‘That was another cancellation,’ he said. ‘A conference booked in for next week. They said they couldn’t take the risk of bringing clients here. What’s wrong with them all? Do they think the murderer’s still here, prowling the corridors and waiting to get them?’
‘Maybe not.’ Ashworth took a seat. ‘But they ought to know you’ve got a petty thief causing problems. Why didn’t you tell me about the stealing?’
‘You can’t think that’s relevant to the killing.’ Taylor fiddled with the knot of his tie, looked out of the window, refused to catch Ashworth’s eye.
‘That’s not for you to judge. I need to know what’s been going on here.’
‘A few things had gone missing.’ Today Taylor seemed to have lost his boyish energy. He was tired, washed-out. Were the cares of management finally getting to him? ‘Mostly from the staffroom. It happens. I’m on top of it.’
‘What are you doing to stop it?’ Taylor didn’t answer and Ashworth continued: ‘So you were just hoping the problem would go away?’
‘Look, another few days and Louise, the manager, will be back from leave. She’s paid to deal with staff problems. Let her sort it out. I don’t have the authority to hire and fire.’
‘That’s not quite true, is it?’ Ashworth tried to sound sympathetic. ‘You hired Danny Shaw, and the thieving started with his arrival. Tricky for you when you don’t have any proof either way.’
‘That was a temporary appointment in an emergency.’ Taylor was starting to get rattled – not, Ashworth thought, because of these questions, but because he knew he’d have to justify himself to his boss when she returned. ‘Danny goes back to university in less than a week.’
‘And you don’t want to upset his mum,’ Ashworth said. ‘Seemed like a strong woman. I wouldn’t want to cross her.’ And that was true enough, he thought, remembering dark-haired Karen with the quick tongue and the angry eyes.
They sat for a moment in silence.
‘You do see how important it could be?’ Ashworth said at last. ‘If Jenny caught someone stealing, they could have killed her to shut her up.’
‘You wouldn’t kill someone over something as small as that?’ Taylor was defensive now, flushed, a schoolboy being reprimanded for some foolishness, not having the sense just to sit and take it.
‘Oh, believe me,’ Ashworth said, ‘it happens.’ And into his mind came pathetic acts of violence: a broken glass slashing through a face to the bone because of an imagined insult, a woman beaten to death because her ironing hadn’t come up to scratch, a small boy drowned in a bath because his mother fancied herself in love. ‘So I need to know exactly what’s been going on here: what items have been taken and when. And I need you to tell me who you think is behind it.’
In the end Taylor was more helpful than Ashworth had expected. At least he’d recorded every incident, every complaint brought to him, entered it in a rolling report on his PC.
‘So who’s the culprit?’ Ashworth asked after he’d read through the printout, seen the list of stolen cash, the watches, the earrings and beads. There was no individual item of great value, but it added up. ‘You must have your suspicions. Do you think Danny’s behind it?’
‘I don’t see that. He’s a bit of a lad and not a brilliant cleaner, but he’s not stupid. He’s got too much to lose for the sake of a couple of bits of tat that would make a few quid sold on. No, I don’t see him as a thief.’
‘Who then?’
Taylor looked awkward. ‘The other staff think Lisa’s the culprit.’
‘Because she lives in the west end and her dad has a criminal record.’ Ashworth hoped Lisa hadn’t been sneaking into the staffroom, slipping her hand into pockets and handbags. He’d liked her, and he believed his judgement about people was OK. Vera always laughed at that and called him naive. We’re all capable of violence, Joey, if we’re pushed to it. Even you.
‘Not just that,’ Taylor said. ‘She keeps herself to herself. She’s a bit prim. The others meet up outside work, drinking, partying. She never does. They’d rather blame her for the thefts. Easier than thinking it might be one of their mates.’ He paused. ‘I did wonder…’
‘Yes?’
‘If it was all a set-up to get rid of her. It’s weird how sometimes they take against people. They make her life hell, actually. Petty digs. Insults. I can’t think of any one thing that she might have done to offend them. It’s just like they want someone to hate. The women are the worst. Like they blame Lisa for anything that goes wrong in the place. Like Lisa doesn’t have any feelings. I think she’s amazing for sticking it out.’
‘Is that why you didn’t tell me about this yesterday? Because you thought it was the staff making trouble for Lisa? That it was just a trick to get her the sack?’ Ashworth wondered if maybe Taylor fancied the girl, if she brought out the protective male in him. Or was he embarrassed by the petty cruelties of his colleagues?
‘The thing with Lisa has been horrible. I don’t think there’s a ringleader. No one person stirring up bother; it’s more a strange sort of herd mentality. It’s kept me awake at nights. Louise, my boss, won’t do anything about it. She wants to be part of the gang too. Pathetic! I was hoping I might deal with the problem while she was on holiday, but I only seemed to make things worse.’ He looked up at Ashworth, relieved at last to be able to confide about the problem that had obviously been haunting him. ‘When that woman was killed yesterday I was pleased. Dreadful, isn’t it? But I thought it would give them all something else to gossip about. Take the heat off Lisa for a while.’
‘When did all this nastiness against Lisa start? Since Danny began working here?’
‘God no! Long before that. On her first day at work. Something she said, or something in her attitude, just turned them against her.’
‘And you really think they might have orchestrated the thefts to force her out?’ It seemed to Ashworth to be ridiculously far-fetched. But if you had a load of people cooped up in a place like this, bored by their work and by each other, perhaps they would create a drama just to bring some excitement to their working lives. A conspiracy to make them feel they belonged.
Taylor shrugged. ‘Or to get rid of me. I’m not their most popular person either.’
‘Why are you so interested in Lisa?’ Ashworth asked. ‘Are you going out with her?’ He still wondered if the man was exaggerating the problem, his judgement clouded because of a romantic attachment.
Taylor laughed, glad to relieve the tension. ‘Hardly! I’m already spoken for. My partner’s called Paul and we share a flat in Jesmond. I don’t fancy Lisa, but I like her. She’s a bloody good worker. And brave. She needs somebody on her side.’
Chapter Fourteen
Connie flattened herself against the wall of the post office to let a livestock lorry down the narrow main road of the village. There was a campaign to get a bypass for Barnard Bridge, but nobody really thought it would happen. Outside the hall, waiting again for the end of playgroup, she thought: Twenty-four hours ago I was standing here and I didn’t know Jenny Lister was dead. She ran through her conversation with the young detective. Had she hit the right tone? It was important that he believed her. She couldn’t stand the idea of more publicity, of having to face the same intrusive questions from prying officials. She hadn’t told him everything of course, that would have been impossible. Even now, she hated the idea of appearing a fool.
Veronica Eliot made her way along the street, looking very much the country lady in smart brown trousers and a tweed jacket. She’d parked her car outside the old school. Even from a distance Connie could make out the signature, rather incongruous red lips and red nails. A vampire in cashmere and green Hunter wellies. Why do I hate her so much?