Hot on the Trail (18 page)

“No, but you think I did it, don’t you? Vera’s in jail, so now the suspicion falls on me.”

Marion started to become quite agitated. “Well, I didn’t do it. Why would I want the house? I have a house.”

“We have heard that it was your aunt’s house and that you expected to inherit it one day,” Jameson said, shocking Marion with his knowledge.

“Who told you that? They’re lying. It would have been nice to have it, but I wouldn’t try and kill somebody over it. I’ve done none of these things, none of them.”

“Calm down, Miss Carpenter, please. These questions are just routine. I suggest you have a nice cup of tea or something stronger and have a rest. We’ll take our leave of you for now.”

Marion walked with them to the door looking ill. Jameson was sure she was shaking as she opened the door.

Once out of earshot, Jameson spoke to his sergeant’

    “Well, she seemed guilty if ever I met anyone who was. Though she could just be the nervous type. Look, there’s Sarah Marshall leaving Eve’s. I must have a quick word with her.”

Jameson dashed out of Marion’s garden and caught Sarah before she got into her car.

“One other thing, Mrs. Marshall, was there any post when you got to Eve Masters’ house this morning/”

“Yes, there were a couple of letters on the doormat. I had a quick look at them as the postman is terrible. He keeps posting letters to the wrong houses. However, they were for Andrea so I picked them up and put them on the table by the front door.”

“Thanks a lot, Mars Marshall. G’day.”

Jameson turned back and walked over to Sergeant Duffy.

“Well, it looks like Marion was telling the truth about the letters, but of course she could have been very clever and used that as her alibi so to speak. It doesn’t mean she didn’t go inside the house as well. The same with Vera’s son. He could still have come over to the house last night meaning the whole family could have been in on it. They could have wanted to set Marion up so that we’d release Vera.”

“What’s the next move then, boss?”

“I’m not certain, not certain at all. We’ll wait and see if the fingerprints give any clues, but I’m pretty certain that whoever did this wore gloves.”

* * *

Eve was sitting on the floor sorting through a pile of old letters. Suddenly she burst into tears. David rushed over to comfort her.

“Oh David, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. Why can’t whoever’s doing this just stop?”

“I don’t know darling. They’re obviously desperate for this house.”

Eve wiped away her tears and then looked resolute.

“I’ve made up my mind. I’m selling it.”

“Eve, it’s not like you to give up.”

“David, you’ve wanted me to sell the house from the very beginning. I thought you’d be happy.”
“Well I am, but you’ve been so determined to keep it.”

“I’ve changed my mind. I can’t keep my eye on this house from Crete so it’s better that it goes.”

“Ok; if you’re sure.”

“I’m sad that it’s come to this, but I’m in no doubt that it has to be done.”

They were interrupted by a knock at the door and Eve jumped up. David thought she had renewed energy now that she had made up her mind what to do about the house.

It was Jameson at the door. After the usual greetings, he spoke quickly.

“I’ll be brief. Has Marion or Vera got keys to this house, Miss Masters?”

“I have no idea. I didn’t think to ask them as I was handed four sets of keys. I gave one to David, one to the kitchen people, which I’ve now got back and one to Sarah Marshall. There could have been more. Andrea could have given a set each to Marion and Vera. Why do you ask?”

“We’re considering the hauntings that supposedly took place in this house while Andrea was still alive. There are no reports of break-ins, so whoever did it, must have had a key.”

“Yes, of course,” Eve replied. ‘These locks really do need changing.”

“It would be advisable. Well, that’ll be all for now I think,” Jameson concluded.

“Wait a minute,” Eve stopped him. “Have you got any further in discovering who did this to my house, or does it all hang in the balance on who has a key?

“No, it doesn’t all depend on that, but it will help our case. We’re in the process of gathering quite a lot of information, Miss Masters.”

Eve nodded, but inside she was fuming. Why did Jameson have to be so shifty? He was just like all coppers. They never wanted to give anything away.

Once Jameson had gone, Eve went back to her job of sorting the house out. A little later she searched the internet for estate agents. She wanted to put the house on the market as soon as she could. Now she had made her decision, she wanted everything done as quickly as possible.  

