Dark Rooms

Chapter Twenty-Five

As Jane was having breakfast with Eddie the following morning, they discussed the stair carpet and curtains. He was going to be at the house all day doing some final touch-ups, so he suggested they spend Saturday measuring up and ordering the last furnishings, as the decoration work was nearly finished.

‘I slept like a log after all that sea air, did you?’ he said.

Jane smiled. ‘I was tired, but my brain kept going over everything Hadley told me. I concluded that Jason Thorpe might have been looking for Helena’s will and maybe thought it was kept in her family album.’

Eddie rolled his eyes, smiled and shook his head. ‘You’re like a dog with a bone!’

Jane arrived at the station by eight and wrote up her report about her visit to Hadley. She waited until ten before calling Hadley, McKenzie & March, the legal firm that Hadley had worked for. When she asked about Helena Lanark’s will, she was put through to a man called Kevin McKenzie, who recalled her coming to their offices to execute it. Jane asked what date that would have been, and he responded that it had been some time in the 1970s, but due to client confidentiality he was unable to give any further details, except to say that it was Helena’s second will.

When Jane asked when the first will had been written, she was told that it was in 1975. On inquiring whether this was the time Jason Thorpe had been given power of attorney, she was hesitantly informed that it was.

Jane then asked McKenzie if at this time he had known that Arnold Hadley was married to Helena Lanark. At first, he declined to answer the question on grounds of client confidentiality, until Jane informed him Hadley had already told her they were married. McKenzie replied curtly that Arnold had told him they were married as it would be unethical for him to be a co-signatory on Helena’s second will.

‘Did Helena Lanark ever call you to make amendments to her new will?’ Jane asked.

‘She did, but she had become very unwell and required a wheelchair, so I made a private visit to her home in Brighton.’

‘Was Arnold Hadley present when the private meetings took place?’

There was an indignant intake of breath. ‘Arnold was not present, but here at our offices, as he was still a practicing solicitor.’

‘So, he was not necessarily privy to any changes made by Miss Lanark.’

‘Certainly not through me. Whether or not Miss Lanark informed him of her wishes would obviously have been her business.’

After ending the call, Jane contacted the Public Registry Office in Devon, who had no record of a marriage between Helena Lanark and Arnold Hadley. However, Deaths and Marriages in Brighton were able to confirm that they held a marriage certificate dated 1971.

Jane took some time in trying to unravel Hadley’s finances and was surprised to discover that his mother had left her son £20,000. She then contacted several estate agents in Brighton, finally establishing that the house had been sold for £25,000 in 1971. It appeared that Arnold Hadley had told her the truth. However, Jane was still no closer to discovering the extent of Helena’s wealth, or the precise date on which Helena had been admitted to the care home.

After further investigation, she was able to ascertain that Helena had been transferred to the care home in July 1976 so, as Hadley had stated, they had only had a few years living together in Brighton. Finally, she checked with the developers regarding the Stockwell property. The owner of the company informed her that due to various problems prior to the sale, they had intended to withdraw their offer. However, when Jason Thorpe reduced the price they changed their minds, purchased the property and offered him share options in the company, all of which was legally documented. Jane still suspected Jason Thorpe might have benefitted financially but now knew proving it would be a lengthy, if not impossible, task.

Her research had taken virtually all day and Jane’s head was aching by the end of it. She called Eddie to ask if he could collect her from the station.

‘I think you were right,’ she said.

‘What about?’

‘I’ve worked all day checking everything out and it appears that Arnold Hadley told me the truth. I still think Beatrice and Jason Thorpe were blackmailing Helena, but I doubt that Hadley had any ulterior motives as he inherited a substantial amount from his mother... though it was nothing compared with the fortune I believe Helena inherited.’

‘Oh, well... actually, I was going to ask you for a couple of grand for a new van,’ Eddie joked.

Jane asked if he was being serious, and Eddie became rather embarrassed. Jane insisted that if he needed the money, she was prepared to lend it to him.

‘What time will you be home?’ he asked, changing the subject.

‘That’s why I’m calling. I need to sort out a few things that I should have been doing instead of all this research. Would you be able to collect me from the station so that we can go straight to my parents’?’

‘Sure. I’ll park up outside at about seven.’

