Rattling the Bones (18 page)

In one way my curiosity was satisfied. The gold and pearl earrings were a theatrical touch. Jessica wanted to catch the eye when the curtain went up. Simon and Nikki constituted Jessica’s audience and now I was part of it.

I didn’t tell her of my own ambitions. Just as Duane had changed his mind about me once he knew I had a connection with the Duke Agency, so Jessica would begin to think about me the way I was now thinking about her, once she knew I’d had stage training.

Jessica had turned to Simon and Nikki. ‘You had just begun to tell me, shortly before Fran arrived, that some young man had been following Edna about. Would he be this person Gardner?’

She leaned back in the rickety armchair as she spoke and crossed her legs. She probably wasn’t as relaxed as she looked but she knew how to put it on. I took the opportunity to glance at her legs which, though slender, were exceptionally muscular. She was a dancer, all right.

Nikki indicated me. ‘Ask her. She knows about him. Neither Sim nor I has ever seen him.’

‘Yes, it was Gardner I saw tailing Edna,’ I said. ‘It was part of a job given to the agency he and his girlfriend run at Teddington.’

‘Ah . . .’ Jessica expelled a long soft breath. ‘Then perhaps it’s time I had a chat with Mr Gardner.’

I shook my head. ‘Sorry, you won’t be able to do that.’

‘His agency is located in Teddington? I can find it easily enough then,’ she returned.

‘You’ll find the house and you’ll find Lottie Forester, his partner. But unfortunately Duane can’t be interviewed by you or anyone else now. He’s . . . he met with a fatal accident.’

‘
What?
’ they all three exclaimed at once.

Jessica looked shocked, quite genuinely so, I’d have sworn to that. But just for the moment, then she rallied and murmured, ‘I’m very sorry to hear that.’

Simon’s reaction was more physical, jumping to his feet and waving his hands desolately, his mouth opening and closing as he sought the right way to ask what had happened.

Nikki wasn’t so scrupulous. ‘What happened to him?’ she demanded roughly. ‘How can he have a bloody accident
now
?’

She was a shrewd one, too.Yes, it’s shocking and sad that anyone can meet sudden death but in Duane’s case, why now?

‘Perhaps you’d better contact the police,’ I told her. ‘Inspector Janice Morgan is handling it. You can tell her I told you.’

Jessica had been sunk in thought. Despite her outer poise, she was still clearly shaken. She turned her attention to Nikki. ‘I’d better do as Fran suggests. I’ll go now and try and talk to this police inspector.’

She was rising to her feet and I said hastily, ‘Before you go, can I have a number to contact you? I don’t know if there will be any need but perhaps it would be a good idea.’

She sank down again and opened her expensive-looking handbag. ‘Yes, of course. You think of everything, Fran.’ (Ouch! Was that a dig at me?)

Jessica produced a notebook, scribbled on a leaf torn from it and handed it to me. ‘Thank you for your time and hospitality, Simon, and you, Nikki,’ she said. ‘But I need to look into this so I’ll go now, if you don’t mind. Nice to meet you, Fran.’

The pair of them hastened to escort her off the premises. I was left contemplating a half-drunk mug of coffee, representing the ‘hospitality’, which now stood abandoned on the floor by her chair, a thin scum forming on the cooling surface. From the other side of the closed door I could hear a confused murmur of voices, then the slam of the front door and returning footsteps. I quickly unfolded the slip of paper Jessica had given me. On it was written an outer London number and the name ‘J. Davis’. So she was Jessica Davis. As the door of the room reopened I pushed the piece of paper into my pocket to join Morgan’s card already nestling there. Nikki barged in closely followed by Simon. They looked over me in a joint attack.

‘What’s going on, Fran?’ Nikki demanded. ‘And what has it got to do with Edna?’

‘That’s what we all want to know,’ I pointed out.

‘How is it going to affect our work here at the hostel?’ asked Simon. ‘Our residents are sensitive people with great personal difficulties.’

‘To be perfectly honest with you,’ I told him, ‘I have no interest in your work here, only in Edna. Where is Edna?’

Simon waved a hand irritably towards the window. ‘Anywhere, somewhere . . . she’ll be back later.’

‘I certainly hope so,’ I told him. ‘Duane died in unexplained circumstances. The police are looking into it. Someone has to keep an eye on Edna. She’s not safe from someone’s bad intentions, someone who could be violent.’

‘But
no one
would hurt her!’ protested Simon. ‘She’s harmless and her mind, well, she lives in a world of her own. She wouldn’t understand what anyone wanted of her and she certainly wouldn’t understand she was in any danger. If you’re right, that is?’ He raised his eyebrows and his expression begged me to say I was exaggerating.

‘I don’t know if I’m right!’ I snapped at him. ‘I just want all precautions taken. Can’t you try and keep her in the house for a couple of days?’

‘No.’ Nikki shook her cropped head. ‘It’s impossible. Rain or shine, out she goes first thing in the morning. She’s a tough old bird. The only way you’d keep her in would be if you sedated her.’

‘You can’t do that!’ I cried in horror.

‘No, no, of course we can’t!’ Simon assured me. ‘It would need a doctor to say it was necessary and she would have to be removed to a psychiatric unit - we’re trying to keep her out of one of those places! That is the purpose of this hostel. You must have realised that all of our residents, or most of them, come to us with mental problems. We’re not a clinic, of course. We’re not any kind of institution. Our purpose is to provide safety and support. We leave it to professionals to do the rest. Look, Nikki and I will do our best. But really, you know, though I’m sure you’re sincere, I just
can’t
believe she’s in any danger.’ He glanced at his wristwatch. ‘It’s five o’clock. We have our supper here at six thirty. Nikki and I prepare it so we have to get started in our kitchen soon. Sandra helps,’ he added, ‘under supervision, of course.’

