Murder in Time (10 page)

‘Where were we? When I got back with Daphne, there were police everywhere. A different lot of police. Homicide, not Burglary. Lots of questions. Few answers. My parents had got home late, about half two. My mother had been tired, had gone straight into the house, leaving my father to put the car away. Mr Scott had met her in the hall and explained what had happened. She fell apart. She asked him to go up to her bedroom with her to see what the damage was. Fortunately, the gang hadn't made too much mess in her room. She and my father had separate rooms, by the way.

‘After Mr Scott had seen my mother settled, he returned downstairs and, while waiting for my father to come in, he fell asleep. He woke at six, decided he must have missed my father's return, but thought it odd that he hadn't been roused and that all the lights were still on. So he investigated. He found my father in the garage. Dead.'

‘The police thought one of the gang had come back, been challenged by your father, got into a fight, and that he'd got the worst of it?'

‘They had Ryan in custody already, so they knew it wasn't him. They went after Lenny … and, later on, after his supplier. Couldn't make anything stick. Eventually, they moved on to other cases, and we were left struggling to make sense of what had happened.'

He was quiet, looking out at the garden again. The sun had gone in, and the wind had picked up. Ellie wondered about putting the washing back out, but didn't offer to do so.

‘Mother was distraught. Bereft. She didn't know how to change a light bulb or read the gas meter. She had no idea how to get things replaced or repaired. My father's accounts were in a tangle. His will left everything to me provided I looked after my mother, so I had to take over his role in her life.'

‘At the age of eighteen?'

‘A rude awakening to reality. I had a permanent headache. Stress. Mother couldn't bear the idea of my leaving her alone for as much as a day. I was too weary … too confused … I dropped the idea of going to university that year. The police were in and out. There were court appearances. Insurance claims. Sam and I identified various members of the gang. We had to testify. Daphne made quite an impression in the witness box. It soothed my mother to have her stay over every weekend.

‘You'd think it might have turned me off humanity, but trying to understand the reasons why the gang had acted as they did, I began to realize what Vera had always been trying to tell me, about how the other half of the world lived. I learned about the gang's background. Our school had been able to pick and choose who they took. These lads were not from privileged backgrounds and their expectations were low. They were mostly from dysfunctional families with a history of drink or drugs. They'd drifted into petty crime for lack of anything better to do. They had few role models. I'd never been exposed to no-hopers with that sort of background before. It changed the way I thought about life.

‘The following September I enrolled at Imperial College to read sciences. By the time I got my degree, I wanted to help the poor creatures who'd wrecked my life. So I went on to teacher training and found that I was better suited to that than I'd expected.'

‘Your mother approved?'

‘No, but by that time she had a new set of friends to go about with, and I had grown a protective shell. Daphne and I ended up in bed together one night, and there was a wedding rather too hastily arranged for my mother's wishes, but there … we married in haste and repented at leisure.'

‘While Vera—'

‘I'd been completely taken in by her, hadn't I? I'd thought she was a virgin, waiting for a special occasion to sleep with me, but she didn't even wait to see if I was all right when the gang came, but had it off with whoever fancied her in the garden. That very evening! While I was trying to deal with the intruders and then with getting Daphne and Sam to the hospital …'

Ellie opened her mouth to speak, but he wasn't listening.

‘Apart from anything else, if she'd been going to entertain other boys, she should have taken precautions. I could have told her Abdi wouldn't take her seriously. Mrs Quicke, I really don't want to talk about this any more. Having to face up to what she was really like half killed me in the early days. I should have listened to my mother when she said Vera was trouble, but I thought I knew better. I believed in her.'

‘Who told you what happened?'

‘Raff. He was there, saw it all.' He shuddered. ‘I couldn't believe it at first. I rang her, but she wouldn't come to the phone. Ashamed, I suppose. Her father told me she didn't want to see me again. I was devastated. Couldn't believe it. But when Abdi confirmed that he, too … That was the final straw. I told myself it was fortunate I'd found out in time, that it would never have worked, her and me. Eventually, I decided to draw a line under the past, not allow myself to think about it any more.

