Murder in House

They sat down to wait but within a few minutes the receptionist said she was so sorry but there would be a further delay, an emergency, and she hoped they’d understand.

They waited. Mia wouldn’t release Ellie’s hand. Ellie thought longingly of her own home; of Thomas coming back tired from his day out, and Rose waiting to cook for them. She put the thoughts out of her mind, using the last of her paper tissues on which to blow her nose. Armand came to join her. The receptionist offered tea or coffee. Ellie accepted; Mia refused, drifting away into a doze, relaxing her hold on Ellie’s hand.

They waited.

Mia started awake, looking around, eyes wide with fear. ‘Where . . .?’

‘At the doctor’s. You’re quite safe.’

Mia repeated the word ‘safe’ under her breath, but clearly did not believe it. She hunched forward, her eyes restless, her breathing rapid.

Ellie tried to pray. Dear Lord, dear Lord. Be with Mia, and all of us. Give us courage. Protect us. Keep my loved ones safe.

Mia looked on the verge of passing out. How long would the doctor be? Was there anything Ellie could do in the meantime? Mia might or might not want to die, but she’d perked up no end when she’d thought about Ursula, had even managed to speak to her on the phone. If Mia wouldn’t eat or drink for her own sake, perhaps she would for Ursula’s?

Ellie tried it. ‘Mia, we need you to help us, so that we can keep Ursula safe. Could you manage to drink some soup, to give you strength? And then you can give us a better idea of what to say to her if you think she’s in danger.’

For a long moment Ellie thought Mia was too far gone to respond, but eventually she reached for the cup of soup, and managed to take a sip . . . and then two. She’d drunk the whole cup by the time Ellie and Mia were called in to see the doctor, and though wobbly, the girl managed to walk into his room unaided.

The doctor was dark-eyed and comfortable-looking. He reminded Ellie of Thomas, and she trusted him on sight.

‘Tell me all about it, eh?’ he said.

Mia looked at Ellie. The doctor looked at Ellie. Ellie obliged with a report on what she knew, cutting her story as short as she could. Mia’s friend Ursula had been worried when Mia disappeared, her parents weren’t worried, Ellie had gone looking, had found her a couple of hours since, and learned there was someone else hunting for Mia, of whom the girl seemed afraid. In Ellie’s opinion, Mia was in a bad way, and not yet up to giving a statement to the police. What did the doctor think?

The doctor had switched his attention to Mia early on in Ellie’s recital, at one time bending forward to take her hand in his, and stroke it. Whether it was his healing touch that persuaded Mia he could be trusted, or his quiet strength, the result was a breakthrough.

Mia tried to smile at the doctor. A poor attempt, but recognizable. She even tried to talk. ‘Will you help me?’

Ellie was banished to the waiting room while the doctor and his nurse examined Mia. Armand had had the forethought to bring some homework with him to mark. Seeing Ellie sit with idle hands, he offered his book of Sudoku puzzles to do, which she declined. Sudoku was beyond her.

Eventually the nurse beckoned Ellie into the consulting room. Mia was sitting in a chair, looking so frail it was a wonder she still breathed, but she tried to smile, and managed to half whisper, half murmur a message.

‘Tell Ursula . . . warn her . . . stay away? Tell her, I’m safe now. Thank you, Ellie. Thank Armand, and Kate.’

The nurse put her arm round Mia, and helped her to stand. ‘Come along now, my dear,’ she said, and led the girl away.

The doctor put Ellie in the picture. Ellie shuddered. It was worse than she’d thought. He concluded, ‘When you ring for information, refer to my patient as “Flavia”, and leave a number where you can be contacted at the desk on your way out. I am not going to tell you where my patient will be staying. It’s better that way, don’t you think?’

Feeling as if she’d been hit over the head, Ellie went out to give Armand the doctor’s verdict.

