Page 18 of A Very Bookish Murder
‘Is this Jones fellow still in the area?’
‘He’s got a camper van and wanted to leave it in my little car park, but I refused, so he’s camped down somewhere on Ross’s land. As far as I know he’s still there. Have you told Amir Kandahar about Jodi possibly being your sister?’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t want to at the moment, although I may later, depending on what happens. The thing is, Ally, if my suspicions about Jodi Jones became known, they’d take me off the case because, obviously, I’d be emotionally involved. I don’t want to be taken off this case because I’m damned determined to find out who throttled my sister. I just cannot believe that I’ve gone all these years wondering about her, and then I find this lifeless body…’ He wiped his eyes. ‘See what you can find out, Ally.’
She patted his hand. ‘Don’t you worry – I will.’
Privately, she doubted that Rigby would ever be back on this case, but she knew that he mustn’t lose hope.
All the way back to Locharran, Ally pondered over what Rigby had said. When she sat down with Ross that evening, she was eager to share her thoughts with him. She told him about Rigby’s sister disappearing and how no one had ever discovered what had happened to the sixteen-year-old Joanne Rigby. And thatRigby had asked Ally to discover all she could about Joanne when she first left home.
‘How can you possibly find out?’ Ross asked.
‘Well, I can start by talking to Desdemona,’ Ally said, ‘and maybe Penelope, because she was at university at the same time.’
‘What difference would it make now that the woman’s no longer able to meet him?’
Ally sighed. ‘He just needs toknow,Ross. The only member of her family who’s appeared so far is the scruffy husband, and he wasn’t saying much. Mind you, Jodi had left him years ago, apparently, but never bothered to get a divorce. I feel sorry for Bob Rigby. What a shock he must have got when he saw her body.’
‘My suggestion would be that he requests a DNA test or something,’ Ross suggested.
‘Maybe he’ll be able to do that when, and if, he returns to work,’ Ally said, ‘but he doesn’t want his suspicions to become public knowledge. He hasn’t told Kandahar or anyone.’
‘Well, you don’t have time to do anything about it now. We’re meeting Hamish and Magda in an hour, so it’s time you got ready. Try to put it out of your mind while we entertain Magda tonight,’ Ross said with a smile. ‘After all, it is her birthday!’
That evening, her head was still full of Rigby’s revelations as she got ready for Magda’s birthday dinner. Yes, of course she wanted to find out who had killed Jodi, but she also wanted to find out everything she could about the woman, if only to give poor Rigby some closure. She was so preoccupied that she found it difficult to decide what to wear. Finally, she settled on some tailored navy-blue trousers and an emerald-green silk top, which coordinated well. When she looked in the mirror, the coloursof Jodi’s beautiful scarf came into her mind. She removed the top, hastily placed it back in the wardrobe and chose a cream cashmere sweater instead.
EIGHT
Magda and her husband, the Earl of Locharran – otherwise known as Hamish Sinclair – resided in the hilltop turreted castle above Ally’s malthouse. Hamish, who owned almost everything in sight, including the village, was a tall, handsome septuagenarian with more than a passing resemblance to Sean Connery. He had always longed for an heir, but that had never happened in either of his previous marriages, both of which had been unfortunately brief. But it seemed to be third time lucky for him, and after many years as a bachelor, he now had a young wife who was heavily pregnant with twin boys, much to the delight of them both. He and Magda seemed to be blissfully happy, and their heirs were soon to be born, much to the excitement of the village. It was a little like the elusive buses – Hamish having longed for a legal heir for so many years and now there were two coming along at once!
Ally was none too sure that Hamish was aware of all the aspects of fatherhood, such as the prospect of sleepless nights and so forth. Magda had flatly refused to hire any kind of nurse or nanny because she herself was hands-on when it came to babies, having once been a nanny to children whose parents lived all over the globe.
It would be Magda’s thirty-fifth birthday, and Ally was very fond of her. Not only that, Ally had had many elaborate meals up in the castle, with or without Ross, and she now felt the need to reciprocate. Since the malthouse was full of murder suspects coming and going, it didn’t seem like the ideal location for a celebratory meal, and Ally had had the brilliant idea of booking The Bistro for the occasion, which was conveniently located just down the road from the Craigmonie Hotel.
The owner, Linda, was English, had married a builder from Locharran and arrived in the village some fifteen years previously. Unfortunately, Alastair had died a couple of years later, and Linda was left with the choice of returning south or using her considerable culinary talents to open a business. Fortunately, she chose the latter and now The Bistro was a successful little enterprise. Linda also made desserts for the Craigmonie Hotel, and this had led to her burgeoning relationship with Callum Dalrymple, the hotel manager.
‘Magda is enormous, and she won’t want to travel far,’ Ally had explained to Ross when she had suggested the idea. ‘And Linda will appreciate our custom.’
‘Oh God!’ Linda had exclaimed when Ally approached her. ‘What do I cook forthem?’
‘Listen,’ Ally said, ‘they eat ordinary, plain food most of the time. Honestly! Whatever you do will be a welcome change from Mrs Jamieson’s menu. She’s a good cook but somewhat conventional and not terribly adventurous, so whatever you do will be a treat.’
After Ally had booked the table, she’d phoned Hamish.
‘But we were going to invite you uphere,’ he’d protested.
‘No, no, give your ladies a rest. I’d normally have you both here at the malthouse, but, with a houseful of suspects, it would be much nicer at The Bistro. Our treat.’
‘We would be honoured,’ Hamish had replied. ‘Thank you very much.’
Ross insisted on driving Hamish and Magda down from the castle to The Bistro so that they could enjoy a drink – not that Magda was drinking anything stronger than Diet Coke at the moment.
Magda was enormous and, on arrival at the restaurant, she struggled to get herself and her bump anywhere near the table. Nevertheless, once she got there, she ate just about everything in sight, including a few leftovers on Hamish’s plate, explaining that she was eating for three.
Linda had done them proud with a choice of seafood or vegetable starters, beef or sea bass main course, and a selection of creamy desserts, and insisted on serving them personally, although she did employ a waitress, and explained the contents of each dish as it was served. She finally sat down and joined them for coffee and liqueurs.
‘Do tell me about these women you have staying with you, Alison?’ Hamish said as he imbibed a generous measure of Drambuie.
