Murder at the Altar Page 24

  Ellie struggled to her feet. She felt terrible, but not as bad as she felt when she spotted the time. ‘Nearly twelve!’

  ‘Yes, dear. Now you go upstairs and make yourself tidy and I’ll look after the men. Oh, and what do you think you’d like to have for lunch?’

  Ellie held her head with both hands. Rose was enjoying herself. Rose had suddenly acquired a bossy nature. Rose was going to move in on her, if Ellie were not very careful. Ellie wanted nothing more than to be quiet in her own house and THINK. So how could she get rid of dear, sweet, helpful Rose?

  Well, what did Rose like more than what she’d got here?

  Gossip. A little importance in her life.

  Ellie said, ‘Dear Rose, what would I have done without you? Do show the men in and I’ll deal with them. I know you’ll be wanting to ring Joyce and tell her you’re all right. Isn’t it one of your days at the charity shop? Yes, I know you felt you ought to resign just because I’m taking some time off, but you don’t really want to let them down, do you? Oh, and I wonder if the Gazette has got on to the burglary yet?’

  The post had come, including a duplicate copy of the enquiry agents’ report. It seemed that Aunt Drusilla had been gradually amassing a number of properties in the area over the years, starting way back when she sold her own house to move in with Frank’s father. She now owned six of the flats in the riverside block, plus two large houses divided into flats, just off the Avenue. A lady of property, indeed, damn her eyes!

  Half an hour later Rose was gone. Ellie was washed, brushed and dressed, and ready to tackle the answerphone while the carpenters banged and crashed away in the living-room.

  Tod’s little-boy voice, all excited. ‘… Is that you, Mrs Quicke? I’ve brought my mum’s mobile up to my bedroom, because I’ve got to warn you there’s a man sitting outside in his car, watching your house. He’s been there for yonks. Is he a spy, do you think? Should I phone the police? I’ve got to go … Mum’s coming—’

  Ellie smiled at this, and then grew thoughtful. So the fake gas man had been watching her house for some time, had he?

  Mrs Dawes. Why hadn’t Ellie turned up to choir practice? Ellie made a note to herself to call on Mrs Dawes and tell her. A first-hand account of the burglary would go a long way to soothing ruffled feelings.

  Kate’s voice. ‘Hi, Ellie. How are you doing? I’m dead bored. I’m going to ring you tomorrow at one o’clock so that we can talk. We always seem to miss one another this way …’

  Bill Weatherspoon’s voice. ‘Ellie, I believe you were trying to get through to me. Unfortunately I had appointments up in town. Ring me, will you?’

  Yes, thought Ellie. I will.

  There were no more messages, so she rang Bill’s office and was put through straight away.

  ‘Bill, this is an emergency. Could you possibly come round here, as soon as possible?’

  ‘My dear Ellie, whatever is the matter?’

  She tried to keep her voice steady. ‘I think someone’s trying to kill me.’

  ‘What? Ellie, did you say …?’

  ‘Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but it would relieve my mind enormously if you could spare the rime to—’

  ‘Of course. You couldn’t come here, could you? I’ve got appointments stacked up all afternoon.’

  ‘I can’t leave the house. The police have sent some carpenters round to repair the French windows where this man broke in last night.’

  ‘I’ll be round straight away.’ The phone crashed down.

  Ellie checked that the carpenters were all right … they wanted to take the old window frames out and put in new ones. It was going to take all day.

  Bill rang the bell, and she let him in.

  ‘Ellie, you look remarkably calm for a woman under threat of death.’ ‘Not calm. Worn out. Come into the study, and let me tell you the tale.’

  He listened with care, steepling his fingers, frowning and shifting in his seat now and then. When she had finished, he said, ‘What do the police think?’

  ‘They think Kate killed Ferdy and that I’m shielding her. Only, she didn’t kill Ferdy. I know that for certain. They don’t want to think about anyone else doing it, and the only suggestions I can make, they don’t want to hear. I do not know who killed Ferdy and frightened his mother away, unless it’s something to do with Ferdy’s car dealings. The police say they’ve thoroughly investigated those, but …’

  She shrugged. ‘I can see their point of view. I was standing at the window at the time Ferdy was attacked. At least, I suppose I was. I’ve racked my brains, trying to remember seeing something significant, but I can’t.’

