Wading Into Murder (5 page)

Laura did laugh. “Once I had a student called Primrose. She was skinny as a rail, over six feet tall and black as an olive. She had pink and yellow t-shirts made with:
I am
a Primrose inside
printed on them.”

Violet emitted a hearty guffaw that drew all eyes in their direction. “That’s what I should do, except mine would say
: No shrinking Violet here!

“I think Violet is a great name,” Laura commented. “I wish I had a name with some character, but mine’s very ordinary. I’m Laura Morland.”

Violet looked suddenly embarrassed. “Uh oh,” she said gloomily.

“Why
uh oh
?” Laura asked.

“I’m a late arrival,” Violet confessed. “I really want to come on the trip but Alan tells me there are no more rooms at this late date, and he’ll have to see if the person with an extra bed in the room will share. That’s you, if I remember correctly, and I hate asking favors of someone I already like.”

“Let’s stop worrying about it and give it a try,” Laura suggested. 

“Do you really mean that? I’m actually a great roommate as I’m almost never there,” Violet added candidly. “You can have the bathroom first too. I’ve also managed to get a room for some nights, including tonight.”

They grinned at each other. “It’s a bargain,” Laura said.

They stood in companionable silence until people began to file out of the room. “Time for the Baths,” Laura said. “Are you going?”

Violet nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, despite a generic dislike of groups. We’ll get special treatment, get in right away to the exhibits and so forth. I gather that Elise is very well-informed, too. How about you?”

Laura nodded. She hadn’t been able to examine the Baths properly this morning and she wanted to see if the key worked. She didn’t want to miss the Museum of Costume and the Abbey, either.

She and Violet were about to cross the street to the Baths entrance when a dark car roared past them. It looked completely out of control. Pedestrians scattered, but one elderly man was unable to get out of the way in time. With a sickening thump, the car sent him tumbling into the street. Gunning its engines, it sped away again.

A group of people gathered around the old man. “Ambulance,” a woman called to a man with a cell phone. Nodding, the man punched in numbers. Within moments, an ambulance careened to a stop, and two medics leaped out. A police car was right behind them. Pushing through the crowd, the medics did a quick but thorough examination, placed the man gently on a stretcher and slid him into the back. With a slam of doors, they were off again, leaving the policemen to question people and disperse the crowds.

Laura heard the murmur of conversations around her. “Ran him right down, the car did, almost looked as if it was aiming for him, and then took off. The old man never had a chance, did he? I mean, some of these drivers…”

“Poor old sod,” said another woman. “He was just standing there, and it came at him so fast. Couldn’t have got out of the way. Imagine, here in Bath, right after that bomb scare. And the baby being found in there, too. Don’t know what this world is coming to…”

Laura closed her eyes, feeling sick. Surely, though, it wasn’t possible. No one would run down an old man just because he had tried to talk to her.

She was aware that Violet had taken her arm. “You need to sit down,” she said firmly, and led Laura over to a low stone wall.

“Thanks,” Laura mumbled weakly. “I was just startled, I guess.” Violet looked at her skeptically but made no comment.

Laura took deep breaths and waited for her head to clear. Surely, there was more than one old man in Bath. Why should she jump to such a ridiculous conclusion?

She stood up again determinedly. “I’m all right now,” she said. “We better hurry. They’re all lined up already.”

“They can wait another minute or two,” Violet commented, but she didn’t try to stop Laura as she made her way toward the group.

Alan Mansfield came up to her. “That wasn’t what you needed just now,” he said, his voice concerned. “I am so sorry. Nothing for you to worry about, though,” he added. “Just a hit and run case, I gather. A rather disreputable old man who hangs around the Baths and didn’t look where he was going.”

“What was his name?” Laura asked, unable to stop herself, unable to think, either, why she had used the past tense.

The tour director looked at her in surprise. “I’m not sure,” he answered. “He was called Joe, I think, but that is all I know.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Laura tried hard to concentrate as Elise explained the history of the Baths and the meaning of the various displays that filled the rooms, but she couldn’t get her mind off Joe and the possibility that he had been run down on purpose. He had tried to tell her something about the baby and been dragged away, and then he had been the victim of a hit and run attack. Could that be sheer coincidence?

