‘She’s still asleep, James,’ Lily whispered. She got up from a chair beside Hugh’s bed where Annie Bell lay beneath a quilt. The room was cool but she looked feverish with her auburn hair a tangle around her flushed face.
Doc James Harrison came into the bedroom and closed the door to the hallway quietly behind him. He went into the combination office and sitting room that had been converted from a second, smaller bedroom adjoining Hugh’s. He indicated for Lily to follow him. The two of them had been very close for years and Lily spent a good deal of time at Doc’s home which was also where teenagers Scoot and Kyle Gammage continued to live while their father was absent from their lives. Doc James and Lily had become the boys’ stand-in parents and so far the arrangement had been good for all of them.
‘Any developments?’ Lily asked James, all but shutting the door between the two rooms. She stood with her back to the window, leaning against the sill. Her spine ached from napping on the side of the bed where Annie slept. ‘Alex thinks the police are going to take Hugh in for questioning this morning.’
James and Tony were obviously father and son, both tall, good looking and curly haired, although James’ curls had been white for years and he’d formerly been dark-haired, whereas Tony’s coloring was lighter. They both had dark-blue eyes.
‘Tell me how you are first,’ James said.
‘A bit stiff.’ Lily smiled at him. ‘I’m too accustomed to a comfortable bed. Annie doesn’t seem well to me. You didn’t say much when you examined her last night.’
‘That was perfunctory,’ he said. ‘She’s an essentially healthy young woman, as far as I can tell, but she’s exhausted and probably emotionally compromised. She should be examined more thoroughly by her own doctor. I understand from Tony that she talked quite expansively to Harriet and Mary Burke at their tea rooms, but clammed up when he and Alex showed up there. We can’t help her if she won’t let us but I’m hoping that will change.
‘Did I tell you I got the white handkerchief wave out of the sisters’ windows when I passed Leaves of Comfort earlier?’
‘Earlier?’ Lily said. He had so much more energy than she did. ‘No you didn’t tell me. It’s only eight thirty now.’
‘Harriet flagged me in to give me a brief rundown. I don’t think we’ve got a lot of time to get our ducks in a row – or at least to try to work out what we’re dealing with. Not if we’re going to help Hugh. Harriet let me know that one of her scouts saw Dan and Bill leave here before seven this morning.’
‘Darn, I wonder if they had breakfast?’
‘Lily, my love, we don’t care about their breakfast today. We care that they were picked up by LeJuan Harding and set off out of Folly, so we can hope they’re on their way back to Gloucester and we’ve got some time to get together with Hugh. If necessary we’re going to hammer some information out of him.’ He frowned. ‘Do you know if Neve Rhys came back last night?’
‘She didn’t but she hasn’t checked out. Her things are still in her room. I don’t know if both of them are there, though. She said her husband would be joining her but there’s been no sign of him yet.’
‘We’re getting together at my house later this morning,’ James said. ‘We can all make it there by the back way and hope not to be seen. I’ve talked to Hugh. He’ll be coming down from Tony and Alex’s – thank God he agreed to spend what was left of the night there. He knows where our spare key is so he’ll let himself in.’
‘I’ll stay here. It’s more important for Alex to be there with all of you. Liz Hadley comes in this morning. Scoot is an angel. He did the fireplace as well as setting up as much as he could before he went to school. Carrie Peale – our village potter – has been putting in a few hours and she’ll come in, too. I think she’s finding it hard to make ends meet with just the pottery and a husband who does little else but drink, ride around on the back of his friend’s motorbike, and talk about his future literary stardom.’
James opened his briefcase and pulled out several pieces of printer paper. ‘This is information on Quillam’s concert schedule. I’m sure the police already have it. He’s supposed to be in Paris – in the middle of an engagement. Supposedly it’s been announced that he’s ill and there’s a stand-in everyone is raving about.’
Lily crossed her arms. ‘This is only getting nastier. Lies, lies and more lies. Mr Quillam couldn’t be more ill than he is now, could he? Those people in Paris probably have no idea he’s lying in a morgue. But someone must be speaking for him over there – telling them he’s ill. Whoever that is would know something’s gone very wrong, surely.’
