Mystery Surrounds Murdered Couple's Relationship
Hampshire police revealed this afternoon that the murdered couple, Leo Wallader, 35, and Meg Harris, 34, had kept their eleven-year relationship secret from their families. "It is not clear at this stage," said Detective Superintendent Cheever, leading the investigation, "why secrecy was important, but we hope that by publishing photographs of them someone may come forward who knew them as a couple."
Further mystery surrounds Leo Wallader's estate, which has been valued at over one million pounds. "He told friends and relations that he was in financial difficulties," said Det. Supt. Cheever, "and it came as a surprise to everybody to discover how much he was worth."
Sir Anthony Wallader, Leo's father, who accused Hampshire police yesterday of lethargy, refused to comment on his son's financial affairs. "My wife and I are too upset to talk to anyone," he said. In the absence of a Will, Sir Anthony and Lady Wallader, as next of kin, will inherit their son's fortune. Sir Anthony is believed to have a substantial fortune in his own right.
Det. Supt. Cheever agrees that Hampshire police were unhappy about the accusation of lethargy. "We have been working very hard to find Leo and Meg's murderer," he told journalists, "but cases like this are never easy. The length of time that the couple knew each other clearly puts a different emphasis on what has happened here, and we need to establish why they felt it important to keep their friendship secret."
He went on to say that he recognized the pressure both families were under and regretted any insensitivity Hampshire police may have shown. "We have a tendency to assume," he admitted, "that the families of victims understand we are working hard on their behalf. Clearly this is not always recognized, and we will make sure there is no misunderstanding in future."
Southern Evening Echo-28th June
*16*
TUESDAY, 28TH JUNE, THE NIGHTINGALE CLINIC, SALISBURY-12:50 P.M.
Alan Protheroe wiped a weary hand across his face, then pushed himself out of his chair and wandered restlessly towards the window. Could he, hand on heart, say he believed anything Jinx told him, when what she claimed to remember could be as fantastic as she chose because there was no one left to contradict her? There were three dead people, and all three were intimately connected with this one woman. Logic dictated that she must know something about their deaths. Logic also dictated that her father knew something, or why had he put her in here with such very precise instructions concerning her care? Adam was as anxious as she was, it seemed, that her memories lie dormant.
"I'm not sure I can believe that," he said with his back to her. "You described Russell to me only a couple of days ago as possessive and jealous. You said your marriage was stifling. Now you tell me he and your best friend were having an affair. That doesn't quite square, does it?"
"Russell believed in double standards," Jinx said reasonably. "If he was capable of cheating customs, do you not think he was equally capable of cheating his wife?"
"That's hardly an answer, you know. Obsession with one woman doesn't usually lead to philandering with others. Surely the two are mutually exclusive?"
"It depends what sort of obsession you're talking about. Russell was far more obsessed with himself than he was with me. I was little better than a trophy that he could show off to his middle-aged friends, the child bride who adored him so much she forsook fortune and fame to marry him. Meg was a different kind of trophy, the one that proved to himself he was still sexually active and attractive at forty-plus. But we had no more value to him than the paintings in his collection. He liked owning things."
He turned round. "My problem is, I have to take your word for that. Sadly for Russell, the dead can't speak for themselves."
"Is there a reason why you shouldn't take my word?" She said it without hostility but there was anger in her eyes. "Suddenly, you're a policeman, yet ten minutes ago you only wanted to help." She made as if to get up. "This is just a professional exercise for you, and I'm hungry anyway. I want some lunch."
He refused to be intimidated. "Don't be so childish," he said sharply. "Healthy skepticism and a wish to help are not mutually exclusive, Jinx. Arguably, the one strengthens the other. Convince the skeptic and you will have a stronger ally for the future. Perhaps if you changed your mind-set vis-a-vis the police in that area, you could shed your paranoia and make a positive attempt to help them find Meg and Leo's murderer. Or are you as disinclined to do that as you were to have Russell's murderer named?"
She looked at him with dislike. "I'll phone Colonel Clancey and ask him to post Russell's diaries and letters to you. I keep them in my bookcase at home. For what it's worth, the entry on the day we got married went like this: 'Felt and looked great. Wore black velvet suit and white satin shirt. Speech afterwards was a triumph of wit and erudition. What a pity there were so few guests to enjoy it.' I interpret that as self-obsession but then, admittedly, I'm an arrogant woman and I was put out that his bride didn't rate a mention."
"Still, I'm surprised you didn't mention the affair before. It's a little odd, don't you think, that Meg should have slept with both Russell and Leo? Was she in the habit of stealing your men friends?"
"If you want to be strictly accurate about it, I stole them from her. She had a six-month fling with Russell, got bored with him and introduced him to me. She did the same with Leo, told me he was a business acquaintance and said he and I would get on like a house on fire. It was only later that I realized 'business acquaintance' meant lover."
"Didn't it upset you to get her castoffs?"
"Everybody's somebody's castoff. In some ways it's easier if you know your predecessor, because then you know you're not competing with Superwoman."
He resumed his seat. "You're avoiding the question. Were you upset?"
"Only in retrospect. Meg was a great deal more attractive than I am and completely careless of other people's feelings, particularly men's. She had no qualms about taking up with someone, then dumping him two or three months later for somebody else. The trouble is, I'm less adept at that so I got lumbered with the jerks when it suited her."
"But she took up with them again later when that suited her." He shook his head in genuine bewilderment. "If this is true, Jinx, then I can't understand why you describe her as the only real friend you've ever had."
"I'm not doing this very well," she said, surprisingly sanguine about his disbelief. "You'd have liked Meg." She marshaled her thoughts. "Look, when I say I got lumbered with them, that doesn't mean I hold her responsible for what happened afterwards. She kept telling me not to marry Russell, said I was mad to tie myself down at twenty-one, but by then it was too late. I couldn't just abandon him after what Adam had done, and that wasn't Meg's fault."
Alan was highly doubtful that Meg Harris was a woman he would have liked. If Jinx had said one thing that was true, it was that she was unable to make sensible decisions about her personal life, particularly where her choice of friends was concerned. She appeared to be completely blind to their character flaws, and he wondered if she realized that it was only the egocentric personality that seemed to attract her. Was this because she found it difficult to differentiate between self-centeredness and self-confidence? She had so many mixed feelings about her domineering father that it wasn't surprising she found people impossible to read. "I suppose it wasn't Meg's fault either that she had an affair with Russell after he was married?"