Common Murder (13 page)

Lindsay groaned inwardly. Scruples were the last thing she needed. She had to get something out of Stanhope to provide a fresh lead for the next day's paper, at the very least. And she needed to get
it fast, before Duncan could start screaming for copy on Debs. She had foolishly thought that an interview set up by Rigano, with all the force of his authority, would be an easy answer. She set about overcoming Stanhope's objections. It took less persuasion than she anticipated and she suspected he had simply put her through the hoops in order to salve his conscience. And she managed to elicit the useful information that he had been alone in the lambing shed at the time of the murder.

“There were two things that might interest you,” he said. “One, a lot of people knew about. The other, only a handful of people. So, while I don't mind what you do about the first matter, I want to be left well out of anything to do with the second. Okay?”

Lindsay nodded. “Okay.”

“I really don't want to be brought into this as your source. I mean it,” he added.

“I said okay,” Lindsay replied. “I'll cover your back.”

He sighed. “The first concerns a man called Paul Warminster. He's local. He owns a couple of gents' outfitters in Fordham. He joined RABD shortly after I did and was always mouthing off against the women. He wasn't happy with the way our campaign was being run.

“He said we should take the fight into the enemy territory instead of simply reacting to them. He always speaks in that sort of jargon. I suspect he must have been in the Pay Corps or something like it in the war. He thought we should be actively banning them from shops, pubs, cinemas, the lot. He thought also that we should be harassing them in the town—insulting them, jostling them, generally making life hard for them.

“Rupert always managed to keep the lid on him till about a month or so ago. Paul stood against him in the election for chair and made the most scurrilous attack on him. He ended up by saying that Rupert was so wishy-washy that he was lucky the motorbike gangs weren't throwing pigs' blood on
his
house. That, I'm afraid, was his big mistake. Our group has always utterly repudiated the thugs who terrorize the women at the camp. But I'd certainly heard mutterings that perhaps Paul wasn't as quick to condemn as one would expect, if you catch my drift. As I said, this was all common knowledge.

“Well, Rupert was duly re-elected with a thumping majority and he announced that since Paul's policies and attitudes had been so
soundly defeated at the ballot box, it would seem there was no place for him within the group. It didn't actually leave Paul any option except resignation. So out he stormed, making sure we all knew he was right and Rupert was wrong. He didn't actually make any threats, but the inference was there to be taken.”

“Okay, Mr. Stanhope. And the second incident?”

“Call me Carl, please. I'm not old enough yet for Mr. Stanhope.” He radiated charm at her.

She felt like throwing up over his clean jeans. But she didn't even grind her teeth as she said, “Okay, Carl. The second incident?”

“Look, I really meant what I said about keeping my name out of this. If I thought you'd drop me in it I'd shut up now . . .”

“No, no,” said Lindsay, “I'll forget you told me. Just give me the details.”

“I was told this by someone I can't name. But I'm certain it's true, because it's referred to in the agenda for next week's meeting, though not in any detail that would make clear what it's about. William Mallard is the treasurer of RABD. He's a local estate agent. We're quite a wealthy organization. We need to be because we try to fight civil court actions, which costs an arm and a leg. But we are a popular cause locally, and all our fund-raising is well supported by the locals. And we've had some financial donations from outside the area too.”

“So at any given time, there's a few hundred in the kitty, is that what you're trying to say?” Lindsay interjected, frustrated.

“More like a few thousand,” he said. “Rupert was a bit concerned that we weren't using our money properly—you know, that we should be keeping it in a high interest account instead of a current one. Mallard wouldn't agree. Now, being an awkward sort of bloke Rupert thought his reaction was decidedly iffy. So, armed with the latest treasurer's report, he zapped off to the bank and demanded a chat with the manager. The upshot was that instead of there being about seven thou. in the account, as the report stated, there was barely five hundred.

“Rupert blew a fuse. He hared off to see Mallard and confront him. They apparently had a real up and downer. Mallard claimed he'd simply been doing what he always did with large lumps of money in his care, to wit, dumping them in high interest, seven-day accounts. But he couldn't show Rupert the money then and there. Rupert accused him
of speculating with the RABD's money and pocketing the profits—Mallard's known for having a taste for the stock market, you see.

“Anyway, Rupert went off breathing fire. Next thing is, the following day, Mallard came to see Rupert, with evidence that the missing six and a half grand was all present and correct. But this didn't satisfy Rupert once he'd slept on it; he was baying for blood. He'd had time to think things through and realized that at some point Mallard must have forged Rupert's signature to shift the cash, since a check required both signatures. He told Mallard he was going to raise the matter at the next meeting and let the association decide who was in the wrong. Mallard was apparently fizzing with rage and threatening Rupert with everything from libel actions to—” He broke off, then stumbled on, “to you name it.”

“Murder perhaps? Cozy little bunch, aren't you?” Lindsay remarked. “The wonder of it is that it's taken so long for someone to get murdered.”

He looked puzzled. “I don't think that's quite fair,” he protested.

“Life isn't fair,” she retorted, getting to her feet. “At least, not for most people. Who's got the files now, by the way? I'll need to see them.”

He shrugged. “Mallard, I guess.”

“Could you call him and tell him Jack Rigano wants him to cooperate?” she asked.

“Look, I told you I didn't want to be connected with you on this,” he protested.

“So tell him the request came from Rigano. Otherwise you've wasted your breath talking to me, haven't you?”

He nodded reluctantly. “Okay,” he said.

Lindsay was at the door when he spoke again. “Jack says you'll be talking to a lot of people in Rupert's immediate circle?”

“That's right. It all helps to build up the picture.”

