Anthony Eglin - The Blue Rose

‘You look a little sad, darling. What are you thinking about?’

She tilted her head back and looked up into the coppery leaves of the Japanese maple that hung over the edge of the terrace. ‘I was thinking about Vicky.’

Alex said nothing, not wanting to disturb her thoughts.

‘All because of that rose,’ she sighed. ‘All because of that damned rose.’

‘How were we to know, Kate?’

‘I know.’ She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. ‘I have to stop by and see Jill at the nursery.’ She hesitated. ‘You said you talked to her.’

‘Yes, briefly, when Lawrence and I were trying to find out whether you or Vicky had taken cuttings. And if you had, what had happened to them. I told you about it. Since they had all died and had already been disposed of I didn’t think it necessary to report it. But thinking back on it, I suppose I should have at least told the Health Department.’ He shrugged. ‘Of course, Jill never knew what they were.’

‘Thank God she didn’t handle them.’

‘I should say. You know, in a way, it’s just as well that they died. They were a time bomb sitting on the shelf of that greenhouse. Ten baby blue killers.’

A startled look crossed Kate’s face. ‘Ten?’

‘That’s what Jill said.’

‘You’re certain?’

‘I’m positive. She said all ten died from lack of watering.’

‘Oh dear,’ Kate said, biting her lip.

‘What’s the matter?’

‘It may not be over yet, Alex.’

‘Why?’

‘Because Vicky took twelve cuttings.’

‘You could be mistaken, couldn’t you?’

‘No. She took them early the morning you and Vicky dug up the rose. She put them in our garden shed until the two of you returned. When you did, she picked them up and took them to the nursery on her way home. At least, that was her plan. I remember offering to bring them in the next day because she wasn’t feeling well, but she insisted it wasn’t a problem.’

‘Are you absolutely sure? It was quite a while ago,’ said Alex.

‘No, I’m sure of it. Vicky made a remark to the effect that she stopped at twelve because one more would have been unlucky. I thought at the time that a dozen was quite a lot.’

They exchanged awkward glances. Neither spoke.

Kate looked at her watch and got up. ‘Just to be absolutely sure, let me call Jill.’

She turned and walked into the house.

Five minutes later she returned and sat down to face Alex, an enigmatic look on her face.

‘Well?’ he said.

‘You were right. Jill swears there were only ten and that nobody else on the staff had access to them – only her.’

Alex frowned. ‘Wow!’

Kate’s expression was a mixture of resignation and disbelief. ‘That means that two cuttings are missing.’

‘Now what?’

‘We have to tell the police, I guess.’

‘The Health Department, too,’ Alex added.

Nothing was said for several moments while they pondered the implications.

‘Who could have taken them?’ asked Kate.

‘God knows.’

‘Despite Jill’s certainty, it could have been somebody at the nursery.’

‘Not likely – Jill said she’s the only one with a key to the greenhouse.’

‘I suppose it could be any number of people. But how on earth would they have known the cuttings were there? And another thing, when did they have the opportunity?’

‘Let me think a moment.’ Alex folded his napkin neatly and placed it on the table, smoothing it out with his palm. ‘We know full well that both Wolff and Tanaka would anticipate that we would take cuttings as a means of insurance.’

‘Plus, we know that they were both watching us all the time.’

‘Yes, but didn’t you say that Vicky took those cuttings at crack of dawn?’

‘I know, but they could have been watching the next day when she picked them up from the shed.’

‘But from that point on, they were under lock and key.’

Kate shook her head. ‘I don’t know. It’s just too much. Looks like the damned rose is going to have the last say after all.’

Alex was rubbing his chin, deep in thought. ‘You know, there is another possibility.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Well, we’ve been going on the assumption that the two cuttings were stolen sometime after Vicky picked them up, from the nursery. But isn’t it more likely that they were taken from the shed while Vicky and I were gone?’

Kate nodded. ‘Yes, I suppose it is.’

‘Remember, Vicky was very ill when she picked them up. I doubt she would have bothered to count them. Why would she?’

‘It makes sense,’ said Kate.

‘Question is, who filched them?’

‘I suppose we’ll never know for sure.’

‘Somehow, I don’t think it was Wolff. If it were, chances are that he would have mentioned it sooner or later. No, I think it was more than likely Tanaka.’

‘But it’s still a guess,’ said Kate.

‘Yes, but a calculated one. We know he had people watching us, and it’s more than likely that they saw us dig up the rose and then followed us up to Aunt Nell’s, which would explain how Tanaka knew where the rose was hidden.’

‘I think you’re right, Alex. We were all gone most of that weekend. I was at the shop all day that Saturday and stayed overnight at Peg’s. You and Vicky were up in Shropshire. It would’ve been all too easy for somebody to take a couple of cuttings out of the shed.’

‘I bet that’s exactly what happened.’

A brief moment of silence was punctuated by the faint chime of the hall clock striking the hour.

‘Then there’s two more killers out there,’ Kate said, in a near whisper.

A long shadow fell across the table as the sun vanished behind angry gathering clouds. A sudden and noisy fluttering. Then strident cawing, as the murder of crows took off from the stately cedar at the edge of their vision. Kate and Alex watched silently as they vanished into the grey distance.