They filed into a dark corridor with large glass panes, and Laura realized with surprise that she was staring down into the springs from a point opposite the platform where she’d stood this morning. The rusted door was right in front of her.

She looked around for William but couldn’t see him anywhere. Had he decided not to come? He had seemed so eager to try the key earlier. How disappointing!

“Excuse me, M’am,” a voice said at her elbow. A tall man in coveralls inserted a key in the lock, nodded with satisfaction, and gave the door a push. It opened easily.

“Oiled,” the man said briefly.

 Laura looked up at his face. “William,” she breathed.

“Yes, M’am,” he said. “Been told to look at the stairs.” Closing the door behind him, he went down, stooping to examine each step. Laura was tempted to follow, but thought better of it. Unlike William, she wasn’t dressed like a repairman, and the presence of a tourist in the springs would only draw attention to him.

Lady Longtree materialized at her elbow. “His mechanic costume,” she explained. “Rather good, I thought, on such short notice.”

“Quite convincing,” Laura murmured. “I wish I’d thought of that.”

“I imagine he’ll be down there for quite a while now that he’s got the chance to explore,” Lady Longtree went on, “though I do hope he doesn’t try to get into that tunnel he spotted behind the grill. I should hate to have to go in after him if he gets stuck.”

Laura shuddered. If William did get stuck,
she
wasn’t going in after him. Panic set in at the mere thought. Fortunately, it wasn’t necessary. William reappeared in his normal clothes before they left the Baths.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a confused kaleidoscope of the now familiar subterranean spaces of the Baths and the elaborate silk bustles, impossibly tiny waists and enormous hats at the Museum of Costume. After that, Elise led them back to the square through a jumble of twisting, hilly streets lined with a fantastic variety of tiny storefronts that had once housed blacksmiths and bakers and weavers.

Layers of history underlay the whole city, Elise told them. Bath had been built above the Roman settlement, which had been built on earlier settlements, back to the time of hunter-gatherers. It seemed to Laura that she could feel the pulsation of all those lives reaching up to touch her feet as they traversed the ancient lanes.

The Abbey, their last stop of the day, had similar layers of history beneath its stones. Prehistoric remains suggesting an ancient place of worship rested at the bottom; above that were two former abbeys whose fate Elise didn’t enumerate. The present Abbey, according to local legend, had been built in 1499 on the site of the two former abbeys not long after the Bishop had experienced a vision of angels helping with the construction by climbing a ladder to heaven. Laura found the image delightful.

As soon as they entered the Abbey, she was aware of an aura of peace. It seemed to permeate the building, as if all those who had worshipped here in the past had found solace, as she did now, in the beauty that surrounded her. The stained glass windows and soaring ceilings were breathtaking. Then she spotted an iron grill in the stone floor near the altar and knelt to see what it covered. A dark, musty and very small tunnel was under the grill, just like the one William had wanted to use to get out of the springs - and the rat infested hole she’d crawled through last summer. Laura began to shiver, and once she started shivering, she found she couldn’t stop. Jet lag and the events of the morning seemed to have caught up with her.

Oblivious of Laura’s shivers, Elise was in the midst of explaining that the tunnel went under the altar and came out the other side, that it had probably once gone into the vaults beside the abbey, when Violet appeared at Laura’s elbow. Lady Longtree was beside her. William hovered anxiously behind his grandmother.

“I am taking you out for tea,” Violet said, too quietly for the rest of the group to hear. “I think a cup of that famously reviving beverage is in order.”

Laura nodded gratefully. The tour was almost over anyway, and a strong cup of tea sounded marvelous. So did a large breath of fresh air.

Lady Longtree appraised Laura with keen blue eyes. “Perhaps a stiff drink instead,” she suggested with an expressive lift of her still dark eyebrows.

Laura laughed shakily. “I don’t think I have ever been so well taken care of,” she said. “Thank you all!”

