Murder for Nothing Read online

  ‘He says he’d been invited by Angelica to send someone to the party to sell drugs, on the understanding that she’d get a cut of the takings. He says his salesman hasn’t reported back and is not to be found at his usual place of residence. The man has dropped out of sight, together with the money he took and the rest of the drugs. Milos believes Angelica knows what has happened to him and the goods. He wants his property returned and reparation made.’

  ‘I understand that he might consider her responsible because she arranged the party, but she left early so how can she know what happened to his salesman?’

  ‘Milos can be inventive, too. He says she must have seduced the man into splitting the proceeds with her before helping him to disappear. That’s why he’s gunning for her.’

  Ellie made a gesture of frustration. ‘She couldn’t have been so stupid as to think she could double-cross a drug dealer, could she? No, surely not!’

  ‘He thinks so.’

  ‘Every time I think I’ve plumbed that girl’s depths, I discover another layer of stupidity. She can’t have been thinking straight.’

  ‘Question of the week, definitely: is Angelica capable of joined-up thinking?’

  ‘You’re right. She disconnects her brain every ten seconds. Impulse rules, OK. And if her half-baked schemes go wrong, she believes someone else will always get her out of trouble. Why did those men come here now, today?’

  ‘I’m afraid that was my fault. I took Angelica’s phone, remember? And answered it when it rang. I recognized Milos’s voice because he has difficulty with his r’s. He demanded to know where Angelica was. I must admit, I was feeling somewhat annoyed with the girl, so I told him she no longer owned that phone and why. He knows of me. I don’t do drugs, and he knows that, too, but he thinks of us as being on the same side. Suppliers to people in need. He asked if I’d taken her phone because she owed me money, and I said yes. He asked if I’d tried her family yet. I said I’d tried but didn’t think it would work.’

  ‘Because you’d met us.’

  He nodded. ‘Because I’d met you. I told him my chances of recovering what I’ve lent her through you were not great. He didn’t believe me.’

  ‘Ouch. So he’s going to approach me himself?’

  He gave her a sideways look. ‘You’ve not dealt with anyone like him before?’

  ‘No, and I don’t know how to handle him.’

  ‘There is one way. You could help Angelica out.’

  ‘No, I won’t do that. He’ll have to work things out with her another way.’

  He looked around him. ‘You’re not hiding the drug pusher somewhere, are you?’

  She spurted into laughter. ‘No!’

  ‘Milos thinks you are.’

  Ellie clutched her head and gave a little scream.

  He twitched her a smile. ‘All right, all right. You aren’t. But it’s not impossible, is it, that Angelica knows where the man has gone? And that she knows what happened to the money and the remaining drugs?’

  ‘Come on! We know the girl left the party early, courtesy of Timmy Lee. How would she possibly know what happened to him?’

  ‘Milos thinks she’s in it up to her neck. He thinks she brought the money from the sales and the remainder of the drugs back here when she left the party. I promised him that I would search for them for him.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘That’s the price of removing his goons from your driveway.’ He looked around. ‘I agree it’s unlikely, but it’s better I search than that his men do it. So, if you were Angelica and you’d brought back a package from the party, what would you do with the stuff?’

  ‘I can’t believe it!’

  ‘Try. Or Milos tries for you.’

  Ellie tried to concentrate. ‘Well, it’s not in her bedroom. Susan and I have just turned it out.’

  ‘You weren’t looking for money and drugs, were you?’ He poured them both a mug of tea, brought them to the table and sat down beside her. ‘Let’s think. A package of drugs and money wouldn’t take up much room. Did you look under the mattress?’

  ‘Yes. Susan helped me to clear her things out of the big guest room, and as there were two of us, we turned the mattress. There wasn’t anything under it. Do you think we’ll have to search every room in the house? No, come to think of it, we needn’t bother with the top floor because that’s Susan’s domain, and Angelica wouldn’t go up there as they don’t get along.’

  She tapped her forehead. ‘Let me think. It would be after midnight when she got back. I sleep lightly and usually half wake and look at the clock if either of the girls come in very late. Which Susan doesn’t, much.

