Scandal at Six (Lois Meade Mystery) (5 page)

Eight

B
y the time evening came,
L
ois realised that
G
ran was not coming back.
S
he had left a delicious salmon salad for their supper, with a note saying she would see them at breakfast tomorrow.

“It’s not right, her being down there and us on our own in this big house,” said Lois. “After all, when we bought this place it was so’s it would have room for the kids and Mum. Look at us! Sitting here at one end of this great kitchen table.”

“So what do you suggest, me duck? Moving to a smaller house and selling this one? We’d get a decent price for it now I’ve done all the improvements. Or we could get a smaller table?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I shall get used to it. Let’s talk about something else. Did you get the eggs I asked you to collect from the shop?”

“Yep. Josie was there, and Gran came down to say hello. She looked very cheerful, and said she was expecting a friend for supper. Josie said that a smart-looking character had been into the shop, bringing fliers for the Tresham theatre company’s next performance in our village hall. He seemed interested in the flat, she said. Introduced himself as Justin something or other.”

“Ah, that chap who comes round every year with the troupe. I think he’s an actor, though probably not much of a one.”

Derek nodded. “I remember him. Quite a nice chap. Josie wondered if he might be a good one for the flat, if Gran decides against it. He would be a possible, locally based in the theatre.”

“He’s got one of those red Fiat 500s that Josie’s been on about.”

“Not much good for a family.”

“I don’t think she’s considering a family yet!”

“There’s a lot of them Fiats about now. Funny, but I looked down the street last night when it was almost dark, and saw one of ’em parked just down from the shop. I wondered if it was Matthew, and the police were economising with dinky little cars for plainclothes detectives! Mind you, the twin turbo ones can go like the wind.”

“Right. Well, Matthew has a dark-blue Toyota, nice and anonymous looking, so it wasn’t him.”

Derek yawned. “Getting late. It’s after midnight and time for bed, Lois, me duck. As your mum frequently says, tomorrow is another day.”

*

Gran’s friend had gone after supper, saying how nice it must be for her to have her own quarters, where she could entertain and do exactly what she liked, when she liked. Gran had agreed enthusiastically, but later began to feel strange. Not lonely, she told herself, but oddly alone. Something missing. Of course, it was Meade House and the family that were missing.

She shook herself, checked the locks on all the doors, put out the lights and went to bed. Sleep refused to come, and she sat up and put on the bedside lamp, then reached for her book. Maybe if she read for a while it would clear her mind.

It was approaching midnight on her little clock when she first heard a scraping noise. A moment’s panic had hit her, and she told herself not to be stupid. It was an old building, and full of mice and, as she knew only too well, rats. She had put down traps, but so far had caught nothing.

Now the scraping began again, and this time she heard a smothered sneeze coming from outside the door at the top of the stairs. She swallowed hard, and lifted the bedside phone. Derek could be down here in minutes, she reminded herself. But there was no dial tone, and she replaced the receiver with a shaky hand. Of course, they had forgotten about reconnecting the phone.

The noise had stopped, but after a few seconds, another new one started up. Shuffling footsteps on the stairs, and then a thump, as if someone had dropped something heavy.

Gran got out of bed and reached for the cricket bat underneath. She tiptoed through to the stairs door, and stationed herself beside it. Silence. The scraping had stopped, as had the shuffling steps. She put her ear to the door. No sounds at all. Then it occurred to her to look through the keyhole. She carefully slid out the key, and bent down to peer out. A dim light from the moon shone onto the stairs, and at first she could see nothing unusual. Then a shadow moved, and it looked like a man, or perhaps a boy, and it disappeared without a sound.

She turned back and crossed the room to look out into the street, but could see nothing. Then the sound of an engine firing, and a car passed underneath the window and rapidly disappeared out of sight.

What to do? Gran sat down heavily on a kitchen chair, and steadied herself. The phone was not working, and she had told Matthew he would not be needed. There was only one thing to do, and although it was well after midnight, she began to get dressed.

*

“Derek!” Lois was awakened by a loud banging on the door. “Derek! There’s someone outside knocking!”

“Don’t be daft, gel! Not at this time of night. Eh? What? I’ll go. It’s probably kids high on drugs or drink. I’ll give them what for!”

Derek struggled out of bed and hunted for his slippers. The knocking, meanwhile, continued, and then he heard a voice, a familiar voice, yelling his name. He reached the front door, and unlocked it. “I’m coming!” he shouted, and opened up, only to be confronted by a large cardboard box.

“Careful with this,” said Gran. “It’s got a bloody great spider inside, with a load of tiny baby spiders crawling round on its back.”

*

When all three were safely round the kitchen table drinking hot cocoa, they stared at the cardboard box sitting on the table in front of them. Gran had told the whole story, starting from when she heard the first noise to how she had stumbled over the box outside her door, lifted it up and looked inside. Then she had locked up and made her way home.

“Home?” said Lois, looking at her dishevelled mother. “I thought the flat was your home now?”

