Chapter 8
Dorothy watched Leonard with narrow eyes as he paraded around the lawn, swinging his mallet as if he owned the place. It made her angry to think of him so alive and in so much splendour while her beloved Philip sat in an urn on her dressing table at home.
She hadn’t scattered the ashes yet, despite Miles and Sophie occasionally suggesting that she’d feel better if she did. The problem was that the only thing that would make her feel better was Leonard behind bars. Or dead, she wasn’t fussy which.
Once either of those had occurred then she did feel as if she might be able to move on and her plan was to take Philip to their most treasured holiday destination. They had honeymooned in Venice in 1956 as Dorothy was keen to see the island of Murano and the glass produced there. They’d taken the children when they were younger for a holiday too, so it was somewhere that meant something to all of them. And once Leonard was incarcerated or incinerated, she’d be taking Philip back there for the last time.
She hoped Gina was going to be successful, but there was a tug on her conscience. She’d railroaded Gina into looking, she knew. The woman wasn’t in a good place and Dorothy was taking advantage of her. But, if she was to find it, then surely it would make it all worthwhile. What a boost it would give Gina if she was victorious. Dorothy grimaced knowing she couldn’t take the moral high ground here and hating Leonard all the more for it.
Juliet came over and sat down next to her, a large glass of lemonade in her hand.
‘Want one?’ she asked and when Dorothy nodded, she hopped up and went to fetch one from the table that Harry had left in the shade.
It was as Juliet was returning that Dorothy noticed Leonard was walking towards the house. She pulled her handbag up from the ground onto her lap and rummaged for her phone. Leonard was at the door now and then he disappeared inside.
‘Oh God,’ she said, flustered, which made finding her phone all the harder.
‘Juliet, can you find my phone in my bag, please, quickly.’
‘Sure,’ Juliet said and pulled it out in seconds.
She handed it to Dorothy, who took it with fumbling fingers and pressed the button on the side, waiting for the screen to light up. It didn’t. She handed it back to Juliet.
‘Can you make this work?’
Juliet pressed the same button and then handed it back.
‘It’s dead, Granny. You forgot to charge it up. Do wanna borrow mine?’ she said holding out her phone with the most reluctant expression on her face.
‘No, thank you, I need to…’
Dorothy got up out of her seat and began to make her way to the door that Leonard had disappeared through, her stick scattering the gravel as she went.
‘Are you okay?’ asked Juliet.
‘Fine, just need a wee.’
‘Put your phone on charge while you’re in there.’
Dorothy walked as briskly across the hallway as she could, which wasn’t brisk at all, and poked her head around the dining room and the music room doorways to find absolutely no one. Please don’t let her be upstairs in Leonard’s bedroom, she thought as a sick dread swept through her for putting Gina in this position. She made it to the library and then heard Leonard’s voice.
‘Ah, Gina, there you are. Dorothy was getting rather worried you’d run off. Aren’t you supposed to be her companion? While you’re in here she’s out there, all alone.’
Leonard’s words came out like rapid fire making Dorothy jump. Goodness knows how it was for Gina. Dorothy hovered in the doorway and could just see the back of Leonard’s checked shirt.
‘Mr Price, you surprised me,’ said Gina’s voice from inside the room. ‘I came in for her hat and then managed to take the wrong door from your hallway. May I just take this opportunity to say what a beautiful house you have? And when I found this room I couldn’t help but stop and marvel at the ceiling. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it before. It’s wonderful.’
She sounded very natural, Dorothy thought, walking into the room.
‘Thank you, most kind,’ Leonard said.
‘Gina, did you find my hat?’ Dorothy said, making her presence known. Her puff was short from the exertion of getting here so quickly, but she took quick breaths and tried not to sound as if she’d been rushing.
‘Yes,’ she said, waving it in the air in a ridiculous gesture. ‘Managed to get lost too – typical me. I was just telling Leonard how much I admired his things.’
Yes, Dorothy thought, compliment him; he’ll love that.
‘This,’ Gina said, turning and pointing to a vase on the table next to her. ‘This is very nice.’
‘Yes, it’s um, from the Far East. Made in about the, um, 1700s,’ Leonard said.
‘Gosh, how interesting. Well, I think you have some lovely stuff,’ Gina said and gave him a patronising smile, which seemed to go over the top of his head.
‘It is a passion of mine,’ he said pompously. ‘I’ve been known to stop at nothing to get what I want. Woe betide the man who stands between me and my treasured possessions.’
Dorothy shrank at his words. How could he possibly say that after being responsible for Philip’s death?
‘We’d better get back outside, Dorothy,’ Gina said taking hold of Dorothy’s arm. ‘We’re missing all that lovely sunshine.’
‘I think that’s best,’ Leonard said, and continued to stand there staring at them as they left the room, Dorothy on incredibly wobbly legs.
‘I’m so sorry, Gina, I took my phone out to message you, but it just had a blank screen. I showed it quickly to Juliet, but she said it was dead.’
‘No harm done,’ Gina said slipping into the seat next to her. ‘I made all the right noises and he thinks I’m a bit of an idiot, I think, I hope. Really, he doesn’t know what he has. That supposed Far Eastern vase was a piece of Martinware made by the brothers in their Fulham studio. Not the 1700s, but rather the late 1800s. I think he may be the idiot.’
‘Do not underestimate him,’ Dorothy said, pointedly.
‘Are you trying to put me off? Because I’m teetering, to be honest. I’d like to help you, I really would, but…’
‘Then do, please do.’
‘The thing is, it’s been many years since I worked in that world. I’m not sure I know that much, any more.’
‘You know a lot more than me; in fact, you seem quite the professional. The fact that you’re a stranger is on your side too, and if I may say, because you’re an older woman, you could more easily slip around unnoticed. Before you get offended, tell me after the age of fifty if you became more invisible.’
‘I understand what you’re saying, but I’ve always been invisible,’ Gina said.
‘Well, that’s wonderful then – you’re a step ahead already,’ Dorothy said clapping her hands together.
Gina gave her a long look before she spoke again and it afforded Dorothy the time to reflect on what she’d just said. She realised she ought to tread a little more carefully.
‘I think you should talk to your family and get them to look. If they knew or even suspected, they would surely take on the task,’ Gina said.
‘Like I said last night, if Leonard got wind he would move the painting and that would be the end of it. I wouldn’t get another opportunity. We have the element of surprise at the moment and if my family were to start hunting, that would be over.’
Dorothy could see that Gina was contemplating her words and then she nodded.
‘What he said about no man getting in his way was very chilling,’ Gina said.
The two women stopped talking for a moment as Leonard reappeared, seemingly from thin air, or more likely a small servants’ door tucked away somewhere. He strode back across the lawn towards the group who had clearly had enough of the games and were beginning to take silly shots and argue.
‘What’s the plan for this afternoon?’ Gina asked Dorothy.
‘A walk around the lake and then lunch on the patio. I would strongly urge you to do the former, but I’ll be having a nap, and then, apparently Leonard has organised a game in his maze.’
‘Right,’ Gina said.
‘Ask questions, dig about a bit, but subtly, mind. They don’t know you – you can use that to your advantage. If I start asking questions out of the blue, they’ll be suspicious or think I’m losing my mind, and however well intended, it may get back to Leonard. And that’s another thing: as much as I want you to poke about, you need to try and stay away from him.’
‘Right,’ Gina said again. ‘So, I’m doing this, am I?’