Found Guilty at Five, page 21
Now she looked at her watch. She had a new regime. Few shoppers came in at lunchtime, and so she retreated to the stockroom at the back and made a coffee and a sandwich. Nine times out of ten, she would not be interrupted. Perhaps she would give her mother a call now, and catch up on the news. Things at Meade House seemed to be changing hourly, what with Jamie’s girlfriend disappearing and reappearing, and the new girl, Diana Smith from Last Resort House. Poor old Gran! But Gran seemed to thrive on it! She was a towny at heart, and loved having lots of people around.
She left the front of the shop with the door ajar, and settled down for a chat. Lois was at home, and pleased to hear from her, and Josie was unaware that a prowler was outside, peering in through the shop window. She heard the door bell, and looked through but could see no one. “Didn’t shut the shop door properly,” she said, and had a quick look round. Parsons had just managed to slip in like a snake and was hiding behind a long line of shelving. He waited until he heard her voice once more coming from the stockroom. This might be interesting, and he decided to stay stock-still and listen.
“No, it’s okay, Mum,” said Josie. “Nobody there. I think the wind must have shut the door and made the bell ring. Now, where were we? Oh yes, Akiko and Jamie. So you really think there’s nothing more than friendship there? When are they returning to work? It’s a bit much of Jamie to sponge on you and Dad. What? Akiko’s father, did you say? What about him? Oh, he’s arrived, has he. Well, I never thought Mrs. T-J would turn her house into a convalescent home!”
The bell rang again, and once more she looked through to the shop. It was empty.
“You still there, Mum? I think we’ve got a poltergeist. Nobody there! I might as well have another sandwich. So, see you later. Bye!”
Parsons, safely out and walking head down to the scrubby field, could hardly keep from laughing aloud. The old Nip was alive! And here in Farnden. He was a jammy bugger. Always fell on his feet, right from when he was a child soldier being nasty to prisoners of war.
He unwrapped a bar of chocolate, and made short work of it. Then, feeling better, he considered what he had to do next. Fancy old Nakky being in Farnden! He wondered briefly whether he should pay him a farewell visit. The old boy could have treated him a lot worse over the years. He had probably deserved much worse. But no time for that now. He had to get away, and he could do that at last with a reasonably clear conscience.
He found his way to the Waltonby road and began a quick run back over the fields. Then he halted. The idea of a last goodbye nagged at him. Maybe out in the garden at Stone House? You bet they’d have him out there taking the air for the good of his health.
“Then he and me could wrap it all up and say goodbye with no hard feelings,” he muttered, knowing as he said it that it was a really stupid idea. But it wouldn’t leave him. He considered how rotten he’d been to the old chap, leaving him in the car to die. But he hadn’t died! Perhaps a quick in and out of the garden, say sorry and vanish for good.
* * *
DEREK HAD SPENT THE MORNING ON THE ALLOTMENT, AND NOW turned up in Gran’s kitchen bearing a trug full of vegetables. He handed them to her, and she nodded absently.
“Thanks for the welcome!” he said. “What’s eating you, Gran? I was feeling rather pleased with myself, bringing you produce from the allotment, but perhaps I’ll just put it in the bin.”
“Sorry!” Gran replied, blowing him a kiss. “That all looks great. Nice to have something wholesome to talk about, instead of Lois’s basket of troubles. Or maybe I should say Akiko’s. She and Jamie are back from a walk, saying they want to know the minute Lois gets back.”
“Where is Lois, then?”
“I think she went round to have a quick word with Floss. She was talking to Josie for quite a while on the phone. She’s only just gone. I think one of her cleaners has gone off sick. She called out she’d only be a few minutes. She’ll be back shortly, I expect.”
Derek cupped his hand around his ear. “The duo is at it again, I hear,” he said. “Perhaps I’ll go and offer them a prelunch drink to wet their whistles. And while I’ve been gardening, Gran, I have come to a decision. This ridiculous case of the missing cello thing is going to be Lois’s last ferretin’ case.”
“Oh yeah? My money’s on Lois, I’m afraid. I’ve known her longer than you have. She is just like her father, and he never gave up.”