“Not anymore,” said Gran. “We’ll get everything back here tomorrow, and then advertise for a tenant. I’ve given it a go, and it hasn’t worked. That’s all there is to it, and I shall be glad if you don’t mention this evening to anyone else.”

“Our secret, Gran,” said Derek kindly, patting her hand. “You’re a brave lady, and we’re glad to have you back. Isn’t that right, Lois?”

“No more’n I would expect from my mum,” she said. “The thing that worries me is what are we going to do with this spider? Or should I say spiders?”

Gran picked up the box and took it to the back door. There she left the box, with a brick on top to secure it, and then turned to Lois. “Up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire,” she said. “Tomorrow’s another day.”

Nine

I
t was as if
G
ran had never thought of taking on the shop flat.
S
he was up with the lark as usual, and good smells of frying bacon floated up the stairs to
L
ois and
D
erek, as they drank an early morning cup of tea.

“So we don’t mention last night’s adventure to anyone?” said Lois. “We’ll have to take the spider back to the zoo—if that’s where it came from. I’ve looked it up on the internet, and it looks like a female wolf spider to me. Rather sweet, really, carrying its babies on its back. But it’s not sharing my house, so I’ll nip in with it first thing this morning. Then I’m calling in at the police station to see Cowgill. I’ll ring him in a minute, to make sure he’ll be there. This whole thing has got out of hand, and it’s got to be stopped. Spiders’ bites can be lethal, and God knows what’s coming next.”

Derek frowned and looked closely at her. “And is this going to be another ferretin’ case for Lois Meade? Be careful, me duck. I agree with you that it’s serious, but I’d rather the police handled it without your help.”

“Yes, well. Time to get up and be nice to Gran.”

*

Cowgill had arrived only shortly before Lois’s call came in.

“A wolf spider, did you say? Very alarming, I’d say. But I’ll have to check whether they’re lethal. Please be very careful. I’ll be here when you’ve finished at the zoo. Oh, and please bring the cardboard box back with you. Without the spider. Police request, if the zoo argues. Are you sure you wouldn’t like Matthew to collect the spider and return it to the zoo?”

“Quite sure,” said Lois. “It’s not just the spider, is it. There’s been the snake and a toad, possibly a rat, and a squashed frog. I want to have a good look around there, and talk to a few people. I’m sure you will be doing the same, but I’m going right now. See you later.”

Cowgill swallowed what he was about to say. She was very special to him, and he was going to repeat his warning. He took a deep breath, and tried to concentrate on the morning’s stack of papers. After a few minutes, he gave up, and asked his assistant, Chris, to get the Tresham Zoo on the phone, but first to come in and tell him what she knew about it.

“Zoos are not my cup of tea,” he said, as she appeared at his door. “But come in and tell me all.”

“We used to take my nephew and nieces there,” she said, sitting opposite Cowgill and opening notebook and pen. “It’s about a mile on the north road out of Tresham. A big mansion-type house, with land and gardens that are open to the public. The zoo is privately owned, and the owner, Robert Pettison, lives in the house. Cameroon Hall, it’s called, and he’s a bachelor. Lives on his own, and is a bit of a recluse, apparently. The zoo started with a few rare-breed sheep, but it’s grown to quite a size now, with all kinds of animals. Reptiles and insects are a specialty. They are open seven days a week, and do very well with locals as well as visitors from abroad. Pettison has made quite a name for himself, breeding rare species.”

“Well done, Chris. So is he on our books for any reason?”

“Robert Pettison has never to our knowledge broken the law. Regular inspections from vets, and all that. I remember it as clean and pleasant, and if wild animals must be locked up in cages, then it’s four-star accommodation. And lastly, there’s been a call from one of the girls at the zoo, reporting a lost spider.”

“Very good. Now, I’ll fill you in on the Farnden village shop case, and then I want you and Matthew Vickers—who knows all the circumstances already from his wife, Josie, who is the shopkeeper—to go along to the zoo and look around. Ask a few questions. Then report back.”

*

Lois drove down the road leading to the Tresham Zoo, keeping an eye on the cardboard box on the seat beside her. She noticed that a small hole had appeared in the corner of the lid, and she put her foot down on the accelerator. The last thing she needed was a female wolf spider and family running free in her car.

She was directed up the long drive to the house, and there was greeted at the entrance by the owner, Robert Pettison himself, tall and slightly stooping. He smiled a toothy smile, and thanked her for bringing back one of their prize exhibits. “We were so worried for Lucilla and her babies. We discovered she was gone this morning first thing, and alerted the police. So kind of you to bring her back. Handed her in at the gate, did you? That’s fine. Do come in and have a coffee and tell me how you found her. Perhaps you would like to take a look around her friends and relations before you leave?”

Lois gulped and said yes, that would be nice. And she certainly had time for a coffee. She followed him through a splendid portico at the front of the house and into a lofty drawing room, furnished with what Lois guessed were valuable antique pieces. He invited her to sit down, but while he went to organise coffee, she had a quick walk around the room, watched by steely-eyed portraits of, presumably, his ancestors. Or were they ancestral portraits by the yard? He sounded posh, but wacky, and she would not have said he had quite such illustrious-looking forebears.