‘It's been twelve long years since then, Mrs Quicke. We are not the same people. I honestly don't think the real killer can be found after all this time. I can't confirm that Vera had left long before my father was killed, so leave me out of it. And now, if you please, I have a pile of paperwork to do.'

‘One question. Which of your friends brought the date-rape drug to the party?'

‘What? What on earth are you talking about?'

‘Believe me, someone did.'

‘Really? Well, if anyone … I suppose one of Lenny's lot.'

‘It was someone who was hiding from Lenny's lot in the garden. Someone you'd invited to the party.'

‘Ridiculous. None of our crowd was into drugs.'

‘You said you knew drugs were being sold at the school gates. So which of your guests brought some to the party?'

He froze.

If she'd waved her hand in front of his face, he wouldn't have responded.

He knew.

A twitch of an eyebrow. No, he didn't know. But he'd guessed …?

His eyes narrowed. ‘I have no idea.' Deliberately.

‘You could find out?'

‘Are you trying to make out that Vera was drugged that night? She's not really claiming that, is she? Everyone knows she allowed several boys to pleasure her—'

‘I repeat, who fed you that story?'

‘Why, it's common knowledge. Raff said. Later, Gail confirmed it, and Abdi, of course. I met him at someone else's birthday party soon after. A black tie affair, rather different from mine. He boasted of how much Vera had enjoyed his attentions. Mind you, he ought to have helped her out when she had his baby, but—'

‘Abdi was a particular friend of yours?'

A stare. ‘Not particularly, no. But he wouldn't lie. Why would he?'

‘It was rape. Vera was very shaken when she got out of the house and took shelter in the changing hut by the pool with some of your other guests. Someone passed her a drink. The next thing she knew, she was gazing up at the stars, in pain and distress. She'd been raped. Yes, Abdi was one of those who took part in it. He says they were queuing up to enjoy her. He says she invited them to pleasure her. She says she knew nothing of it. Who would you believe?'

He didn't want to consider that. He'd convinced himself that Vera had behaved like a whore, and he'd learned to live with the idea. He didn't want to have that belief disturbed, because if he'd been wrong all this time …

A horrified stare. ‘No, no. Surely not. She reverted to type, that's all. I don't mean to sound like a snob but, as my mother said, she came from a group who traded their virginity in early. I'd failed to protect her at the party, and so she let herself go, abandoned herself to the excitement, the drink, did what other girls of her type did.'

‘As you've already pointed out, she hadn't taken any precautions before the party because she was waiting for a special date with you. She hadn't expected to be raped! She had fought hard for the opportunity to go to university. So why would she risk everything that night?'

He didn't want to believe her. He shrugged. ‘How can I tell? Yes, she'd told me she was a virgin, but it's obvious that was a lie. I was lucky to find out what she was really like before things got serious between us.'

‘You'd known her for years, and you really thought she would lie down for anyone?'

He didn't like that. Another shrug. ‘You say she was raped? She went to the police, I presume?'

‘Her father beat her and kept her in. He was too ashamed to let it be known that his daughter had been raped. And so was she. For that reason, he wouldn't bring the police into it.'

‘That's nonsense. Her father told me she never wanted to see me again.'

‘He lied, of course. He wanted the match as little as your mother did. Vera didn't realize she was pregnant for some time. When he found out, her father disowned her. Sold up, moved away, left her homeless and pregnant. When the baby was born and she realized whose it must be, she asked Abdi for help. He refused. She might have had an abortion. I think many girls might have done, in her position. But no, she kept the baby, worked long hours at anything she could find, mostly cleaning jobs, and brought the boy up herself. Now Abdi wants the boy because he can't sire another child. He's threatening to produce someone who saw her killing your father, unless she gives Mikey to him.'

A long, hard stare. He didn't want to believe it. ‘That's a good sob story, but—'

‘You need to check it out. Yes, do that. If it can be proved that Vera was out of it and could not have killed your father, it will at least get Abdi off her back.'