‘Tony’s seeing what if anything he can find out about that. The news will have it all out there today but the police won’t be giving away any of the details we’d like. I’d better get going. When Annie wakes up try to have her stay in bed. She needs her own things. Those can be brought from wherever they are. I assume she has a car.’
‘We don’t know,’ Lily said. ‘I’ll get back to you as soon as I have any information. James, what if the police come looking for Hugh?’ Tiredness was overtaking her and anxiety about what would happen next only made it worse.
‘Tell them you’ll ask him to contact them – when you speak to him,’ James said.
‘I don’t think they’ll accept that. Especially not from me … or any of us. They could insist on knowing how I’ll go about finding him. If they think I know where he is … that scares me.’
The door to the bedroom swung open wider and Annie stood there, her clothing rumpled. ‘What’s wrong?’ she said, her hand at her throat. ‘What do you mean? Hugh hasn’t done anything, so the police don’t want to talk to him.’
‘It’s just that Hugh knows all the people involved in what’s been going on here pretty well,’ Doc said. ‘Lily’s quieter than most of us – thank goodness she is – so she doesn’t like dealing with the police.’
‘Don’t worry about it, Lily,’ she said. She put a shaky hand to her mouth and started chewing a thumbnail. ‘Hugh always knows how to deal with people.’
Burford was a pretty town; old, picturesque and slathered with tourists all day, every day at this time of the year. Nevertheless, once away from the famous and steep main road that poured down from the wolds to the Windrush valley, terraces of stone cottages reminded you of the way the place must have looked a century and more earlier.
Alex knew she was out of her depth. She slipped past bursting flower baskets hanging from walls, climbing roses, wisteria, every possible flower that might bloom now and they all bloomed with an almost overwhelming fervor. What did she think she was doing here in the early morning – trailing Detective Sergeant Jillian Miller as she studied numbers outside front doors? At least Miller was so intent on reaching her target that a novice boy scout could probably have followed her without being seen.
Dodging into doorways, behind bushes and into narrow alleys felt ridiculous but what choice did she have? She’d stayed out of the way while Hugh got ready to leave Tony’s house, assuming he would go straight to Doc’s. A couple of minutes after he drove away in the Subaru he used to run around the area, the car Alex recognized as Bill Lamb’s followed. She didn’t know Miller was driving until she saw her get out in Burford. Alex had tucked the Range Rover into the forecourt of a butcher’s shop and set off at a trot.
Miller stopped in front of a short row of houses with a board outside advertising holiday rents. There were three houses with curly stucco rooflines atop flat fronts. One pink house, one yellow, and one green. The window at the very top suggested a fourth and very small floor. The detective sergeant breezed on past but quickly turned down a tiny alleyway toward the back of the buildings.
Loaded with guilt, Alex phoned Tony and started talking before he got past his first question about where the hell she was. ‘In Burford,’ she said. ‘Hugh left right after you. I was looking out of the window and saw Jillian Miller drive after him. Thank goodness I was ready to go. I couldn’t understand why Hugh didn’t suggest we drive to Doc’s together, but now I know. He had somewhere else in mind.
‘Wait … Miller just went behind a row of houses and I think Hugh must be inside one of them although I can’t see his car anywhere. Since Miller was following him it must be around, or she wouldn’t have stopped. Got to go or I’ll lose her, if I haven’t already.
‘Yes, I know you don’t like me doing this, but it seemed like the only thing to do. Hugh’s being ambushed and I’ll at least be able to break things up with one of my brilliant excuses for him being here.’
She had started to jog and turned in at the alley in time to see Miller make a sharp left behind the pastel houses.
‘Sorry, Tony. Gotta go. Tell everyone to hang in and I’ll be there as soon as I can – hopefully with Hugh in tow. Maybe I can head Miller off … yes, I’m interfering with the law. Hugh is my friend and until I know he’s guilty of something, I’ll stand up for him. Get the sisters to tell everything they heard at the tea rooms when Annie was there. Bye.’
She was in time to see Miller open a rotting wooden gate and slip through. This was the middle house.
