Murder in Time (12 page)

‘Good for her. So you ended up … where?'

‘Behind one of the hedges. Some of the gang followed us into the garden, but we lay down in the shadows and kept quiet. They didn't see us. Then, every time I tried to stand up, I got dizzy and had to sit down again. The wonder of it was that Caroline stuck by me. Eventually, I'd recovered enough to stand. I'd been to the house before and knew there was a side gate on to an alley at the bottom of the garden. Caroline hoicked my arm over her shoulder, and we set off down the path. And that's when we came across them, on the lawn beside the pool. Four of them, on their knees around Vera. And she wasn't moving.'

Silence. Ellie thought about it. ‘Were her eyes open?'

‘She looked asleep.'

‘Drugged.'

He shrugged. ‘I thought so.'

‘It was Dick Prentice who brought the drugs to the party, wasn't it?'

A swift glance away. ‘I don't know.' Was there the slightest emphasis on the word ‘know'? Probably.

Ellie said, ‘You tried to stop it?'

‘It was too late.' His eyes implored her to forgive him. ‘Abdi had just finished, and Raff was about to … But yes, I did try. I disentangled myself from Caroline and lurched over to them and said something stupid like, “You can't!” and, “Leave her alone!” They laughed. I could hardly stand upright, and I was telling them to … Caroline grabbed my arm. She said there was nothing we could do and got me going down the path. The door to the alley was open. She said it was no good knocking on doors asking for help at that time of night. She said probably someone else would have done it, but she'd ring the police when she got home.'

He bit his lip. ‘Poor Vera. She didn't deserve … Caroline got me home somehow, rang the bell to summon my father and handed me over. We could hear police sirens and knew help was on its way. We were so relieved. By that time I was about ready to pass out again. My father assumed I was legless from drink. He was not amused, but he helped me into bed. I was sick an hour later and, after that, every time I tried to stand upright I'd throw up again. My father rang for an ambulance and got me to hospital. And yes, I had concussion. I surfaced some days later to find that Dan was coping all right, but no one wanted to talk about what had happened. The papers said it was druggies who'd killed the doctor. Vera was nowhere to be seen, and I didn't ask.'

There was the source of his pain. He hadn't been able to stop the rape, he hadn't asked about Vera afterwards, and he hadn't gone to the police about it, either.

Ellie said, gentle-voiced, ‘You couldn't have done anything much at the time, could you? But because you didn't do anything then, you've lived with the feeling of guilt ever since. Is that right?'

A long, long sigh. ‘Yes, Mrs Quicke. I've lived with it ever since. I went to see Vera some time later. She was pregnant and desperate. Her father had sold the business, and she had nowhere to go. The council put her into a hostel, but soon after she got a one-bedroomed flat. I helped her move. It was pretty awful, but she'd cleaned it up nicely, so later, when a friend of my mother's was looking for someone to help her with the housework, I told Vera, and she got the job. I ought to have done more, but I didn't. For months at a time I've managed not to think about it, and now …' A helpless gesture.

‘You never talked to Dan about what happened to Vera? He thinks she was a willing participant in what went on.'

He flushed. ‘It seemed best to let him think that. She didn't want anything to do with him afterwards, got her father to tell him it was over. Dan was bitter about it at first but, as I told him, it wasn't as if their relationship had been going anywhere. She was never going to wait for him to train as a doctor, was she?'

Jack met Ellie's eye and flinched. He said, ‘You think I ought to have told him about her being raped? What good would that have done? If she'd decided not to see him again, he was better off not knowing. Look, this is just wasting time. I've decided not to give you a statement after all. And if you try to quote what I've said, I'll deny it.'

A disappointment. ‘I can try your Caroline.'

A grim smile. ‘I doubt if she'll help. She went off on holiday immediately after the party. And then to uni. I don't think I ever saw her after that night. Oh, in the distance, once. In the park. With someone else. I started going out with one of the nurses from the hospital. A year later we married, and now we have three children and a hefty mortgage. Story of my life.'

