Murder By Committee Read online

  ‘I daresay,’ said Ellie, who was hungry and noticed that the others had started to eat. ‘But the police might not trust your people either. I can assure you this is an independent expert, who'd stand up to scrutiny by the police. Best leave it at that.’

  Was he grinding his teeth? Was he already in his car on the way back to town? It sounded rather like it. He said, ‘Do you know if Arthur's missed his laptop yet?’

  ‘We think he may have done. He's tried to ring Felicity, but she turned her mobile off, and I'm not at home. He may look there, of course, but the house will be in darkness. He doesn't know anything about my aunt, so we're safe enough here for the moment.’

  ‘How do you propose to return his laptop and mobile without his bringing a charge of theft against you?’

  ‘I'm not sure. We'll probably say Felicity was so flustered when she left, that she didn't realize that she'd packed them with her things. We'll get them back to him this evening.’

  ‘You're at your aunt's, you say. Where is that?’

  Ellie thought it over. ‘I think I'd prefer not to tell you. Better safe than sorry. I do hope your son pulls through. Goodbye.’ She shut off the phone and took her place at the table. The others were halfway through their platefuls, and eyeing hers, so she tucked in.

  Aunt Drusilla was pecking at something bland. She was not resting easily in her chair either. Her hip must be causing her a lot of pain.

  A ring at the door, and Rose called out, ‘Yoohoo! Jock's here. I'll take him straight in, shall I?’

  Aunt Drusilla tried to rise, and fell back in her chair with a suppressed exclamation of pain. ‘Ellie, you explain what we need done.’

  Ellie abandoned her half-empty plate, hoping the rest of her food would still be there when she returned, and went into the dining room, where a young black man, sporting gold rings at ears, nose and eyebrow, was setting up a laptop on the table. Miss Quicke had referred to Jock as a ‘boy', and to her he must seem youthful, though he must have been in his late twenties. He was dressed all in black, with every item of clothing sporting a name. Nike, mostly.

  ‘I'm Miss Quicke's niece,’ said Ellie. ‘What she wants is to-’ ‘Have a look at what this other fella's been up to, right?’ He had the typical West Londoner's glottal stop, missing off the end of words. He didn't seem bothered about the ethics of what he was about to do.

  ‘Yes. You see, the police-’

  ‘Sure.’ He opened his own laptop, produced a wire, and connected it to Sir Arthur's. His fingers danced over keys. He sniffed. Coughed. He seemed to have a cold.

  Rose came through with a tray for him. A full-size plate of roast beef with all the trimmings, plus a can of beer. ‘How's your wife, Jock? And the little one?’

  ‘Fine, Rose. The little one's teething. No need for you ladies to hang around. I'll be all right now. Let you know when I'm done.’ Dismissed, Rose and Ellie retreated to the hall. Ellie lowered her voice to say to Rose, ‘My aunt's in a lot of pain, Has she got something to help her sleep?’

  Rose replied, also low down. ‘I'm not supposed to tell you, but after you'd all had a go at her the other day, she did make an appointment to see the specialist next week.’ She raised her voice again. ‘I'll bring in the coffee in just a minute.’

  The two women nodded at one another, well pleased by this exchange of information, and Ellie returned to the drawing room to find the others starting on apple pie with cream. Nine o'clock. How long would it be before Sir Arthur tracked them down? How long was Jock going to take to copy the hard disc?

  When Ellie had cleared her plate of apple pie, Miss Quicke announced that they really must get on and deal with the mobile. Her phone rang. Everyone froze, looking at it. Then relaxed, for it couldn't be Sir Arthur, could it? Miss Quicke picked it up, and handed it over to Ellie.

  ‘Ellie, thank God you're there. What's going on? It's Kate. Sorry. Should have said. The thing is, I wasn't sure where you'd be. Took a chance.’ It wasn't like Kate to panic.

  ‘What is it, Kate?’ Ellie saw the others were all listening.

  ‘Sir Arthur came to the door here about a quarter of an hour ago. Diana was with him. Very angry. Wanted to know where you were. I said I hadn't the slightest idea, which was the truth, of course. He didn't believe me. He pushed past me, knocked Armand down, and searched the house, waking the baby, can you believe? He shoved me against the wall and said I'd better tell him where you were. So I asked him whatever was the matter, had there been an accident, because I hadn't seen you all day. Armand agreed. Armand was furious - you know how he can be - and said he was calling the police. He got as far as dialing nine-nine-nine before Sir Arthur pulled the phone away from the wall and stormed out.’

