and quoting Frank's own refusal to specify whether a sledgehammer had been used. They had also flirted with Wallader's other accusation, which was that Kingsley was using his influence to suppress the investigation in his home county of Hampshire, leaving their readers to tease out all the damning implications.
Frank's ears were still smarting from a deeply critical dressing-down by the Chief Constable for his failure to keep Sir Anthony and Mrs. Harris informed of developments. Frank had pointed out, but to no effect, that Meg's body had not been formally identified until a few hours previously and that Sir Anthony's complaint to the newspapers was very specific, namely that Hampshire police had not immediately arrested and/or charged Adam or Jane Kingsley. The Chief Constable was unimpressed by such niceties of distinction. Frank should have addressed the Wallader and Harris concerns at the outset and never allowed this climate of distrust to develop.
'It must have occurred to you that the two sets of parents would get together. Why on earth didn't you go back to the Walladers the minute the Harrises had left? Of course they're going to suspect the worst if we can't be bothered to keep them informed. I'm organizing a press conference for this afternoon and I expect you to have pacified both families in the meantime. No one is to be left in any doubt at all that Hampshire police are pursuing this inquiry with vigor and commitment, irrespective of who may or may not be involved.'
Frank glanced at his watch as he replaced the receiver. Sir Anthony and Lady Wallader were due in less than ten minutes. The Harrises had declined the invitation, but had agreed to see Detective Superintendent Cheever in their home at midday. The press conference was scheduled for three-thirty. He picked up the telephone again and ordered DI Maddocks into his office immediately.
'Sir,' said Gareth, presenting himself sixty seconds later, as anxious not to annoy the Superintendent as Frank was anxious not to further annoy the Chief Constable. The pecking order had been viciously active since seven o'clock the previous evening.
'I've had a call from Salisbury. Dr. Alan Protheroe at the Nightingale Clinic was attacked last night with a sledgehammer. He avoided serious injury by raising the alarm and attracting help, but-and this is the interesting bit-Salisbury say Protheroe had a visit from Kingsley's solicitor yesterday afternoon. I want you to go to Salisbury, take Fraser with you, talk to Detective Superintendent Mayhew and a Detective Constable Hadden, and then go on to the Nightingale Clinic to interview Dr. Protheroe. Get me a complete rundown of his day, the names of everyone he spoke to and what was said. The solicitor's visit can't be coincidence.'
Sir Anthony Wallader was in no mood to be placated. He denounced the Kingsleys as murderers, repeated his accusations of police lethargy, demanded to know why Russell Landy's death had gone unpunished, and insisted that if the police had done their job over that, then Leo and Meg would still be alive. He seemed unable to contain his grief or deal with it, and three days had brewed in him an anger that needed to lash out at anyone who could be blamed for his loss. Lady Wallader, by contrast, sat with bowed head and said nothing.
Frank, too, sat in silence until the storm abated.
'Please accept my apologies for any insensitivity that I and my team have shown you, and your wife, Sir Anthony,' he said quietly. 'Our difficulty was tracing Meg's parents and, as I'm sure Mrs. Harris told you, it wasn't until yesterday morning that they were able to make the formal identification. Clearly, I should have telephoned you immediately afterwards to acquaint you with developments and I regret intensely that I did not.'
'At the very least, someone should have been sent to comfort my wife. Why wasn't that done? The Reverend Harris tells me you sent a policewoman to support
'We did offer support and counseling, sir, but if you remember, you said it would only make it worse to have strangers in your house.'
'Well, I'm not going to let it rest. I'm making an official complaint. In my view you should be taken off the case immediately and replaced with someone more competent.' Tears gathered in his eyes. 'My son has been murdered, and what are you doing about it? Nothing. Any more than anything was done after Russell Landy's murder.'
'I do assure you, sir, we have done a great deal in the few days we've had. For example, we've located your son's London house where we expect to find most of his and Miss Harris's possessions.' He checked the time. 'A team of detectives was due in there this morning, accompanied by your son's solicitor. We have in addition requested the French police to enter his house in Brittany, although, as it seems clear he and Meg died without ever leaving England, we are not hopeful of anything material coming back across the Channel. There is also the condominium in Florida, but again, we think it unlikely that a search will bear fruit.' He paused for a moment, pretending not to see the hurt bewilderment on the older man's face. 'We are still trying to locate his two cars. His solicitor is sure that one of them, at least, is in the garage of the Chelsea house, and he has given us the address of another garage in Camden which Leo rented for several years. Mr. Bloom has agreed to take the detectives there after they have finished in the house. There are, in addition, two safety deposit boxes which we will apply to search, and several bank accounts that may tell us something when we can gain access to them. I regret that these efforts had to be delayed until today, but we were only given Mr. Bloom's name on Sunday afternoon. We contacted him yesterday and arranged for the searches to be made this morning.'
'But this is outrageous,' spluttered Wallader. 'We should have been told all this immediately.'
'In fact, this information was only confirmed for us late yesterday afternoon in a fax from Mr. Bloom's office,' said Frank. 'It took some time to assemble because of the complexity of your son's affairs.' He folded his hands in front of him. 'I do regret the turn events have taken, sir. Please believe that Mr. Bloom had agreed to accompany me to Guildford after the searches of your son's premises in order to clarify and explain what he knows of Leo's estate. Wrongly perhaps, I thought it would be more appropriate for you to hear the details from a solicitor. It seems your son had considerable assets which, from the little you were able to tell us on Saturday, I gather you and your wife knew nothing about.'
Lady Wallader looked up at Cheever. 'He had a flat in Kensington which he had to sell in '88 to pay off his debts,' she said tiredly. 'He lost everything in the stock market crash and had to live in rented accommodation in Kew for five years until he met Jinx and moved in with her.'
Frank consulted the fax from Bloom. 'Would that be a flat in Kensington Garden Road?'
She nodded.
'It makes up part of his estate, Lady Wallader, together with three flats in Kew and two in Hampstead. His list of properties are as follows: a five-bedroomed house in Chelsea which was let until April of this year, at which point he instructed Bloom and his agents to keep it vacant; the flat in Kensington which is currently empty but with instructions to let; two flats in Hampstead which are currently let; a three-storied house in Kew which was converted to three flats four years ago, all of which are currently let; a house in Brittany which is let during the holiday season when Leo himself doesn't require it; and a condominium in Florida which is let year-round to holiday tenants. Offhand, can you remember where he said his rented flat was?''
'The Avenue, Kew,' she whispered.
'Tremayne, The Avenue, Kew?' he asked her.
