Murder in Mind (3 page)

Today Kate had brought news of the trust's latest project to turn nearby Pryce House into a modern hotel. A consortium which operated a chain of distinctive hotels had seen the potential of the turreted monstrosity and, with what seemed like incredible speed to Ellie, probate had been granted, contracts signed, and architects commissioned.

Ellie had no wish to be concerned with the actual running of the hotel when it was completed, but as Kate had arranged for Ellie's trust to be allocated some shares in the company which was to run the development, she found herself more involved with the details of the conversion than she had hoped.

Stewart said, by way of starters, ‘I understand we've recently lost another member of the Pryce family.'

Ellie knew what he was getting at but refused to defend herself. Instead, she said with a bland smile, ‘Edgar's cancer was so advanced that it was amazing he lasted as long as he did. I'm seeing his widow early next week. Is it Monday morning or Tuesday, Pat?'

‘Ten, Monday morning.'

Ellie maintained her smile through the following silence. She knew that neither Kate nor Stewart had approved of the dying man's marrying a single parent and adopting her child, since a condition of Ellie's inheriting the mansion meant she had to provide for the remaining members of the Pryce family . . . which now included the man's widow and her child. She wondered what they'd think of her plan to move Vera and Mikey in to her home, partly, if not wholly, so that Vera could help look after Rose.

Ellie stuck out her lower lip. ‘They made him very happy in his last few months. He wanted to provide for them and I agreed that we should do so.'

Stewart raised one eyebrow but forbore to comment in any other way. It was, after all, Ellie's decision how she spent the inheritance Mrs Pryce had left her.

Kate hadn't approved, either. Well, tough.

Kate pinched in her lips, glanced at the heavy watch on her wrist and got down to business. ‘May we take the hotel first, Ellie? I've got another meeting later this morning.'

Ellie nodded, not surprised; Kate's time was at a premium.

‘The plans for the conversion of Pryce House have been passed by the council, which is good news all round. It was an inspired idea of yours, Ellie, to build a lift shaft on at the back of the house. I don't think we'd have had a chance of getting the plans through if we hadn't sorted that out.

‘The consortium that have bought the house have chosen a nationally known contractor, and they in turn have appointed a project manager, whose mobile telephone number . . . Here, Ellie. You'd better keep this by you. He's going to be more or less permanently on site. He'll be responsible for coordinating the teams of workmen who'll be descending on the place from now on.

‘The idea is to clear the site of everything they don't want to keep, in particular the old greenhouses and tool sheds. At the same time, they'll dig the foundations for the new lift shaft at the back and set up scaffolding all round to check on the roof and guttering. They're planning to take all the heavy equipment through the yard at the side of the house, which means the covered roof over it goes for the time being.

‘Inside, they'll have to tear down some walls in the old kitchen quarters to create a new kitchen, cold store and rest room for the staff. The basement will house a laundry, workshops for the maintenance people, and storage. Teams of plumbers and electricians will move into the parts that don't need reconstruction almost straight away, to rewire and install en suites; and when that's finished, specialists will fit out the kitchen area. A design team is working on decoration, furniture and furnishings as we speak.

‘There's a provisional date for signing off on the project of, let me see, they've suggested twelve months from the time they're allowed on the site, but are hoping it will be only nine. Now, there's something you haven't settled yet, and that's what's to be done with the garden.'

Ellie said, ‘I'd like to keep the garden much as it is. Oh, of course the greenhouses must go; they're pretty decrepit, anyway. But the basic design of patio, lawn, rose garden and pond seems to me to fit the house and would be an attraction for visitors.'

Kate sighed. ‘Ellie, my love; you're dealing with professional hoteliers here, and they won't be impressed by anything but a professional's plan for the garden. I've sorted out the names of two garden designers . . . This one and this.' She handed over some paperwork. ‘I've looked at their websites and both come highly recommended. I've sent each of them a brief giving the size of the plot, type of hotel, etcetera, and asked them to come up with a provisional design. They need to be contacted soonest, or they'll be so tied up doing gardens for the Chelsea Flower Show that we won't be able to get hold of them.

