“Mind you, everyone was attracted to Sadie. Everywhere she went, people were drawn to her. She was so beautiful—captivating, I’d say.” She chewed her lip. “She had more marriage proposals than I’ve had hot dinners. Not that she entertained any of them, mind you. She only had eyes for one man and after he dumped her, she never showed an interest in anyone else.”

  “And who was that man?” asked Fiona. “Do you know?”

  Jane shook her head. “No. I just know that she never got over him.”

  “Okay, Mrs. Robertson. You’ve been very helpful. Thanks for your time.”

  ººººººº

  “I didn’t see Sadie after that night we all got together at the pub to celebrate her book launch. Her behaviour was completely out of order but it was typical of her. Everything had to be a big drama as far as she was concerned. And, as usual, she’d had far too much to drink. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how booze can cause emotions to run high. You must have dealt with enough alcohol-related crime to know what I mean.”

  Rick Kagan crossed his legs and flexed an ankle, on the end of which, an expensive Italian leather loafer was buffed to burnished perfection.

  “And where were you on Friday evening?” asked Nathan.

  I was at a council meeting until eleven and then I went straight home. Cathy and I had a nightcap, and I had a sandwich, and then we went up to bed.”

  “Do you know anyone who might have wanted to harm Sadie, Mr. Kagan?”

  Rick shook his head, his precisely cut chestnut-brown hair falling back into its moptop style without a strand out of place. “Don’t get me wrong—sometimes she drove you round the bend—but I really don’t know anyone who would have wanted to kill her.”

  “As a group of friends, you were very close, weren’t you? Did Sadie have a particular affinity with anyone?”

  “Jane and Ellie. Without a doubt, they were Sadie’s favourites. Jane had been her friend for years and I think Ellie grew close to her by default—you know, because of the job.

  “Funny, though. I think Keith had a soft spot for Sadie. He always stood up for her, which didn’t always go down well with Bev, I can assure you. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean there was anything going on between them—well, not as far as I’m aware—but he would always speak up for her. Take her side, you know? You won’t tell him I told you that, will you? I wouldn’t want him to think I was trying to spread rumours.”

  “Okay, that’s all for now, Mr. Kagan,” said Nathan. “Thank you for your time.”

  ººººººº

  “Well, I hadn’t seen her since the trouble at the book launch party. I’d decided that I wasn’t going to make the first move and if Sadie wanted to speak to me, she could do the running.”

  Cathy Kagan crossed her shapely legs at the ankles and rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

  “Will you excuse me for just a minute. I feel chilly all of a sudden. I’m just going to fetch a jacket.”

  She returned a minute later wearing a purple fleece that she buttoned up to the neck.

  “That’s better. Sorry, where was I?”

  “You were just telling us that you hadn’t seen Sadie since the book launch party but, before you carry on...have you lost a button recently?” Fiona stared at the purple glass buttons on the fleece.

  Cathy’s face was blank for a moment. “Oh, yes! Yes, I did. I had to sew on a spare one. I think I might have lost it the last time I was at Sadie’s house. Why? Have you found it?”

  Fiona nodded. “It was in the Hydrangea outside the front door. Well, that solves that mystery,” she said, making a note in her book. “Sorry, carry on, Mrs. Kagan.”

  “Well, I was going to say that I hadn’t actually seen Sadie since the book launch,” said Cathy, “but the bad feeling was interfering with my yoga classes—too much negative energy hanging around—so I popped round on Friday evening to clear the air.”

  “On Friday? And what time was that?”

  “Umm...well, yoga finishes at half-eight so it must have been around quarter-to nine, I suppose. I didn’t really take much notice of the time but I guess it was around then. I was only there for a few minutes and I didn’t actually see her, I only spoke to her. She said she wasn’t feeling well—thought she might be going down with flu, or something, so I didn’t even go inside, I just spoke to her through the front door.”

  “Do you know if anyone had any reason to cause her harm?” asked Fiona.

