Page 44 of Murder in the Winter Woods
‘I shouldn’t think that was what did it. No one ever died of bunions, as far as I’m aware,’ said Flo, frowning. Julia wondered if she was perhaps worrying about her own bunions. She was on her feet all day, after all.
‘Indeed, I think not,’ Pippa agreed. ‘My aunt Margaret has bunions too, so the two of them had a good old chat about them. Aunt Margaret even insisted on going back that afternoon and giving Lydia some of her medication that she said really helped with the pain, and Lydia gave her some bunion plasters that hadn’t helped her, but she thought might help Margaret.’
‘Ah, well, isn’t that nice of them both? Either way, the bunions won’t be troubling her now. Gone she is, poor Lydia, but at least she went peacefully in her sleep.’
Julia reflected on Lydia’s calm death, compared to the tragic ends of Lewis and Matthew. I hope I go that way, she thought.A nice quick heart attack or stroke in my own bed. The thought wasn’t morbid or frightening. In fact, it was rather soothing. Julia had seen enough of life to be pragmatic about death.
‘Hello, everyone.’ Hayley Gibson had come in unnoticed, and was standing at the table.
Pippa said hello, and then said her goodbyes, claiming a nearby table for herself. Flo handed Hayley a menu as the policewoman made herself comfortable across from Julia.
‘What are you in the mood for, Detective? We’ve got lovely hot tomato and pepper soup; I made it specially when I saw the weather forecast. Comes with a slice of fresh sourdough.’
‘I’ll have that, thank you, Flo.’ Hayley handed back the menu, unopened. She looked pleased to be relieved of the burden of choice.
‘Nothing for me,’ said Julia. ‘That hot chocolate will keep me going until next week.’
‘Oh go on…A little drink like that?’ said Flo. ‘No room for a toastie? I know you love a little toastie.’
Flo’s toasties were not little, not by any stretch of the imagination. And her little drink hadn’t been little either. Julia waved her away with a smile.
As soon as Flo was out of earshot, Hayley cut to the chase. ‘So, what’s this information you have for me?’
Julia told her everything she had discovered from the time Hester came round to share her worries about the absent funds. When she got to the part where she and Hester and Coral had gone to call on Anthony Ardmore, Hayley let out an exasperated, ‘For heaven’s sake, Julia.’ For the rest, she let her speak, interrupting once or twice for a point of clarification.
When Julia was finished, Hayley sat silently for a good two minutes, her face impassive, while her brain whirred, processing what she’d heard. She leaned forward and summed it up. ‘So two men died in the same way, within roughly two weeks ofeach other. And it turns out they were members of the same band years ago, and they recently became investors in the same investment scheme.’
‘That’s it, in a nutshell,’ said Julia. ‘I think we can safely say the deaths were no accident.’
Hayley waved her hand. ‘I was pretty sure of that from the minute Matthew died.’
‘As was I.’
‘But the way you’ve described it, it looks like it could be some kind of hit.’
It was the first time Julia had thought of it in quite those terms. ‘Hit’ was a word that belonged in the movies, usually movies about organised crime, or gang warfare. It gave her the shivers.
‘What was your impression of Anthony, Julia?’
‘He’s smooth. Too smooth for my liking. He got up my nose, the way he talked to us. Patronising. He’s good-looking though, and well-groomed, so he probably gets away with it. And he’s a sharp talker, the kind of man who’s got an answer for everything. My impression is that he’s probably leaning towards dodgy, but just how far he’s leaning, it’s hard to say.’
‘You paint a very vivid picture. I know the type. The question is, is this plant medicine thing an out-and-out scam? Or is it genuine, but making use of insider trading? Or might it even be a legitimate business venture, just a rather unusual one?’
With impeccable timing, Flo arrived with a steaming bowl of soup, a massive slab of fresh bread, and a tub of golden farm butter. She had to manoeuvre carefully between the tables, every one of which was now full. It seemed half of Berrywick had decided to take refuge from the weather and enjoy something warm and delicious at the Buttered Scone.
‘Enjoy,’ said Flo. Her plimsolls squeaked as she turned to leave.
They waited a moment, inhaling the tangy, basil smell of the soup. Hayley scraped a delicate layer of the surface with her spoon, and held it in front of her mouth, waiting for it to cool before sipping it.
Julia spoke. ‘It’s also possible that it’s somewhere in between – a highly speculative investment that he’s flogging to people who don’t fully understand the risks.’
‘Also dubious, but not necessarily illegal,’ Hayley said. ‘It’s a minefield, honestly. I went to a workshop on Fraud and Financial Crime in the Digital Age, or some such, a couple of months ago. Very interesting, and pretty scary. Makes you want to close all your bank accounts and carry around a roll of tenners in your bra. But I do know that there are plenty of very strange-sounding things that are perfectly legit. And some people are making tons of money on them.’
Julia nodded. ‘I’ve come to terms with the fact that it will never be me making tons of money off weird things. I’m more of a savings account sort of investor. And Hester and Coral, too, I imagine. They hoped to get the money back when we visited Ardmore, but he was having none of it.’
‘First things first, I’ll ask the financial crimes unit to have a look into the investment and see if it’s legit.’
‘Hester has got the emails with all the details, the contract and so on.’
