Final Moments
They reached the tree-lined road and Lambert turned the car in through the gates, standing open now, splendidly refurbished, the elegant black spears tipped with gold, glittering in the afternoon sun. A car was drawn up before the house, a blue Ford Orion.
Lambert’s third ring at the bell was answered by Colborn. He wore a dark business suit, he looked pale and weary. He didn’t appear surprised to see them–as if, Lambert thought, he was too tired to feel surprise about anything. Kelsey had come across him briefly at functions in the town but Colborn showed no sign of recognition. He stood in silence, looking at them.
The Chief introduced himself and explained that they had called in connection with the death of a customer of the bank, Mrs Venetia Franklin. Colborn listened with no expression on his face other than that of deep fatigue as Kelsey told him they had been to the bank and had been given details of Mrs Franklin’s account. ‘One or two questions arise,’ Kelsey added. ‘You might be able to help. We were passing the house, we took a chance you might be at home.’
‘I dropped in for a bite of lunch,’ Colborn said flatly. ‘I spent the morning at Holloway’s–Holloway’s Heating and Plumbing. He kept me later than I expected.’ He stepped aside for them to enter. ‘This is a terrible business about Mrs Franklin,’ he said as he closed the door. ‘Utterly beyond belief.’ He took them into his study and offered them drinks which they refused. He took a glass of whisky himself and sat cradling it. He seemed totally exhausted; his speech, movements and gestures were all profoundly lethargic. He displayed no impatience as he sat waiting for Kelsey to ask his questions, he stared down into his glass, his face drained, tinged with grey.
‘How long have you known Mrs Franklin?’ Kelsey began.
‘About two years.’ Still he sat gazing into his glass. ‘She came to us after her divorce. She wanted a different bank from her ex-husband.’ He glanced briefly at the Chief. ‘That’s very common.’
‘Had you known her before that?’
He moved his head. ‘Very vaguely. I’d come across her at some charity function in the town. I just knew her to stop and speak a word to.’
‘No more than that?’ Colborn shook his head in silence. He raised his glass and took a long drink.
‘After she began banking with you,’ Kelsey went on, ‘did you extend your acquaintance with her?’
He turned his glass in his hands. ‘As a customer, yes, naturally. She asked my advice about investments, credit cards, and so on.’
‘Did you become friendly with her on a personal level?’
‘No, I can’t say I did.’ He passed a hand across his forehead. ‘I’m afraid you’ve caught me at a bad time. I’ve had a pretty strenuous time at the bank lately. So many firms in difficulties these days, so much that can go wrong, one has to walk a perpetual tightrope when it comes to making decisions.’
‘We won’t keep you much longer,’ Kelsey promised. ‘I wondered if you knew Mrs Franklin from way back, before she was married?’
Colborn shook his head.
‘Did you at any time form a close friendship with her?’ Again he shook his head. He showed neither impatience nor resentment at the line of questioning, he didn’t ask what the Chief was driving at. He said nothing at all beyond answering what he was asked, sitting there grey and fatigued, drinking his whisky.
‘When did you last see Mrs Franklin?’ the Chief continued.
‘About ten days ago, in the bank.’
‘In the way of business?’
‘Not even that. She was standing at the counter when I happened to cross the hall. I just said good morning as I passed.’
‘Have you any idea where she might have intended going this last weekend?’
‘No idea at all.’ He looked across at Kelsey. ‘I’m afraid I’ve got rather a bad migraine. It tends to come on if I get over-tired. I had a fairly hectic weekend. I was at a seminar at the bank’s place in the country. I went straight there from work on Friday afternoon, I didn’t get back till Sunday night. I haven’t had a chance to relax properly for days.’ He glanced at his watch and uttered an exclamation. ‘I must go, I have appointments.’
Kelsey stood up. ‘We’ll be off, then. Don’t trouble yourself, we’ll find our own way out.’ He paused on the study threshold and glanced back. Colborn hadn’t moved but still sat in his chair, looking as if all effort was utterly beyond him.
Outside in the car Sergeant Lambert said, ‘He looked pretty rough. I hadn’t credited banking with being such a wearing business.’ As he switched on the engine he suddenly added, ‘Youngjohn’s–the shop where Venetia worked as a girl. It’s in Broad Street, a few doors from the Allied Bank.’
