A Murder Unmentioned (42 page)

“Stay the hell out of my house,” Rowland said coldly.

“I beg your pardon?”

“We have become aware,” Wilfred said calmly, “that you, Arthur, have been acting as some kind of informant to the police.”

“I see.” It seemed Arthur was not going to bother to deny it. He showed no sign of remorse or embarrassment. “Well how long did you expect to get away with murder, Wilfred?”

“Neither Rowly nor I had anything to do with our father’s death,” Wilfred replied, “so I hope you’ve not promised Miss Bennett the Sinclair estate in return for her hand.”

“You deny it? Hardly a surprise.” Arthur rolled his eyes.

“You’ve lived under Wilfred’s roof, eaten with his family, taken his charity,” Rowland snarled. “And the whole time you were—”

Arthur snapped. “Charity? A good part of this estate should always have been mine. Your conniving dictator of a father stole my inheritance!”

“And so now you’re seeking justice for
him
,” Rowland came back furiously. “And to do that you paid that vermin Charlie Hayden to come back to Yass.”

“If the police had been doing their job, if Wilfred hadn’t run him out of town, they would have taken his statement years ago.”

“I believe we’ve been fair to you, Arthur,” Wilfred said. “I settled your debts, gave you a new start… a house.”

“Yes. Under obligation to the largesse of the great Wilfred Sinclair for what should rightfully have been mine in the first place!” Arthur hissed. “I found Charlie Hayden’s name in the ledgers. It was the fact that you’d sacked a long-serving employee so summarily the day after Uncle Henry was murdered that made me wonder.”

“But it went rather wrong, didn’t it, Arthur?” Rowland said stepping towards his cousin. “Hayden tried to blackmail you, or pull out. He forced you to kill him.”

“Me?” Arthur poked Rowland in the chest. “How dare you try to pin your crimes on me!”

“He was found at
Emoh Ruo
where you were about to set up house. You found his body.”

“May I remind you that Miss Bennett was with me the entire time.”

“She looked terribly distressed—was that because she’d just witnessed you kill a man?”

“Don’t be bloody daft. The body was cold by the time we found it. I can’t say I blame you for killing Hayden, all things considered, but don’t think for one second that I’ll take the blame. You and Wilfred have it all worked out, don’t you? He kills Uncle Henry, secures the entire estate for himself, and then keeps you and your useless unemployed set in return for your silence!”

“Look, you idiot, Wil was with someone when Father was shot. He has an alibi!” Rowland blurted.

For the first time, Arthur looked startled. “What alibi? Who?”

Wilfred placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Perhaps, Arthur, it would be best if you left. Lucy, of course, is welcome to stay.” His eyes flashed fury though his voice was steady. “You will find all the lines of credit I arranged for you have been revoked. You are not welcome here, or at
Woodlands
. Do not expect any further consideration from the Sinclairs.”

“I am a Sinclair, you bloody fool!”

“We’ll see.”

At that point Kate and Lucy returned.

“Wil?” Kate stepped back, subconsciously repelled by the hostility in the room.

“Arthur is leaving, my dear.”

“But why?” Lucy demanded. “What’s happened?”

“Because he’s a duplicitous… scoundrel,” Rowland replied, controlling his language with some effort.

“You’re just jealous!” Lucy said, moving to Arthur’s side and entwining her arm in his.

Rowland laughed. He didn’t mean to, but that particular accusation was more ridiculous than all the others which had been levelled at him of late.

Lucy erupted. “You, Rowland Sinclair, are an amoral, spoiled, cruel child. You are not half the man your cousin is!”

“Oh Lucy!” Kate said shocked.

“I regret to inform you, Miss Bennett,” Wilfred said gravely, “that your fiancé has been conspiring against us all the time he has been a guest in my house. He has violated our trust and any sense of honour.”

“Because he wants to get back what’s rightfully his?” Lucy demanded. “Because he wants to see justice done after all these years?”

Silence, both stunned and appalled. None of them had really thought Lucy Bennett knew what Arthur had been up to. That she was complicit was something for which they were completely unprepared.

Kate gasped. It was more a cry. Wilfred moved immediately to help her into a chair.

“Lucy, you can’t mean that,” she pleaded.

“I believe Arthur!” Lucy replied, unmoved by her friend’s distress. “I saw what Rowland did to that poor man we found at
Emoh Ruo
and I only thank God that I didn’t accept him. I should have listened to Pater from the beginning.”

“For pity’s sake, Miss Bennett, you’re the one that tried to shoot me!” Rowland said, exasperated.

Lucy inhaled. Her horror and fury was tinged with panic. “Arthur darling, I should like to leave now,” she said.

Wilfred took Kate up to bed and stayed with her, explaining, and comforting his wife who was deeply hurt and unnerved by the betrayal of both Arthur Sinclair and Lucy Bennett.

Rowland told his friends about the exchange. “Did you manage to speak to Lucy?” he asked.

Edna moaned. “She wouldn’t stop talking, but only about weddings and china patterns. Even Kate couldn’t get a word in.”

“It doesn’t matter. Miss Bennett has made it clear that she’s going to stand with Arthur on this.”

“Why’s he doing this, Rowly?” Edna asked. “You’re his family.”

“I don’t know, years of feeling cheated, I guess. And he seems to genuinely believe Wilfred killed Father… or at least he did when the shouting started. He knows Wil has an alibi now.”

“What do you think, Rowly?” Clyde asked. “Could Arthur have killed Hayden?”

