Leave the Grave Green

Caroline seemed to bite back a response, then sighed. “I thought it rather ill-advised, but then my approval has never had much effect on Julia’s actions. And she has behaved very badly over Connor’s death from the first.” Looking suddenly tired, Caroline rubbed her fingers over her cheekbones, but Gemma noticed that she didn’t stretch the skin.

“In what way?” Gemma asked, although she’d had proof enough that Julia wasn’t playing the grieving widow to perfection.

Shrugging, Caroline said, “There are things that must be done, and people have certain expectations… Julia has simply not met her obligations.”

Gemma wondered if Julia would have done what was necessary if she hadn’t been sure her parents would step in and take care of everything. The fact that Julia seemed to resent them doing so only served to illustrate the perversity of human nature, and Gemma had begun to think that their relationship might be more perverse than most. She turned a page in her small notebook, running through her questions in her mind. “I believe Connor came here for lunch last Thursday?” At Caroline’s nod, she continued, “Did you notice anything unusual about his behavior that day?”

Smiling, Caroline said, “Con was very entertaining, but there was nothing unusual about that.”

“Do you remember what you talked about?” Gemma asked, and as she watched Caroline ponder the question, she realized she’d never before seen a woman capable of furrowing her brow prettily.

“Oh, nothing memorable or weighty, Sergeant. Local gossip, Gerald’s performance that night—”

“So Connor knew your husband would be in London?”

Looking perplexed, Caroline answered, “Well, of course, Con knew Gerald would be in London.”

“Do you know why Connor would have visited the Coliseum that same afternoon?”

“I can’t imagine. He certainly didn’t say anything to us about going to London—are you saying he visited the theater?”

“According to the porter’s sign-in sheet, but no one else admits to seeing him.”

“How very odd,” Caroline said slowly, and for the first time Gemma sensed her departing from a comfortably rehearsed script. “Of course, he did leave in rather a tiz—”

“What happened?” Gemma felt a prickle of excitement. “You said he hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary.”

“I don’t know that I’d describe it as out of the ordinary. Con was never very much good at sitting still. He excused himself for a moment while Gerald and I were having our coffee. He said he meant to give Plummy a hand in the kitchen, and that’s the last we saw of him. A few minutes later we heard his car start up.”

“And you thought something had upset him?”

“Well, I suppose we did think it a bit odd that he hadn’t told us good-bye.”

Gemma turned carefully back through the pages of her notebook, then looked up at Caroline. “Mrs. Plumley said she did the washing up alone. She didn’t see Connor again after she left the dining room. Do you think he went upstairs to see Julia? And perhaps they had a row?”

Caroline clasped her hands in her lap, and the shadows shifted on the garnet sweater as she took a breath. “I can’t say, Sergeant. If that were the case I’m sure Julia would have said something.”

Gemma didn’t share her sentiments. “Did you know that Connor had a girlfriend, Dame Caroline? Technically, I suppose she would have been his mistress, since he and Julia were still married.”

“A girlfriend? Con?” Caroline said quietly, then as she looked into the fire she added more softly still, “He never said.”

Remembering what Kincaid had told her, Gemma said, “Her name is Sharon Doyle, and she has a four-year-old daughter. Apparently it was a fairly serious relationship, and he… um, entertained her quite often at the flat.”

“A child?” Caroline returned her gaze to Gemma. Her dark eyes had dilated and Gemma saw the fire reflected in their liquid and luminous surface.

The afternoon had drawn in as they talked, and now the fire and the lamps cast a noticeable glow in the quiet room. Gemma could imagine serene hours spent here with music and conversation, or time whiled away on the comfortably worn chintz sofa with a book, but never voices raised in anger. “What if Julia found out about Sharon? Would they have argued over it? Would Julia have liked Connor having another woman in her flat?”

After a long moment, Caroline said, “Julia is often a law unto herself, Sergeant. I can’t begin to guess how she would react to a given situation. And why does it matter anyway?” she added wearily. “Surely you don’t think Julia had anything to do with Con’s death?”

“We’re trying to find an explanation for Connor’s behavior that last afternoon and evening. He made an unexpected visit to the theater. He also met someone later that evening, after he’d returned to Henley, but we don’t yet know who it was.”

“What do you know?” Caroline straightened her back and regarded Gemma directly.

“The results of the autopsy didn’t tell us much. We’re still waiting on some of the forensic reports—all we can do until then is gather information.”