Deadlock
Deadlock
Emma Page
A Kelsey and Lambert novel. Has Chief Inspector Kelsey meet his match at last?Anna Conway, rising twenty, had much to live for: not least a devoted young husband who put her welfare before all else. Yet she suffered from depression and, just before leaving on a restorative cruise, she was found dead in her bath.Chief Inspector Kelsey and Sergeant Lambert at first accepted Anna's death as suicide, and the more they learned of her unloved childhood, the more understandable suicide became. So it was with shock that when Anna married David she was already the widow of an elderly man, whose death was not without unusual features.But when they learned that David Conway too had been a widower, his first wife having also committed suicide, Kelsey developed a gut feeling that this grief-stricken widower was a cold-blooded murderer. Yes there was testimony on all sides to his devotion to Anna, his alibi was unimpeachable and his motive for murder non-existent.Doggedly the Chief Inspector set out to prove David’s guilt. But each time he unearthed a suspicious circumstance, David came up with an innocent explanation.
COPYRIGHT (#ulink_77d9fc5c-a5ae-5be1-bcc1-32889c4f0927)
Harper An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published in Great Britain in 1991 by Collins Crime
Copyright © Emma Page 1991
Emma Page asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.
Source ISBN: 9780008175788
Ebook Edition © MARCH 2016 ISBN: 9780008175795
Version [2016-02-18]
DEDICATION (#ulink_571b9fd1-4966-56e6-b8e7-8a5c6cfad00d)
For J.B. and B.B. in gratitude
CONTENTS
Cover (#u74222815-cf31-552e-9a7e-38117e86c0dd)
Title Page (#u363aff6e-d050-535c-97e9-8f9c30a68977)
Copyright (#ulink_14f950b4-0bad-5477-a9a6-6a56861b64eb)
Dedication (#ulink_470e95ca-fe32-5ecb-ad7c-763a264d171e)
Chapter 1 (#ulink_d21dc4be-fdaa-523b-93b8-77dc301f556a)
Chapter 2 (#ulink_848542d2-212b-5e78-8003-171590b2285e)
Chapter 3 (#ulink_75d8fdb1-41e1-55c4-b15f-b3218572242c)
Chapter 4 (#ulink_ef9211c0-4606-5b52-aed5-3dacb8e6717d)
Chapter 5 (#ulink_218b616b-361b-59b9-9cc2-a251c36d7a73)
Chapter 6 (#ulink_bdd21a1c-097d-53a5-afc3-8b6da43c3e97)
Chapter 7 (#ulink_c0301035-cdeb-5bd1-b5ef-ce94dff67fbe)
Chapter 8 (#ulink_7a27ac9e-0516-5d0c-88d0-76249e42a618)
Chapter 9 (#ulink_17bb25ea-a25f-5009-8521-a3a14d325a8c)
Chapter 10 (#ulink_ff1cf9d8-59d6-58e9-b893-0bb00610d324)
Chapter 11 (#ulink_4de3a216-3197-5064-b2b1-de408f9c8627)
Chapter 12 (#ulink_51503dc5-1825-50e8-ab1c-d5e3ae9548d2)
Chapter 13 (#ulink_8e845cb5-8afc-5282-8460-e56eaf4572d9)
Chapter 14 (#ulink_c451364a-9dfe-54ab-8996-d796b6c5b007)
Chapter 15 (#ulink_233c8fbb-66f5-55f7-9999-b0287cde9bff)
Chapter 16 (#ulink_739361cc-bc3b-5c6a-be47-a18521249079)
Chapter 17 (#ulink_c0274668-0727-5853-88f2-877f008d7a79)
Chapter 18 (#ulink_8bb782e2-c8be-5ab2-8586-1e4beefa67bb)
Chapter 19 (#ulink_b6c836fc-6100-5679-9a1a-2fca37c0629e)
Chapter 20 (#ulink_7841c211-6181-50b1-950f-71fa55dc2e50)
Chapter 21 (#ulink_7a9c4c34-a597-5fd6-b3db-0fd83e9f387a)
Chapter 22 (#ulink_0d6c3845-cae2-5539-b18f-b9778ce5d05c)
Chapter 23 (#ulink_8c56e3f1-7dac-5cba-af75-7536fea3c4b1)
Chapter 24 (#ulink_331eb23e-df0d-5b1a-885e-e249fcd0b90f)
Chapter 25 (#ulink_8ec59465-eb49-52c9-aa74-61838f74d4b7)
Chapter 26 (#ulink_ce7887ff-a3d6-5ea1-8eb7-fec6045cbe40)
About the Author
By Emma Page
About the Publisher (#ulink_38337f3f-d1a0-55aa-b80e-1593add4d731)
CHAPTER 1 (#ulink_658dfbe5-302d-5e44-955c-a6b6d69f6ef0)
The brass plate beside the front door of Dr Peake’s handsome Edwardian premises, half a mile beyond the northwestern tip of Cannonbridge, glittered in the mellow sunshine of late afternoon.
Sunlight flashed from the doctor’s gold-rimmed spectacles as he strolled along the peaceful walks of his beloved garden in the welcome lull before evening surgery – on Tuesdays surgery began at six.
He glanced about with pleasure. Still plenty of colour in the flowerbeds and borders for the first week in September. He paused to savour the delicate fragrance of a rose. A silver-haired man with a spare, upright figure, a look of buoyant optimism undimmed after long years in general practice.
He looked at his watch. Time he was getting back indoors. He let himself in through the conservatory, into the cool interior, along the corridor into the entrance hall.
At the window in reception he saw the husband of a patient – Conway, yes, that was the name. Mrs Conway had consulted him for the first time a couple of months ago; she and her husband had come to live in a neighbouring hamlet back in the spring.
Conway was picking up a repeat prescription for his wife. ‘Hello, there!’ the doctor called out as he came up behind him. ‘How’s your wife? More relaxed and cheerful, I hope?’
David Conway turned from the window. He had a direct, open glance. On the tall side, with a slim, athletic build. Still boyish-looking, although a year or so past thirty. A square jaw, a broad forehead with a lock of fair hair falling forward. Well-groomed, smartly dressed in a business suit, shoes polished to a mirror finish.
He smiled at the doctor. ‘Anna’s much improved, I’m glad to say. And she’s sleeping a lot better.’ He put the prescription away in his pocket.
‘That’s good,’ Peake said heartily. Patients were beginning to drift in. He nodded to one or two, spoke a word here and there. He moved away from reception with Conway and stood talking to him further down the hall. ‘I’ll look in on your wife next time I’m over your way – but don’t for heaven’s sake tell her that or she’ll work herself up into a stew every morning, wondering if it’ll be today I’ll be calling in.’ He paused. ‘Is she getting out much?’
Conway shook his head. ‘Not very much, I’m afraid.’
‘That’s got to be altered,’ Peake pronounced briskly. ‘She’s at a time of life when she should be full of plans for the future. She should be enjoying making new friends, a whole new life. If you could get her to start thinking positively along those lines it would do her more good than any amount of sleeping pills and anti-depressants.’ A thought struck him. ‘Does she drive?’
Conway shook his head again. ‘She’s never shown any inclination to learn.’
‘Then start teaching her. She’ll fall in with anything you suggest. Could be the very thing for her. Living out in the country, on her own all day, it’s easy for any woman to get shut in on herself, stuck at home without transport. It’ll give her a new interest, something to aim at.’
