counted as criminal offences – such as forging her brother’s signature on his cheques. James had never got wise to it.
It had been easy. Child’s play. All Julia had to do was get hold of one of his cheque books, then practise signing James’ name on a sheet of paper. That had been fun. Well, poor old James never so much as glanced at his bank statements and he seemed to trust her implicitly. She would do it again, if she had to! Julia nodded to herself. She needed money. She always needed money, alas.
Julia had already managed to pinch Stella’s letters and diaries – the grandmother’s letters and diaries – she’d found them tucked away at the bottom of Stella’s suitcase. She intended to try and strike some sort of bargain with Tancred Vane. It might be tricky. Oh well, that could wait.
Julia’s thoughts turned back to her brother. Antonia Darcy would never be able to prove a thing – unless poor old James got flustered, lost his nerve and gave himself away…
Must talk to him, warn him. Would it be any good? Was it too late? Why didn’t he answer his mobile phone?
Where was he?
‘It’s the biographer guy and your sister.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘They did it. They are the killers. They are in it together.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘At first I thought it was one of the witches. Melisande or Winifred. Everything was pointing first to one, then to the other witch, but soon I started putting two and two together. Suddenly I knew.’
‘Knew what?’
‘That they were in it together of course, James. Your sister and the biographer guy.’
Moon blew a giant bubble with her chewing gum. The television set was on, but she had muted it – they were showing Lethal Weapon 4, a film she quite liked, though she had already seen it four times and knew it by heart, so she was not interested.
‘I saw the pattern. I deduced that it had been them all along. I didn’t immediately know why they had to kill my mother. I worked that out later on. I am smarter than Mrs Fletcher, I keep telling you. Actually, I’m not at all surprised your sister Julia is the killer.’
‘You aren’t serious, are you?’
‘I am serious. Julia, dear Julia is peculiar. You don’t know your sister at all well, do you, James? You think you do, but you are wrong. You don’t. You are too busy making money. You know the stock market, but you don’t know your sister.’
‘You should go to school. School is better than tutors. I’ll get you into a good school. The very best,’ he went on, though he found it very difficult at the moment to conjure up a picture of a future that made sense, let alone one that was happy.
‘I don’t want to go to school. I don’t need to go to school. I know everything I need to know.’
Morland had missed most of what Moon had told him earlier on. He had been too preoccupied with his own thoughts to pay close attention.
‘Julia is the biographer guy’s secret girlfriend,’ she went on. ‘I guess Julia contacted him as soon as Mother started going to that weird place with the weird name. Pizza-at-nine.’
‘You mean the Villa Byzantine?’
She laughed. ‘Mother kept saying how rich the biographer guy was, how educated, how cultured, how delicate, all that shit.’
‘Language, Moon,’ he said absently.
‘She chattered about him all the time and about his house and how strange and baroque everything was. The biographer guy has a collection of Chinamen and an owl doorstop in his study, can you imagine? All extremely baroque and cultured. Mother showed Julia the pictures she’d taken on her mobile. Of Sacred Crane and his baroque house.’
‘His name is Tancred Vane.’
‘No, it’s Sacred Crane,’ she said firmly. ‘Julia’s curiosity was, as they say in books, piqued. She said to herself, I must have this man. You look as though you don’t believe me.’ Moon heaved a sigh. ‘You need to trust me more, James.’
‘I trust you.’
‘You need to trust me more.’
I shouldn’t have smoked that awful thing, Morland thought. His head was spinning. He was finding it hard to focus. He was feeling a little sick. It didn’t seem to have any effect on her. She said she smoked spliffs quite often. She liked the feeling it gave her. The feeling of power – she felt she could do – anything.
‘Now listen very carefully. This is important. Julia decides on a plan of action. She contacts the Sacred guy. She tells him some incredible tale and gets him interested.’
‘What incredible tale?’
‘How the fuck d’you expect me to know? I wasn’t sitting inside her head taking notes, was I? Something about those diaries and letters. All that shit. Perhaps she said she could make him photocopies of the diaries and give them to him for free.’
Moon was becoming impatient. She no longer enjoyed making every little detail fit in. She was getting bored. She yawned.
‘Sacred got interested all right. Maybe Julia’s voice reminded him of his late mother’s voice? Guys like Sacred are all twisted inside. Most English guys are twisted inside. Sacred agrees to a meeting. They meet and they talk and then – then they become lovers.’
‘You are making this up, aren’t you?’
‘Julia is strong and domineering. Sacred Crane is weak and perhaps he likes to be whipped, or tied up, so it was a perfect match. Julia then asked him to help her. She told him she wanted Stella Markoff dead – eliminated.’ Moon made a slashing gesture across her throat with her right hand.
‘Why should Julia want Stella dead?’
Morland really didn’t know what to do. Should he tell Moon about Antonia Darcy? About what Antonia Darcy had done? Moon might be very young but she was intelligent, what she called a ‘smart cookie’; she was faster and cleverer than him, so she might – she just might think of a way out. He knew he was clutching at straws.
‘Julia knew that once you were married to Mother, she would have to say goodbye to all the money you’ve got in the bank. Julia planned everything. I was going to be the patsy. That’s why she used the sword, to throw suspicion on me – because I am maladjusted and mad about swords and beheadings and blood and stuff. I am the most obvious suspect, see?’
A lot of silly nonsense, Morland thought, though of course he didn’t dare say so. The next moment he frowned. What was it Moon had said earlier on? Something which had sent an inexplicable shiver down his spine ‘Julia drove Mother to the Villa Byzantine in her car. Sacred was there of course, but it was Julia who killed her. Julia took the sword off the wall and – swoosh.’ Moon yawned. ‘I hate this hotel – I really hate it – couldn’t we go some other place? I liked the Corrida Hotel better. Why don’t we go there any more?’
Her voice rose plaintively. She sounded like a child now. They were sitting on the double bed. Outside it was a grey afternoon. The rain had stopped. It was very quiet.
‘When are we moving into your new house, James? I like the new house. I think it’s the coolest house ever.’
‘I am glad you like it.’
Should he tell her? What a mess he had got himself into. What have I done? Morland thought in sudden panic.
‘One thing I must make clear, James. When we get married, I am not taking on your name. No way. Moon Morland sounds the dumbest name ever! What’s the matter with you? I don’t like it when you look sad. Come here,’ she said softly. ‘Come here.’
At the touch of her hand he shut his eyes. His physical reaction was so sharp, so powerful, so overwhelming, it blotted out all rational thought. Not that there’d been much rational thought in the first place.
Each time it felt like that very first time Holding her, smelling her, tasting her. He had feared he might faint
