Murder in Midwinter (16 page)

‘I think so,’ said Fran slowly, ‘but first, what are we doing about Danny?’

‘I’ll try ringing him when I get back home and as soon as I’ve got anything to report, I’ll ring you both.’

‘Can’t do anything tonight, though,’ said Libby. ‘We’re rehearsing again.’

‘Bloody panto,’ said Harry. ‘Always getting in the way.’

After he’d gone, Libby picked up her cape, scarf and basket and wrapped herself up. ‘I bet he is cursing the panto, really,’ she said. ‘He was quite jokey about it the other evening, but Pete’s left all the Civil Partnership stuff to him because he can’t think of anything else but flippin’ Jack and his flippin’ beanstalk.’

‘It’s yours, now, anyway,’ said Fran following Libby down the stairs. ‘You’re the director.’

‘I know, I know. I keep trying to tell him, but he was the same with
The Hop Pickers,
wasn’t he?’ She opened the front door. ‘See you tonight, but probably speak to you before then if Harry phones.’

‘If he does,’ said Fran.

‘He will,’ said Libby confidently. ‘This is his idea, after all!’

It was dark by the time he rang, though, and Libby had lit the fire in the sitting room, drawn the curtains and made tea.

‘He says he doesn’t want to go out anywhere, and at first didn’t want to talk to anyone,’ said Harry, ‘but I persuaded him that Fran wasn’t just anyone and would be able to help.’

‘What about me?’ said Libby.

‘It’s Fran who might be able to find something out, isn’t it? Not you.’

‘I don’t know about that,’ said Libby. ‘Anyway, I shall go too, shan’t I?’

‘I expect so,’ said Harry. ‘No keeping you away.’

‘So when can we see him?’

‘Tomorrow morning, if that’s all right? I want to come too, so I said ten o’clock, then I can be back here by about eleven-thirty for lunch time.’

‘That won’t give us long,’ said Libby.

‘I’ll go in my car, then and you two can go in one of yours. Then if Fran hasn’t finished I can leave before you.’

‘Oh, OK. Have you spoken to Fran?’

‘No, I thought you’d be madly jealous if I did that. Shall I say you’ll pick her up?’

‘I expect she’d prefer to go in her Roller-skate, so she can pick me up. She thinks she’s a safer driver than me.’

‘She’s probably right,’ said Harry. ‘See you in the morning.’

At rehearsal later that evening, Fran confirmed that she would most certainly prefer to take her own car, if only because it was still a novelty to drive it.

‘I’m scared though, you know, Lib,’ she confessed quietly, while sitting in the auditorium with Libby watching the chorus being put through their paces by the musical director, who was proving efficient if a little inclined to make them all sing higher than they wanted.

‘What of?’ asked Libby. ‘Not of Danny?’

‘No, just the whole thing. I really thought it was all behind me after the business with Aunt Eleanor’s death.’

Libby looked at her with sympathy.

‘It can be, you know,’ she said. ‘You don’t have to do this. I just get over-enthusiastic. Just tell Harry and Bella you don’t want to continue.’

‘They’d be disappointed,’ said Fran. ‘And Danny really needs help, if what Harry says is true.’

‘And Bella doesn’t?’ asked Libby. ‘Well, no, I suppose she doesn’t. She can find everything about her family on that computer and she’s got her inheritance, so she doesn’t need you.’

‘But she does. There’s something there, too, but I haven’t got to the bottom of it. Could just be that I think she’s got a lousy husband, of course.’

Libby giggled. ‘Join the club, Bella,’ she said.

Chapter
Eleven

T
HE NEXT MORNING FRAN
drove the Roller-skate decorously behind Harry’s car to where the main drive to Anderson Place divided and swept round to a stable yard.

‘This is it,’ said Harry, ‘although we have to walk to get to the cottage.’

‘Oh, he doesn’t live here, then?’ said Libby, looking round at the stables, which were obvious conversions.

‘Only senior staff and some guest rooms here,’ said Harry. ‘Come on. We go through here.’

They tramped along a pathway which became less manicured as they went on, until they came to a pair of semi-detached redbrick Victorian cottages.

‘Here we are,’ said Harry, and went up to the dark green front door, which was opened before he could knock.

‘Hi, Dan,’ said Harry, and enfolded the slight dark young man before them in a bear hug.

‘This is Fran,’ he said, disentangling himself, ‘and this is Libby. I think they might be able to help, as I told you. Well, Fran, might. I don’t know about Lib.’

Libby glared, before stepping forward and holding out her hand. ‘Hi, Danny,’ she said. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘So am I,’ said Fran, coming up behind her.

