Page 69 of A Spell of Midlife Mayhem
Chapter 23
I WAS ON MY LUNCH BREAK in the office munching on a ham and Swiss cheese sandwich when Lydia entered the room with Inspector Pentecost and a constable. They regarded me with grim expressions.
‘What?’ I almost choked on a mouthful of food.
The inspector spoke first. ‘Heather Nicholls, I’d like you to come to the station with us for a brief chat.’
I slammed my sandwich down on the plate. ‘Are you arresting me?’
‘No. I want to ask you a few questions, that’s all, and it’s best to do that at the station.’
On her turf, where she would have the psychological advantage. Well, I wouldn’t let that trouble me. The rest of her words were lost as my mind raged with confusion and anger. I got to my feet, the chair scraping loudly on the floor as I pushed it back. ‘You can’t be serious. Am I a suspect?’
Inspector Pentecost didn’t answer. She inclined her head towards the constable, who stepped closer while I protested my innocence.
Lydia eyed me sadly, shaking her head, muttering, ‘I don’t believe this.’
The inspector spun on her heels and walked out.
I gave up remonstrating and followed. It was best to get it over with. Penny and Melissa watched from the landing on the stairs, gasping. They must have thought I was being arrested. At the bottom of the staircase, Maisey stood motionless, her head inclined as if in curiosity or confusion.
Outside, cloudy skies released their rain. It pattered on the police car as the constable drove us to the police station in Kingston upon Thames. I was escorted into a small and cramped interview room with a desk and two chairs in the centre. The walls were a faded, institutional green. I was left there for ages with nothing to do except contemplate what the hell was going on.
Eventually, the inspector came into the room and offered me a plastic cup of water, which I accepted. She sat opposite me and opened a manila folder and stared at its contents for a couple of minutes.
My skin crawled. What was she looking at? Was she about to accuse me of murder? They had to have found something suspicious that pointed to me, but what?
‘Ms Nicholls,’ she began. ‘I want you to tell me again everything you remember about what happened up to the time you entered the library and found Mr Morris’s body.’
I explained it all again, almost word for word as I’d done before. My memory was clear. But this time, I included my meeting with Elvis a few minutes earlier, and how he’d already left the house when we gathered up the visitors after discovering Ronald’s body.
‘Elvis. Is that so?’ The inspector’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
‘There was a convention on at a hotel in Richmond. You can check. He got a call and had to return there in a hurry. That’s why he wasn’t in the house when we rounded up the visitors.’
‘So, you’re telling me I need to find all these Elvises, or Elvii, and interview them?’
I shook my head. ‘You could, but it would be a waste of your time. I’m sure Elvis isn’t the killer.’
Inspector Pentecost’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. ‘Your meddling might be interfering with the case.’