Two days later, after Eve and David had mainly spent their time clearing out Andrea’s personal things from the house, but also managing to fit in a little sightseeing, Eve got a phone call from the estate agent, Ann Winters, informing her that a woman wanted to buy her house at the agreed price. Eve found it quite strange that the lady hadn’t even bothered to bargain nor had she wanted to view the property. Ann said she had been at Eve’s house putting the ‘for sale’ sign up when the woman turned up out of nowhere, asked the price and agreed to buy it straight away.

.    Alarm bells rang in Eve’s head.

“She didn’t, by any chance, come from the house next door?”

“Not as far as I know; well, put it this way, I didn’t see where she came from as I was busy putting up the sign. After we had spoken, she just walked off down the road.

Well, perhaps she didn’t want to let on where she lived, thought Eve

“Did she give you her name?” Eve asked.

“She called herself Regina Dobrowolska. Her parents must have been East European though she didn’t have any hint of an accent. She was probably born here in Australia.”

Well, if it was Marion as I believe it was, she wouldn’t give her real name, would she? Mind you, how she thinks she’s going to get away with buying a house with a false name I don’t know.

Eve decided she had to find out if it definitely was Marion who Ann had spoken to. She remembered that she had found some photos of Andrea with some of the other women from the street including Marion, so thought it a good idea to take them to the estate agency to show Ann.

“Are you going to be in the office for the next hour?” she asked Ann.

 “Yes I am. I should be here until about three.”

“Great. I’ll see you shortly,” Eve said and closed the call, leaving Ann wondering what on earth Eve wanted to see her about so quickly.

Eve went and hurriedly got dressed and redid her make-up. She was relieved that David wasn’t there and had gone to the gym. He had been feeling the effects of too many hotel and restaurant meals and had decided an hour a day in the gym was required to keep him in the shape he was.

Within fifteen minutes, Eve was ready. She grabbed a couple of the photos and went out to the hire car. She completely forgot to leave a note for David.

* * *

When Eve arrived at the estate agent’s office, Ann Winters was locked in conversation with a couple of clients. However, she still managed to acknowledge Eve. Still, Eve knew she shouldn’t be, but she was annoyed that Ann wasn’t free immediately. The old Eve was emerging; very impatient and desperate to know if it was Marion who had put an offer in for the house. She couldn’t imagine that it was somebody completely unknown to her. Who would buy a house at the exact price the seller wanted or without viewing it?

Luckily for Eve, Ann wasn’t engaged for too long and her customers soon left the office.

“Ann,” Eve spoke immediately after the other people left. “I have some photos here which I found in Andrea’s house. Well, my house now. Could you tell me if the woman who made the offer for the house is in any of them?”

Ann looked at the photos, studying them for a few moments before speaking.

“Yes, yes she is.”

“Can you tell me which one is her, please?”

“Of course. Here she is.”

 Eve gasped. “That’s Sarah Marshall, the actress, not Regina whatever you called her.”
“I’ve never heard of Sarah Marshall,” Ann said.

“Well, she does mainly theatre work.”

“Oh, I’m not much interested in the theatre.”

How can people not be interested in the theatre? Eve thought. It’s so varied; I would have thought there’s something to interest most people. However, that’s not what I’m worried about today; the only thing I’m bothered about is Sarah Marshall or whatever her name is.

“What do I do now?” Ann asked. “Do you want to accept the offer or not?”

“Do nothing for now please. If she rings you, say you can’t get in touch with me. There’s something very fishy going on here at the moment.”

“Very well,” Ann replied. “But keep in touch.”

Eve left the office feeling confused. What was she to do now? For a start, why did Sarah want the house? Was she getting it for herself or for Vera or Marion? Either of the two women could have put her up to this. It must have been one of them because it was either Vera or Marion who had poisoned her. Sarah wasn’t at Vera’s house when she ate the lamington; only Vera and Marion were. Eve was now faced with a dilemma. Should she go and confront Sarah or should she tell the police and leave it up to them?  She knew both David and Jameson would be angry if she took the law into her own hands yet again, but this might be her last chance. She’d have to give up sleuthing soon; she had promised David, but she needed to see this case out. 