‘Not a bad story. Not a bad life. Better than Vera's.'

‘Yes … well. I'll see you out, shall I?'

Home again and, oh dear, news of fresh disasters. Rose met Ellie in the hall with a long face. ‘Mikey came back half an hour ago. Playing truant. Got one of his dumb fits on him. I gave him some lunch, and he pushed it aside. Wouldn't eat.'

Now that
was
serious.

Rose shook her head. ‘Then there was a courier, delivery special to Mikey, and it's one of those expensive jobs that's a phone and a computer and an I don't know what. He took it off to the Quiet Room and he's just sitting there, looking at it. So I told Thomas, and he was on the phone, so goodness knows if he took in what I said, and then I thought about phoning Vera, but she's got enough on her plate as it is, so I'm really glad you're back, even if you have forgotten to get the mince for tonight's supper.'

Ellie hadn't forgotten. She hadn't known it was needed. But there was no point worrying Rose about it. Rose was worried enough already. ‘I'll deal with it.'

Ellie shed her coat and went along the corridor to their Quiet Room. This was where Thomas did most of his praying. Sometimes Ellie joined him, but she was more likely to send up an arrow prayer in the middle of doing something else, rather than set aside definite times to be with God.

Mikey was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, an expensive iPad before him. Staring at it. He looked up when she opened the door, and then looked down again. Ellie understood that he was waiting for Thomas.

Fair enough. She went along to his study at the end of the corridor to fetch him. He was busy at his computer and on the phone but, when he saw her face, he brought the conversation to a close and put his programme on hold.

‘Mikey needs you. He's gone dumb and refused food.'

Thomas got up and stretched. ‘Not surprising, is it?'

‘Abdi has sent him an expensive present.'

‘Par for the course. Did your research turn up anything helpful?'

‘Complications. Neither Dan nor his friend Jack can or will give Vera an alibi. More work needed.'

He led the way to the Quiet Room and took his usual seat. Ellie sat beside him. Mikey held up the iPad for them to see, and then dropped it, quite deliberately, on to the floor.

‘Ah,' said Thomas. ‘Bribery and corruption, you think? Your father showing you that all the treasures of the world can be yours, if you only agree to his terms?'

Narrowed eyes. A nod.

‘The life he's offering could be an adventure. Fast cars, luxury hotels, no need to work for a living. Seventh heaven to some. You could go to Eton or Harrow. A first-class education with tutors.'

Another nod. Mikey had worked that out already.

‘Beware of pride,' said Thomas. ‘You know perfectly well that you have a good brain, and you understand that, with luck, you can get anywhere you wish by your own efforts. Pride, and a quick brain. You get both of those from your father.'

A face of stone.

‘Then there's integrity. Courage. An equable temper. Love. You get that from your mother. But you can't measure that in terms of iPads, can you?'

A dark look.

Rose inched into the room, holding a plate of sandwiches in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. ‘He ought to eat something. He didn't have any breakfast, either.'

Thomas pulled up a chair for her. ‘Join us, Rose. Put the food down. He'll eat when he's sorted this out. Mikey, some people think that a person has no choice in life but to copy the traits they've inherited from their parents. If that is so, then you are going to be a battleground between arrogance and love.'

Mikey started at the word ‘arrogance' and frowned.

‘But,' said Thomas, ‘there's another theory which says that character is formed by influences during upbringing. You've picked up all sorts of other influences since you were born. Your mother's love, of course. The teachers at your schools, who've encouraged or discouraged you. The friendships you've formed. The enemies you've made. The boys you've fought with. The kindness and the cruelty that you've observed along the way. And there you were, Mikey, with no father, conscious of having a good brain but unsure how to use it. You must have felt cramped, stifled. Then along came Edgar Pryce, your stepfather …'

The boy seemed to have stopped breathing, his eyes fixed on Thomas.

