Showstopper

16

Unlike Greg Deans, Diamond didn’t mind discussing work matters at home. His late wife, Stephanie, had always been willing to listen and chip in with thoughts of her own. More than once she had given him an insight that transformed a case and led to a conviction. His current partner, Paloma, too, brought fresh thinking to his problems. Keeping an open mind was the hardest part of his job. It could be painful to question assumptions he’d already made, but if he was willing to take the pain from anyone, she was the woman closest to his heart.

Paloma enjoyed cooking and had made it her mission to educate Diamond’s palette. They didn’t often go out for meals. Tonight he’d persuaded her to try the Hudson Steakhouse on London Street. When he’d first come to Bath, the place had been a pub called the Hat and Feather, known to locals as the Hat. Back in its glory days it had been the social hub of the Walcot community, famous for charabanc trips to the seaside, children’s parties and lavish wedding receptions, but by Diamond’s time it was badly in need of a makeover and he’d shed no tears at the change of use.

Paloma wasn’t much of a meat eater, so coming to a steak house was largely an act of altruism. To Diamond’s relief she gave a squeak of delight when she saw the menu.

“Tortelloni. And stuffed with the goodies I like most.”

“Specially for you,” he said as if he’d fixed it with the chef. He had no idea what tortelloni was, but he was willing to believe it was delicious as long as he didn’t have to eat any. He’d already decided on the twelve-ounce rib eye.

“I expect you know the difference between tortelloni and tortellini,” she said.

He knew he was being teased. “I thought they were opera singers.”

She solemnly explained and he solemnly listened. “I’ll give you one to sample when it arrives.”

“I can’t wait.”

“You need this,” Paloma said when the steak was in front of him. “If you’ll forgive the expression, you were looking jinxed when you left for work this morning.”

Still sensitive about that word, he gave a smile like a reopened wound. “The day ended better than it started. We made a breakthrough. I discovered who fed the story to the Bristol Post.”

“Anyone I’ve heard of?”

He told her about Candida, the full works.

Paloma took a sympathetic view. “I can understand why she did it, stuck on that boat with a two-year-old. You feel as if your life has closed down. Talking to the press brought back some of the fun she was missing.”

“No fun for the people she used to work with.”

“Oh, come on, Pete, everyone knows the jinx thing is a load of nonsense.”

“That’s what I keep saying. Actually all of it really happened.”

“The incidents, yes. It’s the spin the paper gave them.”

“Which came from Candida. She was the one who strung everything together and told the press about the damned jinx.”

“But the substance of the story is true, as you just said. It adds up to a remarkable run of bad luck. It’s not as if she made everything up.”

He shook his head. “It was a calculated act of mischief.”

“I can see it’s a sore point, but I do understand why she did it. At least you can cross her off your list of suspects.”

“Really?” He couldn’t let that pass.

“Obvious, isn’t it? If she’d done anything criminal, she wouldn’t have made it public.”

“That’s not the way I see it.”

She laughed. “Typical. Go on then. I’m listening.”

Without seriously interrupting his work on the steak, he did. “She’s firmly in the frame. She profited from Dave Tudor’s departure by taking over his plum job as assistant producer. And she was the last to be seen with Mary Wroxeter. She drove Mary home that night.”

“The sainted Mary everyone loved and depended on? Hold on. Are you thinking she was murdered?”

“Helped to die, possibly.”

Paloma put down her fork and sat back in her chair. “You’re serious?”

“I’m looking into it.”

“Along with all the other troubles that hit the show?”

He shook his head. “Only the suspicious ones that could be murder.”

“But if Candida had anything to do with whatever happened, why would she bring it to everyone’s attention?”

“The real reason for contacting the newspaper? It’s smart. The killings get lumped in with all the other stuff that happened and passed off as more bad luck, the work of the jinx. Tudor went missing and Mary drank too much. They’re not viewed as murders.”

Her gaze slipped away from him, taking in the deviousness of such a plan. When their eyes met again, she still seemed unconvinced. “And the other man who has gone missing — do you think she killed him?”

“Whoever killed the others probably did for Jake Nicol as well.”

“But why? Why would Candida want to kill him? Had she even met him?”

“That’s what I need to find out. Jake was a rigger, like Fergus, so there’s a link there. Anything more is speculation right now.”