“Tea or drink?” Violet inserted.

“Tea first, I think, and later a drink,” Laura compromised. “They both sound welcome.”

The teashop they found on a side street was deserted except for a non-descript, swarthy man who came in soon after them. Settling himself familiarly at a table, he studied what looked like a racing form. After a moment he pushed through a beaded curtain into the back of the shop, presumably to phone in his bet. Laura was relieved. Right now, she wanted peace and quiet and no listening ears. 

Violet was the first to speak. “I should tell you right away that I know you found the baby in the Baths this morning,” she said flatly.

“Oh dear, I hope the others don’t know,” Laura answered. “I’d hate that.”

“They don’t,” Lady Longtree assured her. “William and I eaves-dropped during the luncheon, and no one mentioned you. A few of them heard about a baby being found, and the bomb scare and car bomb, but they don’t know any details.”

“How did you find out about it, Violet?” Laura asked.

“I happened to be in the square when the three of you emerged from the Baths,” Violet answered. “I heard the car bomb, saw you and a child being escorted to the police station and Lady Longtree and William scampering after an unknown woman who had obviously caught your attention. Put two and two together.”

“Laura thought she was the baby’s mother,” William explained. “We found out where she lives. We also found out how the person who took the baby into the Baths got it down into the springs.” He produced his key with a flourish. “It was on the floor in the Baths, and it fits that rusty door at the back of the springs.” He grinned at Violet. “If you saw a mechanic down there examining things, it was me.”

Violet laughed. “I did happen to see the mechanic, but it never occurred to me it was you. Well done!”

“Thanks!” William looked pleased. “Laura thinks a cleaning lady she saw in the Baths dropped the key, along with a piece of paper with a diagram of the Baths and some Arabic writing,” he continued.

Violet’s eyes widened. “How intriguing! I’d love to see that paper if you have it.”

Laura produced it, and Violet examined it minutely. “Not as enlightening as we might have hoped,” she said finally. “It tells someone how to drug the baby safely, when and where to leave it, and that Allah will reward her for her service.”

“You mean you read Arabic?” William’s face was awed.

“I work as a translator, and I go to Saudi Arabia quite often, for conferences and so forth,” Violet explained. “I speak a few other languages too, so I travel a lot.”

She changed the subject abruptly. “Did you find anything interesting inside the springs when you were there today?” she asked William.

William reached into his pocket and came up with a pink baby’s bootie. “I guess it goes on a foot,” he said, dangling it in front of them. “I didn’t see the other one.”

“They fall off easily,” Laura said, “so it could be anywhere.” She took it from William and examined it. “I think it’s hand-made,” she said.

“Definitely,” Lady Longtree confirmed. “See those slightly uneven stitches? Machines don’t do that, only people.”

“Any more clues?” Violet asked dryly. “I can see I need to catch up.”

“Yes,” William replied casually. “After she’d finished with the police, Laura went back to the street the mother had disappeared into. I was there too, and we saw the baby’s father and a girl who looks like the mother going into one of the houses. She said they’re afraid of the father and want the baby to stay with the police.”

Violet frowned, bewildered. “But how do you know he’s the baby’s father? And who its mother is, for that matter.”

Laura blinked. “Of course. You haven’t heard where I saw them before.” Once again, she described the scene in the airport and subsequent events in the Baths. “I know the father and one of the twins are in Bath now because I’ve seen them. I assume the mother and the other twin are here too.”

“I’ll find out when I go back to the house in a good disguise,” William said confidently. “I could be a mechanic again, or maybe a mullah. No one will know who I am under a turban.”

“I shall wait nearby,” Lady Longtree said, “just in case. People never notice an old lady with an umbrella, and if they do, they dismiss me as harmless.

“They always do,” she added demurely.

Violet chuckled. “That would be their mistake, wouldn’t it?  I imagine you and William make a fine pair of sleuths. But do take care, William. You might find yourself in a harem, and that would be trouble.” Her tone was jocular, but Laura thought there was a real warning in her eyes.

