Murder In Bloom Part 25

'I've no f.u.c.king idea!' roared Lewis. 'She went upstairs, I asked Katie to make her a cup of tea and called you. When I went and knocked on her door, she'd gone.'

'With her bags?' said Fran.

'Yes.'

'So what happened between her arriving and you going upstairs?' 'I don't know, do I? Katie took her a cup of tea.' 'Have you asked Katie?' Lewis looked much struck. 'No,' he said. 'I've only just discovered it myself. Come on, let's ask her.' He turned on his heel and disappeared inside. Libby and Fran looked at each other and followed.

Katie was sitting at the kitchen table reading a magazine.

'I made the tea, yes,' she said, nodding towards the teapot beside the Aga. 'I thought she was coming down for it.' Her lips thinned. 'I've got enough to do without running after that little madam.'

Libby stifled a grin and Fran cleared her throat. 'Would you have seen her go past the window?' asked Fran.

'I wasn't looking.' Katie's eyes drifted down to her magazine.

'She could be here somewhere,' said Libby. 'Have you got a mobile number for her, Lewis?'

He shook his head. 'I suppose we could have a scout round.'

'How about the attic?' said Fran. Libby, Lewis and Katie all looked at her in surprise. 'I was thinking she might be up there looking for her pa.s.sport if it had been hidden.'

'Hidden?' said Katie. 'Why should it have been hidden?'

'We that is, the police think Tony West hid her original doc.u.ments when he gave her the false ones and they might be here,' said Fran.

'Why should they be?' Katie was looking belligerent now.

'He knew this place. And they obviously weren't at his London place,' said Libby.

'Why do you say that?'

'It had been ransacked when his body was found.'

Katie looked down at her magazine. 'So whoever killed him might have found them.'

'Well, yes,' said Libby, looking at Fran, startled.

'Could have been her, then.' Katie kept her eyes down.

'In that case, why was she here looking for something?' asked Fran reasonably.

'How do you know she was looking for something?'

'Because she said so,' said Lewis, who was becoming even more exasperated. 'Honestly, this is no bleedin' joke. I've had enough. Let's have a look round then I'm calling Big Bertha.'

They covered the same ground they had gone over a few days previously, but no trace of Cindy was found. Fran stood still, scenting the air like a bloodhound, Libby told her, but to no avail.

Back in the solar, Lewis called the police and informed them.

'And we've had a good look round,' he said. 'How she got past me I shall never know.' He switched off the phone. 'They'll be right out,' he said wearily. 'Gawd, why is this happening to me?'

'Is there anything we can do?' asked Libby, completely forgetting her vow to keep out of things.

'I don't know. Where would she have gone? And why did she want those doc.u.ments so badly?'

'That puzzled me, too,' said Libby. 'After all, the minute she tried to use the pa.s.sport she'd be stopped. Either pa.s.sport, come to that.'

'It's the birth and marriage certificates, I think,' said Fran. 'Proof of who she is so she can claim the estate.'

'But could she claim the estate if she was accessory to murdering Kenneth? Anyway, Gerald's still alive, we think.'

'I'm not so sure about that,' said Lewis, shaking his head. 'If the poor old b.u.g.g.e.r was going loopy back then, he could be well dead by now.'

Libby grinned. 'Too true, but Fran doesn't think so.' Lewis sent her a doubtful look. 'All right, so what does Fran think, then?' Fran was silent for a moment, gazing out of the solar window towards the ha-ha. 'If Cindy didn't go out of the front door, where else might she have got out?'

'Kitchen door,' said Lewis.

'Not very likely with Katie the dragon sitting there,' said Libby.

'No. There's the old side door well, back door, I suppose, at the end of the hall beyond the stairs. We've never used it.'

'Come on then,' said Fran, standing up. 'That's how she went out.'

Lewis and Libby looked at one another. Libby shrugged and went out of the room behind Fran.

Somehow, it wasn't surprising to find the small oak door swinging very slightly on its hinges.

'Where did she go from here?' said Lewis, and looked sharply round. 'That was a car, wasn't it? Reckon it's the police?'

'Probably,' said Libby. 'You go and see to them and we'll carry on here.'

'Down here,' said Fran, leading the way unhesitatingly towards the ha-ha. Libby puffed and kept up, and was unsurprised when Fran led them down to the sailing club.

'Well, she's not here,' said Libby, catching her breath and investigating the lock and bolt on the door. 'Do you think she got away from here?'

Fran was frowning. 'I'm not sure,' she said slowly. 'I'm certain she was here, though.'

'Had we better tell the police?'

Fran sighed. 'As if they'll believe me,' she said, 'but yes, I suppose we'd better.'