He clapped Conway on the shoulder. ‘And if you could manage a little second-hand car for her, that would encourage her even more. You needn’t pay the earth for it. Once she’s passed her test she’ll be able to drive into town every day, even if it’s only to do a bit of shopping, change her books at the library. It’s all human contact, it all helps.’
‘You’re absolutely right!’ Conway responded with energy. ‘I should have thought of it myself, it’s a first-class idea. I’ll get cracking on it right away.’
‘And talking about getting out more—’ Peake suddenly broke off. He excused himself and went swiftly along to assist an elderly patient hobbling in with the aid of a stick. He returned to take up again where he’d left off, all the while keeping a benevolent eye open all round. ‘As I was saying, would it be possible to arrange a holiday for your wife? That often does the trick, better than any amount of tranquillizers.’
‘Do you think she’s up to it yet?’ Conway asked in a tone of anxiety. ‘It would mean she’d have to go on her own. There’s no chance of my being able to get away at this time of year.’ He had been in his present job, with Zodiac Soft Furnishings, only since March. He had no leave due to him as yet, and one of the firm’s two busiest seasons was already under way.
‘I wasn’t suggesting she went right away,’ Peake demurred. ‘In a few weeks’ time was what I had in mind. I’m sure she’ll be up to it by then. And I wasn’t suggesting she went on her own. Isn’t there some relative or friend who could go with her?’
Conway pondered. ‘I can’t think of anyone who could get away.’
‘Then a cruise is your answer,’ Peake returned with undiminished gusto. ‘Just the thing late in the year. You can head for the sun, shorten the winter.’
‘A cruise?’ Conway echoed doubtfully.
‘Don’t look so surprised.’ Peake smiled. ‘People have very out-of-date notions about cruises if they haven’t been on one recently. They’ve changed out of all recognition over the last ten or fifteen years. It’s not all old fogies these days, plenty of young folk go on cruises now, families too. My wife and I have been on a good many cruises over the years and we’ve enjoyed every one of them. There’s never any need to feel lonely, they’re ideal for folk on their own, convalescing. No pressure, no need to do anything you don’t feel like. You can lie about all day if you want to. Nothing to worry about, everything done for you. Doctor and nurses if you happen to need them. Your wife will love it. Sea, sunshine, change and stimulation, wonderful food. Meeting new people, striking up friendships, finding new interests.’
He suddenly ground to a halt, conscious he’d got rather carried away. A young couple like the Conways, living in a rented, furnished bungalow, hoping to be able to buy a place of their own, were hardly likely to have much to spare for fancy extras like cruises.
‘Of course cruises don’t come cheap.’ Peake’s tone held apology. ‘And she would really need to go for two or three weeks to do much good.’ He looked inquiringly at Conway. ‘I suppose that would be out of the question?’
‘If a cruise is what you recommend,’ Conway responded with decision, ‘then that’s what Anna’s going to have. I’ll manage the money, whatever it costs. All I want is to see her well and happy, that’s more important than any other consideration.’
Peake delivered another hearty slap on the back. ‘Good man. You won’t regret it.’
Conway gave a wry grin. ‘Just as well I can’t go with her. I should be able to manage one ticket but two would be a bit of a facer.’
‘I’m willing to bet we’ll see a substantial improvement when she gets back,’ Peake told him bracingly.
‘And if we don’t?’
Peake grimaced. ‘Then we might have to think about seeing a psychiatrist.’ He raised a hand as Conway opened his mouth. ‘Yes, yes, I know. I’m well aware she’s dead set against seeing a psychiatrist but I’m sure between us we could manage to talk her into it.’
Conway smiled slightly. ‘I was going to say I entirely agree with you. I think Anna should see a psychiatrist if the cruise doesn’t do the trick.’
‘Good man,’ Peake said again. He glanced at the clock. ‘Off you go now – and don’t forget to see about that cruise. Don’t ask your wife’s opinion about it, present her with a fait accompli. Make the booking and then tell her you’ve got a wonderful surprise for her. Produce the tickets, get out an atlas, show her all the places on the map, get her enthusiastic about it. That’s always the best way with nerve cases. Never give them a choice, the chance to say no. Firm direction’s a great relief to folk in that state of mind. Trying to make any kind of decision can be agony for someone who’s anxious enough already.’
As he turned towards his surgery he couldn’t refrain from adding, ‘And tell her you’ll buy her some new clothes for the trip, that’s always a sure-fire tonic for the ladies. Throw in a new hair-do while you’re at it. She’ll agree to go all right, you’ll see. And when she gets back she’ll have Christmas to look forward to, the start of a new year, spring on the way.’
Ferndale, the bungalow rented by the Conways, was a substantial dwelling, built between the wars. It stood in an isolated spot in the scattered hamlet of Oldmoor, a few miles to the north-west of Cannonbridge.
The weather in the second week of September was no less fine than in the first. At two o’clock on Tuesday afternoon Anna Conway came to the end of the household chores she had managed to spin out since breakfast. She stood at the back door of the bungalow, staring out into the brilliant, windless afternoon, trying to make up her mind how to pass the next hour or two.
If she had been less willow-wand thin, with less of a look of being huddled into herself against the cold, however warm the day, she might have been pretty enough. Her small features were regular, her baby-fine hair a pleasant shade of light brown, her grey eyes large and well set. As it was, she would never catch the attention of a casual observer, unless perhaps to wonder fleetingly how a girl of her age – rising twenty – had acquired so early so apprehensive a stance towards life.
She twisted her hands together. The garden seemed so still, waiting, watching. What she longed to do was take a sleeping pill, crawl into the big double bed and pull the covers over her head, extinguishing for the next few hours every nerve, every thought and feeling, every lacerating memory.
But yesterday evening, as they sat close together on the sofa, David had slipped an arm round her shoulders, had gently suggested she might like to occupy some of the time that hung so heavily on her hands with a little leisurely tidying up of the flowerbeds and borders. The exercise could only do her good and he would be glad of any help, however small, in putting to rights the large, rambling garden, neglected by a succession of tenants.
The thought of being able to greet him on his return this evening with the news that she had indeed spent the afternoon battling with weeds, being able to point out some patch of ground she had cleared, seeing his smile of pleasure, hearing his praise, finally won out over the lure of temporary oblivion.
And Dr Peake would be pleased too, next time he saw her. Fresh air and sunshine, he always urged, useful activity of any kind.
She squared her shoulders and stepped out into the caressing air, closing the door resolutely behind her. She went with determined steps over to a shed, wheeled out a barrow, selected a hoe, hand fork, trowel, a pair of shears, pulled on stout gardening gloves.
She looked about for an area to tackle, not too intimidating, and settled on part of a long flower border overrun with golden rod and marguerites. She began to tear up handfuls of rank growth.
The garden no longer seemed so silent. Sounds now seemed to press in on her from every side, obscurely tinged with menace. The raucous cawing of rooks, an aeroplane droning high overhead, the distant yapping of a dog, the harsh whine of a chainsaw, intermittent bursts of shooting from a neighbouring farm.
She worked grimly on till her back began to ache, then she abandoned the border and set off on a tour of the garden.
In the long grass of the orchard area drunken wasps buzzed among rotting windfalls. Every tree appeared ancient and diseased, bearing misshapen apples, grotesque pears. On the edge of the shrubbery, beneath a vast old hydrangea still in bloom, she caught sight of a great clump of oyster-coloured fungus, like a mound of overlapping dinner plates. She stopped in fascinated horror to peer under bushes and shrubs. Even larger clumps of fungus greeted her, rubbery and warty.