‘A gentle soul. I think we can say “a gentle
man
”. Some people wrote him off because he failed in business, ended up working as a caretaker in schools and died early of cancer. You and I know different, don't we? Edgar loved you and taught you a lot. You hadn't been exposed to an educated mind before. He opened doors for you, and for your mother. Edgar recognized your mother's good qualities. She in turn took heart from his encouragement, realizing she didn't need to stick to dead-end jobs, realizing it was not too late for her to get more education. To grow, to get a better job. She sorrowed when he died. As you did. Your mother has a big enough heart to love everyone, hasn't she? But then love doesn't weigh very heavily in the scales against a life of wealth … or does it?'

Another frown. Mikey had to think about that.

Thomas sighed. ‘Then there's the influences that you've come under in this house. Books that you've read. Computers offering you a glimpse of the big, wide world. A school where you're being stretched. You've got yourself into scrapes and out of them. Sometimes you've been headstrong and needed help getting back to safety, but you've learned something about yourself. You've learned that justice is important to you, and that it is worth fighting for. If you'd ducked those opportunities to fight for justice, then you'd have a little worm of self-disgust crawling around at the back of your mind. Am I overstating the case? No, I don't think so. You know the difference between right and wrong – which is one thing – and you are prepared to do something about it if you perceive injustice is at work – which is another. What else have you learned here, Mikey?'

Thomas leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his stomach.

Mikey looked at him with narrowed eyes.

Ellie wondered what he was seeing. Wisdom and comfort? Thomas had accepted Mikey's forays into the library, had helped him choose books to read, had answered his questions on everything from infant mortality to death ray guns. Thomas had taught Mikey that man could live by Christian principles. A good influence, yes. How much had Mikey understood about what had made Thomas the man he was?

Mikey turned his head to look at Ellie.

Ellie wondered what he saw when he looked at her. A bumbling sort, good-hearted but inclined to trip over her own two feet? Someone who meant well. She hoped. But not a great brain.

And Rose? What did he see when he looked at her? A tired little Jenny Wren of a woman, grey and sere, inclined to get into a muddle with the housekeeping and fall asleep with the television on in the evenings?

The door opened, and Vera stepped in. She didn't look quite as well-brushed as usual, and there were dark lines beneath her eyes. What did Mikey see when he looked at her?

He got to his feet in one swift movement and showed her the iPad. She said, ‘What is this? Where did you get …? Oh, did Abdi send it to you? But …'

He pushed it at her.

She recoiled. ‘No, I don't want it. I know I can't give you everything you want, but … What do you want me to do with it, Mikey?'

‘You could sell it, Vera,' said Rose. ‘On … what do you call it, eBay? Get yourself some decent clothes.'

Vera said, ‘I don't know … I've never used … Yes, I suppose I could ask someone at college to do it for me, but …'

Mikey snatched it back from Vera.

Vera gaped. ‘No, Mikey. You don't understand. You have to be eighteen and have a credit card—'

Mikey nodded and disappeared.

Thomas started to laugh. ‘I bet he knows your credit card numbers
and
how to sell stuff on eBay. You've done a good job bringing him up, Vera, but he's got a lot of his father in him, too. He still thinks that rules don't necessarily apply to him. And, in point of fact, we need people like him to question stupid rules.'

Ellie couldn't let that pass. ‘Having to be over eighteen for eBay is not a stupid rule though, is it?'

‘I take your point. But for people who know how to get round it …'

‘But it's
wrong
!'

Mikey made a lightning return to collect his food and drink. He gave Rose a high five and disappeared again.

‘At least he's recovered his appetite,' said Thomas. ‘And now, I must get back to work.'

Vera did a big session in their kitchen once a week, cooking and storing several meals in the freezer to be eaten when she or Ellie couldn't get to the shops or hadn't time to cook from scratch. Occasionally, Rose cooked a meal, but as often as not nowadays she'd produce two apple pies and no meat course, so Ellie and Vera worked round this to supplement or replace whatever was on offer.

Vera and Mikey were free to eat upstairs, but usually they would all eat round the big table in the kitchen. As they did this evening. Vera picked at her food. Understandable, if unlike her.