The Diamond Rosary Murders (5 page)

M
eredith arrived promptly in the hall in response to the bell. He came through the door from the basement kitchen.

Angel said, ‘Just a few questions, Mr Meredith?’

‘Anything I can do to help, sir.’

‘Is there anywhere we can go that would be private, Mr Meredith?’

‘There’s Mr King’s little sitting-room that he used occasionally to watch the television, sir. It is through here,’ Meredith said, opening one of the six or seven doors leading from the long corridor off the entrance hall.

When they had settled, Angel said, ‘I understand that it was you who found the body?’

‘Yes, sir. I took Mr King his early-morning tea at seven o’clock, which I have done every morning for twenty years, but he was not in his bed.’

‘And that was unusual?’

‘Very unusual, sir. He had been complaining that he didn’t sleep as well as he used to. I knew that he always had a lot on his mind with the business, and I thought that he must have some transient problem. He complained similarly during the court case with the ex-Mrs King, and indeed during his mother’s illness, so I had expected it to pass in time.’

‘Mr King’s mother died recently?’

‘She broke her leg playing tennis in July, 2004, sir. But it didn’t
heal properly. She eventually died of heart failure in January, 2005. Mr King was devoted to her. She was a delightful lady. Second cousin to the Earl of Kinross. Mr King has kept her room exactly as it was in her lifetime. He will still not permit anything of hers to be thrown away. I saw him through that. And I saw him through his divorce.’

‘So there was something on his mind?’

‘I fear that there was, sir.’

‘He confided in you, then, Mr Meredith?’

‘In some things, sir. But not everything. It was just that
occasionally
some mornings, especially lately, he would ask for two paracetamol tablets. When I inquired into his need for them, he would mutter that he had had a bad night and had woken with a heavy head.’

‘I see.’

‘About two weeks ago, he told me about a recurring nightmare that he had had which disturbed him. Apparently he was having the dream most nights. He said that he used to wake in a sweat and sometimes couldn’t get back to sleep. He used to dream that he saw himself floating face downwards in the swimming pool and that he was dead.’

Angel frowned. He squeezed the lobe of one ear between finger and thumb.

Meredith said, ‘Since that’s how I found him this morning, sir, I find it very strange.’

‘Yes, indeed,’ Angel said as he continued to play with his ear. This was a very interesting and puzzling situation.

Meredith said, ‘Might I ask, sir, if you are the Inspector Michael Angel who is frequently reported in the newspapers as the man who always gets his man, like the Mounties?’

The muscles of Angel’s face tightened. He rubbed his chin. That sort of question always made him feel uneasy. He was always afraid that one day, he would fail to get his man.

‘I suppose I am,’ he said at length.

‘I saw you interviewed on the television after you solved that remarkable case the media dubbed the Cheshire Cat Murders, I think it was. It was amazing how you unravelled all that business with that dreadful schoolmistress.’

Yes. Well er, thank you, Mr Meredith,’ Angel said. He quickly looked down at his notes, then he said, ‘Tell me, what did you do when you discovered Mr King was not in his bed?’

‘I thought he might be in his bathroom, but he wasn’t. I noticed that his dressing-gown and slippers were missing so I reasoned that he would be somewhere in the house. I had occasionally found him working in his study and frequently in the swimming pool. Anyway I took the tray down to the study, then I saw a light from the end of the hall; it was from the partly open door to the swimming pool, so I knew he must be in there. I went along the hall and pushed open the door and got the shock of my life. There he was, face down in the middle of the pool. He was absolutely motionless and his face was under water so I knew he must be dead. I left
everything
as it was, and rushed out to the hall. My heart was pounding. My mind was in turmoil. I was so shocked. I had to sit down on the hall chair. All sorts of thoughts were rushing through my head. I realized that I must pull myself together and make the call. I lifted the phone and dialled 999. The rest, sir, I believe you know.’

Angel nodded. ‘It must have been awful for you, Mr Meredith.’

Meredith took out a spotless white handkerchief and wiped a moist eye.

‘Did it occur to you that it might not have been an accident? That there may have been somebody else in the house?’

‘No, sir. Not at all. I would have known, I believe, if there had been. I had checked all the windows and doors last thing.’

