Close to Death

‘I think I saw Roderick’s phone on the chest of drawers in the hall. She definitely used her own.’

‘Can we go home now?’ Phyllis asked.

‘We may not have a home any more, dear. But you’re right. There’s no point staying here. Why don’t you start clearing up?’ May waited until Phyllis had moved away, then spoke quietly. ‘We’ll have to sell the house after all this – and The Tea Cosy. You know who we are. So does Detective Superintendent Khan. It won’t be long before the whole of Richmond finds out.’

‘You may find people are more forgiving than you think,’ Dudley said.

‘I don’t want their forgiveness. I just want to be left alone.’

Hawthorne hadn’t finished yet. ‘There’s one thing more I want you to tell me,’ he said. ‘On the Sunday night – Sunday, July the sixteenth – you went to a meeting at The Stables. That was one night before Giles Kenworthy was killed. Who was there?’

‘I didn’t go to the meeting.’

‘Yes, you did. If you’re going to lie to me, Mrs Brenner, your face is going to be all over the Richmond and Twickenham Times

– and every other newspaper in the country. To be honest with you, I’m getting a tiny bit tired of being led up the garden path by the residents of Riverview Close. Who was there?’

May was stone-faced. ‘Almost everyone. Mrs Beresford came with her husband. They had a babysitter looking after the children because their nanny was away. Mrs Browne wasn’t well enough to come over, but otherwise we were all there.’

‘So what happened?’

‘I can’t tell you, Mr Hawthorne. Not on my own. I’m sure we all have different memories anyway. I’m not going to say anything to you unless the others are there.’

4

There was room for all nine of them around the table in the garden of Well House. The well itself was just out of sight, but May and Phyllis still made sure they sat with their backs to it. They had called the others from the bookshop. Gemma Beresford had driven back from her jewellery shop in Mayfair and was sitting next to her husband, who had left the surgery early. Adam and Teri Strauss had walked across from The Stables after Andrew Pennington had offered his home for this third and final congregation. Hawthorne had taken his place at the head of the table. Dudley was next to him, his notebook poised.

It could have been a summer luncheon that had stretched on into afternoon tea. Andrew had even provided a jug of iced lemonade. But the atmosphere was far from convivial as they finally revealed the shadows that they had been living under all along.

May Winslow

The worst of it was that we’d all been so happy here. Phyllis and I knew we’d love The Gables the moment we saw a picture of it online. It was secluded, but it was in its own community and it was all so picturesque. I was born in Richmond. I made the decision without a second thought and we moved into The Gables in the spring of 2000. And for twelve years or more, everything was perfect. Phyllis and I aren’t the most sociable people. We tend to keep ourselves to ourselves. But I’d like to think we were all friends in Riverview Close. Nobody complained about anything. Not until the Kenworthys moved in.

We do need a sense of perspective. They weren’t the most unpleasant people in the world and I really did try to give them the benefit of the doubt. But they were causing so much upset and discord that when Mr Strauss invited us to that first meeting, six or seven weeks ago, we didn’t hesitate. It really mattered that we got things sorted out – and even Felicity Browne left her sickbed to be there. Dear Mr Strauss and his wife provided lovely hospitality and wouldn’t hear of any one of us contributing. We were all there – and then, at the last minute, the Kenworthys didn’t show up. That really was a slap in the face and quite unnecessary!

Adam Strauss

I agree. It was a serious disappointment. It sent a signal to us that they just didn’t care. Andrew would be the first to say that the best way to solve a neighbourhood dispute is through conciliation – but what’s the point of talking if your neighbours refuse to listen? And May is right, incidentally. Giles Kenworthy wasn’t a monster. He was arrogant and he was insensitive. But I can’t say he ever did me any harm. Well, apart from my chess set – I was sorry about that.

What I think is interesting is how much worse things got after that first meeting. It was almost as if the Kenworthys were telling us that they didn’t care any more. They could park their cars and make as much noise as they wanted and there was nothing we could do about it. That carelessness led to the death of one of Tom’s patients. Looking back, I’d say that was the critical position, if you’ll forgive a piece of chess terminology. After that, everything had a sort of inevitability.

Teri Strauss