Page 41 of A Very Bookish Murder
The reporter had added a further paragraph.
Jodi, has, for many years now, been in a well-publicised relationship with Harry Harper, her agent, the man who sent her on her way. He is known for having furthered thecareers of several prominent female writers but had never become romantically involved with one before. What was particularly tragic was the fact that Harry Harper had left his wife heartbroken, and with a three-month-old baby, to move in with Jodi.
‘What do you think, Ross?’ Ally asked later as she showed him her findings on the laptop. ‘It was a disgrace back then to become pregnant if you weren’t married, and she seems to have spent her life being obsessed with having to give her baby away. What strikes me as being particularly sad is that she’s admitted to “using” men after that, like she blamedallmen for her own downfall, which it was then, of course, and her struggle for survival. But survive she did! She was completely unmoved by her lover leaving his wife and baby behind, which seems incredible. She may not have been a particularly nice woman, but she’d obviously become hardened by her experiences.’
‘What I don’t understand is why this child, if they exist, hasn’t got in touch?’ Ross said. ‘I mean, Jodi’s murder has been well reported by the media, and since there doesn’t appear to have been any further offspring, then surely they’d be the heir to her considerable bank balance?’
‘I think I should tell Amir, and Rigby, what I’ve found,’ Ally said.
‘I’m amazed they haven’t discovered this for themselves,’ Ross commented with a frown.
‘Ah, but very few men would be likely to read the rubbish magazine that I waded through,’ Ally said with a grin.
‘Obviously we’re not persistent enough,’ Ross agreed.
On Wednesday morning, shortly after the women had gone out and Ross had gone home, Amir Kandahar put in an appearance again.
‘It has been officially confirmed,’ he said, ‘that Joyce Williams died of a massive overdose of insulin, as I suspected. We’ve checked the syringes you had stored in the box in your fridge and it appeared – assuming she brought sufficient for a week or two – that a quantity was missing.’
‘Well, as I told you, almost anyone could have gone into the kitchen,’ Ally admitted. ‘I lock the outside doors if I’m going anywhere, but there’s no lock on the kitchen door and all the women have keys so they can come and go as they wish.’ She sighed. ‘I think you’re going to need a cup of tea.’
‘I certainly do!’ Amir frowned. ‘So any one of them could have gone in there and helped themselves if you weren’t around?’
‘Yes, I guess so. But, Amir, I have something important to tell you. Jodi Jones had a child.’
‘How come I have no record of this?’ Amir asked, looking perplexed.
‘Apparently it was adopted as a baby and didn’t contact her until they were an adult.’ Ally fired up her laptop and, after a few minutes, produced the magazine and the centre pages for his perusal.
Amir read it carefully as Ally made the tea, and then appeared to reread it, his eyes widening. ‘I’m going to look into this,’ he said, clicking several times on the article and noting down the website address. He looked up. ‘Well, if she and her offspring are now as close as she’s making out here, then where is he or she? Why haven’t they appeared?’
‘Good question,’ Ally agreed.
‘Is this a reputable magazine?’ Amir asked.
‘Not very. But don’t you think she’d have sued if they printed something that was wrong? I mean, this was published a year ago.’
Ally handed him a mug and reached for the biscuit tin. ‘Some shortbread?’
Amir nodded distractedly and helped himself to a generous piece. ‘You’d have to be on a bloody desert island or somewhere not to be aware of Jodi Jones’s murder! So why has this child not appeared?’ he asked again.
Ally shook her head.
‘This thing is beginning to keep me awake at night,’ Amir added with a sigh.
‘You and me both,’ said Ally. She longed to tell him about Rigby’s long-lost sister, but a promise was a promise. Perhaps, though, she might now be able to persuade Rigby to tell Amir. Surely they were working towards the same goal? And it certainly didn’t look like Rigby was likely to be back on the case any time soon.
Amir munched his shortbread for a moment, took a swig of tea and then asked out of the blue, ‘Have you got a daughter?’
Taken aback for a moment, Ally replied, ‘Yes, I have.’
‘I have two,’ said Amir, gazing out of the window. ‘Their mother died two years ago.’
Ally had heard something similar from Rigby. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said sincerely.
‘She was a good mother,’ Amir said, still gazing out of the window. ‘But my girls are now teenagers. They’re fifteen and seventeen, and it’s not easy being the father of teenagers these days, Ally.’
‘I know that,’ Ally said, recalling countless arguments with both Jamie and Carol about what was allowed and what was not. ‘Who looks after them when you’re working?’
