Murder At The Villa Byzantine Part 12

'Where thou lodgest, I will lodge,' she murmured.

I've started slipping up, she thought calmly.

It was inevitable that sooner or later she'd make a mistake. She had always known that, so she was not particularly surprised. Inspector Davidson had caught her out first then she had given the dog a different name and now this ridiculous absence of a lodge. Keep your head, she told herself and felt the irresistible urge to laugh out loud. Keep your head. Had Stella ever been given the same advice?

'Let me show you the plan.' She saw Tancred, silly boy, pick up a sheet from his desk and half rise from his chair.

She put up her hand. 'No need. I believe you. I believe you unconditionally. I know you are incapable of telling a lie. Your n.o.ble nature would never allow it. Well, what can I say?' She gave a contemptuous shrug. 'It is no doubt some busybody's awkward drawing. I am sure this so-called "plan" you have in your possession will be conspicuous for the absence of a lodge ... And what does the absence of a lodge signify to you?'

'What does it signify? Why don't you see? The lodge has played such an important part in your narrative. That is where Prince Cyril and Victoria lived that's where Victoria went when she was upset by Giovanna the party you just described took place at the lodge it was at the lodge where Prince Cyril made a pa.s.s at you!'

'Of course I see. My dear boy! I see perfectly. The question now is, who do you believe? Me or some espresso-sipping Sienese?'

'It strikes me as extremely odd that-'

'I hope, Tancred, you are not suggesting that I make things up? That all this time I have been perpetrating some infernal swindle?' Miss Hope seemed greatly amused by the idea. She gazed out of the window. The next moment her expression changed. She gave a little gasp and pulled the blind down.

'What's the matter?'

'Tancred, there is a man outside!'

'What man?'

'He's coming up the steps ... He is about to ring the front door bell.' Her voice quavered slightly. She took off her pince-nez and placed it on the little table beside the window seat. 'Now listen very carefully, Tancred. I wouldn't open the door if I were you. Please, don't open the door. Or if you do, on no account allow this man into the house. Something terrible is going to happen if you let him inside the house.'

Mrs Henderson.

'You have been exceedingly kind, Miss Darcy.'

'Not at all. I didn't wake you up when I phoned this morning, did I?'

'You didn't. Don't worry. I do tend to wake up awfully early. To tell you the truth I was not aware that she wasn't in her room. I had no idea that she'd sneaked out last night either. Moon can be terribly argumentative, so I try not to appear prying or spying. Sometimes I find myself within an ace of giving her a clip on the ear, but of course that would never do.' Julia Henderson shook her head. 'She'd probably try to knock me down.'

'Do you really think she would? Is she violent?'

'I think she can be. Yes. She's certainly thrown things at her late mother and at poor James. Do help yourself to some coffee.'

'Well, I intended to take a look at Brompton Oratory,' Antonia elaborated untruthfully. The real reason for her visit was to try to learn more about Stella and the events of the fatal day. 'I then suddenly realized I was standing in your road. So I decided to pay you a visit. Hope you don't mind.'

'Not at all. It's a pleasure to have you,' said Julia Henderson graciously and she urged Antonia to have a slice of Madeira cake.

Antonia glanced round the room. It was light, uncluttered and pleasantly furnished in a minimalist way. Julia Henderson looked a very pleasant kind of woman too late forties, early fifties, un.o.btrusively smart in pastel-coloured cashmere, open weather-beaten face, short brown hair, next to no make-up, forthright, sensible, no-nonsense manner.

Did she play golf? Antonia had seen an array of golf clubs in the hall. They might have belonged to Julia's late or former husband Antonia was a.s.suming Julia was either widowed or divorced. No, the clubs all looked as though they were in regular use.

Strong sunburnt wrist, Antonia thought as she watched her hostess pick up the coffee pot. Likes to spend time in the open. Julia's handshake had been extremely firm. Yes, without doubt her hostess was the golfer.

Julia had been in the process of writing a cheque. She sighed, waving her gold-topped pen. 'Bills! They expect me to subtract a thousand pounds from my little capital at a moment's notice.'

'I know the feeling,' Antonia said with a smile.

'I am sure you don't. I am ready to bet you are much more prudent and disciplined than I shall ever be. I live at the top of my income, you see. I hate economizing. I am in constant dread of ruin. I keep borrowing money from poor James-' Suddenly realizing she was talking to a perfect stranger, she broke off and apologized for being a bore.

She had mentioned a committee meeting she needed to attend, but that wasn't till five in the afternoon, so Miss Darcy needn't worry. She seemed a well-balanced, easygoing woman, with only the slightest hint that she might be formidable if she chose. Moon had suggested Julia was a prying dragon. She had called her a 'b.i.t.c.h from h.e.l.l'. Teenage angst, Antonia thought. Probably more than mere angst. Moon, she imagined, took drugs. Drugs made you paranoid.

Julia Henderson asked if Antonia's interest in Brompton Oratory was purely aesthetic. The implied question was whether Antonia might not have been seeking some form of spiritual solace.

'It's a lovely place ... Actually, I needed to make some notes for a book. I am thinking of setting a scene in a Catholic church.'

