can’t believe it!’ mumbled Denis. He didn’t look his usual well-polished self either, but his cold, grey eyes burned as he focused on Anthony. Holding one hand to his jaw, he waved the other arm at the destruction around him. ‘Criminal damage. Assault. Throw the book at him.’

  Anthony said, ‘My father’s solicitor will tear you to pieces. The police can bear witness you assaulted me; broke my arm and my nose.’

  ‘A householder has the right to self-defence,’ said Denis, valiantly trying to rise from the floor, and falling back again.

  ‘You did the damage yourself,’ said Anthony, very sure of himself. He added an insult designed to hurt. ‘Old man!’ Next he turned on Ellie, eyes narrowed. ‘So you are the original Mrs Quicke, are you? It’s you I have to thank for wasting so much of my time?’

  ‘Yes, it’s me,’ said Ellie. ‘And if we’re going to play childish games, my husband’s bigger than you and I know where the bodies are buried, which is more than you do.’

  He made a convulsive movement as if to attack her, but Ellie merely smiled. ‘Oh, please do hit me. I’d love that. So would the police. That would give them all the evidence they need to haul you off down to the police station and charge you with grievous bodily harm.’

  ‘We’re doing that, anyway,’ said the policewoman.

  Anthony flushed. ‘What? You daren’t lay a finger on me! My father would—’

  ‘Whoever he is, your father is not above the law, and neither are you,’ said her colleague. ‘We’ll get the police surgeon to look at your arm at the same time. So let’s be going, shall we?’ He turned to Diana and Denis. ‘We’d like you both to come down to the station with us now, to file a complaint. Are you prepared to do that?’

  ‘When we’ve got some shoes on,’ said Diana. ‘Oh, and mother, it’s all right if Denis stays with us tonight, isn’t it? I mean, he can hardly stay here in this mess.’

  Ellie told herself that she could bear it, if she had to. And obviously she did have to. ‘Of course, dear. He can have Mrs Belton’s room.’

  Anthony simply couldn’t believe that he was being hauled to his feet by two police officers. ‘What? You, you fellow! Let go of me! It’s me that’s going to swear out a complaint against these two. And . . . what was that you said, woman? Mrs Belton’s been staying with you?’

  Ellie said, ‘She’s moved on, now. I’m afraid I don’t know where so it’s no good you trying to batter the truth out of me. Mia is out of your reach too.’

  He spat at her.

  ‘Now, now!’ said the woman police officer. Her colleague gave Anthony a shake, and thrust him towards the door.

  Ellie murmured to their departing backs, ‘Have a nice day.’ She reflected that some policemen and women were all the better for being ‘plods’ because they knew black and white when they saw it, and never bothered about shades of grey. She wondered how long they’d hold Anthony. Overnight, perhaps?

  Time for a council of war.

  ‘Dumbo, you’ve got to get me out of this. They’re keeping me down at the police station on some ridiculous charge. Father’s out and so is she. I need you to get hold of a solicitor and . . . yes, I know what time it is, just do it! I’m not spending the night in here with the winos.’

  ‘Ant, what you done now?’

  ‘I was finding Mrs Quicke, that’s what.’

  ‘You should have asked me. I got her address hours ago.’

  ‘What!’

  ‘Sure. Followed her from the Broadway. Big place, locked up tight. Servants, some sort of business being run in the coach house at the side. Lots of people around; cars coming and going. She must be well off.’

  ‘Well, don’t do anything till I get home. Right? Now, get me out of here!’

  Friday evening

  Back at home, Ellie threw together some sort of meal between making and receiving phone calls – one of which left her feeling disorientated, and inclined to retire to bed to weep. But she couldn’t do that, not with a houseful of people. Besides, she wasn’t made of paper, was she? Once she’d calmed down, she’d be able to think of a way through this horror.

  Thomas was distracted, trying to drag his attention away long enough from his conference on the morrow to listen to what Ellie was saying, but not succeeding terribly well. After all, it was a really important event in his life. Ellie told herself she mustn’t be selfish, demanding his attention all the time.

  Denis and Diana were all over one another. Yuk!

  Rose sniffed at regular intervals, driving everyone crazy.

  They ate round the kitchen table, but at Ellie’s suggestion, took their coffee into the big sitting room at the back of the house. The front doorbell rang now and then, ushering more people in for the council of war. Denis received a phone call on his mobile and was last to join them, looking furious and muttering to Diana.

  Finally, all were seated. Even Rose, who Ellie insisted should be included.

  Thomas gathered everyone’s attention. ‘It’s been a terrible time for all of us. We’r
e going to need cool heads and courage to get through what’s coming, so before we start, I’m going to ask you all to join with me in a couple of minutes of silent prayer, asking God for protection, and for the courage to outwit evil.’

