The Cedar Face: DI Jewell book 3 (DI Elizabeth Jewell) (27 page)

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Teresa Lane ushered
them inside. 'Get in quickly,' she said. 'A few journalists
have been assembling since I got here.'

'We didn't
see any,' Patterson said as they all squeezed through the
half open door.'

'Hopefully they've gone looking for something
to eat.'

Once they were inside, she turned to Walsh
and Adams. 'Sorry I didn't introduce myself. 'I'm
Teresa Lane, Jacob's solicitor.

Elizabeth cast her eye over
the antique furnishings. Whoever Morven rented the place from wasn'
t short of money.

'Please sit down,' Lane said. Jacob'
s upstairs sorting his emails. Can I offer you a
drink?'

Gillian Walsh was the first to accept. 'I like
your English tea. I want to apologise for not checking
it was okay to come but it seemed sensible to
drive here with DI Jewell and see you straight away.'

'
Jacob's very grateful you've come all this way.
It's important he has solid links to home. I'
ve helped him understand how the British legal system works
and what he can expect to happen over the next
few months. The difficulty now of course is this second
murder.' Lane looked over at Elizabeth. 'Have you checked John
and Jacob's alibi yet?'

Elizabeth knew she was on
the spot. Walsh and Adams were watching her. 'The lady
who runs the establishment in Oxford confirmed both Morven and
McAllister were there. What she couldn't tell us was
what time they left. We're studying CCTV from the
Cowley Road and as soon as we get confirmation Mr
Morven was driving along that route, we'll have no
further reason to question him.'

Walsh turned to Teresa Lane. ‘
We'd like to meet Nick Calbrain, who I am
told was responsible for setting up the consular help from
our embassy.'

Elizabeth wasn't expecting Calbrain's name to
crop up. Which reminded her, she'd not replied to
his text regarding the information he'd offered her.

She
shut out the sound of Lane's voice and thought
about her short time with Calbrain. He hadn't told
her a lot about his life until one night at
the Queens Hotel when he'd opened up. Telling her
of times he'd tried to forget, and building a
new life in a new country. She'd listened and
had believed every word. Now she wasn't so sure.
Calbrain had come into her life too soon. After breaking
up with David she'd had no desire to start
a new relationship. Then a chance meeting changed everything. She
had loved Nick Calbrain and had wanted to trust him.

Someone was saying her name. She opened her eyes and
the room seemed slightly blurred. This occasional trouble with her
eyesight, was in her opinion, stress related. One of these
days, she thought, I will learn how to relax properly.
She blinked a few times and her vision cleared.

Teresa
Lane had sat on a green velvet Chesterfield. 'I was
just saying Inspector Jewell that Nick keeps in touch most
days. He and John knew each other when he lived
in Vancouver. When all this happened John asked him to
help. I believe Nick and you were also friends.'

Elizabeth
wondered why she needed to know. Perhaps she was attracted
to him. 'He helped us on a case. I heard
he's getting married soon.'

Lane looked surprised. 'He hasn'
t mentioned it to us.'

She stood up and walked
over to a small cabinet, then opened a drawer and
handed a card to Walsh. 'Nick Calbrain's number. She
glanced back at Elizabeth. 'I assume it's okay for
your visitors to speak to Jacob in private.'

Elizabeth nodded. '
I don't like to pressure you, but the main
reason for this visit was to collect the mask. I'
d like to see it.'

'Can you give me a
few minutes?'

The door closed and she heard them climbing
the stairs. Patterson was fiddling with his phone.

'You're
as bad as Eldridge, always messing with your phone.'

'Talking
of phones, has Calbrain been in touch with you?'

Elizabeth
didn't want to admit she'd ignored his text,
especially when he'd promised information. She knew Patterson would
want to know why. She decided to be honest. 'I
got a text. He said someone had given him some
info on the Wilson case.'

'Was it any use?'

'I
didn't get back,'

'Bloody hell Liz, why not? Calbrain'
s not daft. He wouldn't bother you if it
wasn’t of interest.'

Elizabeth heard Lane coming down the
stairs. 'Not now Tony. We need to retrieve the mask,
Anyway, I feel uncomfortable with these people.’

'Have you heard
from the hospital since you rang us?' Elizabeth asked Lane.

'
No change, they gave him the clot busting drugs immediately
but they take time to act. The staff nurse said
to ring this afternoon for an update.'

'No chance of
any visitors then?' Patterson queried.

Lane sounded annoyed. ‘I’m
sure it won’t apply to you. The mask’s
in the kitchen. Come through.'

They followed her into an
enormous space in huge contrast to the room they'd
just left. Modern and minimalist, it felt like stepping from
one period of history to another in a few seconds.

Lane reached up and removed a brown paper parcel from
a shelf. She placed it carefully on a glass table.

Elizabeth didn't touch it, but observed its size. 'It'
s too big to go through a letterbox so how
did it get into the house?'

