Page 141 of Marble Hall Murders

‘But that wasn’t what Roland intended anyway. He knew that Julia had taken the bottle of so-called poison into her room and he was just scared that she was going to use it. Her grandmother had humiliated her in front of the entire family – something about her weight and a party dress. Roland had spent half his life protecting both his siblings and that was what he did then. He sneaked into her room and stole it, but he didn’t go anywhere near his grandmother’s room. That’s his story, anyway. He went to the bathroom at the far end of the corridor and poured it down the toilet—’

‘Unaware that Eliot had seen him leaving.’

‘Exactly. He’s adamant that he didn’t kill her, and I think I believe him. As far as I can see, someone else in the house learned what the kids were up to and they snatched the opportunity to feed the old woman with real poison. I have ordered an exhumation, by the way. I’m afraid we have no choice now but to dig her up.’

‘So Eliot got it wrong!’ I said. ‘It’s tragic, really. All his life, he thought his big brother was a murderer, but he kept it secret because of the love between them.’

‘But then Roland had an affair with his wife.’

‘And the book was his way of getting back at him.’

‘I’m afraid so.’ Blakeney paused. ‘When are they letting you out of here?’

‘They want the doctor to have one last look at me but I should be home by midday. And by home, I mean my own place. I’m afraid my friends won’t be too pleased with me – or with you, for that matter. That was their front window you smashed.’

‘Do you want me to apologise?’

‘Not at all. I’ve never been happier to see anyone in my life.’ Except, I thought, for Andreas when he fought his way through the flames to pull me out of the Cloverleaf office after Charles had set it on fire.

Blakeney got to his feet – but before he left, he had one more thing to say. ‘You know who the real killer is, don’t you? You’ve worked out who killed Miriam Crace all those years ago and Eliot Crace now.’

I couldn’t help smiling. ‘How do you know?’

‘Well, don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s the way you’re sitting there. It’s the first time I’ve seen you looking pleased with yourself.’

‘Well, I think I deserve it. And you’re right. I think I have the answer.’

‘Are you going to tell me?’

‘Not right now, if you don’t mind, Detective Inspector. I’ve had a rough twenty-four hours. But if you’ll answer something for me, I might be tempted to give you a clue.’

‘Go ahead.’ He perched by the window.

‘I’m speaking out of turn and I’m not out to cause anyone any trouble, but I’ve got to ask you if your sidekick, Detective Constable Wardlaw, was telling me the truth.’

‘You know she’d hate the wordsidekick.’

‘I’m delighted. I’ll use it the next time we meet.’

‘What did she say?’

‘It was when she delivered those pages you sent. Basically, she said you were pretending to be my friend but it was all untrue. Behind my back, you were convinced I had killed Eliot and you were just hanging around in the hope I’d say something that would give me away.’

Blakeney had shown no expression while he listened to this. It was a while before he spoke.

‘She said that?’

‘Yes. I repeat, I don’t want to get her into trouble, but it would be good to know where I am with you. It seems to me that Emma Wardlaw had it in for me from the moment you and I met and I wonder why.’

‘I’m sorry, Susan. Wardlaw’s not such a bad person when you get to know her. She’s smart. She’s honest. We’ve worked together for a long time. But – I’m telling you this in confidence – eighteen months ago, she got divorced. It was unpleasant. There’s a child involved. And it’s done her head in. She hasn’t taken to being a single mum and she doesn’t know where she stands. If she reacted to you that way, and I’m not for a minute excusing her, it’s probably because she was worried about any feelings I might have for you. She’s quick off the mark when it comes to that sort of thing and she was afraid you might get in the way.’

‘Feelings?’

‘Let’s just say, she didn’t want us to be friends.’

There were plenty of other questions I could have asked right then, but I let it go. ‘You want a clue,’ I said.

‘If you’ll be so kind.’

---