Dance of Death (20 page)

‘Strictly speaking,’ she said, ‘it was a male friend who did that. Overcoming his distaste for the opposite sex, he allowed himself to be photographed with me in a compromising position. It’s the only time in his life that he got close to a woman and it won’t happen again. Simon was able to claim that the photo had come into his possession whereas he was the one who took it in the first place.’

‘You’re lucky that that never came to light in the divorce court.’

‘You sound critical.’

‘I uphold the law, Mrs Hogg. You and your husband flouted it.’

She gave a shrug. ‘That’s water under the bridge now.’

Marmion was compelled to revise his judgement of her. When she’d spoken to him in Chingford, she’d presented herself as the former wife of a man she supported through the difficulties of his second marriage. Evidently, the portrait was incomplete. He had the strong feeling that Wilder did more than just call in when in need of a sympathetic ear. The dancer came to enjoy pleasures denied him at home and Gillian was happy to offer them. As a wife, she’d found their relationship imposed too many limitations. The new role of his mistress was much more to her taste.

‘Will you be at the funeral?’ he asked.

‘Nothing would keep me away, Inspector.’

‘What about consideration for Mrs Wilder?’

‘Catherine never showed
me
any consideration,’ she said, acerbically. ‘She’s snubbed me in public a number of times. As far as she’s concerned, I don’t exist.’

‘Did she ever have any connection with Godfrey Noonan?’

‘As a matter of fact, she did.’

‘Could you enlarge on that, please?’

‘He and Catherine worked hand in glove at one time.’

It took Keedy some time to extricate himself from Odele Thompson’s flat with the address he needed and he vowed to keep well clear of her in the future. While she’d contributed some useful information to the investigation, he told her, it didn’t entitle her to a closer relationship with him. Even though he’d pointed out to Odele that he was engaged to be married, he still felt strangely vulnerable and couldn’t understand why. He therefore tried to focus solely on his work. His next task was to track down Allan Redmond at his cottage in Hertfordshire but he needed a car to do that. Claude Chatfield had returned to Scotland Yard in one vehicle and Harvey Marmion had used the other to get himself driven to Soho. Keedy, therefore, had to travel to central London by public transport. It was a tedious journey until the moment when an idea popped into his mind. All of a sudden, he began to enjoy the trip immensely.

Since he knew the exact route of Alice’s beat, he was able to work out roughly where she would be at the time he finally got off the bus. Instead of reporting to Scotland Yard, therefore, he sneaked off to intercept her for a short while. It was, he felt, the antidote he needed to the threat of Odele Thompson. Keedy had guessed right. Alice and Iris
Goodliffe were in precisely the area he expected to find them. The very sight of her cheered him up. She, in turn, was overjoyed.

‘Where did you spring from, Joe?’ she asked, excitedly.

‘It would take too long to explain.’

‘Oh, this is Iris …’

During the introductions, Iris shook his hand warmly and looked up at him.

‘It’s good to meet you at last, Sergeant Keedy,’ she said. ‘I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you.’

‘Don’t believe everything that Alice tells you,’ he said.

‘I only told her the truth,’ insisted Alice.

‘She said how tall and good-looking you were,’ said Iris, ‘and how you always dressed smartly.’ After beaming at him vacuously, she became aware that she was in the way. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. You didn’t come to see me, did you? Why don’t I walk on a bit, Alice? You can catch me up.’

‘Thanks, Iris.’

As soon as the other woman left, Keedy stepped in to give Alice a kiss.

She was pleased. ‘What have I done to deserve that?’

‘I’ll tell you sometime.’

‘Tell me now, Joe. And explain how you managed to slip away from a murder investigation. Does Daddy know that you’re here?’

‘No, he doesn’t and he must never find out.’

‘How long can you stay?’

‘Only a few minutes – I just had to see you.’

‘Why? Has something happened?’

‘Yes,’ he admitted and, though he’d intended to say nothing about Odele, his tongue ran away with him. ‘I had to interview the murder victim’s dancing partner at her flat. She began to … show an interest in
me so I had to tell her that I had a fiancée. It was embarrassing. To be honest, I was glad to escape. Then I just felt the urge to see you.’

Alice was piqued. ‘Did you give her any encouragement?’

‘No, of course I didn’t.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, I am,’ he replied, hurt that his word should be questioned.

‘Women don’t do that sort of thing unless they sense something.’

‘This one does.’

‘Was it the first time?’

‘Alice—’ he protested.

‘Was it? I’d like to know.’

‘Then the honest answer is that it wasn’t. She … made it clear that she was interested in me when she came to the police station.’

‘And how did she do that?’

‘It was … in her manner.’

‘So even though you
knew
she had designs on you, you went off to be alone with her in her flat.’

‘I
had
to go there. Your father sent me.’