‘Thanks,’ said Danny in a rather high and unsteady voice. ‘Please come in.’

They followed him into a small, untidy sitting room, obviously furnished with discarded items from the main house. He sat down and waved a hand towards a small sofa. Harry took one look and sat on the floor.

‘So what’s happened, Dan?’ he said. ‘The police don’t think you had anything to do with it, now?’

‘I don’t know.’ Danny took a deep breath. ‘I don’t know why they wanted to question me in the first place.’

‘Because you were the closest to him,’ said Fran, ‘and they always look there first. Don’t they Libby?’

‘Yes,’ said Libby, not knowing, but willing.

Danny nodded, leant back in his chair and let out a sigh.

‘How did they know you were closest to him?’ asked Fran. ‘Harry said no one here knew you were a couple.’

‘Management didn’t, but a few of the blokes did. Terry knew,’ he said, looking at Harry, ‘and Dorothy knew. Didn’t approve, but she knew. It had caused a split between her and Larry, although I don’t think they’d been very close before.’

‘How old is Dorothy?’ asked Libby.

Danny looked surprised. ‘I don’t know. Older than Larry. Late sixties? Early seventies?’

‘Well, that explains it,’ said Libby. ‘Large age gap between brother and sister and she’s of the generation that maybe wouldn’t understand about gay couples. I bet she didn’t approve of civil partnerships and women vicars.’

Harry and Fran looked scandalised, but Danny smiled slightly. ‘You’re dead right,’ he said. ‘Mind you, Larry wasn’t that keen on civil partnerships, either.’

‘So Harry said,’ said Fran quickly, trying to regain control of the conversation before Libby took it over completely. ‘And Harry blames himself for your row.’

‘That’s daft, Hal,’ said Danny, putting out a hand to Harry. ‘It wasn’t civil partnerships in general so much as ours. He just didn’t want it.’

‘The same as people not wanting to get married,’ said Libby.

‘Exactly,’ said Danny, smiling at her again. ‘I think there must have been something in his past that put him off, although he never told me.’

‘Could he have been married?’ asked Fran. ‘Had he only come out recently?’

‘Not that recently,’ said Danny, ‘we’d been together, what – three years, Hal? – he wasn’t new on the scene then. He never said much about his past life, though. I met Dorothy because he wanted me to, but neither of us wanted to meet again.’

‘But you went to her when he disappeared?’ said Harry.

Danny shrugged. ‘I didn’t know what to do. Management didn’t seem too bothered, although I don’t know why. He was very good at his job and he never stepped over the line. I thought it would seem a bit odd if
I
reported him missing, so I went to Dorothy. Phoned her, rather.’

‘Did she come here?’ asked Libby.

‘Not until after he was found.’ Danny swallowed. ‘She had to identify him. Poor soul.’ Whether he referred to Dorothy or Laurence wasn’t clear.

‘So she called the police to report him missing. I’m surprised they took it seriously,’ said Fran, ‘after all, he was single, living alone and didn’t see his sister regularly.’

‘I think it was because someone thought about the body,’ said Danny, ‘otherwise they wouldn’t have done.’

‘Had you been to his flat? After he disappeared, I mean,’ said Fran.

‘Oh, yes. I had a key. I lived there most of the time. I – I don’t feel at home here.’ Danny lowered his head, and Libby felt sympathetic tears spring to her eyes.

‘So the police would have found your prints and DNA all over the place?’ said Fran.

‘Well, of course they would,’ snapped Libby. ‘He’s just said he more or less lived there.’

Fran pursed her lips.

‘But they wouldn’t have known who it belonged to unless they had Danny on file,’ said Harry.

‘Oh, Dorothy told them all about me,’ said Danny, without bitterness. ‘She told them I had called her and all about what she called our “association”.’

‘Hmph,’ said Libby.

‘So they came and asked you about it,’ said Fran. ‘What makes you think they suspect you?’

‘Their attitude,’ said Danny, sitting up straight. ‘It was so bloody obvious. The only thing they couldn’t seem to fit in was the timing. We had our row over three weeks ago, and they don’t think he’s been dead that long.’

‘Golly,’ said Libby, wrinkling her nose.

‘But just because you had your row three weeks ago doesn’t mean you couldn’t have killed him
after
that time, does it?’ said Fran.

The other three stared at her in horror.

‘Well, it doesn’t, does it?’ she said. ‘So you must have a pretty solid alibi for the last two weeks.’

‘I do,’ said Danny, surprisingly. ‘I was away.’

‘Away?’ chorused Harry, Fran and Libby.