Kelsey’s head came sharply round, he sat for a moment in silence, staring at Lambert, then he said, ‘That customer, the one Colborn spent the morning with—’
‘Holloway’s Heating and Plumbing.’ Lambert knew where the business was situated, out on the industrial estate. A small, thriving business, bent on expansion.
‘We’ll nip along there now,’ Kelsey said. ‘We’ll have a word with Holloway.’
Ten minutes later they were in Holloway’s office. ‘We’ve been trying to get a word with Mr Colborn,’ the Chief told him. ‘We understood he was here with you.
‘He was here,’ Holloway said with an edge of impatience. He was a short, thickset bull of a man with a jutting jaw. ‘For all the good he did he might as well never have come. He left here some time ago, before twelve.’ He flung out a hand. ‘Total waste of time, he was in no state to make head or tail of my books. He looked half dead when he got here, as if he’d been up all night. I asked him if he was all right and he said he was. But when he started asking me the same questions twice over I put it to him fair and square that he hadn’t got his mind on what he was supposed to be doing.
‘Then he came out with it and said he had one hell of a migraine, he could hardly see straight. I said to him: “Why on earth didn’t you say so right out, instead of carrying on with this pantomime? You could have cancelled the appointment, fixed another day.’” He thrust out his jaw. ‘I told him, “The last thing I need is my commercial future judged by a guy with migraine.”’ He walked with Kelsey to the door. ‘So he gave in and took himself off. I don’t know where you’ll find him now. He may be back at the bank or he may have gone home to bed. That’s where I’d be in his condition, he looked absolutely knackered to me.’
CHAPTER 4
‘Back to Springfield House,’ Kelsey directed as he got into the car. ‘I’ll lay you two to one Colborn’s still there.’
And the blue Orion was still drawn up by the front door when they again turned in through the gates. This time it took four rings before Colborn came to the door. The grey had left his face, his cheeks were flushed, he looked as if he had just been wakened from a doze. Again he said nothing but stood looking at them without impatience or irritation.
‘A couple of points we overlooked when we were here,’ Kelsey said in a tone of apology. ‘If we might step inside again. It won’t take a minute.’
Colborn drew back the door in silence and they stepped inside. He closed the door and turned to face them. In the same moment the Chief produced the brown scarf in its plastic wrapping and thrust it out under Colborn’s nose.
‘Have you ever seen that before?’ he asked abruptly.
Colborn jerked his head back in surprise. He stared down at the packet. ‘It’s a scarf,’ Kelsey told him.
A look of appalled horror crossed Colborn’s face. He glanced up at Kelsey. ‘You mean it’s the scarf . . .?’
Kelsey didn’t answer that. He repeated, ‘Have you ever seen it before?’
The colour had drained from Colborn’s face, he looked on the point of collapse. He put out a hand and steadied himself against the wall. ‘Do you recognize it?’ Kelsey pressed him. Colborn drew a long trembling breath and shook his head. He looked poleaxed, utterly grief-stricken.
‘You loved her,’ Kelsey said. ‘That’s the truth, isn’t it?’
Colborn dropped his head into his hands and began to weep, with great shuddering sobs. ‘You’d better tell us about it,’ Kelsey invited. Colborn made no response. The shuddering and sobbing continued. ‘We can’t stand here,’ Kelsey said brusquely. ‘We’ll go along to your study.’
Colborn made a strong effort to take a grip on himself and the shudders began to die away. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his eyes. After a minute or two he seemed to have regained some measure of control. He followed the Chief along to the study.
The moment Sergeant Lambert closed the study door behind them Colborn began to speak, in a rush, with an air of relief. ‘It was a terrible shock when I heard about Mrs Franklin,’ he said in a rapid, uneven tone, his face contorted at the recollection. All three of them were still standing. ‘I was told of it when I got to the bank this morning. One of the girls had heard it on the local radio. I couldn’t believe it.’ He looked earnestly at the Chief. ‘It was all over between us months ago. It was never anything very . . . intense, for either of us, it was—’ He drew another trembling breath. ‘Just folly, really. She was at a loose end after the divorce and I—’ He moved his shoulders. ‘I was restless, overworked. It seemed some kind of answer, a distraction from pressure and strain. She was always light-hearted, she took my mind off my worries.’ He pressed his hands together. ‘But it was an appalling shock, all the same. I was still fond of her. It didn’t end in a quarrel, nothing like that, it was all very amicable.’
