A Death in Diamonds

‘Anyway, Inspector Darbishire strongly suspects a link with a London gang. He’s already found out that Perez was consorting with some dubious characters. He was from Argentina, ma’am. The inspector’s in touch with Buenos Aires.’

‘You say he knows how the murders were done?’

‘Yes. As I say, it’s best if I don’t go into details, but Perez was attacked first, almost certainly, and Fonteyn killed as a witness. Perez was taken by surprise in the, um, bedroom and left where he fell. The knife was applied afterwards, in some sort of vengeful act. Or possibly as a message. All very sordid.’

‘Was there anything about a gunshot?’ she asked.

‘A gunshot?’ The eyebrows shot up again. ‘Miss Fairdale, ma’am?’

‘Actually, yes.’

Sir Hugh glanced through his notes. ‘Um . . . here we are. Two witnesses in the mews reported something of that sort, at about three in the morning. But one of them heard a motorbike roaring off at about the same time, so it was almost certainly a backfire. There’s no sign of any bullet, casings or damage that might have been caused by one.’ He glanced up from the file. ‘There are some witness statements that don’t quite make sense. That’s often the case early in an investigation, I believe . . .’

‘But they’ve had six weeks, Hugh!’

‘Five, from when the bodies were discovered. These things take time.’

The Queen tried not to sound personally invested in any way. ‘And there was nothing else in the street that night? To explain the gunshot, I mean?’ She didn’t mean that exactly, but it would do.

Sir Hugh gave her that odd look again. ‘I can’t imagine what that might be, ma’am,’ he said evenly. He held out the file. ‘You can read it for yourself if you like.’

‘Perhaps later. Leave it with me. Thank you.’

‘There was an anonymous phone call, later on that Monday morning. It came from a public call box on the King’s Road. A muffled voice, telling the operator that there had been a terrible accident in the mews. But the operator didn’t catch the full address, and the police went round and found nothing. They’ve only recently realised it might be important. In the meantime, the focus has turned to Lord Seymour, the Minister for Technology. You heard about the tiara?’

‘I did, last night. He bought it at auction. Have they spoken to him yet?’

‘Not in person. He’s been taken up with Government business, you know. He’s given a statement explaining that the diamonds were stolen from the safe at his home.’

‘Has he?’ the Queen said, raising an eyebrow.

‘Quite, ma’am. Inspector Darbishire is hoping to interview him imminently. Fortunately, he has the prime minister and half the Cabinet as his alibi. He was with them at a dinner in the House until after ten thirty on the night of the thirty-first. He went straight home, where the servants and Lady Seymour can vouch for him. As alibis go, it’s a pretty good one.’

‘That’s a relief,’ the Queen said. ‘I’d like to think my ministers are . . . not cold-blooded killers, at least.’

‘No, ma’am. Seymour’s well regarded. Mr Macmillan himself has said he’s destined for high office. This discovery of the tiara has caused an obvious strain. The police have yet to confirm that there was a robbery. And if a gang had stolen the diamonds, it’s very hard to understand why they’d let them be used out in public, so to speak. But I suppose the tar— woman in question was wearing them to a private encounter, so perhaps that explains it. If Seymour was involved, then why he’d use his own diamonds to dress her is even more beyond comprehension. But Darbishire’s pursuing every avenue.’

‘And are there any others? Avenues, I mean?’

‘The initial theory about a gangland execution is the main one for now. It’s quite possible that a fellow escort was involved. She was supposed to be with Perez that night, but she somehow managed to swap with Miss Fonteyn. Darbishire isn’t convinced by her excuses. It’s all very lurid and unfortunate, but nothing remotely related to the family.’

‘Whose?’

‘Yours. I hope that reassures you, ma’am.’

The Queen wasn’t reassured, but didn’t say so.

‘Thank you very much for updating me, Hugh.’

‘My pleasure, ma’am. If I hear anything else of interest from the CID, I’ll let you know.’

The Queen smiled, but her tone was firm. ‘A weekly report would more than suffice,’ she said, sensing that otherwise she would probably get nothing. ‘And I can read it personally, to save you the time.’

‘I assure you, ma’am, it’s no—’

‘I’m quite happy to read it myself.’

Nonplussed, Sir Hugh nodded obediently. ‘Absolutely, ma’am. I’ll see it’s done.’

Chapter 18

Darbishire took his secret warning seriously. He fundamentally refused to give in to whichever dark forces had approached him, but he was a pragmatic man. They knew who he worked with. No doubt they knew where he lived. They would know he had a wife and two precious little daughters, whom he’d lay down his life for. He wasn’t going to make any dangerous moves until he understood exactly what he was up against.