Murder in Mind (11 page)

Ellie forbore to comment. ‘So, what brings you here this morning? Perhaps it was to ask how well your son did yesterday when he played in his first match for the football team? You will be pleased to know that he did very well indeed. Stewart, Thomas and I all went to cheer him on. He scored a goal, too. He would have loved it if you'd felt able to come.'

‘I was working.' Diana's mind was elsewhere. ‘No, what I came about, it's a bit awkward, but I want you and Evan to make up and be friends. He's so low at the moment that he needs something to make him feel better. Apart from the new baby, I mean. His household is all at sixes and sevens. One minute he had a wife and three children under his roof and now he's only got Freya, and she's in a sulk most of the time. His housekeeper has walked out and Angelika's permanently at the beautician's.'

‘I suppose you're planning to move in?'

‘Not yet. I want all their stuff cleared out of the house first. I've asked Evan to get rid of the gym machines and he's promised to get a decorator to return the conservatory to what it ought to be. Then the kitchen will have to be ripped out and modern fitments installed; not that I intend to be chained to the kitchen sink.'

‘Naturally not.' More work for Betsey, then.

‘All the reception rooms will have to be redone, and the master bedroom. I'm not sleeping in
her
bed. Then we'll need one of the rooms decorated and furnished as a nursery. I'm leaning on Evan to send Freya off to boarding school straight away, which is the best place for her, nasty little madam that she is. No, I'm not moving in – yet. But I'll make sure no one else does, and I'm running the office for him until he feels he can cope again.'

‘You want me to play Happy Families with him?' Ellie thought about it. ‘I'm not sure I could. He'd want to talk business, and I'm not prepared to do so.'

‘I can promise you he wouldn't. He respects you.'

Ellie thought Evan respected her millions, not her. He'd tried to patronize her in the past. He'd tried talking down to her as if she were a silly little housewife and she'd taken some pleasure in cutting him off at the knees. He'd remember that, wouldn't he, and want his revenge?

Both Ms Milburn and Diana reported that he was in shock at what had happened, but Ms Milburn had observed that a business phone call had taken Evan's mind completely off the tragedy. So how deeply did he really feel the deaths which had ravaged his family?

It might be interesting to find out.

On the other hand, to sit down at table with this man would take some doing. He didn't seem the ‘forgive and forget' type. More like someone who nursed a grudge.

‘Please,' said Diana.

Ellie's eyes widened. Had she heard correctly? Had her daughter actually said, ‘Please?' If so, then perhaps . . . What would it cost Ellie to sit down to table with him? Nothing except a little pride.

Oh, and a suspicion that he must know more about the murders than he'd admitted. Surely he couldn't be so naive as to think these killings were just bad luck?

‘Tell me; has Evan upset any of his clients lately? Has he had any hate mail?'

Diana shook her head. ‘That did cross my mind, but I accessed his computer at work, all the deleted mails, everything. There's a couple of threatening letters from a client which he'd dealt with, offering to settle. There's the usual complaints about the cut he takes, but no more than everyone gets. No, there's nothing to indicate any sort of vendetta. There've been no unpleasant phone calls, as far as I could tell. Some flack from a man I've had to sack, dead wood, got to be cleared out . . .'

Mr Abel, of course. And not exactly ‘dead wood'. More like ‘too honest for Diana'. Possibly even ‘wouldn't cut corners'.

‘Everything's been done by the book. The threatening letters were ancient, anyway. Nine months, a year old.'

But Diana had thought it worthwhile to look. Hm.

‘Mind you,' Diana said, ‘I haven't asked him if he's received any hate mail at home. Surely he'd have told me if he had? You're right; I'll have to check that out. Before you ask, he hasn't mentioned having any enemies, or tried to lay the blame on anyone except the play centre and the au pair.'

‘Yet he might well have made an enemy or two, the way he does business. You know his nickname is the Great White Shark?'

A shrug. ‘Amusing, isn't it? He operates under the usual rules, normal business practice. Who'd kill for that? Even if someone had got it in for him, why kill members of his family and not him?'