Alex stopped. She looked at her mobile and punched in a contact. If she had really been thinking she’d have done this before, probably as soon as she saw Miller following Hugh.
‘Alex?’ he answered. ‘Sorry I’m going to be late. I’ve got an unexpected meeting but I’ll get there as soon as I can. You’ve got plenty to discuss—’
‘Just get out of that house, Hugh. Detective Sergeant Jillian Miller is looking for a back way in – probably to spy on you or whatever. Just get out.’
‘Good God.’ He spoke to someone else but what he said was very unclear. ‘Right, on my way, Alex. We’ll talk about why you followed instead of calling me when I see you. Thank you, anyway.’
‘Where’s your car?’ She wanted to snap back that he wasn’t in a position to be snarky. ‘Do you need a lift?’
‘No, thanks. See you at Doc’s – I hope. Please keep on trusting me. I know it must be looking bad – suspicious – but it will all work out. I’m out of the house and on my way. You’d better be on yours.’
Alex backtracked to the street but saw no sign of Hugh or his black Subaru Outback. She ran for her own vehicle and drove too fast to get out of Burford and on her way back to Folly by winding, little used roads through mostly deserted fields.
Parked behind Doc’s house, she went through the back gate, let herself in by a side door to which she had a key and hurried through the mud and laundry rooms, following the rise and fall of voices. She found her people gathered in the little used sitting room, seated around a low, ebony and brass table where empty cups and saucers, plates, and the remnants of croissants, meant someone – probably Harriet – had provided a late breakfast.
Alex dropped onto a sofa beside Tony. ‘Hugh’s on his way. He should have been here before me but I’m past trying to make reason of anything he does. Where’s Annie?’
‘Sleeping,’ Doc said. ‘I gave her another sedative. She’s exhausted and needs complete rest for a day or two. She’s been staying in Stow-on-the-Wold. She’s got a Mini – which used to belong to Elyan Quillam – parked behind the Black Dog. Convenient since her things were in it.’
‘Shouldn’t she be here?’ Tony said.
‘No,’ Mary Burke said. Lillie Belle, the tiny Maltese with her long pink tongue, watched from Mary’s lap with inquisitive black button eyes. ‘We don’t need Annie here. Not if you want us to be able to talk freely about what was said at Leaves of Comfort. You didn’t get her to tell you anything, did you? And you tried.’
Always blunt. ‘That’s right,’ Alex agreed. ‘I was hoping Hugh would be here by now, but we’d better get on with it. Tell us what you heard, ladies.’ She held up a hand. ‘Why isn’t my mum here?’
‘She thought she ought to run the pub,’ Doc said, straight-faced. ‘Or that someone should.’
Alex nodded, yes. There was too much to think about.
Harriet looked at Mary who indicated for her to continue. ‘The woman who moved to Annie’s table after we closed behaved like she must be a friend. Annie looked confused, but I don’t think she knew what to say and she’s too polite to tell someone to go away. I got the definite impression she’d seen the woman before. I don’t know about the man.’
‘Time she learned the difference between friend and foe,’ Mary said tartly.
Harriet frowned. ‘Too few people have manners these days,’ she said. ‘The man who was with the woman just sat there and looked at the tablecloth. He kept running a fingernail along the embroidery. I wanted to smack his hand.’
Alex hid a smile. Harriet never forgot her priorities.
‘The woman said she knew all about Elyan Quillam and what a horrible childhood he’d had. She told Annie someone should have taken Elyan away from his father because the way he was made to work at the piano was child abuse.’
‘It probably could be,’ Doc said. ‘Not that I’d know in this case. Brilliant pianist. Wicked waste.’
‘Quite,’ Harriet agreed. ‘That’s when the woman started talking about Hugh and saying he was dangerous and Annie shouldn’t have anything to do with him. She insisted Hugh had enemies and he wouldn’t stop at anything to make sure they didn’t get in his way.’
Alex and Tony looked at one another. Alex didn’t say that it sounded as if Harriet, and probably Mary, had overheard just about every word spoken at that tea table. But she didn’t know what to make of the reported conversation or what was said about Hugh. It all seemed unbelievable.
