Deathly Christmas (13 page)

Jane was looking forward to walking into the party with James. She expected that Paul would already be there as it was his brother’s house. This should convince him that she wasn’t interested in him at all. Why did he have to persist in chasing her? She felt sorry for him, but she was getting fed up of his perseverance.

Jane glanced at herself in the mirror. She knew she looked attractive, but she did have to get some new clothes. None of hers were as seductive as Eve’s midnight blue dress which she had lent her. However she couldn’t wear that again. She should have thought earlier in the day and asked to borrow something else, but she had totally forgotten. She’d have to remember to ask her tonight if she could borrow a dress for the New Year's Eve party.

Jane heard a knock at the door and her stomach did a somersault. It must be James. She went to answer the door and was pleased that she had been right. James stood there, tall, handsome and sophisticated, looking very smart in a suit and tie. She knew he would show up everybody else. The other men didn’t know how to dress to go out in the evening, especially not Paul. He looked scruffy in jeans and T-shirts most of the time.

“Good evening, Jane,” James said. “You look beautiful this evening…. as always. These are for you.”

He handed Jane a bouquet of red roses. Jane was impressed.

“James, they’re wonderful. Thank you. Come in. I’ll just put them in water.”

When she came back from the kitchen, she asked him if he wanted a drink, but he said they’d better go. Unlike Eve, he didn’t like to be too late at any social gathering.

“I’m looking forward to spending this evening with you, Jane,” he said.

“Me too,” she replied. “I only hope that people are civil to you.”

“I’m sure most people will be, but there will be the odd one or two who will still be convinced I’m the killer. Come on, let’s go and get our entrance over and done with.”

“Okay. At least you know that Eve and I are on your side.”

“Yes, and I’m sure Eve will have something to say if anyone starts criticizing me.”

“Oh, I have no doubt about that, James, no doubt at all!”

* * * *

For a change, Eve left home reasonably early to go to a party, not much caring what anyone thought.

As they walked there, Eve kept reminding Alison and Robert that they couldn’t tell anyone about her and David.

“Of course we’re not going to tell anyone, Eve,” Robert finally said, a little irately. “We’re your friends as you should well know and we’re here to give you support, not to make things worse.”

“I know you are,” Eve replied, almost feeling guilty. “But sometimes it is easy to let things slip without thinking.”

At least she was subtle enough not to say that Robert often told secrets, albeit by accident.

“We won’t tell anyone, we promise,” Alison said, putting an arm around Eve.

“Thank you,” Eve said graciously, still hoping they would keep their mouths shut.

As soon as they arrived at Kevin and Lucy’s, Betty spotted them, and seeing no sign of David, went straight up to Eve.

“No David then?” Betty asked her immediately.

“Not this evening, Betty. He has a deadline to meet with his agent and he’s getting behind, so he’s gone home to concentrate on his writing. We’ve done too much socializing over the Christmas period I’m afraid.”

“What a pity. I was looking forward to seeing him this evening. Well, there’s always tomorrow, isn’t there?”

Eve smiled and nodded, but she was concerned about New Year’s Eve. Betty had been very quick to come up and ask about David, and Eve was pretty sure she was already thinking there was something fishy going on.

Annie came up shortly afterwards and kissed Eve on the cheek. Eve had to go through the same questioning, and even though Annie was a good friend, Eve didn’t tell her the truth. She was certain Annie would let it slip and then everybody would know. Eve suddenly wished she were back in London. News never travelled so fast there.

Kevin and Lucy came up to greet Eve, pleased to see that she had been well enough to come to their party, but then James and Jane made an entrance and the room went quiet. A couple of people didn’t even know that James had been released.

“James, how did you get out of jail,” a loud voice boomed. “Hope you didn’t break out!”

“No, Betty,” he replied. “I was released. There wasn’t enough evidence to hold me.”

“Well I knew all along it wasn’t you,” she replied. “A gentleman like you would never commit a murder.”

Stupid woman. What would she know?
Paul thought, jealously watching James and Jane together.

“Well, you’re welcome in our home,” Lucy said. “Come and get drinks, both of you.”

That’s strange, thought Eve. The other day she told me she didn’t like the man. Well, I suppose she can’t throw him out, especially as he’s been released by the police.