'Murder in the cathedral? Of course. Murder mysteries. Moon said you were a writer. I didn't quite believe it at first. She is a terrible liar, you know, but James confirmed it. I intend to order your books from the library. I never have any time for reading, I'm afraid always too much to do but I promise I will read your books. It always makes such a difference when one knows the author!'

'Do you think so?' Antonia wondered why knowing the author should make such a difference to one's reading habits, but that seemed to be the generally held view. It was frequently suggested that readers felt inspired to buy a book or take it out of the library if they 'knew' the author. Something in that. Her publisher wouldn't be so keen on her going on signing tours if they didn't believe more copies would be s.h.i.+fted off the shelves that way ...

'It is a great relief to know that Moon was in safe hands,' Julia was saying. 'Otherwise, I'd have been wondering what she might have got up to. Who she'd been with and so on. So would poor James. Well, she is the kind of girl who could have been anywhere.'

Antonia smiled. 'Wouldn't you have believed her if she told you she had been with us?'

'No, not really. She keeps doing things she shouldn't. While her mother was alive, there was always some kind of trouble including an attempt at joyriding in James' car! James caught her moments after she had managed to pick the car door lock and he frog-marched her back to the flat. She hated him for that. She said some awful things to him. I believe she kicked him.'

Antonia asked if Moon could drive.

'She says she can. It was her American boyfriend who taught her to drive, so heaven help us. No licence of course. She's not old enough for a licence. Actually, I saw the AZ in her room, so she might have gone to Hampstead last night in James' old car,' Julia said thoughtfully. 'The "uncool" one. The one he intends to sell.'

'She told us she hitched a lift from someone ... We put her in a taxi this morning.'

'That was extremely kind of you.'

'You'd better check or perhaps your brother otherwise you may get a call from the police if the car is found abandoned somewhere.'

'Yes. We will check.' Julia took a sip of coffee. 'I must say things aren't as bad as they were. Not so long ago Moon was either openly hostile to poor James or she made a big show of ignoring him. Rolling up her eyes each time he said something she deemed "dumb" and so on. He was clearly on the "enemy" side, you see bracketed with her mother whom Moon seemed to regard as the ultimate foe!'

'But the situation's changed since her mother died?'

'Oh, yes. There's been a marked improvement. I believe in being fair. Moon's become more manageable more sociable no question about it. A little more subdued, if that were possible or should I say less exuberant? She's started talking to James mainly complaining about me.'

'Where is she now?'

'James took her to the zoo. Not my idea of a fun afternoon.'

'You would rather be on the links, playing a round of golf, I suppose?'

'Well, yes. How did you-? Oh, it's the golf clubs in the hall of course! I keep forgetting you are something of a detective. I suppose you've got to be observant to be able to write detective stories? I enjoy playing golf every now and then, but I am not what you'd call a lethal golfer. I must admit I am not terribly good at it ... I thought Moon would sneer when James suggested the zoo, but she seemed quite excited. She said the zoo would be "crunk" heaven knows what that means. She employs the most abstruse argot sometimes.'

One of Hugh's portmanteau words, Antonia thought, and she ventured a guess. 'Crazy and drunk?'

'Sorry?'

'Crunk a blend of crazy and drunk. That's what I imagine it is. I may be wrong of course.' Must ask Hugh, Antonia thought.

'It made James laugh. It was good to see them like that. They looked happy together, like father and daughter.' Something about the way Julia Henderson said this made Antonia wonder whether she had really relished the sight. 'They were laughing and joking she was teasing him and he seemed to like it.'

'Is she his daughter, do you think? I mean his real daughter? I hope you don't mind my asking.'

'Well, the idea did occur to me. I even persuaded myself there was a resemblance between them. Do you think there's a resemblance? I imagined Moon's nose was the same shape as James'.'

'Does your brother have his own children?'

'James has a son and a daughter. But they haven't been in touch for the last few years. Some argument over money. James has a lot of money, you see-' She broke off.

Her expression changed.

Julia depended on her brother financially, that much was clear to Antonia. Asecond marriage the marriage to Stella might have absorbed a fair amount of James Morland's capital. Stella might have insisted on donating money to the Bulgarian Monarchist Party or the Bulgarian Poets' a.s.sociation or some other worthy cause. There wouldn't have been much left for Julia ...

Stella's death must have come as a relief ...

Julia-?

(Should one really suspect everybody?).

Sorry, Wrong Number.

'What did you make of Stella?' Antonia asked. 'Did you like her?'

'No, not particularly, if I have to be perfectly honest. I found her irritating intrusive. She came over to talk to me each time something went wrong between her and Moon. She didn't seem to realize that I could be busy. She was entirely wrapped up in herself. She tended not to listen when I talked, but she expected me to give up whatever I was doing and pay very close attention to her jeremiads.'

'She complained about Moon?'