‘What did these people look like?’ Alex asked. ‘You’re sure you never saw them before?’
Mary slowly shook her head. ‘I’m sure. The woman was a bit theatrical. Short dark hair. Very pale skin and her eyes looked black.’
‘Tall,’ Harriet said. ‘He was nice enough looking but she used up all the attention.’
‘Oh,’ Alex said, and swallowed. If Hugh or her mother were there they’d both know who the sisters had seen. Alex hesitated to blurt it out unless she was absolutely sure. She was sure but she still couldn’t say the name.
‘Isn’t this something the police should be hearing?’ Doc said. ‘They’ll have to know it all sooner or later and the less we hold things back, the less likely we are to venture into dangerous waters. They won’t like us keeping information from them.’
‘They haven’t asked us questions that would lead to this,’ Alex said. Or the right questions, she thought. There were a number of ways to avoid the truth and she was guilty of at least one or two of them right now. In addition to not mentioning Hugh and his car at Green Friday the previous evening, she hadn’t revealed to the police how she’d seen him on the hillside near the pond, or his strange behavior there.
‘So we’re keeping our mouths shut when we have information the police will need? They need it now. We’re obstructing them.’
‘Damn it, Dad, you’re so bloody reasonable.’ Tony spoke through his teeth and Alex shifted back on her seat. ‘If they’re so brilliant, they’ll find their own information.’
Doc’s expression hardened. ‘I think a lot of us know we can hide facts for a while but they tend to come out eventually and when they do, we’ve only made them worse by making them more mysterious – and potentially more dangerous if something happens that might have been averted.’
He and Tony looked at one another, unflinching. Alex had never seen them so openly at odds toward one another. She could have sworn there was a subtext in what they said but it made no sense to her.
The sisters sat, their backs rigid, hands in their laps – or in Mary’s case, on the dog in her lap.
Mary cleared her throat. ‘Toward the end, the woman leaned close to Annie and spoke in her ear. She took hold of Annie’s hands as if she was holding her there. We couldn’t hear a word but Annie looked dreadful. She closed her eyes and I think she was already starting to cry. We thought afterward that the couple was trying to turn Annie against Hugh and that they hoped she would be on their side in something they had planned, only the woman saw me and it must have been obvious I was listening because she got up to leave. The man took a while to get the message – he looked blank – then he followed without a word. That’s when we took Annie upstairs and she broke down. So we made her stay quiet on her own and called you, Alex and Tony.’
‘She wasn’t happy about it when she saw us,’ Tony said. ‘Did she say anything else about why she’s here in Folly or why she wanted to see Hugh?’
‘No, but there’s something else – two things.’ Harriet stood up, her lips sucked in. She walked to the window and pulled a curtain aside. ‘It’s going to rain.’
‘What else?’ Doc pressed quietly.
‘I don’t think I should tell you.’
Alex rubbed at her face. You couldn’t force someone to tell you something, but Harriet wouldn’t have mentioned whatever this was if she were not longing to unburden herself.
Doc sat quietly, waiting, and Mary tutted. ‘Harriet, we have to say. It could be dangerous or wrong not to.
‘As long as we all keep Annie safe until this is all over, it won’t be. But she should tell these things herself. She hasn’t even told us any real details, remember, and from the way she clammed up, she was already wishing she hadn’t said anything at all.’
‘All right.’ Harriet returned to her seat and sat with a thump. ‘We aren’t sure she wasn’t rambling. This is probably nothing, but she said she wished she could ask Zack about it. We thought that was the name. She put a hand over her mouth. I felt terrible for her. She was running a fever, but then Annie said she thinks Elyan doesn’t love her anymore. That’s what she said. Then – just as she was falling asleep she said something else – but we weren’t sure what it was and we couldn’t ask again.’
‘You couldn’t make it out at all?’ Alex could hardly contain herself. ‘What do you think she said. Do you have any idea?’
Harriet let out a long sigh. ‘We’re not sure. But it could have been that Elyan might be ill again …’ She looked at Mary, who nodded. ‘Or that he could kill again.’