  ‘Do the police know about all these other incidents?’

  ‘Yes, but it didn’t occur to me until late last night that I was being targeted. I mean, it’s not the sort of thing that would normally occur to one, is it? I’m ashamed to say that just at first I thought either Diana or Aunt Drusilla might have been behind these attacks. Oh, of course I soon came to my senses and realized I wasn’t thinking straight, but I have had the most dreadful quarrels with both of them about money, and it did seem to me that I needed some professional help with dealing with them.’

  ‘My professional advice is to go straight to the police and tell them everything.’

  ‘I tried doing that last night, and the policeman looked at me as if I’d got senile decay. “Dear old lady losing her marbles, fancying every man in the street wants to rape her”. You know? I began to think I must be imagining things myself. That’s why I needed to talk to you. I wanted to tell someone impartial what I know and suspect, to make sure I’m not making a mountain out of molehill.’

  ‘That broken window frame is no molehill.’

  ‘No, and I do need help dealing with Aunt Drusilla and also with Diana. They are both so greedy!’

  ‘Right. What do you want done?’

  She began to pace the room. ‘I want you to negotiate with Aunt Drusilla for me. I don’t really want to turn her out of the house in which she’s lived for so long, but I do want to keep my options open on selling it … perhaps at some future date when she might be ready to go into a retirement home. Have a look at this …’

  She handed over the report from the enquiry agents. Bill’s eyebrows rose, and he said, ‘I see.’

  Ellie said, ‘Could you find out how much it would cost to renew the lease on the flat our organist’s father leased from her? If it’s too much, perhaps Aunt Drusilla could find a smaller, more suitable flat for her, perhaps taking in a lodger to make ends meet?

  ‘Now about Diana …’ She sighed. ‘It’s so difficult. I don’t think they can afford to live in the big house they’ve bought.’

  ‘Then they should downsize.’

  ‘That’s not the way Diana thinks. She asked Frank for more money, and he refused. When I got blown up by the car bomb, she tried to rush me into selling here and renting a small place up there. While I was still groggy, she put this house on the market, telling Mr Jolley that she owned half of it, anyway …’

  ‘What! Why didn’t you tell me? If I’d known, I would have had something to say to Diana … and to Mr Jolley, too.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I said it myself. To him, and to Diana.’ She giggled. ‘I told Diana I was making my will and leaving everything to the cats’ home.’

  Bill laughed. ‘But you’re not really intending to …?’

  ‘No, of course not, but I’d like you to make a will out for me here and now, just in case something else happens to me today … then I can come round later in the week and sign it properly, can’t I? The workmen next door can witness it.’

  ‘My dear Ellie! I ought to take you into protective custody until this is sorted out. The police—’

  She said wearily, ‘They don’t take me seriously. Please, Bill …’

  ‘Very well.’ He looked at his watch. ‘Just let me ring the office and tell them to cancel my afternoon appointments.’

  As they were discussing her will, the ph
one rang.

  It was Kate. Ellie said, ‘My dear, there’s a whole lot of things been happening here that you ought to know about, but I can’t speak now. Just answer me one question. Did Ferdy ever mention to you that he’d had an offer for his car business? He didn’t. Oh, no, I realize it sounds unlikely. Well, will you phone again this evening between four and five? Oh, and your husband’s missing you. Speak to you later, love …’

  She put the phone down, and went to back to Bill … then to find them both some lunch … then to sign her will … and make tea for the carpenters.

  Finally Bill persuaded her to go across with him to the incident room. She agreed because she’d promised she would make a statement about the fake gas man and the burglary. The inside of the church hall looked drearier than ever. Inspector Clay was out, so she had to deal with a pleasant, but sceptical underling. Which she did. But as she’d feared, they were soon back on the old treadmill. Ellie found herself far better able to deal with their questions when Bill was beside her, but still it was tiresome, and tiring …

  ‘Mrs Quicke, you say you think you are in danger. There is only one person who could be behind a threat to you, and yet you won’t help us find her …’

  ‘Mrs Quicke, don’t you see that we can’t help you, unless you help us …?’