  ‘Angelica has been getting back sometimes between two and three, but I honestly can’t remember hearing her on Saturday night. One thing: I don’t think she’d have risked going into one of the other bedrooms on the first floor in case I heard her moving around where she had no right to be and got up to find out what was going on. So, if it’s not in any of the bedrooms on the first floor, she must have hidden the stuff down here.’

  She got to her feet, looking around her. ‘The kitchen would be my bet, except that Midge – our cat – often sleeps in here when he’s not on our bed. Angelica is not fond of cats and avoids any room that he’s in. Midge was up with us last night but I can’t remember where he was on Saturday night. Oh dear, we’re going to have to look everywhere, aren’t we?’

  ‘I’ll help you. Milos thinks the drugs were in a Marks and Spencer’s bag, which is distinctive. Look for a dark green plastic bag.’ He began on the cupboards to the right of the door. ‘Let’s be systematic about it.’

  ‘Right. Freezer and fridge.’ She started on those. ‘Nothing untoward. She’s not very tall. Would she have put anything in the top cupboards?’

  ‘She might have stood on a chair. Don’t worry. We’ll find the stuff and I’ll get rid of it for you.’

  She opened the oven door, and then told herself that was the last place Angelica would hide something. The family used the oven almost every day but Angelica had never been known to cook for herself or anyone else. She said, ‘If the police find out … Thomas and I could be arrested for possession! I can’t believe this is happening. That girl is amoral.’

  ‘Agreed.’

  Ellie moved on to the larder. Susan loved the larder and had filled the shelves with shining, gloriously colourful jars of jams and pickles and marmalades.

  Ellie groaned. Every single one would have to be moved to make sure nothing was hidden behind it. ‘I could murder the girl.’

  ‘Pretty face. Pity about the lack of common sense. Nothing here. What’s down the passage?’

  ‘Toilet. Utility room. Door to the backyard. I can’t think what is to become of her.’

  He raised his voice as he dived into the back quarters. ‘Realistically, the best thing would be for her to work for a pimp who runs a stable of high-class girls. She wouldn’t deal with money and she’d be looked after, medically. Alternatively, she could marry some brainless idiot who has money and ruin him.’

  Ellie blinked. She would never have thought of Angelica working as a call girl. What a horrible thought! She had to admit it was practical, although not a solution a Christian would care to consider. Oh, but it would never come to that.

  She said, ‘Her cousin Andy fancies her, but if he shed his wife and married Angelica she would certainly bankrupt him within months. She couldn’t live on a deputy head teacher’s salary.’ She backed out of the larder. ‘There’s nothing here.’

  ‘Nor out back. Besides which, she’s madly in love with Jake. Or so she says. Where next?’

  ‘The dining room, which we only use for meetings of the trust fund. I don’t think Jake reciprocates her feelings.’ She led the way and he followed.

  ‘You’ve spoken to him? What did he say?’ He looked around him. ‘Nice room. Good proportions.’

  She nodded. He appreciated quality, didn’t he? The chairs stood to attention around the long mahog
any table. Victorian rectitude. Long velvet curtains. ‘I’ll look in the sideboard. You check the curtains?’

  ‘Jake?’ he probed.

  ‘Oh. He didn’t impress me. La-di-dah, as my mother would have said. But he did admit he knew a girl called Kate. And he did say he’d check on her and inform the police if it really was her who’d turned up dead.’

  They checked the dining room and came up empty.

  He said, ‘Nothing here. Where next?’

  She led him down the corridor and opened a door on to what had once been a morning room and which Ellie now used as her study. Desks and chairs, old-fashioned filing cabinets, bookshelves, a computer, files of paper … and a large ginger cat who woke up from his nap on top of a cabinet and stretched fore and aft.

  Before Ellie could warn Rafael that Midge didn’t usually take to strangers, her visitor had reached out to rub behind the cat’s ears. Midge was supposed to be a good judge of character. Ellie held her breath. Midge might well lash out … or … Midge raised his head for another rub and then sat up, curling his tail around himself.

  ‘I like cats,’ said Rafael, smiling. ‘What did you say his name was?’