Their debate was interrupted by the waitress asking if their food was acceptable. Paloma said hers was delicious and Diamond made a sign of excellence with his thumb and forefinger.

“One thing is certain,” Paloma said. “You’ve got to be grateful to Candida.”

“Why?”

“She’s come to the rescue. You told me you were being threatened with retirement, but now the story has broken about you investigating the jinx, everyone is looking to you to find the answer.”

He grinned. “Cool.”

“You get it now?”

“I do. When you say ‘everyone,’ you mean Georgina. She called it a public relations disaster. She thinks her own job is on the line. Suddenly I’m needed. It’s Operation Showstopper.” He raised his beer glass. “To Candida, who saved me from the scrap heap, whatever else she may have done.”

Paloma took a sip of her wine and said, “Coupled with Georgina, who came to her senses.”

“I can’t drink to her. She really spooked me with her talk of retirement. But you’re right. I’ve been given a reprieve.”

They resumed their meal. After some minutes, Paloma said, “Coming here was a good idea. I’m enjoying this. Did you want to talk about something else?”

“I’m enjoying your take on the case. You’ve got such a good grasp of it. Who else comes under suspicion?”

“Fergus, of course,” she said at once.

“Tell me why.” He wasn’t disagreeing. He was interested to hear her reasons.

“You told me he’s been there from the start. I know he isn’t employed by the TV company, but he must have known Mary Wroxeter from way back.”

“He did. He worked with her on the Robeson documentary before Swift was started. And so did Dave Tudor. Those two have a history.”

“Well, I’m guessing here, but you did ask. Could the motive for Tudor’s killing — if indeed he was killed — be a grudge over something that happened years before?”

“That’s possible.”

“When did Fergus start his friendship with Candida? Before Tudor went missing?”

He smiled. “You’re so quick. It took me a while to work that out. Neither of them will say much, but it’s clear she and Tudor had something going before Fergus started taking an interest in her.”

“The two men were rivals?”

“I’m sure of it.”

“Tudor vanished when?”

“2015.”

“And Mary, who was no fool, may well have got suspicious about what really happened to Tudor. She was working closely with Candida, who she’d appointed as her production assistant. This is starting to make sense. Mary put two and two together and asked Fergus for the truth and so signed her own death warrant.”

“Neat, but I’m not sure Fergus is bright enough to have carried out three killings and covered his tracks.”

“Was he at the Shield and Dagger the evening Mary died?”

“Most of the actors were. I’m not sure about the crew. He could have been.”

“So when Candida offered to drive Mary home, Fergus could have got suspicious about what those two would talk about. If Candida had suspicions about him she might have decided to share them with Mary.”

“But she wanted to tell Mary the good news about the pregnancy. Fergus was the father. He would have known what was on Candida’s mind.”

“Not necessarily. Perhaps she hadn’t told Fergus at that point. She’d only just got the test result.”

“Surely she’d have phoned him or texted the minute she knew.”

Paloma’s answer was a small movement of her shoulders.

He paused his eating. New scenarios were always worth exploring, but this one took some believing. “I’ve met them both and there’s certainly some friction in the relationship. He doesn’t know she spoke to the press about the jinx and she’s terrified how he’ll react when he finds out. But if he isn’t smart enough to figure out that his own partner is the whistleblower, is he a triple murderer? I’ve yet to be persuaded.”

“Who else is on your list?”

He smiled. “How long have you got? Greg Deans, for a start.”

“The producer?”

“A man who ought to be content with running a successful show, but clearly isn’t. He’s stuck with a concept that wasn’t his own. Everyone knows Mary handled it brilliantly and he’ll never come up to her high standards. He can’t stand his leading lady or most of the cast and crew, come to that. Whether that’s enough to justify murdering them, I’m not sure.”

“Mary’s sudden death suited him nicely,” Paloma said.

“Exactly. His rise to the top was meteoric, from production assistant to top banana in under four years, and now he’s there, he isn’t happy. He may be a good manager, but he’s aware of his limitations and so are the people he works with.”

“They see through him?”

“I suspect they always did.”

“Doesn’t he have any redeeming features?”