Jane finished her paperwork and went into the incident room to file it, as DC Taylor approached her.

‘Is the briefing still going on?’ she asked him.

‘It’s just finishing... I was called out to the front desk because Arnold Hadley’s here again, asking to speak to you on an urgent matter.’

‘Is he still at the desk?’

‘No, I took him into interview room one.’

Jane was just about to go and see him when DCI Carter banged into the room, carrying a stack of documents.

‘Well, well, DI Tennison. Decided to show your face after taking two days off for travel fatigue, wasn’t it? Best excuse I’ve had to date.’

‘I’ve been catching up on everything I had on my desk, and I’ve filed a report,’ Jane said, not rising to the bait. ‘But I’ve just been told that Mr Hadley is here.’

‘Who?’

‘He’s Helena Lanark’s lawyer. Apparently, he needs to speak to me on an urgent matter.’

‘Risen from the dead, has she?’

‘It may have some connection to her funeral, which I think is taking place on Monday. If you don’t need me for anything, I’d like to speak to him.’

‘I will be bloody relieved when that entire situation is put to bed. I have to give a final report to Superintendent Beattie tonight, which includes the costs of your trip to Australia and the outcome.’

‘I did put a report on your desk, sir.’

‘Strange as it may seem, Tennison, I do have other calls on my time. If one of us needs to be present at the funeral, then by all means you go. I am due in court on Monday.’

Mr Hadley immediately stood up when Jane entered the interview room.

‘Thank you for seeing me, Detective Tennison. I am here by way of a warning. Earlier today, Jason Thorpe assaulted me while I was at my old offices.’

Jane couldn’t hide her shock. ‘I’m so sorry, Mr Hadley, can you tell me what happened?’ Jane pulled out a chair to sit down opposite him.

‘He flew in from Sydney last night, with his mother,’ Hadley began. ‘He arrived at the offices this morning, initially saying he was there to discuss the funeral on Monday. While he was there, he demanded that Helena’s will be read to him, but my former partner, Kevin McKenzie, told him that since his power of attorney had expired on Helena’s death, he could not accede to this request, as Helena had stipulated that her will would be read after the burial.’

Hadley was clearly nervous and had to take out a handkerchief to pat his perspiring brow.

‘Jason became enraged and refused to believe Helena and I had been married. When Kevin McKenzie confirmed our marriage was legal, Jason became threatening and abusive, claiming that if Helena had changed her will it must have been while she was suffering from dementia. Kevin told him every legal precaution was taken to ensure Helena’s new will was legitimate, and it had been made when she was of sound mind.’

‘How did Jason react to that?’

‘He now suspected Helena had left him and Beatrice nothing and blamed me. I’d had enough of his behaviour and told him he was right. I then told him Helena left me her share of his wine export company, and unless he repays a percentage of the monies loaned to him, I would become sole proprietor. It was at that point he punched me before leaving.’

Jane gasped. ‘Good heavens! Did you call the police?’

‘No, I came straight here to inform you of the incident.’

‘Do you want to press charges?’ Jane asked.

‘I suppose I can understand his anger, so the answer is no. I just felt it was necessary to warn you that he is in a volatile state.’

Hadley stood up and removed an envelope from his jacket pocket, handing it to Jane.

‘I think you should read this letter. It’s a copy as I have retained the original for legal reasons. The letter was only to be read after Helena’s death. I think it might help you conclude your investigations. Helena will be buried at St Martin’s on Monday at half past ten, but I doubt there will be many mourners. One more thing... her beloved pearl necklace. It is as valuable as you suspected. At first, I felt I should donate it to the library where she worked for so many years, but perhaps it would be more fitting for me to give it to Beatrice...’

Reaching into his pocket, he took out a large, worn leather wallet and searched through it.

‘Kevin McKenzie told me that some years ago Helena had been dealing with Cartier and placed some items of jewellery in their safety deposit box. One item they had details of is a single strand of pearls. They gave me this newspaper cutting and the small photograph.’

Hadley passed the fragile newspaper cutting that had a photograph of the Duchess of Windsor wearing a double-stranded pearl choker.

