Annika made a strange sound in her throat. ‘Camera?’ she said.
Bronya sighed again. ‘You forgot the camera, didn’t you?’ she said. ‘You are by far the biggest fool I’ve ever met, you know. Mother’s going to find a nice clear piece of film showing you leading us here, half an hour ago, pretending to find the necklace with your idiotic device.’
‘Right,’ nodded Annika uncertainly. ‘That’s right.’
‘But it won’t show anything else, will it? Not you moving around the junkyard out there, digging up one thing after another, until finally you magically discover the necklace itself. None of that will be there, because none of it happened.’
‘There’s an awful lot of metal out there,’ said Digby. ‘That thing would have beeped its clever little head off, once you started swinging it about in our private property.’
Annika fell silent, and Digby confronted Carla. ‘I’m afraid you have rather a lot to talk over between yourselves,’ he said, with devastating kindness. ‘The good news is that you’ve got your jewellery back. Small consolation, I’m sure, in the much greater loss of your husband – but even so.’ This time he turned again to Bronya, and Ant observed a definite wink.
Carla tossed her head in a tragic attempt at dignity. ‘Come along, girls. We’re leaving now.’
‘You two go ahead,’ said Bronya. ‘I don’t think you’ll be needing me.’
Annika revived at this. ‘Yes – you stay away, now you’ve done your worst. You disgusting traitor. You’ve always envied me, done all you can to make me look stupid, treated everything as a competition. Ask Olga – she’ll say the same.’
‘I didn’t have to make you look stupid, Anny. You just are stupid. And our precious mother is about to find out just how very, very stupid that is.’
Carla was ageing as they watched. She had shrunk in stature, her anger festering as she fought against accepting that it belonged rightfully to her own offspring. But she had not entirely lost her grip. She gave Bronya a final questioning look. ‘Why are you staying behind? What do you have to say to these men?’
‘Nothing for you to worry about. You go back to the house now. I’ll see you in a while.’
When mother and daughter were safely out of earshot, Bronya sat down at the kitchen table, and faced father and son squarely. ‘Mrs Frowse,’ she began without preliminaries. ‘Where is she? There hasn’t been a sign of her for days now, has there?’ The car has been gone since Thursday, to my certain knowledge. In fact, she and my stepfather both went missing at very much the same time. I want you to understand that I’m not making any accusations – merely stating the undeniable facts. And wondering what you yourselves make of it.’
Ant felt the ground caving in beneath his feet. ‘Whose side are you on?’ he demanded. ‘One minute you’re sticking up for us against your own family, and now you’re saying my mother must have murdered Blackwood. What does it all mean?’
She gave a rueful smile. ‘I told you before. I like to keep everything clear and honest. Not always possible, I admit. We all have our shameful secrets, after all. But as far as possible, I think we should face the truth. That business with the necklace – I was doing nothing more than saving time. If Annika had gone to the police with that ludicrous accusation, they would quickly have seen it for what it was. It would have angered them and thrown suspicion onto us as a family. Do you see? It would have tainted the water, and cast doubt on our probity. I couldn’t let that happen. As it is, my mother will ensure that the necklace is removed entirely from the picture. Except,’ she held up a finger, ‘except that it was the cause of a strong disagreement between your mother and Rufus. To that extent, it could be useful.’
‘You’re saying you have every intention of stitching up my wife for the killing of your stepfather,’ said Digby. ‘Or have I got that altogether wrong?’
‘I’m stating obvious facts, that’s all.’
‘And what about certain facts that I have knowledge of?’
‘Ah – now we get to it.’ She leant forward. ‘Tell me – what are these facts?’
‘I’m saying no more. It’s obvious that you inherited your sister’s share of the brains, and a bit more. Too clever for me, I shouldn’t wonder. Let’s wait and see, shall we? For all we know, the old man just expired quietly from his heart trouble. Maybe the famous pacemaker wasn’t as wonderful as he thought. Maybe they won’t find any signs of foul play, after all.’
‘A consummation devoutly to be wished for,’ said Bronya, to the perplexity of both men.
‘Just go home, dear,’ said Digby wearily. ‘We’ve played enough games for one day, and it’s barely even coffee time.’
She left them then, and five minutes later, Ant texted Thea Slocombe.
Trouble with Carla and Co. Necklace found. Everything utterly confused. Can I call you?
Chapter Sixteen
There was a strong sense of hanging about waiting for things to happen, back in Broad Campden. The weather was chilly but fairly bright, and Jessica kept saying they were wasting the fresh air.
‘We could play my new train game,’ said Timmy hopefully. ‘We should have done it yesterday, but I fell asleep.’
‘We can’t embark on it now,’ said Thea. ‘Games are for afternoons. It’s a law.’
‘It’s not,’ said Timmy, uncertainly. ‘Is it?’
Jessica disappeared for twenty minutes, saying she had to catch up with some of her friends and thank them for gifts she had brought with her. Thea busied herself with housework. ‘I’ve got to tidy away all this wrapping paper and other rubbish,’ she insisted. ‘And I suppose you’ll be waiting