  ‘Midge. Don’t laugh. He can open any door or cupboard which has a handle instead of a knob. Knobs still defeat him.’

  Rafael addressed Midge. ‘Now, if only you were a dog, trained to sniff out drugs, you’d save us a lot of time, wouldn’t you?’

  Midge sneezed, jumped down to the ground and wound himself round Rafael’s legs, his tail waving. Ellie relaxed. Midge was not going to attack Rafael.

  She cast a quick look around. ‘I can’t see that anything’s been disturbed and I don’t think Angelica would have left anything in here because she knows that I have a part-time secretary who might well squawk if she found anything untoward. And, come to think of it, the same applies to Thomas’s study. Come, I’ll show you.’

  She led the way down to the end of the corridor and opened the door on to a large room looking both on to the garden at the back and the drive at the front. ‘This is the library, which Thomas uses for work. He edits a quarterly Christian magazine. The summer issue went out some time ago and the autumn issue is at the printers as we speak, so his secretary has taken time out for a holiday. I don’t think Angelica would have hidden anything in here in case someone turned it up by accident.’

  He looked around him. Shelves of books. Piles of books. Two desks piled with paper. Chairs ditto. Computers, currently quiescent.

  He said, ‘I see what you mean. And, if she had hidden something here, how would we ever find it?’

  ‘We wouldn’t.’ She shut the door and led the way back down the corridor. ‘Thomas’s Quiet Room is the only place left on this corridor. There’s not much furniture in there but there is a cupboard which she might have used for a hiding place.’

  She let him into the room and lowered her voice. ‘This room is special to Thomas. He prays here a lot. Perhaps you can feel it?’

  He looked around. Assorted chairs, a small table, a woollen picture of the Good Shepherd. An air of quiet. It was slightly tidier than usual. Thomas had a habit of referring to different editions of various bibles and commentaries if he wished to check on something. He would dig the relevant tome out of the cupboard and leave it open on the table or the floor. Once a week these books would be picked up by the cleaners, dusted and stacked away again in the cupboard, which is where they were now. Ellie opened the cupboard and prodded at the books, but saw nothing that shouldn’t be there.

  He looked around. ‘A quiet room, yes.’

  She bent to pick up a toy car which had strayed under Thomas’s chair. ‘I look after my grandson a couple of mornings a week. He likes this room and, if he’s going to lie down and take a nap, he’ll do it in here.’

  Rafael said, ‘I can understand why he likes it.’ He held the door open for her. ‘What next?’

  ‘I’m beginning to lose hope.’

  ‘Don’t do that.’

  She looked at her watch, comparing it with the clock in the hall which was about to strike the hour. Putting the toy car on the ledge by the door, she said, ‘I must ring the hospital and find out how Lesley’s getting on. And Susan! Surely they can’t keep her much longer at the police station?’

  He said, ‘Tell me about the police coming to fetch the girls.’

  ‘Two policemen arrived and asked for them. Angelica protested but Susan went with them willingly. Andy trailed along behind.’ She turned into the sitting room and gestured widely. ‘Here we are. This is the last of the rooms downstairs. You take that side and I’ll take this.’

  ‘You said Susan was happy to go off with the police?’

  ‘She was, which was more than I can say for Angelica. Anyway, they both had alibis. I’d better fill you in on … Oh, look! There’s that magazine that Thomas was looking for. I thought I’d thrown it away. He’ll be pleased.’ She placed it where he’d see it when he came in, on the table in the window.

  ‘Susan,’ prompted Rafael, moving the settee to see if there was anything under it.

  ‘Right. Well, I’ll have to go back a bit.’ She did so, starting with her phone call to Jake and his reaction to the news of Kate’s death, followed by the police calling for the two girls and Timmy Lee’s visit. She ended up by describing how she’d got rid of the student with the help of the man who came to read the meter.

  This amused him. ‘Mrs Quicke, I am full of admiration,’ said Rafael. ‘If only you were ten years younger and I were ten years older … what a ball we would have had.’ He stood upright. ‘I can’t see anything untoward.’

