‘Incredible,’ Sir Harold Jackson said as the waiter left the smoking room ten minutes later. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
Inspector Young had arrested the Carsons. They seemed to be too dazed to offer any further resistance. The looming presence of the burly young constable deterred any thought of a physical fight.
Once the policemen, led by Major Busby, had taken their charges away, Sir Harold summoned drinks from the bar. If ever there was a time for a stiff whisky, he said, this was it. Jacob agreed with more than usual fervour.
‘You had no idea of her devotion to you?’ Rachel asked.
‘Absolutely none. The very idea is absurd.’ He glanced at his wife, who looked haggard. ‘Everyone who knows anything about me is under no illusion about my love for Sadie.’
‘Forgive me for saying so, but Pearl Carson was looking to the future. She knew of Lady Jackson’s ill health and she thought that if her husband were out of the way and you were bereft…’
Sir Harold swore. ‘Unthinkable! The woman must be mad.’
‘In many respects, she is as rational as any of us. She came from a poor background and wanted to be rich, but there’s nothing unusual in that.’ Rachel smiled faintly, and Jacob wondered if this was some kind of private joke. ‘Only when her path crossed with that of Carson, a plausible but unscrupulous rogue, were the conditions met for her to embark upon a life of crime. Psychiatrists call it folie à deux. The two of them fed on each other’s cold-blooded determination to better themselves. Pearl’s agreeable nature enabled her to befriend people in the hope of luring them into an indiscretion. In the Sun and Air Garden, for instance. That’s why she was keen for Martha and me to sample its pleasures.’
‘They corrupted everything they touched,’ Lady Jackson said. ‘I suppose that ever since they got married…?’
Her voice faltered. Tears formed in her eyes.
Rachel said, ‘At first they must have been nervy about getting caught. Perhaps they began with petty acts of dishonesty, defrauding employers and so on. Their caution paid off, because Inspector Oakes assures me neither of them has a criminal record. As their confidence grew, so did their willingness to take risks. Their talents were perfectly suited to blackmail.’
‘And Brighton offered rich pickings,’ Sir Harold said grimly.
Rachel nodded. ‘Pearl Carson found work as a chambermaid in one expensive hotel after another. If she discovered compromising evidence in someone’s room – letters, or photographs, or heaven knows what – Carson would blackmail the luckless guest. I expect most victims paid up without a murmur. If someone refused to comply with his demands – like Alicia Palmer and her lover, or Ffion Morris and hers – Carson had no compunction about betraying their secrets. The consequences were catastrophic. But he grew careless. Alicia and – somehow – Ffion both discovered his real name. And Alicia’s widower and Ffion longed to get their revenge.’
‘Why did they come here?’
‘Pearl realised that Louis was taking too many risks. Moving three hundred miles north made a deal of sense. The chance to run this hotel was too good to miss. The guests – the prospective victims – weren’t short of money. Pearl was no longer a chambermaid, but I’m sure she made good use of her supervisory role. Louis hired the barman and beach photographer to manufacture fresh opportunities for blackmail. The profits they’d already made were ploughed into the partnership with you, Sir Harold. They intended to earn enough to buy you out when the time was right.’
Sir Harold nodded. ‘These are desperate times for investors. Carson drove a hard bargain, but at least he had the cash available. Please believe that I never had an inkling where their money really came from.’
‘I’m sure you didn’t,’ Rachel said.
‘He claimed he’d come into an inheritance. I must say, I didn’t care for the man. His obsequious manner grated, but we had to work together and… and his wife was kind to Sadie. Nothing was ever too much trouble for her.’
His wife nodded. ‘Pearl gave the impression of being completely under Carson’s thumb. Dear God, I actually felt sorry for her.’
‘A common technique of swindlers. I suppose you recommended her to try Koremlu Cream as an act of kindness?’
‘Certainly, but is there any truth in what you said? Can it really cause harm?’
‘Very serious harm. Pearl had worked in a pharmacy and also as a nurse. She knew that thallium is a deadly poison.’
Sadie Jackson shuddered. ‘And she actually experimented on her own husband?’
‘I’m sure of it. I suspect that not long after arriving here, Sir Harold, she became besotted with you.’
‘Again,’ he said in a hollow voice, ‘I didn’t have the faintest notion. And I can assure you, I never gave her the least encouragement.’
‘Don’t reproach yourself. Pearl Carson saw you as belonging to a different world. Once she had money, she realised it wasn’t enough to gain her what she really craved. Respect and respectability. She was skilled at concealing her innermost thoughts from you and from everyone else. Even so, one or two women were sharp-eyed enough to spot the signs of hero worship. Word got around.’
