Birthdays Can Be Murder (20 page)

Mollern sighed gently. ‘That’s really breathtaking, Miss Starling. Almost as breathtaking as when you told us how she did it. The actual poisoning, I mean.’

‘Oh, that.’ Jenny dismissed that piece of deduction with a wave of her hand. ‘But you see, only Alicia could have done it that way. You see, the wine waiters told us that Alicia gave the signal for all the guests’ glasses to be filled for the toast. And it was Alicia who had the cake brought in when only she herself and Justin were the last to be served. And she was stood right by the wine table, ready and in position when the lights went out, to poison the champagne. And, luckily for her, all the main suspects were also close by. Arbie, Trevor Watkins, even Margie Harding, although Alicia knew nothing about her at the time. The actual poisoning was simple. All the guests had their glasses full, so there was no danger of any of them getting a dose of the poisoned bottle by mistake. The cake came in on her signal, and the lights went out. Everyone remarked how dark it was, and nobody’s eyesight had time to adjust from the bright glare to the sudden loss of light. That included Alicia’s own eyesight of course, hence the needle. She’d had the wine waiters open the champagne bottle for herself and Justin a few minutes in advance, so it was already open and waiting. In the darkness she couldn’t possibly have poured in the paraquat from a little vial, for she was as blind as the others, and it would have been too messy and hit-and-miss. But with a hypodermic it was easy. All she had to do was feel for the opening of the bottle with her fingers, carefully insert the needle tip inside the neck of the bottle, push the plunger, toss the hypodermic into the bin – a bin, incidentally, which she’d had placed there – and Bob’s your uncle. The lights come back on, and there’s the poisoned bottle of champagne, all innocent and waiting. And no chance of getting a full set of fingerprints either, from off just the rim of the bottle.’

Jenny took a deep breath. ‘The wine waiter said he chose the bottle at random, and no doubt he thought he had. But picture the scene – the host and hostess need their glasses filled. Standing on the table, no doubt a little bit in front of all the others, was this newly opened and very expensive bottle of champagne. Of course he picked that one.’

The two men, enthralled by her narrative, allowed themselves to relax. ‘So poor Margie Harding, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, received the poisoned drinks from the wine waiter and gave them to Justin and Alicia in all innocence,’ Mollineaux finished.

Jenny nodded then noticed Mollern frown. ‘Something wrong, Sergeant?’

Mollern scratched just below his left ear and sighed. ‘I just can’t get over the way Alicia Greer took a swallow of that drink, Miss Starling. Knowing that it was poisoned, I mean,’ he said at last, and Jenny nodded.

‘Yes, I know. It was such a desperate risk to take,’ she agreed, which made Mollineaux glanced at her quickly. So
that’s
what she meant, he thought with a smile, remembering the time they’d talked about the risks the killer had taken. He and Mollern were talking about the risk they thought the murderer must have taken to poison the wine. Only Jenny Starling was thinking about the risk Alicia had taken in taking a sip of the champagne she knew to contain paraquat.

‘I daresay she only took a tiny sip,’ Mollineaux said.

‘Yes,’ Jenny agreed. ‘Still, I wouldn’t have done it.’ She shuddered. ‘But what really had me worried was the why of it all. Why did she kill her brother? She was short of money, yes, but she was getting by. She could always squeeze what she wanted from either of her parents or Justin himself for that matter. They all indulged her. Cars, houses, jewels. No, there had to be a definite reason
why
Justin had to die. And I just couldn’t see what it was.’

‘But you finally figured it out,’ Mollern said quickly.

‘Hmm. Eventually,’ she agreed ruefully. ‘And it was Keith who told me, though I’m sure he didn’t mean to. When he pointed out so confidently that Alicia didn’t gamble, I had to think of another reason. And I was sure it still involved Trevor Watkins. That argument they had at the party was surely significant. As was the way Watkins came so meekly to stay at the house. I knew he would never have put himself in the middle of a murder investigation unless he was looking out for his own interests. But what were they? And then I heard Keith talking about having children, and I realized just how old-fashioned he really was. If you ignored his single aberration of falling in love with Alicia, what did you have left? A hard-working, simple man, who loved his wife and kids. And Alicia, who loved him devotedly, knew him better than anyone, of course.’

‘I still don’t see …’ Mollineaux began and Jenny smiled.