'When I arrived yesterday
morning John wasn't feeling too well. After about an
hour I could see Jacob was fed up and he
suggested we go out somewhere for lunch. John came downstairs
after a short nap and insisted on coming too. I
drove to Blenheim Palace and we wandered aaround there for
an hour or so, then we went to a pub
in Woodstock for lunch. John enjoyed himself and certainly seemed
a lot better when we got back. As soon as
I came into the house, I remembered Jacob had asked
me to lock the conservatory doors. I'd forgotten. When
Jacob went into the conservatory he found the package.'

'Who
opened it?'

'Jacob thought I should. So I did.'

'That'
s interesting. He was obviously suspicious about the contents. Did
he seem nervous?'

'I don't think he was suspicious,
cautious maybe. He's aware he could be targeted by
nutcases. There are vigilantes out there, some of them are
dangerous.'

Elizabeth pulled on latex gloves and handed Patterson a
pair. Lane had tried resealing the box and she wondered
why, to protect it? Like the tissue, someone had carefully
wrapped the mask in blue tissue paper. A woman's
touch, Elizabeth guessed as she gently prised the blue paper
away. She picked up the mask and studied it for
a few seconds. It had to be one of the
missing masks from Grasmere. She could feel the layers of
papier-mâché and when she turned it over, the inside
was rough. Something caught her eye, initials written on the
bottom left hand corner. She tried to make them out
but the ink had spread making the letters blur into
each other.

'Take a look. Your eyes are better,' she
handed it to Patterson.

'Difficult to see, first letter might
be, I, or a T. Not sure.'

She lowered the
mask carefully into the box. 'Thinking about it, I don'
t think the letters are initials. Because Morven was judging,
I'm certain I heard that someone in the art
department devised a code to prevent any favouritism.'

'That wasn'
t necessary. Even with their full names on, how would
Morven know who was who? It might be worth asking
these art teachers why they resorted to codes.'

'We can
think about that later. I want to go to the
Radcliffe on the way back.'

Lane was listening intently to
their conversation. Elizabeth cursed. She was bound to tell Morven
what she'd heard.

When they returned to the sitting
room, Jacob Morven had positioned himself next to Sergeant Adams.
Elizabeth noticed the change in him. His face was drawn
and he appeared to have lost weight. 'I assume there
was no note with this,' Elizabeth held up the box.

Morven stood up. 'We would have told you.'

Walsh asked. '
Okay if I see it?'

Elizabeth held the box while
Walsh and Adams had a look inside.

'Would you say
it's an authentic representation of a Nisga'a mask?'
Elizabeth asked.

'Who made it?' Walsh asked.

'A sixth form
pupil studying at Grasmere,' Patterson answered.

'For English kids who
know little about the culture, I'd say it was
a pretty good effort.' Adams added. 'It's a shame
they hadn't used cedar wood instead of paper.'

Morven
spoke quietly 'Too expensive and none of them knew how
to carve,' he stared at Elizabeth. 'Show it to John,
when he's well enough. He's the real expert.'

Lane directed her question at the Canadians. 'Did either of
you know the professor.'

'Walsh answered. 'I met him once
when he came up to the Nass Valley. Sergeant Adams
was away on holiday at the time and missed him.
He'd organised a symposium for a group of Eastern
European academics studying the lava beds. He also paid a
visit to the First Nation Museum.'

Elizabeth didn't want
to discuss Wilson's phantom mask in front of the
Canadians. Because she hadn’t told them immediately, she didn'
t want them to think she was hiding important information.
In any case it had nothing to do with them.
She turned to Walsh and Adams. 'Patterson and I need
to go to the hospital. Do you want me to
arrange your transport back to Cheltenham?'

Walsh held up her
phone. 'We've got access to a driver from the
embassy. I didn't want to take advantage, but I
think I will now.'

'Are you hoping to talk to
McAllister?' Adams asked.

Elizabeth was ready to leave. 'That wasn'
t my intention. I need a report from his doctor
confirming there were no other injuries.'

The room went quiet
as everyone digested what she'd said.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Patterson took a minor road out of Bibury then turned
onto the A40. Elizabeth hadn't spoken since leaving Morven'
s place. He turned his head and saw she was
dozing. To break the silence he turned on the radio
but kept it low.

Classical music filled the confined space
until he fiddled with the tuning and picked up the
local radio station. The hourly news bulletin was due in
five minutes and he wanted to check whether the media
was still running the Harper story. Patterson skirted Oxford and
followed the signs to Headley Way and the John Radcliffe
Hospital situated three miles from the city centre. It was
an Oxford University hospital, one of the largest teaching trusts
in the UK with an international reputation. The Harper story
had been usurped by a minor earthquake in California.

He
knew he couldn't risk parking just anywhere even if
he was on police business. He spotted the signs to
the trauma unit and cardiac services. The allocated area was
car park one. As he slowed to negotiate the ramps,
Elizabeth woke up.

'Here already,' she said, rubbing her eyes.
She sat up and yawned.

'What do you want me
to do while you see the doctor?' Patterson asked.

'What
do you want to do?'