* * *

As usual, vanity was Eve’s driving force. She couldn’t bear to let the police take the credit for capturing Sarah. However, she was a little worried this time. After her ordeal with Charles Sheffield she didn’t feel quite as invincible as she used to think she was when she had confronted the killers on Crete. Perhaps she should tell David where she was going; just to be on the safe side. However, she knew that he would try to dissuade her. She could of course be liberal with the truth; there was no need to tell him any more than the bare facts.

Eve got out her mobile and called him. When all she got was his answer phone, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was much easier to talk to a machine than to David. He now wouldn’t be able to try to stop her from doing what she fully intended to do.

“David, darling, it’s only me,” she said. “I’ve just found out that Sarah Marshall wants to buy my house. I’m finding this rather strange as she already lives across the road, so I’m going over to see her. I won’t be long. Love you.”

Eve started up the engine of her hire car wondering how she was going to start the conversation with Sarah, or should she call her Regina? It suddenly dawned on her that Sarah Marshall might be her stage name, so perhaps there wasn’t anything fishy about her calling herself Regina. Still, why would she want two houses?

Arriving at Sarah’s house, Eve saw that her car was in the driveway. She parked up and took a deep breath before getting out of the car. She remembered Jameson telling her not to interfere, and how many times had Dimitris Kastrinakis told her to keep her nose out of his cases. She had never taken any notice of Dimitris and look where that had got her. Still, she had always managed to get out of trouble, so she probably would be alright again. Anyway, Sarah was a tiny little thing and Eve was sure she could overpower her if need be.

Eve got out of the car and walked up to the front door. Within seconds of ringing the doorbell, Sarah answered and invited Eve in immediately.

“How lovely to see you again. Coffee?” Sarah asked.

“Please.” Eve replied.

Once they were settled and all the niceties were out of the way, Eve thought she had better broach the subject of her house.

“I’ve put the house up for sale, Sarah.”

“I know. I’ve seen the sign. I must admit I was very surprised: You were so adamant that you weren’t going to sell it. I’ll be sorry to see you go. I was hoping you’d come back to Perth now and again and we could become closer friends.”

“Why aren’t you telling me the truth, Sarah?”
“What do you mean, the truth about what? What makes you think I’m keeping something from you? We’re friends; I wouldn’t do anything like that.”

“We were friends, at least I thought we were; that is until I found out that you wanted to buy my house, Sarah, or is it Regina?”

All the blood drained from Sarah’s face and Eve wasn’t certain if she was frightened or if she was getting ready to attack her. Eve began to regret her decision to visit Sarah. Perhaps it would have been better telling the police what she knew rather than confronting Sarah with no back-up.

“I don’t know what to say to you,” Sarah mumbled. “How did you find out?”

“When the estate agent, Ann Winters, informed me that somebody wanted to buy my house at the asking price without viewing it, I became suspicious. Ann said the person just walked by the house when she was outside it and I immediately thought it was Marion. I had found some photos Andrea took of people down this street. I showed them to Ann, but instead of picking out Marion, she said you were the one who wanted to buy my house. What have you got to say?”

“It’s none of your business why I want the house,” Sarah said, turning defensive.

“Well, I don’t think I’ll sell it now. I’ve changed my mind.”

“You have to sell it, it’s imperative that you do.”

“I don’t have to do anything. It’s my house and I can do what I want with it. So, tell me, who put you up to this, Marion or Vera? I’m pretty certain you don’t want the house for yourself,” Eve said, getting up and starting to move towards the door, ready to make a quick exit as soon as possible. She felt she knew too much now and she certainly didn’t trust Sarah.

Eve’s instincts were right. As quick as lightening, Sarah lunged at Eve, knocking her over. Eve banged her arm against the coffee table and screamed with pain.

“Come on Eve, don’t give me that. I’m warning you not to do anything stupid. Pretending to be hurt won’t cut it with me.”

“I’m not pretending,” Eve replied, wincing with the pain. “I think I’ve broken my arm.”