mind of what I said earlier.' She patted Amy's arm. 'I didn't mean anything by it, dear. I've got a cruel mouth sometimes. Are you going to let me see Jinx? Please, it's that important.'
Veronica mellowed a little. 'What is so important that it can't wait till tomorrow, Mrs. Kingsley?'
'Meg and Leo,' she said. 'Me and the boys read they'd been murdered, but her Daddy's refusing to do anything about it. Seems to me someone should give the poor kid a cuddle, even if it is only me.'
Veronica agreed with her, and if she thought it a little odd that Betty had waited twelve hours and got herself drunk before she put the idea into practice, she didn't say anything. Instead she sent Amy down to find out if Jinx was still awake, before escorting Betty to number 12 and leaving the two women together with the door wide open. 'I'll be just along the corridor,' she informed them. ' 'You have fifteen minutes, Mrs. Kingsley, and I do not expect to hear any raised voices. Is that understood?''
Betty waited till she'd gone, then gave a disparaging sniff. 'She's a right bitch, that one.' She staggered to a chair and collapsed into it, staring morosely at her stepdaughter, who was already in bed. 'I suppose someone's told you Meg and Leo are dead.'
Jinx hid her dismay. 'Who brought you, Betty?'
'I made Jenkins do it.' She waved a meaty hand towards the door. 'He's waiting outside.'
'Does Adam know you've come?'
'Course not.' She shook her head. 'He's in London. The shares have been sliding all day. He's trying to repair the damage.'
'I saw it on the news.'
'Oh my, my. You're a cool one. Always were.' She blew her nose. 'D'you know why they're sliding? Because Leo's dead and Russell's dead, and fingers are pointing.'
Jinx watched her for a moment. 'It won't affect you or the boys,' she said calmly. 'The company's sound and Adam won't let the slide continue indefinitely. Your shares will go back up again, so you won't lose out.'
'And how's your precious Adam going to stop the slide?' she hissed, her little eyes like flints. 'You tell me that. There's me and the boys worrying ourselves sick, while you and your daddy behave as if nothing's happened.'
'If necessary, he'll resign.' A small frown creased her forehead. 'You know that as well as I do. It's what he's always said he would do in a crisis.'
'And where will that leave us?'
'With all the shares Adam gave you ten years ago.'
Betty took out a compact and floured her ravaged face. 'No,' she said tightly, 'it'll leave me with no home to call my own. It's not ours, remember, belongs to the company. An asset-that's what they call it, isn't it? Did you think of
'I'd say it means you've sold your shares and you're afraid Adam's going to wash his hands of you.' Jinx rested her head against her pillows. 'And about time, too. He deserves better than three dead weights who know only how to drag him down. You should all be standing by him, instead of crying about what's going to happen to you.' She smiled to herself. 'Do you know what? When you came in, I thought, my God, one of them has come to hold my hand. One of them has come to say, 'We believe in you, Jinxy. We know you must be going through hell, but we're here for you.' What a mug, eh? Why on earth should I have imagined for one minute that you or your good-for- nothing bastards could change the habits of a lifetime?'
'Don't you call my sons bastards.'
'Why not?' said Jinx, pressing the bell beside her bed. 'It's what they are. You've never been a wife to my father.'
Betty's eyes filled with tears again. 'I hated you the first time I saw you.'
'I know. You always made that very clear.'
'You hated me, too.'
'Because you were so stupid.' She turned to Veronica Gordon, who had appeared in the doorway. 'My stepmother's leaving,' she said.
'I did my best,' said Betty. 'I wanted to love you.'
'No, you didn't. You wanted to displace me. Jealousy is a disease with you. You knew damned well that Adam loved me far more than he would ever love you.'
She smiled coldly, and Veronica found herself reassessing every opinion she'd ever had of the young woman. This was no dewy-eyed victim, she thought.
MEMO
From: Det. Supt. Cheever
To: C.C.
Date: Wednesday, 29th June, 1994
Re: Wallader/Harris
Detailed below is all relevant information, as of 09:00 hours today.
· Despite extensive inquiries, we can find no witnesses to an individual wearing bloodstained clothes in the vicinity of Ardingly Woods on 12/13/14 June. Ho weapon has been found. Reports of several oars in the area, but no effective leads. (NB: Forensic examination of Jane Kingsley's oar reveals no bloodstains)
· Wallader 4 Harris's personal effects have been located at 55 Eaglet on Street, Chelsea.
· Wallader's two cars have been located. One at Eagleton Street and the other in a rented garage in Camden. Harris's car was located in the street outside number 35. All three cars are undergoing forensic
