No Stranger to Death: A Scottish mystery where cosy crime meets tartan noir: Borders Mysteries Book 1 (26 page)

‘Thank you for helping with Mrs Humphreys. She obviously trusts you.’

‘I don’t know Lisa very well, but as I said, I’ve been advising her recently.’

‘About her pregnancy?’

‘How do you know about that?’

‘One of the few things she would say was that she had to “keep the baby safe”, but there wasn’t a child on the premises. It’s one of the reasons why I went along with her insistence that we fetch you.’

‘She’s not much more than a child herself. I hope she’s being treated properly.’

‘She’s being well looked after.’

‘When will you question her?’

‘We’re waiting for the police doctor to confirm she’s fit to be interviewed. But probably not until tomorrow now.’

‘She must have a solicitor.’

‘She almost certainly doesn’t have her own, so a duty solicitor will be assigned to her. Please, Doctor, you have to trust us to do our job.’

‘I’m only trying to look after Lisa’s interests.’

‘I realise that,’ Mather said. ‘And right now you can help her by answering my questions.’

‘If you insist.’

‘How well did you know Mr Humphreys?’

‘Only superficially. He was the shopkeeper, I was a customer.’

‘Did he get involved in your conversations with his wife about her pregnancy?’

Despite her earlier promise to Lisa, Zoe was unsure how much she should tell the police at this stage. She hesitated and Mather seized on this.

‘You’ve already told me these people are not your patients. And the girl is in a very serious situation –’

‘Do you think I don’t realise that?’

‘You can influence what happens to her. Now and in the future.’

He was right. Zoe sighed. ‘Lisa came to see me alone, although I think Brian knew. He was insisting that she should have an abortion.’

‘Did she tell you why?’

‘I couldn’t find that out from either of them. I gave her the details of a clinic in Edinburgh, but I think she was starting to have second thoughts. I saw Brian earlier this week and he warned me not to contact her again.’

‘Did he threaten you?’

Zoe could almost smell Brian’s breath again as she recalled her brush with him outside the shop on Monday. ‘Not physically. He was unpleasant, but he didn’t scare me.’

‘And how did you leave things?’

‘I told him I wouldn’t turn Lisa away if she asked for my help. Afterwards, I agonised over whether to force the issue and go round to see her. Now I wish I had.’

‘Do you have any theories as to why Mr Humphreys was so keen for his wife to have an abortion? Is it possible, for example, that the child isn’t his?’

‘I wondered that myself, but it’s unlikely. They lived and worked together, so for a start I can’t see what opportunity she’d have for a relationship with anyone else. My gut feeling is there’s another reason. I can’t explain why, except that his anger seemed directed at me for interfering rather than at Lisa for betraying him.’

‘So what was his attitude towards his wife?’

‘He behaved as though he owned her. Of course there was a big difference in their ages, which may explain why he took charge all the time, but it was more than that. As well as telling her what to do, he’d paw at her in front of customers, as though to prove he could do anything he wanted with her.’

‘In a sexual way?’

‘Yes. He couldn’t keep his hands off her and she never told him to stop, though she didn’t appear to enjoy it.’

Mather considered this for a moment or two, then asked if Zoe knew where the couple had come from. ‘I believe they’re relative newcomers to the area.’

‘All I ever got out of Lisa was they’d lived somewhere in England.’

Looking at his watch, Mather said, ‘Mr Pengelly will be ready to leave soon. I’ll arrange for a car to take you both back to Westerlea.’

‘Neil’s here? Why?’

‘To help us with evidence gathering. We needed to take his fingerprints, examine the blood on his shirt, that kind of thing. As well as taking a formal statement.’

‘You can’t think he had anything to do with it.’

‘We have to check his version of events against the physical evidence.’

‘This is unbelievable. He was the one who found them.’

‘You mustn’t misinterpret what we’re doing. Mr Pengelly states he was first on the scene after a crime had been committed. We’re not seeking to disprove what he says happened, but to prove it.’

‘I’m glad to hear that.’

‘However, by his own admission, he didn’t actually see Brian Humphreys being stabbed. He came in on the aftermath, so we need to establish the course of events before he arrived.’

‘But you are working on the presumption that Lisa killed Brian?’

