Chapter 24
A spray of gravel shot out from under the tyres of Greg’s grey Volvo. ‘Steady on, lad,’ said Oscar under his breath as they watched the car speed away, carrying the soon-to-be parents and the ready-packed birth bag. ‘Easy does it.’
The car disappeared up the driveway and around the bend. ‘That baby will be a while yet,’ said Oscar, knowledgeably. ‘A couple of contractions, so far apart? They could have stayed for a cup of tea.’
Julia thought this a bold assertion from a lawyer, as opposed to, say, an obstetrician, and a man at that.
He didn’t even have children of his own.
Oscar must have caught something in her look, because he said: ‘My brother has had two babies – well, he and his wife have, obviously. Her mostly. I was present for the first contraction for the first baby. It was hours before he arrived. Half a day! From my experience, Greg and Clara could have stayed for a cup of tea and a game of rummy.’
The women, one of whom – Julia – had herself produced a small human out of her very own body, stared at him.
After an awkward moment of silence, Biddy said irritably, ‘Well, you might well be right, but they were eager to get to the hospital. Probably for the best.’
‘I suppose I should be off,’ said Oscar. ‘Nothing I can do now, not without Greg here.’
Clara snorted, prompting him to add: ‘I need to meet with you and your brother, together, as soon as it can be arranged.’
‘And what about Emily?’ said Clara. ‘Where’s she?’
‘She went back to the Coach House,’ said Biddy. ‘It was all rather too much for her, I think.’
‘I’ll be in touch with her tomorrow to try to sort things out,’ said Oscar, walking over the gravel to his car.
He swung his briefcase onto the passenger seat, and got into the driver’s seat.
Clara headed back to the house without so much as a word to Biddy and Julia, leaving them standing on the driveway in front of the house.
‘I’ll be going too, Biddy,’ said Julia.
Biddy glanced back at the house to make sure that Clara was inside and well out of earshot, and said, ‘Can I talk to you quickly before you go?’
‘Of course.’
Biddy paused, taking a deep breath before she spoke. ‘The thing is, I think I might know why Ian was killed.’
At the mention of his death, they both glanced instinctively to the bushes beyond which his body had been found, mere yards from where they stood.
‘You do?’
‘I think so. Julia…’ Biddy looked down at her hands. ‘I didn’t tell the police the full story about Ian. I know it’s wrong, but I kept a key piece of information back. There’s something… a secret I promised to take to my grave…’
Julia knew to wait, and let the story unfold.
Biddy continued: ‘I couldn’t tell the police, or you, or anyone, but now… Well, everything’s changed, hasn’t it?’
Julia nodded, still silent.
‘I need to talk to someone about it. I feel I can tell you. And maybe you can help me decide what to do next.’
Biddy looked up, and met Julia’s eyes. She took a deep breath and blurted out, ‘Ian was Clarence Loxton’s biological child.’
‘Ian… the colonel’s son?’ Julia could hardly fathom it. She remembered what Biddy had previously said about Ian’s parentage. ‘You mean, the colonel was the father of your sister’s son?’
‘Yes. Not long after I started working here, my sister Ellen came to visit me and she caught the colonel’s eye.
Not surprising, a real beauty, she was – Ian got her looks,’ said Biddy.
She looked into the distance, as if picturing the past. ‘And I suppose her head was turned, briefly, by the attention of the big man of the manor. It was a short-lived fling, and quite wrong for both of them, and Ellen only realised she was pregnant a month or so later.’
‘Did she tell the colonel she was expecting?’
‘Not at first, but yes, she did after a few months. They agreed that they didn’t want any kind of relationship.
They had nothing in common. The colonel had just met the future Mrs Loxton, and he was anxious that she not find out.
No one else knew. Only me, the colonel and Ellen.
She wanted to keep the baby. The colonel paid towards the boy’s upkeep, but Ellen had to agree to keep the father’s identity a secret.
There was to be no relationship between him and Ian, or him and Ellen.
It was a simple, practical arrangement.’