  No one objected. Not even Denis, who Ellie thought was probably an atheist if he was anything.

  A moment of calm followed, which was much needed. Ellie even managed an arrow prayer herself: Dear Lord, save us. Please.

  Thomas came out of his moment of prayer with a smile. ‘Over to you, Ellie.’

  ‘Aren’t you going to chair the meeting, Thomas?’

  ‘No, no,’ he said, settling back comfortably. ‘You have all the information at your fingertips, so bring us up to date. Start with the phone call you had this evening which upset you so much.’

  Of course he’d noticed. She looked round at the anxious faces of her friends and family. ‘I suppose you could say we’re all under attack, one way or another. I know I am. Yes, Diana? What is it?’

  ‘Someone knows we’re here. Denis had a phone call on his mobile just now.’ She was controlling herself with an effort. Denis slumped forward, holding an ice pack to his chin. Ellie had never seen him anything but totally in command of himself and the situation, but now he seemed shrunken. Humiliation at being knocked out in front of Diana? His eyes still burned with fury, but it was a banked-down fire.

  Diana said, ‘Denis and I laid a formal complaint against Anthony Prior this afternoon at the police station. He, in turn, laid one against us. The police were very polite to him. More so than they were to us. A solicitor arrived at the station to represent Anthony before we left, and now –’ she swallowed but continued – ‘they’ve traced us here. I don’t understand how they seem to know our every move. How did they know how to contact us?’

  ‘I expect that now Anthony’s sorted out that you are estate agents, he’s tried the agency phone. That gives Denis’s mobile number if you’re out of the office, doesn’t it? It’s no magic that he tried it and got you here.’

  ‘Oh. Well, yes. I suppose that’s it. Denis, you tell them what he said.’

  Denis’s chin was swollen, and he spoke with difficulty. ‘Whoever it was – and it wasn’t Anthony – didn’t give his name. It was a deep voice, not one I recognize, saying that if I knew what was good for the agency, we would withdraw all charges against Anthony. Otherwise, the speaker couldn’t be responsible for what might happen to any properties we had on our books. There was some mention of –’ he blenched but continued – ‘arson. That any property on our books might go up in flames.’

  Diana moaned softly. ‘We’ll have to withdraw the charges. We can’t risk it.’

  Roy could hardly sit still. ‘These threats! Why don’t the police take them seriously? I was just about to leave work when I got a phone call from Prior. He asked how I was getting on with raising the money to buy into the new block. I said I was having to back out, shortage of cash, terribly sorry and all that. He said he was sorry to hear it, that he’d give me twenty-four hours to rethink. I went home and . . .’ his voice broke.

  He took control of himself with an effort. ‘There was another phone call, not from Prior. A deeper voice. Saying that people who broke promises shouldn’t live in glass houses and that there was a lot of glass in my house, and what a pity if it got into my little girl’s eyes, or my wife’s.

  ‘I was so jittery I could hardly hold the phone, but I managed to get through to the police to tell them what had happened. I had to admit I didn’t recognize the voice. They said they’d log the call but it was probably just a joke. A joke! I didn’t want to alarm Felicity, but she saw I was distressed. Kate was there too. Kate said I must tell you, Ellie, and you said we were having this meeting, so that’s why I’m here.’

  He got to his feet, started to tramp around the room. ‘I’ll have to sell everything I’ve got, everything. I don’t know how, at the moment. Kate says I mustn’t give in, but I’m not risking my family’s eyesight.’

  Thomas guided him back to his seat. ‘Calm down, Roy. We’re here to find a way out of this, and that’s what we’re going to do.’

  There was an indrawn breath from Armand, who put up his hand to speak next. ‘I had a call rather like that when I got home from school. A deep voice. I don’t know this Mr Prior, have never spoken to him to my knowledge, so can’t say who it was. The voice said I’d been very foolish to suggest Anthony had made threats—’

  ‘What?’ said Ellie. ‘Wait a minute. You didn’t report Anthony’s visit to your house to the police, did you? Now, I only told the police about it this afternoon. I said you thought you’d know the man again, and had the licence number of his car.’

  ‘Which means,’ said Armand, ‘that what you said to the police this afternoon went straight back to Mr Prior.’

  Thomas lifted a finger in a warning gesture. ‘Let’s be accurate. The deep voice doesn’t necessarily belong to Mr Prior himself. It might be someone acting for him.’

  ‘Either way,’ said Armand, ‘when I got the call, I started laughing because it sounded so ridiculous. After a little while, I realized that it was serious, and I got angry. How dare he! So I rang Kate to see if she were all right, and she said I should ring Ellie. And that’s why I’m here.’