Ignoring her question, Mather stood up and said, ‘I’ll find out if Mr Pengelly is ready.’

‘I promised Lisa I wouldn’t go without seeing her first.’

‘You’ve done your best for her, but now you have to leave things to us.’

‘Can I visit her tomorrow?’

‘Call me in the morning.’

After a short wait, Zoe was led back to the building’s entrance by the policewoman who had taken Lisa away earlier, then a young, male constable escorted her to an unmarked car. She slid on to the back seat; Neil was already there.

‘You’re wearing your hair down,’ he said. ‘Was that for me?’

‘Yes.’

He put his arm round her shoulders and held her close all the way back to Westerlea. Neither of them spoke. The car dropped them off at the shop, where lights still blazed although the ambulance and all but one of the police cars had left.

‘So much for me showing you a good time,’ Neil said, starting up his Land Rover.

‘What we’ve gone through can’t compare with Lisa’s experience,’ Zoe said. ‘Poor little thing.’

‘No one forced that poor little thing to stab her husband. You didn’t see Brian. Spare some sympathy for him.’

‘I feel sorry for them both.’

‘Why did she do it?’

‘I don’t want to talk about that now.’

Neither of them spoke again until Neil brought his vehicle to a halt outside Keeper’s Cottage.

‘I’ll walk you to your door.’

‘There’s no need.’

‘I want to.’

On the doorstep, Zoe said, ‘Do you want to come in? I’ll make us some tea and I think I can probably stretch to toast. We haven’t eaten, remember?’

‘Are you trying to look after me, Doctor?’

‘It’s been a difficult evening for both of us.’

Neil pulled her to him. ‘So let me look after you too.’

Chapter 32

‘This is cosy,’ Neil said. ‘When do the newspapers arrive?’

He and Zoe were sat up in bed drinking tea and eating the toast they had discussed but never got round to making the night before. Mac lay between them, wolfing down crusts as fast as Zoe could feed them to him, all the while keeping his eyes on the interloper.

‘I don’t think we’ll be getting any today,’ Zoe said, ‘given last night’s events.’

‘Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.’ Neil put down his mug and closed his eyes as if he was going back to sleep. After a couple of minutes he opened them again, sighed theatrically and grasped her left hand. ‘You’ll have to marry me now.’

‘I’ve not managed to slow you down much, I see.’

‘Was that a thinly-veiled complaint about my performance last night? Please remember I’d been through a very upsetting experience earlier in the evening which was bound to take its toll.’

Zoe smiled, then straightaway felt guilty for being in such good spirits. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’ she asked. ‘Finding them, I mean.’

‘As long as it won’t upset you.’

‘I’m made of sterner stuff than you think.’

‘Maybe so, but not as stern as you pretend.’

‘I’m a doctor, Neil.’

‘But that can’t mean you’re untouched by what happens around you. They weren’t strangers. At the very least Lisa was your patient, or else why did she want you there?’

‘I thought we were talking about your experience.’

He let go of her hand. ‘I’ve changed my mind. I’ll only show you mine if you show me yours.’

‘Enough of the sexual innuendo. Tell me what happened when you went to the shop last night.’

‘Okay.’ He took hold of her hand again. ‘Did I mention I’d gone to buy you flowers?’

‘Yes you did.’

‘I was running late, as usual, and they were closed, so I knocked on the side door. Twice. Just as I was resigned to relying on my fascinating personality and dazzling good looks to charm you I heard this god-awful wailing noise. The door wasn’t locked, so I let myself in. They were in the kitchen, Brian lying on the floor and Lisa knelt over him, crying hysterically. And blood everywhere.’

‘So you didn’t actually see it happen?’

‘You sound like the police.’

‘Sorry.’

‘She’d stabbed him. I might not have seen her do it, but she’d stabbed him all right. A kitchen knife, all bloody too, lay on the floor.’

‘What did you do?’

‘I could tell he was dead. I dragged her away from him – which was surprisingly difficult, given how tiny she is – and took her into another room. Then I called the police. A couple of uniforms soon turned up, and then Mather arrived. Judging by the way he was dressed, he’d been on his way to a hot date too.’

‘I wish they’d allowed you to fetch me,’ Zoe said. ‘I was so worried when Constable Geddes turned up and wouldn’t tell me anything.’

