Model Murder (22 page)

“It’s different for me,” she said evasively. “I’m not married.”

Boulter was silent, but only for a moment. “It’s too late for good advice, Kate. I’ll tell you something, the way things are going I shan’t be married for much longer. Julie and I are pretty well all washed up.”

The arrival of the sandwiches ended the conversation. Thick-cut York ham with dill pickles, served with crisp saladings.

“Right,” said Kate, “back to work. First let’s concentrate on who killed Labrosse. It certainly wasn’t Berger. The only real suspects we’ve got are Kenway and Larkin.”

Boulter nodded. “It could have been the both of them together. Thieves falling out. Say they quarrelled with Labrosse? Given his background it’s likely he was trying to double-cross both of them in some way.”

“Kenway denies he ever met Larkin, and we haven’t a shred of evidence to suggest otherwise. That doesn’t rule it out, I agree, but it doesn’t seem very likely to me.”

“Larkin on his own, then. Him and Labrosse in a lover’s quarrel. Crime of passion.”

“Could be. But in that case where’s the connection between the two killings? Larkin was definitely at his gym club on the afternoon when Corinne was killed.” She pondered. “Kenway, now, he certainly had a motive for killing Corinne. Bitterness against his ex-wife, plus saving that big drain on his finances. But we have no good reason to think he’d kill Labrosse, have we, and anyway he doesn’t strike me as the violent type.”

Boulter took another large bite of ham sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. “We mustn’t forget Kenway’s wife. He admitted that she wormed out of him what was going on between him and Labrosse. Suppose she went to remonstrate with Labrosse for leading her husband astray, lost her temper and grabbed the first thing handy to hit him with? She could’ve, she’s a big woman.”

“She’d have had to walk in and out of the hotel without being noticed. Just possible, but she certainly couldn’t have
relied
on not being seen. Furthermore, a stranger to the hotel would have had a problem finding Labrosse’s room without asking and drawing attention. The same would apply to her husband, too—if it’s true he’d never come here to see Labrosse before. Get a couple of DC’s asking the staff and guests if they saw anybody answering the description of either of the Kenways wandering around.”

Boulter jotted down a note while Kate mused.

“I don’t think we’re on the right track, Tim. It doesn’t
feel
right. We’re overlooking something important. There has to be a connection—a direct connection—between those two killings.”

“Maybe they
aren’t
connected, guv. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”

Kate shook her head. “Can’t be. How about this? Suppose Labrosse knew the identity of Corinne’s killer so had to be silenced? A man like Labrosse might have been trying a spot of blackmail. On the other hand that theory would rule out Berger, who couldn’t have a more rock-solid alibi than being questioned by us at the time of the murder.”

“You’re just not giving up on Berger as Corinne’s killer, are you?”

“I’m not giving up on anyone. But Berger makes the best sense to me.”

“So what now, guv?” asked Boulter, his eye on the last remaining sandwich.

Kate pushed the plate in his direction. “Let’s have Larkin over here, and see what we can get out of him.”

Larkin was surlier than ever. Truculent. “The admiral is very upset by all this, miss. In his state of health he shouldn’t have to be left on his own. I’ve already told you everything I know. Every bloody thing. It’s not a bit of use keeping on asking me questions, you won’t learn anything new.”

“I’ve already learned something new, Mr. Larkin. A rather serious matter which you didn’t see fit to reveal to me yourself.”

He tried not to show it, but his attitude changed. His truculence was smothered by unease about what was coming.

“I didn’t hide anything from you.”

“No? How about being accessory to the plot to relieve Admiral Fortescue of a few valuable heirlooms? I wonder what he’s going to think of his trusted steward cheating him behind his back.

Larkin paled, even his thick lips losing colour. “I don’t know what the hell you’re on about.”

“Then let me spell it out. You let drop to Labrosse at some point in your relationship that a large number of antique pieces were stored away in the attics here. This gave Labrosse a bright idea. He got you to ‘borrow’ the admiral’s keys, and he went up to the attics and selected a few choice items. Then a crooked dealer was wheeled in to dispose of the goodies. The plan worked smoothly, so it was repeated, and then again. What percentage of the proceeds did Labrosse hand over to you, I wonder?”

