Page 43 of A Village Theatre Murder

‘That’s exactly it! It’s as if they think they were in some sort of competition for my attention.’

‘Understandable, really, when you think of it. Two men, both of whom care for you.’ Julia was slightly stunned by how openly Bethany was talking about this, but told herself again that times had changed.

Bethany was still speaking. ‘Exactly, and you know what dads are like with their daughters.’

Dads?Why was she talking about dads now? Not that she could blame Bethany’s dad, whoever he was, for being worried for his daughter. This wasn’t the kind of arrangement a parent dreamed of for their child.

Bethany glanced around the shop to make sure no one was in earshot, and went on: ‘Of course, with Graham being married, Dad was not at all happy. But like I said to him, “It’s not like you’ve got much of a leg to stand on, Regional Superintendent Grave. Mum was actually engaged to someone else when she fell pregnant with me.”’

Wait. What?

Roger Grave was Bethany’sdad? Julia was struck dumb. She actually did not know what to say at this surprise revelation. This passed unnoticed, because Bethany was more than prepared to keep up the conversation on her side. ‘I feel like I can talk to you, Julia. I’ve got no one to talk to about this, really. All the other girls here disapprove – they think I’m awful for getting involved with a married man, and my boss at that. My mum doesn’t even know about it; she would be very upset and disapproving, too. I mean, I don’t blame her, I feel bad about it. Bad about his wife. I know it was wrong. It wasn’t the plan at all, but we were spending all this time together at work, and next thing we knew, Graham and I were in love.’

Bethany looked so sad and wistful that Julia couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She was a young woman who, for the sakeof love, had done something she knew was morally suspect, and now she’d lost everything.

‘I told Dad we were in love, that Graham’s marriage was over and we were going to be together. Of course, he was furious. He blamed Graham. He thought he had taken advantage of me. And he’d already cast him in the play when he found out about us, which made it even more awkward. I was worried there would be trouble between them in the production, but apparently they mostly kept it professional. Although he did have a chat with Graham, made it clear that if he was serious about me, he needed to leave his wife. And that helped a lot.’

‘Bethany, did your father ever threaten Graham?’

‘No, of course not! I mean, not seriously. He did tell me he’d like to punch him in the face. But you know my dad. He’s all talk. He would neverhurthim.’

‘You’re sure?’

Bethany’s voice rose alarmingly. ‘Of course I’m sure! Oh, my God, Julia! You can’t think he had anything to do with the shooting. That was an accident! And besides, Dad is a policeman! He would never dream of doing such a thing.’

Julia was considering how best to ask Bethany about the conversation she’d overheard, when the younger woman said, ‘Oh-oh, here comes trouble.’

Julia followed her gaze, and saw a bossy-looking woman marching towards them.

‘The assistant manager. She has designs on Graham’s job, and of course she doesn’t like me. I’d better get back to work,’ Bethany whispered, before saying, at normal volume: ‘Here you are, then. These are the floor polishes. All sorts, we have, and a number of different sizes. Sprays, of course, and, um, wax, and this one smells of lavender and that one’s lemon…’

‘Thanks for your help. You’ve been very informative,’ said Julia, grabbing the nearest can of something from the shelf. Asshe swept past the assistant manager, who was now bearing down the aisle like a small brunette tank, Julia repeated herself loudly, for good measure: ‘Very helpful and informative indeed, thank you, Bethany.’

22

Hayley Gibson listened to Julia’s story with a look of brooding irritation, her arms crossed over her chest, and an eyebrow raising occasionally in what Julia took to be disbelief. But once she’d talked her way into the DI’s office, and got her attention, Julia was determined to tell her everything, succinctly, but in full.

When Julia mentioned Bethany’s affair with Graham, Hayley looked as if she might explode. ‘Damn it! I knew Jane was holding something back. When she finally admitted that they were headed towards divorce, she didn’t mention the affair. When I asked her about the reasons, she just said, “Oh, you know…we drifted apart.” I think she even used the word “amicable”.’

‘According to Hannah, once Graham was dead, Jane decided to just pretend the separation never happened to protect his reputation – and hers, I suppose,’ Julia said. ‘How she thought she’d make that work I don’t know. It was bound to come up somehow. You can’t keep a secret like that forever, not with an investigation into an unnatural death.’

‘Well, you dug it up.’ Hayley spoke with grudging admiration.

‘And there’s more,’ said Julia.

When she got to the revelation about Roger Grave being Bethany’s father, Hayley reacted: ‘Herfather? Are you kidding me? How did I not knowthat?’

‘Well, you weren’t even talking to Bethany. She wasn’t involved in the play. And Roger wasn’t a suspect, so it’s not as if you were looking at his personal life.’ Julia ended with a disclaimer: ‘I am not trying to interfere, Hayley. I’m just telling you what I’ve discovered. Roger Grave did have a motive – Graham Powell was having an affair with his daughter – and he had opportunity, given where the murder took place. I could be adding one and one and making three – that’s for you to decide – but either way, this situation between Graham, Roger and Bethany is complicated and fraught, and probably worth investigating.’

‘Okay.’

‘What?’

‘Okay, I hear you.’ Hayley was reaching for her phone. ‘I find it very hard to imagine Grave had anything to do with Graham’s death, but there does seem to be something off in this connection. Something between the three of them. I’m phoning him now.’

Julia waited, hearing the faint tinny ringing tone coming from Hayley’s phone. There was a knock on the door. It opened a crack and a head appeared. A familiar head – male, youngish, straggly dark hair and rather a pleasant face wearing a tentative expression – but Julia couldn’t quite place it.

‘Another delivery for DI Gibson. The reception lady said I could bring this through,’ he said.

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