She watched him weigh up the options. His eyelids flickered. His mouth firmed. He produced an almost genuine smile. ‘What a fertile imagination she has, to be sure. It almost makes me angry to hear it. You don't really think one of my friends would have brought drugs to the party? And Abdi is a blackmailing villain? Mrs Quicke, really! No, no. You've been conned. Vera took a chance to have some fun, and it went wrong. Tough. But you can't expect me to … And as to what happened to my father, so long ago … Well, we can leave that to the police, can't we?'

He was angry. Angry with himself, or angry that someone was trying to upset his long-held view of the past? He held on to a veneer of politeness, but only just. He picked up the cheque she'd brought him and put it down again. He said, ‘Thanks for the cheque, it was most kind of you to think of us. Have you an umbrella? It looks as if it might rain again.'

He moved her towards the front door. She could feel his anger and, yes, his distress.

She stopped in the doorway. ‘Don't tear up that cheque, just because you're angry with me. It's not for you, but for your charity.'

‘As if I would.' Another social smile. ‘I know a fairy godmother when I meet one.'

Nicely put, meaning that he was in control of his temper in spite of her impertinent questions. Oh well. She said, ‘Thank you for the cup of tea.' And, ‘Yes, it does look like rain again, doesn't it?'

He said, ‘Not that it's any business of yours, but I'm seeing someone else at the moment.'

‘Someone
suitable
,
I assume?' She couldn't help it. She knew she'd sounded sarcastic.

‘Quite.' Showing his teeth.

She stepped out on to the path and heard the door shut behind her. She decided to catch the bus to the Avenue and walk home from there. She rather thought she'd meddled to no good purpose. But there … you had to try to help people, didn't you?

Dan was right. There was no point ripping open old wounds. Maybe Vera had gone with the flow that night and … No, she had not! Vera was genuine.

What a mess.

How had the gang known that there would be drugs at the house? There must be a link there, if only she could see it.

Well, if the gang had learned that the party was being held at a doctor's house …? Yes, but who would have told them? Perhaps Vera might have some ideas on the subject. Who else might know? This Dr Gail? And Jack the Lad … Silly name.

There were other people already waiting at the stop, so a bus might come along soon. Ellie tried to perch on a bench which was too high for her. Not for the first nor the hundredth time, she wished she were an inch or two taller. Had she her mobile phone with her? It was possible she'd left it … Ah, no. There it was. Switch on.

Ellie considered most modern technology a field too far, but today it would have been useful to have had one of those gadgets which gave you the phone book and a map of town and GPS – whatever that might be, though she'd heard it was very useful if you were lost – though of course she wasn't lost, sitting at the bus stop here in Perivale. However, it was no good wishing … and here she laughed at herself, because even if she'd bought one of those newfangled instruments, she wouldn't know how to use it.

An elderly woman next to Ellie leaned over. ‘Someone texted you, did they, dear? Sometimes I think those phones are more trouble than they're worth. I keep telling my granddaughter not to text me, but will she listen? The number of times she's told me how to do it, but what I say is, my fingers can't manage all that dancing around at my age.'

‘I'm with you. I was trying to find someone called Jack who sells guitars, and to make an appointment with a Dr Gail Something, but I haven't the phone numbers with me.'

‘Jack the Lad? Him that's by North Ealing Station? Sells guitars, all sorts and music and stuff that the youngsters like, though I've heard he has some proper musicians go there, too. My grandson almost lives there, wants to form a group and play dates in the pub when he's old enough. Shouldn't think he's good enough, myself, but what do I know about it?'

‘There really is someone called Jack the Lad?'

‘That's the name of the shop. He's a hippy type, know what I mean? Hair tied back and shoes down at the heel, though it's mostly sandals even if it is winter. But, Dr Gail? I don't know no Dr Gail. I'm with the surgery at the end here.' She indicated an elderly man using a stick who was inching along the pavement towards them. ‘Here's old Nick that lives two doors down from me. Nick, do you know where a Dr Gail Something hangs out? This lady needs to see her, urgent.'