A Line to Kill

‘She didn’t give us much choice. She said she wasn’t leaving until she’d seen that Mrs le Mesurier was OK, and then Mrs le Mesurier came down and the two of them almost fell into each other’s arms. In the end, it seemed easier to let her stay. We’d already moved the body by then and the main crime scene is across the garden, not in the house, so there didn’t seem any harm in it. She could look after Mrs le Mesurier and while she was at it I asked if she might be able to rustle up some lunch. Those steak and kidney pies were very good. But they were small.’

‘So what happened next?’

‘I can’t tell you that exactly. I left the house to get that information together and to talk to some of the people who were here last night. I hear you’ve been doing the rounds, by the way, Hawthorne, making lots of new friends. Have you got anywhere yet?’

‘Not yet.’

‘Just be sure to tell me when you do. Anyway, according to Mrs Carlisle, the two women had lunch together and then Mrs le Mesurier announced that she wanted to go out for a walk. She said she needed some fresh air and insisted that she wanted to be on her own, but she’d be back in an hour.’

‘And you let her go?’ Hawthorne said. There was a note of incredulity in his voice.

‘I wasn’t here.’ Torode was offended. ‘She spoke to Wilson and he said yes. He’s the forensic coordinator and not bad at his job, but of course it was bloody stupid, letting her leave the house.’

‘So where were you?’

‘I was over in the Buggery or the Snuggery, or whatever it’s called.’

Hawthorne didn’t comment on this. ‘Did she take a car?’ he asked.

‘She went on foot. Mrs Carlisle went up and did the bedroom, changed the sheets and all the rest of it, then waited for her to come back. Except she didn’t. She went out at two o’clock. Since then, there’s been no sign of her.’

‘Have you tried calling her?’

‘Her mobile’s upstairs.’

Hawthorne considered. ‘Where is Mrs Carlisle?’

‘Through here. But I’m warning you, you’ll find it hard to get a word in edgeways.’

Nora Carlisle was sitting in the sun lounge, perched on a wicker chair. The walls had been slid back into their correct positions, creating a much smaller space, hemmed in by potted plants. This was where the band had played the night before. She was a small, neat, serious woman, aged about fifty. Torode introduced us and we sat down on a sofa opposite her.

‘This must be very upsetting for you,’ Hawthorne began.

‘Of course it is. Of course it is. I’ve worked for Mrs Lem for twelve years. To come here this morning and find all these police officers here and the house turned upside down, well, I couldn’t believe it. And then I heard! Well, I’m telling you, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to do Mr Lem any harm. He’s done so much for the island … not that he was ever here that often. He was a very successful businessman, always jetting off all around the world. Mrs Lem was in a real state when I got here. The two of them were a perfect couple and I don’t care what people say. He never came home without something special for her. She loved him and he loved her. You can take it from me.’

‘So tell me about Mrs le Mesurier’s movements today.’

‘She was very glad to see me, poor thing. You’d have thought somebody would have been looking after her, but she was all on her own with complete strangers rampaging around the place. I left her in the bedroom while I did the housework and made her some lunch and after we’d eaten she said she wanted to go out. That was two o’clock. I wanted to go with her, but she insisted she’d be all right on her own.’

‘She didn’t say where she was going.’

‘She said she wasn’t going far, that she’d be back in an hour or so, but when it got to four o’clock I got worried about her. I mean, after what she’d seen with Mr Lem in the Snuggery, she wasn’t herself, poor thing. I blame myself, really. I shouldn’t have let her go out without me. I could see she was still upset. And when it got to four fifteen, I knew something was wrong and straight away I called Mr Matheson and Dr Queripel – they’d always been close to her – but they hadn’t seen her. I tried some of her other friends … she keeps an address book with their numbers by her bed. None of them had seen her. So then I went and told the police officers that they needed to do something. But would they listen to me? They were far too busy packing up to get home. So that was another hour wasted. Finally, I put my foot down. I said there was obviously someone dangerous on the island – I mean, anyone could have told them that – and that if anything had happened to her it would be down to them. And that was when they called their boss – not that he’s been much help.’ She scowled at Torode. ‘I mean, where is she? She can’t just have disappeared.’

‘How well do you know Mrs le Mesurier?’