‘What reason would he have for murdering Eleanor?’
David looked into the fire. ‘Money,’ he said. ‘We both knew that the business was on the brink of disaster, and neither of us was prepared to admit it.’
‘You think somebody paid him to kill Eleanor Longstaff?’ She couldn’t keep the incredulity from her voice. The thought of the ex-magician as a paid hitman seemed ludicrous.
‘No! At least I don’t think so.’ David stretched out his hands towards the flames. ‘But I’m going crazy. While I was in the garden this afternoon I was going over it all in my head. I’m ready to believe almost anything.’ He paused for a beat. ‘Charles was here on the night of the hamefarin’ and he lied to me. Why would he do that?’
She couldn’t give him an answer, but could see that he wouldn’t rest until he got one. ‘What did he do? What makes you think he was caught up in all this?’
David leaned forward. His damp jeans were steaming in the heat and his face was flushed. ‘Charles had been behaving oddly for weeks. There’d been mysterious phone calls and sudden trips to Lerwick. When I asked him what was going on, he said he was investigating a project that might provide extra income for the business. He’d tell me when everything was settled.’ He paused again. ‘That night we’d decided that we wouldn’t go to Lowrie’s hamefarin’ and I went to bed early. Then I heard Charles go out, the engine of his car starting. I followed him to the Meoness hall in my own car. He parked there, but he didn’t go inside. He walked up the road a little way and met someone. It looked as if they’d arranged to meet.’
‘Did you see the person?’
‘It was a woman. That was a relief of a sort. I suppose I’d imagined that he’d found someone else. Another man. I didn’t see any detail. There wasn’t much light and I was worried about getting too close.’ David paused. ‘The last thing I wanted was for Charles to think I was spying on him.’
‘Could it have been Eleanor Longstaff? Tall and dark.’
‘She was certainly dark-haired. I’m not sure about anything else.’ David was calmer now and focused on getting the facts right. ‘They spoke for a minute and then they walked down here to the beach. They seemed very easy with each other, looking out over the water. Then other people came out of the hall – I suppose a dance had finished and everyone wanted fresh air or a cigarette – and I left. I didn’t want to be seen and dragged in to the party.’
‘Did Charles leave at the same time?’ Willow was trying to work out a time-line for this. Even if Eleanor was Hillier’s companion on the beach, it didn’t turn him into a murderer. She was still alive to go back to Sletts with the others, to sit on the deck and drink more wine.
‘No, when I left they were still talking.’
‘What did you do when you got home?’
‘I went back to bed. As I say, the last thing I wanted was for Charles to know I’d been following him.’ David took off his wellingtons and wrung out his socks. His pale bare feet looked pink and fleshy in the firelight. A piece of pitch pine fell into the hottest part of the blaze and sparks floated upwards.
‘What time did he get back?’
The fire had taken Willow back to parties on the beach close to Balranald. Sometimes the whole commune had been there; middle-aged hippies sang the folk songs of their youth to acoustic guitars. Sometimes it was the wild boys of the island, steaming with drink because they were bored out of their skulls and that was the only excitement they could get.
David was taking a long time to reply and she prompted him. ‘Were you asleep when he got in?’
This time the answer was immediate. ‘Of course not! But I pretended to be. I was scared that he might be planning to run away, that stress about the business had finally pushed him over the edge. I kept looking at the clock and wondering what could have happened to him. I told myself he’d just have joined the party, had too much to drink and would be walking home. But I couldn’t quite believe that. Then I thought maybe he’d had an accident, and I imagined him lying at the bottom of a cliff somewhere. Eventually I heard his car. I almost wept with relief.’ He turned to her. ‘This must seem so foolish to you. An overreaction. But it was the first real relationship of my life. I was desperate not to lose him.’
‘What time did he get in?’
‘Ten to three. I looked at the bedside clock when he pulled into the courtyard.’
So that would have been after Eleanor had sent her email to Polly. She might even have been dead by then. Looking out to sea, Willow saw that the mist had almost cleared. ‘Did he give you any explanation for why he was so late?’
‘I’ve told you: I pretended to be asleep. And I really was tired by then. It was the worry – heading out after him to Meoness when I was already shattered. Besides, we had guests staying and I knew I’d have to be up early to make breakfast. It wasn’t the time for a meaningful discussion.’
‘Did you talk to him about it in the morning?’
David shook his head. ‘If Charles had secrets, I wanted him to share them when he was ready. I didn’t want to pry.’
Which was all very well, Willow thought. All very adult and civilized. But it didn’t really help her track down the killer. ‘And Charles didn’t give any hint that he’d been out that night, or what he might have seen or done?’
‘No.’ David hesitated. ‘He seemed excited, pleased with himself. And then Sandy phoned with news of Eleanor’s death and to ask if your team could stay at Springfield House. I took the call and said we had space. All I was thinking of was the money and how useful it would be.’
‘How did Charles react when you told him that one of the hamefarin’ guests had been murdered?’
‘It was as if he couldn’t believe it. He asked me to repeat what I knew and pressed me for details that I couldn’t give. Then he was on the phone to Grusche, in case she knew more about it. He’s always been a gossip and I thought he was excited about Springfield being the base for a murder investigation, but I think there was more to it than that. He was desperate for information.’ David turned his face away from the fire and towards her. ‘Charles didn’t kill Eleanor Longstaff, Chief Inspector. The news of her death came as a surprise to him.’
Willow thought that was probably true. But she also thought Charles had seen something when he was out in Meoness that night, something that seemed important in the light of Eleanor’s death. And that knowledge had probably killed him.
Chapter Forty-Three
Perez sent Sandy and Willow outside to search for Polly, but though he went to the door to see them out he remained inside the house. He was thinking of Polly, anxious and fraught, desperate. Caroline had moved to the window and was staring at the beach, as if her friend might suddenly appear through the mist. For a while Perez said nothing. He was glad of the chance to think. Then he moved further into the room and took a seat by the wood-burner.
‘I have a question,’ he said. Caroline turned back to face him, startled. Perhaps she thought he’d gone out with the others. ‘You saw Eleanor with another man in a restaurant in Bloomsbury. Who else did you tell about that?’
‘I only talked to Eleanor about it.’ Caroline’s voice was clear and certain. ‘I don’t really do gossip. I have enough to think about without that.’
There was a brief silence. Perez supposed he should be panicking and out searching with the others, but in this room he felt quite calm. The worst thing in the world that could happen to him had already occurred when Fran died. He thought he wouldn’t panic ever again. Unless someone threatened Cassie, and now he couldn’t let himself think about that happening. ‘That’s not entirely true, is it? For instance, you told your husband that you’d seen Eleanor with the man.’