‘How did it end?’ Kelsey asked.
Colborn spread a hand. ‘I simply came to my senses, saw the risks I was taking. I put it to her and she understood. I have a very good marriage, I value it highly, it was madness to risk losing my wife.’ He broke off suddenly with a look of consternation. ‘My wife–she won’t have to know any of this?’
‘She won’t hear it from me,’ Kelsey assured him. Colborn closed his eyes for an instant. ‘But there’s no telling in a case of this kind,’ Kelsey warned him. ‘These things have a way of coming out. It might be better to tell her yourself, right away. She’ll probably be a lot more understanding than you think.’
‘I couldn’t do that,’ Colborn said on a note of dismay. ‘She’d be horrified. She doesn’t know anything about Venetia, she doesn’t even know she existed.’
‘She’ll know she existed by now all right,’ Kelsey said. ‘Everyone in the town will know about Mrs Franklin by now. Your wife’s bound to discover she was a customer at the bank. You’ll have to be prepared to talk about her. Your wife’s bound to be interested, to ask you questions, it’s only natural.’
‘I can cope with that,’ Colborn said. ‘But I couldn’t tell her the rest of it.’
‘It’s entirely up to you.’ Kelsey made a dismissive gesture. He glanced about. ‘We might as well sit down. Now–you told us earlier that you didn’t know Mrs Franklin before she was married.’
‘I did know her very slightly,’ Colborn said. ‘She was a good deal younger than me.’
‘Were you in love with her at that time?’
He shook his head. ‘She was just a pretty girl who worked in a shop near the bank. She used to come in for change. I talked to her sometimes.’
‘Did you want to marry her at that time?’
‘Good heavens, no! I was in no position to think about marrying anyone. My mother was alive then, I was living here with her. She’d been an invalid for years. I had enough to contend with without looking for new responsibilities.’
‘And recently, when you took up with Mrs Franklin again, did you want to marry her then?’
Colborn was beginning to look immensely fatigued again. ‘No, there was never any question of that, for either of us. It was never that serious.’
‘Perhaps you wanted to marry her but she was unwilling?’ Kelsey persisted.
Colborn shook his head.
‘Did she perhaps agree to marry you and then later change her mind?’
Colborn pressed the fingers of both hands against his temples. ‘No, that was never the situation.’
‘Is there anything else you want to change in what you told us earlier? When you last saw her, if you knew where she was going for the weekend, and so on?’
Again he shook his head.
‘She made no objection when you told her you wanted to end the association?’
‘She would have liked to go on with it. She always took it lightly–she wasn’t running any risks, it was just an amusement for her. But she understood when I pointed out that it could ruin everything for me, my marriage, my career. We didn’t part on bad terms. If I saw her in the bank or if she wanted my advice about some business matter, it was always perfectly friendly, no hard feelings on either side.’
‘There was never any awkwardness?’
‘Never. She was a very pleasant woman, she had a very nice nature.’ He suddenly dropped his head into his hands again. After a few moments he looked up and said with an attempt at composure, ‘I can’t deny I’m pretty shattered by her death.’ His eyes were full of pain. ‘It’s caught me at a low ebb. It’s the shock, coming on top of all the pressure I’ve been under lately.’
‘Do you know of any new men friends she may have had in the last month or two?’ Kelsey asked.
‘No. I wouldn’t expect to know.’
‘You made no attempt to find out?’
‘Certainly not.’
‘Perhaps she told you she’d met someone else, that she wanted to break it off with you? Perhaps that was how you came to part?’
‘No, that wasn’t the way it ended. I’ve told you how it was.’
‘Did you know she had joined a singles club?’
‘No, not exactly, but it doesn’t surprise me. She told me she intended going out more, making new friends.’
