Murdered by Nature (17 page)

He opened a top drawer of the desk and brought out a list of the telephone numbers of international police forces.

He hoped Salas had been called away to a meeting, was in conference, had slipped out for a quick drink, even fallen when crossing a road to be overwhelmed by a bus. Hope was the drug of mankind.

‘Yes?' Salas said.

‘Inspector Alvarez speaking.'

‘I am aware of that.'

‘I mentioned my name because in the past you have said—'

‘That I am too busy to suffer my time being wasted. You have something to report?'

‘I began to question Señora Ashton as you unfortunately demanded.'

‘Why unfortunately? Why
began
yet seemingly did not finish?'

‘She became upset and spilled a glass of orange juice over her dress and had to leave to change. She sent Benavides to tell me this would take a long time and so I should go.'

‘You believed her?'

‘I had no option.'

‘You are unaware how quickly a woman can change a dress?'

‘Yes, señor.'

‘I should like to believe that, but cannot. Did you shout at her as if she was a fishwife?'

‘No, señor. I began by telling her a little about the local history . . .'

‘Quite unnecessary and uninteresting. Your questioning was inconclusive?'

‘I wouldn't say that, when it seemed possible she was acknowledging she had known Kerr.'

‘In what way?'

‘It's possible she was so shocked when I asked her if it was correct she knew Kerr that she started and consequently spilled the orange juice. She would only have been shocked if it was fact and she had hoped it would never come to light.'

‘Things do not come to light, light comes to them. You believe she spoke to and met Kerr before his death?'

‘It wouldn't have been afterwards.'

‘The repetition of an inane remark.'

‘But the way you asked . . .'

‘Did you accuse her of murdering Kerr?'

‘Had I done so, she would have become exceedingly upset.'

‘When a person is distraught, she is most likely inadvertently to speak the truth.'

‘That's not a sympathetic attitude.'

‘You believe sympathy is good reason for being diverted from your duty?'

‘It's not so long since you wrote that all officers must show compassion to those they question.'

‘Compassion is not another word for incompetence. Am I correct to believe the only certain result of your questioning the señora is that she spilt orange juice over her no doubt very expensive dress?'

‘Because it showed she was shocked . . .'

‘Your supposition. An alternative would be that she heard far too much about the local history, for which few can have any interest, but you lacked the social savoir faire to realize this; she spilled the juice in order to provide an excuse to ask you to leave.'

‘Rather an excessive method of persuading me to do so, señor.'

‘A measure of her distress. You will return and resume your questioning of her. Should she spill more orange juice over herself, you will stay until she has changed and then continue your questioning.'

O
n Tuesday, there was a cold wind from the north, light drizzle, and snow on Puig Major. Alvarez sat at his desk and wondered how he would spend the millions he would win on the next lottery draw. Dolores could employ a woman to do all the housework and menial jobs which were part of cooking while she devoted herself to producing ever greater dishes. Jaime could officially retire instead of unofficially. Juan and Isabel would, as adults, be financially supported. He could give up work. Buy a farm. Hire men to do the physical work while he watched the sowing, the harvesting . . .

The telephone rang. He left the hectares of rich land, returned to the small office, lifted the receiver. ‘Inspector Alvarez, Cuerpo General de Policía.'

‘Appleby, Interpol officer. Do you speak English?'

‘Fairly well, I hope.'

‘Then it's likely better than half the English do. You asked for enquiries to be made concerning Colin Kerr and provided details of his passport and entry date into Spain. The British police were able to identify him. I'll email his full criminal CV, but in brief, he started his criminal career when young; grew ambitious; was caught trying to rob a supermarket and suffered a ridiculously short sentence, yet it still changed his lifestyle. He was described as good looking, had a very agile tongue, and women were attracted to him. He started on the until-death-do-us-part routine. He found a woman with some money, often newly widowed and depressed, wormed his way into her affections, married her, grabbed all her money and departed. It's thought he married and defrauded at least five women.

‘One of the victims complained to the police, and they were interested in him when the father of a previous “wife” met him in a pub, rammed a broken bottle into his neck. He spent several weeks in hospital, and on leaving was charged with perjury, theft and bigamy – his final bigamous marriage being with a nurse, Laura Dorothy Lomas, who had looked after him in hospital and was credited with having saved his life when he suffered a sudden tear in an artery. Not a man to show gratitude! The magistrates at the preliminary hearing, for a reason no one could understand, granted him bail. He naturally disappeared.'

A silence.

‘Are you still there?'

‘I'm sorry, señor, but what you have told me is . . . very disturbing.'

‘It's a wrong identification?'

‘On the contrary, I am certain it is a correct one.' He thanked Appleby.

What significance was there in a name? Had she not known Kerr, would he judge there to be any? Yet how to ignore the fact that Laura Lomas had been a nurse, as had Laura Ashton?

Like Benavides, he wished he had not done what he had.

The phone rang. His mind so occupied in self-inspired despair, it was if he was acting involuntarily when he lifted the receiver. He said nothing.

‘Alvarez?' Salas demanded.

He did not answer.

‘Who is on the line?'

Reaching through despair, he mumbled his name.

‘Are you drunk?'

‘I wish I was.'

‘Alvarez –' Salas' tone had changed from annoyance to an emotion approaching concern – ‘are you ill?'

‘No, señor.'

His tone returned to normal. ‘Do you accept you have knowingly and deliberately disobeyed my orders?'

‘In what respect?'

‘You need to determine to which occasion I am referring? I have just been informed that you requested Interpol to provide information concerning Kerr. Is that correct?'

‘Yes.'

‘Did I not say that was unnecessary?'

‘You were wrong, señor.'