‘If you read the notes — I believe to have been written by Helena — she was seeking to purchase a strand of pearls similar to that worn by the duchess. I suspect she showed them this photograph to ensure they found a match to the length of pearls inherited from her mother.’

She looked up as Hadley next passed her a small cardboard-backed sepia photograph. Written in the same writing underneath was ‘Marjorie aged twelve’. She was naked, her hands covering her small breasts and her knees drawn up with her feet crossed. Her thick curls fell to her shoulders, and around her neck was a single strand of perfectly matching pearls.

‘Does this mean Helena acquired the necklace after Marjorie died?’ Jane asked.

He shook his head. ‘Oh, I very much doubt that. I would suspect that Beatrice took it, then sold it when she left England. I think Helena wanted to have a copy made in memory of Marjorie. I certainly know she paid Cartier a vast amount of money for them. I think it would be fitting if Beatrice was allowed to have Helena’s and the strand from Cartier so all three strands could be worn together.’

‘I think that is very generous of you,’ Jane said. ‘I noticed she was wearing hers when we met in Australia.’

‘I intend to give her as much support as I can,’ Hadley continued, ‘because whatever the long-standing unpleasantness was between her and Helena, they were still sisters.’

Jane nodded thoughtfully. ‘Can I ask you something? I remember you telling me how Helena looked the time you returned from a walk. You said that she told you she had completed the puzzle. What do you think she meant by that?’

Hadley sighed. ‘I really don’t know. Until I told you about it, I hadn’t really given it much thought. The significance for me was that it was the last time she appeared to be coming back, but it was sadly short-lived, the light in her eyes never returned.’

Jane turned the photograph over. Printed on the back were the words ‘The Dark Room’. Hadley held his hand out as she passed it to him.

‘It’s such a disturbing image of a young girl.’

Jane said nothing as he quickly put the photograph in his jacket pocket.

‘Thank you for your time, Inspector Tennison. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to catch my train home.’

Jane ushered Mr Hadley out of the interview room, eager to read the letter he’d given her. She went into her office and opened the envelope.

Jane read the letter over twice before making a copy for herself and replacing the original copy back in the envelope. It was now after six and she knew that, as DCI Carter had to update the superintendent on the entire investigation, she should share with him what she had just read.

Jane picked up her coat and bag before going into the incident room. The late shift was just coming on duty, and she exchanged a few nods and smiles before knocking on the door of Carter’s office. Impatient to give him what she felt was such a definitive conclusion to the inquiry, she opened the door.

Carter was standing over Barbara, who was sitting on his desk, her legs apart and her skirt rucked up around her buttocks. They both looked at her, shocked, and quickly rearranged themselves.

Jane was hardly able to keep a straight face as she held out the envelope. ‘I felt this was important, sir. It’s a copy of a letter written by Helena Lanark...’.

Carter snatched it from her, removed the letter and quickly read it.

‘Where did you get this?’

‘Arnold Hadley gave it to me. He has the original.’

‘It sounds like the rantings of a bitter old woman... but at least the confession means case closed.’

‘What about Beatrice Thorpe and her son Jason blackmailing her?’

‘Your star witness is dead! She never made a formal complaint of blackmail and the validity of this letter is questionable.’

‘The handwriting is the same as I’ve seen on other documents written by Helena Lanark,’ Jane insisted.

‘You are not a handwriting expert, Tennison! I’ll need to speak with Chief Superintendent Bridges about it, so for now you just sit on it.’

‘I have this weekend off, sir, which I hope is still permissible after taking time off for travel. And as you suggested, I will be present at Helena Lanark’s funeral on Monday.’

‘Yes, yes,’ he snapped.

‘Thank you, sir, and goodnight. And goodnight to you, Barbara.’

Jane couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she left the station, just as Eddie drew up in his MG. He got out to open the passenger door for her.

‘You look like the cat that got the cream!’ he said, smiling.

‘I am! I just caught my boss in a rather compromising position with one of the clerks in his office!’ she laughed, as she climbed into the passenger seat.

As Eddie got in beside her, she leaned across to kiss him.

‘Once we get through dinner tonight, we have the whole weekend to be together.’

‘I can’t afford another trip to Brighton!’

‘I just want us to be at home together.’

He gave her a warm sidelong smile. ‘I’d like that very much.’