‘You could have taken somebody else with you.’

‘Yes, I suppose that I could have done that.’

‘But you didn’t do that, did you? Why was that?’

‘Look …’

She folded her arms. ‘It’s a simple question, Joe. Why was that?’

‘I didn’t come here to be interrogated,’ he said, sharply.

‘There are certain things I deserve to know.’

‘I wish I hadn’t even mentioned Odele now.’

‘Is that her name – Odele?’

‘Calm down, Alice. You’re getting this out of proportion.’

‘I’ve spent all that time, telling Iris what a lovely, honest, reliable
man I have in my life and you go off with this Odele person.’

‘I didn’t “go off”. I had to get an address from her.’

‘And you gave her the wrong signals in the process.’

‘No,’ he said in exasperation. ‘I didn’t give her
any
kind of signal.’

‘I always trusted you, Joe Keedy.’

‘And you were right to do so.’

‘I wonder …’

They were both throbbing with anger. Alice couldn’t quite understand how they’d reached that position and she was unable to stop herself from making it worse.

‘I’m beginning to think that Paul may be right about you.’

‘What the hell has your brother got to do with it?’

‘He said that you were too old for me and too fond of other women.’

Keedy spluttered. ‘Then he can mind his own bloody business.’

‘Joe!’

‘I’m sorry to swear but I’m not having Paul saying things like that.’

‘But there’s a grain of truth in them. Before me, there were—’

‘That’s all in my past, Alice. Once I’d committed myself to you, no other women interested me.’

‘Until you met Odele, that is.’

Keedy had to rein in his temper. Conscious that they were being watched by Iris Goodliffe from a short distance yards away, he wanted to bring the argument to an end. In his desire to see Alice, he’d foolishly managed to give her a reason to be jealous. They both needed time apart to cool off.

‘I shouldn’t have come,’ he said, bluntly.

‘It would have been better if you hadn’t.’

‘I didn’t mean to upset you, Alice.’

‘Iris is waiting. I’ll have to go.’

‘Let’s not part on a sour note.’

‘You were the one who introduced it.’

‘That’s not true at all,’ he said, hissing the words at her. ‘I came here because I wanted to see you. I thought you’d be pleased. Obviously, I was wrong. And as for your brother,’ he added, eyes flashing, ‘you can tell him that I want a word with him. Just because he’s suffering from shell shock, it doesn’t mean that he can spread lies like that about me.’

Hurt and inflamed, Keedy marched off.

Paul Marmion had enjoyed his day with her. Mavis Tandy was a good listener and an interesting person in her own right. When it was time to part, he didn’t have to ask her if he could see her again because she put that question to him. She suggested that they might meet halfway between London and Gillingham so that neither had such a long journey. As she waited to wave him off at the bus stop, he reviewed the visit and decided that she really liked him now. It was only a matter of time, he hoped, before he’d replace Colin Fryatt in her affections and become her boyfriend with all the licensed pleasures that would mean. Meeting her had made such a difference to him. Paul had someone completely outside the family in whom he could confide. He’d told Mavis things that he’d never mention at home and she’d been both supportive and understanding. His only regret was that he couldn’t see her more clearly. Mavis was still very largely a fuzzy outline to him.

When the bus eventually came, he was sorry that he had to leave. There was, however, an unexpected thrill. At the very moment when he was about to step onto the vehicle, Mavis grabbed him by the shoulders and planted a kiss on his lips. The warm glow inside him lasted all the way home.

Before he even met him, Marmion was ready to dislike Godfrey Noonan intensely. Everything he’d heard about the agent was to his discredit. When he finally confronted the man, however, his aversion was tempered by curiosity. There was something oddly engaging about Noonan. He was a fleshy individual of middle years in a striking houndstooth check suit and a red, spotted tie that matched a florid complexion. His large, mobile eyes looked out from beneath a wholly unconvincing ginger wig. Seated in a swivel chair that creaked ominously every time he moved, he seemed to occupy over half of the office. Marmion was glad that his secretary had stepped into the adjoining room to give them privacy. Three people in the limited space would have produced serious overcrowding.

‘I gather that you went to Chingford today, sir,’ began Marmion.

‘That’s right, Inspector. Had I known that you wanted me, I could have presented myself to you there.’

‘What took you there, Mr Noonan?’

‘I had to visit a friend.’

‘May I know who it was?’

‘Is that absolutely necessary?’ asked Noonan.

‘I can’t force you to tell me.’

‘Then I certainly won’t do so. You’ve come about this wretched murder, haven’t you? Simon was a good friend.’

‘That’s not what I heard, sir.’

Noonan gave a hearty laugh. ‘Ah,’ he said, ‘you’re talking about the court case. I have no regrets about that. Simon was quite right to sue me. It was all the fault of my accountant, actually. I’m pleased to say that he’s no longer in my employ.’

