She didn’t feel like going home. A reckless idea suddenly struck her — she decided to take a risk for once in her life. She found the card in her purse, took out her phone and tapped in the number.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Dr Jon Finch entered the Old Boar pub in Polgarrow, stooping to get through the low door. His hair was wet. He’d obviously had a quick shower after Taylor had phoned him. She waved to him from the table closest to the bar.
“Dr Finch. Sorry to drag you out on a Sunday evening.”
“Are you kidding? Drinks with a charming lady beats Antiques Roadshow hands down. And please call me Jon.”
Taylor laughed. Finch was wearing the same aftershave as when she’d first met him. Danny’s aftershave. Something Italian, she recalled.
Finch got them both drinks — her usual tonic water, a pint of lager for himself — and joined her at the table. “I believe congratulations are in order. You ought to be out celebrating.”
“News travels fast around here. And I’m done with the celebrating thing. It didn’t go down too well.”
“Cheers anyway,” Finch took a sip of his lager. “I wasn’t expecting you to call, to be honest.”
“I bet you give your card to all the ladies. And false modesty doesn’t suit you, especially with those eyes.”
“I told you. They’re more of a curse than anything else.”
“I need a favour, Jon.”
“Interesting. The case is closed, so you’re not here in a professional capacity. What sort of favour are we talking about here? We barely know each other.”
“Very charming, I’ll give you that. Dennis Albarn, the man who died in the fire, I need to have another look at the autopsy report.”
Finch’s bright blue eyes darkened slightly and he pursed his lips.
“You said to ask if I ever needed to discuss anything with you.”
“I’m playing with you. I’ve perfected the ‘petulant child’ pout. What do you need to know about the report?”
“I don’t know but there’s something bugging me about this whole thing.”
“I’ll have it sent over first thing in the morning. Will there be anything else? I do a great John Wayne impression if you’re interested.”
“Maybe later. Could you send it to my home email address, though?” She took out one of her cards and wrote the address on the back.
“Is this going to get me into trouble?” Finch put the card in his back pocket. “I was told the case was closed.”
“It is. I just need to make sure everything fits together first. It’s for my own peace of mind more than anything else.”
“Then I’d be happy to help. But do yourself a favour and keep this quiet. I’ve worked with James before and he’s not known for his tolerance when it comes to people going off on their own. He’s arrogant, but that kind of conceitedness doesn’t just materialise out of nothing. James’ record speaks for itself.”
The door to the pub opened and Alice Green walked in. Spotting Finch and Taylor, she grinned widely.
She brought a glass of port over to their table. “Hello, my dear, lovely to see you again.”
She glanced at Finch and then sent Taylor an enquiring look.
“Sorry,” Taylor said. “Alice, this is Dr Jon Finch. Jon, meet Alice Green, a friend of mine.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alice.” Finch stood up and held out his hand.
“Oh my,” Alice said, “look at the size of you. I bet you bang your head on things all the time. And those eyes, look at those eyes. I am sure you were a real terror when you were a child.”
“Would you care to join us, Alice?” he asked.
“No, I wouldn’t dream of disturbing you.” She smiled at Taylor. “I still have your spare keys. I can fetch them now if you like. I only live a few doors down.”
“It’s all right. I’ll pick them up next time I’m in the area.”
“You two enjoy your evening.” Alice winked and went to the other side of the bar.
“She’s quite a character,” Finch remarked. “How on earth did you become friends with her?”
“Alice’s husband was the one who was found in the fishing nets. I’ve spent quite a lot of time with her over the past week or so. I’ve grown to like her a lot. We have quite a lot in common.”
“Poor woman, it must be awful for her. She seems to be handling it quite well though.”
“She hadn’t seen him in ten years. She pretends not to care, but I think she’s hurting inside. Even though she hides it well.”
Finch’s phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He took it out, looked at the screen and frowned.
“Answer it, if you like,” Taylor told him.
Finch left the pub to take the call.
“Sorry,” he said when he returned, “I have to go. Duty calls. Nasty case needs tackling now. I’ll send the report over to you first thing in the morning. Thank you for the company. I really enjoyed it.” Without further explanation, he left.
“I want to know everything.” Alice was at Taylor’s table as soon as the doctor had exited.
“There’s nothing to tell, honestly. Dr Finch is a colleague. He’s a pathologist.”
“A what?”
“He examines bodies. Finds out what happened to them.”
“What a horrible job. Who would want to do such a thing?” She sat down at the table. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not.” She wasn’t sure if she should tell Alice about the outcome of the investigation.
Alice spoke first. “I want to ask you something. Tomorrow’s my birthday. I’d love it if you could come and celebrate it with me. What with Milly gone and Eddie and Barbara not being much company, I’d only end up spending it on my own with the jackdaw. I’ll cook us a lovely meal. Maybe a nice joint of beef. Unless you’ve already made plans.”
“No, I rarely have plans. It sounds great.”
“Six o’clock, then.” Alice smiled.
“There’s something I need to tell you.” She’s going to find out sooner or later, Taylor thought. It’ll be in all the papers tomorrow, so it’ll be better if she hears it from me first.
“We’ve found the man responsible for Stanley’s and Milly’s deaths,” she said.
“Oh my.”
“It looks like it was Dennis Albarn.”
“Dennis Albarn?” Alice looked shocked. “But he died in the fire.”
“It appears he killed himself.”
“But why?” Alice drained her port in one go. “Why would Albarn do such a thing? Stanley was his best friend and Milly never did anything to him.”
“We’re unsure as to the details, but we think Stanley and Dennis got into a fight, it got out of hand and Albarn killed your husband. We can only assume that Milly witnessed the whole thing and Albarn disposed of her to keep her quiet. Then Albarn’s conscience got the better of him and he killed himself.”
“By blowing his house up?”
“I don’t think that was meant to happen.”
“So it’s all over?” Alice said. “I don’t have to worry about being the next victim?”
“No. But are you all right? This must be quite a shock for you.”
“I always knew Albarn was a bad lot,” she said. “I don’t know what to think, to be honest. I’m just relieved it’s all over. We can all get back to normal again. You don’t realise how important it is to preserve the status quo when you get to my age.” She looked stunned. “I’ll see you tomorrow at six,” Alice said, and hurried off.