Ellis Peters - George Felse 13 - Rainbow's End by Ellis Peters Read Free Book Online

friends with a shrug and a private smile, and said, without any particular intent, and without paying much attention to the words she used:
    ‘Arthur’ll be in in a few moments. He must have discovered an unknown Bach score, I should think, he’s hugging his music-case with a lover’s gleam in his eye. You never know where you’ll strike gold in our business, do you? Even at choir practice it can happen.’
    There were at least a dozen people in the room at the time. He liked her to stage her musical evenings when he was due to be missing for most of the time, it gave a relaxed atmosphere in which tongues might be loosened and defences lowered. That way she gathered more information, as they dropped their guard. Drinks had little effect upon her, he was pretty sure her guests never got much in return for their own advances.
    She knew, in any case, that they were always on the alert.
    ‘Turn up the volume, Colin,’ she mimed across the room. ‘Just a little!’ And she sat down again in her old place, diplomatically between Charles Goddard and John Stubbs, neither of whom had a directly profitable interest in antiques, whatever their private passions, and closed her eyes to listen seriously to Schubert. She never even noticed when her husband came in, discreet, hushing comment with a finger on his lips because of the music, and on those lips, half-concealed, a rapt, anticipatory smile that had nothing whatever to do with Schubert, and exulted in the ignorance of his guests and colleagues.
     
    It was precisely eight days after this that the Reverend Stephen Baines received a telephone call at the early hour of seven in the morning.
    ‘This is Barbara Rainbow, vicar. I’m sorry to worry you at this hour, but…’ She sounded curiously hesitant, dubious of her own wisdom in telephoning at all. ‘I’m probably troubling you over nothing, but I do wonder – did my husband, by any chance, say anything last night about going on somewhere else after practice? Something could have come up suddenly, he has been known to run off somewhere on business without remembering to let me know.’ Her voice was picking its way with distaste, reluctant to expose the more arid places of the Rainbow marriage. But not a doubt of it, she was seriously worried. ‘He didn’t come home,’ she said flatly. ‘That could happen, and of course he’s perfectly capable of looking after himself. But I’ve still had no word, and I did rather expect him to phone before now. I won’t say I’m alarmed, there’s probably no cause to be. But I just wondered if he’d mentioned any further plans when practice ended.’ And she added, as though she had already taken thought to cover all eventualities: ‘His car is here, you see. He walked to church, he usually does.’
    ‘I see,’ said the Reverend Stephen rather blankly. ‘No, all he did say was that he was staying to try over some new music he’d brought, so he would lock up for the night. Nothing about going on anywhere else afterwards. I wonder – you didn’t try contacting anyone last night?’ He was not sure himself whether he meant the police or some of Rainbow’s business associates.
    ‘No. I’m used to occasional abrupt departures, after all. He works on an opportunist basis at times. And one doesn’t start an alarm in the middle of the night without feeling sure it’s necessary, and I didn’t – I don’t feel sure of that at all. But now… You left him alone there at the church, then?’
    ‘Yes, at about half past eight, the usual time. I heard him playing when I left, I think all the choir had already gone home. Would you like me to…? Do you think we should notify…?’
    ‘No, don’t worry,’ said Barbara. ‘I expect it’s perfectly all right. I’ll call the shops, and see if he’s been in touch there.’ Rainbow had two shops, one in Birmingham, one in Worcester, where carefully selected manageresses looked after his interests. ‘He’s probably gone