Page 28 of A Very Bookish Murder (Ally McKinley Mystery #3)
TWENTY-ONE
The guests appeared to be a little sad at breakfast time.
‘I can’t believe we’ll all be going our separate ways tomorrow,’ Millie said wistfully as Ally placed toast on the table. Millie had really come out of her shell these last few days and seemed much more communicative.
‘Well, I damn well don’t think that one of us is a killer!’ Penelope hollered.
‘Neither do I really. But, if someone is, then my bet’s on Laura,’ Millie said, just as Brigitte and George appeared.
‘What’s this about Laura?’ Brigitte asked as she helped herself to cereal.
‘Millie thinks Laura’s the killer in our midst,’ said Morwenna, who had moved into the malthouse last night and had chosen to share a room with Millie. Ally guessed someone else had warned her about Penelope’s snoring.
‘Well, she is a bit peculiar,’ George agreed.
Ally cleared her throat. ‘I wondered if you’d like to have a final session here for a couple of hours at lunchtime? Rain is forecast so you won’t be tempted to go far, and I thought I might join you? Perhaps I can provide some drinks and sandwiches?’
‘This sounds a tad girly!’ said George with a grin. ‘In which case I’ll go to the pub!’
‘Sounds a good idea,’ Millie remarked.
‘I’ll tell you what,’ Ally continued. ‘I’ll come up with a subject on which we can all brainstorm ideas. Perhaps you could either write a short story, or perhaps you could use some of the ideas in your next novel? How does that sound?’
‘I’m up for it!’ Penelope said. ‘Then we can have a nap before our dinner later.’
‘Yes, there’ll be plenty time for a nap,’ Ally assured her. ‘See you all at one o’clock in the sitting room next door!’
Ally had left a message for Laura with the receptionist at the Craigmonie but didn’t really expect her to appear. Which she didn’t. Ally was still convinced that Laura wasn’t the killer, even if she had admitted that killing Jodi had been her original intention.
When, at lunchtime, Ally entered the sitting room, followed by Ross with a large tray of newly made – by him – sandwiches, she was pleased to see her four lady guests already seated, notebooks on their knees, and looking enthusiastic in spite of the rain lashing against the window.
‘I’ll bring coffee in later,’ Ross said, giving them all a dazzling smile as he placed the sandwiches on the coffee table between them all.
‘You have him well trained!’ remarked Brigitte when he’d left the room.
‘He’s just a nice guy,’ Ally agreed.
‘You hang on to him then,’ said Millie, ‘because they’re few and far between.’
‘Right, I could murder a G&T!’ Penelope bellowed, standing up to survey the bottles of gin, tonics, ice and lemon slices that had been placed on the side table, along with some bottles of wine.
‘May we help ourselves?’ Without waiting for an answer, she poured a hefty measure into a glass for herself before grabbing a handful of sandwiches.
‘Yes, of course,’ Ally confirmed before adding hopefully, ‘I always think a little G&T goes down well at this time of day!’
‘Agreed!’ said Brigitte, standing up to serve herself.
Morwenna giggled. ‘I don’t normally drink this early in the day,’ she said, ‘but I’ll make an exception! Or perhaps I should have wine?’
That left Millie, who was looking slightly confused. ‘Maybe I’ll just wait for the coffee,’ she said, placing a couple of sandwiches on a plate.
‘Rubbish!’ Penelope insisted, the self-appointed bartender.
‘I’ll just pour you a tiny one!’ With that, she poured out what could only, at the very least, be described as a double.
She turned to Ally. ‘I’m being very generous with your gin, Ally, but I shall replace this with a spare bottle I have upstairs. ’
Four pairs of eyes suddenly swivelled in her direction.
‘I always keep a spare,’ Penelope continued blithely, oblivious of the attention focussed on her, ‘just in case I run out. I always have a couple in the evenings you know.’
Ally resisted the temptation to laugh as Penelope sat down, raised her glass and shouted, ‘Here’s to the final session of the Literary Ladies! Cheers!’ She downed most of her drink in one large gulp.
‘ Slàinte mhath !’ Ally echoed, pouring herself a small gin. ‘That’s “cheers” in Gaelic, or “good health” or whatever you want it to be!’
They all raised their glasses. ‘Slan-je-va!’ they all repeated phonetically.
Ally waited until they’d laid down their glasses and Millie had stopped coughing at the ‘small one’ that Penelope had poured her.
‘OK,’ she said. ‘As you know, I used to do research for television, and I thought I’d give you a subject we could all explore together, and perhaps you can use in a story or novel when you get home.’
Everyone nodded.
‘I think it would be best perhaps if we discussed it, so we get everyone’s point of view, because you won’t be able to compare notes easily once you get home.’
