High Island Blues (14 page)

‘Was it age which made you decide to leave Boy Scout Wood in the middle of a fall?’

‘Rob told you about that, did he? He seemed to think I was mad but I’d promised Julia I wouldn’t be late.’

‘I think if I’d been there,’ George said, ‘ I’d have been tempted to stay.’

‘Would you? Well you’re not married to Julia.’ He seemed to regret the retort and smiled to turn it into a joke. ‘Rob caused rather a scene actually. He stood in the middle of the wood in the pouring rain and screamed like a maniac. I’d forgotten how mad he can be. He can’t understand why I stay with Julia. He thinks it’s her father’s money which keeps me with her.’

‘And is it?’

‘Perhaps. Partly.’ He was quite serious. ‘It means I can take cases which other lawyers wouldn’t touch with a barge pole. But it’s not just that. She didn’t get what she expected from the marriage either. She wanted someone ambitious and dynamic. I was a disappointment to her. It is important, isn’t it, to be kind? Or does that sound pompous? It probably does. Rob always said I had a tendency to be pompous.’

‘Where were Mick and Laurie when you two were rowing in Boy Scout Wood?’

‘Laurie left when it started to rain. I suppose she’d seen falls like that before.’

‘And Mick?’

‘I lost him when he went off on his own to look for a Blackburnian warbler.’

‘How did he seem to you that morning?’

‘I don’t think he had any premonition that someone would come up behind him and stick a chisel through his heart.’ Oliver stopped. ‘I’m sorry. That was crass. I think we’re all feeling the strain. He didn’t seem anxious or frightened but he did seem a bit low. Depressed even. All around us there was this buzz and he didn’t seem affected by it. But that was the way Mick was, George. He was never an exhibitionist like Rob. And then I wondered if all the talk about Devon had made him homesick. We’d bumped into a couple who come from there and he was remembering places he’d gone birding as a kid.’

‘Did he talk about them? His family?’

‘No. It was just an impression I had. He was preoccupied. That was all.’

‘After Rob had tried to persuade you to stay, when you were on your way out of the wood, did you meet anyone you recognized?’

‘Only those sisters. The ones everyone tries to avoid. The Lovegroves. I think they called out to me. There was probably a bird they wanted me to identify. I just put up my hood and pretended not to hear.’

So, George thought, his kindness didn’t extend to ageing spinsters.

‘Where was Julia when you got back to Oaklands?’

‘In our room. Waiting for me. Sulking, actually, because I was later than she’d expected.’

‘She hadn’t been out all morning?’

‘Definitely not. Her clothes were dry, George. She’s one suspect you can cross off your list.’

No, George thought. Not quite yet.

‘You and Julia had lunch together. Did you invite Laurie to join you? I take it that she had returned to Oaklands by then.’

‘You must be joking! Julia thinks Laurie’s the original scarlet woman. Besides, Laurie was in a huddle with Mary Ann and she didn’t even see us. It seemed a pretty heavy conversation and I wouldn’t have wanted to interrupt.’

‘In what way heavy? Acrimonious? Bad tempered?’

‘Come off it, George! I mean I haven’t known Mary Ann as an adult for very long, but can you imagine her losing her cool? It just looked as if they were in the middle of some serious negotiation.’

‘Business then?’

‘I don’t know. I didn’t try to overhear. Why don’t you ask one of them?’

He seemed amused and spoke as if he were humouring a child. George realized that Oliver irritated him. It wasn’t just his failure to take the investigation seriously. There was something of the martyr about him. He could understand Rob’s urge to yell at Oliver and tell him to take a hold on his life. It was probably not kindness which kept him with Julia but laziness and the English cowardice which disliked above all things the creation of a scene. But would he murder to prevent a fuss or a scandal? The notion seemed ridiculous.

Without speaking they turned and began to walk back to the car. A peregrine flew over the marsh and suddenly the air was clouded by startled birds, calling and wheeling above them. Then the falcon disappeared inland and the herons and egrets settled back on to the pools like snow flakes.

It was late morning and Oaklands was quiet. George found Mary Ann in the restaurant. She was walking between the tables, checking the place settings. Every now and then she stopped to straighten a napkin or remove a dead flower. He stood at the door and watched. He imagined that she did this every day. It had the feel of a ritual, a celebration of her achievement.