“They’re not obvious. There was a moment of insight today when I asked him if he was a family man. He wasn’t keen to tell me anything and I had to get heavy with him. Finally he told me he has a disabled wife called Natalie and they never talk shop. She has a pottery studio and he does the heavy work for her when he gets home. He looked and sounded genuine at that moment. The rest of the time he’s trying too hard to pass himself off as one of the luvvies.”

“Insecure.”

“I reckon so. At work, he’s surrounded by professionals who look to him for a spark of creativity he doesn’t possess. I almost feel sorry for the man.”

“Yes,” she said. “I’ve never met him, but I’m sometimes in touch with his wardrobe people and he has this reputation of being pleasant and civil without actually letting anyone get up close and personal. What you just told me explains a lot. You did well to get him to open up about his wife. If that was generally known, there might be more sympathy for him. How about the two men who went missing? Were they standing in his way somehow?”

“Not in any obvious sense. He’d only just joined the show when Dave Tudor went missing. The person who benefited was Candida. As for Jake Nicol’s disappearance...”

“Or death,” Paloma said.

“I’m trying to keep an open mind here. Jake was only a rigger, not even employed by Swift and Proud. I can’t think of any way Greg would profit from him being no longer there.”

“Who else is on your list of suspects?”

“You’re really into this.”

“Absolutely. It’s turning into a whodunit.”

“I hope not. I can’t see myself bringing them all together in the last chapter and naming the murderer.”

“What do you want — a car chase and a shoot-out?”

“That wouldn’t go down well with my bosses. I expect I’ll do it the boring way: an arrest, an interview under caution and a charge.”

“Be predictable, then, but give me another name.”

“You won’t have heard of her. Trixie Playfair.”

“Trixie with an ‘x’?”

He grinned. “She’s not tricksy in the way you’re thinking. What you see is what you get. She’s the bitter ex-actress originally cast as Caitlin Swift. She quit before it got past the rehearsal stage.”

“Why?”

“She insists it wasn’t stage fright, but it seems to have been an extreme form of it. Terror was the word she used. She wasn’t in front of an audience at the time, just the director and a few of the crew. She called it an out-of-body experience, watching herself in the studio and knowing she was a flop.”

“Poor woman.”

“You’re going to feel sympathy for all my suspects, aren’t you? Trixie is out of it now, teaching drama in a posh girls’ school, claiming to be no longer interested in Swift.”

“Don’t you believe her?”

“It’s clear the anger with herself still burns and she’s jealous of Sabine, who took over the role and is now a star performer.”

“I’m not surprised she’s bitter. How different life could have been for her.”

“And I must decide if her state of mind is enough to make her a killer. At the beginning, I was doubtful. I remember Keith Halliwell disagreeing with me and I shrugged off his suspicions. Keith has his own hang-ups. I’m more inclined to believe him now. Trixie is a damaged personality.”

“Peter, that isn’t the same as murdering someone. Why kill Dave Tudor and Mary? Nice people, both of them, by all accounts.”

“There’s the difference between real life and fiction,” he said. “In a whodunit, the victims have to get up everyone’s nose. The two you just named were heroes. Under questioning Trixie spoke well of Mary, as everyone does. Called her lovely and said she had amazing empathy. The thing is, she lied about other things and she may have been lying about Mary.”

“What other things?”

“Sabine, for one. She claims she doesn’t give a toss about her when it’s obvious she envies her. She’s more jealous than the Mona Lisa’s best friend.”

Paloma nearly choked on the tortelloni. “You come out with some corkers.”

“It’s not difficult finding a motive for Trixie. She hates the show and everyone in it. And she’s super-fit, strong enough to murder a man and dispose of a body. Had to be, to get the part of Swift.”

“If that’s true, Sabine had better watch out.”

“I don’t know about that.” But he realised before the words were out that he ought to know. Paloma had touched on a possible flashpoint. He spoke his thoughts aloud. “Sabine didn’t steal the part. She was there from the beginning, when the show was being cast. The two women met at the audition. I was thinking they didn’t know each other and there couldn’t be any aggro between them.”

“Hadn’t you better warn her?”

“About Trixie? No chance.”

“You can just say you believe she’s at risk.”

From the look on his face, she could have suggested walking through fire. “Sabine is a complicated person as it is, deeply superstitious and with a superiority complex, quite the diva, to quote Greg. I don’t intend to unsettle her even more.”