She shuddered and plunged on. Long strands of bramble clutched at her clothes. At the base of a decaying tree-stump she came on an enormous fleshy growth dissolving into slime, its stalk alive with maggots. Panic stirred inside her but she thrust it sternly down. She darted out into a stretch of open ground, came to a halt. She drew deep breaths, striving to steady herself.
She would go back to her flower border, show some backbone, start again on her task. She walked determinedly over to where she had abandoned her tools, picked up the hand fork and began to lever up stubborn roots.
But revulsion welled up again inside her. Centipedes squirmed in the earth, daddy-long-legs brushed against her face. A horrid sensation, only too familiar of late, signalled its return with a first stealthy touch as of a band lightly circling her forehead. She tried to dismiss it, went on battling with the weeds.
Slowly the band began to tighten. Across the fields a fresh burst of shooting jerked her up in fright. She managed to steady herself again, bent once more to her task.
A few moments later a wounded pigeon dropped out of the sky at her feet in a sprawl of blood-stained feathers. She sprang back in terror. Tears spilled from her eyes. She threw down her fork, tore off her gloves. She fell to her knees beside the dying bird, gently stroked its head, crooned softly to it. It looked up at her with an expressionless eye already filming over. A moment later she saw that it was dead.
She jumped up, snatched her gloves, the tools, and raced back to the shed, her heart pounding, leaping in her throat. With trembling fingers she restored everything to its place, then she turned and fled back to the house, along glinting gravel paths where leaf shadows quivered in the sunlight, past bushes festooned with spiders’ webs, in through the back door, along the passage, into the haven of the sitting room.
She flung herself down on the sofa, shuddering. From the mantelpiece her own likeness – a framed photograph, head and shoulders – looked down at her with a wide smile of happiness.
Around her forehead the band grew vice-like in its grip. A surge of terrifying thoughts rose in her brain, threatening to overwhelm her. She looked in agony at the clock. Another hour to be lived through before the next dose of the pills that would beat back the thoughts. David had made her swear to stick to the prescribed times and amounts. Every day she strove to keep her word, she never let him know of the many times she failed.
She turned her head in the direction of the kitchen. A beaker of the hot chocolate she loved, strong and sweet, that might soothe her through the next hour. She got up and went from the room.
Twenty minutes later found her back in the sitting room, pacing to and fro, the effects of the hot chocolate already evaporated. She tried to distract herself with the radio, the television, but they served only to jangle her nerves still further.
She looked again at the clock. She would not fail again. She lay down on the floor and closed her eyes. She went religiously through her tense-and-relax exercises, she massaged her forehead, her scalp, the back of her neck. Still the taut muscles refused to slacken. Still the plaguing thoughts bedevilled her brain.
She opened her eyes and looked yet again at the clock. Barely ten minutes had crawled by. She could struggle no longer. She got to her feet and went along to the bedroom for the capsules, the pills and tablets. She washed down the prescribed dose with water, then she stood hesitating, eyeing the bottles. Double the quantity would produce the longed-for relief twice as quickly.
After another brief, guilt-ridden struggle she swallowed a second dose. She went back to the sofa and lay down again. Soon she felt a blissful peace begin to steal over her. A little later she felt a slight resurgence of cheerfulness; later still, a burst of buoyant energy.
She sat up, smiling. She yawned, stretched luxuriously. She went along to the bathroom, washed her face, tidied her hair. She would make a start on preparing supper.
As the hands of the kitchen clock approached six she was putting the finishing touches to an artistically arranged platter of salad. A delicious savoury smell filled the room. She glanced in at the oven, lifted the lids of pans simmering on the stove. She felt joyously serene. Her mind was now clear and untroubled. She hummed in tune with the music from the radio.
A sound reached her ears: David’s car turning in through the gate. Her face broke into a delighted smile. She darted to the mirror, primped her hair.
She ran out of the kitchen, along the passage, into the hall, snatched open the door into the porch. As David came hurrying round from the garage she flew out to greet him, threw her arms round his neck. He embraced her warmly, gave her a tender kiss.
Later, as they finished clearing the supper things, he put his arm round her shoulders. ‘I’ve something to tell you,’ he said in indulgent tones. ‘Something to show you. I’ve arranged a wonderful surprise for you.’ Her face lit up like a child at Christmas. He squeezed her shoulders. ‘I know you’re going to love it. Come and sit down, I’ll tell you all about it.’
CHAPTER 2 (#ulink_2e7348cb-771d-5980-8c04-7e30d700de96)
A dark Monday morning, October 23rd. The birds not yet awake, only the occasional mournful cry of an owl.
On their smallholding, two miles from Ferndale, Bob and Irene Garbutt had been up since five; always plenty of indoor jobs to be done before sunrise.
At six-thirty Garbutt came out of the warm kitchen into the chill air, bending his head against the whipping breeze. A tall, broad-shouldered man, lean and solidly muscled. He had been a regular soldier, both his sons were in the Army.
As he crossed the yard a cock crowed shrilly in the distance. A lively cackling erupted from the wire-fronted sheds housing the geese. Garbutt glanced at his watch – he was due at Ferndale at five past seven to pick up David Conway and drive him to Oldmoor station, a regular booking since April, one Monday in four. Garbutt supplemented what he made from the smallholding by running a one-man hired-car service locally.
He went into the cold store for the box of fruit Conway had ordered for his wife. Garbutt had selected the fruit with particular care the previous evening: sweetly-smelling Cox’s orange pippins, prime Comice pears.
He carried the box out to his car and stowed it away in the boot. He went back into the house and stood washing his hands at the sink. Irene came into the kitchen, carrying a jar of her newly made damson jam. Still a pretty woman, with bright blue eyes and a ready smile.
She set the jam down on the table. ‘You can take this for Anna, a little present to say I hope she’s feeling better.’
Garbutt ate a piece of toast and drank a mug of tea; time for a decent breakfast later. Promptly at ten minutes to seven he got into his car. He prided himself on punctuality and reliability. No need to allow for delays; scarcely any traffic on these rural roads at this time of day, this season of the year.
The sky showed the first signs of lightening as he turned the car towards Ferndale; birds began to twitter from the hedgerows.
The front of the bungalow was in darkness when he pulled up by the recessed porch but a light shone out from the kitchen, round to the left. He tooted his horn and Conway appeared a minute or two later, switching lights on as he came. He found Garbutt standing by the open boot of his car, lifting out the box of fruit.
‘Anna’ll be delighted with those,’ Conway exclaimed as he cast an appreciative eye over the unblemished skins. ‘What do I owe you?’
‘No need to bother with that now.’ Garbutt set the box down inside the porch. ‘Leave it till this evening. We can settle up then.’ Conway was travelling to Dunstall – home of Zodiac’s factory and head office – for the four-weekly sales meeting. Garbutt usually picked him up again at Oldmoor station at a quarter to one but today was the firm’s silver jubilee, to be marked, following the sales meeting, by festivities lasting well into the afternoon.
Garbutt handed over the jam, along with his wife’s message. ‘That’s very good of Irene,’ Conway said with pleasure. He carried the fruit and jam inside and Garbutt got back into his car, out of the wind.
A few minutes later Anna came out into the shelter of the porch. She wore a blue woollen dressing-gown and bedroom slippers.
‘The fruit’s lovely,’ she told Garbutt with a warm smile. The porch light threw shadows over her face and hair. She reached into a pocket for a handkerchief and dabbed at her lips. ‘And please thank Irene for the jam, it’s very kind of her. Damson’s one of my favourites. Tell her I’m feeling much better.’
