‘I suppose that’s no surprise. Well …’ he started the sentence as if he was about to say goodbye, but his curiosity proved too strong. ‘So, who’s the smart money on for the role of murderer?’
‘Oh, the usual Fethering mix. Everyone who ever had any contact with Heather, even down to the milkman. Along with the customary identity parade of Russian assassins, jihadists and illegal immigrants.’
‘Ah. And do you yourself have a theory, Jude?’
‘Nothing worth mentioning. What about you, Jonny? If you were asked the same question, where would your finger be pointing?’
‘I could only base a theory on events concerning Heather which I have personally witnessed. Which means, basically, things that I have observed during rehearsals for the church choir.’
‘And …?’
‘Well, you may remember the difficult task I had early on, when I was sorting out who would actually be singing at the wedding …?’
Jude caught on quickly. ‘And you told Ruskin Dewitt he couldn’t be part of the choir on the big day.’
‘Exactly. Then, when he appealed to the rest of the choir to make me change my mind, who was it who backed me up strongly, and said she didn’t think he was good enough to sing at the wedding?’
‘Heather.’
‘Yes. And she expressed her views quite forcibly. Listen, Russ and I go back a long way. I’ve known him on and off for years. Apart from anything else, we taught at the same school, Ravenhall, for more than a decade. So, I know his character pretty well.’
‘And …?’ Jude repeated.
‘And … beneath his surface bonhomie, Russ has a very violent streak.’
‘Oh?’
‘He keeps it under control most of the time, but occasionally it just bursts out. He’s capable of turning very nasty. At the school where we both taught, he nearly lost his job once for assaulting a pupil.’
‘When you say, “assaulting”, do you mean “sexually assaulting”?’
‘Oh, good heavens, no!’ Jonny coloured. ‘Nothing like that ever happened at Ravenhall. And I can’t imagine Russ being involved in that kind of disgusting stuff. No, he just lost his rag with the kid and lashed out. He does have a ferocious temper on him, and he’s also the kind of person who holds grudges for a very long time.’
‘But do you mean that he’d been nursing a grievance about what Heather said to—?’
‘Better be off now, Jude.’ He unclicked the brakes on the wheelchair. ‘As it is, I’ve probably said more than I should. See you soon. Say goodbye, Mother.’
‘Goodbye,’ said Mrs Virgo obediently and serenely. Though who she was saying it to, she had no idea.
Jude was frustrated when she got back to Woodside Cottage. Jonny Virgo’s suspicion of Ruskin Dewitt was just a diversion. The main track of guilt she was following led directly to Roddy Skelton. And to no one else.
Her frustration arose from her inability to progress in finding the missing bridegroom. Still, there was one thing she could try. And any action was better than none. She picked up the local telephone directory. Nothing wrong with going for the obvious first.
The copy of the telephone directory she had was an old one. She knew that a lot of such listings were now done online. But at least the phonebook she had would list people who’d been at their addresses for some time.
There were only two Skeltons listed. ‘Skelton, A. W.’ and ‘Skelton, P.’, one in Angmering, one in Smalting. She rang the latter and was excited by the voice which spelled out his number at the other end. The elderly voice of a man who had been to the right schools, but who was now in a state of high tension. She felt sure it was the tall man she’d seen in All Saints for the wedding.
‘Good morning. Is that Mr Skelton?’
‘Yes.’
‘Are you the father of Roddy Skelton?’
‘Yes. Why, do you know where he is?’ The patrician voice dropped to a tone of agonized pleading.
‘No, I’m sorry, I don’t.’
‘Ah.’ The pain was now of disappointment.
‘Listen, my name’s Jude.’
‘Are you the Jude who lives in Fethering and works as a healer?’
‘Yes, I am. Why, have we met?’
‘No. No, we haven’t. It’s just that a very good friend of mine took advantage of your services when he developed a back problem immediately after he retired. He spoke very highly of you. You got him back on the golf course, where he has developed an unfortunate habit of beating me on a weekly basis.’
‘Are we talking about …?’ and she mentioned a name.
‘That’s the fellow. He said you were very good. It had never occurred to him that the pain was in his mind. And I must say the idea sounds pretty fanciful to me. Any pain I’ve ever felt has been in my body. But my pal’s a hundred per cent better, so I guess the proof of the pudding …’
‘The mind and the body are inseparable. It’s inevitable that a major trauma like retirement is going to have some effect on a person. It’s just a question of what form that effect takes.’
‘Yes.’ The sharpness of the response did not suggest Mr Skelton was convinced by such views. ‘Anyway, he’s extremely grateful to you. Said he’d recommend you to anyone who’s got problems in the … you know, in the mind department.’ For a moment, he sounded exactly like his son. He spoke with the bluff certainty of someone who would never himself admit to having ‘problems in the mind department’.
‘The reason I’m ringing,’ said Jude, ‘is that I’m a friend of Alice Mallett.’ She didn’t think that was overstating the case.
‘Ah. Needless to say, she’s rung me many times since Roddy disappeared. But neither of us is any closer to finding out what’s happened to him.’
‘Presumably the police have been in touch with you?’
‘And how? Though they haven’t put it into words, it’s pretty clear that they think he was responsible for Heather Mallett’s death. Which I just cannot believe. I know he suffered a lot of stress when he was out in Afghanistan, and it sometimes makes him do irrational things, but I really cannot think of my son as a murderer.’
‘I fully understand that. And, having met him, I can’t think of Roddy as a murderer either. I’m sure soon the police will find out who did actually kill Heather.’
‘But will they find Roddy?’ There was despair in the voice now. ‘I’m so worried about him.’
‘You’ve presumably checked with his friends? The best man, for instance? He’s not holing up with any of them?’
‘No, I’ve checked. So have the police. There’s no sign of him anywhere.’
‘Well, look, if I hear anything, I’ll get back to you.’
‘Thank you.’ Fortunately, the old man was so concerned to hear news of his son that he didn’t think to ask what possible reason Jude had for being part of the hunt.
‘And, Mr Skelton, if you could let me know if you hear anything …?’
‘Yes, of course.’
She gave him her mobile number. ‘I’m sure you’ll hear good news about Roddy soon.’
‘Yes. Thank you. I’m sure I will.’ But the old voice didn’t sound optimistic.
Jude bit the bullet and went round to High Tor. She knew that, when Carole sensed some estrangement between them, Jude would always have to be the one who set about mending the fences. She also knew that keeping the identity of Leonard Mallett’s murderer from her neighbour wasn’t going to get any easier.
It was characteristic of Carole that she made no mention of their latest brief estrangement, but immediately invited her friend in for a cup of coffee. And, rather than voicing suspicions of Alice, she went straight into a re-creation of her encounter with KK Rosser. Jude listened with interest but made no comment when told about Heather Mallett’s recoil from the guitarist’s touch. That was moving too close to the subject of Leonard Mallett’s abusive habits.