Murder My Neighbour (31 page)

The pieces of the jigsaw whirled round and round in Ellie's head. She put the letter down on her desk and said, ‘Dear me.'

She read it all through again.

It explained much that had been puzzling her.

Oh, those silly creatures, rushing around in a panic . . . Why couldn't they have waited?

Ellie read the letter a third time and sighed. She wished she'd known Mrs Pryce better. Perhaps one day Ellie would be able to deal with Diana with the same firmness which Mrs Pryce had exercised over her family.

Meanwhile . . . there were a couple more pieces of the puzzle to put into place, but she couldn't deal with them till the morning.

Everyone looked jaded next morning except Midge, who ate his breakfast noisily and with relish while keeping an eye on the door to the hall.

‘You're staying in the kitchen this morning, Midge,' said Rose. ‘Just till we can get your little friend back to where she belongs.'

Midge sent her a look of contempt, backed away from his dish, and elongated to double his length. He stretched out first one leg behind him, and then the other, strolled to the cat flap in the kitchen door, and made his exit.

Mia, stacking plates in the dishwasher, was anxious. ‘He can't get into the dining room from outside, can he?' She gave a little scream, looking at her watch. ‘I'll be late. Rose, can you finish up here for me? There's a board meeting at ten, and I said I'd get there early.'

‘You're enjoying getting back to work?' asked Ellie. ‘Is everything going well . . . At the printing works, I mean?'

‘Oh, yes.' Mia was distracted, picking up her handbag, checking to see if her keys and mobile phone were in it. ‘We have more work coming in now I've made them appoint a proper salesman, and I'm pushing them to consider new technology, but dragging them into the twenty-first century is like pulling teeth. Rose, can you manage without me all day today? I've got a driving lesson this afternoon. It's about time I got myself some wheels, and a friend promised to give me some practice in his car this evening.'

Good news all round.

‘Bless you, of course I can manage,' said Rose. ‘Off you go, and I'll have a nice hotpot waiting for you when you get back this evening. Meanwhile, I'd better make sure all the windows in the dining room are shut and locked, and our little guest hasn't done any further damage.'

Ellie looked in the fridge. Had they enough food in the house, and would she have to go to the shops to get some more? Mm. Well stocked for once.

Rose returned to the kitchen with the kitten on her shoulder. ‘She was ever so pleased to see me. Hasn't she got a big purr for her size?'

Thomas wandered in and, seeing the little cat, held out his arms. ‘She's a pretty little thing. I'll have her in with me in my study this morning, if you like. Midge can't open that door.'

‘And I'll ring the Cats Protection League, find out where she belongs.' Ellie yawned. She hadn't slept well. One part of her wanted to drag Thomas into her office and show him the solicitor's letter, so that they could have a nice comfortable discussion about whether she should accept or not. Ten thousand pounds sounded a lot if you said it quickly, but Ellie had a feeling that accepting the legacy would cost her far more than that in terms of time and energy. It would be best if she read it all over again, quietly, by herself.

She rang the Cats Protection League, only to discover they knew nothing of a half-grown brindled cat without a collar. If Ellie had found a stray, would it be possible for her to foster it for a while? They'd get someone to call in to see her about it when they had time.

Oh. Maybe Vera would know something about the cat.

She disinterred Vera's mobile phone number from the stir fry on her desk. ‘Vera, it's Ellie Quicke here. You're at work somewhere, I assume? Can you spare a minute to answer a couple of quick questions? Well; three, actually.'

‘Sure, I can polish at the same time. Did you have a good holiday?'

‘I did, thank you. Have you had a letter from Mrs Pryce's solicitor, saying she'd left you some money?'

‘Wasn't that good of her? I told Mikey we'd get a holiday out of it, but it will have to be half term, since he's back at school now. I'm a bit worried because the rent's just gone up, but it's important to have a holiday, isn't it?'