‘I’m delighted to hear it,’ Garbutt responded heartily. ‘You can start eating the Coxes any time but I should give the pears another day or two. You’ll want to keep your eye on them, catch each one just right, when it’s sweet and juicy.’
‘I’ll remember.’ She thrust her hands into her sleeves for warmth, like a Chinese mandarin.
‘Not long now till your holiday,’ Garbutt commented.
‘November 2nd, a week on Thursday.’ Her tone was pleased and lively. ‘I’m really looking forward to it now.’
Conway came back, wearing a short tweed overcoat. He carried a briefcase and a pair of gloves. He caught the tail end of their conversation.
‘I’m driving Anna down to Southampton,’ he told Garbutt. ‘I’m meeting her there again when the ship docks.’ Anna looked up at him with a loving smile. ‘We’re going shopping on Wednesday,’ Conway added. ‘To buy her some gorgeous clothes for the trip. I’ve fixed it so I’ve got the whole afternoon free. We’re going into Cannonbridge.’ He named a large department store. ‘We’re taking it easy, doing it all under one roof, breaking off for tea in the cafe halfway through, so she won’t be worn out at the end of it. I intend it to be a pleasure, not an ordeal.’
Anna turned her head and smiled at Garbutt. ‘I’m really being spoiled, don’t you think? I shall enjoy choosing the clothes, though I’m not going to be too extravagant.’
Conway put his arm round her shoulders and kissed her tenderly. ‘Don’t stand out here in the cold. I’ll be home around a quarter to seven. And don’t go wearing yourself out, doing too much housework. You’ve got the place looking spotless already.’
‘No, I won’t.’ Her mouth opened suddenly in a deep yawn and she put up a hand to cover it. ‘I’ll make sure I get plenty of rest. There’s a film on TV this afternoon I’m going to watch, it should be good. And I might go out for a stroll if the wind drops.’ Conway smiled approval.
But she didn’t go back inside at once. She kept her gaze fixed on her husband as he got into the passenger seat.
Garbutt switched on the ignition. His watch showed seven-fifteen. Anna stood smiling and waving as the car reversed and drove out into the lane.
The instant it vanished from sight the smile left her face, her hand dropped to her side. She shivered, pulled her dressing-gown closely round her. She sent a long, lingering look round the shadowy garden, the dark trees, the paling sky. Then she reached out and switched off the outside light. She turned and went slowly back into the house, closing the door behind her.
Oldmoor station lay one and a half miles from Ferndale on a stretch of line closed thirty years ago, later rescued from vandalism and dereliction by a preservation society which raised funds, laboured to restore it, acquired and refurbished old rolling-stock, repaired the buildings.
Now, fifteen years after the first rejuvenated steam train rode the rails, the society operated – with the aid of extra income from occasional filming and TV commercials – a successful and established schedule, highly popular with local travellers as well as holidaymakers and steam enthusiasts. The line linked up with the main railway system at Sedgefield Junction where a fast train would carry Conway on to Dunstall.
‘A shame to get Anna out of bed so early,’ Garbutt remarked as he negotiated a bend in the road.
‘She would get up to speak to you,’ Conway said. ‘I told her there was no need, I could pass on her message, but no, she must thank you and Irene herself.’
‘It’s good to see her so much brighter. And ready for her holiday.’ Garbutt slid a glance at Conway. ‘The holiday must be costing you a bob or two, new clothes and all.’
‘If it helps to get her really well again, it’s worth every penny.’ Conway grimaced. ‘When I think how she was, back in the summer – some days she didn’t get up out of bed at all. She wouldn’t even bring the milk in from the back door or the newspaper from the front porch.’ His tone echoed the anxiety of that distressing time. ‘I’d know as soon as I drove up in the evening if it had been one of her worst days. The paper would still be on the bench in the porch.’ He shuddered briefly. ‘But we’re well past that now, thank God. Dr Peake’s been very good to her. And she’s tried very hard herself, I must give her that.’
‘Occupation,’ Garbutt declared with robust conviction. ‘That’s the answer. Look at Irene. Lots of women her age, children grown up and left home, they get to feeling sorry for themselves. They sit around moping, swallowing pills or taking to booze, I don’t know which is worse. Irene hasn’t got time to invent worries for herself. She’s busy from morning till night, she loves every minute of it.’
Conway suddenly raised a hand. ‘I meant to ask you – it’s Anna’s birthday next Monday, the 30th. I’d like a good house plant, or maybe Irene could make me up a bouquet – I don’t know what she’s got in the way of flowers this time of year. I could pick up the plant or the bouquet on Sunday evening, put it somewhere cool overnight where Anna won’t see it.’
‘I’m sure Irene’ll be able to find you something to suit you,’ Garbutt told him. ‘She’s got some first-class house plants coming on. Or she could make up an indoor garden. They’re a bit more unusual and they last a long time. The best thing would be if you had a word with Irene yourself. Drop in one evening on your way home, see what’s on offer.’
‘Right, thanks,’ Conway said. ‘I’ll do that.’
They reached the station in good time. The buildings were beautifully decorated; elegant old bracket lamps shed a golden glow. A striking display of purple and white dahlias graced island beds set in the twin platforms.
Passengers strolled up and down, chatting in friendly fashion, looking about with keen attention as they waited for the train. No stand-offishness here, no grimly silent Monday-morning faces. Everywhere an air of holiday gaiety, even among those clearly on their way to an ordinary day’s work.
Garbutt got out of the car and went into the station with Conway, as he always did. His boyhood love of steam trains was as strong as ever.
‘I wish I could spare the time to put in half a day here now and then,’ he said when Conway came back from buying his ticket.
‘I wouldn’t mind putting in more time myself,’ Conway told him. He came along most weekends, with an occasional extra stint in the lighter evenings.
The signal dropped. The passengers stopped perambulating and lined the platform, craning to catch the first plume of smoke, ears cocked for the distant rumble of wheels.
She came swooping down on them with a heart-stirring rush and roar, the engine splendid in green and black livery, brasswork gleaming, coaches brilliant in scarlet and cream. Along the open windows, men and women leaned out, smiling and waving. Among them, a lad of seventeen or so, scrutinizing the waiting passengers as the train swept in. He caught sight of Conway, his face broke into a cheerful grin. He called out a greeting, lost in the medley of sounds.
Conway raised a hand in reply and hastened along the platform to where the lad’s compartment would stop. The train drew to a halt amid clangs and hisses. Doors swung open. Garbutt stood watching the lively to-and-fro with his eyes alight, savouring the acrid scents of steam and smoke.
‘Pick you up at six-thirty,’ he called out as Conway stepped aboard. Conway turned and waved, gave him a nod. The lad closed the door. The guard waved his flag, blew his whistle.
On the dot of seven thirty-two the engine began to snort and grunt. Along with everyone else remaining on the platform, Garbutt stood motionless as the train pulled out, slow and stately. He stayed gazing after it till its lights had vanished into the shadowy distance and the far-off rattle of its wheels was lost among the rising sounds of morning.
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Emma Page
A Kelsey and Lambert novel. Has Chief Inspector Kelsey meet his match at last?Anna Conway, rising twenty, had much to live for: not least a devoted young husband who put her welfare before all else. Yet she suffered from depression and, just before leaving on a restorative cruise, she was found dead in her bath.Chief Inspector Kelsey and Sergeant Lambert at first accepted Anna's death as suicide, and the more they learned of her unloved childhood, the more understandable suicide became. So it was with shock that when Anna married David she was already the widow of an elderly man, whose death was not without unusual features.But when they learned that David Conway too had been a widower, his first wife having also committed suicide, Kelsey developed a gut feeling that this grief-stricken widower was a cold-blooded murderer. Yes there was testimony on all sides to his devotion to Anna, his alibi was unimpeachable and his motive for murder non-existent.Doggedly the Chief Inspector set out to prove David’s guilt. But each time he unearthed a suspicious circumstance, David came up with an innocent explanation.