Paul, however, was having other thoughts.

Everybody’s pandering to him. Why? What on earth has that man got? He thinks he’s better than everyone else, but he isn’t. I’ll show him. Just wait and see.  

Paul was getting angrier by the second and Eve was watching him and could see it. She was concerned. He certainly had a temper and she could almost imagine him murdering someone, but she couldn’t think why he would want to kill Jennifer. She needed to find out more about him to see if he had a motive.

Eve got herself a gin and tonic, thinking it was safer to get her own drinks, and went over to chat to Don, but she was missing David. She had got used to him being around and she would have loved to talk to him about Paul and how she suspected him of killing Jennifer. However, this is what had got her into trouble. She couldn’t discuss this case with David and she shouldn’t even be thinking about who murdered Jennifer.

As the evening wore on, Eve got bored. It wasn’t the same without David, but she had spent years doing things on her own and had never minded, so why couldn’t she get back to how things had been? Eve was a self-sufficient and secure woman who hadn’t needed anyone to enjoy life, but she now realized that her life had changed. She liked to do things with David and she missed him when he wasn’t there. She had finally met someone she wanted to spend her life with, but she had probably blown it. She knew she should put the murder out of her mind if she wanted any chance of getting David back, but it was difficult. It was far too interesting and she needed this stimulation. Why couldn’t she have both David and the excitement of the murder?

A little later on, Eve came out of the upstairs bathroom, having retouched her make-up, ready to say her goodbyes. She wanted to look good when she had the attention of everyone. Passing one of the bedrooms, she heard raised voices and as usual, curiosity got the better of her. She slowly crept towards the door, which was slightly ajar, and tried her best to listen. Within a few seconds, she realized it was Kevin and Lucy arguing.

Really, she thought. Can’t they wait till we’ve gone? They have guests to look after. 

“Do you have to keep looking at Eve, Kev? It’s pretty obvious to everyone that you fancy her,” Lucy hissed.

Eve gasped. She hadn’t even been aware of this. So many men were attracted to her and she had come to barely notice them unless she was particularly interested or they made a nuisance of themselves. As for Kevin, he was hardly appealing, plus he was married.

“Oh shut up, you stupid woman. You’re imagining things.”

“What? Like I imagined that one night stand you had with Jennifer Anderson?”

Eve gasped again. She had to get back downstairs before they saw her. Lucy could be the killer and she could have poisoned her as well. There was no way she was going to let that woman see her.

“I thought we’d got over that, Lucy. You’ve got to forget it ….. and most of all, stop mentioning it. What if someone hears you? They could think you’re the killer and tell the police. God knows, you’ve got a motive.”

“What? Do you really think I killed that obnoxious woman, Kevin? Do you think I’m capable of murder?”

“I honestly don’t know, Lucy.”

“How can you say that?” she replied, now almost in tears. “Haven’t you hurt me enough?”

“Oh, for God’s sake. Don’t pretend to be in love with me. That ship sailed a long time ago.

Lucy stared at him. There was no point pretending. She had stopped loving Kevin many years ago when he’d had his first affair.

“Underneath that quiet shell, there’s an obnoxious, angry woman. Nobody but me sees you when you get like this. If they did, they’d be shocked.”

Eve still stood by the door listening. She knew she should leave, but this was far too interesting.

“That’s different to murder. I could never take another person’s life, never,” Lucy wailed.

She was now in tears.

“I don’t know if I believe that or not, but we can’t stay here all night. We have guests downstairs. I had better go and see to them.”

Eve didn’t know what to do. If she went down the stairs, Kevin might see her and wonder if she had heard anything. She thought she’d better go back to the bathroom.

Eve stayed in the bathroom for over five minutes before deciding it was safe to come out. However, as she walked past Kevin and Lucy’s bedroom, Lucy appeared. Eve stopped, knowing she had to act normally. Lucy couldn’t know that she had overheard her conversation with her husband.

“Lovely party, Lucy,” Eve said, smiling, even though she felt herself trembling.

“Thank you, Eve. It’s a pity David couldn’t come.”

“Yes it is, but he is very dedicated to his work, I’m afraid,” Eve replied, moving towards the stairs.