‘It’s bad, Armand. She’s been raped and beaten many times and over a period of maybe ten days, or two weeks. He can tell that from the way some bruises have faded over time, while others are fairly fresh. There’s been some damage below, which ought to have been attended to at the time, but what’s more there are bites which have turned septic. She’ll need antibiotics, possibly something the doctor called “tidying-up”, which I don’t like to think about. He’s taken photographs of everything for a possible prosecution case at a later date. At some point the police will have to be involved, but she won’t be well enough to talk to them for some time.’

‘Bites?’ said Armand, horrified.

She gulped. ‘And she’s pregnant. I’d hoped against hope that she wasn’t, but it did occur to me as the worst possible scenario, and it’s true.’

Armand said something under his breath.

‘I agree. The doctor’s admitting her to a private clinic under an assumed name, and they’ll do what they can for her. He says we won’t be able to contact her, nobody will, until she’s fit to answer questions, but that I can phone him for news once a day. He says we should take the threats against her seriously and I agree. The problem is that until Mia’s well enough to make a statement, the police aren’t going to listen to anything I say.’

He put his papers away, his mouth tight. ‘Who’s the father?’

‘She doesn’t know.’ Ellie got to her feet thinking, pregnant, can they abort? Should they? Who was the father? What a can of worms.

‘I’ll go on to the club. It’s open till half ten. Talk to one or two people. Phone Kate to tell her what’s happened.’ He was quiet for a while. Sighed. ‘Pregnant, you said? What’s going on in that house? Locked doors, beatings, threats. The parents must have known.’

Ellie nodded.

‘What will you tell Ursula?’

‘Enough to stop her flying back to be with Mia.’

‘Will you tell the police that you’ve found the girl?’

‘I’m not sure. They’re not looking for her. Her parents aren’t, either. Perhaps, I don’t know, we wait till Mia can speak to the police herself?’

Armand ground his teeth and said several words under his breath about animals as compared to supposed human beings. Ellie agreed.

As she clambered out of his car in her driveway, she counted the bags she’d been toting around all day. Her handbag, Thomas’s book, her shoes from the menders, the tartlets from the baker. No birthday card? Ah, she’d not bought it in the end, had she?

She let herself into the house as Armand drove off, only to realize she’d lost the chops and sausages she’d bought from the butchers. Had she left them in Armand’s car? The lights of his car were disappearing round the corner. Too late, too late!

She shut the door heavily, only to be pounced upon by a sprite in a flurry of perfume, trailing scarves and an over-bright green silk suit.

‘There she is at last, the naughty little girl, staying out so late without permission! What are we to do with her, Thomas?’

Ellie gaped.

‘Naughty, naughty!’ said Ms Woodyates. ‘Here we’ve been, waiting up for you for hours and hours, and dear Thomas has had to entertain me all this time. What a bad little girl it is!’

Ellie continued to gape.

Thomas appeared at Grace’s shoulder, looking anxious. He, at least, had taken on board the fact that Ellie was way beyond light repartee.

He said, ‘There now, Grace. You see she’s returned safe and sound. Let me take those things from you, Ellie. You look worn out. Grace was kind enough to bring you round a ticket for a matinée, and decided to stay as she was anxious to hear if you’d some news about the missing girl.’

Ellie blinked.

‘Oh, tra la!’ sparkled Ms Woodyates, clasping her hands to her chin in a girlish fashion. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten all about our little black sheep, when you were so anxious to discover something about her only this morning.’

Was it only that morning? Ellie allowed Thomas to take her coat away from her. ‘So sorry,’ she managed to say. ‘Visiting a friend. Very poorly. Couldn’t get away.’

‘Cancer?’ Grace jumped to conclusions and Ellie was happy to let her. No way was she going to tell this chatterbox that she’d found Mia. ‘My poor mother died of it, and then my younger sister – who was the real beauty of the family, you know – and then a cousin and two of my oldest friends. But we must look ever onwards and upwards, mustn’t we?’

Ellie nodded.

Thomas was holding up an overcoat for Grace to get into. ‘Now you’ve seen she’s safely back home, shall I phone for a cab for you, or did you come in your car?’

