Purrfectly Deadly

Chapter 18

Before Odelia could devote her attention to getting Chase’s name cleared, she had a murder to solve, though. So half an hour later, she and her uncle were seated across from Bryony Pistol, John Paul George’s widow. She was the same age as the singer, but looked at least a decade younger, so either she had killer genes, or had taken a leaf from Jennifer Aniston’s page and copied the actress’s anti-aging secrets.

“Thanks for seeing us on such short notice, Mrs. George,” the Chief said.

“Pistol. I rarely use my husband’s name these days.”

“Mrs. Pistol. And my condolences for your loss.”

“Thank you, Chief,” said the woman, dabbing a small handkerchief to her eyes. She was sitting ramrod straight, the picture of regal grace and poise.

The house where she lived wasn’t as big or luxurious as Johnny’s, but it was still very nice, and it was obvious that the woman was well-off.

“I’d actually hoped to talk to your daughter, too,” said the Chief.

“Yes, I’m sorry about that. Veronica had an urgent meeting in town. She should be back soon.” She eyed Odelia a little uncertainly. “Are you also a police officer, dear?”

“Miss Poole is a, um, consultant,” said the Chief. “She’s also my niece.”

“What about that other policeman? What’s his name, um…”

“Detective Kingsley is no longer on the case, ma’am. In fact he doesn’t work for us anymore as of this morning.”

Bryony nodded. “My daughter will be pleased to hear that.”

“About your daughter… is it true she used to be involved with Donovan Rubb?”

“I’m sorry to say that she was, even though I always told her not to be. Perhaps you already know this, but Mr. Rubb used to deal drugs, you see.”

“We know,” the Chief confirmed. “He was Johnny’s supplier.”

“Oh, dear,” said the woman, shaking her head in obvious dismay. “Good thing Veronica broke up with him. That man would have been her downfall.”

“When exactly did they break up, ma’am?”

“Well, let me see.” She thought for a moment. “I’m pretty sure it was soon after that incident with Detective Kingsley. She finally came to her senses.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Odelia said. “But what exactly happened between Detective Kingsley and your daughter?”

The woman raised her hands and dropped them in her lap. “Well, he made a pass at her, didn’t he? He interviewed her when Donovan got arrested and must have taken a fancy to her, because he tried to kiss her.”

Chief Alec cleared his throat and gave his niece a warning look. “After your daughter and Mr. Rubb broke up, did they keep in touch?”

“Not to my knowledge. I actually took this house after this whole affair ended, just to make sure Veronica would be away from her old circle. Away from the temptations of the big city and that toxic group of so-called friends of hers.” She waved a hand. “And also to be closer to her father, of course, though God knows Johnny was never much of a father to Veronica, or a husband to me, for that matter. Still, it was better than staying in New York.”

“You do know that Mr. Rubb also moved out here, don’t you?” asked Odelia. “He was operating a health food store under an assumed name.”

“Orville Haggis,” the Chief muttered.

“No, I did not know that,” said Bryony. “But I’m not surprised. That man always had an unhealthy obsession with my daughter. At least she was over him. Said she’d learned her lesson. Besides, she could see what drugs were doing to her father, and I like to think that’s the wake-up call she needed.”

“Did you and Johnny remain close?” asked Odelia.

“Yes, we did. In fact we never even bothered to get divorced. Though these past few months we’d discussed it. Johnny had big plans, you see.”

Odelia frowned. “What plans?”

“Well, he was going to divorce me and marry Jasper, of course.”

“You were going to divorce?” asked Odelia, surprised.

She nodded. “Johnny and I never went through the hassle of a divorce because we went from being lovers to being husband and wife to being best friends. I never blamed him for leaving me, and he always remained grateful for the support I gave to him in the early stages of his career.” She smiled. “But when Johnny confessed he’d found a soulmate in Jasper and wanted to place their relationship on a more formal footing, I naturally agreed. We’d gone to see a lawyer together and were going to finalize the divorce so Johnny could have the big, fancy wedding he dreamed of.”

“Who knew about this?” asked the Chief, as surprised as Odelia.

“Why, only Johnny and myself, of course. And the lawyer.”

“Did Jasper know?” asked Odelia.

Bryony smiled. “Johnny wanted to keep it a secret. He was going to surprise Jasper with a romantic wedding proposal on their anniversary. Johnny had even recorded an entire album, as a wedding present.”

“So you knew about the recordings?” asked Odelia.

“Of course.” She sighed. “I’m sure they’ll be posthumously released now.”

“But what about all the… the escorts?” asked the Chief.

She made a throwaway gesture. “Oh, that. That was nothing, Chief. Johnny was a vigorous and very physical man who had certain needs, but those boys didn’t mean anything to him. That was just sex, nothing more.”

“But didn’t Jasper find it strange that the man who told him he loved him was… inviting all these other men into his bedroom to, um, do stuff?”

“Do stuff? Oh, you mean sex. You could ask me the same thing. He started this habit when we were still married. Jasper wasn’t the first.”

“And did you? Mind, I mean?” asked Odelia.

The woman thought for a moment. “It didn’t take me long to figure out that Johnny was a very complicated man, and that he was never going to be fully mine. Like the cliché goes, a star belongs to the whole world, and Johnny took that quite literally. I can’t deny that when I first became aware of his infidelities I was disappointed, even heartbroken, but he promised me it didn’t lessen how he felt about me, and I believed him. Johnny compared his nocturnal acrobatics to going to the gym. For him those boys were simply exercise, and he never formed an emotional attachment to them. Until…”

“Until Jasper,” Odelia supplied softly.

She nodded, and smiled a little wistfully. “Until Jasper. I lost Johnny, then. Before, he was simply experimenting, but with Jasper it was decided that I wasn’t going to be his life partner after all. It stung, I won’t deny that.”

“But why did he keep having these fleeting affairs?” asked the Chief.

“Like I said, Johnny was a star, Chief. I don’t expect you to understand. Being in a relationship with a genuine rock star is a very unsettling experience, while at the same time very exciting.” She paused. “I’ll miss him.”

“Do you have any idea who might have done this?” asked Odelia.

She shook her head. “I have absolutely no idea, Miss Poole. He was a very sweet man, and as far as I know he had no enemies. All I can think is that one of the boys he slept with had hoped to replace Jasper, and when he saw he didn’t stand a chance, took revenge in the worst possible way.”

The chief nodded. “My theory is that Jasper is the one who killed your husband, Mrs. Pistol. He didn’t like Johnny’s, um, appetite and snapped.”

“Oh, no,” said the woman adamantly. “Like I said, Johnny planned to marry Jasper. So there was absolutely no reason for Jasper to kill him.”

“But Jasper didn’t know that,” said the Chief. “You said so yourself.”

“Jasper didn’t know what?” suddenly a voice sounded behind them.