Читать книгу The Complete Ravenscar Trilogy: The Ravenscar Dynasty, Heirs of Ravenscar, Being Elizabeth - Barbara Taylor Bradford - Страница 43

TWENTY-SIX

‘I’m certainly glad you’ve recovered from that nasty little attack upon your person, Mr Deravenel,’ Inspector Laidlaw said in his hearty voice, shaking Edward’s hand with a firm grip. ‘I’m afraid we came to a dead end on that, sir, no suspects, as you know. Mind you, we’ve not closed the case. It remains open.’

‘I’m perfectly certain you’ll never be able to pin it on anyone, Inspector Laidlaw,’ Edward replied and chuckled. ‘Those boyos were long gone that very night, wouldn’t you say?’

‘I would indeed.’

‘Now, Inspector Laidlaw, I would like you to meet my colleagues, Alfredo Oliveri and Robert Aspen. They both worked rather closely with Aubrey Masters, for a number of years. They’ll be happy to answer any questions you have, as will I.’

‘Pleased to meet you, gentlemen,’ Inspector Laidlaw said, shaking Alfredo’s hand and then Rob’s. ‘I do have a few things I would like to discuss with you both, and Mr Deravenel.’

The four men were standing in the middle of Edward’s office at Deravenels, and he now said, ‘I think we might be more comfortable over there near the window where we can all sit down.’ As he spoke he walked across the room and seated himself on the sofa; the other three men followed and each took an armchair arranged in a grouping close to the big leather sofa.

‘By the way, Inspector, do you have the results of the autopsy yet?’

‘Yes, I do, Mr Deravenel. Mr Masters died from the ingestion of digitalis.’

‘Isn’t that a heart medicine?’ Rob Aspen asked in surprise, looking at the Inspector. ‘I didn’t think one could die from it. My mother has a heart problem and the doctor prescribed digitalis last year.’

In his late thirties, Rob Aspen was a pleasant-looking man who appeared much younger than his years and wore his clothes with a bit of a dash. Women found him attractive, wanted to mother him, but so far he had eluded all of them and was still single.

‘It is indeed a heart medicine, Mr Aspen,’ the Inspector answered. ‘And that was one of the things I wanted to talk to you all about. Did Mr Masters suffer from a heart condition, do you know?’

‘I don’t think so,’ Alfredo answered, ‘but then Aspen would know better than I, because he works here in London all the time. I go back and forth to Italy, to Carrara, to be exact.’

Rob exclaimed, ‘I’m pretty certain he was in the best of health. He appeared to be, at any rate. On the other hand, how can I be sure? We were business colleagues not close friends, and he did not confide in me. Surely Mrs Masters would know about his health?’

The Inspector nodded, leaned back in the armchair, a reflective look on his face. After a moment’s considered thought, he continued slowly, ‘Mrs Masters insists that her husband did not have a heart condition, and therefore was not taking digitalis. She was most definite about this. I’ve also spoken to his physician, Dr Fortescue, and went to see him at his surgery. In fact, we had a long chat. The doctor cannot explain the reason Mr Masters took digitalis. He, too, is most baffled. Certainly he did not prescribe it, because Mr Masters did not have a heart condition. The doctor was most firm about that.’

‘Could there be another doctor involved, Inspector Laidlaw?’ Edward asked, giving the policeman a hard stare. ‘Perhaps Aubrey Masters wanted a second opinion, if he thought he had a health problem, and certainly he wouldn’t have wanted to offend Dr Fortescue. Or perhaps he didn’t want his wife to know he had developed a heart condition, and secretly went to see another physician or specialist.’

‘Or any kind of condition,’ Rob volunteered.

‘What are you suggesting, Mr Aspen?’ the Inspector asked, his eyes on the other man.

‘It’s something I’ve just remembered—’ Rob left his sentence unfinished, shaking his head. ‘No, no, it’s a long shot, I’m sure there’s nothing to it.’

‘To what?’ the inspector asked.

‘A remark Masters made to me about six months ago. I thought it was an odd comment, and quite out of character, not at all like him. Out of the blue one day, he muttered that life was so much easier for women, that all they had to do was lie down, whereas men had to stand to attention.’ Rob shook his head. ‘I was being something of a dunce that afternoon, I suppose, because I didn’t get the innuendo at first, not until he chuckled and winked at me. Frankly, I was astonished. I realized he was making a reference to his…sexuality, or perhaps I should say lack of it. About a week later I took some papers to his office, but he was out. I placed the files on his desk and it was then I noticed a writing pad on which he had drawn a number of hearts in red pencil, doodles really, and just below the hearts was the name Dr Alvin Springer. I thought nothing about it at the time, it just came back to me now.’

‘I will have that name checked out, Mr Aspen. Thank you very much indeed,’ Inspector Laidlaw said. ‘There’s a possibility that Dr Springer is a heart specialist, in view of those scribbles.’

‘It might be a clue, yes,’ Rob responded. ‘On the other hand, the doctor could be one who specializes in sex therapy. There are a few now practising in London, I hear from a friend of mine, who suffers from…well, er, shall we say a certain inadequacy. He has also been going to a psychiatrist, and, in fact, Dr Springer might well be a doctor who treats problems.’

Edward, who had been swallowing sudden and unexpected laughter, now glanced at Inspector Laidlaw. Immediately he saw the laughter in the policeman’s eyes, although his expression was one of total solemnity.