“Will you be seeing his daughter Ros?”

Lindsay nodded. “I'm hoping to see her one evening this week,” she replied.

“Will you say hello from me? Tell her I hope the business is going well and any time she's down home, she should give me a call and we'll have a drink for old times' sake.”

“Sure, I didn't realize you knew Ros Crabtree.”

“Everyone knows everyone else around here, you know. Ask Judith
Rowe. Ros and I were sort of pals in the school holidays when we were growing up. You know the routine—horses, tennis club.”

Lindsay grinned, remembering the summers of her youth fishing for prawns with her father in the thirty-foot boat that was his livelihood. “Not quite my routine, Carl, but yes, I know what you mean. Was she your girlfriend, then?”

He actually blushed. “Not really. We spent a lot of time together a few years ago, but it was never really serious. And then . . . well, Ros decided that, well, her interests lay in quite other directions, if you follow me?”

“I'm not entirely sure that I do.”

“Well, it rather turned out that she seems to prefer women to men. Shame, really. I think that's partly why she moved away from home.”

“You mean her parents were hostile about it?”

“Good God, no! They knew nothing about it. Rupert Crabtree would never have put up the money for her restaurant if he'd thought for one minute she was gay. He'd have killed her!”

“No, Duncan, I can't write anything about the RABD yet. I've only got one guy's word for it, and half of that's second-hand,” Lindsay said in exasperation. “I should be able to harden up the ratepayers' routine by tomorrow lunchtime.”

“That'll have to do then, I suppose,” Duncan barked. “But see if you can tie it up today, okay? And keep close to the cops. Any sign of an arrest, I want to be the first to know. And don't forget that interview with the suspect woman. Keep ahead of the game, Lindsay.”

The line went dead. Lindsay was grateful. The interview with Stanhope had produced more than she'd anticipated and she'd spent the rest of the morning trying to set up meetings with Mallard and Warminster. But neither could fit her in till the next day which left her with a hole in the news editor's schedule to fill and nothing to fill it with except for the one interview she didn't want to capitalize on. The fact that she was no stranger to living on her wits didn't mean she had to enjoy it. The one thing she wasn't prepared to admit to herself yet was that the job was increasingly turning into something she couldn't square either with her conscience or her principles. After all, once she had acknowledged the tackiness of the world she loved working in, how could she justify her continued determination to take the money and run?

It was half past one by the time she reached the Frog and Basset, a real ale pub about two miles out of the town in the opposite direction to Brownlow. She pushed her way through the crowd of lunchtime drinkers into the tiny snug, which had a hand-lettered sign saying “Private Meeting” on the door. The only inhabitant was Rigano, sitting at a converted sewing-machine table with the remains of a pint in front of him. He looked up at her. “Glad you could make it,” he said. “I've got to be back at the station for two. Ring the
bell on the bar if you want a drink. Mine's a pint of Basset Bitter.”

Lindsay's eyebrows rose, but nevertheless she did as he said. The barman who emerged in response to her ring scuttled off and returned moments later with two crystal-clear pints. Lindsay paid and brought the drinks over in silence. Rigano picked up his and took a deep swallow. “So was Canton Stanhope a help?”

Lindsay shrugged. “Interesting. There seems to have been something going on between Crabtree and the treasurer, Mallard.”

Rigano shook his head. “Don't get too excited about that. It's only in bad detective novels that people get bumped off to avoid financial scandal and ruin.”

Stung, Lindsay replied, “I'm not so sure about that. There are plenty of cases that make the papers where people have been murdered for next to nothing. It all depends how much the murderer feels they can bear to lose.”

“And did Carlton Stanhope come up with anyone else that you think might have something to lose?”

Lindsay shrugged. “He mentioned someone called Warminster.”

“A crank. Not really dangerous. All mouth and no action.”

“Thanks. And have you got anything for me? I could do with a bone to throw to my boss.”

Rigano took another deep swig of his beer. “There's not much I can say. We're not about to make an arrest, and we're pursuing various lines of inquiry.”

“Oh come on, surely you can do better than that. What about CID? What are they doing? Who's in charge of that end of things?”

Rigano scowled, and Lindsay felt suddenly threatened. “I'm in charge,” he answered grimly. “I'll keep my end of the deal, don't worry. I've set you up with Stanhope, haven't I? I gave you the whereabouts of the daughter, didn't I? So don't push your luck.”

Frustrated, she drank her drink and smoked a cigarette in the silence between them. Then, abruptly, Rigano got to his feet, finishing his drink as he rose. “I've got to get back,” he said. “The sooner I do, the nearer we'll be to sorting this business out. Keep me informed about how you're getting on.” He slipped out of the snug. Lindsay left the remains of her drink, and drove back to the camp.

She parked the car and went to the van, which was empty. She
put the kettle on, but before it boiled the driver's door opened and Deborah's head appeared. “Busy?” she asked.

Lindsay shook her head. “Not at all,” she replied. “Actually, I was about to come looking for you. I need your help again.”

Deborah made herself comfortable. “All you have to do is ask. Been on a shopping spree? I can't believe all these frightfully chic outfits came out of that little overnight bag.”

“I had to find something to wear that makes me look like an efficient journo. Your average punter isn't too impressed with decrepit Levis and sweatshirts. Anything doing that I've missed?”

“Judith is coming to see me at three o'clock.”

Lindsay poured out their coffee and said, “Is it about the assault case?”

“That's right,” Deborah confirmed. “She wants to explain exactly what the situation is. I think she's had some news today. Or an opinion or something. Now, what was it you wanted from me? Nothing too shocking, I hope.”