‘I have my trusty steed outside.’ Grace had accepted that she was being thrown out in the nicest possible way, but wasn’t giving up yet. ‘Dear Ellie, I can see you’re not exactly “with it” at the moment. I’ll call round tomorrow morning, shall I? I know we’re going to be the greatest of friends, and I’m looking forward to having a nice, long chat with you.’

Thomas eased Grace out of the door as Rose appeared in the kitchen doorway, also looking anxious. Rose was in her dressing-gown. Was it that late? Yes, it was. Oh dear.

Rose spoke to Thomas and not to Ellie. ‘There, now. Miss Quicke was only saying to me yesterday that it looked as if Ellie were on the trail of some bad people once again, and that we must take extra good care of her.’

Ellie blinked again. What was that Rose had said?

Thomas said, ‘You’re absolutely right, Rose. A large hot drink and a couple of small sandwiches, don’t you think? Have you eaten at all, Ellie?’

Ellie nodded. Rose disappeared into the kitchen, muttering, and Ellie disintegrated. ‘Oh, Thomas, your chops for supper. And some Cumberland sausages, four for you and two each of ordinary for Rose and me. I’ve lost them somewhere and they won’t be much good by morning, will they? I’ll have to throw them away. But they may be in Armand’s car, of course. Only, I don’t think I left them there.’

Thomas put her in a hall chair, and proceeded to take off her heavy winter shoes, and rub her feet in his warm hands.

She’d finished her paper tissues. She sought for a hankie, and didn’t find one. Her nose was running. He put a hankie in her hand and she blew, hard.

‘I bought them for your supper but then I had something to eat with Kate and Armand, but you mustn’t tell anyone because I don’t want to put them in danger, and Mia’s all right really, at least, she will be – I hope – though she’s been terribly badly treated and she’s pregnant and you mustn’t ask me where I’ve put her because I don’t know.’

‘My dear love.’

He half carried her into the sitting room, installed her in the big armchair by the fire and wound a rug around her cold feet, putting them up on a stool. ‘Thank God you found Mia, and that you’re safe.’

‘You’ve been praying for us?’

‘Pretty well non-stop since early afternoon. I got so fidgety in my meeting, I couldn’t have got through it without prayer.’

She was still crying, and still blowing her nose. ‘But I lost your lamb chops!’

‘You retrieved the lost lamb. You wonderful woman. Here am I, a simple scribe, idling away my time in a meeting discussing a moot point in theology, while you go out and fight the powers of darkness.’

‘Oh, don’t be silly. It wasn’t that bad.’

‘Wasn’t it?’ His eyes always saw more than most.

She didn’t reply. Yes, it had been bad, but it was the threats to Mia and the relentless hunt after her which frightened her really, not what she’d actually seen. Except that, come to think of it, Mia’s bruises had been a testimony in themselves. The doctor had said there’d been bites, which needed antibiotics. Where were the bites? Don’t think about it. And then the pregnancy.

Thomas held both her hands in his. ‘Can you tell me?’

At that moment, Rose brought in a Thermos of hot soup and sandwiches. Chicken soup and ham sandwiches. With her husband and her friend seated one on either side of her, Ellie told them what had happened.

‘. . . And I’m so afraid I’ve left a trail which they may be able to follow and, if the worst comes to the worst, they may come here for Mia. I’ve tried to protect Armand and Kate, and it may never happen, but I get the shivers when I think of what they might do to everyone I love. They know my name, you see, and I left my phone number here with ever so many people.’

‘Fear,’ said Thomas. ‘It makes us give in, even before a finger has been laid on us. Put it in proportion, Ellie. They – whoever they are – are not going to go round beating up ordinary citizens because, if they do, the police will be called in to deal with them.’

Ellie tried to calm down. ‘I don’t think Anthony cares, so long as he gets his own way. You didn’t see what he did to Mia. At least I assume it was him, because it’s him that’s trying to find her. Whoever did that is looking at a long prison sentence, and it looks as if the family have closed ranks, because they told the police she slept around, which is a lie. We mustn’t forget that Ursula believes Lloyd’s death was murder. Perhaps Mia saw something, could witness to it? She’s too confused, too ill at the moment to make a statement, but when she’s recovered her strength she could explode the Prior family reputation and send at least one of them to jail.’