“I didn’t get nothing from him. Whoever told you this ... it’s all lies. Nothing but bloody lies.”

Boulter snorted. “What did you do with the money, Larkin? Pay it into your bank account? Or just keep it under the mattress? We’re going to find out, you know, when we search your room.”

“You’ve got no right ...”

“Withholding your permission, are you? That won’t save you, Larkin. It just means you’ll have to sit here for however long it takes for us to get a search warrant.”

Under the sergeant’s stony gaze, Larkin gave way with an angry shrug. “Do what you bloody like, then. You won’t find nothing to prove what you’re trying to make out.”

Kate said, “We have specific evidence that you were involved in these thefts. It’s useless to go on acting the innocent.”

“I’m not acting. I haven’t done nothing. Why should you take someone else’s word against mine? Whatever Kenway might have told you, it’s a load of crap.”

“Did I mention Mr. Kenway’s name?”

That brought him up with a squeal of brakes. He said slowly, warily, “Course you did. You must’ve done. How else would I have known who you was talking about?”

“How, indeed? There’s only one way you could have known about the kind of criminal dealings going on between Labrosse and Kenway, and that’s by being an accessory to it. I get very impatient with people who persist in denying their guilt when it’s obvious the game is up.” Kate got to her feet. “I’ll leave you to think things over for a bit, while I go and have another talk with Admiral Fortescue.”

Larkin looked up at her in dismay. “He’s an old man, and he’s sick ... real bad. You’ve got no right to go worrying him on and on. It’s not bloody fair.”

“Christ, look who’s talking,” scoffed Boulter. “You reckon it was fair to rob the admiral, who’s been your employer for years and years? And you have the gall to make out you want to try and protect him from the police.”

“What he’s doing, Sergeant,” said Kate scathingly, “is trying to protect his own skin. He doesn’t want Admiral Fortescue to find out that his trusted steward is nothing but a common thief.”

“It’s not like that at all.” Larkin’s coarse-featured face was screwed up in helpless anger. “Honest to God, the poor old chap’s heart won’t stand any more shocks. Oh, I know you think I’m scum, but ...”

“You can say that again,” Boulter snapped back. This time Kate checked him with a tiny gesture of one finger. She wanted to let Larkin keep talking.

“The admiral’s a good old stick. He’s not like some of them high-and-mighty bastards in the Navy who act like you’re so much shit. All right, I’m not proud of what I did, but it didn’t amount to nothing much, not really. He kept back all the things he specially likes, to have in his own rooms. What’s up in the attics is just odds and ends that have been in the family longer than anyone can remember. They’ll never even be missed.” Larkin warmed to his theme, spitting out the words. “That bloody son of his in America, that bloody Dominic, he don’t give a bugger. Did he bother to come over to see his dad when the old boy had his operation? Oh, no. It was only because he had some business to do in London that Master Dominic was here for the opening of the hotel. I was watching, and I could see him sizing up the place for the cash it’ll fetch him one day. The admiral is always keeping on about saving Streatfield Park for the family. The Fortescue heritage, he calls it. But the minute he’s gone the whole estate will be flogged off and everything in it, you mark my words.”

“So you felt justified in filching some of the stuff in the attics?” Kate rested her hands on the desk and leaned forward. “Why then did you kill Labrosse, when you could have gone on and on with your nice little scheme? Did you think you could do better without him? Just you and Kenway working the racket together?”

“No, I never killed Yves. I never did.”

“Or was it,” she continued remorselessly, “that you discovered he was cheating you? Not giving you your fair cut of the proceeds?”

“I tell you I never killed him. How could I have? I was with the admiral when Yves was done in, just like he told you I was.”

“I’ll see what Admiral Fortescue has to say about that. He may remember things differently, in the light of your criminal activities.”

Larkin shot to his feet and clutched at Kate’s sleeve. Boulter instantly sprang forward and yanked him off.

“Keep your filthy hands to yourself, Larkin.”

“I ... I’m sorry, miss, I didn’t mean ...” He gulped. “But don’t you see, you’ll be upsetting the admiral for no reason. No reason at all. He’ll tell you just the same as he did before.”

