She stopped yet again.
‘Silly girl?’ prompted Vogel.
‘Well, she was. She really was.’
Mrs Ferguson blurted the words out. Vogel was starting to get interested. For all her controlling ways Amelia Ferguson clearly had problems governing her tongue. Certainly as far as her daughter-in-law was concerned. Which, for an investigating policeman was extremely good news.
He didn’t say anything. Neither did Saslow. She’d learned fast that one.
Mrs Ferguson soon began to speak again, as Vogel had known she would.
‘Look, Mr Vogel, Jane was never happy. She was one of those who found life difficult. She was never content. The children would often get to be too much for her. She would call Felix and say she couldn’t cope on her own. That’s why I had them so much in the school holidays. I always thought she had... ’
Mrs Ferguson paused, took a deep breath, and then continued.
‘To tell the truth, and there can’t be much doubt about it now, I always thought she had mental health issues. We, Sam and I, begged Felix to get her to seek help. He told us she did agree to see someone. A while back. I never knew the details. She needed medication if you ask me. Lately, well... Felix seemed so unhappy. I’ve suspected he and Jane were having problems. Not surprising. A man like Felix needs a proper wife. Someone who will look after his children and his home, and be there to socialize with him. She never wanted to get involved with that side of his life. Not a bit interested in going to the yacht club with him, for example, even though he is commodore.’
‘You said that your son never should have married Jane,’ Saslow remarked. ‘Why? Did she always show signs of these mental health issues you believed her to be suffering from?’
‘Well, I don’t know about that. Not at first, anyway. And she was a pretty girl. You can’t take that away from her. But she never fitted in. She just wasn’t one of us, if you know what I mean.’
Vogel feared he very much knew what the woman meant. She really was one of the worst snobs he had ever met.
‘So what was Jane’s background, then?’ Saslow continued. ‘Was she a local girl?’
‘She most certainly was not local,’ said Mrs Ferguson, as if that in itself had been enough to cast doubt upon her daughter-in-law’s character. ‘And we know hardly anything of Jane’s background. Next to nothing about her family history. She admitted early on she didn’t even know who her father was. Can you believe that? Next to nothing about her medical history, either. I don’t think Felix ever knew much, either, although he wouldn’t admit it, of course. Besotted with her, he was. To begin with anyway. But Jane’s past was always a mystery as far as Sam and I were concerned. If you asked her anything she would clam up at once, or change the subject. I’ve always thought she was ashamed of her background. And I don’t like that sort of thing. It’s all in the breeding, you see, isn’t it? People. Dogs. Horses. If you know their breeding, you know what you’re getting, don’t you?’
Neither Vogel nor Saslow passed any comment. Amelia Ferguson glanced down at her two Cavalier King Charles’, now lying at her feet, both of which were staring at her adoringly. Vogel had a vague memory of a scandal a few years previously concerning the in-breeding of these pretty little dogs. As a result the majority of them ended up with a severely painful condition causing malformation of the skull, plus heart, and other health problems. He suspected many of those responsible would be the same type of person as Mrs Amelia Ferguson.
‘Everything is down to breeding,’ she repeated, stroking the little dogs’ heads proprietorially.
Vogel had an almost overwhelming urge to pick up the woman and shake her. Instead he concentrated on extracting from her as much information as possible.
‘Was your son aware of how strongly you had come to feel about his wife?’ Vogel asked.
‘Well, yes. I suppose so. There was no secret about it.’
‘And how did he react to that?’
‘He accepted it. He must have known himself that he’d made the wrong choice. But we didn’t talk about it.’
‘Yet you had no qualms about making your opinion known, Mrs Ferguson?’
‘No. I didn’t. What would you expect? She most certainly wasn’t what I’d wanted for my boy. But, look, if you want to know more you’re going to have to ask Felix. I don’t see how I can help you any further.’
‘I certainly intend to be asking Felix a number of questions,’ said Vogel.
‘I just said, he’s upstairs asleep. It’s been a terrible ordeal for him, so I told him just to stay in bed and get all the rest he can. He’s been extremely distressed by everything, you know.’
Yes, and very drunk, from all accounts, Vogel thought. He was unimpressed. He considered how he would behave if, heaven forbid, anything happened to his beloved Mary. He would be in bits, but he would still be there for his daughter. Indeed, he would not leave Rosamund’s side.
‘His children are going through quite an ordeal, too, Mrs Ferguson,’ said Vogel. ‘I’m a bit surprised he isn’t up and looking after them, to tell the truth.’
He glanced at his watch.
‘It is nearly nine thirty,’ he said.
‘My son has been up half the night, detective chief inspector,’ responded Mrs Ferguson defensively.
‘And so have his children,’ countered Vogel quickly.
There was more he would like to say. He stopped himself. Baiting Amelia Ferguson was not going to get him anywhere. Tempting though it was. He changed tack. Made his voice gentler.
‘Look Mrs Ferguson, I do understand, everyone is upset and everyone has a different way of dealing with shock and grief. However, we will need to wake Felix and get him down here, I’m afraid. But I do have one last question for you. You say that you believe Jane committed suicide. Is there anything you know of that has happened, anything that has changed, possibly in the last weeks or even days, that might have induced your daughter-in-law to take her own life? Anything that might have pushed her over the edge?’
Vogel’s conciliatory approach seemed to work. Mrs Ferguson looked as if she were genuinely considering how best to correctly answer his question.
‘Well, there were the dreams, of course,’ she said.
Vogel felt a little frisson of excitement.
‘The dreams?’ he queried.
‘Yes. But she’s had them for years. From soon after they were married. Felix told us. Bad dreams. Nightmares. She’d be inconsolable, Felix said. But whether or not they’d been getting any worse, or anything like that, I don’t really know... ’
Her voice tailed off.
‘Did Jane talk to you about the dreams?’ asked Vogel.
‘You’ve got to be joking,’ muttered Mrs Ferguson. ‘No. I thought I’d made it clear. Jane never talked to me about anything. Barely spoke to me at all, actually. Which suited us both. We felt exactly the same way about each other. There was never much doubt about that. Felix told me, of course. He was worried about Jane, poor dear. Terribly worried. The dreams were pretty persistent, you see. Sometimes he’d say she was going through a bad patch, and another time he’d be pleased because she hadn’t had one in a while. He always hoped they would just stop. Ever the optimist, my Felix.’
‘I see,’ said Vogel. ‘OK Mrs Ferguson, thank you for your help. I think the time has come for you to go upstairs, wake up your son, if he really has managed to sleep, and fetch him down here to me.’
Amelia Ferguson appeared to hesitate. She looked as if she might be about to argue. She really was a piece of work, thought Vogel.
‘At once, Mrs Ferguson,’ he commanded. ‘Oh, and by the way, where is your husband? We will need to speak to him too.’
‘He’s at the council. Went off very early.’