‘I’d love to come along. But what will we say to everyone about where we’re going?’
‘Girls’ day out!’
Chapter 35
The One Who Told the Truth
As Trelawney neared Amanda’s cottage, she asked,
‘Would you come in for a bit? There’s something I’d like to, well, put by you.’
‘Of course.’
She made tea while he lit the fire. It was a routine they’d established at Amanda’s home over the months and into which they fell automatically.
Once they were comfortable, she began,
‘I’ve been thinking about the five suspects.’
‘So have I.’
‘Well, reading people may not be my strongest suit …’
‘But you recognise patterns,’ Trelawney acknowledged.
‘Yes.’
He leaned back, a mug of tea in his hands.
‘I wonder if we saw the same thing.’
‘Oh, please say,’ Amanda urged him.
He smiled.
‘You first.’
‘Ok well, each of them said “we had to get the children out.”’
‘Yes.’
‘Except for Elodie. Elodie said “I had to get the children out.’
‘She uses first person singular when in public and when speaking for them all, remember,’ Trelawney pointed out.
‘But she wasn’t in public when she said it, and Uncle Mike had asked her to talk about the fire from purely her own perspective. But that’s not all!’
‘Go on,’ Trelawney encouraged her.
‘In the studio, that artwork: the use of crimson lake. That was Elodie’s. Elodie was the one who said I have blood on my hands. Not we; “I”. She was the only one who expressed that in her artwork, especially in the painting of the red lake.'
‘Hm.’ He was only partly convinced.
‘She was the first protector Zoe made. It’s her instinct to do what she was created to do. She acted, not in self-defence, but in defence of the others in the Lucy family. Nevertheless, to a little child, black is black and white is white. “Thou shalt not kill”, and she had. To her, it was blood on her hands, a lake of it. Remember? “Not all the waters of Dozmary Pool can wash it away.’
‘That,’ countered Trelawney, ‘was a painting of a Spanish la— No. No one said it was. Marielle stepped in at that point, saying they did have lakes in Spain, and talked about one Mike should see .... Yes ... evasion, misdirection. It could well have been Dozmary Pool. And Mike asked Peter to confirm that it wasn’t Zoe or Marielle who fired the wand, and he did. But when it came to the final question, Uncle Mike asked Peter, ‘So it wasn’t any of the others who fired the wand-shot?” Peter didn’t confirm it wasn’t. He just said, “How do I convince you?”’
‘What do you think?’ Amanda asked, looking at Trelawney intently.
‘I think it’s enough for a shrewd guess.’
‘But I don’t want to say anything to Uncle Mike,’ Amanda insisted earnestly.
‘You think it would upset him because Elodie is his favourite?’
‘She is, isn’t she?’
‘I’m inclined to agree. But he has asked us to solve this. He would want to know how far we’ve got, Miss Cadabra. We should tell him now.’
Hogarth was painting the ceiling in the sitting-room when they arrived. Not surprisingly, there was a strong smell of the emulsion.
‘Ah, I see you’re both big with news, and it doesn't look like the best,’ he observed, coming down the ladder and wrapping his roller in cling film. ‘But come on, sit down and out with it. You all right with the odour of emulsion, Amanda?’
‘Yes, fine, thank you, Uncle Mike.’
‘Go ahead then.’
‘Well ... it was Elodie, wasn’t it?’ Amanda gave their reasons. Hogarth went to the fire, lit it, then leaned on the mantelpiece.
‘Yes.’
‘She told you?’
‘She did. Elodie confessed ....’
***
‘It all happened so fast,’ she told Hogarth. ‘The children were trapped on the upper flight. Lord Dowrkampyer between me and them. I just picked up the wand and sent my will down it and shooting out the end of it. My will to stop him. That was all. I don’t know ... I just wanted to ... to stun him, but I didn’t know my own strength. He exploded before my eyes into a billion tiny … the walls, the stairs, the banister… I only had a split second to be horrified, and then I had to get the children out. You see? I had to get the children out.’
‘I do see, Elodie,’ Hogarth replied, with every ounce of understanding he could put into his voice. But it didn't seem to help. He insisted, ‘You never meant to kill Dowrkampyer. You meant to save the children, and you did. Like a policeman might do.’
‘Have you ever killed anyone?’ Elodie asked him frankly.
‘No,’ Hogarth admitted. ‘But I’ve had to defend myself and others. And that’s all you were doing. You’re not a killer to anyone who matters except yourself. To those children, you’re a hero. To their families, you’re a hero. And to me, you are a hero. You are the bravest person I have ever known, Elodie Lucy Penlowr.’ He took her hand. ‘Come home. I can protect you from the clans,’ he promised recklessly.
Elodie shook her head.
‘You are a policeman, and a policeman should have a wife who hasn’t killed people.’
It sounded final.
‘You’re sure?’
‘A hundred per cent,’ said Elodie.
‘Peter?’ Peter shook his head regretfully.
Marielle lifted her shoulders. ‘You heard Elodie. Yes, she speaks for me.’
Zoe pursed her lips, and Geoffrey said,
‘Just so. I am not saying things will never change, but at the moment this is the consensus.’
***
‘So that is why your proposal was rejected,’ Amanda said.
Trelawney looked at Hogarth in confusion.
‘Then you’ve known all along that it was Lucy who killed Dowrkampyer, and that it was Elodie in particular. So why ask us to solve the case?’
Hogarth spoke slowly. ‘I didn’t say Elodie
