03 - Murder in Mink (15 page)

“Clara?”

She jerked back to reality.

“Inspector, I thought I should inform you there has been
another death.” Clara cast a look around the hall to make sure no one was
listening, “Uncle Eustace has passed away.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Jennings replied, clearly not
understanding her meaning.

“With all that has been going on I thought it wise to
save some samples of material for your lab. Would you mind sending someone
reliable over to collect them?”

“Clara, are you saying Eustace was murdered?”

“I’m not sure, not yet. But I don’t like the look of
this.”

Jennings was quiet a moment.

“What sort of samples?”

“A jug of water and a jar of vomit. Both may or may not
contain poison.”

Another silence.

“Clara, this is getting serious. If he has been murdered
it will have been at the hands of someone in that house.”

“I know.”

“Just be careful, that’s all I’m saying.”

“I always am inspector.” Clara said her goodbyes and put
the phone down.

“Who was that?” Glorianna almost snapped at Clara.

She turned calmly to see her a few feet away. She had not
apparently overheard.

“Only the inspector. I was informing him of Eustace’s
death.”

“Why?”

“He was intending to come today and interview him, I
thought it prudent to make him aware of the situation so he did not disturb you
all at this delicate time.”

“Oh.” Glorianna looked mollified, “That was a good idea
Clara.”

“You have enough on your plate right now Glorianna
without a policeman nosing about.”

“Yes, yes.”

“The doctor is sending some men round to collect the
body. They’ll be here in the hour.”

Glorianna gave a little start.

“Didn’t he sign the death certificate? I could call the
undertakers myself.”

“He couldn’t make up his mind what killed Eustace.” Clara
gave a shrug, as if to say ‘doctors, huh?’, “He wants to do a post-mortem.”

“Oh. Oh.” Glorianna was agitated, “Then I better tidy the
room, can’t have it looking in such a state when strangers come in.”

Glorianna hustled away and Clara watched her walk up the
staircase. She was letting dark thoughts stir inside her mind, linking motives
and opportunities and picturing a killer. Finally she shook herself and decided
she could do no more for the moment for Eustace. Anyway she had another person
to attend to.

When Clara quietly tapped on Susan’s door she heard the
sound of someone retching hard and panic gripped her. She burst open the door
against all propriety and ran to the girl who was half stretched out of her bed
being ill into an enamel bowl.

“Are you all right?” Clara took Susan’s shoulders and
held her while she retched one last time and then sighed, “Have you taken any
tonic water?”

“What? No.” Susan flopped back onto her bed as pale as
the sheets, “What’s the fuss Clara?”

Clara was frightened, she looked at the girl lying feebly
on her bed and all her calm escaped her.

“Eustace has been found dead, perhaps food poisoning. He
had been sick before he died. How do you feel Susan?” Clara rested a hand on
Susan’s forehead and tested its temperature.

“I’m fine Clara.” Susan brushed her away.

“Clearly not! I shall call back Doctor Hogg and have him
examine you, before it is too late!” Clara jumped from the bed heading for the
door.

“NO!”

Clara stopped in her tracks and turned back to Susan. The
girl was reaching out to her, making a ‘stop’ gesture with her hand, her
weakness replaced by a look of pure terror.

“You can’t do that Clara!”

“You are ill Susan.” Clara took another pace to the door.

“Please no! I’m not ill. I don’t know what happened to
Eustace but I am certain it has nothing to do with me.”

“How?” Clara asked suspiciously.

“Close the door and let me talk to you.” Susan begged, “I
have to talk to someone anyway, before I go mad.”

Clara stared at Susan for a moment, then she walked and
closed the door. She headed back for the bed and removed the offending bowl to
the corner of the room, before sitting down beside Susan.

“How?” She repeated.

The adrenaline that had pushed Susan upright had exhausted
her too, and she fell back frailly on the pillows. She wiped at her lips with a
handkerchief.

“Could I have a glass of water first?” Susan pointed to a
jug on a nearby chest of drawers.

Clara poured her out a glass of water, taking a very
close look at the jug before she was satisfied it was clean. She returned to
Susan.