William looked intrigued, but his grandmother was more restrained. “Violet is right, William,” she cautioned. “A harem would certainly be interesting, but we don’t want to offend anyone. We had better find out more about the people who live there before carrying our investigations any further.”

“I’ll just take a peek and if anyone should see me I’ll run.” William assured her.

Laura regarded his enthusiastic young face warily. “I don’t think going back is a good idea, William,” she warned. “It could be more dangerous than you think. An old man called Joe who hangs out around the Baths tried to tell me something about the baby earlier, but before he could say anything, a woman ran up and dragged him away. And then he was knocked down by a car and taken away by ambulance.

“It happened just before Violet and I came into the Baths,” she added, seeing his puzzled look. “You were probably already inside putting on your mechanic outfit. That’s why I’m worried about you going back. Someone does
not
want people prying into whatever is going on with this baby.”

William looked ashen. “You mean somebody ran down an old a guy who tried to talk to you on purpose? That’s terrible! But why would anyone do that?”

“I guess because he wanted to tell me something about the baby. He might even have seen the person who took it in,” Laura answered.

Violet’s lips compressed. “I think you must tell the police about Joe,” she told Laura. “The two incidents may not be connected – it seems so far-fetched, but tell them just the same. And about the father, and the house and the girl. After that, it really is their job, not yours. Or ours.”

“I’ll call as soon as I get back to the hotel,” Laura promised. “It’s time to get ready for dinner, anyway. And you’re right, Violet. This has become a job for the police, with all due respect to the sleuthing talents of William and Lad… I mean Olivia.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” William conceded reluctantly, but he didn’t sound convinced. Lady Longtree simply looked vague and didn’t answer.

When she got back to her room, Laura called the police station as promised. Sergeant Prescott wasn’t there, so she gave the information to the young constable. He asked her to come in to sign a statement in the morning, and she agreed.

That duty accomplished, she sank gratefully into the big tub in her bathroom. The warm water would soothe her frazzled nerves, she told herself, but instead it reminded her of the Baths where the Romans had soothed their bodies, and that brought the scene – and Joe - back into her mind. Sighing, she stretched out and tried to think logically, but her brain seemed unequal to the task. Maybe if she just relaxed, something would come to her. Closing her eyes, she let one group of muscles go limp, then another…

Laura sat up with a jerk as water began to fill her mouth and nostrils. She had fallen asleep! It must be almost time for the tour’s introductory dinner.

A knock on the door confirmed the thought. Violet had said she would come by for a drink before they went to the restaurant.

“In a minute,” Laura called, struggling into the terry cloth robe. She ran a brush through her tangled hair, to little avail as the humidity had turned it into a veritable nest, and opened the door. Violet stood on the threshold, beaming. In her hand was a chilled bottle of wine and two glasses.

“Fantastic!” Laura told her. “I fell asleep in the tub, but I’ll be ready in a minute.”

“Take your time,” Violet said as she sat down in a fatly upholstered chair. “I’ll get a start on the wine. Your kind landlady lent me a corkscrew.”

Laura donned the skirt and multi-colored jacket, which had lost their wrinkles thanks to the steam in the bathroom, put on some make-up and an expensive looking jeweled belt that had actually come from a discount store, and tried again to tame her unruly hair. When she had finally succeeded in pulling it into a reasonably neat bun, she perched on the bed and took a long sip from the glass Violet handed her.

“That tastes superb!”

“Quite nice,” Violet agreed, rolling a bit of the wine delicately around in her mouth before she swallowed.

Laura laughed. “I don’t always gulp. It’s just been an odd day.”

“Odd is one word for it,” Violet commented. “For tonight, however, I think we should forget about it and enjoy ourselves. You still look a bit peaky.”

“I’m all right,” Laura demurred. “It was just seeing the poor man lying there and knowing he had tried to talk to me.  I do hope he isn’t dead.”

“We’ll find out,” Violet said grimly, and changed the subject. “Tell me more about what you do,” she said. “The bit I read in the brochure sounds intriguing.”

“I teach and do research on gender evolution, and recently I’ve done some research on more contemporary gender issues,” Laura explained.