There was a brief silence, then Kelsey said, ‘Jealousy can be a terrible emotion.’
‘I was never jealous of her,’ Colborn protested. ‘It was never on that level, never that strong. The truth is, I was relieved when it was over. I didn’t enjoy telling lies to Ruth, it’s not in my nature.’
‘Were you in touch with Mrs Franklin last Thursday or Friday? In any way at all?’
He shook his head.
‘Where were you last Friday afternoon?’
‘I told you, I spent the weekend at the bank’s place in the country, Danehill Manor. I left the bank at three o’clock. I was given a lift by one of the other managers.’
‘We’ll have his name,’ Kelsey said. ‘You realize we have to check everything of this nature.’
There was an appreciable silence.
‘If we could have his name,’ Kelsey repeated. ‘It’s a matter of routine.’
There was another silence, then Colborn said, ‘I’m afraid this is rather awkward.’
‘In what way awkward?’
Colborn made no reply. His face wore a look of great unease.
‘You did leave the bank at three and drive to Danehill Manor with your colleague?’ Kelsey asked sharply.
‘Well, actually, no, it wasn’t quite like that,’ Colborn said at last. He stared at the wall. ‘My colleague rang me at the bank shortly after two to say something had cropped up and he wouldn’t be able to get away as early as he’d planned.’ He looked at Kelsey. ‘I’d prepared a paper to read at the seminar, we all had to do that. I was nervous about it, I hadn’t been able to give my mind to it properly. During the morning I kept thinking of other points I might have made but I had no time to do anything about it. I jumped at the chance to do some more work on the paper. I asked my colleague if he’d pick me up at home instead of at the bank. At three o’clock I left the bank and came over here. I worked on the paper till my colleague came to collect me.’
‘Did you say anything about this alteration in your plans to any member of your staff? Did you tell your assistant you were going home?’
‘No. When I left the bank they took it for granted I was being picked up outside by my colleague. I saw no reason to tell them otherwise.’
‘You saw no reason to tell us either.’
He moved his shoulders. ‘I didn’t actually tell you my colleague picked me up at three outside the bank.’
‘You knew that was what we believed. You allowed it to stand.’
‘It didn’t seem very important.’
‘If something similar should crop up in the course of this interview, or any other interview we might have,’ Kelsey said crisply, ‘perhaps you’d be good enough at the time to correct any misapprehension under which you see me labouring, however unimportant it might appear to you.’ Colborn gave a jerky nod.
‘Can your wife confirm that you arrived here soon after three and worked on your paper?’ Kelsey asked.
‘I’m afraid not. She wasn’t here at the time, she was at Polesworth all afternoon, for the presentation of purses.’ Kelsey knew about the ceremonies at Polesworth. ‘She went on afterwards to supper and a musical evening at the house of some friends.’
‘At precisely what time did your colleague call for you here?’
‘I can be very precise about that.’ Colborn’s tone began to show animation. ‘It was half past five. I looked at the clock when he rang the bell and he commented on the time himself when I opened the door. He was concerned about being late getting to the Manor, he was full of apologies.’
‘Right, then,’ Kelsey said briskly. ‘I hope we’ve got a proper tale at last. Now, if we might have your colleague’s name and where we can get hold of him, we’ll be able to confirm what you’ve told us.’
‘For God’s sake, don’t do that!’ Colborn said in alarm. ‘It’ll be all round head office, they’ll wonder what on earth’s going on, it’ll do my career no good at all.’
‘I see your point,’ Kelsey said in the tone of a reasonable man. ‘But you must see mine. We can’t simply take at face value everything anyone cares to tell us. It’s all got to be checked.’
‘Yes, I see that,’ Colborn said. ‘But there must be some other way you can check it.’ He struck his hands together. ‘The garage–you can check there, he’ll remember. It’s just round the corner from here, the Silver Star. I always go there, the owner’s a customer at the bank. When we left here my colleague said he had to get some petrol. We went to the Silver Star and while he was filling up I stood chatting to the owner. I told him where we were off to, that we were late, and he commented on the traffic.’ He paused. ‘I remember he looked up at the clock and said we’d be right in the thick of the rush hour. You ask him, he’ll confirm what I’ve told you.’
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