As if by Magic (26 page)

George frowned. ‘I didn't think he was speaking about me,' he said doubtfully. ‘He didn't look in my direction at all. I'm sure it was Stella he was angry with. Now I'll grant you he might think I'm an absolute idiot, fooling around on top of the board-walk, but what's Stella done? I can't stand the idea of him talking to her like that. He shouldn't swear at any girl, especially not one who works for him. She can't tell him to go to the devil,' he added. ‘It's not fair.' There was a long pause. ‘Jack,' he continued hesitantly, ‘are you going to tell Inspector Rackham about David and . . . and well, you know what I mean.'

Jack took a deep breath. ‘I've got to.'

George's eyes narrowed. ‘Even after what he's done?'

‘Yes.' He flinched at George's expression. ‘What else can I do?' he demanded. George didn't answer. ‘I've got to, George,' he repeated. ‘I've got to play fair with Bill.' Again George said nothing but his silence was more telling than any words could be. ‘I'm going to tell him the whole story though, not just part of it. David saved both of us. I know that.'

And he had. That's what made it so very hard.

William Rackham rang the doorbell of Mrs Culverton's flat. He glanced at his watch. Eight o'clock in the evening.

He had already seen Anne Lassiter and, although she was the one caught out, it was Rackham who felt like the guilty party, as if he had done something utterly crass, such as using bad language in church or taking pennies from a beggar's hat. She was – Rackham felt the full force of this – a lady. She greeted him with guarded politeness and, in the quiet of the library at Eden Street, listened while he stated his case. Reduced to its brutal essentials it was that she was a liar. Anne listened in silence, then raised her head.

‘You're right, Inspector. When Roger realized what I had done he advised me to tell you what actually occurred. I chose not to take his advice.'

She was, astonishingly, going to leave it there.

‘When did Dr Maguire realize that you had given Mrs Culverton a false alibi?'

‘This afternoon, Inspector. I foolishly said more than I intended and Roger guessed what had happened. You mustn't think that Dr Maguire was involved in my deception.'

He demanded more details and Anne, reluctantly, provided them. She had left Eden Street with Peggy Culverton as she had stated and gone to Peggy's flat. That was true. Then – she couldn't exactly recall but it must have been after six o'clock – she had left Peggy. She was hungry and had called into her club, the Three Arts in Piccadilly, for something to eat. There she had met some friends – Rackham had their names and addresses – and they had decided to go to
Hurry Along!
and for supper afterwards. And that was that. She refused to offer any defence or any explanation and Rackham had unhappily taken his leave.

And now he was standing outside Mrs Culverton's front door waiting to tell another woman she was a liar. David Lassiter, whom he proposed to tackle later, would make a nice change, he thought ironically.

Jack hadn't envied him the interview. He had sounded tired and dispirited on the phone, as if the colour had been drained out of him. David Lassiter, Jack had been at pains to point out, had saved his and George's lives that afternoon. The man was a hero. Jack had left him in no doubt. The story would be in tomorrow's press, and he had to be cautious with heroes. However, Jack's very depression pointed to the fact that he believed that at long last there seemed to be a credible motive attached to a credible suspect in the Culverton case.

There were footsteps behind the door. Rackham straightened himself up as the door was opened not by Mrs Culverton but by David Lassiter. The startled apprehension in the man's eyes told him that Lassiter knew why he was there. Lassiter hesitated, then held the door open. ‘You'd better come in.' He turned and called down the corridor of the flat. ‘Peggy, Inspector's Rackham's here.'

Following David Lassiter, Rackham went into the sitting room. Mrs Culverton stood by the bay window. She wore a red, square-necked dress and, as she stood, framed against the tapestry curtains, she fleetingly reminded Rackham of a picture he'd seen of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary, Queen of Scots, Rackham thought, had been well loved if controversial, with great dignity and unquestionable presence. She'd also been accused of murdering her husband, her adulterous, deeply unsatisfactory husband. The parallel caught him off guard. ‘I'm sorry to disturb you, Mrs Culverton,' he said. That wasn't what he'd intended to say but her still presence demanded courtesy. She didn't answer but stood, waiting with a questioning, wary smile and guarded eyes. ‘The fact is,' he continued, hoping he didn't sound as awkward as he felt, ‘I've got good reason to believe that your account of how you spent the evening of 31st October is inaccurate.'