‘One thing’s for sure.’ Rose, sitting on the other side of the fireplace, seemed to have taken on the mantle of Miss Quicke herself. ‘You won’t let them get away with it. And if any bully boy shows his fists around here, I’ll set about him with the frying pan.’

Ellie tried to laugh, but couldn’t quite make it.

Thomas poured out some more soup for her. ‘We will pray for protection, and take a few precautions. Giving in to an aggressor only makes things worse. Now I’ve been thinking; all this is hearsay, and we need to check some facts. What do we really know? The girls in the flat pointed the finger at the stepbrother, but he might be protecting someone else, a friend of his, for instance, and that’s why he’s trying to find her.’

‘She was locked in her room,’ said Ellie, pushing the emptied tray aside. ‘Her mobile phone was smashed. She needed help to get away.’

‘We have only heard about that through the girls in the flat, who got it from Malgosia, whom you haven’t spoken to at all.’

‘Why would Malgosia make it up?’

‘A good point. And we mustn’t forget Ursula’s brush with Anthony and her smashed mobile. Hmm. I think on the whole we’re justified in getting involved. You should tell the police what’s happened.’

‘I tried that.’ Ellie got to her feet, moving stiffly. ‘They didn’t want to know. And until Mia is able to give a coherent account of what happened to her, I’m not sure they’ll change their mind. After all, her parents have given her a shocking reputation.’ She looked at the clock. ‘If you don’t mind, I think I’d better go to bed.’

She grumbled her way up the stairs, telling herself that she really ought to have made sure that Rose was all right before she went, though really Rose looked a lot more lively than Ellie felt tonight. As for Thomas, he hadn’t seen Mia’s injuries. Thomas was a big, strong man and didn’t understand that normal people felt fear when they were threatened. Thomas wasn’t taking the matter seriously enough.

Midge the cat was nowhere to be seen. Just as well. If he’d come winding round her legs at that moment, she’d have shoved him out of the way.

She shed her clothes and stomped into the bathroom to have a good long shower in hot water, and it didn’t lift her black mood at all. When she came out, Thomas was switching on the electric blanket. And so he jolly well ought!

Thomas said, ‘You’re overtired.’

‘Is that so surprising?’ Her voice rose. ‘Here I’ve been, going round trying to solve everyone else’s problems, and when I get home I find Little Miss Stick Insect all over you.’

‘Ellie, don’t tell me you’re jealous?’ He made the mistake of laughing.

Ellie lunged at him with both fists. ‘I hate you!’

Thomas drew her close to him. ‘There, there.’

She despised women who burst into tears and took refuge from the world in a man’s arms. ‘She’s size six and anorexic—’

‘Yes, yes.’

‘And stinks of perfume and someone ought to take those trailing scarves and strangle her—’

She could feel him laughing. ‘You are jealous!’

‘First Diana, and then that bundle of bones—’

He picked her up and deposited her on the bed, lying down beside her. ‘I do love you, Ellie Quicke. Here, have a tissue.’

Ellie sniffed, took a tissue and blew, eyeing him sideways. ‘I’ve been making a fool of myself, haven’t I?’

‘Mm. Delightfully. I enjoyed it.’

‘I don’t normally make scenes. Do I?’

‘You’re allowed one every time you save someone’s life. And I promise to fend off all the women currently vying for my favours. Is that a bargain?’

She sniffed, and blew again. ‘How’s your cold coming on?’

‘An early night with some hot honey and lemon should see it off. How about you?’

‘Yes, the boys came down to the pub after, and I paid them off in the Gents. No, no one saw. They said it went off all right, although I think they were a bit heavy-handed. I told them to throw a scare into her, but I gather they spilt the red stuff.’

‘What do you mean? Wine?’

