Birthdays Can Be Murder Read online

  Jenny nodded then noticed Mollern frown. ‘Something wrong, Sergeant?’

  Mollern scratched just below his left ear and sighed. ‘I just can’t get over the way Alicia Greer took a swallow of that drink, Miss Starling. Knowing that it was poisoned, I mean,’ he said at last, and Jenny nodded.

  ‘Yes, I know. It was such a desperate risk to take,’ she agreed, which made Mollineaux glanced at her quickly. So that’s what she meant, he thought with a smile, remembering the time they’d talked about the risks the killer had taken. He and Mollern were talking about the risk they thought the murderer must have taken to poison the wine. Only Jenny Starling was thinking about the risk Alicia had taken in taking a sip of the champagne she knew to contain paraquat.

  ‘I daresay she only took a tiny sip,’ Mollineaux said.

  ‘Yes,’ Jenny agreed. ‘Still, I wouldn’t have done it.’ She shuddered. ‘But what really had me worried was the why of it all. Why did she kill her brother? She was short of money, yes, but she was getting by. She could always squeeze what she wanted from either of her parents or Justin himself for that matter. They all indulged her. Cars, houses, jewels. No, there had to be a definite reason why Justin had to die. And I just couldn’t see what it was.’

  ‘But you finally figured it out,’ Mollern said quickly.

  ‘Hmm. Eventually,’ she agreed ruefully. ‘And it was Keith who told me, though I’m sure he didn’t mean to. When he pointed out so confidently that Alicia didn’t gamble, I had to think of another reason. And I was sure it still involved Trevor Watkins. That argument they had at the party was surely significant. As was the way Watkins came so meekly to stay at the house. I knew he would never have put himself in the middle of a murder investigation unless he was looking out for his own interests. But what were they? And then I heard Keith talking about having children, and I realized just how old-fashioned he really was. If you ignored his single aberration of falling in love with Alicia, what did you have left? A hard-working, simple man, who loved his wife and kids. And Alicia, who loved him devotedly, knew him better than anyone, of course.’

  ‘I still don’t see …’ Mollineaux began and Jenny smiled.

  ‘Neither did I, till I remembered something Martha had said. Yes, Martha, of all people.’ Jenny allowed herself a slight smile at the irony of it. ‘When she was talking to Vera about Trevor Watkins’ reputation, she mentioned the fact that he organized discreet abortions. Nowadays you need the consent of two doctors to have an abortion, and they’re mostly granted on the grounds of the woman’s mental health. But I’m sure if you ask around you’ll find that the Greers’ family doctor is the kind of man who disapproves of abortion, the kind who’d make it as hard as possible for his patients to go down that route. And Alicia would know how easily a rumour could start, especially in a small community like this. So she’d have to go to someone who could arrange it all very quietly. Two tame doctors who’d agree to it, and a clinic far, far away, was what she needed, and the deed was done. And so, suddenly, it all made sense. Keith Harding was hardly likely to have been Alicia’s first lover. Even in this day and age, birth control isn’t a hundred per cent effective all the time. Her mother and father, though appalled, would forgive her if Trevor Watkins had told them that their precious daughter had had an abortion, and Alicia and Watkins both knew it. But when Alicia fell in love with Keith, who had kids of his own, well, then it all changed. Alicia knew Keith would find the thought of abortion totally unacceptable. He might not be able to forgive her an abortion, and she simply wasn’t willing to take that chance.’

  ‘And so Watkins began to blackmail her,’ Mollineaux finished. ‘No doubt he realized right away who must have murdered Justin and why. With Justin dead, she was the main heir.’

  ‘Exactly,’ Jenny said. ‘I always knew that man was aware of much more than he was letting on.’

  ‘I can see why Alicia couldn’t risk Keith finding out about the abortion,’ Mollineaux agreed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. ‘But why not kill Watkins, instead of her own brother? It would have saved her from having to pay off blackmail for the rest of her life. And if, as you think, she really did love her brother after all, howbeit in a twisted sort of way, why not kill Watkins instead?’

  Jenny sighed. ‘I’m sure she would much have preferred to, Inspector, but how could she have managed it?’ She shrugged graphically. ‘Watkins is a crook, with an animal’s canniness. No doubt he was also surrounded by minders down in London. How could she kill him and get away with it? Buy a gun? From where, and how to shoot him without getting caught? She could hardly attack him with a knife in a dark alley. No. She needed an environment where she could stack the odds in her favour. After all, getting caught and spending her life locked away from Keith was definitely not in her plans. She couldn’t arrange to kill Watkins. But her brother Justin, right here on her home ground, and with all the time in the world to think out a plan, and be in a position to arrange it all, that was different. That was do-able.’

  Mollern, who’d listened to all this with growing horror, said gruffly, ‘So Justin Greer died just because he could be murdered?’

  Jenny heaved a heavy sigh and nodded. ‘That’s about the size of it, Sergeant. Alicia must have her darling Keith, and she must have money. With Justin gone, she believed she would have both.’

  ‘And so she might,’ Mollineaux said grimly, ‘if not for you. And to think, that day she came home from hospital, I actually wondered if she might be in some danger.’ Mollineaux smiled. ‘I just don’t know how to thank you, Miss Starling,’ he said softly, and held out his hand.

  ‘Please, call me Jenny,’ she said cheerfully.

  Mollineaux nodded and glanced at her van. ‘So, where are you off to now?’

  Jenny shrugged. ‘I’ve no idea. But I expect I’ll find somewhere to lay my head,’ she said airily.

  ‘You mean you don’t even know where you’re going next?’ Mollern asked, sounding appalled at the thought.

  ‘Not at the moment,’ she agreed. ‘I’ll stop at the first good hotel that comes along. There’s bound to be a job for a good cook somewhere. There aren’t that many of us about, you know,’ she informed them seriously.

  Saying a final goodbye, the two policemen walked over to their car, got in, and drove away. She gave them a wave as they went and was just about to get into her van when she paused, spying a grey form perched on the wall with its back to her. Very stealthily tip-toeing up, she used her height to peer over the stone wall. As she suspected, there was a nice soft lawn on the other side. Very quickly she planted a hand firmly on the cat’s unsuspecting back, and gave a firm but gentle push.

  The cat gave a muffled ‘meumphhh’ (not having either the time or the breath to let out a good bellowing miaow) and disappeared over the wall.

  Jenny Starling smiled, climbed into her van and drove off into the evening sunshine.

  Copyright

  © Joyce Cato 2010

  First published in Great Britain 2010

  This edition 2011

  ISBN 978 0 7090 9538 5 (epub)

  ISBN 978 0 7090 9539 2 (mobi)

  ISBN 978 0 7090 9540 8 (pdf)

  ISBN 978 0 7090 9073 1 (print)

  Robert Hale Limited

  Clerkenwell House

  Clerkenwell Green

  London EC1R 0HT

  www.halebooks.com

  The right of Joyce Cato to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

 

 

 
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