COPYRIGHT (#ulink_77d9fc5c-a5ae-5be1-bcc1-32889c4f0927)
Harper An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published in Great Britain in 1991 by Collins Crime
Copyright © Emma Page 1991
Emma Page asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.
Source ISBN: 9780008175788
Ebook Edition © MARCH 2016 ISBN: 9780008175795
Version [2016-02-18]
DEDICATION (#ulink_571b9fd1-4966-56e6-b8e7-8a5c6cfad00d)
For J.B. and B.B. in gratitude
CONTENTS
Cover (#u74222815-cf31-552e-9a7e-38117e86c0dd)
Title Page (#u363aff6e-d050-535c-97e9-8f9c30a68977)
Copyright (#ulink_14f950b4-0bad-5477-a9a6-6a56861b64eb)
Dedication (#ulink_470e95ca-fe32-5ecb-ad7c-763a264d171e)
Chapter 1 (#ulink_d21dc4be-fdaa-523b-93b8-77dc301f556a)
Chapter 2 (#ulink_848542d2-212b-5e78-8003-171590b2285e)
Chapter 3 (#ulink_75d8fdb1-41e1-55c4-b15f-b3218572242c)
Chapter 4 (#ulink_ef9211c0-4606-5b52-aed5-3dacb8e6717d)
Chapter 5 (#ulink_218b616b-361b-59b9-9cc2-a251c36d7a73)
Chapter 6 (#ulink_bdd21a1c-097d-53a5-afc3-8b6da43c3e97)
Chapter 7 (#ulink_c0301035-cdeb-5bd1-b5ef-ce94dff67fbe)
Chapter 8 (#ulink_7a27ac9e-0516-5d0c-88d0-76249e42a618)
Chapter 9 (#ulink_17bb25ea-a25f-5009-8521-a3a14d325a8c)
Chapter 10 (#ulink_ff1cf9d8-59d6-58e9-b893-0bb00610d324)
Chapter 11 (#ulink_4de3a216-3197-5064-b2b1-de408f9c8627)
Chapter 12 (#ulink_51503dc5-1825-50e8-ab1c-d5e3ae9548d2)
Chapter 13 (#ulink_8e845cb5-8afc-5282-8460-e56eaf4572d9)
Chapter 14 (#ulink_c451364a-9dfe-54ab-8996-d796b6c5b007)
Chapter 15 (#ulink_233c8fbb-66f5-55f7-9999-b0287cde9bff)
Chapter 16 (#ulink_739361cc-bc3b-5c6a-be47-a18521249079)
Chapter 17 (#ulink_c0274668-0727-5853-88f2-877f008d7a79)
Chapter 18 (#ulink_8bb782e2-c8be-5ab2-8586-1e4beefa67bb)
Chapter 19 (#ulink_b6c836fc-6100-5679-9a1a-2fca37c0629e)
Chapter 20 (#ulink_7841c211-6181-50b1-950f-71fa55dc2e50)
Chapter 21 (#ulink_7a9c4c34-a597-5fd6-b3db-0fd83e9f387a)
Chapter 22 (#ulink_0d6c3845-cae2-5539-b18f-b9778ce5d05c)
Chapter 23 (#ulink_8c56e3f1-7dac-5cba-af75-7536fea3c4b1)
Chapter 24 (#ulink_331eb23e-df0d-5b1a-885e-e249fcd0b90f)
Chapter 25 (#ulink_8ec59465-eb49-52c9-aa74-61838f74d4b7)
Chapter 26 (#ulink_ce7887ff-a3d6-5ea1-8eb7-fec6045cbe40)
About the Author
By Emma Page
About the Publisher (#ulink_38337f3f-d1a0-55aa-b80e-1593add4d731)
CHAPTER 1 (#ulink_658dfbe5-302d-5e44-955c-a6b6d69f6ef0)
The brass plate beside the front door of Dr Peake’s handsome Edwardian premises, half a mile beyond the northwestern tip of Cannonbridge, glittered in the mellow sunshine of late afternoon.
Sunlight flashed from the doctor’s gold-rimmed spectacles as he strolled along the peaceful walks of his beloved garden in the welcome lull before evening surgery – on Tuesdays surgery began at six.
He glanced about with pleasure. Still plenty of colour in the flowerbeds and borders for the first week in September. He paused to savour the delicate fragrance of a rose. A silver-haired man with a spare, upright figure, a look of buoyant optimism undimmed after long years in general practice.
He looked at his watch. Time he was getting back indoors. He let himself in through the conservatory, into the cool interior, along the corridor into the entrance hall.
At the window in reception he saw the husband of a patient – Conway, yes, that was the name. Mrs Conway had consulted him for the first time a couple of months ago; she and her husband had come to live in a neighbouring hamlet back in the spring.
Conway was picking up a repeat prescription for his wife. ‘Hello, there!’ the doctor called out as he came up behind him. ‘How’s your wife? More relaxed and cheerful, I hope?’
David Conway turned from the window. He had a direct, open glance. On the tall side, with a slim, athletic build. Still boyish-looking, although a year or so past thirty. A square jaw, a broad forehead with a lock of fair hair falling forward. Well-groomed, smartly dressed in a business suit, shoes polished to a mirror finish.
He smiled at the doctor. ‘Anna’s much improved, I’m glad to say. And she’s sleeping a lot better.’ He put the prescription away in his pocket.
‘That’s good,’ Peake said heartily. Patients were beginning to drift in. He nodded to one or two, spoke a word here and there. He moved away from reception with Conway and stood talking to him further down the hall. ‘I’ll look in on your wife next time I’m over your way – but don’t for heaven’s sake tell her that or she’ll work herself up into a stew every morning, wondering if it’ll be today I’ll be calling in.’ He paused. ‘Is she getting out much?’
Conway shook his head. ‘Not very much, I’m afraid.’
‘That’s got to be altered,’ Peake pronounced briskly. ‘She’s at a time of life when she should be full of plans for the future. She should be enjoying making new friends, a whole new life. If you could get her to start thinking positively along those lines it would do her more good than any amount of sleeping pills and anti-depressants.’ A thought struck him. ‘Does she drive?’
Conway shook his head again. ‘She’s never shown any inclination to learn.’
‘Then start teaching her. She’ll fall in with anything you suggest. Could be the very thing for her. Living out in the country, on her own all day, it’s easy for any woman to get shut in on herself, stuck at home without transport. It’ll give her a new interest, something to aim at.’
He clapped Conway on the shoulder. ‘And if you could manage a little second-hand car for her, that would encourage her even more. You needn’t pay the earth for it. Once she’s passed her test she’ll be able to drive into town every day, even if it’s only to do a bit of shopping, change her books at the library. It’s all human contact, it all helps.’
‘You’re absolutely right!’ Conway responded with energy. ‘I should have thought of it myself, it’s a first-class idea. I’ll get cracking on it right away.’
‘And talking about getting out more—’ Peake suddenly broke off. He excused himself and went swiftly along to assist an elderly patient hobbling in with the aid of a stick. He returned to take up again where he’d left off, all the while keeping a benevolent eye open all round. ‘As I was saying, would it be possible to arrange a holiday for your wife? That often does the trick, better than any amount of tranquillizers.’
