Page 28 of A Curious Ending

Lara swung around, hand on the door, anxious to be gone. ‘Maybe Penny uses the main bathroom?’ she whispered.

‘No.’ Abby was insistent. She moved to the left-hand side of the room and gave a small cry. ‘Here. There’s another door.’ Lara ran back into the room, nearly tripping over Archie as she did so. Abby was right, tucked almost out of sight beside the fitted wardrobes was a small door. She flung it open, her heart hammering. She found herself in a pretty bathroom painted in a very pale turquoise. She sprinted to the bathroom cabinet and opened the door as quietly as she could. Lara let out a small sigh. She reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone and took a photo of the bottle of pills she had found there. Lara was on the landing and heading down the stairs before she had finished putting the phone back into her pocket.

Lara looked down the walkway towards the studio door. It was still closed. Abby appeared by her side. She did not waste time asking what Lara had found but issued clear instructions. ‘Try all the doors off the hall. We are looking for a study. I will wait here and keep watch.’ Lara quickly opened and shut doors until she found what she was looking for. Richard Porter’s study looked like it had been modelled on an old gentlemen’s club. There did not seem to be a single item in the room that wasn’t made of either mahogany or leather. The sonorous ticking of a grandfather clock added to the stultifying atmosphere.

‘I’ve found it,’ she said to Abby, who was still standing facing the studio with the faithful Monty by her side.

Lara had just reached the desk and was opening the first drawer when she heard Abby’s clear voice calling. ‘Lara get out of the study! Now!’

Lara slammed the drawer, catching her finger as she did so. She smothered a cry of pain and sprinted for the door. She had her hand on the doorknob. But something was wrong. She looked down at her throbbing hand. Something was missing. Her notebook! She spun back towards the desk and plucked it up from where it lay on Richard Porter’s (leather) blotter.

By the time Penny Porter appeared in the hallway Lara was halfway towards the front door.

‘Hi,’ Lara said breathlessly over her shoulder, ‘I was thinking maybe a big hand-tied arrangement here in a tall vase, just where guests come in?’

Pinky nodded. ‘I was wondering if you would like a coffee?’ she asked. Before Lara could answer, a loud and insistent barking filled the air. Both women looked around in confusion. The barking was accompanied by the sound of frantic scratching. Pinky walked towards the door to her husband’s study. ‘What are you doing in there, you stupid dog,’ she said, opening the door. Archie came bounding out.

Lara went back to taking notes and did not look at Pinky. ‘Must have pushed it open,’ she said, trying to sound casual.

Pinky looked at her suspiciously. She opened her mouth as if to repeat her offer of coffee and then shut it again. Abby watched her. It looked as if she was going to walk back to the open studio door, but then she stopped and stared at Lara. Not so pigeon-brained after all, Abby thought. Pinky stayed in the hall watching Lara work. She kept up a stream of desultory conversation, but she did not take her eyes off her. Lara wondered how long she could keep up the pretence of measuring and taking notes, but she had clearly heard Abby tell her to ‘Stay’, so she thought she should keep going for a bit longer. She looked around to get some idea of what Abby thought they should do next – her instruction had only consisted of that one word – but there was no sign of her. Lara felt herself growing hot with embarrassment.

This was not helped when Pinky suddenly declared, ‘You know Julian Armstrong, don’t you? Haven’t I seen you two together?’

‘Not well. Just friends,’ Lara managed. Was there anyone who didn’t know about her and Julian?

It was with relief she heard Abby’s distinctive voice calling from the studio. She turned away from Penny Porter towards the call. It was a loud and clear cry. But then no one had ever accused Abigail Rossmore (alive or dead) of muttering.

The words, ‘Monty! MONTY! Here, boy!’ reverberated down the walkway.

Monty, who had been sitting poised and alert ever since Abby had instructed him to ‘Stay’, knew what was expected of a gundog of his lineage and pedigree. He shot like a bolt out of the hall, hurtled down the covered walkway and was moving at full speed as he flew through the studio door, claws slipping and scraping on the polished floor. Lara heard the noise of the crash at about the same time as she heard Abby’s delighted, ‘Good dog!’ Penny ran almost as fast as her labrador back into the studio. Monty had done his job well. There were paints, brushes and canvases everywhere. The round table had been knocked halfway across the studio.

Hurrying after her, Lara popped her head through the doorway. ‘Oh goodness!’ she said sympathetically, trying not to laugh.

Penny was on her hands and knees, cursing Monty, attempting to retrieve the avalanche of paints and brushes while at the same time rescue the scattered paintings. It was a scene of complete carnage.

‘Look, I can see you have your hands full. I’ll let myself out and I’ll email you a quote in the next few days.’ With that Lara half raised her hand in salute and headed for the hall, closing the studio door behind her and Abby. Penny barely looked up at her as she left.

By the time Abby reached the hallway, Lara had outpaced her, and the hall was completely empty. But the door to Richard’s study was slightly ajar. Within five minutes Lara and Abby were quietly letting themselves out of the front door.

‘Monty is a very intelligent dog, with a great spiritual nose,’ Abby commented, as they settled into the van. ‘My Uncle Henry would have enjoyed meeting him. He inherited the estate when my father died and we moved into the Dower House. He was always very kind to us, and he loved his gundogs.’

‘So much for him being a “useless” dog,’ Lara said dryly.

‘It all comes down to the quality of the owner,’ Abby said censoriously, adjusting the ribbons of her bonnet in the rearview mirror.

Chapter 16

Lara drove for a few minutes until she found a secluded layby to pull over. The van sploshed through a puddle as it drew to a halt, the rain still hammering on the roof.

‘Did you manage to find the will?’ Abby asked before the van had stopped.

Lara nodded. ‘It was pretty brief. Lady Porter left Gillmore House, her stocks and shares and most of her money to Richard.’ She studied Abby, ‘I hadn’t realised quite how rich she was… anyway, she also left her jewellery and £30,000 to Penny. Apart from a few charities there were only two other people mentioned. Lady Porter left Mrs M a pension and she left some paintings to Dr Patil. There was certainly no mention of the Church or Joe.’

Abby put her fingertips together and pressed her forefingers to her lips. ‘We were right, though,’ Lara continued, ‘the Porters have serious money problems. I found bank statements and everything. Luckily the Hon Richard is still into paper statements.’

‘Fortunate indeed,’ Abby commented, wondering what other type there were.

‘It’s not just Richard who’s struggling, but Penny is as well. I saw her statements and notes Richard had made. It looks like the main paintings that have sold recently have been bought by Richard.’