‘Just remember that though you know a lot about gardens in the suburbs, providing a garden for an important hotel is a rather different matter. You've also got to bear in mind that a lot of the garden is going to have to be torn up anyway while the builders are in. If you meet with the designers now and choose the one you like best, you can have your own input and keep everyone happy.'

Ellie tried not to make a sour face. Another job for her to do. She wanted to say, ‘Must I?' but realized this was a childish response and that she was all grown up now. Well, most of the time, anyway.

Kate glanced at her watch again and said, ‘Oops, I'm running late. Look, Ellie; tell you what I'll do. I'll see if one of them, if not both, can meet you at the site early next week. If they can make it, I'll leave a message for you with Pat. Now, Stewart; just a quickie. I know it's not your scene, but have you any ideas about how many parking slots we can get into the front garden? Their plan includes forty cars, but I don't think that's realistic.'

Stewart and Kate went into a huddle over the plans for the parking, which would have to be outside as the original coach house-cum-garage would be converted for office space on the ground floor, with a flat above for live-in staff.

Ellie felt useless. Of course she thought like an amateur because that was what she was. Kate was right in saying she must make use of professionals, but Ellie had hoped she'd be able to save at least some of the roses with which the garden had been filled by its last owner.

She opened the dining-room door and rang a tiny handbell to signal to Rose that they'd like their coffee, please. Rose was of the opinion that no one should try to get through a morning without sustenance, which was one reason why neither Ellie nor Thomas ever lost weight.

Ellie sighed. Well, if she couldn't calculate how many square metres each car must have, at least she could minister to the inner man and woman. She poured coffee, handed cake and wondered again why Stewart had brought Nirav to this meeting.

At last Kate said, ‘I think you'll have to go up to town to meet them, Ellie. They've suggested – where's your diary? If we can fix a date, then I'll be off and leave you all to deal with more mundane matters.' She kissed Ellie, waved to Stewart, smiled at Nirav and Pat, and disappeared at a run.

‘Splendid woman,' said Stewart. ‘Makes me feel my age.'

Ellie said, ‘She makes me feel weak at the knees sometimes, too. Now, Stewart; how are things your end?'

Stewart was meticulous with his figures. A big, reliable man, his waistline was beginning to thicken and his thatch of fair hair was beginning to recede from his temples. He hadn't much sense of humour, but he did know what the word ‘principle' meant.

Ellie wasn't sure that young Nirav did. An eager beaver, anxious to please. A bright boy, yes. But.

At last Stewart shut down his laptop and leaned back in his chair. ‘Well, that's it for today.' He didn't move.

‘Except,' said Ellie, ‘that you have something to tell me. Or Nirav has?'

Stewart looked at Pat, who hastily said she needed to get on, didn't she, and departed.

Ellie sighed. ‘It's about Diana, isn't it? Or about Mr Hooper? Or, perhaps, both?'

Stewart nodded to Nirav. ‘Tell Mrs Quicke what you've heard, Nirav. I know it's only gossip and we shouldn't pay any attention to it, but when it interferes, or when it might interfere with our work . . . You'd better tell her what you know.'

To do him justice, Nirav looked as if he'd prefer not to speak. ‘It's just that . . . it
is
only gossip. Are you sure . . .?'

Stewart nodded.

Ellie concentrated.

Nirav wriggled in his chair. ‘Well, it's like this. You know I'm working on the maintenance side of the properties to let? When there's a complaint about a leak or a broken window or, well, anything, and when a property becomes vacant, I go in to take a note of what needs to be done, pass the order on to the builders and then keep track of progress. The other day I found our maintenance team had been so short-handed that they'd had to call in a freelance for an urgent job. It turned out that I knew the man because he'd done some work in the past for Hoopers.'

Hoopers. Ah.

Nirav said, ‘He works for himself, doing all right, word of mouth, you know? His cousin still works for Hoopers, though she says it's not the same now and is looking around for another job. She passes all the gossip on to him, he knew I'd worked there at one time, and so we got talking.'