‘Blood. But she’s all right. I mean, they phoned for an ambulance for her when they left. She got the message all right.’

Anthony laughed, and cut off the call.

‘Mrs Quicke? Is that you?’ An unfamiliar woman’s voice, commanding but woolly, as if the speaker was talking through a mouthful of food. ‘Mrs Belton here, Ursula’s mother. I need to contact her, urgently. She told me you’d given her your mobile. Only . . .’ A break in the voice. Almost a wobble. ‘Only, she can’t work out what the number is on the phone you’ve given her.’

‘Oh, how stupid of me. I forgot to give it her. Hang on. I’ll get it for you. It must be somewhere in my address book.’ Ellie dropped the newspapers, trying to open the address book.

‘The thing is . . . the thing is . . .’ Was that a sob?

Ellie abandoned her search in the phone book. ‘What is it, Mrs Belton? Is something the matter?’

‘I’m afraid, yes. I’m at the hospital, you see. Been there all night, ever since . . . but they’ve stitched me up and I’ll only have to wear a sling for a couple of days. I’m sure I’m perfectly all right to go home and they need the beds, don’t they?’

‘What’s happened?’

Mrs Belton tried to laugh. ‘Oh, nothing out of the ordinary, just a mugging on my own doorstep. I should have known better, shouldn’t I, at my age? Two of them wearing masks, would you believe? And the police don’t seem able to stop them. The worst of it is that . . . so sorry –’ her voice thickened – ‘I’m afraid I can’t talk properly at the moment.’

‘That’s dreadful.’ DI Willis had spoken about some mask-wearing yobs, hadn’t she? ‘You want me to phone Ursula for you, to tell her what’s happened?’

‘I’m using the phone at the hospital, waiting for a taxi. At least, I was till I realized they’d taken my handbag with all my money and cards in it, as well as my keys and my mobile. And what they got up to inside the flat, I daren’t think. So now I haven’t any money to pay a taxi, and I’ll have to wait for an ambulance to take me back.’

‘The police know?’

‘I suppose so. I wasn’t conscious when they brought me in. The nurse said someone would be coming to see me from the police, but they haven’t turned up yet and I’m desperate to get back home, to see what damage they’ve done.’

Thomas came galloping down the stairs, pulling on an outsize navy blue sweater which made him look more like a seafaring man than ever. Ellie held up a hand to check his progress while Rose appeared from the kitchen, hair awry but decently dressed. Rose was holding a box of eggs. ‘Two boiled, or scrambled with bacon?’

Ellie said, ‘Hold on a minute, Rose. Mrs Belton, I’ll ring Ursula straight away. Stay where you are. I’ll be round to collect you in half an hour, maybe three quarters.’

Putting the phone down, Ellie told Thomas and Rose what had happened. ‘So I’d better ring Ursula straight away.’ She stopped. ‘I’ve just had a thought. It’s as if Mia was standing beside me and shaking her head. She was desperate that Ursula shouldn’t come back. Do you think this could be related to . . .? No, it couldn’t possibly. Could it?’

Thomas stroked his beard. ‘There’s no point alarming Ursula at this hour of the morning. Let’s see what the damage is first, shall we? If it was just a bit of rough-housing by a couple of yobs then Ursula will have to know, but there’s no need to drag her back. What could she do that her mother’s friends couldn’t do better?’

‘Not sure she’s got many friends. I’ll get a minicab and fetch her; settle her back at home. I must have some breakfast first, though.’

Thomas followed her into the kitchen. ‘She’ll be in shock, and if she’s lost her cards and her money, she’ll need help to get sorted. I’ll drive you both.’

‘Have you time? What are you supposed to be doing today?’

For a moment his face reflected panic. Obviously he had something important on. But then he smiled. ‘I’ll make time. This is more important.’

Rose crashed plates on to the table. ‘Whatever is the world coming to? You’ll both have eggs and bacon, with mushrooms and tomatoes. You’ll need it. Fortify yourselves for the day ahead. My mother always used to say, if you start the day with a good breakfast, you can cope with most things.’