Rogue in Porcelain (20 page)

Rona looked at him curiously. Of them all, Julia's death must surely affect him the most, yet he seemed no more upset than the rest of them. She wondered when and why he and Julia had divorced, and whether Nigel de Salis had had any part in it.

Having not expected to be able to eat, Rona found to her surprise that she was hungry. A great deal had happened since she and Finn had sat over scones together.

Cheese, biscuits and coffee followed the casserole. Every time there was a lull in the conversation, Rona's mind slid back to that scene in the enclosure, Julia's pale face and the blood on her blouse. The knowledge that she was not only dead, but had been murdered, was grotesque, unimaginable.

Finn said suddenly, ‘Rona, I meant to ask you; why did that policeman call you Miss Marple?'

Sally gave an amused laugh. ‘Did he really?'

‘You'd met him before?' Finn pressed.

‘Yes, in Buckford. I can't think what he's doing down here.'

‘But why Miss Marple?' Oliver asked.

‘Because,' Rona answered reluctantly, ‘I've – come across murders before.'

‘Murders?' Nick repeated. ‘In the plural? How many, for God's sake? You're not a crime reporter, are you?'

Rona shook her head. ‘They've mostly been in the past,' she defended herself.

‘Then why were the police involved?'

‘Because in the Buckford case, there'd been a miscarriage of justice.'

‘And you sorted it out?' Sally guessed. ‘Good for you!'

‘The police didn't appreciate it,' Rona said drily.

‘I can imagine!'

Finlay pushed back his chair. ‘Well, time's moving on,' he said. ‘I'd better be getting home. Many thanks, both of you, for taking us in at such short notice.' He turned to Rona. ‘Oliver will run you to the factory in the morning, to collect your car. I hope you manage to sleep OK.'

Stupidly, it hadn't occurred to her that he wouldn't also be staying the night. He'd been her rock for the past few hours, and she was reluctant to see him go.

‘I must be going, too,' Nick said.

Sally said gently, ‘Will you be all right? You're welcome to stay, if you'd like to.'

Nick bent and kissed her cheek. ‘Sweet of you, Sal, but I'm better in my own bed. And first thing in the morning, I'll have to go and tell the parents. God knows what they'll make of this.'

As though anxious not to be persuaded, he bid them all a brisk goodnight and left without further ceremony. The rest of them had followed him into the hall, and Sally was taking her leave of Finn when there were two simultaneous interruptions. A sudden wail came from above, and Sally, with a muttered apology, ran up the stairs to investigate. And in the same moment, the telephone in the kitchen started to ring.

Oliver said, ‘I'll be in touch, Finn,' and hurried to answer it.

Finlay looked down at Rona. ‘You'll be all right, won't you?'

‘I'll have to be,' she said.

‘If there's anything – oh, hell!' He pulled her suddenly against him and kissed her hard on the mouth. For a moment she clung to him, while unwelcome sensations surged through her. Then his arm dropped and she stepped back. For a long minute they looked at each other, both of them breathing heavily. Then Finn said abruptly, ‘Goodnight,' opened the door, and disappeared into the night.

Rona put out a hand to steady herself. Her heart was hammering and she closed her eyes, fighting for control.

‘That was Edward, wondering if there's any more news,' Oliver reported, coming back into the hall. ‘I told him he'd just missed Finn, so he said he'd try his mobile. Now, would you like a nightcap before you hit the stairs?'

Rona gave him a shaky smile. ‘I think I've had enough alcohol for one night, thank you,' she said, grateful that her voice sounded more or less normal.

‘About this dog of yours; he's made short work of the casserole Sally put down for him. Will he be all right in the kitchen overnight?'

‘Yes, certainly; he's not allowed upstairs at home. But perhaps he could be let out in the garden for a minute or two?'

‘Fine. I'll see to that – you look done in.'

‘Thanks, Oliver. It's very good of you and Sally to put me up like this.'

‘It's the least we can do, since we seem to have inflicted a family tragedy on you. Or ex-family, to be more accurate. Have you anything to help you to sleep?'

Rona shook her head. ‘Only exhaustion!' she said.