‘A junior officer does not tell his superior chief that he is wrong.'

‘If you don't believe you were—'

‘Can you explain your inexcusable disobedience?'

‘I don't think it was.'

‘I ordered you not to get in touch with Interpol.'

‘You didn't specifically forbid me from contacting them, señor, and I considered it essential to learn if there was anything about Kerr's life that was relevant to this case.'

‘You should not be surprised to learn that I am considering whether it would be in the best interests of the Cuerpo to treat your disobedience with just severity.'

‘All I've—'

‘You are unwilling to appreciate it is insolent to contradict your senior's judgement, believing it to be of less value than your own?'

‘But as I've learned—'

‘I will take time to determine my future course of action in regard to your behaviour.'

‘Señor . . .'

‘I have nothing more to say.'

‘It appears possible that Kerr had been married to Señora Ashton.'

There was a silence.

‘How do you know that?' Salas finally demanded.

‘Interpol are providing a CV of Kerr, but they gave me a résumé on the phone. Kerr was a small-time crook who was jailed. When he came out, he changed course and set about finding women who were single or newly widowed and had money, used his agile tongue to persuade them to marry him. After defrauding each one of all she had, he left in search of another victim.

‘The father of one met him by chance, jammed a broken bottle into his neck. He went to hospital where his life was saved by a nurse whom he soon married. Laura Dorothy Lomas.'

‘When was this?'

‘Approximately three years ago.'

‘Have you understood the full significance of what we have learned?'

‘We, señor?'

‘The course of events can now provisionally be plotted. Laura Lomas, defrauded and abandoned by Kerr, bigamously married Señor Ashton because of his wealth. They came to live on the island, perhaps at her instigation since it would be safer for her than remaining in England. Kerr, when out of jail, managed to learn where she now was, married to money. He came to the island, demanded she pay him for his silence or he would inform her husband that he was not legally married to her. Since his will bequeathed by far the largest part of his estate to his beloved wife, without naming her, she could not inherit since she was not his wife. She paid the first blackmail demand, getting the money from her husband with lies since she was too scared to explain the situation. Further demands from Kerr were bound to follow. Her husband was ill and could not be expected to live very much longer. Should her true status become known before he died – she lacked the honesty to tell him the truth – he might very well change his will and she would inherit nothing. If it became known shortly after his death, the law would hold she was not entitled to inherit under the terms of the will. Kerr had to die. She found a way of persuading him to ingest prussic acid when out with her in the yacht, dropped his body over the side.'

‘It could seem that was what happened, but it has to be wrong.'

‘Why?'

‘She could never kill for any reason.'

‘A woman's mind will find good reason to do anything.'

‘Her character . . .'

‘There is no need to repeat what you have said many times. However, I will repeat what
I
have said. Guilt is judged by facts, not emotional judgements.'

‘In her case . . .'

‘Alvarez, are you betraying your duty by allowing regrettable desire to deny fact?'

‘I'm not certain what you mean.'

‘Are you emotionally interested in Señora Ashton?'

‘When she is so newly widowed; so distressed? I admire her, that's all.'

‘And the chance to enjoy her wealth?'

‘If that were so, I should not have tried to find out more about Kerr. Your comment is completely unjustified, señor.'

‘I decide what is justified. Have you asked the señora to explain why she has never identified Kerr as her true husband?'

‘No. As yet, there is no certainty that he was her husband. The two Christian names are similar; but individually they must be common, and together not uncommon but very unlikely to be unique. Both were nurses, but how many thousands of nurses will there be in Britain?'

‘That is reason not to question her?'

‘I think there has to be more evidence before I challenge her on so emotional a level.'

‘Her emotions are of no account.'

‘I'll bet my life she could not murder anyone.'

‘A wager of minimum value. My friend, the learned psychologist, said when last we discussed the errant mind, and your name was mentioned, that an imagination which is blind to reality often denotes either a gambling or a criminal tendency. Do you gamble?'

‘Very seldom as I am a born loser. Yet, stupidly, I did buy a ticket in the Cuerpo lottery.'

‘What is that?'

‘A draw for the name of the next comisario.'

‘On such a subject, a regrettable and demeaning lottery.'

‘Very regrettable for me, señor. I did succeed in drawing a name, but he's as likely to gain further promotion as a duck is to crow.'

‘What name did you draw?'

‘I would rather not say.'

‘Your judgement of any superior chief is, of course, of no consequence. However, there is one man who should never be considered for promotion since he owed his present rank to influence, not talent. Perhaps you drew Superior Chief M?'

‘No, señor.'

‘To suffer a severe rebuke, when fully justified, and the inability to command with the necessary respect for others, provide a considerable disadvantage. It is very likely it was Superior Chief T's name you drew?'

‘No.'

‘Then . . . you are wasting your time, which is of little account, and my time, which is of much account.' Salas accepted the remaining names had become too few for him to risk continuing. ‘Detail your intended movements in the investigation into the Kerr case.'

‘At the moment, things are so confused it's difficult to know which way to turn.'

‘Standing still will not be an option. You will address the señora again, this time as the prime suspect. You will question her strongly, assiduously, without thought of emotional distress and without reliance on assumption or supposition.'

‘I just don't believe she can be the prime suspect.'

‘Your belief is immaterial. Clearly, either you have failed to understand the significance of the information we have received, or you are trying to ignore it. Kerr blackmailed her once. It was obvious he would continue to blackmail her until she had nothing left with which to buy his silence. He had to die, and quickly, if her comfortable life was not to turn into hardship.'

‘One cannot ignore the other suspects.'

‘If one is prepared to accept your reports, there is none.'

‘Each of the servants benefited from the señor's death. Browyer was, and is, deeply resentful . . .'