False Diamond--An Abbot Agency Mystery Read online

  ‘Bernice.’ A thread of a voice.

  ‘I’m Maggie. Do you know how to feel for a pulse? Put your fingers on your mother’s neck, half way round. Can you feel anything?’

  The child did as she was told. Shook her head.

  Bea pulled a large towel from the rail and draped it over Dilys’s naked body. It was cold in the bathroom. No sense the girl getting hypothermia on top of everything else.

  Leon’s arms hung at his side. ‘Bernice was in the hall when I got back. She’d found her mother asleep in the bath. Under water. Couldn’t lift her out. She told the boys she had to use the landline to call for help. They laughed at her, wouldn’t let her in. Playing some video game or other. Her mother’s mobile is in her bag in the living room. Also out of reach. Bernice is a star.’

  Bernice looked up at him. A trustful look.

  Maggie worked on.

  Bea moved round the room, opened the medicine cabinet, took a snap of the contents. Well-stocked for minor ailments. Nothing untoward.

  Leon managed to get himself off the floor and on to the bathroom stool. ‘I got her out of the bath. No pulse. I tried to get her to sick up, and she did, but …’ He made a defeated gesture. He looked older than his years. He pointed to a wine glass on the edge of the bath. ‘Whisky, do you think? Sleeping pills? Someone needs to look at that.’

  Bea took the rest of the towels off the rail and began to mop up around Dilys.

  Leon said, ‘I got Bernice to take my phone out of my pocket, told her what numbers to press and when she got through she held it up to me so that I could speak to the medics. I tried Benton. Not answering. Then my sister. The same. One of the boys came up, wanted the loo, I told him to get lost.’

  Was Leon actually crying?

  Bea decided not to notice. She bent over Dilys, whose hair was all over her face. Poor kid. Poor, desperate child.

  Maggie worked on, encouraging Bernice to keep her fingers at her mother’s throat. ‘You’re doing great, lovey. As good as any medic.’

  Leon said, ‘I thought I could go to the hospital with her but didn’t know what to do about the children. I don’t know where Benton is. Then I thought of you.’

  Bernice gave a little jump. She looked up at Maggie with a startled expression.

  Maggie smiled at the child. ‘You can feel a pulse now?’

  Bernice nodded.

  Maggie sat back on her heels.

  Yes, there was a slight movement in Dilys’s chest.

  Very, very slight.

  Was it enough?

  They concentrated.

  Dilys sighed, coughed. A stream of discoloured water shot out of her mouth. Neither Maggie nor Bernice drew back.

  ‘Excellent!’ said Maggie. ‘Well done, Bernice.’

  ‘A star indeed,’ said Leon. ‘Excellent, Bernice.’

  Bernice managed a brief smile.

  Dilys murmured something. Her eyelids flickered. But she did not regain consciousness.

  Bea investigated the cupboard under the basin. Bathroom cleaners, toilet cleaners, toilet rolls, a large pack of paper towels in a clean plastic bag. She emptied out the bag and put the wine glass it, stowing it in her handbag.

  She looked down. Her boots were ruined. Her coat and skirt would have to be cleaned before she wore them again.

  The others were in a worse state.

  Everything that Maggie had on ought to be dumped. And as for Leon!

  Bernice ought to be put under the shower and soused down, then dressed in clean clothing.

  Bernice was shivering. ‘Why doesn’t Mummy wake up?’

  Maggie answered: ‘She needs to go to hospital and be properly nursed.’

  She needed her stomach pumped out, if Bea were any judge of the matter.

  The doorbell rang.

  One of the boys shouted up the stairs. ‘Someone’s at the door!’

  ‘I’ll go,’ said Bernice, trying and failing to stand up.

  ‘No, you won’t,’ said Bea. ‘I’ll go.’ She went down the stairs, holding on to the banister, and opened the front door to the paramedics. ‘Upstairs. Found in the bath. Possibly taken an overdose though I haven’t found any pills yet. CPR administered, breathing on her own, but far from well. Not conscious.’

  The paramedics nodded and tramped up the stairs.

  One of the boys poked his head out of the downstairs room. ‘What are you doing? Daddy says not to let anyone in when he’s not at home.’