‘Do you think she’s up to it yet?’ Conway asked in a tone of anxiety. ‘It would mean she’d have to go on her own. There’s no chance of my being able to get away at this time of year.’ He had been in his present job, with Zodiac Soft Furnishings, only since March. He had no leave due to him as yet, and one of the firm’s two busiest seasons was already under way.
‘I wasn’t suggesting she went right away,’ Peake demurred. ‘In a few weeks’ time was what I had in mind. I’m sure she’ll be up to it by then. And I wasn’t suggesting she went on her own. Isn’t there some relative or friend who could go with her?’
Conway pondered. ‘I can’t think of anyone who could get away.’
‘Then a cruise is your answer,’ Peake returned with undiminished gusto. ‘Just the thing late in the year. You can head for the sun, shorten the winter.’
‘A cruise?’ Conway echoed doubtfully.
‘Don’t look so surprised.’ Peake smiled. ‘People have very out-of-date notions about cruises if they haven’t been on one recently. They’ve changed out of all recognition over the last ten or fifteen years. It’s not all old fogies these days, plenty of young folk go on cruises now, families too. My wife and I have been on a good many cruises over the years and we’ve enjoyed every one of them. There’s never any need to feel lonely, they’re ideal for folk on their own, convalescing. No pressure, no need to do anything you don’t feel like. You can lie about all day if you want to. Nothing to worry about, everything done for you. Doctor and nurses if you happen to need them. Your wife will love it. Sea, sunshine, change and stimulation, wonderful food. Meeting new people, striking up friendships, finding new interests.’
He suddenly ground to a halt, conscious he’d got rather carried away. A young couple like the Conways, living in a rented, furnished bungalow, hoping to be able to buy a place of their own, were hardly likely to have much to spare for fancy extras like cruises.
‘Of course cruises don’t come cheap.’ Peake’s tone held apology. ‘And she would really need to go for two or three weeks to do much good.’ He looked inquiringly at Conway. ‘I suppose that would be out of the question?’
‘If a cruise is what you recommend,’ Conway responded with decision, ‘then that’s what Anna’s going to have. I’ll manage the money, whatever it costs. All I want is to see her well and happy, that’s more important than any other consideration.’
Peake delivered another hearty slap on the back. ‘Good man. You won’t regret it.’
Conway gave a wry grin. ‘Just as well I can’t go with her. I should be able to manage one ticket but two would be a bit of a facer.’
‘I’m willing to bet we’ll see a substantial improvement when she gets back,’ Peake told him bracingly.
‘And if we don’t?’
Peake grimaced. ‘Then we might have to think about seeing a psychiatrist.’ He raised a hand as Conway opened his mouth. ‘Yes, yes, I know. I’m well aware she’s dead set against seeing a psychiatrist but I’m sure between us we could manage to talk her into it.’
Conway smiled slightly. ‘I was going to say I entirely agree with you. I think Anna should see a psychiatrist if the cruise doesn’t do the trick.’
‘Good man,’ Peake said again. He glanced at the clock. ‘Off you go now – and don’t forget to see about that cruise. Don’t ask your wife’s opinion about it, present her with a fait accompli. Make the booking and then tell her you’ve got a wonderful surprise for her. Produce the tickets, get out an atlas, show her all the places on the map, get her enthusiastic about it. That’s always the best way with nerve cases. Never give them a choice, the chance to say no. Firm direction’s a great relief to folk in that state of mind. Trying to make any kind of decision can be agony for someone who’s anxious enough already.’
As he turned towards his surgery he couldn’t refrain from adding, ‘And tell her you’ll buy her some new clothes for the trip, that’s always a sure-fire tonic for the ladies. Throw in a new hair-do while you’re at it. She’ll agree to go all right, you’ll see. And when she gets back she’ll have Christmas to look forward to, the start of a new year, spring on the way.’
Ferndale, the bungalow rented by the Conways, was a substantial dwelling, built between the wars. It stood in an isolated spot in the scattered hamlet of Oldmoor, a few miles to the north-west of Cannonbridge.
The weather in the second week of September was no less fine than in the first. At two o’clock on Tuesday afternoon Anna Conway came to the end of the household chores she had managed to spin out since breakfast. She stood at the back door of the bungalow, staring out into the brilliant, windless afternoon, trying to make up her mind how to pass the next hour or two.
If she had been less willow-wand thin, with less of a look of being huddled into herself against the cold, however warm the day, she might have been pretty enough. Her small features were regular, her baby-fine hair a pleasant shade of light brown, her grey eyes large and well set. As it was, she would never catch the attention of a casual observer, unless perhaps to wonder fleetingly how a girl of her age – rising twenty – had acquired so early so apprehensive a stance towards life.
She twisted her hands together. The garden seemed so still, waiting, watching. What she longed to do was take a sleeping pill, crawl into the big double bed and pull the covers over her head, extinguishing for the next few hours every nerve, every thought and feeling, every lacerating memory.
But yesterday evening, as they sat close together on the sofa, David had slipped an arm round her shoulders, had gently suggested she might like to occupy some of the time that hung so heavily on her hands with a little leisurely tidying up of the flowerbeds and borders. The exercise could only do her good and he would be glad of any help, however small, in putting to rights the large, rambling garden, neglected by a succession of tenants.
The thought of being able to greet him on his return this evening with the news that she had indeed spent the afternoon battling with weeds, being able to point out some patch of ground she had cleared, seeing his smile of pleasure, hearing his praise, finally won out over the lure of temporary oblivion.
And Dr Peake would be pleased too, next time he saw her. Fresh air and sunshine, he always urged, useful activity of any kind.
She squared her shoulders and stepped out into the caressing air, closing the door resolutely behind her. She went with determined steps over to a shed, wheeled out a barrow, selected a hoe, hand fork, trowel, a pair of shears, pulled on stout gardening gloves.
She looked about for an area to tackle, not too intimidating, and settled on part of a long flower border overrun with golden rod and marguerites. She began to tear up handfuls of rank growth.
The garden no longer seemed so silent. Sounds now seemed to press in on her from every side, obscurely tinged with menace. The raucous cawing of rooks, an aeroplane droning high overhead, the distant yapping of a dog, the harsh whine of a chainsaw, intermittent bursts of shooting from a neighbouring farm.
She worked grimly on till her back began to ache, then she abandoned the border and set off on a tour of the garden.
In the long grass of the orchard area drunken wasps buzzed among rotting windfalls. Every tree appeared ancient and diseased, bearing misshapen apples, grotesque pears. On the edge of the shrubbery, beneath a vast old hydrangea still in bloom, she caught sight of a great clump of oyster-coloured fungus, like a mound of overlapping dinner plates. She stopped in fascinated horror to peer under bushes and shrubs. Even larger clumps of fungus greeted her, rubbery and warty.
She shuddered and plunged on. Long strands of bramble clutched at her clothes. At the base of a decaying tree-stump she came on an enormous fleshy growth dissolving into slime, its stalk alive with maggots. Panic stirred inside her but she thrust it sternly down. She darted out into a stretch of open ground, came to a halt. She drew deep breaths, striving to steady herself.
She would go back to her flower border, show some backbone, start again on her task. She walked determinedly over to where she had abandoned her tools, picked up the hand fork and began to lever up stubborn roots.