He flinched. ‘Dear God. As if I’d ever…’
‘Edward Hillman came back here to die, in my opinion, because this was where, fleetingly, he thought he’d found true love. I suspect it was the barman who betrayed his trust. I don’t think the young man knew the Carsons had orchestrated his misfortune. With Ffion, the position was different, but Pearl Carson didn’t realise who Ffion Morris was, because at the time of her involvement with Nerys, she was using a stage name, Fifi Garcia.’
Jacob couldn’t keep quiet a moment longer. ‘Did Pearl Carson know that “Dr Doyle” was actually the husband of Alicia Palmer?’
‘I doubt it, but already she saw Louis as an encumbrance. She’d given him a small dose of thallium – enough to cause him to lose some hair, but not enough to kill.’
‘Why?’ Sir Harold asked. ‘Some form of rehearsal?’
‘Possibly. I suppose she was unsure about the precise effects of whatever dose she administered. Perhaps she did work out Ffion’s identity and hoped she’d do her dirty work for her by killing Louis. In which case, there would be no need to spend a penny on buying you out.’
Sir Harold made a noise of disgust. ‘Carson made no bones about his hope that, if I decided to step away from business life, I’d sell my remaining stake to him. And I can’t deny that following our son’s accident and Sadie’s illness, I began to contemplate retirement.’
‘Forgive an intrusive question,’ Rachel said to his wife, ‘but am I right in thinking the disease has returned?’
Lady Jackson stared at her. ‘For a young woman, you are extraordinarily perceptive. How did you know?’
‘You’re naturally slender,’ Rachel said, ‘but now you are so very thin that I feared the worst. You may not have confided in Pearl Carson, but she probably guessed. Your misfortune fuelled her belief that, in the fullness of time, she could become a trusted comforter and, eventually, the new Lady Jackson.’
Sir Harold shook his head. ‘There has only ever been one woman for me.’
‘I believe that’s true,’ Rachel said softly. ‘If you’ll pardon me for saying so, such a love match is rare. Nobody could doubt your devotion to each other.’
Jacob savoured the taste of his whisky. Knowing Rachel of old, he had an intuition that there was more for her to say. Was she waiting for a lead from the Jacksons? Giving them a chance to speak first?
‘You mentioned Basil Palmer’s journal,’ Lady Jackson said. ‘I wondered…’
‘Whether he said anything about your husband?’ Rachel said gently. ‘Yes, he did. He recognised you, Sir Harold, and talked about your fleeting encounter outside this hotel. Hooker Jackson, that was the name he knew you by in student days.’
Sir Harold shifted uncomfortably. ‘Basil Palmer, good Lord! I thought the name rang a bell. You’re right, I did know a chap called Basil Palmer. I’ve not given him a thought for years but yes, we were at Cambridge together.’
‘And he was the best man at your wedding, wasn’t he?’
‘Spot on! Old Basil, goodness me. Mind you, we were never close, but it was wartime and he happened to be available.’
‘The journal suggests he hero-worshipped you.’
Sir Harold drank some whisky. ‘I suppose you might say that. Meek little fellow, never said boo to a goose. He hung around, I suppose because he didn’t have close friends. So it was his wife who was tormented by Carson, eh? Poor soul!’
‘You didn’t recognise him when your paths crossed on the esplanade?’
‘How could I, if he was in disguise?’
Rachel smiled. ‘Disguise?’
Sir Harold stared at her. ‘He came here in disguise, didn’t he? Took a fake name as well. All in order to deceive Louis Carson. Who would imagine little Basil contemplating murder? Talk about the worm turning. It really is damned extraordinary. But then, this whole business is incredible.’
He spoke rapidly, not pausing for breath. When he’d finished, he took another drink of whisky. His wife rested a hand on his arm. She looked flushed and in considerable distress. Because of the cancer, Jacob wondered, or something else?
Rachel turned to his wife. ‘Did you recognise him when he took off his glasses?’
Lady Jackson closed her eyes. ‘Our wedding was a long time ago. The early days of the War. I remember… Basil vaguely, but I only had eyes for Harold.’
‘He says in the journal that he found you attractive.’
She blushed. ‘Really? That was nice of him, but…’
‘He didn’t appeal to you?’
‘The question simply didn’t arise.’
‘You didn’t want to spend time with him, did you? After the ceremony was over, he asked you out for a drink, but you gave him short shrift.’
‘I don’t understand,’ she said in a low voice. ‘Surely he didn’t write that down? How could it make any sense? Making eyes at a newly married woman?’
Rachel shook her head. ‘That’s the point. You hadn’t just got married. In those days you were Josie, the impoverished distant cousin. Not the woman with whom Sir Harold tied the knot. His real wife was poor Sadie, heiress to a fortune.’