‘Was Mr King’s behaviour last evening in any way unusual?’

‘No sir. Mr Vincent Fleming, Mr King’s nephew, was a dinner guest. There were no callers, and no phone calls. I served dinner
at 7, and cleared the table when the gentlemen retired to Mr King’s study at about 7.45. I ensured that they needed nothing else, and that was the time I checked round the windows and doors, then I retired to my own room.’

‘How long have you been Mr King’s butler?’ Angel said.

‘I’ve been Mr King’s butler for twenty years.’

‘I understand that he had been married but was now divorced. What was the reason for the divorce?’

‘Mr and Mrs King were very discreet, and I am glad to say that generally, I was not present during their … disagreements.’

Meredith then looked up at the ceiling in an effort to illustrate further that he was a cut above the plebs, which was as well, because Angel was trying subtly to cover his mouth to conceal his smile at the word ‘disagreements’ which the butler seemed to have had difficulty in choosing.

Angel said, ‘But you were there during some of them. Tell me, what did they argue about?’

Meredith lifted his head again and said, ‘This is rather distasteful for me, sir. People in my kind of employment are bound by an unwritten law that whatever we see or hear in the course of our duties is confidential and should not be repeated.’

Angel pursed his lips. ‘I know exactly what you mean, Mr Meredith. The police are bound by a similar law except that in our case, it is written down and published.’

The butler just looked at him.

Angel said, ‘Very well, I will not pursue it.’

Meredith seemed to relax back into the chair.

Then Angel said, ‘Perhaps Miss Savage will want to speak to me about that.’

Meredith’s eyes flashed. His pupils darted in different
directions
, but he quickly recovered. He lowered his eyebrows.

Angel pretended not to notice. He pursed his lips and squeezed the lobe of his ear between finger and thumb again. And waited.

Meredith said, ‘I take your point, sir.’ He took a deep breath and said, ‘The point of contention, as far as I could see, was generally the amount Mrs King – as she was then – spent. This came to a climax when the bills for refurbishing their house in Florida began to come in.’

Angel nodded. ‘Did either Mr or Mrs King have a relationship with some other person, as far as you know?’

‘Oh no, sir. There was nothing like that. I would say simply that they were, very unfortunately, badly mismatched. They seemed not to be able to agree about anything. Mrs King even objected to the presence of Mr Fleming – Mr King’s only nephew – at the family’s Christmas luncheon party.’

‘On what grounds?’

‘She didn’t like him, sir. I remember she once described him – if you will excuse me, sir – as being “too smooth”.’

Angel nodded. ‘Who else works here in the house?’

‘I am the only member of staff who lives in, sir. Then there are Mrs Johnson, the cook housekeeper, Mr Saw, Mr King’s private secretary and Mr Rogers his chauffeur, who all live locally.’

‘So did you see Mr Fleming out of the house last night?’

‘No, sir. He saw himself out. He usually does. He has his own front door key.’

‘And how many keys are there?’

‘The back door key is left in the lock, sir. I unlock it in the morning and lock it at night. Apart from Mr King, Mr Fleming and myself, Mrs Johnson and Mr Saw have front door keys.’

‘That’s five keyholders, Mr Meredith? I think that’s about it for now. Before I take a look at the bedroom, I would like to ask if you have any thoughts on how Mr King finished up like that … in the swimming pool?’

Meredith looked down at the carpet, shook his head and said, ‘I’ve really no idea, sir.’

‘I was wondering if he had recently experienced a change in circumstances of some sort … received some bad news concerning his health or the business? You worked for him for twenty years, had he become preoccupied over the past few days or weeks? You know, did be behave uncharacteristically?’

‘He was perhaps slower in his replies of late, sir. I often had to repeat what I had said. Also he seemed not to be able to make decisions promptly – not even in small things. I suppose they might be as a result of the nightmares he was having.’

Angel rubbed his chin. ‘Right,’ he said.

Then Meredith’s face suddenly brightened. He lifted a finger and said, ‘Do you know, sir, I have just had a thought. It is all very strange. I know that Mr King asked your Superintendent Harker to visit him two nights ago.
He
was from Bromersley Police. You probably know him. I have no idea what the meeting was about. Perhaps your Superintendent may be able to throw some light on what was troubling him.’