But revulsion welled up again inside her. Centipedes squirmed in the earth, daddy-long-legs brushed against her face. A horrid sensation, only too familiar of late, signalled its return with a first stealthy touch as of a band lightly circling her forehead. She tried to dismiss it, went on battling with the weeds.
Slowly the band began to tighten. Across the fields a fresh burst of shooting jerked her up in fright. She managed to steady herself again, bent once more to her task.
A few moments later a wounded pigeon dropped out of the sky at her feet in a sprawl of blood-stained feathers. She sprang back in terror. Tears spilled from her eyes. She threw down her fork, tore off her gloves. She fell to her knees beside the dying bird, gently stroked its head, crooned softly to it. It looked up at her with an expressionless eye already filming over. A moment later she saw that it was dead.
She jumped up, snatched her gloves, the tools, and raced back to the shed, her heart pounding, leaping in her throat. With trembling fingers she restored everything to its place, then she turned and fled back to the house, along glinting gravel paths where leaf shadows quivered in the sunlight, past bushes festooned with spiders’ webs, in through the back door, along the passage, into the haven of the sitting room.
She flung herself down on the sofa, shuddering. From the mantelpiece her own likeness – a framed photograph, head and shoulders – looked down at her with a wide smile of happiness.
Around her forehead the band grew vice-like in its grip. A surge of terrifying thoughts rose in her brain, threatening to overwhelm her. She looked in agony at the clock. Another hour to be lived through before the next dose of the pills that would beat back the thoughts. David had made her swear to stick to the prescribed times and amounts. Every day she strove to keep her word, she never let him know of the many times she failed.
She turned her head in the direction of the kitchen. A beaker of the hot chocolate she loved, strong and sweet, that might soothe her through the next hour. She got up and went from the room.
Twenty minutes later found her back in the sitting room, pacing to and fro, the effects of the hot chocolate already evaporated. She tried to distract herself with the radio, the television, but they served only to jangle her nerves still further.
She looked again at the clock. She would not fail again. She lay down on the floor and closed her eyes. She went religiously through her tense-and-relax exercises, she massaged her forehead, her scalp, the back of her neck. Still the taut muscles refused to slacken. Still the plaguing thoughts bedevilled her brain.
She opened her eyes and looked yet again at the clock. Barely ten minutes had crawled by. She could struggle no longer. She got to her feet and went along to the bedroom for the capsules, the pills and tablets. She washed down the prescribed dose with water, then she stood hesitating, eyeing the bottles. Double the quantity would produce the longed-for relief twice as quickly.
After another brief, guilt-ridden struggle she swallowed a second dose. She went back to the sofa and lay down again. Soon she felt a blissful peace begin to steal over her. A little later she felt a slight resurgence of cheerfulness; later still, a burst of buoyant energy.
She sat up, smiling. She yawned, stretched luxuriously. She went along to the bathroom, washed her face, tidied her hair. She would make a start on preparing supper.
As the hands of the kitchen clock approached six she was putting the finishing touches to an artistically arranged platter of salad. A delicious savoury smell filled the room. She glanced in at the oven, lifted the lids of pans simmering on the stove. She felt joyously serene. Her mind was now clear and untroubled. She hummed in tune with the music from the radio.
A sound reached her ears: David’s car turning in through the gate. Her face broke into a delighted smile. She darted to the mirror, primped her hair.
She ran out of the kitchen, along the passage, into the hall, snatched open the door into the porch. As David came hurrying round from the garage she flew out to greet him, threw her arms round his neck. He embraced her warmly, gave her a tender kiss.
Later, as they finished clearing the supper things, he put his arm round her shoulders. ‘I’ve something to tell you,’ he said in indulgent tones. ‘Something to show you. I’ve arranged a wonderful surprise for you.’ Her face lit up like a child at Christmas. He squeezed her shoulders. ‘I know you’re going to love it. Come and sit down, I’ll tell you all about it.’
CHAPTER 2 (#ulink_2e7348cb-771d-5980-8c04-7e30d700de96)
A dark Monday morning, October 23rd. The birds not yet awake, only the occasional mournful cry of an owl.
On their smallholding, two miles from Ferndale, Bob and Irene Garbutt had been up since five; always plenty of indoor jobs to be done before sunrise.
At six-thirty Garbutt came out of the warm kitchen into the chill air, bending his head against the whipping breeze. A tall, broad-shouldered man, lean and solidly muscled. He had been a regular soldier, both his sons were in the Army.
As he crossed the yard a cock crowed shrilly in the distance. A lively cackling erupted from the wire-fronted sheds housing the geese. Garbutt glanced at his watch – he was due at Ferndale at five past seven to pick up David Conway and drive him to Oldmoor station, a regular booking since April, one Monday in four. Garbutt supplemented what he made from the smallholding by running a one-man hired-car service locally.
He went into the cold store for the box of fruit Conway had ordered for his wife. Garbutt had selected the fruit with particular care the previous evening: sweetly-smelling Cox’s orange pippins, prime Comice pears.
He carried the box out to his car and stowed it away in the boot. He went back into the house and stood washing his hands at the sink. Irene came into the kitchen, carrying a jar of her newly made damson jam. Still a pretty woman, with bright blue eyes and a ready smile.
She set the jam down on the table. ‘You can take this for Anna, a little present to say I hope she’s feeling better.’
Garbutt ate a piece of toast and drank a mug of tea; time for a decent breakfast later. Promptly at ten minutes to seven he got into his car. He prided himself on punctuality and reliability. No need to allow for delays; scarcely any traffic on these rural roads at this time of day, this season of the year.
The sky showed the first signs of lightening as he turned the car towards Ferndale; birds began to twitter from the hedgerows.
The front of the bungalow was in darkness when he pulled up by the recessed porch but a light shone out from the kitchen, round to the left. He tooted his horn and Conway appeared a minute or two later, switching lights on as he came. He found Garbutt standing by the open boot of his car, lifting out the box of fruit.
‘Anna’ll be delighted with those,’ Conway exclaimed as he cast an appreciative eye over the unblemished skins. ‘What do I owe you?’
‘No need to bother with that now.’ Garbutt set the box down inside the porch. ‘Leave it till this evening. We can settle up then.’ Conway was travelling to Dunstall – home of Zodiac’s factory and head office – for the four-weekly sales meeting. Garbutt usually picked him up again at Oldmoor station at a quarter to one but today was the firm’s silver jubilee, to be marked, following the sales meeting, by festivities lasting well into the afternoon.
Garbutt handed over the jam, along with his wife’s message. ‘That’s very good of Irene,’ Conway said with pleasure. He carried the fruit and jam inside and Garbutt got back into his car, out of the wind.
A few minutes later Anna came out into the shelter of the porch. She wore a blue woollen dressing-gown and bedroom slippers.
‘The fruit’s lovely,’ she told Garbutt with a warm smile. The porch light threw shadows over her face and hair. She reached into a pocket for a handkerchief and dabbed at her lips. ‘And please thank Irene for the jam, it’s very kind of her. Damson’s one of my favourites. Tell her I’m feeling much better.’
‘I’m delighted to hear it,’ Garbutt responded heartily. ‘You can start eating the Coxes any time but I should give the pears another day or two. You’ll want to keep your eye on them, catch each one just right, when it’s sweet and juicy.’
‘I’ll remember.’ She thrust her hands into her sleeves for warmth, like a Chinese mandarin.
‘Not long now till your holiday,’ Garbutt commented.
‘November 2nd, a week on Thursday.’ Her tone was pleased and lively. ‘I’m really looking forward to it now.’
