Page 18 of A Very Bookish Murder (Ally McKinley Mystery #3)
FOURTEEN
The evenings were light now, and the view from Seascape was spectacular.
As the name implied, the seafood restaurant was situated on a clifftop overlooking the sea and the craggy coastline, with stunning views out towards the islands.
The tourists hadn’t arrived in force yet, but the restaurant was still two-thirds full, even on a Monday evening.
‘I expected it to be empty,’ Ross said as the waiter apologised for not having a table vacant at the window.
‘Just shows how popular this place is,’ Ally agreed.
‘It’s so good to get right away from Locharran for a few hours,’ Callum said with a sigh. ‘I’ve left Ivan in charge, so hopefully I won’t be missed.’
Ivan was the Craigmonie’s Lithuanian barman who, ten years previously, had come to Locharran as a backpacking student and decided to stay, partly because of his love for the area but more accurately for his love of Locharran whisky, which he imbibed daily and frequently.
After they’d ordered their food and poured out some wine, Ally said casually, ‘I hear that one of your women suspects has been cleared to go home, Callum?’
Callum nodded. ‘Still two to go,’ he said cheerfully.
‘But who ?’ Ally asked. ‘Who was cleared to go?’
‘The red-haired Irish one – Delia, Della, whatever her name was,’ Callum replied.
‘Della Moran? But she was the chief suspect!’ Ally exclaimed, astonished. ‘How come?’
‘Well,’ said Callum, ‘while Jodi Jones was in the bar knocking back a double Scotch immediately after the disruption in the Garden Room, this bloke started chatting her up. Ivan witnessed this, and we’ve been looking for the man ever since.
Luckily, he came back into the bar last night and told us what had happened.
Apparently, he was suddenly riveted by the sight of this “red-haired beauty” – his words, not mine – going into the ladies’ room, which you can see quite clearly along the corridor from the bar.
Ivan was listening in, and the bloke said something like, “Wow! Where did she come from?” Jodi then snapped that she was the woman who’d caused the disruption, and that she was a nasty liar.
Nevertheless, the bloke kept watching until he saw Della coming out again and re-enter the Garden Room, although he’d continued chatting to Jodi. ’
‘He sounds a delightful type,’ Linda said acidly.
‘Doesn’t he just!’ agreed Ally.
‘Well, whatever you think of him, he did have the decency to contact the police after he heard about Jodi’s murder,’ Callum said.
‘And?’ Ally asked as the waiter approached with their starters.
‘When he got out to the car park, he could see Della through the French windows, in the middle of a group of women,’ Callum continued.
Ally was still confused as she tackled her lobster bisque. ‘So what exactly are you saying?’
‘It was confirmed that Della was the first to visit the cloakroom – the only time she visited the cloakroom, which was verified by the others – and while Jodi was in the bar. Confirmed by Ivan, who took a keen interest in the whole thing. So, much as she may have wanted to, Della Moran did not kill Jodi Jones.’
‘And now she’s been allowed to go home?’ Ally asked.
‘Yes, she’s gone,’ Callum confirmed.
Linda was also looking confused. ‘So who’s still staying at the hotel?’ she asked Callum.
‘A woman from Bristol and a woman from Cornwall,’ Callum replied, ‘neither of whom are particularly interesting.’
‘It’s the dull ones you have to watch out for!’ Ross said cheerfully.
‘That’s Laura and Morwenna,’ Ally said. Then to herself she added, ‘Plus Millie, Penelope and Brigitte.’ Five women! She knew that she needed, somehow or other, to get chatting to them individually because there just had to be a clue there somewhere.
‘You’re really keen to solve this, aren’t you, Ally?’ Linda asked, studying her.
‘Yes, I am,’ Ally replied firmly. ‘Apart from anything else I need to know if I’m harbouring a murderer under my roof, and I’d like to know when I can take bookings for guests again.’
But the main reason, Ally thought, was to find out, for Rigby’s sake, who had killed his sister and why?
Jodi Jones certainly did appear to be his long-lost sister, right down to the birthmark, but this information could not be made public.
Apart from telling Ross, of course. Ally couldn’t risk anyone, accidentally or otherwise, passing on the information and so blighting Rigby’s chances of eventually solving the case himself.
The conversation then turned to other things, and Ally was glad of the distraction. Not least because she was thrilled to see the bond that had developed between Linda and Callum.
Could there be another wedding on the horizon? she wondered.
Ally and Ross got back to the malthouse at precisely the same time as Brigitte and George.
‘We were at the Craigmonie for a meal,’ Brigitte said, ‘but have you heard the latest ?’ She licked her lips. ‘Della Moran has been cleared and is probably swanning around Derry as we speak!’
‘Yes, we had heard,’ Ally said, glancing at Ross, who was looking exhausted and ready for bed.
‘So this narrows it down to just five of us,’ Brigitte added, ‘and I can tell you, right now, that it was not me!’
‘It wasn’t Brigitte,’ George confirmed fondly, looking towards the stairs.
‘I’ve no doubt the inspector will be questioning everyone again, tomorrow ,’ Ross said.