  Ellie sank on to the nearest chair, trying to think. Arthur was looking for her already!

  Kate continued, ‘Armand phoned the police on his mobile, but while he did so, Sir Arthur got into his car and stormed off. There are lights on in every room in your house. The curtains haven't been drawn, though, and I can see Diana is there …’

  ‘Diana has her own key. She must have let them in.’

  ‘Yes, and made a mess. They've been looking for something, to judge by the way things have been thrown around. I rang the bell and Diana came to the door. Said you'd stolen something of Sir Arthur's and he wanted it back. She seemed to think you might have gone up to see Mrs Dawes …’

  ‘No. Tomorrow.’

  ‘Well, apparently there was a message on the answerphone from Mrs Dawes and they thought you might be there, and that's where he's gone.’

  Ellie put her hand over her eyes. ‘Kate, that's terrible! Mrs Dawes has got nothing to do with this, and at the moment she can hardly walk because she's hurt her bad knee. She'll have difficulty getting to the door to answer it, and if he were to push her over …’

  ‘I'll get Armand to tell the police that, get them to go round there. Do I need to ask what this is all about?’

  ‘The less you know, the better. Except, you might tell Gwyn that Sir Arthur thinks he's shored up his defences today. I'll be back later. Catch up with you tomorrow, with any luck.’

  ‘Oh, before you go,’ said Kate, ‘you wanted some information on poisoners. I ran off some stuff from the Internet, and dropped it through your letter box, all right?’

  Ellie thanked Kate, put the phone down and relayed what she'd learned to the others. ‘I can trust Armand to get the police to go round to Mrs Dawes', I think. She may even have gone to bed by now, and if Sir Arthur finds the house in darkness, presumably he won't try to get in.’

  Thomas grunted, ‘I wouldn't put it past him. Tell you what, I know a retired soldier lives in that road. How's about I give him a ring, ask him to keep an eye out for any ructions? I'll tell him not to get involved, but if there's any trouble, he can ring the police too. That should do it.’

  Felicity asked, ‘If Arthur's not at home, would it be a good idea if I rang there and left a message, saying I was having supper with friends but I'd found his laptop among my things, and would drop it back there later this evening?’

  Thomas considered that. ‘He may not believe you, but it's as good an excuse as any.’

  The others agreed, so Felicity got out her mobile, and made the call.

  ‘You won't go back there by yourself,’ said Roy, coming over all noble and protective.

  ‘Of course not,’ said Felicity, giving him a baby stare. ‘With a bit of luck, he'll still be out searching for us when I take the stuff back. I'll get a minicab to take me there. The cab driver can watch while I drop it in the porch and then I'll make a quick getaway. Arthur won't do anything in front of a minicab driver - especially if I haven't paid him.’

  Felicity had, in effect, refused Roy's offer of assistance, so presumably she'd discounted him as a future boyfriend? Good. Roy wasn't making too good a showing at the moment. He seemed to be forthcoming and withdrawn by fits and starts. He definitely had something on his mind. She caught Miss Quicke's eye, and they exch
anged a moment of concern about Roy. Well, one or other of them would get it - whatever ‘it' was - out of him sooner rather than later.

  Thomas was fiddling with Sir Arthur's mobile. Time to listen to the messages.

  Nineteen

  Thomas said, ‘There seem to be two messages. What do you make of this, Ellie? The first message was recorded at seven p.m. on Saturday evening. He's speaking quite loudly. Can you all hear it?’

  He pressed the button, and they heard a man's voice speaking above traffic noise. ‘Mutt and Jeff are OK, no problem. I've seen Leonardo, and he's wriggling, but he'll come through in the end. I'll be at home if you need me.’

  Ellie seized a piece of paper and looked for a pen in her bag. ‘Mutt and Jeff …’

  Felicity said, ‘Can you really do shorthand? I thought all that went out with the Ark.’

  ‘It did,’ said Ellie, refusing to take umbrage. ‘But it's useful. Now, have I got this right? “Mutt and Jeff are OK.” Did he say, “Leonardo”? As in “da Vinci”?’

  ‘That's what I heard. Who's Leonardo?’ said Thomas.