Rowland grimaced. “He makes a valid point—the body was cold when he found it. Hayden was probably killed the previous day or early that morning. He could have done it then, I suppose, but why would he then go back to the scene, with Lucy no less?”

“Perhaps he left something incriminating at
Emoh Ruo
and went back to retrieve it.”

“He could have done that on his own—without Lucy. Arthur paid Hayden to return, but I don’t think he killed him.”

“So we’re back to no idea!” Clyde said, groaning.

Wilfred came into the conservatory. He seemed weary.

“How’s Kate?” Rowland asked, pulling his brother aside.

“I might telephone her doctor. This kind of stress is not good for her with the baby due in less than a month.”

“Is there anything we can do, Mr. Sinclair?” Edna asked. “Anything at all?”

“Thank you, Miss Higgins.” He glanced at Ewan who was sitting in Clyde’s lap chewing on a wooden block. “Perhaps if you take the boys up to visit with her, it might be a welcome distraction.”

“Of course.” Edna took Ewan from Clyde. “Where’s Ernie?”

33

VERSES FROM BAIRNS

BOBBY’S SWING

Bobby King he had a swing

In an apple tree

All day long you heard this song,

“Will someone please swing me?”

When mother said, “Time for bed”

Bobby used to cling,

Hands tight, with all his might

To his treasured swing.

But at last, all warnings past

Father had his way.

And Bobby King he lost that swing

Through failing to obey.

Cairns Post, 1932

“E
rnie’s in the garden with the nanny. They said something about a swing,” Milton said, standing. “You take Ewan up, Ed, I’ll go find him.”

“I’ll give you a hand,” Clyde said. “The swing is in the elm tree, if I recall.”

Rowland poured his brother a drink.

“Maurice Kent is of the firm opinion that Mother would be declared unfit to stand trial even if the Crown elected to prosecute,” he said quietly, accepting the glass of whisky. “On the whole, he doesn’t believe they’d have enough evidence. In fact their case against
you
is, at best, extremely flimsy and would be completely unsustainable if it wasn’t for the Hayden murder.”

“So what are they saying?”

“If we could show that you couldn’t have killed Hayden, then the indictment for Father’s murder would more than likely also go away.”

“But I could have killed him, Wil. I wasn’t under lock and key that day after the fire, and while it’s unlikely that I slipped out without anyone noticing, it’s not impossible.”

“Which leaves us with finding the real murderer. You accused Arthur…”

“Yes, I did suspect it might have been him at one point, but I doubt it now. To be honest, I doubt he could have beaten Hayden to death.”

“What, physically?”

“That too, but I doubt he was angry enough. I saw the body. Hayden had been battered—it wasn’t just one punch. It must have been someone with a serious grudge… like me, I suppose.”

“Very well,” Wilfred decided. “We’ll look into who had reason to hate Hayden… other than you and me.”

Milton returned while they were discussing how to proceed. “Clyde’s still looking,” he said, “but there’s no sign of them. Miss Walling and her crew don’t seem to have seen them either. Miss de Waring wouldn’t have taken Ernie on a picnic somewhere, would she?”

Wilfred sighed. “I wouldn’t have thought she’d do so without notifying us, but I’m afraid she’s the silliest young woman we’ve
ever had look after the boys.” He stood, pacing irritably. “If I hadn’t served with her father…”

“I’ll go out and search with you,” Rowland volunteered. “They couldn’t be too far. Is Lenin with them?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

“That’s how we’ll locate them then.” Rowland grabbed his hat.

They headed into the garden shouting for Lenin rather than Ernest or Nanny de Waring, in the hope that the dog’s single ear might prove more keen by virtue of the fact that it was attached to a greyhound. It took only a few shouts to elicit a responding bark.

Relieved, Rowland followed the sound to the fence near the front of the property. Lenin barked madly as he approached.

“Settle down, old boy.” Rowland untied his dog from the fencepost. “What the dickens are you doing out here? And where are Ernie and Miss de Waring?”

He called for Ernest a couple of times, succeeding only in startling a flock of cockatoos from the gums along the fence-line.

Lenin panted, squirming excitedly and jumping up upon his master. “Come on, we’d best get back,” Rowland said, worried now. What would the boy and his nanny have been doing so close to the road?

He sprinted back to the house.

“You found Lenin,” Milton said as Rowland and the greyhound reached the house garden. “Where’s—”

“I don’t know,” Rowland replied, catching his breath. “Someone had tied Len to the house yard fence. There’s no sign of either Ernie or Miss de Waring.”

“Bloody hell!”

“Look, could you check again with the gardener?” Rowland said grimly. “Someone must have seen them.”

Rowland found his brother in his study. “Wil, we have a problem.” He told Wilfred of their failure to find either Ernest or the nanny.

Wilfred paled but he wasted no time. He phoned Harry Simpson and the other managers immediately, directing that every man on
Oaklea
down tools and join the search. And then he telephoned the police.

“She’s probably taken him on some ramble and gotten lost,” Wilfred said gruffly. “Let’s not worry Kate. We’ll probably find them within the hour.”

Rowland said nothing. He hoped his brother was right.
Oaklea
was vast—how far could a six-year-old and his nanny possibly have walked by themselves?

“Perhaps one of them has been hurt… a snake…” Wilfred stopped. “Dear God.”

Rowland pressed his brother’s shoulder. “Come on, Wil, we’ll join the search.”

Outside Harry Simpson was already organising teams to scour the property in every direction. Rowland spotted Jack Templeton—he looked white and shaken.