“I’m going to take some convincing to prevent me calling
the doctor.” She said sternly.

Susan took a long sip of water.

“There’s no need, I’ve been to a doctor.”

“So you are sick. Nobody has mentioned it?”

“That’s because nobody knows.” Susan gave a sigh, “And
I’m not exactly sick, I’ve just been very foolish.”

Several thoughts came together in Clara’s brain.

“You’re pregnant.”

Susan glared at her wide-eyed.

“I suppose I should have known you were sharp enough to
work that one out.” She groaned, “Yes, pregnant.”

“That explains the plumpness and illness.” Clara nodded,
“It also clarifies what happened the night before the wedding.”

“You won’t tell anyone?” Susan pleaded, “That was why I jumped
in the river, because I couldn’t bear everyone knowing. It all hit me the night
before Andrew and Laura were to wed, suddenly I couldn’t stand it anymore.”

“I shan’t tell a soul, but you best explain everything to
me Susan. It will be impossible to keep this a secret forever, I’m sure you are
aware of that.”

Susan gave another little sigh.

“I know, it shall become obvious soon enough. Oh Clara,
it was not as though I set out to be wicked I just got carried away.”

“What happened?”

“It was the night we all finished school.” Susan pulled a
face as she remembered, “We were supposed to stay in the school until our
families picked us up, but Bella Hope wanted to have a night out since we were
almost all eighteen and some of us, like Katherine Hardings, were heading back
to families abroad. So we would never see each other again and Bella said it
would be such fun to end school with a night out. Something to remember.”

“Where did you go?”

“London, it was nearest. We snuck out and caught a train.
It was end of term and a lot of the teachers had already left so it wasn’t so
tough. Bella seemed to know what she was doing. There were twenty of us and we
giggled all the way to London and made the conductor glare.” Susan’s eyes
glimmered with amusement, “Bella knew a night-club, so we all went and had
cocktails. There were these girls in indecently short skirts and they were
dancing. Such dancing! It wasn’t what Mrs Prince taught us in deportment class,
I tell you!

“Well, we were all really following Bella’s lead and when
she was asked to dance by this young man in uniform none of us blinked an eye
about doing the same. I was ‘picked up’ by this young man in a dark green
jacket and beige trousers. His name was Derek and he knew all the newest
dances, he showed me them and I was soon kicking my heels. I loved it, such
freedom Clara! I had never known it! I suppose that was half the problem. I
drank too much and then Bella had this wild idea that we should all go to a
hotel and return to school the next morning. Looking back I think Bella was out
of her depth too, but she wasn’t going to let anyone know that.”

“I take it things became more serious after that?” Clara
said carefully.

“Rather. Several of the girls didn’t want to stay
overnight, they said they didn’t have the money. They headed back for the train
station without us. Five of us were left, including Bella. She was still
hanging on the arm of her soldier friend and raving about finding a hotel. Each
of us girls who stayed had a man with us, I had Derek, and the fellows were all
up for it too. We egged each other on, it was such a game! We found a hotel,
not sure how. It was a bit down-market, but clean enough and it didn’t cost us
everything in our purses, which was good. Oh, you know Clara those cads let us
girls pay for it all! Knowing full well what they were about!”

Clara nodded rather solemnly, she was not entirely
surprised.

“We each had a room, how stupid was that?” Susan
grimaced, “I asked for a double and Derek leaned over with a wink and said
‘double-bed she means’. The more I think about him the more awful it seems. He
looked so elegant in the night-club, but later he seemed so cheap and tawdry. I
don’t who he was, maybe just some street-seller who hung around clubs waiting
for girls to pay for his evening out. I suppose you can imagine what happened
next?”

“It isn’t hard. Did he hurt you?”

Susan gave a little slant of her shoulders, a half shrug.

“No, not really. Derek was all right in that sense. I was
a bit worried at first, but he was quite charming and I was rather tight after
all the drinks, so things just happened. There was nothing really spectacular
about it. It was over in a moment. It hurt a touch, but Derek was all kisses.
Clara have you ever…”

Clara shook her head.