Rising, Edward walked over to his desk, trying to turn his spluttering laughter into coughing. A moment later, fully in control he said, ‘Do excuse me, I’m so sorry.’

The Inspector looked across at him, obviously suppressing his laughter, and said, ‘Do you need a glass of water, sir?’

Edward walked back to the sofa, shaking his head. ‘No, no, thank you, I’m fine.’

Laidlaw now said, ‘Mr Aspen, you’ve been very helpful, and I will personally speak to Dr Springer.’ Clearing his throat several times, he then went on, ‘I don’t suppose any of you would know if there was—well, another woman in his life?’

Edward thought he would burst into laughter at the preposterousness of this idea, but he managed to control himself, as did Oliveri and Aspen. Both of them looked as amused as he was; they simply shook their heads, as did Edward, and kept their faces straight.

After a moment, Edward turned to the Inspector. ‘If Aubrey Masters did have a heart condition, and had been prescribed digitalis, which is a heart medicine, then why on earth did he die because he took it?’

‘It was an overdose, Mr Deravenel. I’m sorry if I didn’t make that clear at the outset of this conversation. Accidental or on purpose, we don’t know yet. And this leads me to another point, and that is Mr Masters’s demeanour. How was he in the last few weeks? Sad? Despondent about anything? Did he appear worried? Or did he perhaps behave differently in some way?’ He looked at Alfredo in particular.

‘He was totally normal, Inspector,’ Alfredo announced in a firm and positive voice. ‘Actually, he was in an especially good mood on Monday, although in a bit of a hurry to get away from the meeting we were having. He explained he didn’t want to be late for an appointment out of the office. The following day, Tuesday, we bumped into each other in the corridor here, and he was very cordial. But I must admit, he did appear to be preoccupied. That’s all I can tell you.’

‘He was very preoccupied, Inspector,’ Rob volunteered. ‘And I agree with Oliveri in that I myself thought he was in a good humour on Monday, and certainly normal in everything he did.’

Inspector Laidlaw nodded. ‘It’s probably all very simple really. No doubt he did have a heart condition he was hiding from his wife and everyone here at his place of work. He must have gone to Dr Springer for that reason, who put him on digitalis. The other night he more than likely misjudged the dose, took too much.’

‘Is there going to be an inquest?’ Edward asked.

‘Oh yes, of course, sir. It will be held next week according to the coroner.’ Standing up, Inspector Laidlaw thanked them for their cooperation. ‘I’ll be in touch with you, gentlemen, as soon as I have more information.’

Edward left his office with the Inspector and escorted him down the corridor in the direction of the grand staircase. As they walked along side by side, Edward said, at one moment, in a low voice, ‘There is the possibility he committed suicide, isn’t there?’

‘Yes, indeed, Mr Deravenel.’

‘I didn’t know Aubrey Masters well, but he didn’t strike me as the kind of man who would misjudge the amount of medication he should take. He was rather precise,’ Edward confided in the same quiet voice. ‘And yet he did take an overdose, didn’t he?’

The policeman nodded, and murmured in an equally low tone, ‘If you have any more thoughts or information to pass on, you can reach me at Scotland Yard, Mr Deravenel.’

When Edward walked back into his office a few minutes later, Alfredo and Rob were laughing hilariously.

‘What’s the joke?’ he asked, and then began to laugh himself. When he finally sobered, Edward said, ‘Honestly, Aspen, I thought I was going to explode. There you were, mincing your words, trying to be careful around the Inspector, being ever so discreet. You could have just come out with it and said Masters couldn’t get an erection. The Inspector was striving to suppress his own laughter. I saw that immediately.’

Alfredo pulled out his handkerchief and wiped his eyes. ‘You sounded like your own maiden aunt, Aspen.’

‘I know,’ Rob admitted, looking chagrined. ‘It was foolish of me, but I was simply trying to say what I had to say without being—bloody vulgar.’

‘Inspector Laidlaw’s one of the boys, a good sport, I can tell you that,’ Edward remarked, grinning again. ‘I think he would have appreciated a good laugh, in fact.’

Alfredo walked over to the window and looked down into the Strand for a moment, then swung his head and said to Edward, ‘I think Masters might have committed suicide, because of the skimming. You and I both think he might be involved in that, and so does Aspen, by the way.’

Rob, who was leaning against the desk nonchalantly, nodded his head. ‘It’s bound to come to light in the next few months—unless there’s a real cover-up, unless they make it go away. It’ll be miraculous if they do.’

‘You’re correct in that,’ Ned answered, and went and sat down behind his desk. ‘I told Inspector Laidlaw that I’ll be in touch if anything comes to mind, so put your thinking caps on, my lads, and think hard. I’d like to help Laidlaw, if I can. He’s a nice chap.’

Alfredo said, ‘I couldn’t believe it when the Inspector asked if Masters had another woman. Can you imagine that—Aubrey Masters and a lady of the night.’

‘Please don’t,’ Ned muttered, grimacing. ‘It’s certainly not something I want to think about, I can tell you that. Masters was rather a strange duck in my opinion, and also quite ghastly, actually.’

Rob chuckled. ‘You’re right, and it’s certainly hard to envision him as a ladies’ man, even when the lady isn’t a lady. Think of that.’

‘God forbid!’ Ned exclaimed.