  Ellie felt herself blush. She thought how silly she was being. Almost coquettish. A pang in her right hip reminded her of her age and caused her to ease her back. She sat down in her favourite chair. ‘There’s no drugs or stash of money here. Your friend Milos must be mistaken. I expect his salesman went off with the goods.’

  ‘It’s possible, but Milos doesn’t think he’d be that stupid and neither do I. The consequences would be … life-changing.’ Rafael didn’t elaborate. He said, ‘What about the conservatory? And is there a shed in the garden?’

  ‘Go and look, if you like. I don’t think Angelica’s ever set foot in the garden.’ She looked at her watch, which was running slow, as usual. She really must get it looked at. ‘I’m so worried about Lesley.’ She looked at the clock on the mantelpiece.

  When were visiting hours? How long was it since the police took Susan and Angelica away? Timmy Lee could give Angelica an alibi, but I don’t think he’s any intention of doing so, which means the police may hold her … Oh, I hope they beat the truth out of her! No, I don’t mean that, exactly. But she’s got Andy dancing attendance on her when he ought to be in the hospital, looking after Lesley. What a mess.

  He said, ‘I’ll check the conservatory. You ring the hospital.’

  He was being a bit high-handed, wasn’t he? But it was sensible to divide the tasks they needed to perform. She phoned the hospital. The nurse said that Lesley was being kept in overnight, and visiting hours were from six thirty p.m.

  Now, could she manage to get to the hospital with some clothes and toiletries for Lesley before she had to produce supper? She expected Susan and Angelica to return at any minute, also Andy. Don’t let’s forget Andy. They’d all need food. Ellie couldn’t think what she had to give them.

  Rafael reappeared, holding a corpse. ‘Any ideas for disposal?’

  SEVEN

  Monday, early evening

  Ellie recoiled, moving her chair back a pace. ‘A mouse? But we don’t have mice. Midge doesn’t allow it.’

  ‘Perhaps he’s brought it in from outside. Where is he, anyway?’

  Nowhere to be seen.

  Ellie felt the situation was getting way out of hand. Murder, she could cope with. Mice? No. ‘What do you suggest?’

  ‘A mouse trap. If you’ve got a nest, there’s going to be more than one mouse around. Cats like to play with mice bef
ore they kill them. This particular dead body must be some of his work. I repeat, what would you like me to do with it?’

  Ellie tried to think. ‘Plastic bags, drawer nearest the freezer. Then dump it in the rubbish bin. Sanitizing hand cream on the ledge above the basin.’

  ‘Shouldn’t the corpse go into the compost? My parents had a big garden and everything which decomposes went into the compost.’

  ‘I daresay. But in London we get flies and pigeons and crows and magpies, not to mention foxes, who swoop on anything that they think is food. You didn’t find the nest?’

  ‘No.’ He disappeared across the hall, his voice floating back. ‘Your boiler could do with a service. I don’t think it’s set right.’

  No, it probably wasn’t. The boiler was due to be serviced next month. Thomas had been chuntering on about the settings for some time but … what business was it of Rafael’s?

  Ellie was annoyed. Who was this man, anyway? Some kind of businessman who flourished on the edges of the law? What right did he have to walk into her house and order her around and …?

  Here, Ellie clenched her fists.

  Susan had reacted in a most peculiar way when she’d brought Rafael into the kitchen. Susan had said things afterwards which indicated she knew him fairly well. Susan occasionally mentioned a boy who was on the same course as herself. His name was … what? Ellie couldn’t remember. But he seemed to be more of a friend than a lover. A reliable companion.

  Susan had said that Rafael could be charming.

  Rafael had asked about Susan. Not once, but twice.

  Rafael was interested in Susan?

  No! Not possible.

  Susan wouldn’t be interested in him. Never! Perish the thought!

  But …

  Ellie remembered Rafael’s first entrance. Susan had answered the door and brought him into the kitchen. Susan had stood by the door and let him pass in front of her. He had walked past her, smiling slightly. Not looking at her.

  Susan’s eyes had been lowered. Why hadn’t she looked at him?

  Rafael returned, rubbing gel into his hands.