‘You like order,’ he said.

She smiled. ‘Above everything.’

‘Perhaps it’s a bad time to interrupt you.’

‘No. I’ve done. How can I help you?’ It was professional kindness. Even if she had hated the intrusion she wouldn’t have said.

‘Rob explained why I’m here?’

She nodded.

‘Can we talk?’

‘Of course. Let me make you tea. There’s a British shop in Houston where you can buy leaf tea but no one here appreciates it. I’d love to share some with you.’

‘We use tea-bags at home.’

‘Do you?’ There was an astonished pause and then she laughed.

‘Have you ever been to Britain?’

‘When I was a student I had a vacation job as a nanny. I’ve visited a few times since then.’

He hoped she would take him to her apartment. He was intrigued to see how she lived. He imagined somewhere cool and sparse. Instead she led him to her office. On a low table there was a kettle, and a tray with a teapot, caddy and strainer.

‘I understand that you and Laurie Brownscombe are relatives,’ he said.

‘Kind of. Distant. Her dad was my mom’s cousin. I think that was it. They were brought up in this house together when Mom’s grandmother had the place. I never met him. Mom didn’t approve. She always called him a drunk and a waster. He never could hold down a job. Not even then.’

‘Oaklands wasn’t a hotel at that time?’

‘Oh, it’s always been a hotel but it was pretty rundown. Mom took in boarders. Mostly old folks with a bit of money and no family. She loved the house and didn’t want to lose it but she didn’t have ambition.’

‘And you did.’

‘Sure. I could see its potential. I watched the people arriving every weekend to visit the sanctuaries, some of them in big, smart cars and I thought they might like a place to stay. An old-fashioned hotel with a bit of comfort and style. Perhaps it was having your friends turn up with Laurie all those years ago which gave me the idea. They seemed so exciting and I thought we could have people from all over the world stay with us.’

‘Why did Laurie bring the boys here if relationships between your families were as poor as you say?’

‘Mom felt sorry for her. She let her stay whenever things at home got too bad.’

‘You and Laurie must be very close then? Almost sisters?’

Mary Ann hesitated and he expected another glib, polite answer.

‘Laurie was older than me and she’d been allowed to run wild,’ she said at last. ‘We were never friends.’

‘Not even when she married and settled down?’

‘No.’

‘Why?’

His persistence unsettled her. She gave her full attention to her own version of the tea ceremony, pouring boiling water on to leaves, stirring and covering the top with a tea-cosy emblazoned with Beefeaters. Another purchase, George supposed, from the British shop. Then she gave an answer which even she must have realized meant nothing:

‘We were both too busy. We had our own lives to lead.’

George refused to leave it at that.

‘But I presume you met up from time to time. At family occasions?’

‘There’s not much family left now.’

‘She would have come to your mother’s funeral for example.’

‘Oh,’ Mary Ann said bitterly. ‘She wouldn’t have missed that for the world.’

George looked at her, expecting some explanation, but it was clear that she already regretted the outburst and she continued in a more conciliatory tone:

‘I did see Laurie and Mick occasionally. They came to the island sometimes in the spring if the weather looked good for migrants. If they were in the neighbourhood they would usually call.’ It was clear that she viewed these visits with little enthusiasm.

‘What were you and Laurie talking about on the day her husband died? You did have a discussion? She left Boy Scout Wood early to meet you.’

She had not expected the question, and was shocked by it.

‘Did Laurie tell you that?’

‘No.’

‘We were discussing business,’ she said.

‘What sort of business?’

‘I’m afraid that’s confidential, Mr Palmer-Jones. I’m sure you understand.’

‘I understand that a close friend is suspected of murder. Perhaps you’d be more prepared to discuss the matter with a detective.’

She faced him out for a moment, then she replied.

‘We have a lot of land at Oaklands. At the moment we feel that it’s wasted.’

‘You don’t plan to develop it?’ He was horrified.

She laughed, relieving some of the tension between them. ‘Not in the way you mean. But I see all the birders driving through town and paying to visit the Audubon sanctuaries. We couldn’t accommodate more overnight guests without building and altering the atmosphere of the hotel, but we could welcome day visitors. If we had something to offer them.’