“That remains to be seen.” Kate glanced at Boulter. “Mr. Larkin can mull things over before we ask him to make a formal statement. He might want to make a few changes to his story. Take him outside and get someone to keep an eye on him.”

* * * *

“Where’s Larkin?” the admiral asked in a querulous voice when he opened the door to Kate. “What have you done with him?”

“We’re keeping him over at the Incident Room, sir. I shall need to question him further, I’m afraid.”

“But why? What do you expect to learn from him? He knows nothing that he hasn’t already told you.”

“Shall we sit down?” she suggested. “There are one or two points I need you to clarify for me.”

He shuffled back to his usual armchair and sank down into it. He looked on the point of collapse, Kate thought with compassion. She’d treat him as gently as possible, but there was a limit to gentleness if she were to do her job properly.

“You and Larkin, sir, both stated that you were together in this suite for the whole of the period of time during which Labrosse was killed. I am now going to put the same question to you again, and I invite you to reconsider your answer. Between ten o’clock yesterday morning and a few minutes after eleven, can you vouch for Larkin’s presence here? Can you confirm that he didn’t at any time leave the suite, even for just a few minutes?”

A veined hand fluttered in protest. “Yes, yes, Chief Inspector. It is exactly as I told you before.”

“But he wasn’t actually in the same room with you for the whole of that time, was he?”

“Naturally not. But he was around. He wouldn’t leave the suite without my permission.”

“So what you are really saying,” she pressed, “is that you assume Larkin remained in the suite?”

“He
was
here, Chief Inspector.”

“How can you know that with certainty, sir, if he wasn’t within your sight all the while?”

“But ... he was in and out, attending to my needs. Several times I had occasion to ring for him, and he always came at once.”

“That still doesn’t rule out the possibility that he left the suite briefly.”

“But he had no reason to. He never does in the morning unless to accompany me.”

“He might have had a very powerful reason to leave the suite
yesterday
morning.”

The admiral’s skin seemed to shrink on his bones, giving him a skeletal appearance. “You can’t truly believe that Larkin had anything to do with ... with ...”

“Were you aware that Larkin had a close relationship with Labrosse?”

“I ... they knew one another, of course. They could scarcely not have done, both living here on the premises.”

“I mean rather more than that, sir. You do know that Larkin is homosexual?”

He frowned at her directness. “The man has been in my service for many years, Chief Inspector, so I could hardly be unaware of such a thing. But Larkin has always been discreet in his behaviour. I’ve never held the fact against him, and I see no reason why you should.”

“I’m not raising this as a moral issue, sir. But in a murder enquiry I have to take any kind of intimate relationship into account.”

He gestured a reluctant acknowledgment of this. “All the same, I cannot believe that Larkin and Labrosse were involved together.”

It all had to come out soon, not just the sexual aspect, but the thievery, too. So why not now?

“There was another connection between Larkin and Labrosse, sir. They were in league with a third person in the theft and sale of some of the valuable items that were stored in the attics here.”

“What?” The admiral was badly shaken, and Kate had qualms that she’d gone too far considering the dicky state of his heart. “I cannot believe this. It’s unthinkable. Not Larkin.”

“It’s quite true, I’m afraid. Larkin has admitted his involvement to me.”

There was sorrow mixed with his obvious anger. “I trusted that man. I have always thought of him as being completely loyal and honest.” He swept his two hands slowly back over his grey hair. “Does this mean that he’s been cheating me all these years?”

“My information only covers recent weeks, sir. It could be that Labrosse led him astray.”

“Labrosse? Yes, none of this would have happened, but for Labrosse. He should never have come here, he was obviously quite unfitted for a post of such responsibility.”

“You were not aware, I take it, that Yves Labrosse had a criminal record in Switzerland?”

The admiral looked at her mutely for a moment, shaking his head. “It doesn’t surprise me, in the light of events. But how could Corinne have missed discovering about his record when she was considering his appointment?”

“Miss Saxon must almost certainly have known about his criminal past,” Kate told him. “She and Labrosse knew one another over a period of many years. Since their childhood, in fact.”

“I see.” Another pause before he said, “It was Labrosse who killed Corinne, wasn’t it?”