Murder in Time by Veronica Heley Read Free Book Online Page B

was losing patience.
    Abdi smiled. He seemed to think he held all the cards. Ellie felt uneasy. What did Abdi know, or think he knew, that could shake their trust in Vera?
    â€˜Put simply, I will go to court if necessary to reclaim my son. I can offer him opportunities in life which he is denied as the child of a woman of doubtful virtue, who works as a domestic servant, and who is suspected of murder—’
    â€˜Murder!’
    â€˜I am sure the courts will agree.’

FOUR
    E llie couldn’t believe her ears. ‘You think Vera is a murderer? You are out of your mind! And how can you say her reputation is in doubt?’
    â€˜She can hardly have concealed her lack of virtue from you, when by her own admission she allowed so many men the pleasure of her company. Or perhaps she has never seen fit fully to inform you of what happened? I suppose she has been equally reticent about her involvement in the murder of the doctor, the man who stood in the way of her love affair with Danny boy? I can see she has. What a clever little thing she is. Allow me to enlighten you.’
    Ellie struggled with a feeling that she was being sucked into a quicksand of lies. For one thing, Vera had referred to her boyfriend as ‘Dan’ not ‘Danny’. The diminutive ‘Danny’ made Dan sound unimportant. ‘She has told us what happened that night, yes. There was a birthday party which you attended along with other school leavers. Some gatecrashers disrupted the party and—’
    Abdi laughed. ‘I should say so. Poor Danny was in a terrible state.’
    â€˜They were after drugs, weren’t they?’
    A shrug. ‘Not my scene.’
    â€˜You, along with others, fled the house, and in a secluded part of the garden you saw a girl lying on the ground, being visited by other young men.’
    â€˜Correct. And enjoying it.’
    â€˜You must have realized she’d been drugged.’
    An indulgent smile. ‘Is that what she told you? A fine story. I was there, remember. I saw it all. Four of us … maybe more … taking a turn at pleasuring themselves and her.’
    Four of them! How dreadful! ‘So you joined the queue?’
    â€˜Why ever not? We were all of an age. Drink flowed. The gatecrashers had thrown us out of the house, so we took our pleasure where we could. It was exciting. She was lying there in the open, waiting for us.’
    â€˜She was unconscious.’
    â€˜If you believe that …’ He laughed.
    â€˜Did she open her eyes and scream to you all to get on with it? Or did she lie there like a rag doll, unresisting? Comatose?’
    His eyes narrowed. ‘It wasn’t rape. She was a whore, a slut.’
    â€˜She didn’t have that reputation before that evening, did she? If anything, I believe she was regarded as a prude. Her father was careful of her, wasn’t he?’
    â€˜How should I know?’
    â€˜Did you recognize her?’
    â€˜Of course. Danny’s little bit on the side.’
    â€˜You knew her, but not well.’
    â€˜I’d seen her at parties but she was not the sort of girl I would ever have taken seriously. Naturally, I would have preferred the mother of my son to have a better character. But it is not to be, and I’m stuck with who she is.’
    Ellie heard Thomas grind his teeth. ‘I’m surprised you want the boy, if you have so little respect for his mother.’
    A grimace. Momentary discomfort. ‘Ah, well. You must understand that in our culture a man without offspring is, well, at a certain disadvantage in family affairs. True, I am currently living in Britain, but in due course I will return home to Somalia to take up my position as my father’s eldest child. Without a son I would be at a certain disadvantage vis-à-vis my brothers, who already have several sons each. I married, of course, within a year of leaving school. An arranged match. A delightful girl from a