Vince May - Presumed Dead

‘I will fax it as soon as it is finished. What is your number?’

Hubbard gave the numbers for his office fax and his cell phone, then said, ‘Now then, about the body Webley brought back with him. Do you know who she is?’

‘I have a very good idea,’ Batard replied. I believe she is a climber who went missing earlier in the year, Madame Dulac. He husband was in my office only yesterday.’

‘Have you got a description of her?’ Hubbard asked.

Batard swiveled around in his chair and reaching into a filing cabinet, pulled a file out marked Dulac, Louise. Flipping through the pages in the file he pulled the original missing person report out and started to read. ‘Louise Marie Dulac, age thirty seven, light brown hair, brown eyes, one meter seventy-five tall, fifty-five kilos, no distinguishing marks.’

‘That’s her,’ Hubbard said with delight. ‘Webley tried to have her cremated but we’ve got her safe at Westminster hospital. Can you find the husband and tell him he needs to come to England to make an official identification?’

‘Yes, that is no problem. I know exactly where he will be. Leave it to me.’

‘One last thing,’ Hubbard said, ‘have you got the telephone number of the hotel where Lady Webley is staying? I want to speak with her.’

Batard gave him the number, then after exchanging good-byes, rang off. Leaning back in his chair, he let out a long whistle. This was turning out to be a lot bigger than anything he’d ever dealt with before. His role as a captain in the PGMH was usually limited to investigating climbing and skiing accidents and dealing with missing persons. Violent crimes like attempted murder and shootings were very rare in the mountains.

Then he thought of Philippe Dulac, up there on the glacier, searching in vain for his wife. After all that has happened, he thought, I must break the news to him personally. I wonder if he will be relieved or sad, poor bastard. With that thought, he went through into the control room and summoned the rescue helicopter back to its base at les Gaudenays on the other side of town. After that, he pulled a flying overall on over his uniform, changed into some heavy boots then set off in his car to meet the helicopter.

Alice received an ecstatic welcome at the hotel. The manager wept with joy at seeing her alive, kissed her hand and escorted her to her suite personally. She was delighted to find they were still holding her luggage pending instructions from her husband, and was pleasantly surprised when the manager had it delivered to her suite, along with a bottle of champagne to celebrate her safe return.

As soon as the porter and waiter had gone, she sank down on the bed with a sigh of relief. The interview with Captain Batard had gone well, but it had been one of the trickiest half-hours of her life, especially when he’d told her all about Philippe and the mix up over his wife’s body. She felt exhausted.

Gratefully, she poured herself a glass of champagne and carried it out into the warm sunshine on the balcony where she held it up towards the Mer de Glace and drank a silent toast to Philippe. As she sipped the cool wine, enjoying the warmth of the morning sun on her face, she thought about Philippe up there on the freezing glacier and hoped he was all right. Then she thought about Charles and was suddenly anxious that he should be told she was alive and well. Quickly finishing her drink she went inside and was just about to put in a call to the headmaster at Eton, when the telephone rang.

‘Lady Webley?’ a man’s voice with and English accent asked as she picked it up.

‘Speaking,’ she replied.

‘My name is Detective Chief Inspector Hubbard, from Scotland Yard. I wonder if I might have a quick word with you.’

Alice’s heart gave a lurch. Here we go again, she thought. ‘Certainly Chief Inspector,’ she said crisply, ‘in fact you’re just the man I want to speak with.’

‘I’ve just spoken to Captain Batard and he tells me you want to bring charges against your husband for attempted murder.’

‘I certainly do,’ Alice replied adamantly, ‘and my secretary, Alex Crawford. They drugged me and tried to kill me.’

‘I’m afraid it won’t be possible to bring a charge against Crawford,’ Hubbard said, ‘he was found dead on Friday.’

Alice made an excellent show of being shocked. ‘Alex dead?’ she asked incredulously. ‘What happened, was he in an accident?’

‘Not an accident,’ Hubbard said somberly, ‘he was shot with one of your husband’s guns at your farmhouse.’

‘That’s awful,’ Alice said with a catch in her voice. ’Who did it, do you know?’

‘We’re working on that at the moment, but most of the evidence points towards your husband.’

‘Why would my husband want to shoot Alex?’ Alice asked innocently. ‘I thought they were partners in crime.’

‘I’m not certain yet, but I’ve got a good idea. Now, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?’

‘Not at all, Chief Inspector.’

‘How many people know the combination to your gun safe at the farmhouse?’

‘Just my husband and myself,’ Alice said confidently.

‘That’s what I thought,’ Hubbard said. ‘Do you know anyone who wears Hush Puppy shoes?’

Alice felt the cold hand of fear grip her heart as she thought of Philippe, but managed to keep it out of her voice, ‘Hush Puppies?’ she asked calmly. ‘No… I don’t think so. Why do you ask?’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Hubbard said.

Alice was getting uncomfortable with the questions and decided the best form of defense was attack. ‘What do you intend to do about my husband trying to kill me?’ she asked assertively.

‘Batard tells me you’re going to give him a statement this morning. As soon as he’s faxed it to me, I intend to arrest your husband and charge him with attempted murder. I will, of course, need you to come here to make another sworn statement and answer some questions.’

‘Certainly Chief Inspector. I intend to travel back to England tomorrow, then go out to Eton to collect my son first thing on Tuesday morning. I could come to see you on Tuesday about mid-morning if that would be convenient.’

‘That would be perfect, thank you,’ Hubbard said. ‘As a matter of interest, why are you collecting your son?’

‘Because I have decided to take him out of Eton and keep him with me from now on,’ Alice said firmly. ‘You see Chief Inspector, I never wanted him to go away to boarding school in the first place, it was my husband who insisted, but now I believe by his actions, he has forfeited any say on the subject of our child’s upbringing.’

‘You intend to divorce him I take it?’

‘At the earliest possible moment,’ Alice spat.

‘It shouldn’t take long,’ he assured her, ‘you’ve got plenty of grounds by the sound of it.’

‘I certainly have,’ she said.

After that, they exchanged good-byes and rang off. Alice breathed a huge sigh of relief and poured herself another glass of champagne. He’s no fool, she thought to herself. I’m going to have to be very careful what I say on Tuesday. Then her thoughts went back to Charles, and delving into her handbag, she retrieved her address book and picked up the telephone.

Back in London, Charles’s father was still on his way home from Minster at Stone in the E-Type, still angry after his confrontation with the doctor. As he pulled up at the traffic lights outside Manor Park underground station, he glanced across at the news vendors stand and was aghast to see a billboard announcing, Baronet in Shooting Sensation. ‘Damn!’ he said aloud, slapping the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. As soon as the lights changed, he shot forward then pulled abruptly into the curb causing the cars behind to swerve and blow their horns.