  ‘Do you know where he is?’

  ‘Nah! Pooh! You smell! And who are you, anyway?’

  Bea leaned against the wall. ‘A friend of your mother’s. She’s very ill.’

  A shrug. ‘Oh, Silly Dilly’s always whining about something.’ He disappeared back into the room before Bea could box his ears.

  One of the paramedics thundered down the stairs and went out to the ambulance, which was double-parked in the middle of the road. Gone to fetch a stretcher?

  A phone was ringing somewhere. Not hers. She checked. No, it was the house landline in the sitting room. No one bothered to answer it.

  Following her usual practice, Bea sent the photos she’d just taken to her computer back at the office. She’d had someone try to destroy evidence on her phone before now and wasn’t going to risk it happening again.

  The paramedic pounded up the stairs with a stretcher.

  A car tooted outside. The ambulance was blocking the traffic.

  Voices were raised in the street.

  Bea thought of going out and explaining what had happened to the impatient drivers but didn’t. They could work it out for themselves.

  She went on leaning against the wall. It had been a long day.

  Car doors slammed. More raised voices. ‘What the …?’

  Was that Benton?

  Yes. Storming in, face of fury. ‘What’s going on?’

  The two boys erupted into the hall, in a babel of explanation. ‘Silly Mummy’s been stupid again, we left her alone like you said, honest, but that stupid Bernice, and then the man came, the one that didn’t bring us any presents, I hate him, and then she came –’ pointing at Bea – ‘and another woman, and they say Mummy’s gone and done something extra stupid this time, and we can’t get to the toilet, which isn’t fair …’

  ‘What!’ Benton was furious. He turned on Bea. ‘What the …!’

  ‘Leon found her in the bath, unconscious. He kept her alive till we got here and now the paramedics have taken over. Bernice was a star.’

  ‘Was she, by Jove!’ He didn’t look pleased at that, either. ‘I don’t see why you’re here. Why didn’t he ring me?’

  ‘He tried. He rang me because he needed someone to look after the children if Dilys needed to go to hospital.’

  He gnawed his lip, his eyes switching from left to right.

  ‘Daddy!’ One of the boys tugged at his arm. ‘I need to go to the toilet.’

  ‘He shouldn’t go upstairs,’ said Bea.

  ‘What?’ For the first time he glanced up the stairs. ‘Oh. Really? You mean she’s … Where is she?’

  ‘In the bathroom. On the floor.’

  ‘Oh.’ He hadn’t got his head round this, had he? He said to the boy, ‘Use the one in our bedroom.’

  ‘But you said we were never to—’

  ‘Well, for once I say you can.’

  ‘Me, too!’ His brother was not to be outdone. Both of them rushed upstairs, fighting for precedence.

  Benton didn’t seem to know what to do next. He asked Bea, ‘Is she going to be all right?’

  Bea wasn’t sure what answer he wanted to that question. ‘I hope so. If they can get her to the hospital in time.’

  His eyes switched to the open door. ‘The traffic’s backed up to the main road.’

  The paramedics came slowly down the stairs, carrying Dilys, strapped into a stretcher, between them.

  Benton watched them pass him.

  ‘Aren’t you going with her?’ said Bea, noting that he didn’t seem a
nxious to do so.

  ‘What? I … Oh, yes.’ He went after the paramedics saying, ‘I’m her husband. I’ve just got back from a meeting. How is she?’

  ‘The sooner we get her to the hospital …’ Their voices faded as they took Dilys out to the ambulance.

  Without a backward glance at his children, Benton got into the ambulance, too.

  ‘Where’s he going? Who’s going to look after us?’ The elder boy, appearing on the landing. For the first time he seemed to realize that here was a problem which might affect his well-being.

  Leon came out on to the landing. He looked exhausted. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll stay here with you.’

  Maggie followed him out, carrying Bernice, who had her arms around Maggie’s neck. ‘Bernice needs looking after. I’ll give us both a wash down and find some clean clothes for her. I’ll stay, too. I can sleep on the floor in her room tonight.’

  ‘Clean clothes?’ said Leon. ‘Good idea. There’s a shower in the master bedroom at the front. I’ll use it after you. The boys are in the back bedroom, and I’m in the small room at the front. I think that was hers before I came. I’ve no idea where she’s been sleeping.’