'You know,' said Libby, as she panted her way back up towards the house, 'I thought when I was down here before it would be a good way to get on or off the estate from that little inlet. And it can't be seen from the house, so as long as you could keep out of sight on the way up or down it's a perfect secret way. Do you think she could have done that?'

'It seems so quick,' mused Fran. 'It couldn't have been more than twenty minutes between Lewis calling you and us arriving. She must have run like the wind.'

'With a heavy bag,' added Libby. 'I don't know. All seems very fishy to me.'

Outside the house they were met, to their surprise, by an irritated-looking DI Ian Connell.

'What are you doing here?' asked Libby, while Fran blushed and tried to blend into the background.

Connell sighed heavily. 'I could say the same to you, but I know you'll have a legitimate reason. h.e.l.lo, Fran.'

'h.e.l.lo,' said Fran in a m.u.f.fled voice.

'As to what I'm doing here,' said Ian, 'we had a report that a Miss Cindy Dale '

'Or Mrs Cindy Shepherd,' interjected Libby, smiling beatifically.

'Had disappeared very suddenly from here after being bailed by the police,' continued Ian, without pause.

'Bailed, hey?' said Libby. 'Lewis told us you'd let her go.'

'Hmm,' said Ian. 'Well, a.s.suming you can't throw any light on the situation, I'll let you be on your way.'

'Oh, we weren't going,' said Libby blithely. 'We're just going back inside to find Lewis.'

Ian closed his eyes briefly and stood aside to give them access to the house. Fran paused before him.

'Actually, Ian,' she said, 'I think she might have gone to the boathouse.'

'Boathouse?' He frowned down at her.

'Sailing club,' said Libby, turning back and regarding the two of them with interest. 'You can't see it from the house.'

'Where is it?'

'Would you like me to show you?' asked Fran diffidently.

Ian looked into the distance. 'Very kind,' he said, and Libby giggled. He shot her a look of pure evil and turned on his heel. Fran looked back at Libby, shrugged and followed him.

Lewis was in the kitchen with Katie, while upstairs could be heard the heavy sounds of investigating constables.

'Fran's gone to show Ian the sailing club,' said Libby, sitting down with them.

Katie looked up with a frown. 'Ian?' asked Lewis.

'Detective Inspector Ian Connell,' said Libby. 'We've worked with him before.'

'So he might be able to help us?'

'Oh, I doubt it,' said Libby. 'He thinks of me, in particular, as a nuisance. He does, however, believe in Fran's gift. She actually got asked in to help solve one murder.'

'He's the one you called to tell him about Fran's marriage,' said Lewis, enlightened.

'That's it. I don't know why he's suddenly been put on this case, he wasn't when I spoke to him before.'

'Well, perhaps it's lucky for us he has,' said Katie. Lewis and Libby looked at her in surprise. 'If he's a bit more pleasant than that Bertram woman. Perhaps we'll find out what happened to Tony. And Kenneth, of course,' she added hastily.

'But we know what happened to Kenneth,' said Libby. 'Gerald killed him.'

'Never on your life,' said Katie, a mulish expression on her face.

'Did you know him?' Libby was interested.

'I met him. With Mr West.'

'Was this when you were doing the outside catering?'

'You never told me,' said Lewis indignantly.

'You never asked.' Katie shrugged.

'Did you tell the police you knew him?'

'O' course I did,' said Katie, standing up.

'Didn't you say you didn't know Cindy?'

'I said she didn't,' said Lewis. 'Did you, Katie?'

'I met her.' Katie's mouth was like a rat trap.

'So you actually knew what the family was like before Gerald and Cindy disappeared?'

'Not to say know,' said Katie, moving towards the pantry. 'Met 'em.'

Lewis and Libby looked at each other. 'Oh, well, as long as you've told the police,' said Lewis. 'Do you want a cuppa, Lib?'

'No, I'd better go and find Fran.' Libby stood up. 'We didn't mean to be this long. Guy will wonder where his beloved has got to.'

Fran was walking back towards the house, with the two policemen running the other way towards the ha-ha.

'What's up?' asked Libby.

'Ian found some scratch marks or something.' Fran shrugged. 'Anyway, he's called for reinforcements. Apparently Big Bertha's having to stay deskbound for a bit and her team's been stretched to the limit, so Ian's been dragged in. I don't think he was that delighted to see us.'

'No, it struck me that way, too,' said Libby, with a smile. 'Nice to see him, though.'

'Do you think I ought to ask him to my wedding?'

Libby made a face. 'Difficult one,' she said. 'Ask Guy and Ben. They'll know what to do.'

Fran nodded. 'Have you said goodbye to Lewis? I ought to get going.'

'Yes, I told him.'

Fran was silent on the way back to Steeple Martin.