‘Have you considered that if someone is targeting the family, they might not stop with two deaths? What about other members of his family? He has a son, I believe. What of him?'

‘Oh, him. Philip. Evan says he's not all there. Nerves or something. Left home ages ago. Evan makes him an allowance, and I think he does voluntary work for a charity. Gardening for old people? I suppose I could have a word with Freya, ask her to be careful . . . but I don't think she'd listen to me.' Diana reverted to her original request. ‘So, will you kiss and make up? For my sake, if not for his?'

‘No kissing, but if he were to ask Thomas and me to dine with him some evening, I suppose we'd accept.'

‘Excellent. The golf club? This evening at eight o'clock. Will you make your own way there, or shall I collect you? Oh, do we really need Thomas?'

‘I won't come without Thomas.' Ellie did not wish to face Evan and Diana on her own.

Diana shrugged. Pushed herself off the chair, sighing. Perhaps this pregnancy really was taking its toll on her. ‘Let me know if you need a lift. You'll dress up a bit, won't you?'

‘I suppose so,' said Ellie, conscious of wearing soft slippers and a slightly bedraggled skirt. All that rain. Yes, it was still raining, but no doubt Diana had brought a large umbrella with her to shield her outfit from the weather, and had parked her luxurious car right up by the front door.

Yes, she had.

Bye bye, Diana.

Rose called out, ‘Lunch is ready.'

Ellie went into the sitting room to call Thomas . . . who had fallen asleep in his chair.

‘I'm ready for it,' he said, jerking awake. His voice was coming back. A bit.

Ellie was annoyed with herself. ‘I'm so stupid. I didn't think quickly enough. Diana and Evan Hooper have invited us to dine with them at the golf club tonight, and we've got roast lamb and all the trimmings for lunch. Can you eat two large meals in one day?'

‘Do you have to ask? Of course I can. Do we really have to go?'

‘Mm. Afraid we do. She says Evan's in shock and is being deserted by Angelika . . . I'll tell you all about it over lunch. Just don't eat too much now, that's all.'

Thomas laughed and patted his substantial frontage. ‘Can't you see I'm fading away for lack of food? Lead me to the table, woman.'

Sunday afternoon

I
t went on raining. Thomas dozed in his La-Z-boy chair after lunch, while Ellie attempted to read the papers, fighting off sleep.

She woke when the phone rang and went on ringing. Thomas stirred but didn't wake. She stumbled into the hall in the early twilight.

Diana. Sounding tense. ‘Sorry to wake you, Mother—'

‘I wasn't asleep.' Well, she'd been dozing, that's all.

‘There's been a change of plan. The police have just been round. They found Fern. That's—'

‘Evan's second wife?'

‘Dead. Since yesterday. Some stupid accident with her insulin. She's a diabetic, you know. Was.'

Ellie yawned, rubbed her eyes. ‘So this evening's off?'

‘You don't sound surprised.'

‘I've never met the woman. Have you?'

‘No. Evan can hardly believe it. He keeps saying, “It's a blast from the past.” Whatever he means by that.'

‘How did they find her?'

‘She had a “gentleman friend”. Used to go to the pub with him every Saturday night. Do a Karaoke turn. He couldn't get a reply when he called for her. She lived above the shop but had never given him a key. He saw the lights were still on inside the shop, which was odd as it was way after closing time. So he called the police. They broke in and found her. She was diabetic and there was a needle sticking in her thigh. She was very dead.'

Ellie was silent. Thinking. Another ‘accident'?

‘She'd been drinking. It looks as though she'd forgotten what time of day it was and given herself an extra injection. Her gentleman friend was inconsolable, said he'd warned her many a time to be more careful.'

‘The police believe it was an accident?'

‘I don't know what they believe. Evan refuses even to . . . He's in shock.'

‘Diana, this is worrying.'

‘Very. The gentleman friend told the police that Evan ought to be informed, so that he could break the news to Fern's daughters.'

‘One remaining daughter. Freya, isn't it? How did she take it?'

‘She asked if she'd inherit the shop. Then she disappeared. Went up to her room to sulk, I suppose.'