‘Let's hope that does the trick. Sally will bring you a cuppa when the bathroom's free, but as far as I'm concerned, there's no rush; the office is closed on Saturdays. You'll probably be wanting to get home, though?'

Rona nodded.

‘Well, Sal does the school run, and gets back about a quarter to nine; so if you can be down any time after eight thirty, that'll fit in nicely.'

‘The children go to school on Saturdays?' Rona asked, surprised.

‘Yes, poor little devils, just for the morning; they have Wednesday afternoons off, in lieu. Damned inconvenient if we want to go away for the weekend, but there you go.'

Rona wondered whether to go and see Gus, but decided against it. He might expect to be taken home. In any case, she wasn't sure how long her control would last, and needed to get to her room.

She had, in fact, just reached it when her mobile rang, and Max's voice said in her ear, ‘And what have you been up to, while my back's turned?'

Rona said on a gasp, ‘Oh, Max!' and burst into a storm of tears.

She didn't sleep, of course. At least, not until light was beginning to seep through the thin curtains. As she tossed and turned, her mind was divided between grief for Julia and the puzzles surrounding her death, and an obsessive replaying of those minutes in the hall with Finn. Hot with shame at her response, she could only hope it hadn't been apparent to him.

She was, finally, in a deep sleep when Sally tapped on the door, and came in to put a mug of tea on the bedside table. Rona started up, confused for a moment as to her whereabouts. Then it all came flooding back, and she gave a little gasp.

‘It's a quarter to eight,' Sally told her. ‘The bathroom's free, when you're ready, but have your tea first, while you come properly awake. I'm glad you managed to get at least some sleep.'

It occurred to Rona that in all probability, none of them had had much last night.

Max phoned again, just before she went downstairs.

‘How are you, darling? What kind of night did you have? I wish to God I could have been with you.'

‘Me too, but I survived. How soon will you be home?'

‘Before you, that's a promise. What time are you leaving?'

‘I've not had breakfast yet. Then I have to collect my car from the factory, but I should be back soon after ten.'

‘How's Gus? Did he survive the night without his precious basket?'

‘I've not seen him this morning, but I heard him bark a few minutes ago, when the post arrived.'

Max laughed. ‘OK. See you later, then. Lots of love in the meantime.'

‘You too,' she said.

With the phone still in her hand, she glanced at her watch. There was time to give Lindsey a quick call before she went down.

The phone was picked up at once. ‘Ro? Thank God. I was just about to call you.'

‘How's Mum?'

‘Very shocked, as you'd imagine. She keeps asking what kind of accident it was, and of course I don't know the answer. Are you going to enlighten me?'

‘Not at the moment, Linz.' She cut across her twin's indignation. ‘Listen, I have to go down to breakfast now, then as soon as I can I'll be on my way home. Max will be back by the time I get there, and we'll both come straight to Maple Drive. Hang on till then, there's a love. Give my love to Mum, too.'

‘Will do,' Lindsey said resignedly.

The three little girls were in the hall when Rona went down, dressed in their school uniform. Sally introduced them, but they all looked alike, and their names didn't register.

‘I'm just going to run them to school,' Sally said. ‘Oliver's in the kitchen and the coffee's on. I'll be back in ten minutes.'

Oliver stood up when she appeared, and she received an enthusiastic welcome from Gus. The morning paper was on the table, and, seeing her anxious glance, Oliver shook his head.

‘It's not made the nationals yet, thank God. It'll be in the evening paper, though, and they had it on the local news.'

‘What did they say?' Rona asked, dry-mouthed.

‘The bare minimum. That the body of a young woman had been discovered in the churchyard of St Barnabus last evening, but her name couldn't be released pending formal identification.'

‘Who'll do that?'

‘Nick, I suppose, poor devil. Did she – look very bad?'

‘No,' Rona answered with a catch in her voice, ‘she looked lovely. Just as though she was asleep.'

‘Thank God for that. Now, what can I get you? Cereal? Toast? Afraid we only run to a cooked breakfast on Sundays.'

Rona settled for toast, and Sally was back by the time it was ready for her. By unspoken consent, the murder wasn't referred to again, but it was still a relief when Oliver suggested they make a move. Rona repeated her thanks, and Sally gave her a quick hug.