“You’ll feel terrible if anything happens to her.”

“I’ll have to deal with that. This is only a suspicion on our part. God only knows how it will get blown up if I say anything. Sabine isn’t the sort to keep calm and carry on. She’ll tell her agent we think she’s lined up as a serial killer’s next victim.”

“Where does she live?”

“In an enormous motorhome built like a fortress. She has a minder and maid-of-all-work called Chen who lives in and drives it for her.”

“And she has an agent looking out for her as well? It sounds as if she’s well protected already. Sorry, Peter. On second thoughts, you’re right about keeping this to yourself. From what you’ve told me, she’ll be alert to any potential danger.” Paloma leaned back in her chair. “And I suppose Sabine is also a suspect.”

“Has to be. As the star of the show, she’s been there right through. She worked with all the people who came to grief in one way or another — Tudor, Wroxeter, Burbage, Summerfield, Nicol. Her motorhome was parked up at Charmy Down the night Jake Nicol went missing.”

“You’ve met her, obviously?”

“Interviewed her in the fortress. I expected a tough session, but she was charming. After some of the stuff I’d heard from other people, I was surprised. Not one of my main suspects has a good word to say for Sabine.”

“Except you?”

“Ingeborg was with me.”

“And did Inge find her equally charming?”

He had to think back. “She wasn’t quite so bowled over as I was. She pointed out that she’s an actress.”

“Ingeborg saw the effect she had on you.”

“I’m no pushover, Paloma.”

“No?” She smiled.

Challenged, he rested his hands either side of the plate, holding the knife and fork upwards like steel gateposts. “I’m not easily influenced, you know. Sabine is a serious suspect with the same physical attributes as Trixie.”

Paloma was openly amused by his attempt to get serious. “You took note of her attributes, then?”

“I’m speaking about her strength and fitness. She’s got a mini-gym inside the motorhome. She could take me on in a fight, no problem. And what’s more, the motorhome could be used to move a body to some place far away where it could be disposed of.”

“But that would involve her driver.”

“Chen? She’s totally loyal.”

“Loyal to the point of being an accomplice? She’d need her help to drag a body on board.”

“True. It’s high off the ground. Seriously, she has the means to get away with murder and she can make the opportunity.”

“But what’s the motive?”

“For Sabine?”

“She’s in a good place here, earning a star’s salary, getting treated like royalty. Why would she put that at risk by killing people on the show? It makes no sense.”

“People don’t always behave rationally. I almost said ‘women,’ but you would have shot me down in flames.”

“And stamped on the wreckage,” she said. “Fair play, this lady doesn’t sound well grounded. Can you think why she might have decided to do away with Dave Tudor?”

“She spoke in glowing terms of him, couldn’t recall anyone who clashed with him.” He plucked another phrase from the interview. “She went so far as to say he was quite sexy.”

“She said that to you?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s more like the way one woman speaks to another.”

“Actually, it was his accent she found sexy.”

Paloma’s brown eyes locked with his. “Did she make a play for him and get the elbow? That wouldn’t please a diva like her.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

She gave him the look that said men are not much above the apes in making fine distinctions.

He was thinking back to the conversation in the motorhome. “I remember asking her if he made out with anybody and her words were ‘Not me, unfortunately.’”

“There you are, then.”

“It was lightly spoken and I took it to be a piece of wit, just something you say in conversation.”

“She doesn’t sound like a great wit to me. A few minutes ago you said Candida had something going with Tudor at one time. If he was dating other women on the show and ignoring Sabine, she’d be incensed.”

“I can see that, but wouldn’t she focus her anger on Candida?”

“Not at all. Sexy Dave was her target. She’s the star and he’s supposed to come running when she snaps her fingers. He doesn’t and there’s wounded pride mixed in with the pull of the hormones. Hell hath no fury et cetera. He’s a dead man.”

He laughed. “You’ve solved it, then. She kills him out of frustration. And now the difficult part. Why kill the others, Mary and Jake?”

Paloma switched her gaze to the chandelier above them. “Now you’re asking.” After a short pause, she had her answer. “Well, Mary was no fool. She will have summed up Sabine’s personality. What if she accused Sabine of killing Dave?”

