Michael Ridpath - See No Evil

They had lots of questions that Calder answered. He went over again how he had offered Todd a flight in the Yak and everything that had happened on the day of the crash. The police had already examined the ground around where the Yak was parked, and interviewed Angie, the radio operator, about the man walking on the footpath that ran along the boundary of the airfield the evening before the crash. Then Calder mentioned that Todd had some suspicions about his mother’s death and had wanted Calder to speak to Benton Davis.

Their interest was immediately piqued, and they asked lots more questions, during which Calder described the contents of Martha’s last letter to her parents. DI Banks was asking most of the questions, and watching Calder closely as he answered them. He was glad that he had decided not to lie.

‘Why do you think Mrs van Zyl didn’t tell us any of this?’ she asked.

‘I was talking to her just now about it,’ Calder said. ‘I don’t think she thought it was necessarily relevant.’

‘Oh, come on, Mr Calder,’ the inspector said.

‘The van Zyls are a private family, her instinct was to maintain that privacy,’ Calder said. ‘I did discuss it with her and I’m sure she’ll tell you anything you want to know. She has the letter, I’m sure she’ll let you see it.’

‘So am I. Has she gone back to the hospital?’

‘I think so,’ said Calder. The detectives stood up to leave. ‘Do you have any idea how the bomb was set off?’ Calder asked.

‘They recovered some fragments from part of an explosive device and what look like the remains of an altimeter.’

‘An altimeter?’ Calder thought it through. ‘I see. It detonates the bomb as soon as the aircraft reaches a certain altitude?’

‘That’s the idea. You told the accident investigators that the aeroplane was climbing when the bomb exploded?’

‘That’s right.’

‘They said that if it had been any other light aircraft the engine would have been blown right away from the fuselage. That Yak had such a big sturdy engine that it remained intact after the explosion. You were very lucky, Mr Calder.’

He returned home at about eight to find Kim already there cooking supper for the two of them.

‘How’s Todd?’ he asked, taking a bottle of wine from the fridge and pouring two glasses.

‘No change.’

‘I’m sorry.’

Kim gave the tiniest of shrugs as she stirred a sauce in the pan. ‘Cornelius called three times today. And Todd received some flowers from his sister, Zan.’

‘The one who lives in South Africa?’

‘That’s right. It was quite sweet of her. Edwin told her about the crash.’

‘What kind of name is Zan, anyway?’

‘Short for Xanthe. Her mother was a little on the pretentious side, apparently. She sounds a dreadful woman. She died ten years ago: her liver gave out.’

‘Didn’t you say Todd has a younger sister as well?’

‘Caroline, Martha’s daughter. Her husband is Herbert Hafer IV, of Hafer Beer. The Hafers are one of the wealthiest families in Pennsylvania. She’s the only one of the van Zyl children who married well; Jessica, Cornelius’s current wife, saw to that. Actually, he’s a pretty down-to-earth guy for a billionaire, calls himself “H” and invests the family fortune. They moved out to San Diego soon after they were married. It’s a long way from New Hampshire so we don’t see her much.’

‘That smells good,’ Calder said.

‘It should taste good. We’ll see. Fish is a bit tricky with a grill you don’t know.’ She checked the two fillets of plaice. ‘Looks OK so far.’ She stirred the mushroom sauce bubbling gently in the pan on the hob and took the glass of wine Calder handed to her. ‘I see you spoke to the police.’

‘Did they come and see you again?’

‘You bet they did. They weren’t very happy that I hadn’t told them about Martha’s murder and Todd’s suspicions. I showed them the letter.’

‘I’m sure it was the best thing to do.’

‘We’ll see,’ said Kim. ‘At least it means they’ll check Cornelius out pretty thoroughly, but I still feel bad about it. Like I’ve betrayed Todd.’

‘Someone tried to kill him!’ Calder said. ‘And me, for that matter.’

‘I know, I’m sorry.’ Kim touched Calder’s hand. ‘I do appreciate you going to see Benton Davis. Thank you.’

‘Oh, no, it’s... um... it’s the least I could do.’ Calder was disconcerted by Kim’s touch. ‘But we still have to figure out what happened to Martha.’

‘Now we’ve drawn a blank with Benton, I’m not sure what to do next.’ Kim checked the grill again. ‘It’s ready. Give me a hand, will you?’

They took their supper outside, to the small garden behind the cottage, where there was a teak table, chairs and a bench.

‘We need to get Cornelius to talk,’ Calder said.

‘Todd tried,’ Kim said. ‘And got nowhere.’

‘That’s true, but things are a little different now that we know someone tried to kill his son. Perhaps next time he comes up to see Todd you could try to speak to him. Be a bit more subtle about it than Todd was.’

‘He said he’s coming tomorrow afternoon. It’s difficult to talk when we’re all sitting around in Todd’s room staring at him. Perhaps I’ll suggest we go out for a meal.’

‘It’s worth a try,’ Calder said, biting into the plaice. ‘This is delicious.’

‘Thank you. My cooking has come on a bit since university.’ She took a bite herself. ‘Mm, not bad. Pretty garden,’ she said, surveying the apple tree, the small patch of lawn, the roses, the wisteria and the crowded border. ‘I would never have thought of you as a gardener.’

Calder grinned. ‘Neither would I. You should have seen this place when I bought it. It was beautiful. All I do is try to stop things dying. But I’m getting into it, it’s quite therapeutic. I don’t know what half the plants are called. As soon as I learn the name of something it dies.’

‘It’s peaceful here.’

‘It is.’ The garden was southerly facing, away from the sea and towards a wood rising up to a low ridge. To the right was a field of inquisitive bullocks, to the left, along the ridge, an old windmill, its sails fixed. Evening sunlight streamed into the garden from the west, although the sun itself had crept round behind the house.

‘I can’t imagine you in a place like this,’ said Kim.

‘And I can’t imagine you in a small town in New Hampshire.’

‘No.’

‘Do you like it there?’

Kim hesitated. ‘No. No, I don’t. I can admit that to you, but I could never admit it to Todd.’

‘Why not?’

‘He loves Somerford. He loves teaching. He teaches English and he’s very good at it — inspiring, or at least that’s what he tells me. He’s started up a rugby team at the school. But I think what really turns him on is the role of schoolboy hero. He’s very popular with the boys and the principal loves him. That kind of thing is important to Todd. I made such a big deal to him that he shouldn’t be ruled by his father, that he should do what he wants to do, so when he goes off and does it I can hardly complain, can I?’

‘Your life is important too, isn’t it?’

Kim looked at Calder. ‘Yes,’ she said, steel in her voice. ‘Yes.’ She took another bite of her fish. ‘Everyone always laughs at management consultants, but I was bloody good at it. I earned good money and if I’d stuck at it I would have been a partner pretty soon. I didn’t need to marry a rich man.’

‘What about the hospital? Aren’t you doing some good there?’

‘Oh, yes. I’m sorting that place out: they don’t know what’s hit them. Of course working in a hospital is a worthwhile thing to do and everyone’s so damned nice all the time. Sometimes I find it unbearable. I get gripped by these insane ideas, like firing everyone on their birthday, or making a charitable contribution to the Association of Tobacco Manufacturers. I don’t think they’d notice. It would still be a big smile and a “how are you today, Kimmy?” from everyone.’