‘Neither did I, till I remembered something Martha had said. Yes, Martha, of all people.’ Jenny allowed herself a slight smile at the irony of it. ‘When she was talking to Vera about Trevor Watkins’ reputation, she mentioned the fact that he organized discreet abortions. Nowadays you need the consent of two doctors to have an abortion, and they’re mostly granted on the grounds of the woman’s mental health. But I’m sure if you ask around you’ll find that the Greers’ family doctor is the kind of man who disapproves of abortion, the kind who’d make it as hard as possible for his patients to go down that route. And Alicia would know how easily a rumour could start, especially in a small community like this. So she’d have to go to someone who could arrange it all very quietly. Two tame doctors who’d agree to it, and a clinic far, far away, was what she needed, and the deed was done. And so, suddenly, it all made sense. Keith Harding was hardly likely to have been Alicia’s first lover. Even in this day and age, birth control isn’t a hundred per cent effective all the time. Her mother and father, though appalled, would forgive her if Trevor Watkins had told them that their precious daughter had had an abortion, and Alicia and Watkins both knew it. But when Alicia fell in love with Keith, who had kids of his own, well, then it all changed. Alicia knew Keith would find the thought of abortion totally unacceptable. He might not be able to forgive her an abortion, and she simply wasn’t willing to take that chance.’

‘And so Watkins began to blackmail her,’ Mollineaux finished. ‘No doubt he realized right away who must have murdered Justin and why. With Justin dead, she was the main heir.’

‘Exactly,’ Jenny said. ‘I always knew that man was aware of much more than he was letting on.’

‘I can see why Alicia couldn’t risk Keith finding out about the abortion,’ Mollineaux agreed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. ‘But why not kill Watkins, instead of her own brother? It would have saved her from having to pay off blackmail for the rest of her life. And if, as you think, she really did love her brother after all, howbeit in a twisted sort of way, why not kill Watkins instead?’

Jenny sighed. ‘I’m sure she would much have preferred to, Inspector, but how could she have managed it?’ She shrugged graphically. ‘Watkins is a crook, with an animal’s canniness. No doubt he was also surrounded by minders down in London. How could she kill him and get away with it? Buy a gun? From where, and how to shoot him without getting caught? She could hardly attack him with a knife in a dark alley. No. She needed an environment where she could stack the odds in her favour. After all, getting caught and spending her life locked away from Keith was definitely not in her plans. She couldn’t arrange to kill Watkins. But her brother Justin, right here on her home ground, and with all the time in the world to think out a plan, and be in a position to arrange it all, that was different. That was do-able.’

Mollern, who’d listened to all this with growing horror, said gruffly, ‘So Justin Greer died just because he
could
be murdered?’

Jenny heaved a heavy sigh and nodded. ‘That’s about the size of it, Sergeant. Alicia must have her darling Keith, and she must have money. With Justin gone, she believed she would have both.’

‘And so she might,’ Mollineaux said grimly, ‘if not for you. And to think, that day she came home from hospital, I actually wondered if she might be in some danger.’ Mollineaux smiled. ‘I just don’t know how to thank you, Miss Starling,’ he said softly, and held out his hand.

‘Please, call me Jenny,’ she said cheerfully.

Mollineaux nodded and glanced at her van. ‘So, where are you off to now?’

Jenny shrugged. ‘I’ve no idea. But I expect I’ll find somewhere to lay my head,’ she said airily.

‘You mean you don’t even know where you’re going next?’ Mollern asked, sounding appalled at the thought.

‘Not at the moment,’ she agreed. ‘I’ll stop at the first good hotel that comes along. There’s bound to be a job for a good cook somewhere. There aren’t that many of us about, you know,’ she informed them seriously.

Saying a final goodbye, the two policemen walked over to their car, got in, and drove away. She gave them a wave as they went and was just about to get into her van when she paused, spying a grey form perched on the wall with its back to her. Very stealthily tip-toeing up, she used her height to peer over the stone wall. As she suspected, there was a nice soft lawn on the other side. Very quickly she planted a hand firmly on the cat’s unsuspecting back, and gave a firm but gentle push.

The cat gave a muffled ‘meumphhh’ (not having either the time or the breath to let out a good bellowing miaow) and disappeared over the wall.

Jenny Starling smiled, climbed into her van and drove off into the evening sunshine.