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The next day at two o’clock in the afternoon, Miles rang my doorbell. He held open the door to his BMW for me.
“Look at you being a gentleman,” I said.
“I guess I have my moments.” He shut the door and got back behind the wheel.
“Hello,” Eddie’s voice said close to my ear, making me yelp.
He chuckled. “Surprised you, did I?”
I looked over my shoulder. “I wasn’t sure if you would join us on your day off.”
“I’m part of the Super Sleuthers, remember?”
“You really think we need a collective name, do you?” I asked.
Miles finished typing the address in his Sat Nav and smirked at me before driving off.
“And next you’ll want us to come up with a battle cry and an intricate hand shake.” I shook my head.
“Yes! Let’s do that too.”
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BRENDA AND GEOFF’S home was a detached property with a white picket fence, a white bench in the front garden, and a wooden door at the side of the house that led to the back garden. It looked well kept and was spacious enough. Brenda was a librarian and Geoff an accountant. I wasn’t sure how much they made, but it looked like they had plenty of money.
Miles had called ahead like he’d said he would, so they were expecting us and opened the door before Miles could even ring the doorbell.
The plan was for Miles to take the lead; we wanted it to appear we were simply in the neighbourhood and wanted to take care of the payment. Geoff had declined the offer of the second half of the payment since we hadn’t really gotten our money’s worth, but Miles had convinced him to accept it; he genuinely wanted to pay them.
Geoff was the one who opened the door and led us to the reception room. The hallway and the room itself were very clean and tidy. There was some art work on the walls and the sofa and flat screen were some of the first things I noticed. There was also a large piano in the corner.
“The piano is new,” Geoff said as he saw me study it. “Isn’t she a beauty?”
Detective Black sighed. “I don’t trust people who refer to inanimate objects as ‘she,’” he said. “Next, he’ll try to have a conversation with the toaster.”
As opposed to a made-up person in someone’s head?
“How dare you call me made-up,” Detective Black said as he glared at me.
“Do you play?” I asked Geoff.
“No, but I’d like to. Some day.”
I frowned. He made it sound as if he had bought the piano on a whim. Who would do that?
“Please sit.” Geoff himself sat down in a leather armchair while us Super Sleuthers took place on the cream-coloured sofa.
Brenda tottered in with a tray containing a tea pot, cups, milk and sugar, and biscuits.
Damn it. The temptation of biscuits was too much. At least I’d managed to snack once a week for a few weeks. And I had looked at yoga studios so there was that. Yes, I could indulge a little. After all, this was a murder investigation. Biscuits were a part of that.
“So nice to see you again. It was dreadful to part in such circumstances,” Brenda said with a smile. “Tea?”
“Yes, please,” we all murmured.
What English person declines tea?
She poured for us but left us to add milk or sugar ourselves. Eddie always dowsed his tea in sugar and Miles took it black. I added a bit of sugar and a bit of milk.
“You can tell a lot by how someone takes their tea,” Detective Black said.
I blinked at him, waiting for him to say more but he simply smiled at me.
“How are you both doing?” Miles asked. “Were you close with Valerie?”
Brenda’s eyebrow shot up but she brought it back down again and gave a surreptitious glance at her husband. He had responded to the question by puffing out his cheeks and then nodding gravely.
“She was a lovely girl,” Brenda said without the emotions that should accompany those words.
“Good actress, too,” Geoff said.
That was my opening. “Yes, she’s had a lot of leading roles, from what I saw on your website.” I smiled and took a sip of my tea, trying not to look too eager about what would come out of his mouth next. I did observe Brenda stiffening from the corner of my eye.
“Yes, that’s right. She loved acting.” He looked as if he wanted to say more but wasn’t sure what.
Eddie slurped his tea. “That’s good tea,” he said.
Brenda gave him a genuine smile. “Thank you, dear.”
“Had she been looking forward to the performance this weekend?” I asked. “I mean, since she was going to be the victim.” It wasn’t exactly a leading role.
“Oh, yes, quite. She actually requested the role of the victim,” Geoff said. “Not sure why, but she wanted to.”
“Had you ever done a performance like this before?” Miles asked.
“No. We were all quite excited.” He sagged a little, like a balloon letting out air. “It didn’t go at all as expected.”
Detective Black scoffed. “Understatement of the year.”
“Well, we would still like to pay for your efforts. I’m sure it would have been incredible,” Miles said in a gentle tone.
Geoff immediately perked up. “Yes, yes. I think you would have loved it, you know?” He went on about all the things he had planned which was interesting and I wanted to know more, but this was my chance to snoop.
“May I use your restroom?” I asked Brenda.
“Of course. Follow me.”
I shot a glance at Eddie, hoping he would catch my meaning. He would have to keep her preoccupied so I could nose around.
She moved halfway through the hallway before pointing at a door. “There you go.”
Thanks.” I looked at her to give her a smile, but my eyes were drawn to the pictures on the wall behind her. There were a lot of them, and all of them were pictures of her and her husband. A wedding picture from many years ago, a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower, one in a pub. Some looked more recent and in others Geoff’s hair was darker and fuller and Brenda had longer hair than now, or sometimes shorter.
But I also noticed something missing.
“You don’t have kids?”
There was a flattening of the lips before she turned them upwards in a cold smile. “No. We were not blessed.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, meaning it. “That must have been very difficult, but you do seem so happy with each other.”
Behind her dark eyes was a flash of genuine emotion though I couldn’t be sure what it was. Affection?
“Yes, we are. He’s the love of my life. Always has been and always will be.”
I touched her arm. “That’s so beautiful. And that itself is a blessing. Not everyone has that kind of love.”
She tilted her head ever so slightly and then placed her hand over mine. “Thank you.”
I made my way to the bathroom. Since it was a downstairs one, I had expected a simple toilet and sink in a cramped room, but I was wrong. It really was an actual bathroom with a shower and bath, a towel rack and scented candles and not one, but two sinks. I had never before realised that one sink wasn’t enough. Now I desperately wanted two as well.
Detective Black rolled his eyes. “Really? Who’s going to join you while you’re brushing your teeth? Apart from me.”
“It could happen,” I whispered.
“And then you’d be brushing your teeth at the same time? Every night? I doubt that.”
There were no cabinets above the sinks, so I unlocked the door and peered out into the hallway. She had gone back to the reception room.
“What exactly are we looking for?” Detective Black asked.
“This place has got to have a study,” I said. “That’s where all the paperwork will be and hopefully any stuff related to The Dramateers. I can’t help but feel that it’s important somehow. I mean, why else was she killed during this weekend?” I tried a door opposite the bathroom and found it unlocked.
It really was the only other downstairs room apart from the one directly opposite the reception room, but I couldn’t go there now, since Brenda would see me.
“Bingo,” I said as I stared at the desk with a computer and lots of papers. I slipped inside and closed the door behind me.
“A diary, here,” Detective Black said as he pointed.
I opened it to today. There was nothing there, so I went back to Friday. Geoff had written ‘Pembroke’ down and the rest of the days were blank. I flicked through the earlier days and weeks, seeing if I could find anything that could be remotely suspicious.
“There,” Detective Black pointed.
And that’s when Eddie’s voice—higher than usual—and Brenda’s sounded in the hallway.