  The elder boy reappeared, adjusting his trousers. ‘She’s supposed to sleep with us on a lilo, but we don’t like that, so she waits till everyone’s asleep and then goes downstairs and sleeps on the settee.’

  Leon looked even grimmer than before. ‘Tonight she sleeps in her own room, and I’ll take the settee downstairs. Boys, it’s late. Suppose you get ready for bed. Use your parents’ bathroom, just this once.’

  ‘We want to use ours. We’ve got our toothbrushes in there.’

  The other boy put his head into their bathroom. ‘Hey, it stinks! What a mess! I’m not going in there till it’s been cleaned up.’

  Bea left them arguing. The television was still blaring in the sitting room. She went in and turned it off.

  Peace and quiet.

  She looked around and said, ‘Wow!’ to herself.

  What had originally been a sitting and a dining room had been thrown into one. The wall between the living room and the kitchen had also been removed, making an L-shaped space. A gigantic TV and all the other pieces of electronic kit which seemed to be obligatory in today’s modern homes were prominently displayed, but the room had been wrecked by the boys playing some sort of Wii game. Chairs had been overturned, cushions thrown around, newspapers, articles of clothing and what might be the boys’ worksheets for homework had been tossed here and there.

  In the kitchen area, someone had washed up after supper, set the saucepans on the side to dry, and started the dishwasher. The boys had been rampaging in there, too. The door of the fridge hung open, and there was a trail of crisps on the carpet through the living room.

  After a moment’s thought, Bea took photos of the state of the kitchen and living room. She investigated cupboards, shut the fridge door, checked that the back door was locked, and roughly tidied the main room so that Leon could at least reach the settee. She left one side light on and returned upstairs clutching a roll of black plastic bags.

  ‘Bless you,’ said Leon, taking the black bags off her. He had divested himself of his overcoat, had opened the bathroom window, pulled the plug out of the bath and was trying to clean the floor. He was making a good job of it.

  The boys were running in and out of their bedroom at the back of the house, complaining. ‘Daddy said we could use his bathroom, so why is that woman in there with Silly Sister?’

  ‘I want to go to the loo again.’

  Leon said, ‘Shut up, both of you. Be thankful you’re clean and dry, which is more than your sister is. You can use this bathroom in a minute.’

  The elder boy pointed at Bea. ‘What’s she doing, taking pictures?’

  Leon clapped his hands. ‘Bed! Now!’

  The boys’ bedroom door banged shut.

  Bea said, ‘Drop the dirty towels into this black plastic bag, and let me have your clothes to wash.’

  ‘My shoes, my overcoat …’ He grimaced.

  ‘Perhaps Benton will replace them?’

  He was surprised into laughter. ‘I doubt it. I’ll get some clean clothes out of my suitcase. The rest can go to the dry-cleaner’s tomorrow.’

  Bea went to see how Maggie was getting on.

  A tiny shower room and loo had been carved out of a corner of the main bedroom. Bea tapped on the glass door, and Maggie put her head out. ‘Bea, this is awful. The child’s arms and legs are covered with bruises. Is this her father’s doing? She won’t say. Can you find her a hot drink? She’s shivering.’

  ‘Ask her if I may take photos of her bruises.’

  Maggie’s head disappeared. She returned in a minute, shaking her head. ‘She says she’d rather not. They’re supposed to be a secret. What can we do?’

  ‘Nothing for the moment, I suppose. I’ll find something for her to wear. How about you?’

  ‘Dilys’s dressing gown is behind the door. I’ll wear that. I’ll put my clothes in the washing machine downstairs and then hang them up to dry. Or maybe there’s a drier? They’ll be all right by morning.’

  ‘Give me your things, and Bernice’s. I’ll see to them.’

  Down she went with the soiled clothing, used a clean saucepan to make a hot drink for Bernice, checked the washing instructions and put the clothes into the washing machine on a low temperature programme. Went back upstairs.

  Explored the cupboards in the small bedroom at the front of the house. Two good-looking suitcases were stacked at the end of the bed. They must be Leon’s. In one of the cupboards she found a small stack of unisex children’s clothes, jeans and T-shirts and some trainers. None of them new. Hand-me-downs from the boys?