‘When things get back to normal, I suppose you'll be wanting to interview me for your article?' she said.

‘I will, yes; I'll give you a call, if that's all right?'

Then she was in Oliver's car, with Gus in the back, and all she could do was wonder if Finlay would be waiting for her at the factory. Part of her longed to see him, part of her dreaded the prospect.

They turned in the gates, and Oliver drove straight to the main car park, where her car stood almost alone. There was no sign of Finn.

Oliver waited while Rona settled Gus in his accustomed place, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before she got in herself.

‘So sorry you were involved in all this,' he said. ‘I hope, now you've given your statement, you'll be left in peace. And on a lighter note, let me know when you want to see me about the article.'

‘I will, Oliver. And thank you again.'

With her heart beating uncomfortably fast, Rona drove out of the factory grounds. No one emerged from the office block to waylay her. No doubt Finlay felt that discretion was the better part of valour, and had wisely decided to put some time between their last meeting.

At the junction with the main road, Rona turned right, and thankfully settled back for the journey home to Marsborough.

Eleven

M
ax was waiting when, having garaged the car, Rona and Gus arrived at the house. He gathered her into his arms and held her tightly.

‘I do choose my moments to be away, don't I?' he said into her hair.

‘There was no way of foreseeing this.'

‘Have you any idea yet what happened?'

‘None. It's a complete mystery what she was doing in the cemetery, and Max – the most amazing thing – she used to be married to one of the Curzons.'

He frowned. ‘And she never mentioned it?'

‘No, though we talked about them quite a lot. And another thing; it seems she lived in Reigate. Remember? Where the mysterious handbag was found, with my name and address in it?'

‘Coincidence, do you think?'

‘I don't know, but the family kept asking how I met her, and it made me think. As I told you, she bumped into me, quite literally, in Guild Street. Suppose it wasn't an accident? Suppose she waited till I was approaching, then deliberately collided, as a means of getting to know me?'

‘But with all due respect, my darling, why should she want to?'

‘I've no idea, unless, in view of the secrecy about her marriage, it's tied up with the Curzons.'

‘But how would she know you'd any connection with them, or care if you had?'

Rona shrugged helplessly.

‘For that matter, how would she recognize you?'

‘She had this address; she could have waited for me to come out and followed me. Still, there's no point in going over everything twice; I promised Linz we'd go straight round to Mum's to fill them in, so we can talk it through then.'

‘We'd better leave Gus here, since he's not welcome at Maple Drive.'

Rona nodded. ‘It could be OK, now Mum's more amenable, but today's not the day to test it. A word of warning: at the moment, she thinks Julia's death was an accident, though I think Linz suspects it wasn't. I'm not looking forward to telling them.'

‘Come to that, I don't know much more myself. You weren't exactly coherent last night.'

‘No. Sorry.'

‘Heavens, there's no need to apologize. I defy anyone to be coherent, after what you'd just been through.'

And that, thought Rona painfully, was even more pertinent than he realized.

Avril and Lindsey were anxiously awaiting them, and Rona, seeing her mother's face, bitterly blamed herself for bringing Julia here.

‘What happened, Rona?' Avril burst out, as soon as they were in the house. ‘Were you with her? Did she suffer at all? It all sounded so vague.'

‘Let's sit down,' Max said calmly. ‘Then Rona can explain.'

They did so, Avril perching on the edge of her chair, hands clasped, eyes fixed on her daughter.

Rona said tentatively, ‘Have you had the radio on this morning?'

Her mother and sister stared at her in surprise. ‘No; why?'

‘It doesn't matter.' With a heavy heart, Rona embarked on her story. ‘To fill in the background, after Linz and I had lunch yesterday, I drove to Chilswood, to visit the museum at the pottery.'

Lindsey nodded impatiently.

‘I – found a letter there that might be very important.' Though it didn't seem so at the moment. ‘So I showed it to Finlay Curzon over a cup of tea, and he said he'd discuss it with the family. Then he suggested I might like to see their plot in the churchyard, with the graves of the people I'm researching.'