Page 50 of Old Girls Behaving Badly

‘Harry, I have to ask, what was in my drink the other night?’

‘Sorry about that. Leonard slipped extra alcohol in your drinks. I think he was going to try to get you talking. He doesn’t trust you for some reason. Well, now I can see why. He shouldn’t have done it, though. I know I was as bad for handing them out.’

‘Did he get me talking? I really don’t remember.’

‘No, because I slipped extra in his and he wasn’t really fit for conversations. It was why I made sure you got to your room. I was worried after I saw how much he was pouring.’

‘And he thinks someone is trying to bump him off,’ I said. ‘With his record, it could be anyone.’

‘I think it’s Paul,’ Juliet said. ‘He looks around this house with a sort of longing. I wouldn’t like it if I’d lost out on such a big inheritance.’

Harry didn’t say anything and I wondered if he knew who it was.

‘Thank you, Harry,’ I said, ‘for your honesty. Not many people would be so decent. Apart from anything else, you’re here feeding the guests, rather than doing a disappearing act. Commendable.’

‘Thanks, Gina, but once the catering team come on Saturday I won’t be hanging around for long. But if I find the painting, I’ll let you know.’

I nodded and put the rolling pin back on the worktop. I washed my hands again and dried them on a towel.

‘I’m going to leave my phone number,’ I said. ‘In case you find anything or think of anything that might be useful to Dorothy.’

In a gesture of complete faith, he handed his phone to me, unlocked, and I put my number in under the name The Companion. He laughed when I gave it back to him.

‘That makes you sound sinister,’ he said.

We left the kitchen and walked back up the stairs, but once we were out of Harry’s earshot, Juliet rounded on me.

‘I can’t believe you deleted it. That was such a stupid thing to do. It was evidence!’

‘I had to make sure Harry knew it was off your phone. I’d like to think he could be trustworthy, which I know sounds like an odd thing to say about a criminal, but we can’t really trust him. And, anyway, I only deleted it after I’d sent it to myself,’ I said.

Juliet’s eyes widened and then a huge smile broke out on her face.

‘Nice one,’ she said.

Despite my reservations about what I was doing for Dorothy and how Juliet was mixed up in it now as well, I still managed to feel a little proud of myself for my quick thinking. I also felt like we were close now. Surely it couldn’t be long before the painting appeared.

20

DOROTHY

Dorothy had slept badly. She’d been restless all night with a terrible headache and when Gina knocked on her door at seven-thirty she’d really not had the energy to get up.

‘I think this is all too much for you, Dorothy,’ Gina had said. ‘I think it’s time to hand it over to Miles and Sophie and let them do whatever they feel is right. It’s too stressful for you.’

‘No,’ Dorothy had croaked from her bed. ‘We’re so close now – I can feel it.’

So Gina had agreed to leave her for a few more hours and then they’d make a decision about what was best to do. She left Dorothy with her tea tray and her newspaper open at the crossword.

It was now lunchtime and Gina had returned with more tea and a glass of water. Dorothy had managed to get some sleep, her headache had subsided and she was determined to show Gina that she was fighting fit. The trouble was, she wasn’t exactly on top form, but she intended to rally.

The rest of the guests were arriving, bringing a whole other level of excitement, and Gina was at the window describing the scene outside the front of the house.

‘Two coaches have pulled off the main road onto Leonard’s driveway and there’s a sea of colourful summer dresses. Caroline and Toby are there greeting them along with Miles and Lavinia, Paul and Sandra. Of course Leonard isn’t there,’ Gina said. ‘He’ll want to make his entrance later. There’s no way he would stand on his own driveway waiting for guests to arrive. He has his minions for that. He’ll probably appear in a puff of smoke, at the garden party.’

Dorothy laughed. ‘You definitely know that man now, Gina,’ she said.

‘So, why are the guests here a day early? What’s the plan?’ Gina asked.