A kitchen can be a lethal place full of sharp implements offering loads of opportunities to anyone of a distressed state of mind. I hoped they kept a close eye on Sandra.

‘Edna will be back by suppertime,’ Nikki took up. ‘She might come back at any moment. Jessica was going to wait for her but, well, your news has well and truly put the cat among the pigeons.’

‘How long,’ I asked, meeting her gaze with a very direct stare of my own, ‘have you known that Ms Davis was seeking out Edna on behalf of this old fellow she’s pally with?’

‘We didn’t know anything about her until today,’ Nikki told me earnestly. ‘She arrived on our doorstep rather as you did. Simon and I consider ourselves good judges of character. We decided to trust you and we also decided to trust her. But we do expect our confidence in you both to be returned.’

‘I can’t speak for her,’ I said. ‘
I’ve
been absolutely straight with you both.’

‘Yes, yes,’ muttered Simon, not looking too impressed by my assurance. ‘Look, do you want to wait here until Edna comes in? Just to satisfy yourself she’s all right.’

I hesitated. I was tempted to take up the offer but supper was an hour and a half away and Edna might not return until a few minutes before it was served. That was an hour and a half in which I might be doing something useful.

‘I’ll leave it to you to get in touch with the cops, right, if Edna doesn’t turn up on time?’

They both nodded furiously.

Sandra had taken up her station on the front steps again. She gave no sign she recognised me as I edged past her and bid her goodbye.

Chapter Ten

There was no sign of Jessica Davis outside, which wasn’t surprising as she had had plenty of time to get clear of the hostel. Still, I was rather sorry as I’d hoped she might have lingered to see if I came out. It would have given her a chance of a private word with me. I would certainly have liked a further word with her without Simon and Nikki present, but perhaps the feeling wasn’t returned. She didn’t want me quizzing her.

At least I’d like to have seen what kind of car she drove away in and even got its number. I guessed there had been a car. She hadn’t looked ruffled enough to have battled her way there by public transport with the rest of us. A taxi could have brought her but she wouldn’t have picked up one easily in this quiet residential street on leaving the hostel. I set off briskly just in case I might spot her walking ahead of me. There was always a chance.

Looking for Jessica had made me careless of looking around for anyone else. I’d fallen into the same error when, intent on following Edna, I’d failed to spot Duane. Just to show I don’t learn by my mistakes, I jumped out of my skin when a shape moved out from behind a wall and a voice demanded hoarsely and urgently, ‘Has she gone?’

I looked round and down. Edna had materialised from someone’s patch of front garden, holding the householder’s cat in her arms. The cat appeared to have no objection. It lounged there, flicking its tail just occasionally, its amber eyes fixed on me with a contemptuous look. ‘See?’ it seemed to be saying. ‘Fine detective you are! You wanted to find Edna and you were just about to walk right by her!’

‘That woman!’ repeated Edna crossly when I didn’t reply at once. ‘Has she gone? The dressed-up one with the earrings.’

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘She left before me. How long have you been hiding there, Edna?’

‘Don’t know,’ said Edna promptly, looking down at the cat. The cat looked up at her and I swear they exchanged glances of complicity.

‘But you saw her arrive? That means you saw me arrive too?’

‘Mm,’ she mumbled.

‘But you didn’t see her leave?’

‘I was here,’ Edna gestured with her woolly-hatted head towards the dank little garden behind her. ‘I kept well down.’

‘Did she arrive in a car?’

‘Blue one!’ said Edna triumphantly.

I vaguely remembered seeing, as I’d arrived earlier, a blue car parked a little way down from the hostel facing the opposite direction from where I now stood with Edna. Jessica had probably driven off in it, continuing in that other direction and not passing Edna hiding behind her wall.

Edna looked away from the cat but her gaze didn’t engage mine. ‘Mutton dressed as lamb, my dear,’ she muttered. ‘I don’t hold with it.’

‘Do you mean me, Edna?’

Now she looked at me severely. ‘Don’t be silly, dear. That woman. What did she want?’

‘Do you know her, Edna?’ I asked, determined to get something out of her. ‘Have you seen her before?’

‘I see people all day long,’ said Edna. ‘What did a woman like that want visiting the hostel? They don’t have people like her there. And people who are there don’t have people like her visiting them. She wasn’t from the social.’

‘Her name,’ I said, ‘is Jessica Davis. That mean anything to you, Edna?’

‘Jessica . . .’ murmured Edna dreamily, stroking the cat. ‘I like that name. It’s a pretty name. Yes, Jessica, I like that.’ Her manner changed abruptly. ‘No, I don’t know her! How should I? I can’t be doing with people, only cats.’

‘Edna,’ I said carefully because she was so easily frightened off, ‘I’d like to talk to you seriously. You know me. You know I’m your friend, don’t you?’

Edna shuffled and looked sullen.

‘I don’t know what’s going on,’ I continued. ‘Do you?’

She shook her head but it didn’t necessarily mean a negative reply. She was probably just trying to shake the sound of my voice away.

‘The man who was following you, the one who wore a white cap,’ I touched my head. ‘You were afraid of him.’

Her eyes flickered up at me. I’d taken her full attention now.

‘You needn’t be afraid of him any longer,’ I said. ‘He won’t be following you any more.’

Edna set the cat down on the pavement. It shook itself and leapt up nimbly on to the wall.

‘Where’s he gone?’ Edna asked.

This was progress. She wasn’t denying Duane’s existence or that it had worried her.

‘He’s gone away,’ I said evasively. ‘He won’t be back.’

‘Is he dead?’ asked Edna in a conversational, casual way.