  There was also a pair of wellington boots with pink flowers on them. Bea remembered Dilys saying that her daughter had loved her wellies with the pink flowers on them, and how she’d yearned for an umbrella with ladybirds on. Bea had imagined brand-new wellies and umbrella. The actuality was somewhat different. These wellies were well worn, in fact somewhat scuffed, and had probably come from a charity shop. And there was no pretty umbrella in sight.

  Bea took out a selection of clothing and handed it to Maggie, who was tenderly towelling the little girl down.

  For a moment Bea allowed herself to stand still, doing nothing. Then she realized that if she stopped doing something, she’d realize how tired she was. She refused to give in to fatigue. There was something else she had to do before she left.

  There’d been a second ‘Sorry!’ message on the mirror in the master bedroom, also in bright-red lipstick. She must have a photograph of that before she called it a day.

  SIX

  Friday morning

  Bea woke at her usual time, felt unusually weary, stretched, wondered why the house had an empty feel to it, and remembered what had happened. Said something uncomplimentary about Benton, reached for her Bible to read a few verses, was startled by the alarm going off, and forced herself out of bed.

  She’d a feeling this was going to be another difficult day.

  She dressed in haste, made a couple of magic passes at her face with the minimum of make-up and tottered down to the kitchen. Winston was already there, pacing the floor, impatient for what would be his first breakfast of the day, since Maggie was at Benton’s.

  And Dilys?

  Her landline trilled. Leon. ‘How are you?’

  ‘Up. Just about. Any news?’

  ‘Benton’s back from the hospital. Dilys survived the night, but it’s still touch and go. He’s in a foul mood. Tried to take it out on your Maggie, who treated him to a mouthful in return. I like that girl.’

  Bea smiled. ‘She’s a great lass. Is Bernice …?’

  ‘Woke screaming with a nightmare. One of the boys slept through it, the other woke up and was furious with her. They were neither of them at all concerned about their mother till they realized she wasn’t going to be able to cook them their favourite breakfasts and o
rganize getting them off to school. Bernice is a different matter. Maggie can’t move for the girl clinging to her leg. I don’t think she should go to school, but I’m packing the boys off there with a note to their teacher. Benton’s gone to bed to catch up on his sleep, defying anyone to so much as whisper in his vicinity. I’ve told him he’s on his own with the boys from now on but that I’ll stick around till he’s up and about again, when I’ll go to a hotel.

  ‘Maggie says she’ll be with you in half an hour to collect her worksheets for the day, and that she’s bringing Bernice with her. Says the girl can follow her around. I suppose it’s better than letting her stay here in the house by herself. Her father certainly won’t trouble himself to look after her. I’ll see if Sybil will take the girl in for a few days.’

  ‘You’ve got everything organized. Brilliant.’

  ‘And you? What were you up to with your little phone last night?’

  ‘Recording evidence. Did you know that Bernice’s arms and legs are a mass of bruises?’

  ‘What! You mean he’s attacked his own daughter?’

  ‘Looks like it. I don’t see Dilys doing it, do you?’

  A painful silence. Eventually he said, ‘What do you propose to do with the evidence you’ve collected?’

  ‘I suppose it depends whether Dilys lives or dies.’

  ‘Yes.’ Heavily. He disconnected.

  Well, that was a good point. What did she intend to do with the photos she’d taken?

  Breakfast. Good coffee to wake her up. The toaster had developed a mind of its own. It had put itself on Fast Forward and ejected bread at high speed when it was done. Bother!

  Fridays were always busy, but she had a good staff and could leave the usual flood of enquiries to them. She checked what food she had in the freezer, found and dialled the mobile number of Detective Inspector Durrell. He answered with a grunt. Not in a good mood.

  ‘Bea Abbot here. Do you fancy a home-cooked lunch?’

  ‘I’m up to my eyes in—’

  ‘Home-made soup; courgette and Stilton. Spaghetti Bolognese. An almond croissant and good coffee.’

  ‘Bribery and corruption.’

  ‘Twelve noon? You’ve got to eat at some point.’