‘Does she inherit?'

‘Evan said he wasn't sure. He'd paid for the lease on the shop and flat above as part of the divorce settlement. If Fern had made a will, then maybe the lease would become Freya's property. But who knows if that kookhead will have done anything as sensible as making a will. The solicitors will have to sort it out. Complications . . .'

Silence.

Ellie said, ‘Diana, have you considered—'

‘That I might be next? Thanks, Mother. Yes, I had. But I don't think I'm at risk. I'm not married to Evan, yet.'

‘But you still intend—'

‘Oh yes. He's in shock.'

Ellie thought that if she heard that once more, she'd scream. ‘Well, thanks for telling me. I assume the golf club is off.'

‘Well, we can't be seen to go out and enjoy ourselves at the moment, can we? Evan isn't fit for it, anyway. He'd like you to come over here instead.'

‘Why?'

‘It was my idea, really. I don't know how you do it because the Lord only knows you weren't trained to use your brain, but call it luck, or whatever, people do talk to you and tell you things, and that's not my strong point.'

No, indeed. ‘What do you want them to tell me?'

‘It's more . . . I'm not the best person to deal with them at the moment.'

Deal with who? With Freya or Angelika? ‘No, Diana. I don't think that's a good idea, particularly if someone's bent on killing off the Hooper family one by one. Get the police on to it, give them your file of complaints.'

‘I'm going to do that. In the meantime, I really would like it if you could come over. There's a situation here that I really can't . . . Neither can Evan. He's at his wits' end.'

‘What situation?'

‘Well, someone needs to talk some sense into Angelika. She only ever reads
Hello
and
OK
and
True Stories
magazines, and today she wondered if they might be interested in her story. She wasn't serious about it but Evan blew his top as soon as she was out of the room. If she were to do that, she'd make out, oh, I don't know, that he pressured her into having his child.'

‘Did he?'

‘No, of course not. That wouldn't be at all like him.'

Ellie was silent, thinking that it was very like what she knew of him.

Diana continued, ‘It's absurd, of course, but she's in a highly nervous state, and if he as much as frowns at her she runs off in tears. I asked her what she planned to cook for supper and she screamed at me like a fishwife. Her chief complaint seems to be that no one's paying any attention to her. What does she expect, at such a time? I'd like to slap the make-up off her silly little face, but I can't do that, can I? She's driving Evan mad. If you could make soothing noises to her and let her cry on your shoulder, then everything will quieten down. Come as soon as you can, right?'

She clicked the phone off.

Ellie wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. So she took the problem to Thomas, who was awake – just – and channel-surfing on television.

‘Thomas, please. I need your advice.'

He turned a wary eye on her. If she hadn't known him better, she'd have thought he had a guilty look about him. But he did turn down the volume on the television.

She explained the situation and he looked relieved. ‘That's all right, then. I'll drop you round there and go on to take the evening service at St Matthew's. They rang me on my mobile a few minutes ago to ask if I could do it, and of course I said I would.' His voice was coming back, and he looked pleased with himself.

She knew him too well to accept this at face value. ‘You planned this. You accepted so that you could get out of the evening at the golf club.'

‘No, no. The golf club serves wonderful food.'

‘But an evening with the Hoopers plus Diana would be too much for you?'

He grinned. ‘You don't need me to sort that lot out. You'll have them eating out of your hand in five minutes.'

‘Aren't
you
supposed to be the one trained to deal with people in mourning?'

‘Hm.' He switched the volume back up. ‘I wouldn't want to push my nose in where it's not wanted.' In a saintly tone.

‘Thomas, I could shake you.'

Which was funny, seeing as he was twice her size. So they both laughed. Thomas patted her hand. ‘Light of my life, if you really feel you can't deal with that pack of jokers, then of course I'll come with you and tell them at St Matthews to get someone else to take the service. But this is right up your street. Go and make soothing noises to those who are truly bereaved. Inject some common sense into those who are flying off the handle. Warn Diana not to move too fast. Give me a bell on your mobile when you're ready for me to pick you up again.'