“Well, he must have, eventually, else you’d not be the Widow Weedon, would you?”
“Derek! Don’t be flippant about losing a loved one! Ah, there’s Lois back. Now go and get those drinks, and I’ll have a large gin and tonic. Please.”
FORTY-EIGHT
“NOW THEN, MR. NAKAMASA,” SAID MRS. TOLLERVEY-JONES. “It is a lovely day, but the weatherman forecasts rain this afternoon. Why don’t you let me set you up with some delicious homemade lemonade and the Times newspaper, under the shady apple tree in the garden? Doesn’t that sound a good idea?”
Nakamasa smiled at her. “You are so kind to me, Mrs. Tollervey-Jones. That does indeed sound a very pleasant way of spending an hour or two. Perhaps you might join me for an hour or so? Thank you, my dear.”
Mrs. T-J flushed. She could not remember the last time anyone had called her “my dear,” and she hurried off to set out garden chairs and a tray of drinks.
* * *
AFTER SHE HAD SETTLED NAKAMASA COMFORTABLY WITH THE Times and a crystal glass of clinking ice cubes in lemonade, Mrs. T-J said that she was nipping up to the shop for bread, and would be back very shortly. Would he be all right?
“Of course,” he had answered. “Don’t hurry, please. I might even have a doze while you are away.”
He closed his eyes, and thought about Akiko. Now that he was feeling so much better, he began to plan his return to Japan. The heart attack had given him a big scare, and he was now quite determined to retire permanently, full time. It would be necessary to go back soon to his principal offices and make all the necessary arrangements. His deputy was a distant relation, and a much younger man, efficient and practical, and could safely be trusted to continue the House of Nakamasa. Akiko’s financial position had been sewn up years ago and would be secure. She would be a very wealthy woman one day.
A blackbird landed on a branch above his head, and he remained perfectly still, listening to its heavenly song. If only Akiko would accompany him back to Japan, just for the few years he had left, he would be perfectly happy. Jamie Meade could visit as often as she liked, and he was suddenly struck with the most attractive thought that Mrs. T-J, too, might like to spend a holiday with them!
The blackbird flew off, and instead of its fruity song, Nakamasa heard an odd sound.
“Pssst! Mr. Nakamasa!”
He looked round to where the voice came from, but could see nobody. His heart quickened.
“Who is it? What are you doing here? This is private property. Please go away at once!”
“It’s me. Ez Parsons. I just want a quick word.”
Nakamasa’s head began to swim. “No, no! Go away, or I shall call the police!”
“Just wanted to say I’m sorry about the heart attack. I should never have left you, I know that now. Anyway, I’ll be going out of your life forever. Best of luck, sir.”
Nakamasa steadied himself. He peered into the shrubbery, but could see nothing. “Are you still there, Ez?” he said.
“Yeah, but I must go now.”
“Right. These are my last words to you. I shall give you thirty minutes to get away, and then I shall telephone the police. Now go.”
There was a soft rustle in the shrubbery and then silence. Not even the song of a bird to brighten the day. When Mrs. T-J returned, a puzzling sight awaited her. As she approached Nakamasa in the garden, she halted, not sure what to do. He was still sitting where she had left him, but now his eyes were closed and his face was wet with tears.
* * *
AS SOON AS AKIKO HEARD LOIS’S VOICE, SHE RUSHED TO FIND HER and tell her that they had seen Parsons. Lois wasted no time, but immediately telephoned Cowgill.
“Lois? Hello, my favourite sleuth. How are you this fine morning?”
“Cut it, Cowgill. This is very important. Akiko and Jamie have just seen Parsons in a field not far from the village. Well, Akiko saw him, but he’d run off before Jamie could give chase. It was Jeems, you see, down a rabbit hole, barking her head off, and Jamie didn’t hear Akiko shouting at him that she’d seen Parsons through a gap in the hedge, and it was too late by the time she reached Jamie to tell him.”
“Um, Lois, dear, would you mind taking a deep breath and starting again, slowly? It was a tiny bit scrambled for my old ears.”
“Don’t mess about, Cowgill! There’s no time to be lost. He’ll be far away from here, now he knows he’s been seen. Get the troops out at once! I’ll be in touch later.”