'Yes. She frequently felt hurt by her daughter. Moon couldn't talk to her save with a gibe and sneer. Moon kept calling her the most offensive names "lardy lump" "brainless baba" clearly terrible insults for a woman who regarded herself as the most marriageable of belles! Moon had jeered at her for "picking up" James. She had suggested her mother was "gagging for it". She had referred to her poetry as "s.h.i.+t". And so on and so forth. Terrible bore.'

'How did Stella meet your brother?' Antonia asked.

'It was Moon who brought them together. That, at any rate, was Stella's version of the event. James had lost his way in Sofia where he was on a business trip. He b.u.mped into Moon and asked for directions and she took him to the cafe where her mother had been waiting for her. Some such rigmarole.' Julia waved a dismissive hand. 'You'd met Stella, hadn't you?'

'Yes. At Melisande's party.'

'Stella confided her most intimate fears in me. Things I didn't really want to hear.' Julia grimaced. 'She seemed to find poor James terriblement anglais and it bothered her. No, she didn't quite put it like that. A little too reserved, a little too "English", was what she said. She moved into his flat at his suggestion, but nothing much actually happened between them, she said. No "real intimacy". She seemed to have mixed feelings about it. She seemed to find James' restraint at once flattering and frustrating.'

'Is that how she put it?'

'Not quite. That was my interpretation. Stella talked a lot about "respect" and "consideration" and how "gentlemanly" James was, but at the same time she made it clear she'd rather things were a little bit more you know. She was maddeningly prudish. She went on about the importance of "personal warmth" and "affection" and "pa.s.sion" in one's life. She was particularly emphatic about "pa.s.sion". Pa.s.sion was "essential" for her poetry.'

'I expect she was looking forward to the wedding?'

'She was. She was excited about it, but she was also worried that James might change his mind and abandon her at the altar. She didn't believe she could survive the humiliation and the pain, she said. She feared that her daughter might do something that would blight her chances of conjugal bliss for ever. There were other things as well.' Julia frowned. 'Stella seemed to have developed some peculiar phobia concerning Melisande but she never explained exactly what it was all about.'

'She didn't drop any hints?'

'No. She was probably afraid I might spill the beans to Melisande ... Morbid undercurrents seemed to be part of Stella's nature. She went on moody, listless rambles in Kensington Gardens. She seemed p.r.o.ne to tormenting anxieties of all sorts. On one occasion she actually said, "Oh, how good I am at finding things to worry about!" She seemed to believe she had cancer.'

'Oh yes. She suspected she had a tumour on the brain. She said she was afraid of having a scan.'

'Once or twice she told me it would be so much better for everybody if she ended her life. Her exact words, if I remember correctly, were, "Sometimes death comes not as an enemy but as a friend."'

'Do you think she might have been contemplating suicide?' Antonia wondered if that could be a possible answer. The a.s.sisted suicide solution. Stella might have been unable to bring herself to do the deed and got someone else to help her paid them people did do that sort of thing. Would the person have used a sword though? It was a very bizarre idea. And why do it at the Villa Byzantine?

'I didn't really believe she would kill herself. I thought it was nothing worse than flirting with self-destruction.'

'Did you by any chance see her the day she died?'

'No. But she'd talked to me the day before. She floated in, wearing swirling white crepe, high-necked, with scattered crystal new moons and stars. It was beyond ghastly. Try to imagine an inflated t.i.tania. I tried not to look shocked. It was going to be her wedding dress, she said. She expected me to admire it which I did.'

'So she was in a good mood?'

'Yes! She'd thought of a way of making her peace with Moon, she said. She and Moon had had their first decent conversation in ages and that had made her very happy. She told me she had a plan.'

'What kind of a plan?'

Julia shook her head and said she had no idea. Stella had been terribly mysterious about it. 'I am afraid I was not paying much attention. I was in a hurry. I was about to go out. I got the impression that the plan involved Stella doing something Moon was extremely keen on. She didn't say what it was, but I think she hinted that there was risk involved.'

'Risk?'

'Yes. Some irregularity.' Julia waved her hand. 'Oh, it was all terribly garbled.'

Suddenly Antonia had a very clear idea in her head as to what Stella had been planning to do. Her heart beat fast. She felt certain she was right.

'Did Stella talk about her visits to the Villa Byzantine?'

'About her sessions with the royal biographer fellow? She did. I must admit I was never particularly interested. I believe something happened there, at the Villa Byzantine, which unsettled her some woman she had met at Vane's house, who wasn't who she claimed.'

Soon after, Antonia rose to her feet.

'No, no, it's been no trouble at all, Miss Darcy. I enjoyed our chat. You must come again. I will tell Moon that you called, or would you rather I didn't?'

'That's all right. Give her my regards.'

They walked out into the hall.

'I will. You aren't driving, are you?'

'No. I came by tube. I'd like to go for a walk in Kensington Gardens ... Such a pleasant day, isn't it?'

The telephone rang and Julia picked it up. She grimaced apologetically at Antonia.

'Julia Henderson speaking. No, this is not the Corrida Hotel- Oh, you are the Corrida Hotel! Sorry!' She laughed. 'Yes? Problem over a credit card? Whose card? What are you talking about? Sorry, you must have got the wrong number. I have never stayed at the Corrida Hotel in my life-'