She gave a little sigh.

‘Are you calling Mrs Culverton a liar?' demanded David Lassiter.

She held up her hand. ‘David, please.' Her shoulders dropped and her smile faded, leaving only tiredness. ‘What exactly do you know, Inspector?' she asked quietly.

‘I know,' said Rackham, ‘that you did not spend the evening with Anne Lassiter.' Looking at her defeated face he felt like a clumsy brute. And that's ridiculous, he told himself savagely. This woman had lied to him and if it wasn't for Jack she would have continued to lie. He looked at David Lassiter, glad to turn away from that pale, weary face. ‘I'm sorry to talk about your private affairs, sir, but I also have good reason to believe that you and Mrs Culverton are more than friends.' He glanced apologetically at her. ‘I'm sorry, Mrs Culverton, but the lack of motive for your husband's death has plagued the investigation. You must see that your failure to tell the truth about that evening makes you – both of you – open to suspicion.'

‘For God's sake!' David Lassiter stepped towards him. ‘What are you saying, man? That I killed Culverton?'

Mrs Culverton held out her hand to him. ‘David, be fair. After all, it's what we were afraid of. It's what I've been afraid of all along.' She looked at Rackham. ‘You're wrong, Inspector. You're very wrong.' She indicated the armchairs either side of the fireplace. ‘Please, sit down. David, we have to tell the truth.'

She sat on the edge of the chair and wrapped her hands around her knee. ‘We were frightened, Inspector. Both of us knew perfectly well the construction that could be put on our actions but it was all so much simpler than you believe.'

She glanced reassuringly at David Lassiter, still standing beside her. ‘You know what my husband was like, Inspector. Everything I said about him was true. There's a new law which makes it possible for a woman to divorce her husband. I had been thinking about leaving him for some time but it's a huge step to take.' She shrugged. ‘I was nervous and unsure. Alexander wasn't the sort of man to make things easy for me. I . . .' She hesitated. ‘I was worried about what people would say.'

She smiled, fleetingly. ‘That matters to me, Inspector. It's silly to pretend it doesn't.' She took a deep breath. ‘It all changed when I found the newspaper cuttings and those postcards. I told you what happened. I fled. I honestly can't think of another way of putting it. I went to Anne and it was she who pointed out I had a ready-made refuge in this flat. I could have stayed at Eden Street, I know that, but it would have meant explaining exactly what I was so afraid of. I couldn't bring myself to do it. After all –' she smiled briefly once more – ‘I knew it sounded ridiculously melodramatic. If Mr Lassiter had any hint of what I believed he would have first tried to reason me out of it and then, if I did convince him, insisted on my going to the police. I didn't want to do either of those things. All I wanted to do was hide.'

‘Did you tell Mrs Lassiter about the newspaper cuttings?' asked Rackham.

Peggy Culverton nodded. ‘Oh yes. I don't know if she agreed with my interpretation of them but she saw how scared I was.' She smiled once more, a genuine smile this time. ‘Anne knew exactly what to do.' She reached up and took David Lassiter's hand. ‘She called David.'

Rackham coughed. ‘Did Mrs Lassiter know you were . . .' He stopped, warned by the sudden, dangerous light in David Lassiter's eyes, and tried again. ‘Did Mrs Lassiter know about your relationship?'

‘But we didn't have a relationship,' said Peggy Culverton. ‘Not then. I liked David, liked him a great deal, but it had never occurred to me to do anything about it.' She squeezed Lassiter's hand. ‘As I said, Inspector, it matters to me what people think and – well, I suppose I'm rather a conventional person.'

Lassiter's hand tightened on hers. ‘You believe in marriage, Peggy,' he said quietly. ‘Don't apologize for that. So do I.' He looked at Rackham. ‘I hadn't realized that Anne knew anything about my feelings for Peggy. They were real enough, even though there was nothing between us. When I got the phone call from Anne saying Peggy was desperately upset, I came straight here from the works at Tilbury. Anne, very tactfully, faded away.'

‘I didn't know she'd gone,' said Peggy Culverton thoughtfully.

‘What happened next?' asked Rackham.

‘For God's sake!' said Lassiter desperately. ‘What d'you think happened?'