‘Of course,’ Angel said. ‘I’ll be certain to ask him.’

‘I fear they didn’t part on good terms, sir,’ Meredith said.

Angel was not a bit surprised. He controlled a smirk. He put the envelope on which he had been making notes back into his pocket, stood up and said, ‘Now then, will you show me the rest of the house?’

‘Certainly, sir,’ Meredith said, also getting to his feet.

Angel’s mobile rang out. He reached into his pocket. The caller was Don Taylor.

‘Are you free to talk, sir?’

‘I’m with Mr King’s butler, Mr Meredith, Don. If you can make it quick …?’

‘Er right. I’m still in the swimming pool room, sir,’ he said. ‘I thought you would want to know urgently that we’ve been all round the edge of the pool and the diving boards twice with a mixture of LMG and hydrogen peroxide. And we could not find
any mark or trace of a recent impact with Haydn King’s head or anything else human. Not even a hair.’

Angel’s eyes narrowed. He slumped back down in the chair. Taylor was saying that the severe head injury was
not
received by the dead man as the result of a careless or accidental dive or fall into the pool. So Haydn King must have therefore incurred the head wound
before
his body hit the water.

Angel sighed. That information made the situation look black. It was now almost certainly murder. Mac would throw decisive light onto the case when he had concluded the post-mortem.

‘I’ve got your point, Don,’ Angel said. ‘And thank you. You’d better tape up King’s bedroom, bathroom and study ASAP until you can get to them. I don’t want any evidence in those rooms contaminating.’

‘Right, sir, straightaway. By the by, Flora has arrived and she’s looking for you.’

‘Send her up. I’m in a little room off the main hall.’

Angel closed the phone, and turned back to the butler. ‘We will have to postpone my tour of the house, Mr Meredith. The forensic team need to look in some of the rooms and we must, therefore, not contaminate them. Instead, if I may use this room, I would like to see the other members of Mr King’s staff. Perhaps I could begin with Mr Saw, Mr King’s secretary?’

‘Of course, sir. Now if you’ve finished with me, I’ll find him and send him to you.’

‘Thank you.’

The butler made purposely for the door.

‘One of my sergeants will be looking for me. Please leave the door open.’

‘Right, sir,’ Meredith said and he went out.

Angel leaned back in the comfortable chair and rubbed his chin as he came to terms with the fact that he probably had another murder case on his hands. Although he’d been twelve
years in homicide at Bromersley, it only seemed like a couple of weeks. The sound of footsteps on the parquet flooring in the hall outside brought him back to the present.

‘Is that DS Carter?’ he said.

A pretty face appeared round the edge of the door. ‘Yes, sir,’ she said brightly.

Detective Sergeant Flora Carter had only been with Angel for two years. And she had already proved her diligence, accuracy and attention to detail. She was not married nor in a relationship and was quite the most glamorous member of the Bromersley force. Angel liked her a lot. She also smelled of aloe vera, which reminded him of holidays in Morecambe with his favourite aunt years ago.

‘Come in, lass. You’ve been a helluva long time.’

‘Sorry, sir. Got caught up with Mrs Winstone from “Vera’s” gown shop in the Arcade. She was making a big fuss about the broken window and the missing dresses and coats.’

The muscles round Angel’s mouth tightened. ‘You should have passed her on to a PC.’

‘She wouldn’t have liked that, sir.’

‘I don’t care what
she
would have liked,’ he roared. ‘I told Ahmed to ask you to join me promptly, and that’s what I meant.’

‘Yes, sir,’ she said, biting her bottom lip.

‘Has Don Taylor told you the about the situation here?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘This is almost certainly a murder case, Flora. I want you to find Haydn King’s solicitor. That chap, Meredith, the butler, will be able to give you his name and address, I expect. They should have his will. I want to know who benefits from the man’s death. And I want it double quick.’

‘Right, sir,’ she said and made for the door.

‘By the way,’ he said, ‘have you seen Trevor Crisp on your travels?’

Flora looked back. ‘No, sir.’

He clenched his fists. ‘Well, if you see him,’ he said, ‘tell him I want him. And I want him
now
.’

She nodded, then went out and closed the door.