More nodding.
‘So, what are we discussing?’ Brigitte asked, her French accent becoming more pronounced after a few sips of gin. She, too, had helped herself to a couple of smoked salmon sandwiches.
Ally took a deep breath. ‘What I thought we might talk about is…’ She hesitated for a moment, then continued, ‘Would you accept the challenge if someone offered you a million pounds to do something?’
‘Like what?’ Brigitte looked puzzled.
‘Oh, I don’t know… perhaps something you’d never contemplate doing in a million years, like jumping from a plane if you’re scared of heights, that sort of thing. How about you write for twenty minutes or so, and then we can talk about what you’ve come up with?’
They all nodded and began to write. Ally watched for a moment, wondering what her own bête noire would be. She didn’t like heights either, or snakes or any reptile. She left the room to give them a few minutes and re-entered to find them all chattering.
‘We’re all listing much the same things, I think,’ Millie said.
‘OK then,’ Ally said, taking a big breath. ‘Would you kill someone for a million pounds?’
A buzz of conversation followed a short silence before Penelope said, ‘Are you trying to find out which one of us might be the killer, Ally?’
‘No,’ Ally said, ‘I’m not . I have no idea if any one of you is a killer. I’m leaving that to the police. I just want to know how you’d handle this situation. It’s an exercise , for goodness’ sake!’
Everyone was staring at the notepads on their knees.
Penelope, as usual, was ready to go. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘if someone paid me a million pounds, I’d do whatever they asked!
’ She ignored the gasps. ‘Keeping my horses looked after throughout the winter does not come cheap!’ She paused to let this fact sink in.
‘I’d probably find some poison or something, or crush up some pills to pop into their dinner.
’ With that, she helped herself to a further couple of sandwiches.
Ally couldn’t quite believe what she’d heard because that was precisely what Penelope had been accused of, years ago, according to Hamish.
Almost as if she suspected what Ally was thinking, Penelope added, ‘I’m quite au fait with this, you know, but I’d need a couple more gins before I tell you more.’
‘Oh, do go on!’ said Millie and Brigitte in unison.
‘No, no,’ Penelope said firmly, then added, ‘Perhaps later.’
‘I couldn’t kill anyone,’ Morwenna said quietly, ‘not even for a million pounds. I could only do it to relieve someone of their misery.’ She looked around at their expectant faces. ‘Like a dog or cat,’ she added awkwardly.
Ally knew she wasn’t talking about that.
Morwenna thought for a moment. ‘Maybe, like Penelope, I could spike their drink or something, but if I had to do it, I certainly couldn’t do anything close up, like stabbing, because I couldn’t deal with the blood, ugh!
Perhaps I could shoot someone, but from a distance.
Perhaps the heroine in my books could kill someone with a laser?
Don’t forget I write fantasy.’ She sat back in her chair as if relieved to have got this off her chest.
Then Millie put up her hand a little hesitantly.
‘I could never have done what that wicked person did to Jodi. Like Morwenna, I’d have to annihilate someone from a distance.
Maybe cut the brakes, if they had a car, or put some explosive device in their car, and then get away as quickly as possible. ’ She turned to Brigitte. ‘Your turn.’
‘Help yourselves to top-ups!’ Ally encouraged them, seeing that the contents of all the glasses, including Millie’s, were fast disappearing. Could that be due to guilty consciences?
‘OK,’ said Brigitte, draining her glass. ‘I think I could kill someone close up if I had to. Of course I would, if they were planning to kill me! I would try to wrestle from them whatever it was they planned to kill me with, and then kill them.’
‘But,’ Ally reminded them, ‘you were asked if you’d kill for a million pounds, not if your life was in danger.’
There was silence for a moment as Brigitte began scribbling on her notepad.
‘Could any of you strangle someone?’ Millie asked. ‘Like what happened to Jodi?’
There was a collective intake of breath.
Brigitte, apparently unfazed, stood up. ‘Of course I would, if they were trying to strangle me!’ She looked at the other three. ‘But Jodi Jones was not, repeat not , trying to strangle me.’
‘I didn’t say she was,’ Millie said, on the defensive. ‘I’m just pointing out a method you could have used if she had. That’s what Ally asked for, isn’t it, Ally?’ She turned to Ally, who was still standing by the door.
‘Well, not really,’ Ally replied, ‘because I was really thinking about money, but it’s very interesting how your ideas have developed and you’ve all given very intriguing answers, which hopefully you can use in your writing.’
Penelope guffawed. ‘I suppose we must await Laura’s thoughts on the subject!’
‘You don’t think she did it, do you?’ asked Morwenna.