Brigitte stayed put. ‘Well, I don’t think it’s fair,’ she said with a pout. ‘I’m sure Della must have gone to the loo again later.’
‘Apparently she didn’t,’ Ally said, ‘and that’s been proved, otherwise the inspector would not have permitted her to leave.’
‘She hated Jodi,’ Brigitte went on, ‘and she told me so.’
‘That doesn’t make her the killer,’ Ross said, yawning. ‘If you don’t mind, I’m knackered and I’m off to bed.’ He looked hopefully at Ally.
‘You and me both,’ agreed George, heading towards the main staircase.
‘I want a little word with Ally,’ said Brigitte. ‘Just for a moment.’
Ally shepherded her into the sitting room, wondering what was coming.
‘I know that you’re friendly with the inspector,’ Brigitte said as she plonked herself in the middle of the sofa, ‘so I think you should tell him that Penelope is very strange.’
‘She is ?’ Ally asked, amazed.
Brigitte nodded. ‘Did you know she’d once been suspected of murder? And she was in prison for another crime?’
‘Really?’ In spite of being tired and ready for bed, Ally was suddenly awake and curious.
‘More than once!’ Brigitte said triumphantly.
‘When?’ Ally asked.
‘Many years ago. When she was young.’
‘So what did she do?’
‘She tried to stab a man who was pressing himself upon her,’ Brigitte replied.
‘How do you know this?’ Ally asked.
‘Because I googled her and then found out her name before she was married, and then I googled that name.’
Ally cursed herself for not having done precisely that and wondered if Amir had.
‘And then this Penelope, some years ago, was accused of killing her husband! Her husband! ’ Brigitte repeated triumphantly.
‘I think the police are aware of that,’ Ally said, ‘but she was freed due to lack of evidence.’
‘Once a killer, always a killer!’ said Brigitte sanctimoniously.
‘ If she was a killer,’ said Ally.
But Brigitte wasn’t finished yet. ‘And then there is Millie,’ she said.
‘What about Millie?’ Ally asked.
‘Millie shared a bedroom with Joyce and so she must have had access to the insulin, yes? So, she must be the most likely person to kill Joyce!’
‘But she and Joyce got on well,’ Ally said. ‘Anyone could have got the insulin because it was in my fridge in the kitchen.’
Brigitte shrugged. ‘There is some connection there. There must be! It must have been one of them.’
‘That doesn’t seem to be much of a reason, Brigitte, as far as Millie’s concerned. And you’ve just said that you think Penelope was the killer.’
Brigitte was nowhere near finished yet. ‘What I mean is that anyone could have done it. That Laura! Tell me, where does she go when we socialise? Why is she here? She must go somewhere, no?’
‘Perhaps she’s just a loner?’ Ally suggested, stifling a yawn, determined not to mention what she knew.
‘Why then does she come up here to Scotland with a group of women?’
‘To improve her writing ability?’ Ally suggested. ‘Isn’t that why you’re all here?’
Brigitte shook her head. ‘No, I think one of us came here to kill.’ She paused. ‘Why did she appear here after we all got back from the picnic – eh? And I wonder about this Morwenna too! She tells me that Jodi once stole her husband. Her husband! Would you not be angry?’
‘I wouldn’t be pleased exactly,’ admitted Ally with a smile, thinking of anyone trying to steal poor old Ken! Years ago, though, maybe… ‘That was a long time ago, and surely if she wanted to kill Jodi, she’d have done it then? Brigitte, you’re not really telling me much that I don’t know already.’
‘Well,’ said Brigitte, standing up, ‘I hope most sincerely that you do not suspect me !’
‘It’s not my business to suspect anyone. That’s the job of the police.’ Ally hesitated for a moment. ‘I am a little curious though why you were looking through Jodi’s diary, particularly at the page on which she’d written something about having a chat with you?’
Brigitte froze, her eyes wide. ‘How could you possibly know that? I tore out the page.’
‘I know you did, but I saw the imprint of her writing on the page beneath.’
Brigitte appeared suddenly uncertain. ‘I’d written to Jodi two weeks ago and she’d promised we’d have a chat.
’ Brigitte added, ‘My husband is a publisher. We publish wonderful books. Reference books, language books, dictionaries, thesauruses, instruction books, religious books, and there was something I wanted to ask her – purely on a literary note.’ She pulled a face.
‘We do not, of course, publish the kind of books that she wrote.’
‘So why then are you here, Brigitte?’
‘Because she is published! And I want to be published too, Ally! I wanted to know her secrets, her tips, her ideas! But one of these other women is not here for that reason.’
Ally stifled a yawn. ‘You may be right, but I hope you don’t mind if I go to bed now?’
Brigitte nodded. ‘It has been good to talk to you,’ she said as she made her way towards the main staircase.
Ally switched off the lights and headed towards her own staircase behind the kitchen. She knew that Ross would probably be asleep, and he was.
As she lay in bed, she thought that Brigitte had a reason for everyone to kill Jodi, except herself. Was she hiding something? What had she really been looking for in Room 1? Did this woman protest too much?