“Two years after it happened?”

“She’d suspected it for a long time and then something came up like Sabine getting into an argument with Greg — two strong personalities there — and Mary gets annoyed with her and blurts out that if Dave were still alive and in the job as PA she wouldn’t have to deal with Greg.”

“That’s guesswork.”

“Isn’t that how you arrive at the truth, by juggling the facts until you get something that makes sense?”

He grinned. “Not a method I admit to.”

“Let’s settle for this, then: something provoked Mary into speaking out.”

“And that’s why Mary had to die? What about Jake? Was his mistake the same as Dave’s, being fancied and trying to walk away?”

“Did you speak to Sabine about Jake?”

“I did, and she said she didn’t know him from Adam.”

“She would, wouldn’t she?”

“I don’t know about that. When she told me this, it confirmed what others have told me, that from her lofty height people like riggers are only there on sufferance.”

“That wouldn’t stop her from giving him the eye if she fancied him. Was he attractive?”

He took the phone from his pocket and showed her Jake’s picture.

“Oooh,” she said, laying it on to tease him. “Neat moustache.”

“I didn’t know you liked them.”

“Douglas Fairbanks Junior.”

“Way before my time.”

“Beast. But you see what I’m driving at? He fails to respond to Sabine’s charm and she’s humiliated. A common rigger turns her down. She can’t bear to have him on set as a reminder. She’d already killed Tudor and made him disappear. She repeated the trick.”

It was a persuasive theory, providing Sabine with a motive, the opportunity and a means of removing the body from the scene, but while listening, Diamond had become increasingly uneasy about Chen’s involvement. The minder had to be Sabine’s accomplice. Is loyalty so blind that it gets led into conspiracy to murder?

He’d been willing to accept the idea until they analysed what Sabine was supposed to have demanded of Chen. Now he was rapidly going cool on it. The short time he’d spent with Chen had shown him she knew exactly where she stood and what her duties were. Anything extra would need to be negotiated. Subordinates don’t make good partners in crime.

“After that I need another beer.” He signalled to the waiter.

“Is that a way of telling me to zip up?” Paloma said.

“No, I’m fascinated.”

“Well, there’s one more suspect you told me about — the gentleman of the road.”

“Will Legat.”

“Do you want my thoughts on him?”

“I’m on tenterhooks.”

“You said he’s been visiting Bath for years at the height of the tourist season.”

“Right. He only has to sit on the street with his enormous dog and people give them money.”

“I’ve seen them outside the Roman Baths. Have you checked how many of the incidents and accidents over the years happened at times when Will was visiting Bath?”

“Paul Gilbert may have looked at the timing. He’s handling the Nicol inquiry for me.”

“It’s the first thing I would want to know. Will isn’t your average down-and-out, from what you told me. He’s eloquent, for one thing.”

“Difficult to stop.”

“And no fool. He had a business of his own in London that was brought down by the global financial crisis, as many others were, right?”

“True.”

“Isn’t there some connection with Jake Nicol?”

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t call it that. Nicol also worked in London before joining the show, but as Will pointed out to me, London has a population of nine million.”

“That isn’t what I meant. You found Nicol’s blood on the belt Will was wearing.”

“Right, I get you now. On the belt and on his clothes. It’s the only evidential link we have between any of the suspects and the victims. Normally I’d find blood evidence decisive.”

“But you don’t?”

“He had a pretty convincing explanation. He stumbled over the belt when he was crossing the airfield in the dark on his way to doss down in the old control tower. Being a scavenger, he picked it up.”

“And got blood on his clothes, Jake Nicol’s blood?”

“That’s the worrying bit. If the blood was still moist, the attack must have happened a short time earlier.”

“Does he have an explanation?”

“He claims to have watched the riggers clearing up after the shoot. They’re always the last to leave. If he’s telling the truth, he may well have witnessed Nicol being attacked. But when I started questioning him about it, he went into ‘No comment’ mode.”

“Why? Is he scared of naming someone?”

“He isn’t scared of anything. He could tell how eager I was to find out what he may have witnessed and he saw this as a way of working his ticket. Free overnight accommodation in the cells.”

“Is that worth having?” Paloma asked with surprise.