“No, you have more sense. Well, that was it really. Bella
rounded us up about three o’clock, she had been crying. Said she couldn’t stand
anymore and wanted to go home. So I take it her soldier boy was not as nice as
Derek. The other girls agreed. One, Cassandra, was trembling all over and
looked about fit to be sick. I’m not sure if it was the alcohol or otherwise.”
Susan indicated what ‘otherwise’ meant with her eyes, “We left the men asleep
in the rooms and we headed home. It was an awful journey, we had trouble
catching a train and then Cassandra went all peculiar in the carriage and we
thought we would have to call the conductor. We returned to the school and
found our rooms. No one saw us, more is the pity. We never talked about what
had happened. The next day our bags were packed and we went each to our own
homes. Who would have thought that one silly night would have led to this?”

Clara patted Susan’s hand reassuringly.

“It happens. You were very foolish. But it happens.”

Susan visibly relaxed.

“What now?” She asked.

“As marrying Derek is out of the question, I think you
will just have to be honest with everyone and brave it out. If it’s any comfort
I will stand by you and support you. I shan’t see you cast out or anything.”

“But I don’t want a baby!” Susan suddenly wailed and tears
burst from her eyes.

She threw herself over on her side and sobbed hard into
the sheets. Clara rubbed her back, feeling a tad frustrated. Sympathy came to
Clara in small doses and then she felt it necessary to be practical. Susan had
behaved foolishly and sometimes there were consequences to such foolishness,
but you couldn’t howl about it. That was life.

“I’m afraid there really isn’t an option.” Clara told
her.

“I know.” Susan contained her tears, “Don’t hate me
Clara, but I looked at the alternative. I couldn’t do it.”

“Alternative? Surely not here?” Clara thought of the
small village and wondered who on earth could be offering women pregnancy
‘solutions’, “Someone would have talked!”

“Oh no, it was all through Reverend Draper, he is very
discreet.” Susan had sat up again and was rifling under a pillow for a hanky.

Clara felt dazed by the information, she turned it over
in her mind again.

“Susan, did I understand you correctly? You sought out an
illegal abortion through the vicar?”

Susan went pale.

“Is it illegal?” She asked nervously.

“Yes.” Clara said, “That is why you can’t go to a
doctor.”

Susan turned and stared at the bed clothes, swallowing
stiffly.

“I thought it was because it’s the sort of thing wicked
girls do, so it was disreputable, but I didn’t know it was illegal. Will the
police find out?”

“I very much doubt it.” Clara reassured her, “But how is
the vicar involved?”

“He knows people who do such things.” Susan toyed with
her hanky, screwing the corners into her fists, “One of the maids told me. She
had been to him. I didn’t say I was pregnant, but that a friend was in trouble.
The maid told me everything. There is a little house down one of the side
streets, a widow lives there and most people consider her most respectable. The
vicar calls there often and that makes it all right. So you have to go to the
Reverend Draper and explain and he arranges things, for a fee for the church
collection box.”

Clara realised her mouth was gaping as she listened to
this revelation. She pulled herself together, it was not the first time her
view of the world had been shaken, but it was still shocking.

“And you went?”

“I had to, at least I thought I had to. Reverend Draper
was very nice about it, very reassuring. Said it happened to a lot of nice
girls and I should not be ashamed, such was life. And he took me to the house
late one night, so no one would see. I went in on my own and…” Susan sniffed
back more tears, “There was this little parlour with a table and a cloth and
these… these
tools
sitting beside it and this old woman with a face like
a pig, chewing on a pipe and studying me as if… as if I was just a dog that had
accidentally walked in the door. She wanted me to lie down, I only knew that
because she pointed one evil thumb at the table. I stepped forward and I saw
the stains on the cloth, almost washed out but not quite and I saw her spitting
on her tools and rubbing them with the edge of her shawl… I couldn’t do it. I
ran straight back out and told Draper to take me home. He did, but he said he
hoped I didn’t expect the money back because it had already gone towards new
hymn books for the choir and I was so flustered I said it didn’t matter.”