Page 89 of Crocodile Tears

Dacre’s solicitor was next on his interview list: perhaps he held a missing piece of this jigsaw puzzle.

Isaac Juniper worked in a plush office building in West Wickham.

“I was sorry to hear about Elliot,” Juniper said, showing Josiah into his personal office and closing the door behind them. “He was a friend as well as a client – I’ve known him for years.”

Juniper was a tall, bespectacled man with a gentle charm. Josiah knew immediately that he was gay.

“It’s hard to believe.” Juniper sighed, shaking his head. “I mean, he was just here in this office on Monday, finalising his will. That seems ironic now, given that he died the next day.” He took off his glasses and gave them a wipe, looking genuinely upset.

“That’s something I want to talk to you about,” Josiah said. “Why did he visit your office – why not just call or email you the revisions to his will?”

“He needed a witness biosig from someone who wasn’t a beneficiary of the new will, but also, I think, he just wanted to talk. He was upset about an incident involving Christopher, and he wanted to chat to me over a cuppa. He was like that – very impulsive and a tad demanding – but I was fond of him.”

“Christopher? You mean Alexander – that’s his real name.”

Juniper put his glasses back on and pushed them up his nose. “Sorry. I knew him as Christopher.”

“Did Elliot tell you why he was changing his will?”

“Yes. It was going to be a grand statement of his love; he was going to set Chris… I mean, Alexander, free in the event of his death. I believe he intended to take him out to dinner that evening and show him the will then.”

“He didn’t do that. He showed it to him the minute he received it. Do you know why he’d do that if he had a fancy meal planned?”

“Well, Elliot was impetuous, so it’s likely he was simply too excited to wait.”

“Do you know why he intended to set Alexander free in his will? I mean, why wait until his death – why not do it immediately if he wanted it to have any real meaning?” Josiah asked.

Juniper laughed. “You had to know Elliot. He’d spent a good deal of money on Alexander, and much as he loved that young man, I don’t think he felt confident his feelings were reciprocated. If he set Alexander free during his lifetime, he risked Alexander leaving him. Freeing the IS in his will seems romantic, but it’s a fairly empty gesture – more for the show of the thing than the substance.” Alexander had made much the same observation.

“Did you know that Dacre was so badly in debt that the will is irrelevant – Alexander’s contract will be sold to pay off his debts.”

Juniper sighed. “Yes. Elliot discussed his financial situation with me freely. I told him that I thought he’d have to sell his expensive servant to meet his debts, but he refused to accept this. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t had offers. He was rather proud of the fact that he’d turned down two bids to purchase Alexander in the past few months.”

Josiah looked up sharply. “That’s interesting. Do you know who these prospective purchasers were?”

“He didn’t say.”

“And these bids came in the past few months – so, since June?”

“Yes – is that important?”

“It could be. Alexander was sentenced to seven years of servitude by the state. After that his houder could sell him or free him, but he had to serve those seven years first – and they were up in June.”

“So, it’s possible those two bidders wanted to buy Alexander in order to set him free?” Juniper asked.

“Possibly, but that’s a lot of money to lose. You’d have to be very wealthy and very besotted to do it. Did Elliot give you any information about these two people?”

“No. I only know that there were two interested parties. I told Elliot that if he was canny, he could play one off against the other and push up the price, but he absolutely wouldn’t consider selling Alexander.” Juniper gave a wistful little smile. “You know, I really do believe he loved him.”

“What is your view of Alexander?” Josiah asked, watching the lawyer closely. “Do you think he killed Dacre?”

Juniper gave him a thoughtful look. “I knew you’d ask me that, and honestly, I don’t know. I’m quite good at reading people, but I never could fathom Alexander. On the surface, he was the ideal servant – Elliot certainly thought so. At first, I mistook him for just another one of those pretty boys Elliot took up with after his husband died, but the more I saw of him, the more I wondered. Do you know that he has a first-class degree from Oxford?”

“It’s in the file, yes.”

“You don’t get a first from one of the finest universities in theworld unless you’re pretty bloody clever, and yet he pranced around in those skimpy little outfits at Elliot’s parties, handing out croc like some brainless bimbo. It seemed… weird.” Juniper shrugged.

“So, to repeat my question – do you think Alexander could have killed Elliot Dacre? Is he capable of murder?” Josiah pressed.

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