False Relation (An Abbot Agency Mystery Book 19)

Silence. No, that really didn't work as a theory.

Bea said, 'You've no need to interfere. You don't need Rosemary to catch him.'

A sigh. 'I know. All I have to do is find somewhere for the orphans of the storm to lay their heads. And I'm booked solid with Zoom meetings the whole day.'

Bea said, slowly, 'There's something else you're not telling me. Something that requires Rosemary's special talents?'

'Come down for the weekend? You and Piers, too, of course. Polly and I are living with the children in controlled chaos in the rebuilt Stables. We have plumbing, lighting and blinds at the windows. Most of the ground-floor rooms are furnished but chaos reigns and it's noisy in the daytime because the builders are still working on this and that.

'We could put you up in the flat above the estate office, where we used to live. I'm ringing from the office on the ground floor at the moment. Or, I've had the top floor at the Hall divided into three self-contained flats. Nanny has one, the woman who's heading up the volunteer stewards has another and the third is currently vacant. Would you prefer that?'

'You'd rather have me occupying the remaining flat than your father-in-law?'

'That's not even funny! Uh-oh, here comes my tyrant of a PA, to remind me about the first Zoom call of the day. I'd better go.'

He put the phone down and Bea looked at her diary. Could she leave the office for a couple of days? Would a few days in the country help Piers to decide what to do with the rest of his life? He seemed disenchanted with painting the great and the good as he said they usually turned out to be neither great nor good. He found London noisy but believed he'd be bored living in the country. He was a bundle of contradictions who was driving Bea mad. He'd enjoyed poking around the old Hall to see what treasures he could unearth there, but how much interference would Julian and Polly allow? And did Bea really want to move out of London? No, of course not.

She could get someone to cancel or shift her appointments for the next couple of days and ... she smiled. She knew exactly what line of enquiry Julian would take to discover where Marcus might have gone. That is, if there really had been some goings-on in the village and it wasn't just gossip. Well, she could do that investigation for him, and the sooner she got down there, the better.

Now, what should she pack for a weekend in the country? Perhaps a knuckleduster to deal with any villains she might come across? A stun gun or pepper spray? Not that she'd recognise any of these if she saw them.

She got Piers on her smartphone, and explained the position. 'You remember that Julian had two step-cousins, neither of whom has ever done a day's work in their lives? Despite their attempts to get rid of Julian, he's treated both with generosity. Now Mona, the eldest, is dead. It looks as if her husband killed her and then disappeared. Julian wants us there and I want to go.'

Piers was cynical. 'I'm not the slightest surprised that Mona's had it.'

'Yes, I can see her driving a man to distraction, but ... to kill her?'

'It's been known. Think it through: she offers herself, he reacts as expected, she draws back, he kills her from frustration. Game, set and match. The police will sort it. Julian needed you to hold his hand in the old days, but surely he's grown past all that by now?'

Piers was being his usual contrary self. If she'd said she didn't want to leave London he'd be urging her to depart immediately.

Bea exercised patience. 'I know that. But he's specifically asked for both of us to pay him a visit. Now, we've been offered the bedroom over the estate office or a flat at the top of the old house.'

Piers growled. 'Like poor relations.'

Bea persevered. 'You've done wonders at the Hall, helping to find and restore the chapel, and you did say you wanted to look at the cellars next time we visit. You can enjoy poking about there and giving him the benefit of your advice.'

'I don't need to be bribed with a lollipop, like a child.'

Bea counted to five and lost it. In the smoothest of tones, she said, 'Let me know when you're ready to rejoin the human race.'

She ended the call and set about arranging for her absence from the office.

Bea was on the road by early afternoon. She stopped halfway for a bite to eat, when her phone pinged with a text from Polly asking her to ring. Which she did.

'Bea, are you able to get away? We really do need you.'

'I'm on my way. Have you any details?'