Page 50 of Murder in the Winter Woods
‘Most likely, from what I know so far.’
‘I was thinking…’ Julia paused, trying to think exactly how to phrase it.
Hayley put the book she was holding down on her desk, and said, ‘Go on, spit it out. I know you’ve come with a theory or gone on a fishing expedition. Let’s cut to the chase.’
Julia blushed, but didn’t deny it. ‘Well, since you ask, with two of the men dead already, I am worried that Ken might be in danger. Or maybe even that he was somehow involved in the other men’s deaths. I can’t see how it all fits together, but Anthony Ardmore and his scheme are the common denominator between the other two men.’
‘It’s one of the things they have in common. They also lived in the same town, they were at school together, they played in the same band, they would have known many people in common. There are lots of areas of overlap I can think of, and maybe more that I haven’t.’
‘They were killed just after they invested in the scheme.’
‘Granted,’ Hayley nodded. ‘The timing is interesting.’
‘Is there any chance that Anthony killed them, to somehow get his hands on their money?’
‘He already had the money. They invested it with him.’
‘Well, it was still theirs. Maybe the shares reverted back to him if they died, or something. Or maybe there was an insurance policy, I don’t know. Something that gives him a motive.’
‘I’ll speak to the financial forensic guys about that. But Anthony has an alibi for the night of Matthew’s death. While he was at home alone when Lewis died, which we can’t really verify one hundred per cent, he has a witness for the night that Matthew died.’
Julia must have looked sceptical, because Hayley added: ‘He was with his girlfriend. Clarissa someone or other. Walter Farmer followed up with her.’
‘Well, I suppose if his alibi for Matthew checked out, that’s something.’
‘It takes him out of the running. It’s incredibly unlikely that different people killed Lewis and Matthew in exactly the same way.’
‘I see that,’ agreed Julia.
Julia saw the detective’s eyes flick towards the stacks of files and papers that populated her desk like hills and vales on some topographical model. She was clearly impatient to get back to work. ‘Well, I’d best be getting home. Enjoy the book, Hayley.’
‘Saturday afternoon on the sofa with a new book. My reward for getting on top of this,’ Hayley said, casting her eyes on a papery Mount Snowdon.
‘Good luck.’
As Julia turned into her driveway, Hester was leaving her own house. Hunched against the gathering wind, she locked the front door and picked up a large cardboard box from the doormat. Julia, emerging from her car, could hear what sounded like the clinking of glass.
‘Oh, hello, Julia,’ Hester said, as Julia emerged from her car. ‘Have you had a good day?’
‘It’s been a busy one What about you? Are you on your way out?’
It was a slightly awkward moment, the two women standing there, Hester with the big box of honey jars in her arms, braced against the wind. One or two fat raindrops plopped down on the pavement. The advance party in a big rainstorm, Julia suspected. Hester, who was wearing a long raincoat, hunched over the box to protect it from the rain. ‘Oh, dear. The weather…I’m going to go out and deliver honey. There are quite a few back orders that need to be processed and delivered. I’ve had so much on my mind, what with Matthew…and, you know, the money…and the worries. I haven’t been sleeping well, and I’m so, so tired. I’m afraid I’ve let things slide.’
‘That’s quite normal in the circumstances, Hester. I’m sure the customers will understand if they have to wait a day or two.’
‘I want to fulfil Matthew’s last promises to the customers. And some of the orders from the Christmas market are for Christmas gifts, so people will be worrying if they don’t get them.’ Hester looked down at the box. ‘This is half of them. But now I’m thinking, did I pick up the right box?’ She shifted the weight of the box to her hip, steadied it, and freed one arm to pull a sheet of paper from the box. ‘Oh dear,’ she said. ‘I think this might be the box for Edgeley, not Berrywick. But there seem to be too few jars. I think I have got into a muddle. I’d better go back inside and check everything.’
A rumble of thunder cut her sentence short.
‘Hester, are you sure you want to go out in this?’ Julia asked. ‘Why don’t you do this tomorrow instead? I’ll come and give you a hand sorting it out. It’ll be easier with company.’
‘That’s very kind, but I don’t know…’
The fat drops were coming faster.
‘I’m going inside, Hester. I think you should do the same. The weather is really terrible. Put the fire on and have a quiet afternoon and an early night. I’ll come by tomorrow morning, and we’ll go through those orders together and check you’ve got everything right.’
A crack of lightning split the sky. The two women flinched.