Lois cut off the call and thought angrily about Cowgill. “A tiny bit scrambled” indeed! The man didn’t deserve to have people ferretin’ for him for free. Still, he’d never ignored her reports in the past, and she was hopeful he would have men into the village in no time.
It would have been better if she hadn’t been round at Floss’s. Some time had been lost. She had come home as soon as Jamie rang, but even so, Parsons was unlikely to be still in Farnden. There was nothing more to be done now. Derek should be pleased, she thought wryly. She had handed over to Cowgill, and trusted in him.
* * *
DOWN AT STONE HOUSE, MRS. T-J’S FIRST PRIORITY HAD BEEN to insist that Nakamasa should come back into the house and stretch out on his bed to recover. He had a heart puffer for emergencies and had meekly employed it. “Orders!” Mrs. T-J had said.
Now he was sleeping peacefully, and she tiptoed out of his room and into her kitchen. There she made herself a cup of strong tea and sat down to think. He had been having difficulty speaking, so she had not insisted. But she had caught the words, “Nothing serious,” as she brought him indoors. She would have to wait to question him more closely.
What on earth could have happened? She had been in the shop for such a short time, and had not stayed to chat with anyone on the way back. The album was on the table, where he had sat earlier, putting in the last few photographs. He had begun to talk about returning to Japan, and Mrs. T-J wondered if he had fixed a date. Several times she had heard him on his mobile talking in what she assumed was Japanese.
They had chatted a lot recently, he and she, sitting comfortably in her pleasant drawing room, and he had been quite firm about retiring at once. He had said there would be much to do to organise everything, but once he had set it in motion, he could sit back and relax. Perhaps even return to England, she had suggested tentatively.
She pulled the album towards her and began idly turning over the pages. There he was, in full soldier kit, staring solemnly at the camera. It was an image so closely associated with wartime and all its horrors that she found it hard to resist the temptation to rip it out and destroy it forever. It was all so long ago, and seemed to have little to do with the courageous man asleep in her study.
Closing the album, she decided to forget it, if she could. But it was all very well for an elderly, wealthy widow, cushioned from the world by money and privilege, to forget it. Not so good for prisoners who had suffered extreme hardships, some of them still alive and with cruelly clear memories.
“Mildred, dear!”
Her heart leapt. It was Nakamasa, calling her, and using her name. How had he discovered it? She was always reluctant to admit to such an old-fashioned name, and tried to use Elizabeth, one of her others. Still, the way he’d said it, she didn’t mind at all.
She rushed into his bedroom, and was relieved to see him sitting up and smiling at her. “How do you feel now?” she asked. “Would you like me to send for an ambulance to check you in the hospital?”
“Goodness no, thank you. I am perfectly well, and my little machine is beating away with reassuring regularity! I would like to return to the garden now, if you would give me your arm.”
They walked out of the French window and across the lawn to the apple tree. Lois, coming round the corner of the house and seeing them arm in arm, was touched. How sweet! Could there possibly be a late romance for these two?
“Hello!” she called. “Can I have a word, Mrs. T-J?”
* * *
“SO HE WAS HERE IN THE VILLAGE?” MRS. T-J LOOKED ANXIOUSLY at Lois. The sighting of Parsons by Akiko had alarmed her, and she added sharply, “You’ve called the police, of course!”
Lois nodded. “Straightaway, natch. They will be on to him by now, I shouldn’t wonder. Inspector Cowgill may be semiretired, but he’s still the best cop in the county, so my son-in-law says. He’ll call me as soon as they’ve got him.”
“So no need for me . . .” Nakamasa muttered.
“What did you say, my dear?” asked Mrs. T-J.
“Nothing, nothing. Just an old man wandering,” he replied. “Now, Mrs. Meade, when is my daughter coming down to see me?”
FORTY-NINE
IN SOLOMON GRUNDY’S OFFICE, DIANA STOOD DEFIANTLY clutching her packed bags and refusing to sit down as told.
“I’m off now,” she said. “Tell me how much I owe you, and I’ll settle up. Then there’ll be no need for me to come back.”