  Cathy pursed her lips. “Hmpf, well, I wanted to give her a damned good slap after her outburst in the pub—I’m sure Bev did, too—but otherwise, no. I know that must sound awful, speaking of the dead like that, but honestly, over the years, Sadie had perfected the knack of rubbing you up the wrong way down to a fine art.

  “And, I hope I’m not speaking out of place but, I have to ask, are you absolutely sure it’s murder? I mean, it’s little wonder she didn’t fall down the stairs years ago, what with that damned cat appearing from nowhere when you least expected it. How on earth she avoided a serious injury for so long is a miracle. I mean, it was an accident waiting to happen.

  “She even used to say that the cat or the kaftans would be the death of her—one or the other was forever tripping her up. Although heaven only knows why she was so addicted to the things—kaftans, I mean, not cats—they do nothing for a woman’s figure. They’re so unbecomingly baggy. Why on earth anyone would want to wear something so unflattering is beyond me.”

  She sighed heavily.

  “I’m sorry, I’m waffling. I’m just at a loss as to what to say. I think we’re all in a bit of a daze at the moment.” She took a comb from her handbag and ran it through her auburn curls. “It’s going to take a long time for us to get over this—a very long time, indeed.”

  ººººººº

  “Afternoon, Mrs. Leyton. Remember us?”

  Nathan and Fiona stepped into the immaculately-kept front hall of Violet’s comfortable home. “We’ve come to ask you a few questions, if that’s convenient?”

  “Come in, come in, but I’m afraid I won’t be much help,” said Violet, opening a small tin of liquorice pellets and popping one into her mouth. “I’ve been in a bit of a tizzy since I saw the news on the TV.”

  “Well, why don’t you sit down and I’ll make you a cup of tea, if you like?” said Fiona, crouching down by the side of the two-seater couch.

  “That would be nice, thank you.” Violet patted her arm. “You might as well make a pot while you’re about it. You’ll both have a cuppa while you’re here, won’t you? Tea, sugar and honey are in the cupboard to the left of the sink and the cups and saucers are in the one on the right. And can you bring a packet of biscuits from the tin on the worktop? Any ones will do.”

  The sprightly old lady shuffled on the couch and pummelled a cushion before placing it in the small of her back. “Helps with my lumbago. It aches something terrible sometimes.” She regarded Nathan through shrewd eyes. “I noticed you’ve got a limp. Why’s that then?”

  Nathan stretched out his leg. “Just an old knee injury. It only bothers me in the cold weather.”

  “You had surgery on it?”

  “Yes, a lot of surgery.”

  “And it helped?”

  “No doubt. If I hadn’t, I might have been walking with a stick for the rest of my life.”

  Violet nodded as she contemplated his answer. “The consultant kept on at me to have an op on my back a couple of years ago but I was too scared. When you get to my age, waking up every morning is a bonus—you don’t want to tempt fate by going to sleep unless you have to.” She chuckled and her face creased from cheek to cheek.

  “Ah, here’s the tea.” Nathan jumped up to clear a space on the table for the tray.

  “So, what do you want to know?” said Violet, stirring the brew before pouring three cups of strong tea from the china pot.

  “How well did you know Sadie Grey?”

  “Fairly well. She moved next door about twenty years ago. She kept herself to herself in the beginning but she came out of her shell after a while. We’d chat whenever we saw each other and she’d come round for a glass or two of sherry and a mince pie on Christmas morning.

  “We weren’t over-friendly but we were certainly neighbourly. I’d keep an eye on her place if she went away and she’d do the same for me. I didn’t see her much but I shall miss her, even though she was a strange one to figure out. Sometimes she’d talk so much you couldn’t shut her up but other times, you couldn’t get a word out of her. Custard Cream?”

  Nathan took a biscuit from the proffered plate. “Thank you. And when did you last see her?”

  “Friday morning, around half-past eight. She was waiting for someone to pick her up. She had to wait on the pavement, of course because no one could pull onto the drive because of the roadworks. Honestly, I shall be glad when that hole is filled in.”

  “Do you know where she was going?”