“It is to Will. His preferred choice would be Julian House, but they can’t take Caesar, so he has to look elsewhere. There are usually a couple of empty cells at Keynsham and I had a word with the custody sergeant. It’s bed, blankets, breakfast and a shower if he wants. He was there two nights, until I called time.”

“You amaze me. Is this the norm?”

“It’s common practice — has been for years — for homeless people to commit minor offences like anti-social behaviour to get a night in the cells. Quite often we don’t bother to charge them. Saves us the paperwork. And sometimes they don’t bother to commit the offence. They simply turn up and ask if we have a spare cell.”

“And you hoped Will Legat would become cooperative and tell you what he saw?”

“It was worth the try. If I go on hammering away at him in an interview room, he’ll put the shutters up forever, stubborn cuss. He’s quite prepared to have ‘no comment’ on his gravestone.”

Paloma’s eyes sparkled. “I like it.”

“We also keep tabs on him this way.”

“Did he walk all the way from Keynsham into Bath each morning to do his begging?”

“No chance. He and Caesar got a lift in a police van. He left the pram behind.”

“Giving him a reason to return. This guy has got it made. What I’d like to know is whether he’s a key witness or a suspect.”

“Tell me if you find out,” Diamond said. “On what we know so far, he has to be the prime suspect for Jake Nicol’s murder unless his story about finding the belt can be believed. Tying him into the other crimes is more problematic.”

“When Tudor disappeared in 2015, it was late July, the height of the tourist season, when you’d expect Legat to have been here.”

“And Mary’s death?”

“August, 2017.”

“So it’s likely he was here for all three of these suspicious deaths.”

“That’s one thing. Finding a reason why he should want to murder any of them is the challenge.”

“Way beyond me, I’m afraid,” Paloma said. “He doesn’t sound like a violent man, but you can never be sure.”

They decided to order coffees rather than a dessert. Even Diamond had his limits after a twelve-ounce steak.

“So you really do have a classic whodunit to solve,” Paloma said after their plates were taken away. “Three men and three women. And three bodies, if you’re right about Mary Wroxeter.”

“But it’s not impossible one of them is still alive and will come back and make a horse’s arse of me.”

“Mary won’t. You know she’s dead.”

“The other two are still missing officially. I’ve staked a lot on them being dead.”

“You need bodies to back up your theory.”

“That’s my biggest headache. How do I find them? My best chance is Nicol, the latest one. All the evidence suggests he was killed on Charmy Down when they finished filming there. The only thing we found was his rigger’s belt. We searched all the derelict buildings.”

“Buried, do you think?”

“At the airfield? Doubtful. It’s hard to tell how anyone would have had time to do it.”

“Will Legat, who spent the night there,” Paloma said.

“I can’t see it. As Legat pointed out to me, he doesn’t have a spade.”

“If Nicol was murdered, there are two other theories. Number one: the body was taken away in one of the trucks the riggers use. And two: Sabine’s motorhome was parked there until late.”

“You already told me your suspicions about that.”

“It was the last vehicle to leave.”

“Could you get a forensics team to search the motorhome for traces of blood? There must have been some.”

“We’d need a warrant and I haven’t got a strong enough case to apply for one.”

“I suppose the same applies to the riggers’ trucks? Oh dear. You’re really up against it. If one of those trucks was used, the finger points to Fergus, surely?”

“But no one has come up with a motive. Nicol had only been in the job a couple of days, which is why we know so little about him.”

“You don’t have much on the other missing man.”

“Dave Tudor? That’s because he vanished four years ago. Memories fade.”

Paloma had a suggestion. “I wonder if Nicol’s fate was settled by something as basic as a fight over work duties? He objects to being given all the heavy work just because he’s the new man. Fergus can’t allow his authority to be challenged.”

He nodded. “Could be as simple as that.”

“They all carry tools that could be used as weapons, don’t they?”

“I heard you,” he said, starting to feel an overload of information. “Here comes the coffee.”

When it was poured, he added, “You’re so patient with me. This conversation hasn’t been most ladies’ idea of a nice meal out.”

She laughed. “Most ladies would consider it a treat to hear a top detective analyse a case in progress.”

“Well, this lady brought some good things to the table.”

“I knew you’d like the tortelloni.”