  ‘Leonardo di Caprio,’ said Felicity, looking smug. ‘The film star, of course.’

  Once again Ellie met her aunt's eye, and this time both looked away. They'd guessed who “Leonardo” was. “Leonardo da Vinci” had been rather clever with a pen and pencil, and so was Roy. But they were not going to say anything before the others, unless Roy admitted to it, and it appeared he wasn't going to. No way.

  ‘“Mutt and Jeff?”’ Roy was frowning at the ceiling. ‘Pseudonyms, I assume. Hit men?’

  ‘The men who ran young Julian down?’ This was Thomas. ‘Anyone recognize the man's voice?’

  ‘I think it's Martinez,’ said Felicity. ‘Arthur's PA. He's slimy.’ She shuddered. ‘But clever. If the accident with Julian was arranged, then he'd have been the one to do it. You can be pretty sure that “Mutt and Jeff” won't talk. Even if we could find them.’ ‘We leave all that to the police,’ said Miss Quicke. ‘What about the other message?’

  It was Martinez again. This time there was no sound of traffic in the background, and the voice was clearer. ‘I'm taking a few days off. Family trouble back home. I'll be in touch.’

  Thomas said, ‘Recorded this afternoon, Sunday, two p.m. Do you think he'd just heard that the boy whose “accident” he'd arranged was fighting for his life? So he's making himself scarce? Felicity, do you know where his home is?’

  Felicity shrugged. ‘Spain? Morocco?’

  Ellie finished writing it down, and read it out. Everyone nodded. She'd transcribed it perfectly.

  Miss Quicke said, ‘You can type it out and we'll all sign it as being a correct record of what we've heard. Is there anything else we can learn from the phone before we give it back?’

  ‘Address book,’ suggested Ellie. ‘Read out all the numbers, Thomas. The police may find them useful.’

  Rose had cleared the table, so Ellie and Thomas got into a huddle, taking down the numbers. Felicity twirled a lock of hair round her finger. Roy fidgeted until his mother told him not to. Then he suggested a game of whist to pass the time.

  Everyone looked at him in amazement, and he reddened, apologized, said he didn't know what he was thinking of. Ellie met Miss Quicke's eye, and they both sighed gently.

  ‘Roy,’ said Miss Quicke. ‘Go and see if Jock wants any more food, there's a dear. Ask him how long he's going to be. It's past my bedtime, but I can't leave things up in the air like this. Felicity, my dear, would you like to stay here tonight?’

  Felicity shook her head. ‘I've got to get the laptop and mobile back to Arthur, and all my things are at Ellie's.’

  Diana was also at Ellie's. How long would she stay? Would Arthur meet her back there? Ellie had quite often regretted letting her daughter have a key, but she'd never gone so far as to demand it back, or have the locks changed. Perhaps she'd do just that, now.

  Jock appeared in the doorway, cheerful but coughing. ‘All done. Who wants the disc?’

  Miss Quicke held up her hand, and beckoned him over to her. She pulled him down so that she could speak in his ear. He nodded once or twice, said ‘Can do!’ and reached for a tissue to blow his nose. Miss Quicke said, ‘Jock, you aren't going down with another cold, are you?’

  ‘No, no. The wife says I ought to take time off, but you know how it is.’

  ‘I do.’ Miss Quicke said. ‘Let me have a bill, as usual. Treble time on Sundays, remember. My regards to your wife.’

  Rose appeared, holding the tray she'd taken in to Jock. ‘He's only eaten half his food, Miss Quicke.’

  ‘You're too good to me, and I'd eaten already,’ said Jock, and removed himself. Ellie listened for the front door closing, but it didn't. Had Jock gone back into the dining room to collect his things? Oh, probably.

  Everyone looked at the clock. Nearly ten. ‘Past my bedtime,’ said Miss Quicke.

  Ellie said, ‘Give me a few minutes on your computer, Aunt Drusilla, and I'll run this stuff off for you. If someone can dictate the numbers to me, that would make it even quicker.’

  Felicity didn't volunteer, but Thomas did. He followed her into the dining room, where Miss Quicke's computer was all set up and running. Also set up and running was a strange laptop. Jock's? Thomas didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, because he hadn't been in this room before, but Ellie did.

  As she settled herself at her aunt's computer, she began to wonder about the last-minute whispered instructions Miss Quicke had given to Jock. He'd had the hard drive in his hand when he came into the room. And when he went out again. So what had he done with it?