His eyes shifted to Stewart. Stewart nodded at him to continue.

With reluctance, Nirav obliged. ‘The thing is, I know she's your daughter, Mrs Quicke, and I'm sure she's a great business woman and an asset to Hoopers, and maybe they were overstaffed, but the atmosphere there now is, well, uncomfortable. At least, that's what I was told. It seems that your daughter has been put in charge of assessing the capabilities of everyone who works for them and she's clearing out those who don't think the way she does. Some of them, well, she's probably right, but then she got round to Mr Abel. I liked him. He was always very fair and straightforward with me.'

Ellie bit the end of her pen. She'd encountered Mr Abel when he showed her over the Pryce mansion months ago, and had formed the opinion that he was conscientious, humourless, and efficient. The word that came to mind was ‘worthy'.

Nirav gave a little cough. ‘She found out that Mr Abel told an interested buyer the truth about a house he was showing, and the buyer dropped the price by thirty K. She was furious.'

Oh dear. What could Ellie say? ‘I suppose my daughter was looking out for Mr Hooper's best interests.'

Nirav hunched a shoulder. ‘If you put it that way. The word is that Mr Hooper thinks the sun shines and lets her do what she wants.'

‘Mr Abel is thinking of leaving Hoopers?'

‘He's resigned, though I don't think he was given any choice in the matter. He'll be leaving when he's worked out his notice. Mr Stewart says he thought you'd be interested, but . . .' Another wriggle.

Ellie leaned back in her chair. ‘Nirav, would you like to take the coffee things out to the kitchen for me?'

Nirav scrambled to his feet and retreated.

Ellie looked at Stewart, who nodded. ‘I've heard similar stories from other sources.'

‘If it's true that Mr Abel is looking for another position, then what do you think about offering him one? The more money and property that drifts our way means that more and more work gets piled on to your shoulders; there are only so many hours in the day, and you have family responsibilities, too.

‘Look at today's meeting; in the old days you only had to deal with the properties to let, but now you're being drawn into some of the other aspects of the trust's affairs. Some time soon I'd like to talk to the other directors of the trust about inviting you on to the board, and I think we should make you General Manager of the company that looks after the properties to let.'

He looked both pleased and worried. ‘Yes, I can see that . . . but are you sure, Ellie? I'm no financier and—'

‘Neither am I. That's what we have Kate for. You'd like it, wouldn't you?'

‘Yes, I would. But—'

‘So we'll need someone else to do all the nitty gritty of the lettings office for us. Not Nirav; he's too young and inexperienced. We have no one else in the office who could take it on, have we? On the other hand . . .?'

Stewart caught on at last. ‘I see where you're heading. Well, I've heard nothing but good of Mr Abel. An estate agent who speaks the truth? As rare as hen's teeth. Hah!'

‘We will have to advertise the position, but if we made it known in the trade that we are looking to take someone on, don't you think that Mr Abel might apply? That way, we wouldn't be accused of poaching but we'd acquire someone whom we can trust.'

He ironed out a smile. ‘I tell Nirav you're planning to increase my responsibilities, which means I'll have to shed some of my workload, which in turn means we'll be looking for an experienced man to join the firm. Nirav tells his engineering friend, who tells his cousin, and Mr Abel hears about it. How long do you think it would take for the word to get through? A couple of days?'

Ellie smiled, too. ‘Tread cautiously. Spread the word but don't make any direct approach because we don't want to upset Mr Hooper any more than we have to. As for little Nirav; how trustworthy is he, do you think?'

‘He's got a mind like a corkscrew, but at the moment it's in his best interests to be straight with us. He's ambitious. He wants to move into the lettings side, but so far I've said no. He's desperate for accommodation for himself and his girlfriend, who I'm told is about to become his wife very soon. I'm thinking of offering him a short-term let on a flat which is a bit run-down, but which the maintenance team can't get round to for a couple of months. All right?'

‘Brilliant. Now, when may I come to see your beautiful little daughters, and is my grandson playing in a football match this weekend? He told me he's first reserve and hopes to play, and I'd like to come to watch, if it doesn't rain.'