She didn’t want to prolong the conversation any longer than necessary. Kevin thought his wife was capable of murder, so she could be in real danger and she wanted to get downstairs as soon as possible.

“I should get going soon however,” Eve said. “I want to see how David’s getting on.”

“Oh, not before I bring out the cakes and desserts, Eve. You don’t want to miss those.”

“Okay,” Eve replied.

She decided however, that she didn’t want Lucy to give her any food or drinks, not wanting to risk being poisoned again. It was quite possible that Lucy had killed Jennifer and poisoned her.

When Eve came downstairs, she saw Alison and Robert holding onto each other in a slow dance. James and Jane were doing the same and Eve suddenly felt sad and lonely. She missed David terribly. However, this feeling didn’t last long as Paul marched over to her.

“I hope you’re satisfied with your meddling,” he spat at her.

“What?” she asked shocked to hear him speak in such a manner.

“I’m sure James is the killer and he’s all over Jane. If he murders her, it’ll all be your fault.”

“I doubt if he is the killer,” Eve replied calmly. “There are many more likely suspects.”

“Yes, who?”

“I think you’d be the last person I’d tell, Paul, the last person.”

Paul’s eyes filled with anger and he grabbed Eve by the throat and tried to strangle her in full view of everyone. Pete and James were the first to see what was happening and dashed to her rescue.

The two men managed to pull Paul off Eve in no time at all and Annie and Jane went over to comfort her. Eve was bent over coughing, unable to believe what Paul had tried to do. 

Why on earth had he done that? Perhaps he’s the killer? Perhaps he had a night of passion with Jennifer and she rejected him afterwards?

“What on earth is wrong with you, Paul,” Pete asked.

“Nothing,” he replied.

He couldn’t think of what to say. What had come over him? He had suddenly become so angry watching James and Jane dancing in each other’s arms and then he saw Eve and he flipped. However, he didn’t want to admit to everyone how much he liked Jane and that he still thought James was the killer. What good would it do? It wouldn’t win Jane back, would it?

“What on earth has Eve done to make you attack her like that?” James asked.

“It’s between me and her,” he said.

 “The hell it is,” Eve said, recovering from her ordeal.

She was well and truly fed up of Paul and now everybody would know what an idiot he was.

    “Basically he still thinks James is Jennifer’s killer. To top it all, he fancies Jane. Because I helped to get Jane together with James originally, Paul says it’ll be my fault if James kills Jane. There, you have it. Ridiculous.”

“Oh Paul,” Jane said first. “How could you think of such things? James would never kill me. And as for attacking Eve; that was a terrible thing to do. She’s my friend.  I’m afraid I wouldn’t go out with you even if James wasn’t here. You’re not my type. I’m sorry.”

Paul hung his head in shame. This party was turning into a disaster and he had made a fool of himself. Eve was going to pay for this.

“Yes,” James joined in. “You have a warped mind, Paul. I should be angry with you, but I’m not. Instead I feel sorry for you. You need help.”

“I don’t need your help or anyone else’s, thank you.”

With that, Paul stormed out without telling his brother or sister in law where he was going.

Everybody was silent until Kevin spoke.

“I expect we all feel a bit subdued and you want to go home, but please stay for Lucy’s desserts. She spent a long time preparing them.”

Most people nodded and started to dig in as soon as they were brought out.

“How are you holding up?” Annie asked Eve.

“I’m okay I think,’ Eve replied. “He’s got a bit of a temper, hasn’t he?”

“Yes he has. I bet you wish David was here?”

“Not really. He’d probably say I’ve been meddling again when I haven’t, I really haven’t.”

Alison came up and handed a plate of deserts and cakes to Eve.

“I didn’t think you’d want to get up, so I got you a bit of everything.’

“Oh, how lovely, thank you Alison.”

As she ate, forgetting completely that she was going to get her own desserts, Eve started thinking. Now there were two suspects in the case, Lucy and Paul, perhaps even three. Kevin could also have killed Jennifer. Perhaps he had wanted a one night stand while she’d wanted more. He could have killed her to get her out of the way. However, this was less likely because Lucy knew, so Jennifer couldn’t have threatened to go and tell his wife.