  Diana looked bewildered. ‘Did Armand get a visit from Anthony too? Why?’

  Ellie explained. ‘Yes, he did. Anthony visited him in an attempt to discover where I might be. Anthony came off worst in that encounter, which must have hurt his pride. Armand’s wife and children have been staying with Felicity and Roy ever since, but as Kate has pointed out, this can’t go on indefinitely.’

  Ellie looked at Thomas for a lead, but he signed for her to proceed.

  She said, ‘I, too, have had a phone call from Mr Prior. It definitely was him. A lightish voice, with a slight Midlands twang. I’ve never to my knowledge met him, but I have no doubt that it was the man in person. He said that he’d been informed that I was slandering him, that he felt his reputation was under threat. That, as he was so much in the public eye, he could not afford to let the matter pass. With sorrow, he was therefore instructing his solicitors to sue me. He said he was sure to win the case, as I hadn’t a shred of evidence against him.

  ‘He went on to say that if I made a public apology at a drinks party he’s giving tomorrow night, and brought Ursula, he would forget the matter except for the small matter of damages. I am supposed to send him a cheque for a million pounds to the charity of his choice. With those conditions met, he would be prepared to forget the matter.’

  ‘What!’ Armand jumped up from his chair. ‘A million pounds? And I suppose we can guess which will be the charity of his choice! Himself! Or, I suppose, he’ll distribute some to his favourite charities. You won’t pay, of course.’

  Thomas said, ‘Didn’t he ask for Mia, as well?’

  ‘No, he didn’t. I’m not sure why. Perhaps he knows she’s no longer marketable. As for paying him off, certainly not! I don’t have that sort of money. All my worldly wealth goes into my charitable foundations, and I couldn’t possibly persuade the trustees to let me have any for blackmailers. And I wouldn’t dream of asking.’

  ‘Bravo!’ Thomas clapped.

  SEVENTEEN

  Thomas’s praise made Ellie go pink with pleasure. ‘Well, now we’ve put all the pieces together, we can see how he works,’ said Ellie. ‘As soon as he’s opposed, he uses threats both in his own name, and also through someone we can call Deep Throat for ease of reference. He follows up the threats by getting others to take physical action: wrecking Mrs Belton’s flat, and so on.’

  ‘Agreed.’

  ‘Yes.’

  Diana said, ‘Anthony’s Deep Throat, isn’t he?’

  Ellie hesitated. ‘I don’t think so. Anthony’s voice is rather like his father’s, wouldn’t you agree? A light, well-educated, public school voice. Does that chime with what everyone has heard of the phone threats?’

  A general shaking o
f heads. ‘A deep voice. Very masculine.’

  Ellie continued, ‘I agree that Anthony does seem to have done some of the rough work, including today’s visit to you, Diana, and his visit to Armand. But Mrs Belton described two quite different people: younger, thinner, not so well groomed, so well spoken or even so well washed.’

  Roy was puzzled. ‘How many people are there working for Prior?’

  ‘I’m not sure that they are all working for him, precisely. I think that there’s a chain of command, with Mr Prior at the top. He maintains a front of solid respectability, and sues anyone who dares to murmur that he’s not perfect. Then there’s the Deep Throat person, who acts for him. Deep Throat is the enforcer, making sure that opposition vanishes wherever it raises its head. Perhaps it’s Mr Prior’s solicitor? I really have no idea. Also acting in his father’s interests is Anthony Prior, who has – don’t let’s forget – a number of bright young things of both sexes prepared to go along with his slightest whim.’

  ‘So the people who attacked Mrs Belton are in Anthony’s group of friends?’

  ‘N–no. Anthony’s friends are all much of a muchness, as you can see from these photos that Dan threw away. Young, well dressed, slender of body, educated. See?’ Ellie passed round the photos. ‘On the fringe of his group, Anthony also has access to a number of pretty young girls who are used by his father to attract and amuse businessmen with whom Mr Prior had dealings.’

  Armand threw the photos down in disgust. ‘Not a thick-necked thug among them. Are we looking for bouncers from a nightclub, perhaps?’

  Ellie shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think so. It’s horrid, but I’m afraid the link is through Anthony’s younger brother, Timothy, and his friendship with Dan, Ursula’s ex-fiancé. Tim and Dan have always been close. Dan has no money; is desperate for a job, which he’s been promised by the Priors. Dan lives at home in a boarding house for students run by his divorced mother. Their lodgers are all hard up, young and hungry. The Priors held a Halloween party last year and had lots of masks for their guests. Dan and Ursula didn’t go, but I wonder if it gave the students the idea that they could behave as badly as they liked, if they wore masks.’