Chapter 35
Lara thought that now was the time to tell the truth. She glanced at Abby – well, almost all of the truth. She turned to Sarah and Kate. ‘There’s something I need to tell you. Well, a few things.’
She told them about what had actually happened at the theatre and what had almost happened at the top of the stairs.
She explained about her trip to London to see her friend Fiona, plus Dr Patil’s strange behaviour in Jason Honeybourne’s shop and about him selling his inheritance.
And finally, drawing a deep breath, she related what Richard Porter had revealed about Mrs M. Or rather, Maggie Linton.
After she had finished speaking the room was silent for a long moment and then Sarah and Kate started talking at once.
Most of their attention was focused on Mrs M, and Kate pulled out her phone to search for articles about the trial.
There were several reports online, even though the trial had been many years ago.
At the time it seemed that this had been a big event at Winchester Crown Court.
She read these out to the other two, Abby sitting on the sofa arm beside her, reading over her shoulder.
‘Wow, it seems like she was initially sentenced to life for murder,’ Kate whispered, her face pale.
‘What happened?’ Sarah asked. ‘Surely she should still be in prison?’
Kate searched some more. ‘Ah, here it is.’ She was silent for some moments reading what had come up on her phone. ‘Yeah, that makes sense…’
‘What?’ Lara and Sarah asked.
After a while, Kate grunted and spoke, ‘There was a retrial. A women’s group campaigned on her behalf as there was clear evidence of long-term domestic abuse.
In the original trial it was the plank of wood with a nail in it that the prosecution had focused on, saying she had made a deadly weapon and planned it all.
But in the retrial it was argued that she had simply drugged his tea to stop the beatings.
Then when he found out what she was doing he attacked her and she grabbed the nearest thing to hand, which happened to be a bit of wood that was lying around.
’ Kate was nodding. ‘The retrial got the charge changed to manslaughter.’
The room was silent once more, apart from Pinky’s snoring.
‘It sounds like it was self-defence to me,’ Sarah concluded, echoing Kate and Lara’s thoughts.
‘How long did she serve?’ Lara asked.
‘It looks like twelve years,’ Kate said bleakly.
‘Poor Mrs M,’ Sarah said softly. ‘Do you think…’ she continued tentatively.
‘Not for a second,’ Kate burst out. ‘Mrs M is not a murderer and the last person she would kill would be someone who’s been so kind to her.’
Sarah shook her head. ‘No, I wasn’t going to say that,’ she said slowly. ‘I was just thinking back to our conversations about blackmail. I can’t see Lady Porter giving in to someone blackmailing her, but if they threatened to expose Mrs M…’ She left this hanging.
The three women looked at each other. Abby studied them carefully.
‘What do you think Pinky meant earlier?’ Kate suddenly asked.
‘About Julian?’ Sarah said.
‘Yep,’ Kate responded.
Both Lara and Sarah shrugged helplessly.
Sarah then said slowly, ‘I did try and get her to open up about Julian and Richard when we were drinking shots. But I don’t know.
She did eventually admit to seeing Julian, but I can’t work out if she and Julian are a serious thing or if she’s just got sucked in by him.
And as for Richard, she seemed really angry with him and then the next minute she was making excuses for him…
who knows!’ She now turned to Lara. ‘And you think Jason tried to push you down the stairs tonight?’ She sounded stunned.
Lara nodded. ‘But why?’ Sarah followed this quickly with, ‘Does he think you’re on to him?
Is he our murderer? I mean for what? The tea set and maybe other stuff he’s been stealing. ’
‘It might be worth a shedload of money,’ Kate suggested.
‘I don’t know,’ Sarah worried, ‘although,’ she continued, ‘Richard seemed to think he knew something about the money missing from his mother’s account, didn’t he?’ She sighed. ‘I just don’t know.’
Lara thought this summed up her own view too. She just didn’t know.
‘What stopped him?’ Sarah asked. ‘I mean you said you were up there all alone.’
Lara laughed. She hadn’t meant to but it was the sudden image that came to her mind of an old colonel instructing Becky about the gorillas of the Congo.
‘What?’ Kate and Sarah demanded, bemused.
‘Oh, nothing,’ Lara said lamely. ‘Just lucky I guess. I suddenly sat down on the top step, so he missed.’
‘Pathetic excuse,’ her Kindred Spirit observed.
‘Kate, did you find anything out from Joe?’ Lara asked, wanting to change the subject.
‘Well, yes and no,’ Kate replied. ‘I had a long chat with him about his family. They’re farmers and have lived around here for years. I know most of them as—’
‘You do their hair,’ Sarah, Lara and Abby finished for her.
Kate laughed. ‘Sure do. But the thing is, he looks like them. His dad and his brothers. I just don’t think there are any skeletons there.