‘Until Ellen died, and you took Ian in?’
‘Yes. That complicated matters a little, but not very much. Ian had no idea who his father was, and Clarence was eager to keep it that way. The two of us agreed that Ian could live with me, as long as the relationship was all kept under wraps. Very hush-hush. No one else knew. Not even Ian.’
This, Julia realised, explained why the colonel had been so concerned about Emily and Ian having a relationship. They were first cousins!
‘I only told Ian after the colonel was killed, just days before Ian himself died,’ said Biddy.
Julia considered the timing for a moment.
‘You told him because you wanted him to claim his inheritance?’ she asked.
Biddy looked surprised at how quickly Julia had caught on.
‘Yes. The colonel’s estate was to be split between his children.
He had three children, not two. Ian was even on the list of people who should attend the reading, so I think this was what Clarence wanted.
And I thought Ian should have his share.
I told Ian what the situation was, and that he was due a third of everything, but he wanted nothing to do with it.
He said he didn’t want the stress and the conflict with Greg and Clara.
He wanted to work in the garden, to do his job and get his salary.
It burned me up, to be honest. It was his due.
He’d as much right to it as they did. He’d never got anything other than that job from his biological father.
But he made me promise not to interfere, not to tell anyone else about their relationship, and now of course… ’ Biddy blinked away tears.
‘I’m so sorry for you, Biddy. It’s all so sad,’ said Julia.
‘It’s more than sad – it’s very suspicious.’
‘What do you mean, exactly?’ asked Julia.
Biddy hesitated, and then spoke quietly, even though they were alone in the driveway, with no one about.
‘Think about it,’ she said, her eyes darting around.
‘What if Greg – or Clara, for that matter – somehow knew or had found out that Ian was Clarence Loxton’s son?
The instructions in the will were for the entire estate to be divided equally between his children.
With Ian in the picture, they would have to split things three ways instead of in half.
Remember, this was before we knew that Marigold owned the manor house and the property.
Before we knew Emily would inherit. As far as they were aware, there were millions of pounds at stake.
Add to that, Ian would have been the oldest child – and Greg strongly believed that the oldest son inherits. ’
‘You’re saying one or both of the Loxton children might have killed Ian to protect their inheritance?’
Biddy seemed taken aback, hearing it stated so baldly. ‘I’m not saying they did it, for sure. I’m only saying it’s a possibility. I thought of it when they were arguing today. There’s definitely a motive.’
‘There is. You must tell the police your thoughts.’
‘I’ve no proof, of course. But I know the two of them well.
I’ve known them since they were little. They are not bad people, but they were spoiled as children, and became quite…
I suppose you would call them entitled. Greg especially so, as the eldest son – or so he thought, although of course Ian was the eldest son.
Greg has a high opinion of himself, and thinks the world owes him a living.
Unfortunately, it’s only got worse since he married Beth. ’
‘I caught a glimpse of that in how furious he was when he found out that Marigold – and then Emily – owned the house. He was almost unable to accept the reality of it. To understand that he would not get his way. But do you think he – or they – are capable of murder?’
‘I think…’ Biddy paused, as if considering her words.
‘I think with that much money at stake, someone might have been sufficiently tempted to do something terrible. I don’t think Clara has it in her; she’s a decent sort.
But Greg? Between you and me, I wouldn’t say it was completely out of the question. ’
‘What was his relationship with Ian like?’
‘They didn’t really have one. Ian was the hired help, as far as Greg was concerned. Invisible, unless you need them to do something.’
There was a hint of bitterness in her tone, and Julia wondered if she was describing her own experience of being overlooked and unseen, as well as Ian’s. But still, it was murder she was suggesting – a far cry from being rude to the staff.
‘It seems impossible,’ Julia said. ‘He’s just starting out in married life. They’ve got a baby on the way. Almost here, in fact. Leaving aside the moral issue, it’s just so risky. To face a life of imprisonment… It’s madness.’
‘People can justify anything. Maybe he thought of it as securing his family’s future, and protecting his unborn child’s inheritance.