‘It is indeed. Next, there's a stray cat, brindled, only half grown, big ears, no collar, been wandering around the place. Didn't you say that Mrs Pryce had two cats, but they were taken by the Cats Protection League?'

‘They were both black and white and went to a good home. I asked. The cat you're talking about belongs up the road – three, no four, houses up – and it's called Molly. I do them Wednesdays. They've got four little monsters under the age of six, three boys, one girl, and the girl's the worst for jumping on the cat. Their father thought they'd like a pet, but they scare the life out of her. I'm not surprised she's trying to find another home. I'll give you their phone number if you can hold on a minute . . .'

The girl must have put the phone down. Somewhere nearby a vacuum cleaner swooped and whined. ‘Are you there?' Vera was back. ‘I'll read it out to you, shall I?'

Ellie made a note of the number. ‘Um, Vera; they haven't put up any notices asking for the return of the cat, have they? I'm just wondering how attached they are to her.'

‘Tell the truth, not very. You want to turn her over to the Cats people?'

‘I suppose so, in the end. But I'll ring these people first. One last question; when is Pet coming back?'

‘Oh, didn't they tell you? No, of course, you've been away. She and her husband have been asked to stay on down in the Isle of Wight, help her friends run their boarding house. They've even given up their council flat in Acton. But my new mate's working out just fine. I really like her, and she loves antique furniture, knows how to bring it up a treat. We'll see you tomorrow as usual?'

‘Can Pet drive?'

‘Yes, of course. Most people can, can't they? It's just silly billies like me that can't. Oh, sorry. I didn't mean—' She'd remembered that Ellie didn't drive, either.

‘That's all right, Vera. What about her husband? Does he drive, and do they have a car?'

‘They did have but it died the death and they're doing without at the moment. Saving hard, you know?'

‘That makes sense. All right, Vera. See you tomorrow.'

That filled in one more piece of the puzzle.

NINETEEN

M
idge pushed open Ellie's office door and prowled around with murder in mind.

Ellie abandoned thoughts of a mysterious death and rang the house down the road which might have mislaid a cat. A distracted female nearly leaped down the phone with gratitude when Ellie said she'd found a kitten which might belong to them. It appeared that the eldest boy had been driving them mad trying to find it, rushing around the roads as soon as he got back from school, calling, ‘Molly, Molly!' at every house. He had put up some notices, but hadn't used proper tacks so they'd all fallen down. He was in such a state as you wouldn't believe, and had Ellie got the kitten safe because it needed to go to the vets and be microchipped and so on . . .

Ellie sighed, said they would keep the kitten safe until called for, and hoped that would be as soon as possible.

A pity. Thomas adored that kitten.

She rang the police station, only to be told that Ears was out. Of course. Maybe he was, and maybe he wasn't, but she could always leave a message, couldn't she? She was going to enjoy this. ‘Please tell the inspector that Mrs Quicke called. As she is now the owner of the Pryce house and its contents, she would like to be present when your expert opens the safe. Please let her know when this is to take place.'

She supposed that meant she accepted the legacy. She phoned Mrs Pryce's solicitor and was connected to Mr Greenbody's son, ‘young' Mr Greenbody, who sounded efficient and impersonal.

‘This is Mrs Ellie Quicke speaking. I've been away and only just opened the letter from you and the enclosure from Mrs Pryce. I shall have to think about whether I can accept the legacy because it has strings attached. May I ask who the other executor is to be, and whether or not he has accepted the job?'

His voice went from chilly to warm. ‘I am the other executor. Mrs Pryce was one of my father's clients. He was a good friend of hers till his arthritis made it necessary for him to retire. She was not sure at first if I would be mature enough to work for her – as I'm only in my late forties – but eventually agreed to give me a trial. I am truly sorry to hear of her death.'

‘So am I,' said Ellie, with feeling. ‘May I ask whether you agreed with the way she disposed of her estate?'