‘You and Mr Wilder had an acrimonious parting, I gather.’

‘Balderdash!’ he exclaimed, slapping a thigh. ‘I’m never acrimonious.’

‘He ceased to be a client of yours.’

‘That was unfortunate but, in the circumstances, it was inevitable. I helped Simon through some very lean years, you know. It would have been nice to get a slice of his increasing fame.’

‘I believe that you represent Tom Atterbury.’

‘I represent lots of talented artistes,’ said Noonan, expansively, ‘and I have a long list of clients waiting for the chance to be one of God’s Chosen People. That’s what they call me, you see – I’m God.’

‘How did Mr Atterbury and Mr Wilder get along?’

‘They were friendly rivals, Inspector.’

‘As it happens, I met Mr Atterbury and he was far from friendly. When we asked him where he was on the night of the murder, he deliberately misled both my sergeant and me.’

Noonan eyes protruded. ‘You think that dear Tom is a
suspect
?’

‘Everyone who stands to gain from Mr Wilder’s death needs to be looked at, sir. That’s part of the reason that I came to see you.’

‘Well, you can take my name off the list immediately. I was not even in London. I was watching a play in Manchester. I can give you the name of the hotel where I spent that night, if you wish. In any case,’ he went on, jabbing his spotted tie, ‘what do I stand to gain from Simon’s death?’

‘You might get satisfaction – to put it no higher than that.’

‘I mourn the loss of any genius, Inspector, and that’s what he was,’

‘So why did you attempt to defraud him?’

‘I can’t be blamed for the errors of my accountant.’

‘You can be blamed for employing an incompetent in the first place.’

Noonan laughed. ‘How right you are, Inspector,’ he said, ‘but we all make mistakes when we try to judge someone’s character. For instance,
you
might be making one right now.’

‘Why do you think Mr Atterbury should not be suspected of murder?’

‘I know him too well.’

‘The neighbours used to say the same thing about Dr Crippen.’

‘Are you telling me that Tom Atterbury is about to poison his wife and run off with another woman?’ Noonan’s laugh was a guffaw this time. ‘Clearly, you haven’t met Naomi. She’s Beauty Incarnate. Tom and Naomi are destined to win the British Dance Championship this year.’

‘That’s a feat made easier by the withdrawal of the favourite.’

‘Tom and Naomi were the
real
favourites, Inspector. Take my word.’

‘I was told that the strongest challenge would come from Mr Redmond and his partner.’ Noonan wrinkled his nose. ‘The gentleman is not a client of yours, I fancy.’

‘He’s neither client nor friend. I detest the man. But he should definitely be listed as a suspect. Allan really
did
stand to gain from Simon’s murder.’

‘Yet, according to you, the champions who’ll definitely be crowned at the event are Mr and Mrs Atterbury. If Redmond wanted to improve his chances of success, surely he should have killed
them
instead.’

The comment was enough to silence Noonan and to wipe the flabby smile from his face. Marmion suddenly felt very unwelcome. He pressed the agent on the subject of Tom Atterbury but got very little new information out of him. When he shifted his attention to someone else, however, Marmion had more success.

‘I understand that you know Mrs Wilder very well,’ he said.

‘That was years ago, Inspector. We’ve drifted apart since then.’

‘Do you regret that?’

‘Deeply – Catherine is a lovely woman.’

‘Did you fall out when her husband took you to court?’

‘No,’ said Noonan, ‘it was before that. We had … differences of opinion.’

He went on to confirm some of the things that Marmion had gleaned from his visit to Gillian Hogg. As well as representing actors and dancers, Noonan had been a shrewd investor in productions at West End theatres. He could sense the winners and detect the stink of potential losers. Before she married Wilder, Catherine was another enthusiastic investor in forthcoming shows and actually appeared in some of them as a result. Between them, she and the agent had turned a sizeable profit.

‘Catherine felt that she was better off without me,’ said Noonan, tolerantly. ‘I had no quarrel with that. We’ve both made sound investments since, though I did warn her against buying that hall in Chingford.’

‘It’s been a Mecca for ballroom dancers.’

Noonan sniggered. ‘You won’t find much ballroom dancing in Mecca, I’m afraid. In the Middle East, they’re more likely to be doing war dances.’

‘You take my meaning, sir.’

‘I do, Inspector, and they did make the place pay well, I grant you that. But there were ways they should have taken of increasing their profits.’ He scratched his double chin. ‘Who put you on to me?’

‘It was my superintendent who first mentioned your name, sir.’

‘You’ve also had help from one of my enemies. That’s why you’re asking me these questions. Who was it – some useless actor I refused to handle? Or was it some rancorous little darling who claims that I put a hand on her thigh?’