Solomon smiled. “Why the hurry, my dear?” he said. “I hate to think you have been so unhappy here that you cannot bear to stay at least an hour or so to have a farewell lunch with us. Please put down your bags.”
Diana shook her head. “No, thanks,” she said, and continued, “and if you haven’t got my bill ready, I’ll let you have an address where you can send it. I think you can trust me to settle up.”
“Trust?” said Solomon. “I’m not so sure about that. I thought you would be trustworthy enough to consult me before you took a valuable musical instrument and gave it to a total stranger.”
“How do you know it was me?” she replied shortly.
“You were seen. It is my job to make sure nobody leaves here without being monitored. For their own safety, of course. Anyway, no harm done. Perhaps you will tell me now where it has gone, and I can retrieve it.”
“It is in the safe hands of a professional cellist. I am perfectly willing to stand surety for her.”
“But it is a commission, and now it is almost finished, it must be delivered soon to my client. Name, please, and address.”
“I don’t believe your client would mind if this person borrowed it for a few days. She is a well-known concert performer, but likes to keep her private life private.” Diana knew she was being unreasonable, but was suddenly fearful of this man, and had no intention of putting Akiko Nakamasa in danger. Danger? Did she really think he was dangerous? Maybe not, but she was unwilling to risk it.
Saying that she was sorry and could see his problem, she said she would go right now and retrieve it for him. She turned and made for the door. But when she tried to open it, she found it would not open.
“Oh, for God’s sake!” she shouted, suddenly afraid. “Cut the dramatics! Let me out at once!”
Solomon Grundy merely smiled. “Don’t worry, my dear. I have a messenger on hand who will fetch the cello for me,” he said. “Name and address?”
* * *
GRAN LOOKED UP FROM THE RAYBURN AS LOIS WALKED INTO the kitchen. “I don’t know what’s happened to your latest lame duck, Lois,” she said. “Didn’t she say she would be back for lunch?”
Derek was sitting at the table reading the sports pages. “I don’t know about you, gel,” he said. “I’m due to see old Bill in Tresham this afternoon. Promised him a couple o’ rabbits. We’d better start very soon. You can always keep a plate hot on the stove, can’t you?”
Lois frowned. She had had a brief word with Cowgill, and was aware that a police car had cruised through the village already. “But what can have happened to her?” she said. “I know she intended to spend no more than half an hour signing off at that place.”
“Can I make a suggestion?” Jamie had been sitting quietly in the corner with Jeems sleeping sweetly on his lap.
“Go on, then,” said Gran impatiently. “I know what I’m doing this afternoon. I’m going round to Nancy’s for a nice quiet cup of tea and a gossip.” She made a great production of turning down the Rayburn and moving the joint of beef to the warming oven.
“Why don’t we eat now,” Jamie suggested, “and then drive over to Waltonby this afternoon. It would take Akiko’s mind off seeing Parsons this morning. We could take Jeems round the cricket pitch and across the field. There’s a footpath there, and it backs on to Last Resort House.”
“You’re not suggesting storming the place if Diana has not come back, I hope?” Derek looked at his watch. “But anyway, I agree that we should eat.”
“What has happened to Diana?” Akiko had come into the kitchen as Derek was speaking, and looked around, puzzled at their solemn faces.
“Nothing, probably,” said Jamie. “Come and sit down. We are about to eat. Then after lunch we are going over to Waltonby, taking Jeems for a walk.”
But Akiko’s face fell. She said that she had really had enough walking with Jeems for one day, and would it be all right if she stayed behind and practised her cello. “And maybe have a little nap?” she added. “I will lock up everything and be quite safe.”
* * *
BACK IN THE SPINNEY, HIS WORLDLY GOODS ON HIS BACK LIKE A snail, Ezekiel had decided to keep on the move until dark. He had weighed instant flight in daylight against the safer cover of night and decided on the latter. Nakky would have the village crawling with policemen by now. A good thing he had had plenty of practice in dodging from place to place out of sight.
A cough caused him to freeze. Then he heard footsteps crackling through the underbrush. He vanished, but only a few yards away, waiting to locate the steps’ direction. A voice suddenly said his name, sharply and with authority. His heart sank. Grundy! Should he run, or might his old adversary be prepared to help?