Or that he was giving Beth the life she has dreamed of, the one he promised her.
She had her heart set on being lady of the manor; that was clear from the moment she walked in.
’ Biddy was not one to speak ill of anyone, but the way she pressed her lips expressed what she didn’t say.
Julia thought about this new line of enquiry.
She had considered Emily a suspect worth further investigation, but as far as motives went, the prospect of keeping an inheritance seemed more compelling than the settling of old hurts and resentments.
If one were to start ranking suspects based on their potential murderousness, Greg would be much higher up the list than Emily.
‘You have to tell the police. I can come with you to the police station if you’d like me to?’
‘Thank you, Julia. You’re right. I’ll go. And I would appreciate your company and support. I’ll get my handbag.’
While Biddy went in search of her bag, Julia thought about what she’d learnt.
Greg did have a compelling motive for killing Ian – he stood to gain a lot of money from it, and he would have believed that Ian might get the manor as oldest son.
But that still left the question of the colonel.
The assumption was, of course, that the same killer had killed both victims. And while Greg killing Ian was plausible, killing his own father seemed like a bridge too far.
Unless Greg was in financial trouble, and couldn’t wait to get his hands on his inheritance.
Julia thought back to the day of Clarence Loxton’s death. The family had gathered in the study, but not Greg. As far as she could recall, he hadn’t been there.
The fact that Greg hadn’t been there when Clarence died made him either more or less suspicious, she thought.
Either he’d been far away from Greystone Manor when his father died and thus could not have had anything to do with the death, or he’d killed his father and then made himself scarce so as to avoid being implicated.
Julia didn’t remember a discussion about his whereabouts at the time, but Detective Hayley Gibson would know.
Julia would have to ask her. This train of thought was interrupted by the sound of tyres on gravel, and she looked up in surprise to see a car pulling up in front of the house, belonging to none other than DI Hayley Gibson herself.
Hayley parked, and behind Julia, Biddy emerged from the front door with her lipstick on and her handbag over her shoulder.
‘Oh!’ she said, seeing the detective get out of the car. ‘Julia, did you…?’ She looked at her watch, knowing that it was impossible that Julia had summoned the detective so quickly, but unable to come up with another explanation.
‘No,’ said Julia. ‘I didn’t phone her; she just arrived.’
Hayley walked over to them, nodded to Biddy, and said to Julia, ‘I didn’t even know you were here. I came to speak to Emily. You know why.’
‘Oh, about that,’ Julia said sheepishly. ‘Um, I’m not sure that you need to speak to Emily. There have been some developments.’
‘Would you like to elaborate?’ The detective’s eyes narrowed as she spoke. It was an almost imperceptible movement, but one Julia had seen a few times when Hayley’s humour took a turn for the worse.
Nothing for it but to soldier on, thought Julia. ‘I think it’s best if Biddy tells you what she knows about the Loxton family. It might have a bearing on the murder cases.’
Hayley looked at Biddy expectantly.
‘I will leave you to it. I have to get home,’ said Julia, suddenly exhausted.
‘Okay,’ said Hayley.
‘Oh, before I go, Hayley, I had a thought. Where was Greg when his father died? He wasn’t at the house. He didn’t come in while I was there.’
‘DC Walter Farmer interviewed him. He was at a meeting. It was to do with the Berrywick Residents’ Association, I believe.’
Hayley had a memory like a steel trap. Nothing escaped.
She pulled out her notebook and flicked the pages back with one finger in a practised movement.
‘Yes, here we are. A meeting at the Swan. It was to do with investing the money raised from residents for a particular project. Greg was advising them. He apparently has expertise in this regard. Emily phoned him. He got back to the house at around four thirty.’ She spoke quickly, then turned to Biddy. ‘So, tell me…’
Julia saw herself out, while Biddy started to tell Hayley Gibson her suspicions, couching them in tentative terms – ‘I am not saying Greg killed Ian for certain, just that there was a real motive’ – leaving room for the possibility of her being wrong.
But it was also the case that she might be right.