  Thomas cleared his throat. ‘Do you want to open a new document?’

  Flustered, Ellie concentrated on opening a document and started to type in her transcription of the messages on the mobile, and also the address-book details. Thomas's diction was good. She was getting a little tired, but by dint of concentrating hard, they had soon run off a couple of copies of all the information they'd gleaned from the mobile phone.

  All the while, Ellie wondered why Jock had left his own laptop all set up and running, for Miss Quicke to use. Had he replaced his own hard drive with the copy of Sir Arthur's? So that Miss Quicke could access the information straight away? Probably. Should she say anything about it? Well, probably not. No.

  ‘Oof,’ said Ellie, easing her back. ‘Aunt's computer's at the wrong height for me. Now to get everyone to sign them as a true record, etcetera.’

  Time to restore Arthur's belongings to him. Hopefully when he wasn't there.

  Felicity signed the sheets and passed them to Miss Quicke. ‘I've no keys to get back in with, so I'll have to leave his things in the porch and then ring him, tell him what I've done.’

  Ellie crossed her fingers. Like Felicity, she sincerely hoped Arthur would be out when they dumped the stuff on his doorstep. Only, if he were out … where would he be?

  ‘I'll phone for a cab,’ said Ellie, stooping to kiss her aunt's cheek.

  ‘I'll take you,’ said Thomas, getting out his keys.

  ‘No, let me,’ said Roy, a fraction too late.

  ‘Thank you, Thomas,’ said Ellie. ‘I'd appreciate it. Thank you, Roy, but you don't need to get your car out again tonight.’ She collected Arthur's mobile from the dining room, and put it in her basket with his laptop. ‘Ready, Felicity?’

  Felicity shuddered, but nodded.

  ‘Courage, girl,’ said Miss Quicke, and uncharacteristically added, ‘You may kiss me goodnight, if you wish.’

  This from a woman who had despised all gestures of affection till recently.

  Felicity was dabbing at her eyes as Thomas inserted her into the back seat of the car, and helped Ellie to belt up in the front. It was a dark night, threatening rain again.

  Thomas's car was reassuringly large and felt protective as they crossed the Avenue and turned into the road where Arthur lived. His house was in darkness except for a light in one downstairs room and the hall, but as the
y turned into the drive, security lights flashed on. There was also a light on in the flat above the garage. No one had yet cleaned the graffiti off the garage doors.

  Felicity said, ‘It looks as if Marco's still there. Those lights inside the main house are on time switches. If Arthur were in, there'd be a light on in his den - it's at the back, but you can see a reflection in the sky if it's on. If Arthur's in his bedroom, then the bedroom light would be on, and it isn't. None of the curtains have been drawn. He's still out.’ She got out of the car, taking the laptop and mobile with her, put them tidily in a large wooden mailbox in the porch, and returned to the car. ‘I'd better ring his landline, tell him what I've done.’

  She got out her phone. They could all hear the phone in the hall ringing, ringing. The answerphone clicked in. Felicity said, no sign of nerves in her voice, ‘Sorry about taking your stuff. I didn't realize I'd got it till too late. It's in the box in the porch.’ Thomas set the car in motion again.

  ‘Home, please,’ said Ellie, wondering if Diana were still there. Or Arthur. Wondering if the light was still on up in Felicity's old bedroom, or if it would stay on till the cleaner came on the morrow. Thomas was obviously thinking along the same lines. ‘I'll come in with you, of course.’

  ‘Thank you, Thomas.’

  It wasn't far to her house. She wished it were further. Diana's car was outside her house. So was another big car, which she assumed must be Arthur's.

  There were lights on upstairs at Kate and Armand's, but none on downstairs.

  Her own house showed lights in every window. No curtains had been drawn. As she walked down the path to the front door, she could see into her front room. The television was on, and Diana sat there, watching it. With Arthur.

  Ellie took a deep breath. ‘Yes, Thomas. Please do come in with us.’

  She got out her key, and let them into the house. On the floor in the hall there was a re-used envelope addressed to her in Kate's writing. That would contain information about poisoners. Some of Felicity's clothes had been strewn all the way up the staircase. Her grandmother's jewel box lay open at the foot of the stairs, a couple of old-fashioned necklaces and three pearl drop earrings exposed to view.