Murder in Hampstead, Sabina Manea [best way to read ebooks .txt] 📗

the week. I was bright, so I went to university. She wanted me to be a lawyer, to have a profession and be on my own two feet.’

As the stupor was gradually fading into light-headedness, Lucia heard the ring of her phone. She blinked and stared at the blurry screen. Five missed calls. She didn’t trust herself not to drop it, so she put it on speaker and stared at it, waiting to come back to consciousness.

‘Lucia, you won’t believe this. Adam’s dead.’

Chapter 30

When she arrived early the following day, as hastily arranged with the inspector, Lucia found Beatrice Hall transformed. She had been warned not to bother bringing her van – every single space outside the house was taken up by police vehicles. The outer gate had been left open and kept bashing into the brick wall with a mournful creak. The place seethed with faceless boiler suits photographing, measuring, taking samples. The body had been removed. In the entrance hall, Carliss paced up and down nervously, shouting instructions on his phone. She closed the doors behind her and waited for him to finish, not wanting to interrupt.

He gave out a heavy, exhausted sigh – it had been a long night. His hair looked in need of a good brush. ‘Ah, good, you’re here. It’s absolute mayhem. I’ve had to sell my soul to get the PM fast-tracked. He had enough cocaine in him for several heart attacks. Of course, it helped that it had been laced with 1080.’

‘Poison?’

‘No question about it. The inside of his nose was caked in the stuff. Mrs Byrne found him in his room last night and raised the alarm. They were meant to have dinner together in the kitchen, but he didn’t turn up.’

Lucia was glad she’d rationed her ketamine intake the night before. The situation required a clear head. ‘But the tin of poison was removed after the Professor’s death. Where did the new batch come from?’

‘Doesn’t have to be a new batch. He could have kept some back,’ said the policeman.

‘Are you saying he killed himself?’

‘It’s not out of the question. Could have been intentional, could have been an accident. Maybe he couldn’t live with the guilt of what he’d done or didn’t fancy spending the rest of his life behind bars.’ He paused for a moment, considering the possibilities. ‘There’s a third option. If he didn’t do himself in, anyone could have helped themselves to the stuff while it lived under the sink. Including someone who dropped by for occasional jobs.’

The comment was too specific for her to miss. ‘Whom do you have in mind?’

‘Danny Garrett. We’ve got him down at the station. He fessed up to intending to sell the stash of cocaine, and to supplying Adam. Since he was in a sharing mood, he also admitted to wrecking your van, though criminal damage is the least of his troubles right now. Apparently, the dead bloke wasn’t paying his debts, what with his getting sacked.’

Lucia remembered the evening at the pub with Becky and Leila, and the heated argument that Adam was having on the phone. ‘OK, Danny was owed money. That doesn’t make him a killer. In fact, dispatching Adam would guarantee he would never get paid.’

‘True. But listen to this: Adam kept telling Danny he wanted to get clean. What if he was minded to expose Danny’s drugs racket? That would give Danny a good motive for murder. He knew the house – he says he’s been doing odd jobs at the Hall for years. He could have easily got hold of the 1080 from under the kitchen sink. I like him for it. Sometimes the easy solution is the right one, Lucia.’

She smiled and tapped her forehead. How could she have been so naïve? ‘I know why Adam gave me the job.’

‘Why is that?’

‘So that he wouldn’t be pressured into giving it to Danny. Anyone but him. Danny must have figured out pretty quickly that the Professor was the only source of cash. He may look like a brainless brute, but he’s not daft. If Adam agreed to pay him a suitably inflated price for the decorating, that’s the drugs debt written off. Except Adam didn’t want him anywhere near the house. No wonder he thought I was a godsend, turning up out of the blue asking for the work. And that’s what made Danny so angry that he defaced my van.’

‘That certainly adds up. I’ve finally got a good feeling about this whole sorry affair. Adam killed the old bird, and now he’s dead himself. Danny goes down for his murder. Case closed. We all go home.’ He crossed his arms resolutely.

Lucia’s expression made it patently clear that she wasn’t going to indulge him. ‘I don’t buy it. Danny’s a scumbag and a drug dealer, but to go from that to killing a person is a touch far-fetched. Besides, what are you going to do when you search his house and van, and you don’t find any traces of 1080? I’d stick with the drugs charges if I were you.’

‘OK, so we haven’t filled in all the gaps yet. But if he’s done as much as look at that poison, we’ll get him, don’t you worry. The Super wants me to close this case and move on – too many resources spent running around pretending I’m Poirot, she said. I know I’ve broken just about every rule in the book, but even I can’t keep this circus going any longer.’

‘When are you speaking to the other suspects?’

‘Any time now. Danny’s being covered. That only leaves Emilia and Mrs Byrne.’

‘What about Glover?’

‘What about him? He wasn’t anywhere near the house.’

‘Don’t you think it’s worth at least a phone call? To see how he reacts to the news.’

The policeman huffed impatiently. ‘I’m starting to see where the Super is coming