Five Dead Canaries

‘No, June,’ he said, evasively. ‘He’s more of an acquaintance than a friend. He just gave me some useful information, that’s all.’

‘What about?’

‘It doesn’t matter.’

‘Will you please stop lying to me,’ she begged. ‘I’ve lived with you long enough to know when something’s getting you down. You look hunted and in pain. What on earth did this acquaintance of yours tell you?’

‘I’d rather not go into it.’

‘Is it something to do with your job?’

‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘yes, it is. I don’t want to bother you with the details, June. It’s all rather petty, to be honest.’ He dredged up an unconvincing smile. ‘As for being hunted, nothing could be further from the truth.’

‘It’s all part of a pattern,’ said his wife, trying to work it out in her head, ‘and it started before Florrie was killed. You were more tetchy than usual and you stayed out later. Also, you began to drink more. I assumed that you’d had a bad time at work. Then came the news about Florrie and I thought you were going to have a heart attack. The next minute, you were talking about selling our home.’

‘That may still be on the agenda.’

‘But you said that we could stay here,’ she protested.

‘I said that it was a possibility.’

‘You were even ready to talk about new curtains.’

‘Well, you might as well forget about those,’ he said with controlled fury, ‘because we’re not going to buy them. I have things to sort out, June. Is it too much to ask that I can be left alone without having you breathing down my neck all the time? Stop being such a confounded nuisance, woman!’

June was aghast. They’d had their disagreements before and warm words had been exchanged but she’d never been put down with such venom and it was humiliating. All she could do was to stand there and stare at him open-mouthed. Overcome with guilt at his outburst, he hung his head. The telephone rang and he stiffened visibly.

‘Do you want me to answer that?’ she asked.

‘No,’ he grunted. ‘Stay here.’

Going out of the room, he closed the door firmly behind him.

Before they could leave for church, they saw the car pull up outside. When they let the detectives into the house, they demanded to know what had happened to Niall. Tense and frightened, all three talked excitedly at once. After calming them down, Marmion told them that he’d been caught and arrested. No decision had yet been made on whether or not they’d be prosecuted but he had recommended sympathy for their predicament. Lily was sent up to her room so that the visitors could talk alone with Maureen and her mother. Both of them gasped when Keedy removed his hat to reveal the stitches in his head wound. Marmion’s wound was also clearly visible but he forbore to tell them how the injuries had been acquired. He wanted to concentrate on the investigation into the explosion. Diane was ready with a question.

‘Why were you asking about Florrie’s private life?’ she said. ‘I don’t see that it has anything to do with the case.’

‘We have to explore every avenue, Mrs Quinn,’ he told her, ‘and this is a valid one. If Florrie really was pregnant, the man involved may have been very upset by the news.’

‘He could equally well have been pleased, Inspector.’

‘I don’t think so. We have evidence to suggest that she’d been let down by whoever it was. Why did she hold that party in the first place? If she was in love with a man, he was the obvious person with whom she’d have celebrated the birthday.’

Keedy looked at Maureen. ‘You told us that she was very happy when you got to that outhouse,’ he recalled, ‘but that she began to drink as soon as you arrived. Was she maudlin in any way?’

‘Well …’ said Maureen, uncertainly.

‘Was she tearful, sentimental or full of remorse about something?’

‘I didn’t really stay long enough to find out.’

‘Wait a moment,’ said Diane in disbelief. ‘Are you saying that this man might have planted the bomb? I thought you already knew who did that.’

‘We believe we know,’ said Marmion, ‘but this other man is of interest to us as well. That’s why we need Maureen’s help. Yesterday,’ he went on, ‘we were interrupted at a crucial point. I asked you if Agnes Collier had ever described this friend of Florrie’s to you.’

Maureen nodded. ‘She told me a little bit about him, Inspector.’

‘And?’

‘Well, she only saw them together that once. It was an evening when I’d stayed behind for a meeting of the football team. Agnes wasn’t in that, so she went home on her own for once. I remember her telling me that she was making her way to the railway station when this car pulled up at a junction.’ Maureen shrugged. ‘She saw Florrie in the front seat beside the driver. He was an older man.’

‘It could have been her father,’ said Diane.

‘It couldn’t have been Mr Ingles because Agnes had met him. Anyway, this man wasn’t as old as that. She said he might be in his late thirties.’

‘Go on,’ encouraged Marmion.

‘Agnes only saw him for a few seconds but she did say he was handsome and had a dark moustache. Also,’ she said, slowly, ‘it was a new car.’

‘Didn’t she ask about it the next day?’

‘Of course — but Florrie said it was just an old friend who’d given her a lift. Agnes didn’t believe her because she was all dressed up. She didn’t dare to have a row about it with Florrie. You didn’t argue with her, Inspector.’

‘How long was this before the birthday party?’

‘Oh, it was two or three weeks at least.’

‘And she was never seen with the same man again?’

‘Does that satisfy you?’ asked Diane, worried at the pressure that her daughter was clearly feeling. ‘There’s nothing else Maureen can tell you.’

‘Yes, there is,’ said Keedy. ‘Let’s go back to the party.’

Maureen gulped. ‘I’d rather not.’

‘You left early because you were feeling unwell.’

‘That’s right.’

‘Did you feel ill when you were at work?’

‘No, I didn’t.’

‘What exactly was wrong with you?’

‘I don’t see what this has got to do with the case,’ complained Diane.

‘Answer my question, please.’

‘I had an upset tummy,’ said Maureen, feeling her stomach.

‘It must have been bad if you were forced to leave a celebration like that.’

‘It was, Sergeant.’

‘Were you sick when you got back here?’

Maureen moistened her lips. She looked from Keedy to Marmion and back again. Both were gazing at her intently. She felt as if a great weight was pressing down on her. It seemed to get heavier and heavier. Her heart began to race and her cheeks were burning. The pain was steadily increasing. When she could no longer bear it, she burst into tears and buried her head in her hands.

Diane put an arm around her and glared at the detectives.

‘Do you see what you’ve done to her now?’ she said, angrily.

Neil Beresford was still trying to distract himself from his grief with frantic activity. Dressed in shorts and singlet once again, he was pushing himself harder than ever. On the last leg of his run, he sprinted the length of the street, then paused at the corner to recover, using the lamp to support himself.

‘Someone is feeling energetic this morning,’ said a voice.

Beresford looked up. ‘Oh, it’s you, Mr Jenks.’