A dry tone. ‘I have been familiar with the family for many years, and so was my father before me.' Meaning he knew what bloodsuckers they all were and how difficult it was to be even-handed when dealing with them. ‘And of course, your charity is a shining example of what can be done to help people without causing them to lose their independence. I can't think of anyone more suitable to carry out Mrs Pryce's wishes.'

Hm. Flatterer. ‘Well, I'm not going to act hastily. I have to think whether or not I can manage to take on so much extra work. In the meantime, did you know that the police plan to open Mrs Pryce's safe this afternoon? Would it be appropriate for you to attend?'

‘Very much so. Let me know when and I'll be there, even if it means cancelling an appointment. I look forward to meeting you, Mrs Quicke.'

Ellie went along to Thomas's study to tell him about the solicitor's letter and found him talking on the phone while operating his computer with his free hand. There was no sign of his part-time assistant. The little cat was curled up in Thomas's in tray, fast asleep.

‘All right?' he mimed at her.

‘Fine,' she mimed back. He was busy, and a couple of hours this way or that wouldn't hurt, would it? She looked in every room on the ground floor. The door to the dining room was open, but there was no sign of Midge. Ah, yes. He was sitting in the sun in the garden, ignoring them. Long might that last.

The doorbell rang. Diana. ‘I must say, you don't look very well, Mother!'

‘I had a disturbed night,' said Ellie, leading the way to the sitting room. She wondered why she wasn't frightened to be alone with her daughter. Was she overtired, or was this an answer to prayer? Or was it because Thomas was still in the house?

Diana was looking pleased with herself. ‘Guess what!'

‘You've been thinking about what you tried to do, are deeply ashamed, and want to talk to me about it?'

‘I don't know what you mean.' She knew all right, for a tide of red swept up and over her forehead.

‘Do you expect me to overlook the fact that you tried to kill me?'

A quick frown. ‘Don't be ridiculous. That never happened.'

‘I remember it all too well.'

Diana's colour was fast returning to normal. ‘You have a vivid imagination, Mother. Let's get down to business. I have the most wonderful proposition to put to you. It's going to make you yet another fortune. How does that sound?'

‘I'm all ears.' Ellie wondered if Ears had got her message yet.

‘You know the Pryce place? Of course you do. Think how terrible it would be if someone developed the site unsympathetically. They could put up a block of flats that would tower over you and destroy the peace and quiet of your garden.'

‘I doubt if a tower block would be allowed in this neighbourhood.'

‘Money talks, and such developments have been pushed through occasionally. So, my idea is this: you buy the place, and I'll redevelop it for you with a block of low-rise flats which will be worth a mint. I'll be taking all the worry off your shoulders, and you'll have nothing to do but sit back and rake in the cash.'

Ellie laughed, and then sighed. ‘Where does Evan Hooper fit into this neat little scenario?'

‘Well of course you'll go through him to buy the place so he gets his cut, too.'

‘You get back into Evan Hooper's good books by arranging the deal? What about your merger with his agency?'

‘The merger goes through if I pull off the deal for the Pryce house. This ticks all the boxes, and everyone gets what they want.'

‘One small problem, Diana. I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do about it, but I've just heard that Mrs Pryce has left her house to me on the basis that I continue dishing out support to her family and friends.'

Diana changed colour, from pasty to greenish-white. ‘Oh, come now! That's ridiculous. Why would she do that?'

‘She married into a family of wastrels who can't make ends meet but still expect her to keep them in style. She knew I'd been through much the same thing with you.'

Diana flushed, and then paled again. ‘You're saying I'm a wastrel?'

‘You've bought and sold, and inherited three properties so far, yet you say you're on the verge of bankruptcy—'

‘Well, yes. Because Denis—'

‘Tell him to get lost. Tell him you'll sue him if he drops out of working for the agency.'

‘He's in jail, for heaven's sake. He isn't exactly dropping out of his own accord.'

‘It's his own fault he's in jail. You have a good case. You may be in debt for other reasons, such as the extravagant purchase of a new car—'