‘After we’d had our row, I took some annual leave. That was why I didn’t realise he’d gone missing at first. I was just as huffy as he was, so I went off to my parents.’

‘Where?’ said Libby.

‘Durham,’ said Danny.

‘You haven’t got an accent,’ was all Libby could think of to say.

‘They moved there when I was sixteen,’ said Danny. ‘I love it. And I couldn’t nip home in a couple of hours to commit a murder, could I?’

Fran looked at Harry in exasperation. ‘So he doesn’t really need our help, does he? He’s got a perfectly good alibi.’

‘I didn’t know that,’ said Harry. ‘I just wanted to help.’

‘I know, Hal,’ said Danny, squeezing his hand. ‘And I’m truly grateful. The police won’t stop trying to break my alibi, anyway, so all help gratefully received. But Harry says you’re a psychic.’ He turned to Fran. ‘Can’t you help find his murderer?’

‘She is,’ said Libby.

‘No, I’m not,’ said Fran.

‘The inspector in charge of the investigation put the woman who found the body in touch with her,’ explained Libby, ‘to see if she had any connection with the case.’

‘And has she?’ asked Danny.

Libby opened her mouth and Fran shut her up with a look.

‘I can’t see how,’ said Fran. ‘We’ve gone through her family background and there aren’t any Coopers as far as we know, but it could be unconnected with her family.’

‘It could be anything, couldn’t it?’ said Danny, looking more animated. ‘A lover – or, no, not that –’

‘It could be,’ said Harry, ‘if she had a lover who thought she was carrying on with Laurence.’

‘Oh, come on, Harry,’ said Libby. ‘She knew nothing about the body.’

‘Did she see it?’ asked Harry.

‘Well, of course she saw it.’ Fran shuddered. ‘Although she wouldn’t have been able to identify it at the time.’

‘Anyway,’ said Libby, ‘if that woman has ever had a lover I’ll be a hat stand.’

Fran and Harry murmured agreement.

‘Are you going to try and find out?’ asked Danny, after a moment.

‘She won’t be able to help herself, will you Fran?’ said Libby.

‘Not if you’ve got anything to do with it,’ said Harry.

‘I could help,’ said Danny tentatively. ‘I mean, it would give me something to do and make me feel a bit less useless, and I know as much as anyone except Dorothy about him.’

‘You said he never said much about his past life,’ said Fran.

‘No, but there were a few things. And maybe Dorothy would talk to you. She was a bit nicer to me after – after –’

‘I don’t think she would,’ said Fran, ‘but perhaps we’ll keep her in reserve.’

‘Well,’ said Harry, standing up, ‘I don’t know if you two want to stay on, but I’ve got to get back.’

‘Shall we go, Danny?’ asked Libby. ‘Would you prefer us to come back another time?’

Fran frowned, but Danny nodded.

‘Could you come back?’ he said. ‘I’ll think about everything he ever told me, and look out his letters. That would help, wouldn’t it?’ He turned to Fran.

‘Possibly,’ she said, ‘but don’t hold out too much hope. I might not find anything.’

Looking far better than when they had arrived, Danny saw them to the door. ‘I might even go back to work,’ he said, ‘if they let me.’

‘Might they not?’ asked Libby. ‘Why?’

‘Because of the relationship angle, I think. And they weren’t too keen on having an employee questioned by the police.’

‘If they try to sack you because of that you could sue them,’ said Libby, bristling.

Danny smiled bleakly. ‘I suppose I could. But management aren’t actually too bad. Old Jonathan’s all right.’

‘Jonathan?’ said Fran.

‘Jonathan Walker,’ said Danny. ‘He’s a descendant of the chap who originally built this place.’

‘Anderson?’ said Libby.

‘So it’s stayed in the family,’ said Fran thoughtfully.

‘Only just, I think,’ said Danny. ‘They nearly lost it. It was a hospital or something during the war. Or a school.’

‘Like Tyne Hall,’ said Libby to Fran.

‘Tyne Hall?’ asked Danny.

‘A place we went to last summer,’ said Fran. ‘It’s falling down now, but that was a hospital during the war, too.’

‘I expect this would have fallen down, too,’ said Danny, ‘but old Jonathan decided to turn it into a hotel.’

‘How did he afford it, I wonder?’ mused Libby.

‘No idea, but whatever he did, it worked,’ said Danny.

‘Is all this public knowledge?’ asked Fran.

Danny shrugged. ‘I think so. Larry seemed to know all about it, anyway.’

When they’d left Danny to go and ask if he could go back to work, Fran and Libby set off down the drive in the Roller-skate.