Conway came back, wearing a short tweed overcoat. He carried a briefcase and a pair of gloves. He caught the tail end of their conversation.
‘I’m driving Anna down to Southampton,’ he told Garbutt. ‘I’m meeting her there again when the ship docks.’ Anna looked up at him with a loving smile. ‘We’re going shopping on Wednesday,’ Conway added. ‘To buy her some gorgeous clothes for the trip. I’ve fixed it so I’ve got the whole afternoon free. We’re going into Cannonbridge.’ He named a large department store. ‘We’re taking it easy, doing it all under one roof, breaking off for tea in the cafe halfway through, so she won’t be worn out at the end of it. I intend it to be a pleasure, not an ordeal.’
Anna turned her head and smiled at Garbutt. ‘I’m really being spoiled, don’t you think? I shall enjoy choosing the clothes, though I’m not going to be too extravagant.’
Conway put his arm round her shoulders and kissed her tenderly. ‘Don’t stand out here in the cold. I’ll be home around a quarter to seven. And don’t go wearing yourself out, doing too much housework. You’ve got the place looking spotless already.’
‘No, I won’t.’ Her mouth opened suddenly in a deep yawn and she put up a hand to cover it. ‘I’ll make sure I get plenty of rest. There’s a film on TV this afternoon I’m going to watch, it should be good. And I might go out for a stroll if the wind drops.’ Conway smiled approval.
But she didn’t go back inside at once. She kept her gaze fixed on her husband as he got into the passenger seat.
Garbutt switched on the ignition. His watch showed seven-fifteen. Anna stood smiling and waving as the car reversed and drove out into the lane.
The instant it vanished from sight the smile left her face, her hand dropped to her side. She shivered, pulled her dressing-gown closely round her. She sent a long, lingering look round the shadowy garden, the dark trees, the paling sky. Then she reached out and switched off the outside light. She turned and went slowly back into the house, closing the door behind her.
Oldmoor station lay one and a half miles from Ferndale on a stretch of line closed thirty years ago, later rescued from vandalism and dereliction by a preservation society which raised funds, laboured to restore it, acquired and refurbished old rolling-stock, repaired the buildings.
Now, fifteen years after the first rejuvenated steam train rode the rails, the society operated – with the aid of extra income from occasional filming and TV commercials – a successful and established schedule, highly popular with local travellers as well as holidaymakers and steam enthusiasts. The line linked up with the main railway system at Sedgefield Junction where a fast train would carry Conway on to Dunstall.
‘A shame to get Anna out of bed so early,’ Garbutt remarked as he negotiated a bend in the road.
‘She would get up to speak to you,’ Conway said. ‘I told her there was no need, I could pass on her message, but no, she must thank you and Irene herself.’
‘It’s good to see her so much brighter. And ready for her holiday.’ Garbutt slid a glance at Conway. ‘The holiday must be costing you a bob or two, new clothes and all.’
‘If it helps to get her really well again, it’s worth every penny.’ Conway grimaced. ‘When I think how she was, back in the summer – some days she didn’t get up out of bed at all. She wouldn’t even bring the milk in from the back door or the newspaper from the front porch.’ His tone echoed the anxiety of that distressing time. ‘I’d know as soon as I drove up in the evening if it had been one of her worst days. The paper would still be on the bench in the porch.’ He shuddered briefly. ‘But we’re well past that now, thank God. Dr Peake’s been very good to her. And she’s tried very hard herself, I must give her that.’
‘Occupation,’ Garbutt declared with robust conviction. ‘That’s the answer. Look at Irene. Lots of women her age, children grown up and left home, they get to feeling sorry for themselves. They sit around moping, swallowing pills or taking to booze, I don’t know which is worse. Irene hasn’t got time to invent worries for herself. She’s busy from morning till night, she loves every minute of it.’
Conway suddenly raised a hand. ‘I meant to ask you – it’s Anna’s birthday next Monday, the 30th. I’d like a good house plant, or maybe Irene could make me up a bouquet – I don’t know what she’s got in the way of flowers this time of year. I could pick up the plant or the bouquet on Sunday evening, put it somewhere cool overnight where Anna won’t see it.’
‘I’m sure Irene’ll be able to find you something to suit you,’ Garbutt told him. ‘She’s got some first-class house plants coming on. Or she could make up an indoor garden. They’re a bit more unusual and they last a long time. The best thing would be if you had a word with Irene yourself. Drop in one evening on your way home, see what’s on offer.’
‘Right, thanks,’ Conway said. ‘I’ll do that.’
They reached the station in good time. The buildings were beautifully decorated; elegant old bracket lamps shed a golden glow. A striking display of purple and white dahlias graced island beds set in the twin platforms.
Passengers strolled up and down, chatting in friendly fashion, looking about with keen attention as they waited for the train. No stand-offishness here, no grimly silent Monday-morning faces. Everywhere an air of holiday gaiety, even among those clearly on their way to an ordinary day’s work.
Garbutt got out of the car and went into the station with Conway, as he always did. His boyhood love of steam trains was as strong as ever.
‘I wish I could spare the time to put in half a day here now and then,’ he said when Conway came back from buying his ticket.
‘I wouldn’t mind putting in more time myself,’ Conway told him. He came along most weekends, with an occasional extra stint in the lighter evenings.
The signal dropped. The passengers stopped perambulating and lined the platform, craning to catch the first plume of smoke, ears cocked for the distant rumble of wheels.
She came swooping down on them with a heart-stirring rush and roar, the engine splendid in green and black livery, brasswork gleaming, coaches brilliant in scarlet and cream. Along the open windows, men and women leaned out, smiling and waving. Among them, a lad of seventeen or so, scrutinizing the waiting passengers as the train swept in. He caught sight of Conway, his face broke into a cheerful grin. He called out a greeting, lost in the medley of sounds.
Conway raised a hand in reply and hastened along the platform to where the lad’s compartment would stop. The train drew to a halt amid clangs and hisses. Doors swung open. Garbutt stood watching the lively to-and-fro with his eyes alight, savouring the acrid scents of steam and smoke.
‘Pick you up at six-thirty,’ he called out as Conway stepped aboard. Conway turned and waved, gave him a nod. The lad closed the door. The guard waved his flag, blew his whistle.
On the dot of seven thirty-two the engine began to snort and grunt. Along with everyone else remaining on the platform, Garbutt stood motionless as the train pulled out, slow and stately. He stayed gazing after it till its lights had vanished into the shadowy distance and the far-off rattle of its wheels was lost among the rising sounds of morning.
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Emma Page
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Триллеры
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 17.04.2024
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О книге: A Kelsey and Lambert novel. Has Chief Inspector Kelsey meet his match at last?Anna Conway, rising twenty, had much to live for: not least a devoted young husband who put her welfare before all else. Yet she suffered from depression and, just before leaving on a restorative cruise, she was found dead in her bath.Chief Inspector Kelsey and Sergeant Lambert at first accepted Anna′s death as suicide, and the more they learned of her unloved childhood, the more understandable suicide became. So it was with shock that when Anna married David she was already the widow of an elderly man, whose death was not without unusual features.But when they learned that David Conway too had been a widower, his first wife having also committed suicide, Kelsey developed a gut feeling that this grief-stricken widower was a cold-blooded murderer. Yes there was testimony on all sides to his devotion to Anna, his alibi was unimpeachable and his motive for murder non-existent.Doggedly the Chief Inspector set out to prove David’s guilt. But each time he unearthed a suspicious circumstance, David came up with an innocent explanation.