“Here we are, then,” said Pettison. “Do you take cream in your coffee? Now, tell me all about Lucilla’s adventure.”

Lois described Gran’s encounter with the large and fecund spider, and asked if he had other similar interesting animals in his zoo. “I know you have snakes?” she said.

“Beautiful, sinuous creatures,” he said. “Oh yes. You must see them, too, if you have time. I will give you a personal tour. Snakes are my favourites, you know. Such elegant people!”

People? thought Lois. Looks like we’ve got a right one here. “Not so sure about elegant,” she said. “Are they lethal? That’s what I want to know.”

Pettison chuckled. “Of course they are, my dear,” he said. “That is their most interesting characteristic. Swift to move, swift to strike, and swift to vanish.”

“You may remember that we returned a cobra to your zoo a short while ago, and I’m sure you will agree that two visits to Long Farnden from your resident people is strange, to say the least?”

“Ah yes, the cobra. Splendid chap! We had the police round, but none of my staff could explain its escape.”

“If it did escape,” said Lois, adjusting her skirt in an attempt to redirect Pettison’s fixed gaze at her legs. “Or had it been stolen and placed where my daughter found it, in her shop storeroom?”

“Possible, but unlikely. All my staff are closely vetted, and would never do such a cruel thing to one of our people.”

“Animals, you must mean,” said Lois crossly. “Well, I must be getting on. If we find any more on our property, we shall be consulting our lawyers.”

“Oh, come now, my dear! Can you not regard it as a privilege to come across such rare specimens?”

“No, we can’t. And I can’t waste any more time this morning. I’ll have a brief look round, and see myself out. I expect you’ll be hearing from the police soon. Oh, and can I have the box back, please? The police want it.”

“Of course, my dear. I’ll get through to the gate and have it ready for you to collect.”

After she had gone, Pettison smiled to himself. A feisty young person. Just as he liked them. And Justin seemed to be handling the situation very well. It was a risk, of course, that he would somehow lose the specimens, or the shopgirl would turn them loose. But so far, so good. The Meades had been responsible about returning the snake and the spider. “Nevertheless,” he said aloud to one of his ancestors on the wall, “I shall be glad when nephew Justin is safely settled in their flat, and we can resume business as usual.”

Justin had been offered accommodation in his large mansion, but he had refused, saying he wanted to be away from the zoo premises. He was looking, he said, for a self-contained flat, with somewhere to keep the rare specimens he handled for Pettison. So when he heard about the flat over the shop, he was immediately interested. He had surreptitiously looked around the premises, and had seen a large shed at the back, which could be just the job. And he had devised a plan that would secure it for him.

*

Walking down the long drive to the zoo itself, Lois found her way in and had a quick look round, but could see no immediately obvious way any of the animals could have escaped. She had explained her appointment with Pettison on her way in, but now she could find no members of the staff to talk to, except for the same ticket woman at the gate, and she said they were not really open yet. All the keepers were in a meeting. She produced Lucilla’s box, now empty, and hoped Lois would call again.

Back in the sane world of the town, Lois parked her car and made for the police station, carrying the box. Cowgill was waiting for her in reception, and on taking one look at her face, told the sergeant on duty that he did not wish to be disturbed for at least an hour.

In his office, which overlooked the main street of Tresham, he drew up a chair for Lois and sat down behind his desk.

“You look explosive,” he said. “Is it safe to ask how you got on at the zoo?”

Lois banged the box down on his desk, and said, “The owner is stark, staring crazy, for a start. Have you met him? Mr Robert Pettison? He should never be in charge of a zoo full of dangerous animals! You have to do something, Cowgill.”

“We are already making preliminary enquiries, my dear Lois,” he said. “And don’t worry, we are very familiar with Pettison. Nutty as a fruitcake, as my chaps say. But he’s harmless. It’s all a performance. Eccentric toff who owns valuable animals. He is really a very astute operator, and his zoo is beyond reproach, according to inspection reports. Your encounters with the snake and now the spider are the first indications of anything wrong there.”

“He may be harmless,” said Lois bitterly, “but his animals definitely are not! Did you know he calls them his people?”

“No, I didn’t know that. But he has every right to do so, as far as we are concerned. Did you talk to any of his staff and look round the zoo?”

“Very briefly. Nobody around for a chat. In a meeting, supposedly, but I did wonder if Pettison had got word around to them not to talk to me. One thing, though, how did he know I was going to be there? I didn’t ring first, or anything like that, but he was waiting for me at the entrance to the house. Did your lot tell him?”

“Of course not, Lois. It was probably the woman on the gate.”

Lois sighed deeply, and subsided into her chair. “I suppose so,” she said. “I must say I’m seeing snakes and spiders round every corner. He’s really got me rattled.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll sort it all out very quickly. It’s got to be someone who’s around locally and found a way to get into the animal cages and pens without anyone knowing. And Derek’s changed the locks at the shop, did you say? Splendid. Leave it with me, but keep your eyes and ears open. And stay in touch.”