  But she couldn’t. ‘What about the man who tried to kill me last night?’

  A knowing smile. ‘Burglars do tend to turn nasty when interrupted, you know.’

  ‘What about all the strange things that have been happening to me recently?’

  ‘Yes, yes.’ A condescending smile. Translation: did Ellie really think they were going to waste valuable time following up reports of imaginary persecutions? ‘Now, getting back to Kate. We’ll find her, with or without your help, you know.’

  Ellie wasn’t so sure of that. Of course, if they knew how Kate had disguised herself, perhaps they might be able to track her down. But they didn’t. And she was not going to tell them. In the end Kate might have to come forward. If she couldn’t get a job, if her money ran out.

  Bill stood. ‘May I ask what arrangements you are making to protect my client until this case is cleared up?’

  There were thin smiles in response to this. ‘Oh, we’ll be keeping an eye on her, of course. But the manpower situation being what it is …’

  Wearily, Ellie thanked Bill as he walked back home with her.

  ‘Come back home with me, Ellie. I can’t leave you here alone.’

  ‘I have to see to the carpenters and glaziers, and lock up. Then I’m taking a taxi to one of those anonymous hotels near the airport for the night. Don’t worry, Bill. I’ll take good care of myself.’

  The estate agent had run out of cigarettes. He couldn’t find a parking space in the Avenue on his way home, so he took the first left at the church and drew up outside the derelict house. Having bought his cigarettes, he shut himself into his car to take a drag … ah, the first one of the evening …

  … when he caught sight of a familiar Sold sign outside the big house.

  He knew perfectly well that their agency was not responsible for selling this house. If they had been and could have got planning permission for the site, some developer would have fallen on this property with cries of ‘Eureka!’.

  The rain had stopped, so he got out to take a good look. The place looked deserted, but somewhere nearby water was dripping from an overflow. From upstairs. Ugh. That meant squatters were in. What’s more, there was a brand new padlock on the garage doors …

  And the back door was swinging open. The ground floor rooms were empty, but somewhere upstairs a cistern was dripping. An empty beer can rolled over his foot as he climbed the stairs. The first floor was empty, except …

  He reached for his mobile phone. Ellie’s house was still full of workmen when she returned. The answerphone light was winking. The workmen said they were nearly finished, but tomorrow they’d come back and give everything a lick of paint. She gave them more tea, more biscuits.

  She put a note through Armand’s door asking him to call round when he got back from school. Maybe she could persuade Kate to speak to Armand that evening. Maybe.

  She played back her messages. Someone wanting to sell her double glazing.

  John, from the charity shop, to say that Madam’s friend had changed her mind and wasn’t going to join them after all. Madam had been crawling on the phone to Rose, trying to get her to return, and Rose had eventually said she would. John thought that was funny, but warned Ellie that Madam might be trying her next.

  Diana. Sounding very upset, but trying to control it. Would mother please ring her? She wasn’t working today, so please ring, any time.

  That was all.

  Ellie sighed. Better get it over with. Diana must have been sitting by the phone, waiting for her call.

  ‘Mother, please listen to me. I didn’t mean to interfere in your business, but …’

  ‘Of course you didn’t, dear, you were just looking out for me. But before you say anything else, I want you to know that I’ve had Bill Weatherspoon here today, to draw up my will. I’ve signed it, it’s been witnessed and it’s all perfectly in order. You can keep the car, by the way. Oh, and just to set my mind at rest … was it you or Stewart who took your father’s pen and pencil and cufflinks?’

  ‘Oh, mother! Don’t you think Dad would have wanted me to have them?’

  ‘Perhaps. But don’t you think you should have asked me first?’

  ‘I did. I’m sure I did.’ She sounded far too aggressive to be really sure.

