Louise.”
“Did you hear them arguing at all?”
“No. Tilda just asked me to arrange a ticket for her, and she was driven to the airport by Mario.”
“Thank you, Miss Collins. I’ll walk out via the gardens.”
Phyllis nodded and said she would tell the security guard to open the gate.
“Is there a full-time guard on duty?”
“Yes, since Anna Louise’s disappearance we’ve had a lot of press hanging around outside, and Mr. Caley didn’t want his wife disturbed, so we now have full-time security guards patrolling the estate. To begin with, it was feared that perhaps Anna Louise had been kidnapped, so the guards were employed for everyone’s peace of mind.”
Lorraine prepared to leave. Just as she was walking away from Phyllis she stopped.
“Is this house Mrs. Caley’s?”
ť
“Yes, I believe so.”
“And the property in New Orleans?”
“Yes, I think a lot of it belonged to her fAily.”
Lorraine hesitated, wondering whether cr not she should ask Phyllis the next question, or leave it until she spoke to Elizabeth Caley personally.
“Was there something else?”
“Er, yes, it may be nothing, but who is the main beneficiary of Elizabeth Caley’s will?”
Phyllis glared, and Lorraine knew she had made a mistake.
“It’s probably irrelevant to the investigation but at the same time you must understand that I
“
“I really can’t help you, I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay. What time shall I call in the morning?”
“About eleven.”
“Thank you, I’ll see you tomorrow, no doubt.”
“Yes, you will.”
Her sharp features were even more pinched as she stared at Lorraine.
“You certainly do a lot of research.”
She did not say it as a compliment, but Lorraine smiled as if it had been one.
“I believe that is the point, is it not? And you must understand, PhyllisI hope I can call you Phyllisthat everything you say to me is in total confidence. If there is anything that you feel would help my investigation, anything at all, I hope you will feel free to call me at any time.”
She caught it, just a flicker of hesitancy, but then Phyllis covered with a tight, brittle smile.
“You keep to the left walkway and it will lead you around to the front of the house. Good afternoon, Mrs. Page.”
Lorraine walked from the courtyard along the immaculate paved path. She passed the tennis courts and stopped. Robert Caley was sitting on a white painted bench, the bottle of wine held loosely in his hand, seemingly staring at the empty tennis court. She continued on past the vast swimming pool with its carefully laid out lounge chairs, and could see a maid folding up the unused towels.
Lorraine would have gone on, but Robert Caley called her and she turned to face him. He still wore the dark glasses but removed them slowly as he looked at her.
“I’ll be going to New Orleans. If you need to go there within the week, please call me. You can …”
He gave a boyish smile.
“I’m offering you a ride.”
She returned his smile.
“Thank you, I’ll call you.”
He nodded and stood watching her as she walked around to the front of the house.
Lorraine had found Robert Caley very attractive she’d known it when he had leaned toward her across the table in the gazebobut any sexual desires had to be dismissed because if she discovered that he could benefit from his daughter’s disappearance or death, he would be under suspicion. And by now Lorraine intuitively felt that Anna Louise Caley was dead.
I
CHAPTER
4.
j Rooney said he reminded him of someone called Lubrinski.”
I Lorraine reacted, giving Rosie that funny half-squint look, her hair covering part of the scar on her cheek,
“wd he now?”
“Yeah, said he was injured in some shoor-out. He’s got a nickname, Nick the Limp.”
“Really?”
Lorraine said noncommittally.
“So who was this Lubrinski guy? And what was that about you using a pair of panty hose as a tourniquet, is that true?”
“You should know
“Did you hear them arguing at all?”
“No. Tilda just asked me to arrange a ticket for her, and she was driven to the airport by Mario.”
“Thank you, Miss Collins. I’ll walk out via the gardens.”
Phyllis nodded and said she would tell the security guard to open the gate.
“Is there a full-time guard on duty?”
“Yes, since Anna Louise’s disappearance we’ve had a lot of press hanging around outside, and Mr. Caley didn’t want his wife disturbed, so we now have full-time security guards patrolling the estate. To begin with, it was feared that perhaps Anna Louise had been kidnapped, so the guards were employed for everyone’s peace of mind.”
Lorraine prepared to leave. Just as she was walking away from Phyllis she stopped.
“Is this house Mrs. Caley’s?”
ť
“Yes, I believe so.”
“And the property in New Orleans?”
“Yes, I think a lot of it belonged to her fAily.”
Lorraine hesitated, wondering whether cr not she should ask Phyllis the next question, or leave it until she spoke to Elizabeth Caley personally.
“Was there something else?”
“Er, yes, it may be nothing, but who is the main beneficiary of Elizabeth Caley’s will?”
Phyllis glared, and Lorraine knew she had made a mistake.
“It’s probably irrelevant to the investigation but at the same time you must understand that I
“
“I really can’t help you, I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay. What time shall I call in the morning?”
“About eleven.”
“Thank you, I’ll see you tomorrow, no doubt.”
“Yes, you will.”
Her sharp features were even more pinched as she stared at Lorraine.
“You certainly do a lot of research.”
She did not say it as a compliment, but Lorraine smiled as if it had been one.
“I believe that is the point, is it not? And you must understand, PhyllisI hope I can call you Phyllisthat everything you say to me is in total confidence. If there is anything that you feel would help my investigation, anything at all, I hope you will feel free to call me at any time.”
She caught it, just a flicker of hesitancy, but then Phyllis covered with a tight, brittle smile.
“You keep to the left walkway and it will lead you around to the front of the house. Good afternoon, Mrs. Page.”
Lorraine walked from the courtyard along the immaculate paved path. She passed the tennis courts and stopped. Robert Caley was sitting on a white painted bench, the bottle of wine held loosely in his hand, seemingly staring at the empty tennis court. She continued on past the vast swimming pool with its carefully laid out lounge chairs, and could see a maid folding up the unused towels.
Lorraine would have gone on, but Robert Caley called her and she turned to face him. He still wore the dark glasses but removed them slowly as he looked at her.
“I’ll be going to New Orleans. If you need to go there within the week, please call me. You can …”
He gave a boyish smile.
“I’m offering you a ride.”
She returned his smile.
“Thank you, I’ll call you.”
He nodded and stood watching her as she walked around to the front of the house.
Lorraine had found Robert Caley very attractive she’d known it when he had leaned toward her across the table in the gazebobut any sexual desires had to be dismissed because if she discovered that he could benefit from his daughter’s disappearance or death, he would be under suspicion. And by now Lorraine intuitively felt that Anna Louise Caley was dead.
I
CHAPTER
4.
j Rooney said he reminded him of someone called Lubrinski.”
I Lorraine reacted, giving Rosie that funny half-squint look, her hair covering part of the scar on her cheek,
“wd he now?”
“Yeah, said he was injured in some shoor-out. He’s got a nickname, Nick the Limp.”
“Really?”
Lorraine said noncommittally.
“So who was this Lubrinski guy? And what was that about you using a pair of panty hose as a tourniquet, is that true?”
“You should know
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