'Order a strong coffee and
try and turn my brain off for half an hour.'

* * *

Patterson parked and went off to buy a ticket. Elizabeth
hurried to the hospital's main entrance.

She stopped at
reception, introduced herself and asked to see Dr Burgess. When
she reached the cardiac department, a junior nurse guided her
through the maze of corridors until she stopped and knocked
on a door. 'Mr Burgess is the consultant in charge.
He's looking after the professor.'

Burgess was probably in
his mid sixties, a small slim distinguished man. 'I didn'
t realise you would be here so soon, otherwise I
would have been more polite and met you at reception.'

'
You're a busy man and I don't intend
wasting your time. I need information on Professor McAllister's
condition and what might have caused his heart attack.'

Burgess
seemed astonished at her question. 'Are you conducting an investigation
into a simple cardiac arrest?'

'I need confirmation for my
reports. Professor McAllister is by association connected to a criminal
investigation. I wouldn't be doing my duty as a
police officer if I didn't follow this up.'

Burgess
visibly relaxed. 'He's doing all right, stable for the
moment. As soon as he was admitted we got his
medical records. He has a history of hypertension, associated with
acute stress. Otherwise, he's not in bad shape. Personally,
I think his long-term anxiety and stress combined with
his sedentary lifestyle has contributed to the problem. Take into
account he's also getting on a bit. The journey
from Canada and concern for his friend's situation will
also have played a part. I don't know the
whole story, so perhaps you could fill in the gaps.'

Elizabeth went on to tell him about the parcel but
didn't disclose its contents. 'That's as much as
I can tell you. This is an ongoing inquiry.'

'I
understand your suspicions but I assure you there's nothing
untoward about his medical condition. If that's what you
want to know.'

'Extreme fear can cause heart attacks,' Elizabeth
said.

Burgess smiled. ‘It's not impossible but extremely rare.
I do agree a severe shock can cause cardiac arrest
but a good proportion of patients survive these serious attacks.
Come on Inspector, are you insinuating an attempted murder.'

'I
disagree, what if someone knew he was susceptible to a
specific trigger. It's like any severe phobias, arachnophobia for
instance. Each time I set eyes on a house spider
my blood pressure shoots up and my heart pounds.'

'It'
s a bit hit or miss. Why not use a
more reliable method.'

'Exactly, and murderers do. Think of poisoned
chocolates sent through the post. It has happened. The professor
was profoundly distressed by this parcel arriving.'

'Won't forensic
analysis throw up clues?'

'I hope so.' Elizabeth suddenly remembered
she'd locked the parcel in the boot and needed
to get it to the lab quickly now Burgess wasn'
t going to alter his opinion on McAllister's diagnosis.'

'
Why do you think this was an attempted murder?'

'I'
m covering all angles, if someone sent it deliberately to
cause harm I need to know who that person is.'

Burgess looked uncomfortable. 'His friend has been charged with murder,
yet the professor came to England to offer support. What
if...?'

Elizabeth realised he'd stopped before making an accusation.
She finished the doctor's sentence. 'What if Morven deliberately
frightened the professor. Is that what you were about to
say?'

Burgess shook his head. 'Of course not, it's
a ludicrous idea.'

'We all have suspicious minds, but police
officers are paid to think that way. We'd never
solve any crimes if we always believed everyone was honest
and good. Personally, I'd be very surprised if Morven
had tried to harm his friend.'

Burgess sounded relieved. 'I'
m glad to hear you say that. I heard the
professor is well-known at Oxford University.'

Elizabeth said, 'I'
m told he's a very well respected man, especially
at UBC, sorry, the University of British Columbia.'

'Before he
leaves here, I'm going to suggest he retires, but
I doubt he'll thank me for it. Would you
like to see him before you go?'

'That's very
kind if you,' Elizabeth weighed up the extra time involved,
but knew she'd feel better afterwards. She followed Burgess
to the IC suite and as soon as she entered
McAllister's room, it brought back memories of Frenchay. Seeing
Patterson and wondering if he was going to make it.
She stood at the bottom of McAllister's bed, pleased
to see his colour appeared normal. He was sleeping peacefully.

'
Are you alright?' the doctor asked. 'Policing is a stressful
occupation. I've seen the consequences many times.'

'I'm
sure it's not half as stressful as yours,' she
said and handed him her card. 'Please get in touch
as soon as Professor McAllister is well enough to hold
a conversation.'

'Don't you mean an interrogation?' he asked.

'
If it's necessary,' she answered and made her way
back to the cafe where Patterson was engrossed in a
newspaper.

'Time to go,' Elizabeth said. 'I keep having visions.'

'
What kind of visions?'

'Mutiny back at Park Road, Morven
dressed in his regalia, and Jade Harper trying to tell
me who killed her. I'm not capable of handling
two investigations Tony. We need someone else at the helm
to keep us on course.'

'We're like a ship
without a captain,' Patterson said. 'Sailing the high seas with
no idea where we'll end up.'

'Only until we
find a replacement for Daly,' Elizabeth added.