  “No idea. Felicity and I were on our way to my hairdresser’s appointment, so I didn’t stop to talk. We just said hello and passed the time of day.” Violet patted the cushion next to her and Sebastian jumped up for a good scratching behind the ears.

  “Did she have any regular callers that you were aware of?”

  “Only her friends. I never saw a single man visiting, if that’s what you mean. I asked her once if she was too busy for romance and she said she’d already found the love of her life so there was no point in looking anymore.”

  “Did she say who that was?”

  Violet shook her head. “No, and I could tell by her body language that she didn’t want to talk about it so we never discussed it again. You know, when she was in a good mood, she was a delight—she was such a gregarious woman with a real love of life. It’s so terribly sad that hers should end this way.”

  “And do you recall seeing anything, or anyone, suspicious recently? Particularly last Friday.”

  Violet tapped her chin with her index finger. “No. I don’t recall seeing anything untoward. Sorry, I’m not much help, am I?”

  A purring at the window interrupted Nathan’s questioning.

  “Oh look, it’s Malcolm!” Violet reached across and tapped Nathan on the knee. “Do me a favour to save me getting up, will you? Just open that window a crack so he can get in.”

  The handsome Siamese rubbed his face against Nathan’s hand before jumping gracefully from the window ledge and padding across the rug to where Violet sat. He trilled until she made a fuss of him, then lay on his side at her feet, closed his eyes and immediately began to purr.

  “Looks like you’ll be coming here for your meals from now on, old boy.” Violet stroked his neck gently with her slippered foot. “You’d better get used to catfood, though.” She sipped her tea and smiled. “I expect it’ll take you a little while to get used to Sadie not being around—even though she forgot to feed you sometimes, she loved you to bits, you know.”

  Nathan emptied his cup. “Right, Mrs. Leyton. We’d better get going. Thanks for your time and for the tea. If you remember anything else, please give us a call.”

  ººººººº

  “We just want to ask you a few questions, okay?” Fiona smiled reassuringly.

  Ellie nodded as she drew her fingers through the blonde tips of her lank, greasy hair and pulled her pyjama top down over her knees. “Excuse the state of me—I haven’t felt much like getting dressed. Or showered.”

  “Don’t worry. So, can you tell me when you last saw Sadie alive?”

  “It was Friday morning. It was early, must have been around eight. I went to her room to ask her if she wanted anything before I left for the weekend.”

  “And do you know where she was going that morning?”

  Ellie looked puzzled. “What do you mean, ’where she was going’?”

  “She went somewhere on Friday morning. A neighbour reported seeing her outside the house at half-past eight, waiting for someone to pick her up.”

  Ellie shook her head. “No idea. There was nothing in the diary for Friday morning—I thought she was on a writing binge all weekend? That’s why I left so early.”

  “Okay,” said Fiona, making a note. “So, you probably knew Sadie better than most. Do you know of anyone who would have wanted to harm her?”

  Ellie’s eyes filled up. “Honestly? The only person who was intent on causing Sadie harm was Sadie. Sometimes, it was like she was on a self-destruct mission. Otherwise, no. There’s no one I can think of who would have wanted to do her harm.”

  “Alright. Thanks for talking to us.”

  ººººººº

  The incident room grew quiet as Nathan held up a hand.

  “Any luck with the house-to-house enquiries in Jenson Street? Anyone see anything, remember anything out of the ordinary?”

  “Nothing of any significance, Chief, although we’re not finished yet.”

  “Okay, keep on it. Someone may have seen something they don’t even realise is important to the investigation.”

  Nathan sat backwards on a rickety chair with squeaky wheels.

  “So, this is what we know. We know that the only people to have had any contact with Sadie Grey on the day she died were Ellie Joseph, Violet Leyton and Cathy Kagan.

  “Ellie saw her before she left on Friday morning to go to her boyfriend’s house for the weekend. That was at eight o’clock.

  “Violet saw her half-an-hour later. She was waiting for someone on the pavement outside the house. We don’t know who she was waiting for, though, so it’s crucial that we find out who that person was.

  “Cathy Kagan went round to see her in the evening at around eight-forty five but only spoke to her through the door because Sadie wasn’t feeling well.