Rackham held up his hand. ‘Don't misunderstand me, sir. As I say, I have no desire to poke around in your private affairs. What I meant was, granted what you've told me, it would be natural for you to try and find Mr Culverton. I know that in the same circumstances, I'd be tempted to get hold of him, if for no other reason than to warn him to stay away from Mrs Culverton.'

‘You did think that, David,' said Peggy Culverton. ‘You asked me where you could find him. You said you wanted a word.'

Lassiter suddenly grinned. ‘As a matter of fact, I think I put it rather more strongly.' He let out a deep breath. ‘All right, Inspector. When Peggy told me how scared she'd been and what she believed Culverton to be, I wanted to find him. I had visions of giving him a damn good hiding – I would have beaten the truth out of him – then hauling him off to the police. Peggy said he had rooms at the Mulciber Club. My idea was to go there and either see him right away or wait for him to turn up. However . . .' He shrugged. ‘Peggy didn't want me to leave her.'

‘I couldn't bear the thought of being alone,' she said quickly. ‘Not then.'

‘So you stayed here?' asked Rackham.

Lassiter nodded. ‘So I stayed here. It was the early hours of the morning before I finally left. The next day I went round to Culverton's office, hoping to see him, but his secretary, Lloyd, told me he had gone to Paris. I left a message for Culverton to get in touch when he got back and that was about that.' He shrugged and, walking to the sideboard, poured himself a whisky and soda. Leaning against the sideboard he held the glass thoughtfully. ‘Anne covered up for us. Peggy didn't want anyone to know how things were between us.'

Peggy Culverton drew her breath in. ‘No. No, I didn't.' She looked at him. ‘I didn't want you to see Alexander, David. I simply wanted to get a divorce as quickly and as painlessly as possible and if he had any idea we cared for each other he would have used that against us. I wanted you to stay away from him. I said so. You thought you could get the truth out of him but you didn't seem to realize – nobody ever did seem to realize – just how dangerous he was. Even if you had taken him to the police he'd have got out of it somehow. He'd have destroyed you, David.'

Lassiter took a long drink. ‘I wasn't frightened of him.'

Mrs Culverton turned away for a moment. ‘Perhaps you should have been.'

Rackham looked from Peggy Culverton to David Lassiter. ‘So when you got the news Culverton was dead, why didn't you tell the truth?'

David Lassiter gave a short laugh. ‘Because neither of us is stupid, Inspector. As it happened, Anne had given Peggy an alibi. When we heard the news of Culverton's death she wanted to tell the truth but I asked her to keep stumm. I expected you to find the killer pretty quickly and then, after a decent interval, I was going to ask Peggy to marry me. But, as time went on, it became obvious that you couldn't find the killer and would be very interested in anyone who'd had a motive. What happened? Did Anne's conscience get the better of her?'

‘David!' said Mrs Culverton, shocked. ‘Anne wouldn't let us down.'

‘She didn't,' said Rackham. ‘The truth came out by accident, as it often does.'

Lassiter grimaced. ‘I don't suppose this afternoon helped. I know Maguire put two and two together. I could see him doing it.' Rackham didn't contradict him. Lassiter put down his glass with a sharp click. ‘How could we have told you the truth? I didn't kill Culverton but there's no denying I might have done if I'd got hold of him that night.'

‘Is there anyone who can support your story, Mr Lassiter?' asked Rackham. ‘Is there anyone who saw you leave this flat, say?'

David Lassiter shook his head. ‘I wish there was, Inspector, but no.' He smiled ruefully. ‘I was trying not to be seen, you understand. I simply slipped away as quietly as I could.' He cleared his throat. ‘I'm innocent but I know how it looks. What will you do?'

Rackham got to his feet. ‘At the moment, nothing, sir. However, I must ask both you and Mrs Culverton to stay in London for the time being.'

Peggy Culverton rose to her feet. ‘Thank you, Inspector.' She sounded genuinely grateful. ‘The last few days have been awful. Watching, wondering . . . Just being afraid.' She gave a little shudder. ‘I'm glad in a way the truth's come out. Now it has, it's not nearly as bad as I thought it might be.' She glanced at David. ‘Thank God I stopped you going to find Alexander that night. He was dangerous, David. You were so sure you'd have it your way but he would have struck back, you know.'