’ Kate looked more thoughtful. ‘He did open up a bit about Lady P. She did talk to him about the will and he said sometimes she called him, “Reggie”, which he thought was really weird. He said he wasn’t after “the old girl’s” money, and I think I believe him. ’
‘You don’t sound completely sure,’ Lara prompted.
Kate held her hands out, palms open. ‘It was just some of the things he said when he was talking about his brothers. They’re all involved in farming and I think sometimes he feels like they look down on him for just being a gardener and woodman.
You can’t deny a big slug of money might make them sit up and take notice. ’
‘Ah, the problem of the younger son,’ Abby commented to no one in particular. ‘It was thus with Lady Foster’s youngest, Algernon. And he took matters into his own hands with a number of “shooting accidents”.’
Lara couldn’t help staring at her. ‘And?’
‘Eventually he inherited the estate. Until sadly he had to be shut away in an institution, oh, at a very young age. It appears one of his older brothers was so irritated by his untimely death he decided to haunt him.’
Lara laughed again.
‘Lara!’ Kate exclaimed. ‘What is it? What’s going on?’
Before Lara had the chance to answer. Or even come up with anything that would sound like a reasonable explanation, she was saved by Sarah, who exclaimed, ‘I’ve got it!’ and all attention was turned to her. Including Abby who sat down on the side of her chair.
‘I’ve got it,’ she repeated more mildly, smiling at them. ‘I knew I’d seen that china somewhere.’
‘What china?’ Kate asked.
‘You know, the china Lara’s been talking about. It’s been bugging me. What did you say it was?… Meissen?’ She darted a look at Lara. ‘You said it was an oriental design, with birds, is that right?’
‘Yeah,’ Lara confirmed.
‘And you said that Jason had a few bits of it? Teacup, plates, saucers?’
‘Yes.’ Lara and Kate were now staring fixedly back at Sarah.
She leant back in her chair and kicked off her red high heels, putting her feet up on the footstool. ‘I know exactly where Jason Honeybourne first got that china. And it was stolen from Lady Porter… well, taken anyway.’
‘Where?!’ Lara and Kate demanded.
‘It was on the windowsill outside the potting shed. Lady Porter, or someone, had used old cups to put pots of herbs in, and they were standing on plates and saucers. I was doing a lunch for her once and I couldn’t find the herbs I needed.
I’d looked in the herb bed but couldn’t find any tarragon, so I went exploring.
I’d wanted to look around the garden anyway.
And there they were, just sitting there, some old teacups, bowls and pots with herbs in.
Anyone could have helped themselves to them.
I bet Jason spotted that some were valuable and nicked them.
It’s just a shame there isn’t someone we can check this with.
But I’m sure I’m right,’ Sarah concluded, looking pleased with herself.
‘As to that, I’m perfectly certain that Thomas will be able to corroborate your statement,’ Abby supplied. ‘I do like it when you get an answer to a particularly tricky problem. It would also explain Mr Honeybourne trying to make a search of the house.’
Pinky’s snores were by now getting louder, so Lara suggested they carry her up into her spare room.
‘Do you think she might be frightened when she wakes up not knowing where she is?’ Lara worried.
‘Yep, you’d really worry about kidnappers who tuck you up in matching sheets and leave roses by your bedside,’ Kate said, grinning at Lara.
‘Anyway, while I think about it, why aren’t you back in Joe’s love shack comparing cuttings or whatever you gardening types do?’ Kate asked, as they settled once more by the fire, Kate and Sarah on the sofa, Lara in her favourite armchair.
‘How do you feel when you see Rod?’ Lara asked Kate instead of answering her question.
‘Rod?’ Kate said sighing contentedly. ‘Just gotta love a man in uniform,’ she smiled.
‘Unless he carries silk stockings in his breast pocket,’ Abby murmured.
‘Joe doesn’t do it for you then?’ Kate said, cottoning on.
‘Nope,’ Lara admitted, ‘I wish he did.’
‘Well, on consideration, I do think it is best not to form an attachment to a man who you are seriously considering might be a murderer,’ came a clear voice from the second armchair.
This time Lara turned her laugh into a cough.
‘Please tell me you’re not still lusting after Julian,’ Sarah begged.
‘Absolutely not,’ Lara reassured, and told them about losing her temper with him at the ball.
This led to requests for her to speak Arabic, which she duly did, offering them more drinks, the hospitality of her home and her undying friendship.
During this, Kate was unusually quiet. Abby was looking at her with what Lara now thought of as her ‘greyhound spotting a hare’ stare.
After a while of staring off into space, Kate sat up straighter, ‘I’ve got an idea,’ she declared.
They all looked at her and Abby smiled at Kate as if she were a prize pupil.
‘I don’t know about you two, but whatever else we do I think we need to get our hands on the china in Jason’s shop.
I think we should take it back. I just don’t think Jason should end up benefiting from it. That just seems wrong,’ Kate concluded.
‘What! You mean break in?’ Lara asked.
Kate grinned. ‘Well, not exactly…’