  “Beverly Brady saw her in town the week prior to her death, but can’t remember what day it was. She called out but Sadie ignored her so she didn’t pursue her.

  “Jane Robertson saw her on Tuesday. She called round to make the peace after the argument at the book launch celebration and none of the men had seen her since that evening.

  “We know that Sadie enjoyed a drink. We know that—according to her friends—she was a bit of a drama queen.

  “We know that she went travelling when she was in her early twenties when she met a man who broke her heart. I should say that Norman Robertson has a hunch that something else happened while she was away because of the depressed state she was in when she got back.”

  “Hmpf. Norman Robertson’s obviously never had his heart broken,” mumbled Fiona.

  “What’s that?”

  “I said, he’s obviously never had his heart broken. That’s a ridiculous statement to make. I mean, if someone you really love breaks your heart, that alone is enough to make you depressed. Personally, I’m not convinced that anything else happened at all.”

  “Well, he knew Sadie, and we didn’t, so I’d like to investigate the possibility that something else did,” said Nathan. “Right now, I’ll take anything that may give us a clue as to who’s responsible for her death and, that being the case, Ben and Fiona, first thing tomorrow morning, I want you back at Sadie Grey’s house to see what you can find.

  “There has to be something there that’ll lead us to her killer.”

  Chapter 7

  “CAN I HAVE A VERY STRONG black coffee when you get a minute, please, Jess? A large one.” Nathan yawned as he slid onto a barstool.

  “What are you doing here in the middle of the morning?” asked Jess, viewing him with a quizzical eye.

  “I’m bunking off for the rest of the day, but don’t tell Ben, will you? He’s on the search for evidence with Fiona.” He winked and put a finger to his lips.

  Jess’s mouth fell open. “What happened to leading by example?”

  He grinned. “I’m only kidding. I’m meeting Leo and Harry.”

  Charlotte breezed in from the terrace. “Hello, stranger! What brings you here?” She kissed Nathan lightly and gave him a hug. “If you hurry, you’ll catch Molly. Ava, Harriett and Betty are just taking her to the park but I’m sure she’d love to see her daddy first if you’ve got five minutes. They’ve only just left so they won’t have got far.”

  Nathan’s eyes lit up in his weary face. “That’s the best news I’ve had all day. Back in a minute.”

  “If his work schedule is anything like Ben’s, I take it he’s not home much at the moment?” said Jess.

  Charlotte shook her head. “Not much. It’ll be better once the case is solved but he’s been getting in so late, he and Molly have hardly seen each other. Come to think of it, we haven’t seen much of each other, either. What’s he doing here, anyway?”

  “He’s meeting Leo and Harry, apparently.” Jess placed a steaming mug of coffee on the bar.

  “Leo and Harry?” Charlotte echoed. “What for?”

  Jess shrugged. “No idea.”

  “Ah, I feel better for that.” Nathan reappeared, a smile on his face that spread from ear-to-ear. “A Molly hug—the remedy for every ailment!”

  “Why are you meeting Leo and Harry?” asked Charlotte.

  “Because they want to speak to me about something and they asked if we could meet here. They were coming for lunch anyway, so they asked if we could get together beforehand.”

  “That’s strange.” Charlotte frowned. “What do they want to speak to you about? Is it something to do with the murder? I wonder what it could be?”

  Nathan took a sip from his mug and grimaced. “I’ve no idea, but I’ll find out soon enough. Anyway, it’s nothing for you to be worrying about. And it’s certainly nothing for you to be getting involved in.”

  “I’m not getting involved, I’m just curious, that’s all,” said Charlotte, indignantly, taking the tea towel from her apron and aiming a flick at her husband. “I’m allowed to be curious about a murder in my own neighbourhood, aren’t I?”

  “‘I’m just curious’,” repeated Nathan, dodging the tea towel and stirring another sachet of sugar into his coffee. “How many times have we heard those words, Jess? And how many times have they been closely followed by Charlotte disappearing into the night on her bike, looking for clues, or getting involved up to her neck in murder investigations?”

 

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