‘Mather wouldn’t even let me go for a fag on my own. I asked him, “Do you think I did it?” but he took no notice.’

‘That’s how he is with everyone. If you ask him a question he doesn’t want to answer, he simply ignores it.’

‘Maybe that is what they think. After all, they took my fingerprints and went off with the shirt I’d bought especially for the occasion. Bet I never see that again.’

Zoe shook her head. ‘He told me they’re not trying to disprove your version of events but prove it.’

‘Do you believe him?’

‘He’s okay. For a policeman. And he had no reason to lie to me.’

‘He wasn’t doing you any favours, dragging you into that mess last night.’

‘Lisa wouldn’t let anyone else near her. She may have been injured herself for all they knew.’

‘Is it true she’s pregnant?’

‘How do you know that?’

‘I overheard my police escort tell one of the plain-clothes guys.’

‘Everyone will know by now, in that case.’

‘Not from me, they won’t. I’ve been otherwise occupied since leaving Hawick, remember?’

‘That’s not what I meant.’

‘Will being pregnant help her?’

‘I don’t know,’ Zoe said. ‘I want to go back to Hawick later today and make sure they’re treating her properly.’

Neil took the mug from her hand and put it on his bedside table. ‘Just because other people are going through hell, it doesn’t mean you have to go with them.’

‘I can’t help thinking I should have done something to prevent it.’

‘Don’t you doctors receive training in how to stay detached from patients’ problems?’

‘It’s something you’re expected to develop on the job. I admit I probably do care too much sometimes, although most people don’t affect me as badly as this.’

‘So why is Lisa Humphreys any different?’

Zoe had to think about this before she could put it into words. ‘Awful things happen all the time, and in my experience people usually cope. Most of us are stronger than we imagine. But Lisa isn’t.’

‘You’re behaving as though she’s the victim here. She stabbed her husband, not the other way around.’

‘He drove her to it. And I should have seen that coming.’

‘You’re not responsible for what other people do, Zoe. And you can’t put things right that your patients get wrong.’

‘Kate told me much the same thing. Either you’re ganging up against me – not for the first time – or you’re right.’

‘Take it from me, we’re right. Even if you do manage to see Lisa today, you must accept you won’t be able to wave a magic wand and make everything better for her. She’s responsible for her actions, not you.’

‘I’ll try to remember that.’

‘Glad to hear it.’ Neil gently turned Zoe’s face towards him and kissed her.

She pushed him away. ‘We need to talk.’

‘You talk. I’ll listen.’

‘I’m serious. Please stop doing that.’

Two of her pyjama-top’s buttons were already undone. Neil paused at the third. ‘Okay, let’s talk.’

‘Don’t think I’m getting remorseful over last night, because I don’t regret it one little bit.’

‘Phew. I’m glad to hear it.’

‘But you must understand something. I didn’t come here looking for a relationship. You’ve turned my life upside down.’

‘And what have you done to mine? You seem to think I fall in love and propose to women I hardly know on a regular basis.’

‘Propose is hardly the right word, Neil. It suggests I had a say in the matter. What you did was tell me you intended to marry me.’

‘Which only goes to show how overwhelmed I am by the feelings I have for you.’

Zoe had no idea how to respond to this.

‘Don’t get me wrong,’ Neil continued. ‘Meeting you has been wonderful. Like discovering there’s an old James Bond movie I’ve never seen. With Sean Connery as 007, of course.’

She knew him well enough now to appreciate how great a compliment he had paid her. ‘What are we going to do?’

‘I suggest we take it one step at a time.’

‘Okay.’ This sounded so out of character, she doubted he had finished. She was right.

‘So I’d like to repeat what we did last night. Only much more slowly. Is there any chance I can persuade you to plan no further than that, at least for now?’

Zoe got out of bed and enticed Mac into the hall with her final crust.

Fortified by a second breakfast of cereal served up by Zoe in response to his comment that sex gave him a hell of an appetite, Neil went home around ten o’clock, after extracting a promise that she would phone him when she got back from Hawick. Mather could not take her call when she rang him shortly afterwards but had left a message saying she could see Lisa at one o’clock.

She checked her mobile. As expected, she found a text from Kate:
Heard about last night. Dinner @ Mum’s 5pm?