‘A private nature reserve,’ he said. ‘In competition with Boy Scout and Smith Oaks.’

‘Not in competition. People would still visit the Audubon sanctuaries, but they’d come to us, too. We own a small area of established woodland. We’d plant more, perhaps create a pool. And all the time we’d have the birds in mind. I think it’s an exciting venture. Laurie thought so, too.’

‘You gave Brownscombe Associates the contract for planning your new nature reserve?’ He was surprised.

‘Let’s say we were in preliminary negotiations. I need advice about how to prepare the ground – and not just literally. I want to be sure it’s worth doing. It was Laurie’s idea to enter an Oaklands team in the Bolivar Birdathon. I’ve offered to host the reception which follows it. We’d hope to turn that into a tradition. It would all be good publicity.’ She paused. ‘Laurie did have some good ideas.’ This was said so grudgingly that it was hardly a compliment.

‘Who else knows about the plans?’

‘No one except Laurie, so far. I’d like Rob’s opinion but I’ve decided to keep the whole thing secret until I’ve cleared it with Houston Audubon. I think they’d approve – there’s a lot of pressure on the existing sanctuaries – but the scheme would never work without their cooperation. And I don’t want to start rumours. There are always rumours here in High Island. If news got out that I’m planning changes there’ll be talk of high-rise condominiums or a retirement village and my life would be a misery.’

‘Laurie didn’t mention this to me.’

There was a brief pause before she answered. ‘Of course not. I asked her to keep it confidential.’

‘Can you think of anyone who would be opposed to your plans? If they really understood what you intended?’

She shook her head. ‘Maybe a couple of old timers who’ve been here since my mother’s time and who don’t like change of any kind. But I don’t think they’d put up any formal objection. What are you saying Mr Palmer-Jones? You don’t believe my plans for a sanctuary at Oaklands can have anything to do with Mick’s murder?’

‘Probably not.’

But he thought the scheme was not as straightforward as Mary Ann pretended. She had been too reluctant to discuss it with him. And why had she asked Brownscombe Associates to advise her when there was clearly tension between her and Laurie? It seemed unlikely that she was acting simply out of a sense of family obligation.

‘I’d be glad if you don’t say anything about this until my plans are finalized,’ she said. ‘The publicity will be dependent on the announcement being a surprise.’

‘No, I won’t say anything.’

He wondered then if his judgement was wrong and he was making too much of the conversation between the cousins. They were probably two hard-headed businesswomen who put personal differences behind them to pursue the common goal of making money.

‘Did Laurie ever talk to you about the Wildlife Partnership?’ he asked. Mary Ann had admitted to taking trips in the UK, she had a Texan accent and to an adolescent like Jason, she might appear as glamorous. He thought there was no real possibility that she was behind the fraud – compared to running a business like Oaklands any profit would be negligible.

Mary Ann seemed surprised by the question but she answered without hesitation.

‘Laurie mentioned it at the meeting we had the day Mick died. She showed me some of the publicity material she’d devised. She thought we might consider something similar for the expansion of Oaklands. The idea of partnership, you know. Private enterprise and non-profit organizations working together for the future of Texas. I thought it would work.’

She began to pile the cups and saucers together on the tray. It was clear that she wanted him to go. He asked one last question because he could see that the practicalities of running a business fascinated her, and he was interested in the detail, too.

‘Tell me,’ he said. ‘How did you plan to pay the Brownscombes? By commission on the number of day passes sold for your sanctuary or one straight fee? I take it they weren’t acting as your consultants without charging.’

Her hands seemed to tighten in an involuntary movement and a teaspoon slipped from her grasp and clattered on to the tray. George looked at her, waiting for an explanation for the panic, but she controlled herself and only answered the question.

‘Well now, Mr Palmer-Jones, I don’t think that had been entirely decided.’

‘I remember him, you know.’

George was startled. He was standing in the lobby looking out into the garden, wondering if there would be time for a walk before lunch, thinking about what Mary Ann had told him. He thought he regretted the changes she was proposing. There surely
would
be changes – a bigger car-park, perhaps a visitor centre and coffee shop. It would be tastefully done, but would he enjoy seeing a night hawk flapping easily over the lawn at dusk if he had to share it with a crowd?