  Ellie let her off the hook. ‘Perhaps you did. Perhaps I just wasn’t taking in what you said at the time. Still, I’m perfectly all right now. Now, you’ll want to know what I’ve decided to do with the money. I’ve been trying to think how your father would have wanted me to act …’

  Diana snuffled at the other end of the phone. ‘He wanted me to be happy.’

  ‘Mm. He wanted you and Stewart to stand on your own two feet. He gave you enough money so that you could buy a small house and not have to work while baby Frank was at home. He was too wise to buy you a big house outright. He thought you should work your own way through life. You upset him terribly when you bought a much bigger house than you could afford. He felt you had let him down.’

  Diana’s voice took on a whine. ‘It wasn’t my fault that I couldn’t get a full-time job afterwards, and the house we’ve got now, it’s a dream house, just lovely, just what I’ve always wanted …’

  ‘… and can’t afford.’

  ‘Dad could easily have given us more …’

  ‘… but he decided that would be wrong. I think it would be wrong, too.’

  Diana gulped. ‘You mean, you’re not going to …?’

  ‘No, I’m not.’ Ellie sighed. ‘Diana, dear. Please get it into your head. You’ve had all you are going to get towards a house, but I propose to make you a monthly allowance to be used for child care. This should free you to find a better job somewhere … or if you wish, you can get a smaller house so that you don’t need to work until Frank goes to school, in which case, the allowance is for you to spend as you wish. This allowance ends the moment I die. In my will you get nothing, but I’m setting up a trust for baby Frank, to mature when he’s twenty-five.’

  A long pause while Diana did sums in her head. Ellie knew the sorrow of feeling Diana’s ingratitude. At last the question came.

  ‘How much is the allowance going to be?’

  Ellie told her. Enough to pay for child care. Not enough to pay the mortgage on the new house. Diana received the news in silence. Then put the phone down.

  Ellie felt herself sag, as tension relaxed.

  Only to stiffen again as someone pounded on the kitchen door.

  It was young Tod, bundled up in a brightly coloured jacket, his schoolbag bumping over one shoulder.

  She let him in, smiling. ‘Lovely to see you, Tod. Thanks for all the messages you’ve been leaving on the answerphone.
Sorry I’ve not been around much.’

  One of the carpenters came to the door. ‘We’ve just about finished, missus. Want to come and look?’

  She inspected their work, thanked them and paid. They’d done a good job, and the result was a much stronger, safer back to the house. She saw them off and returned to the kitchen to find Tod investigating the almost empty biscuit tin. His hair was all on end as usual.

  Ellie thought how much she loved him as she put the kettle on again. Now what could she find for him to eat? Perhaps some pot noodles?

  He dumped his bag on the floor, and shucked off his jacket. ‘Did you know our mum’s got a new job? Won’t be back till six, prob’ly.’

  ‘You want to do your homework here?’ She need not leave for the night till he was safely back with his mum. She couldn’t leave him to go back home alone.

  ‘Mm. Can I watch the telly after?’

  ‘Do you like pot noodles?’

  ‘Wow! Monster!’

  ‘You’re shivering! I’ll turn the heating up. It’s much colder tonight, isn’t it?’

  ‘But not snowing yet. We had this plan, see, to make a ginormous snowman by the church. But now the snow’s nearly all melted. It could at least have stayed till Christmas. Mum says we never get a white Christmas, nowadays. Why do you think that is?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’

  He grabbed the pot noodles, dropped the pot because it was too hot, and swore.

  ‘You shouldn’t swear,’ she said, wondering where he’d heard the word, and if he knew what it meant. Then told herself that every child used that word nowadays … even if they really didn’t know what it meant.

  ‘That’s what the funny man at the church said, when he dropped his money,’ said Tod, slurping noodles with extravagant noises.

  Ellie glanced out of the window, but could see nothing. She had the light on in the kitchen, of course. ‘What funny man?’

  ‘The funny man with the tea-cosy hat. Mum’s got a hat just like that, that she keeps in the kitchen drawer. She doesn’t use it, but she daren’t throw it away, ’cause some aunt or other knitted it for her.’